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.
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.
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.
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.
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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Spencer and Laurie kick off their new season with Catholic Worker James Murphy of St. Martin de Porres, Harrisburgh, PA. The Catholic Worker movement is a testing ground for solutions to poverty, successful relationships, and the possibility of bypassing politics. We get into some of those issues in this interview.
As Spencer and Laurie segue to a new season of Dustbowl Diatribes , they look back at the people they’ve interviewed in 2025 so far and point the way to their next topic.
Spencer Leonard talks to us about human potential, what constitutes freedom and progress, and why it seems particularly difficult to reach.
Spencer and Laurie talk with Prof. Jodi Dean about themes from her new book Capital’s Grave: Neofeudalism and the New Class Struggle (Verso, 2025). The theme of neofeudalism is one we have returned to several times as it seems more and more clear that our economy has moved well past competition into monopolies and highly concentrated wealth.
Laurie interviews a very special guest, and Spencer misses out on the best interview in Dustbowl Diatribes three seasons.
John Rao visits Dustbowl Diatribes for an episode tracing periods of “sleep” and revival in Catholic history.