Mahon McCann

Theology professor Petroc Willey joins the podcast this week to explain why the Catholic Church needs a “new evangelisation” in a culture shaped by secularism, fragmented worldviews, and weakened intergenerational faith.

Drawing on the ancient Catechetical School of Alexandria, Dr Willey proposes a model of formation that joins intellectual teaching, embodied practices, personal mentoring, and community so that Catholics can become confident witnesses. Light From Alexandria book: https://www.amazon.ie/Light-Alexandria-Recovering-Christian-Education/dp/B0F2JK36GW

Chapters:00:00 Petroc Willey and the purpose of the new evangelization02:24 How modernity fractured a shared moral worldview06:15 Vatican II’s call for a new Pentecost09:12 Why the Church must be evangelized too16:02 Secular assumptions and the challenge of explaining faith22:16 Resourcement and the ancient Catechetical School of Alexandria27:02 Formation as an embodied craft, not just instruction34:10 What a day in the Alexandrian school might involve38:28 The catechumenate: a gradual path into Christian life50:25 Small communities, families, and the mustard-seed approach58:26 Why online Catholic content needs personal mentors01:05:12 Building ongoing formation and training parish catechists

Want to support my work and this channel? Consider sharing this post, publication or becoming a patron 👇

Father Conor McDonough OP returns to the podcast to examine how Christianity took root in Ireland and what the surviving evidence can tell us.

In the conversation, we trace Patrick’s writings, the Christian shaping of Irish law and literature, monastic experiments, and the legacy of Irish philosophers and scholars in Europe after the fall of the Roman empire!

Timestamps:00:00 Christian humanism: finding goodness across cultures01:08 Patrick’s two writings and the historical gap03:55 Ogham, Roman Britain, and early Christian contact07:16 What can we responsibly say about pagan Ireland?09:16 How Christian Ireland preserved and reshaped older law12:40 Irish legends, monastic manuscripts, and cultural memory17:15 The Book of Invasions as layered origin story22:21 Universal history and the wisdom of particular places30:00 Patrick’s mission without armies, and what remains unknown37:02 Monasteries, women leaders, and exile for Christ42:27 Ascetic experiments, reform, and monastic life46:08 Irish scholars in the Carolingian Renaissance51:15 Christian humanism and spiritual discipline today54:41 Beyond culture war: resisting an oppositional spirit

New book alert 🚨

A friend of the pod, Dr Samuel Shepard (Place, Practice and Virtue) from Ave Maria University, has a new book out this week on ‘Christian Environmental Stewardship: Rediscovering Place, Practice and Virtue’.

“Science, faith, and storytelling come together in this innovative guide to creation care.

What does faithful environmental care look like in practice? This groundbreaking book answers that question by weaving together cutting-edge sustainability science, enduring Christian teaching, and personal accounts of transformative experiences in nature.

Coauthored by an ecologist and a theologian who both love the outdoors, Christian Environmental Stewardship offers an innovative framework for person- and place-based stewardship. Through engaging prose enriched with personal stories, the authors highlight the importance of outdoor experiences where people form strong connections with local places and communities―connections that build virtue and lead to meaningful conservation efforts. The book’s rigorous synthesis of science, theology, and storytelling is a welcome alternative to environmental conversations that can seem politically charged, disconnected from faith, or simply remote from lived experience.”

Want to support the channel? Consider sharing this post, publication or becoming a patron 👇

Peco Gaskovski is a neuropsychologist and the author of ExoGenesis and, most recently, The Last Upheaval.

Peco and his wife, Ruth Gaskovski, are the creators and lead authors of both ‘Pilgrims in the Machine’ and ‘School of the Unconformed’. In my opinion, two of the best publications out there on how to live in a world rapidly changing due to emerging technologies! These publications are a constant source of inspiration for analogue living and a lighthouse for human values online. Truly, they are doing the Lord’s work.

In this interview, we are discussing Peco’s new sci-fi thriller ‘The Last Upheaval’. We focus on the main themes explored in the book: God, family, relationships in a fractured world, and how to remain human in the machine.

After reading an advanced copy of the book, I can confidently say it is the ‘1984’ or ‘Brave New World’ for our current troubled times. But while Orwell and Huxley had the luxury of chronological distance to their hypothesised future dystopias, Gaskovski has hit a buzzer beater and captured our strange civilisational decline in real time! Despite the heavy material, the book never feels hopeless or despondent. Peco’s unique ability to blend big ideas and humour and humanity into an engaging and exciting story keeps you coming back for more and makes ‘The Last Upheaval’ a must-read for anyone who is still awake, upright and literate today. It is a relatable, enlightening, and edifying tale, and the main character is named after Plato’s uncle Solon, so obviously, I’m in.

If you are interested, collect your copy here 👉 https://www.amazon.ie/Last-Upheaval-Peco-Gaskovski/dp/1988604249

Barnes and Noble link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-last-upheaval-peco-gaskovski/1151382351?ean=9781988604244

Timestamps:00:00 Introduction to The Last Upheaval and its themes01:03 What is the last upheaval in the novel: a cyber attack02:07 Exploring the human element in societal collapse02:54 Current civilizational moment and technological influences05:09 Narratives around AI and their societal impact07:21 The religious roots of technological eschatology08:53 The infrastructure built by digital technology and its implications10:29 Offloading human cognition onto AI and its risks12:02 The decline of human skills and virtues in the digital age15:00 Relational debt and AI's impact on human relationships16:40 The social and emotional effects of AI relationships18:20 The subtle ways AI creates dependency and relational shifts20:12 The slow erosion of human competence and character22:53 The challenges of governance and ethical AI development24:19 Environmental and energy concerns related to AI and societal collapse26:38 Balancing technological progress with human resilience28:52 The return to community, family, and faith as a solution30:28 Practical ways to stay human in a digital world33:22 The importance of social trust and relationships35:37 The Christian worldview and divine anthropology39:38 Love, virtue, and the Christian model of human relationships44:23 The necessity of conflict and difficult conversations in love48:42 Building resilient communities through faith and family55:51 The role of education and homeschooling in resilience58:39 The future of education and AI's impact on learning

Want to support this Substack publication and my wider work online? Consider sharing this post, publication or becoming a patron below 👇

Folks,

We have finally arrived at the final lecture of the course on Plato’s Republic on book 10!!!

In this final lecture, we survey Plato’s ontological critique of imitative art, the paradoxical case of Plato's frequent use of images despite his critiques, his arguments for the immortality of the soul and, finally, the famous Myth of Er.

The Platonic case against AI Slop: https://www.palladiummag.com/2025/11/14/the-platonic-case-against-ai-slop/

Chapters:00:00 Welcome and Setup00:17 Why Book Ten Exists01:29 Being Versus Appearance02:39 Art Third From Truth05:16 Poets Without Knowledge09:33 Redeeming Images11:57 Myth of Er Begins13:14 Choosing Next Lives14:59 Lethe Rebirth and Wrap

FYI, this will be my last post until the end of September!

I am both getting married and finishing my PhD in the next month, so I’m going to take a back seat on the content until I emerge as a husband and a philosophy doctor.

However, we will be back come October time with some exciting announcements and additions to the future of the publication, so stay tuned and keep living the examined life in the meantime. 🍻

Best,

Mahon.

We are back with Book 9 of Plato’s Republic, which deals with the genesis of the tyrant!

This book returns to the core question from Book 2: why the just person is happier than the unjust and whether the tyrant is wretched or blessed.

We will explain Plato’s account of how a tyrant develops from democratic permissiveness, losing the ability to distinguish necessary from unnecessary desires and becoming ruled by insatiable appetites, like someone living out the lawless impulses revealed in dreams.

The tyrant’s rise is enabled by a chaotic city, but his inner disorder makes him miserable, friendless, and unfree, contrasted with the philosopher-king who is ruled by reason. Mahon then outlines Plato’s further defences of justice: an argument from the tripartite soul and an argument about true vs illusory pleasures, culminating in the claim that justice is 729 times better than injustice.

Chapters:00:00 Welcome and Series Context00:16 Book Nine Big Question01:37 Dreams and Lawless Desires03:32 How a Tyrant Is Made04:51 Tyrant’s Addictions and Misery06:07 Political Rise of Tyranny09:03 Tyrant vs Philosopher King10:53 Tripartite Soul and True Judge14:10 Real vs Illusory Pleasure17:08 Dopamine Nation and Addiction20:11 The 729 Times Proof20:50 Conclusion: Justice Wins

Want to support this work? Consider sharing this post or publication or becoming a Patron 👇

Hello there!

This interview has been a long time coming; I’ve always been a fan of Paul’s work, so it’s really great to get him on the pod for a chat on his latest book, ‘Against the Machine’.

In this episode we are discussing the history and concept of the machine, its spiritual and historical and philosophical roots, and most importantly, what a better story than the machine might look like? We explore how we return to tradition, our own conversion journeys, and how to counteract the dehumanising effects of modernity.

Chapters:00:00 Introduction and guest introduction01:05 What is the machine? Its history and systemic nature04:13 The spiritual and theological dimensions of the machine08:40 The modern pursuit of power and the myth of progress12:21 The fall, pride, and the desire to become gods16:40 The technological religion and the quest for immortality22:37 AI and the final stage of the machine30:07 A better story: returning to roots and tradition36:30 The Christian story, repentance, and living rightly48:49 The role of the Eucharist and spiritual renewal57:28 Conclusion: hope and returning to the eternal

Want to support the mission of this channel? If you want to support us, please consider sharing this post, publication or becoming a patron 👇

There is very little that is happening in the world today that is not contained already in the pages of Plato’s Republic. Particularly, in book eight. In book eight, Plato deals with decline of democracy into tyranny…

In this lecture, we will meet the five regimes: aristocracy (love of wisdom), timocracy (love of honor), oligarchy (love of money), democracy (love of freedom), and tyranny (love of gain). We will meet the five characters that both create and are created by these various regimes and depict the psychological portraits of their decline.

Chapters:00:00 Welcome and Setup00:16 Back to Republics Main Question02:28 Five Regimes and Characters04:46 Aristocracy Ideal State05:39 Nuptial Number Mystery07:11 Timocracy Honor and War08:43 Timocratic Character10:27 Oligarchy12:07 Oligarchic Soul Split13:15 Democracy14:14 Democratic Decadence and Desire15:19 Necessary vs Unnecessary Desires18:48 From Democracy to Tyranny19:29 Making a Tyrant20:52 Wrap up

Super-excited to have hosted an interdisciplinary discussion between two legends, the biologist Michael Levin and metaphysician D.C. Schindler.

In the conversation we discuss Levin’s “Platonic Morphospace” research programme, which treats morphogenesis, physiology, and behaviour as pattern navigation by goal-directed cellular collectives. We discuss how these discoveries question the foundations of the mechanical philosophy for science and highlight alignments with neo-Platonic philosophy.

Mike's website: https://thoughtforms.life/DC's books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/D.-C.-Schindler/author/B001JRTOAU

Chapters:00:00 Introductions and Setup00:29 Levin’s Big Questions01:14 Patterns and Morphospace03:21 Beyond Evolutionary Explanations03:51 Synthetic Agents Xenobots05:04 Minimal Computational Models06:09 Actionable Research Program08:02 Schindler’s Neoplatonic Lens14:36 Machines Organicism Debate19:19 Cognition as Continuum22:03 Nonphysical Causation Example25:15 Math Truths as Causal28:35 Expanding Platonic Space30:48 Forms Beyond Matter31:29 Life Versus Death Question33:03 Dog Corpse Thought Experiment35:21 Operational Categories Spectrum37:40 Death As Shrinking Agency40:26 Hybrids Xenobots Blur Lines41:46 Embryo Alignment And Goals44:28 Soul As Organization Pattern48:19 Transformation Models And Math53:52 Phase Transitions Emergence Debate58:07 Wrap Up Future Work

Want to support the work of this channel? Consider sharing this post or publication or becoming a patron 👇

Hey Hey,

We are back with a new podcast interview!

This week I am talking to Mark Walsh ( ⁨@FeralPhilosophy_mw⁩ ) - Mark is a globally recognised embodiment trainer, trauma educator, and author who has spent over 25 years dedicated to one mission: helping people get into their bodies and stay sane. Holding an honours degree in psychology from Leeds University and an Aikido black belt, Mark founded Europe’s first specialist embodiment training company and is widely regarded as a world leader in the field. He is the CEO of Embodiment Unlimited, founder of the Certificate of Embodiment Coaching (CEC). He has qualified over 2,000 coaches across more than 40 countries. Mark hosts The Embodiment Coaching Podcast with over 3 million downloads, and led the record-breaking Embodiment Conference — featuring 1,000 teachers and attended by over 500,000 delegates worldwide.

In this podcast, Mark shares his transformative journey through spirituality, embodiment, and the crisis of modernity and back to his Catholic roots. We explore the importance of tradition, morality, and community in restoring meaning and mental health in a fragmented world.

Chapters:00:00 Introduction to Mark Walsh and His Background02:53 Exploring Spirituality and Family Influence06:03 Navigating Nihilism and Materialism09:00 The Role of Embodiment in Healing11:57 The Search for Meaning in Modernity14:53 Rituals, Liturgy, and the Body18:01 Cultural Critique and the Absurdity of Modern Life20:51 The Need for Boundaries in Society23:53 The Future of Spirituality and Hope for the Younger Generation31:07 The Role of Spirituality in Recovery and Society32:01 Christianity and Modern Philosophies33:13 The Balance of Kindness and Boundaries34:41 The Crisis in Psychology and Therapy36:35 Integrating Tradition and Modern Psychology39:17 The Limitations of Modern Therapy41:03 The Importance of Community and Nature43:14 Rediscovering Meaning in Suffering48:17 Humility and Tradition in Faith51:37 Cultural Strategies for Change

Want to support this channel? Consider sharing this post, publication or becoming a patron!

Hello there,

It’s been a while (I’m sorry) but the Plato’s Republic lectures are back!

Before the end of the year we will be getting through the last books 7-10, and if you want to catch up on the lectures so far here is the link:

In this lecture on book 7 we will discuss the following:

* The Digression of books 5-6, including the images of the sun, divided line and the Cave.

* The cave as an image of education — reorienting the soul from shadows and appearances toward reality.

* Tracking the prisoner’s painful ascent from images to objects to intelligible forms and ultimately to the Good as the source of intelligibility.

* The return to the cave, where the enlightened person is mocked and potentially killed, linking this to Socrates’ fate.

* Drawing on John Vervaeke, Karl Jaspers’ Axial Age, and concepts like salience, enkrateia, and sophrosyne, framing the ascent as moral and attentional training.

* Finally, we compare the Cave Allegory to Social Media and The Matrix, comparing the modern and ancient perspectives on transcendance.

00:00 Lecture 700:22 Recap and Digression05:41 Inside the Cave10:51 Climbing to Sunlight12:47 Divided Line Revisited18:31 Source of Intelligibility21:26 Return and Resistance23:50 Axial Age and Two Worlds27:11 How to leave the Cave 33:00 Social Media as the Cave33:46 The Matrix Retells the Cave39:15 Plato vs Matrix on Happiness

Want to support the mission? Consider sharing this post, publication or becoming a patron 🙏