Season 4, Episode 10: Gilmore Girls as Allegory for WASP Civilizational Decline
For April Fools this year, we cover a millennial touchstone television series about growing up, or at least about trying to.
Dustbowl Diatribes
The podcast of the Maurin Academy: discussions on Christian Anarchism, agrarianism, Catholic Worker and related thought and practice, and how to bring community and mutual aid into our lives in uncertain times.
Season 4, Ep. 9: Why and How Patriotism Ain’t Nationalism
Spencer and Laurie discuss the topic of patriotism, which was touched upon briefly in the last Dustbowl episode, and also in the Secret Grange episode that followed (for patrons only), on their interview with Charles Coulombe, a monarchist and author of multiple books, including The Compleat Monarchist. The discussion involves the value of patriotism, what … Read more
Season 4, Episode 8: Charles Coulombe on the Perils of Sealing Political Pacts
Spencer and Laurie talk to Charles Coulombe, a monarchist and author of multiple books, including The Compleat Monarchist. His views on the intellectual and spiritual milieux leading up to the emergence of the Catholic Worker movement, as well as his views on American history, and what’s wrong and right with American Catholicism, offer a unique … Read more
Season 4, Episode 7: Quid est Dignum et Iustum in a Wilderness of Mirrors?
Dustbowl Diatribes and Political Philosophy are podcasts of the Maurin Academy, and can be found on almost all podcast platforms! https://pmaurin.org Maurin Academy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/maurinacademy John Paul II Catholic Worker Farm: https://jpiicatholicworkerfarm.com Follow the Maurin Academy and the JPII Farm on Instagram for notifications about upcoming events.
Season 4, Episode 6: Cultivating Community, Redemptive Lending and Recapitulatory Theology
Spencer and Laurie talk to Bert and Emma Fitzgerald of the Simon Weil Catholic Worker House in Portland, OR: https://simoneweilhouse.org
Season 4, Episode 5: William Cavanaugh on Consumerism & Idolatry
This is a talk by Dr. William T. Cavanaugh, author of The Uses of Idolatry. It was originally given for the Center for Catholic Social Thought, October 9, 2025. We thought it was so good we asked if we could share it with our audience, and we got it from both Dr. Cavanaugh and the Center for Catholic Social Thought.
Season 4, Episode 4: Our Trips to Milwaukee, Lancaster and Beyond
Spencer and Laurie discuss what they learned from their recent trips. Laurie went to Milwaukee, WI, to do research on the Peter Maurin papers and to give two talks on Maurin and Day. Spencer and Emily traveled to Pennsylvania and other spots on the East Coast to help move a friend, and along the way visited two Catholic Worker houses, the Rodale Institute, Blue Hill Farm, Dorothy Day’s gravesite and more.
Season 4, Episode 3: Integral Friendships: Fun Amidst Frustration
Laurie and Spencer talk to Colin Miller and Tyler Hambley, who trace their path to the Church through the practices of Catholic Workers: praying daily, sharing meals, and opening their homes to the homeless. Now in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, they live family-to-family alongside formerly homeless men and teach through the Center for Catholic Social Thought. They argue for “thick” Christian community over thin, optional social ties.
Dustbowl Diatribes Season 4, Ep. 3: Integral Friendships: Fun Amidst Frustration (Video)
In this episode, Colin Miller and Tyler Hambly trace their path from Anglican clergy to the Catholic Church through the concrete practices of the Catholic Worker: praying daily, sharing meals, and opening their homes to unhoused neighbors. What began as the Daily Office in Durham became a life of works of mercy that made them “Catholic before they knew it,” later confirmed by Newman and Augustine. Now in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, they live family-to-family alongside formerly homeless men and teach through the Center for Catholic Social Thought. They argue for “thick” Christian community—defined by prayer, meals, child-rearing, conflict and reconciliation—over thin, optional social ties. The friction is real, but they see it as a share in Christ’s Passion that yields the true fruit: a reconciled people.
Season 4, Episode 2: How Not to Go Back to the Land
Spencer and Laurie discuss an article by Paul V. Stock, “The Perennial Nature of the Catholic Worker Farms: A Reconsideration of Failure,” in Rural Sociology, 2014.
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