Catholic Nerds

Catholic Nerds

By Catholic NerdsReligion & SpiritualityChristianity
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Catholic Nerds episodes

  • Episode 17: Fellowship of the Nerds - Lord of the Rings Catholic Watch Party
    Join the Catholic Nerds for a Lord of the Rings watch party ANYTIME you like! Just start the LOTR extended versions when we say "start" and the C-Nerds and special guest experts will fill your movie experience with Tolkien's Catholic Theology, Lord of the Rings movie and book trivia, and high quality frivolity - party like it's Bilbo's birthday! Ain't no watch party like a Catholic Nerd Party!
    Here's some sample Lord of the Rings trivia:
    (1) Sir Ian McKellen based the accent he used for Gandalf on which person?
    (2) Who is the only actor or actress who did not wear a wig during the filming of Lord of the Rings because he had perfect hair for a hobbit?
    (3) According to Sean Astin, when Bilbo drops the ring, what did the film crew use to create the effect of the ring’s weight as it slammed into the floor?
    Want to read about Lord of the Rings and the Eucharist? Here's the first article and link to the book: https://www.thescottsmithblog.com/2017/05/the-hidden-eucharist-in-lord-of-rings.html
    Do you want to bedeck yourself in your #1 galactic source for quality Catholic nerdery? Of course, you do! And now you can ...
    https://teespring.com/catholic-nerds-podcast
    Like the Catholic Nerds on Facebook:
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/catholicnerdspodcast/
    Check out our Patreon page for exclusive nerdiness:
    https://www.patreon.com/CatholicNerds/posts
    Tweet us @NerdsCatholic
    Email us at [email protected]
    Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/scott-smith-3/catholic-nerds-podcast?refid=stpr
    Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/mfka3-80d47/Catholic-Nerds-Podcast
    iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/catholic-nerds/id1448729420
    ListenNotes: https://lnns.co/o1J0IuOeyR_
    6 hr 26 min
  • Episode 16: Wolverine is Catholic, Bud! Cal Dodd Interview
    Childhood dreams … check.
    Bucket list … check.
    The Catholic Nerds interview Wolverine! Cathal (Cal) Dodd, the voice of Wolverine in X-Men: The Animated Series (TAS), musician, Canada’s Molson man, and all around great guy and Catholic gentleman, hung out with the C-Nerds at the New Orleans Comic Con. Cal takes us from his Dublin birth home to his days in High School Seminary in Canada. He explains how he created the voice that became THE version of Wolverine, against which all others will forever be measured. Take that, Hugh Jackman. Cal also takes us back to the 70s and 80s when he toured with Joe Cocker, Three Dog Night, and Meatloaf!
    Cal Dodd takes us deep into Wolverine's character, including his favorite episode, when Wolverine is converted by Nightcrawler’s Catholicism. Cal tells us who Wolverine’s true love interest was, too - was it Jean Grey? Storm? Mariko? He also answers the age-old question of whether Wolverine could have fought Cyclops for Jean and won.
    Don’t miss this episode … or else, bud.
    Do you want to bedeck yourself in your #1 galactic source for quality Catholic nerdery? Of course, you do! And now you can ...
    https://teespring.com/catholic-nerds-podcast
    Like the Catholic Nerds on Facebook:
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/catholicnerdspodcast/
    Check out our Patreon page for exclusive nerdiness:
    https://www.patreon.com/CatholicNerds/posts
    Tweet us @NerdsCatholic
    Email us at [email protected]
    Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/scott-smith-3/catholic-nerds-podcast?refid=stpr
    Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/mfka3-80d47/Catholic-Nerds-Podcast
    iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/catholic-nerds/id1448729420
    ListenNotes: https://lnns.co/o1J0IuOeyR_
    51 min
  • Episode 15: Shroud of Turin - Miracle Nerds
    What more do you need to believe in God's power? The Catholic Nerds tackle the raw, miraculous power of God displayed in the Shroud of Turin, Jesus’ own burial cloth and possibly even the tablecloth from the Last Supper. What kind of evidence do you want? We got it. Non-believer Bob says it’s a painting. Then why does it render as a 3D image, unlike every painting ever? Non-believer Bob says it’s a medieval forgery? Then why does radiocarbon dating date it to the First Century? If a medieval dude could forge it, then why -- with all our modern technology -- can’t we come close? All the lasers now existing in the world, working together, couldn’t re-create the Shroud. Only the power of God! Not just that, the pollen and weave put it in uniquely in First Century Palestine. Non-believer Bob says ‘okay, but that could be anybody’s burial cloth’. Then what about the death certificate bearing Jesus’ name and execution orders discovered on Jesus’ face using microdensitometers? Non-believer Bob grows quiet and thoughtful.
    Do you want to bedeck yourself in your #1 galactic source for quality Catholic nerdery? Of course, you do! And now you can ...
    https://teespring.com/catholic-nerds-podcast
    Like the Catholic Nerds on Facebook:
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/catholicnerdspodcast/
    Check out our Patreon page for exclusive nerdiness:
    https://www.patreon.com/CatholicNerds/posts
    Tweet us @NerdsCatholic
    Email us at [email protected]
    Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/scott-smith-3/catholic-nerds-podcast?refid=stpr
    Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/mfka3-80d47/Catholic-Nerds-Podcast
    iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/catholic-nerds/id1448729420
    ListenNotes: https://lnns.co/o1J0IuOeyR_
    1 hr 12 min
  • Episode 14: Best Virus Pandemic Movies with Father Brent
    The Catholic Nerds are going viral! Not to make light of such a dire subject as the current pandemic, the C-Nerds are reviewing our favorite virus pandemic, non-zombie movies. Not talking about zombies, as you will hear, is hard for us, though. We were also joined by the very amazing, Father Brent Maher of St. Anne’s in Morganza.
    Also, now introducing … Catholic Nerds Trivia!!! With fabulous prize awarded, intermittently and inconsistently, and also sufficiently over-branded.
    Though for some inextricable reason, we never talked about Stephen King’s The Stand and The Seventh Seal, the C-Nerds (pronounced “Capital C Nerds) performed death-defying deep dives into I Am Legend and its predecessors Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price and Omega Man with Charleston (Charleton?) Heston; plus Contagion and all its weird, uncanny premonitions into the corona-virus pandemic; 12 Monkeys and The Andromeda Strain; and, regrettably, Sharknado. We investigated all the origins of these fictional viruses, like Maze Runner’s Flare, I Am Legend’s Krippin virus, and 28 Days Later’s Rage virus.
    We also checked in with Father Brent - “Padre” - about parish and priest life in the midst of the pandemic, plus the Divine Mercy Novena and upcoming Novena to the Holy Spirit. We also asked Padre to digitally bless things and us.
    Cody and Mary, who just had a home birth during the pandemic (!!!), shared their new GoFundMe for women who lack the insurance coverage to have a home birth and are wary of going to the hospital right now: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-access-to-safe-births-during-covid-crisis
    Plus, Scott showed us his and his wife’s newly published Catholic Prayer Journal for Women: Pray, Hope, and Don’t Worry available here: https://amzn.to/350hMdw
    And here’s the generically Christian version, too: https://amzn.to/352kJKz
    Do you want to bedeck yourself in your #1 galactic source for quality Catholic nerdery? Of course, you do! And now you can ...
    https://teespring.com/catholic-nerds-podcast
    Like the Catholic Nerds on Facebook:
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/catholicnerdspodcast/
    Check out our Patreon page for exclusive nerdiness:
    https://www.patreon.com/CatholicNerds/posts
    Tweet us @NerdsCatholic
    Email us at [email protected]
    Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/scott-smith-3/catholic-nerds-podcast?refid=stpr
    Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/mfka3-80d47/Catholic-Nerds-Podcast
    iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/catholic-nerds/id1448729420
    ListenNotes: https://lnns.co/o1J0IuOeyR_
    1 hr 13 min
  • Episode 13: Catholic Video Gaming with Erik Dumont
    The Catholic Nerds welcome special guest, Erik Dumont! Check out Erik’s YouTube channel “Press C to Start” (full link below) where he reviews video games from a Catholic perspective, as well as game play. Follow him on Twitter @RPGCatholic. Erik is basically the Stephen Graydanus of video games :)
    Grab your controller! It’s time for the Catholic theology of video games … The Catholic Nerds rank, more or less, the greatest video games of all time. Also … the theology of The Legend of Zelda. Did you know the Book of Magic was originally called the Bible by Nintendo? And more!
    Also, the BEST Catholic reference in video games ever …
    Plus, deep dives into Resident Evil movies and video games; Red vs. Blue, the Halo series; Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy soundtrack; The Mandalorian & Baby Yoda’s extreme cuteness; plus Nintendo, Mario RPG, the zombie fungus apocalypse of The Last of Us, and Wolverine’s Catholic moment … which might be a bit of foreshadowing in the Catholic Nerds universe ;)
    Also … best news! Olivia Rene Dumont, Erik’s daughter, is doing great!
    Check out Erik’s game reviews, including an upcoming review of the Stardew Valley game … avoid that witch with the dark shrines!
    Here’s Erik’s YouTube channel “Press C to Start”: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvtV7MfVyrLqjREdiTe5KKw
    I promised a link to the official Zelda timeline, which I think is this one: https://www.zelda.com/about/. Also, this one is a bit more visual, too: https://zelda.gamepedia.com/Zelda_Timeline.
    Here’s the awesome Avengers: Endgame portal continuation video … watch it NOW: https://youtu.be/N3uh0xlSuKY
    Do you want to bedeck yourself in your #1 galactic source for quality Catholic nerdery? Of course, you do! And now you can ...
    https://teespring.com/catholic-nerds-podcast
    Like the Catholic Nerds on Facebook:
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/catholicnerdspodcast/
    Check out our Patreon page for exclusive nerdiness:
    https://www.patreon.com/CatholicNerds/posts
    Tweet us @NerdsCatholic
    Email us at [email protected]
    Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/scott-smith-3/catholic-nerds-podcast?refid=stpr
    Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/mfka3-80d47/Catholic-Nerds-Podcast
    iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/catholic-nerds/id1448729420
    ListenNotes: https://lnns.co/o1J0IuOeyR_
    1 hr 17 min
  • Episode 12B, Part Duet: "The One That Took Forever to Upload"
    The exciting, don't-wanna-miss conclusion to Episode 12! And yes ... the episode title is a "Friends" reference for all the Catholic Nerds "Super Friends" out there.
    So many special guests on this episode! The Catholic Nerds welcome Doug Johnson back to the show, as well as Heather Gardner, who answered the phone when Abby Johnson left Planned Parenthood. But that’s not all! Another guest joined in … ABBY JOHNSON, herself! Plus Abby’s mom and kids!
    The C-Nerds cover the summer movie blockbusters a “Stranger” array of topics including [SPOILER ALERT] Stranger Things and the epic Neverending Story Kajagoogoo Dustin-Suzie duet, more updates about the Unplanned movie from the Johnsons, the new Pope Benedict Netflix series (which does not involve Carey Elwes), The Boys Netflix series, Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto, Passion of the Christ, and maybe-maybe not Judas Maccabeus movie.
    Also, Abby recommends a Pro-Life Horror Novel as “legit scary … I don’t like reading this as night!” “It was good, it was so good … it was terrifying, but good.” The book? The Seventh Word, which just happens to be written by one of the Catholic Nerds, Scott. You can check it out here: https://amzn.to/2OhLnsj. Doug also mentioned another of Scott’s books: Lord of the Rings & the Eucharist, which you can check out here: https://amzn.to/2XLNrfa. And check out all of Scott’s books at Holy Water Books: https://www.holywaterbooks.com/
    41 min
  • Episode 12: Abby Johnson, plus Doug and Heather
    So many special guests on this episode! The Catholic Nerds welcome Doug Johnson back to the show, as well as Heather Gardner, who answered the phone when Abby Johnson left Planned Parenthood. But that’s not all! Another guest joined in … ABBY JOHNSON, herself! Plus Abby’s mom and kids!
    The C-Nerds cover the summer movie blockbusters a “Stranger” array of topics including [SPOILER ALERT] Stranger Things and the epic Neverending Story Kajagoogoo Dustin-Suzie duet, more updates about the Unplanned movie from the Johnsons, the new Pope Benedict Netflix series (which does not involve Carey Elwes), The Boys Netflix series, Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto, Passion of the Christ, and maybe-maybe not Judas Maccabeus movie.
    Also, Abby recommends a Pro-Life Horror Novel as “legit scary … I don’t like reading this as night!” “It was good, it was so good … it was terrifying, but good.” The book? The Seventh Word, which just happens to be written by one of the Catholic Nerds, Scott. You can check it out here: https://amzn.to/2OhLnsj. Doug also mentioned another of Scott’s books: Lord of the Rings & the Eucharist, which you can check out here: https://amzn.to/2XLNrfa. And check out all of Scott’s books at Holy Water Books: https://www.holywaterbooks.com/
    Do you want to bedeck yourself in your #1 galactic source for quality Catholic nerdery? Of course, you do! And now you can ...
    https://teespring.com/catholic-nerds-podcast
    Like the Catholic Nerds on Facebook:
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/catholicnerdspodcast/
    Check out our Patreon page for exclusive nerdiness:
    https://www.patreon.com/CatholicNerds/posts
    Tweet us @NerdsCatholic
    Email us at [email protected]
    Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/scott-smith-3/catholic-nerds-podcast?refid=stpr
    Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/mfka3-80d47/Catholic-Nerds-Podcast
    iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/catholic-nerds/id1448729420
    49 min
  • Episode 11: The Real Presence, Part One (Reload)
    [This episode was reloaded due to sound issues]
    The Catholic Nerds nerd out on the greatest thing in the world … Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. According to a recent Pew survey, only 26% of Catholics believe in the Real Presence. That’s really, really bad, so the Catholic world freaked out a bit recently. Here’s a recent National Catholic Register article about that: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/msgr-pope/what-should-we-do-about-the-loss-of-belief-in-the-real-presence
    So, here’s all the coolest stuff we know about the Real Presence. We start with Flannery O’Connor’s awesome quote on the Real Presence. Then, we go through the Bread of Life Sermon in John 6, as well as some great quotes from the Church Fathers, like St. Justin Martyr and St. Ignatius of Antioch. Here’s an article from my blog if you want the text of a lot of these quotes and deep dives into the Greek used in the Gospel: https://www.thescottsmithblog.com/2013/04/warning-you-may-turn-catholic-if-you.html
    Also, join us for Part Deux, when we’ll go through all the most amazing Eucharistic miracles, including a new one … captured on video! … where the host turns to heart tissue and actually starts beating!!
    Do you want to bedeck yourself in your #1 galactic source for quality Catholic nerdery? Of course, you do! And now you can ... https://teespring.com/catholic-nerds-podcast
    Like the Catholic Nerds on Facebook:
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/catholicnerdspodcast/
    Check out our Patreon page for exclusive nerdiness:
    https://www.patreon.com/CatholicNerds/posts
    Tweet us @NerdsCatholic
    Email us at [email protected]
    Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/scott-smith-3/catholic-nerds-podcast?refid=stpr
    Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/mfka3-80d47/Catholic-Nerds-Podcast
    iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/catholic-nerds/id1448729420
    50 min
  • Episode 11: The Real Presence, part one
    The Catholic Nerds nerd out on the greatest thing in the world … Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. According to a recent Pew survey, only 26% of Catholics believe in the Real Presence. That’s really, really bad, so the Catholic world freaked out a bit recently. Here’s a recent National Catholic Register article about that: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/msgr-pope/what-should-we-do-about-the-loss-of-belief-in-the-real-presence
    So, here’s all the coolest stuff we know about the Real Presence. We start with Flannery O’Connor’s awesome quote on the Real Presence. Then, we go through the Bread of Life Sermon in John 6, as well as some great quotes from the Church Fathers, like St. Justin Martyr and St. Ignatius of Antioch. Here’s an article from my blog if you want the text of a lot of these quotes and deep dives into the Greek used in the Gospel: https://www.thescottsmithblog.com/2013/04/warning-you-may-turn-catholic-if-you.html
    Also, join us for Part Deux, when we’ll go through all the most amazing Eucharistic miracles, including a new one … captured on video! … where the host turns to heart tissue and actually starts beating!!
    Like the Catholic Nerds on Facebook:
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/catholicnerdspodcast/
    Check out our Patreon page for exclusive nerdiness:
    https://www.patreon.com/CatholicNerds/posts
    Tweet us @NerdsCatholic
    Email us at [email protected]
    Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/scott-smith-3/catholic-nerds-podcast?refid=stpr
    Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/mfka3-80d47/Catholic-Nerds-Podcast
    iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/catholic-nerds/id1448729420
    50 min
  • Episode 10: Avengers Endgame Nerdgame

    The Ultimate Avengers Endgame review, Easter egg breakdown, and Catholic nerd analysis … are you ready for it? 

    The Catholic Nerds cover the Snap-ter-math and “Dear Mr. Fantasy”, the Tony Stark slim-down, mutants and the “unprecedented energy surge” caused by Thanos using the Infinity Stones, Thanos’ retirement and the Garden of Eden, Thor axing Thanos and Josh Brolin’s head “brollin” on the floor, climate change and whales returning to Hudson Bay, Jim Starlin’s and other cameos, 1st openly gay character in MCU, the number of the beast and Earth Prime, Black Widow’s sacrifice and the Protoevangelium prophesy of the Virgin Birth, and that’s just the quarter of Endgame!! Oh yeah … and of course we’ll address the Captain America time-travel plot holes.  

    Check out our sister podcast: Catholic Nerds Gaming (Catholic DnD) and the ongoing saga of the Legend of the Radiant Lady!

    Do you want to bedeck yourself in your #1 galactic source for quality Catholic nerdery? Of course, you do! And now you can ... LINK

    Like the Catholic Nerds on Facebook

    Check out our Patreon page for exclusive nerdiness. Tweet us @NerdsCatholic. Email us at [email protected] 

    Here are all the articles referenced in the episode:

    • What is the Protoevangelium?  
    • Check out our sponsor, Holy Water Books, the publisher of Scott’s new book, Lord of the Rings and the Eucharist ... NOW ALSO AN AUDIOBOOK! 
      • 1 hr 21 min

    About Catholic Nerds

    From the publisher's feed

    Join the Catholic Nerds Podcast for quality Catholic nerdery. The Catholic Nerds basically nerd out on comics, movies, video games, and books, all from a Catholic perspective, plus a hefty helping of…