The Home Front

By Leila and Phil LawlerSociety & Culture Religion & Spirituality Christianity

The Home Front episodes

May 29 Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo's document on AI
Note Bene: We read the entire encyclical and we didn’t use AI. And we don’t use AI to draft, write, or edit our own writing!
Show Notes:
Full text of the encyclical
Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah’s remarks on Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical “Magnifica humanitas”
The importance of Pope Leo’s first encyclical (Phil’s preview of the encyclical— posted before it appeared)
Pope Leo breaks new ground with encyclical on AI (News/Analysis by Phil, posted on the day it appeared)
No, the just-war tradition is not ‘outdated’ (Phil’s comment on the encyclical’s treatment of just-war theory, which we didn’t even have a chance to discuss in our podcast)
Promise and problems in Magnifica Humanitas (Phil’s reflections a few days after publication)
Other interesting analyses of the encyclical:
Idols of the Valley (Yuhal Levin in New Atlantis)
Pope Leo Isn’t Standing Athwart the Singularity (Ross Douthat in the New York Times) (archived here)
Between Thomas Aquinas and Silicon Valley: The first encyclical of Leo XIV (David Berger)
AI Chatbots are Evil by Marc Barnes
More on what we recommend on Catholic Social Teaching and Natural Law in general:
Whether the intellect is a power of the soul? Thomas Aquinas, The Summa Theologiae
Divini Illius Magistri, encyclical on Christian education, Pius XI (1929); good overview of “the three societies” of flourishing human life.
Reclaiming Catholic Social Teaching by Anthony Esolen (affiliate link)
Knowledge and Decisions, by Thomas Sowell (affiliate link)
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59 min
May 22 SCOTUS and the abortion pill; Pope Leo and AI
Show Notes:
Abortion Drug Makers Admit They Care About Money, Not Women by Jordan Boyd
On Application for Stay: GENBIOPRO, INC. v. LOUISIANA, ET AL.
Why the Left lies about Amber Thurmon by Leila M. Lawler (survey of the black box warnings on the abortion pill ingredients)
The importance of Pope Leo’s first encyclical by Phil Lawler
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59 min
May 15 The SSPX and "the State of Necessity"; Daycare's deceptions; a 250th book for all
Show Notes:
The SSPX, the German bishops, and the parable of the two sons by Phil Lawler
How A Feminist Info Op Convinced Moms To Leave Their Babies With Strangers Every Day by Leila M. Lawler (The Federalist)
The government’s war on romance by Phil Lawler
The American Book of Fables (affiliate link) — beautiful hardcover book, almost 400 pages, written by Matt Mehan and illustrated by John Folley (our son-in-law). If you are interested at all in this book, consider pre-ordering or ordering on the 19th! Doing so greatly increases the visibility. It would make a fantastic Father’s Day gift! Thank you!
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53 min
May 08 How to think about the origins of the cosmos
Show Notes:
The Story of Everything, a documentary - “The Story of Everything takes us on a journey into the origins of humanity and the cosmos, illuminating mankind’s most important scientific discoveries and revealing that everything has been created by a designer.”
Leila’s post about Michael Knowles’ interview with Stephen C. Meyer
More in-depth information about the origins of the universe and Intelligent Design
Vestige of Eden, Image of Eternity: Common Experience, the Hierarchy of Being, and Modern Science, by Daniel Toma, Department of Biological Sciences at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He earned a PhD in behavioral genetics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The Intelligent Universe by Fred Hoyle (affiliate link)
Darwin’s House of Cards: A Journalist’s Odyssey Through the Darwin Debates by Tom Bethell (affiliate link)
Andrew Schmiedicke’s Substack (Genesis as history)
The American Civil War: A Military History by John Keegan (affiliate link)
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49 min
May 01 Phil on the US-UK-Vatican "Special Relationship"; Leila: surrogacy is evil and already illegal; bees & books!
The ‘special relationships’ built on pretense (Phil for CatholicCulture)
Pope receives Anglican primate, calls for removal of stumbling blocks to Christian unity
The Vatican’s Feting of the First Female Archbishop of Canterbury
Shawn McAnally’s viral video: “There’s no Mama”
A warranty on your purchase (of a baby) — not dystopia but reality
Nancy Mace’s bill in the Senate: Protecting Children in Surrogacy (from sex offenders — this is not currently forbidden)
Surrogacy is Already Illegal by Josh Wood, First Things
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57 min
April 24 Are we still on Flight 93; Measles; Democrats, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and you
Show Notes:
The Flight 93 Election by Publius Decius Mus (Michael Anton) The Claremont Review
Aaron Siri on the new CDC director
Southern Poverty Law Center
FBI Director Patel and Acting AG Blanche Hold News Conference (C-Span coverage of press conference)
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49 min
April 17 President Trump v. Pope Leo; Dumbarton Oaks and Beverley Nichols
Show Notes:
Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo (Truth Social)
Who started the Trump ‘feud’ with the Pope? by Phil Lawler
Trump’s own derangement by Phil Lawler
Trump’s Blasphemy Is a Warning (Ross Douthat) (archived here)
Blasphemy is not just a Trump Thing
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz has openly announced that Israeli forces are going to wipe out civilian homes in areas of Lebanon bordering Israel and occupy the Litani area
Dumbarton Oaks
Down the Garden Path by Beverley Nichols (I recommend these older editions for the nostalgic cover art)
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42 min
April 10 How Boston's forced desegregation busing led to nationwide judicial tyranny today; Easter conversion trends analyzed; and more!
Show Notes:
Brown v. Board of Education
Is the Constitution Colorblind? by Edward J. Erler, Co-Author, The Founders on Citizenship and Immigration
Minority Schools and the Politics of Education by Thomas Sowell
Judicial Hubris by David Lewis Schaefer
Policy Brief: The Threat of Judicial Tyranny Is Far from Over by Ken Cuccinelli
Adult conversions soar in dioceses across U.S. (National Catholic Register)
Roman Catholic Churches See a Surge of New Converts (New York Times)
America’s new Catholics, by the numbers (Brendan Hodge, The Pillar)Catholic
Church should focus on getting ‘nones’ back, Bishop Barron says
The Symbolism of the Christian Temple by Jean Hani (affiliate link)
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43 min
April 03 Supreme Court free speech cases you haven't heard of; the death of infamous abortionist, Kermit Gosnell; playing bridge with our grandchildren
Show Notes:
NCLA Reaches Historic Settlement, Strikes Major Blow Against Government’s Social Media Censorship
In Historic Settlement, NCLA Strikes Fatal Blow to State Department’s Censorship Industrial Complex
America’s Most Infamous Serial Baby Killer Kermit Gosnell Dead At 85
Sins of omission: The Kermit Gosnell defenses the press dared not mention by Tim Carney (archive version)
New York Times obituary for Kermit Gosnell (archive version)
Kermit Gosnell Grand Jury Report
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51 min
March 27 Interview: Katy Faust on why the "Same Sex Marriage" Obergefell ruling must -- and can -- be overturned
Show Notes:
Them Before Us
Greater Than
You think you are just for helping the infertile? Read this:
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51 min

About The Home Front

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Leila and Phil Lawler have been talking to each other about everything for almost 50 years. Join as they discuss every aspect of the battle on the home front.