The Home Front

Show Notes:

Robert Royal’s new book, The Martyrs of the New Millennium: The Global Persecution of Christians in the Twenty-First Century

The Catholic Martyrs of the Twentieth Century: A Comprehensive World History by Robert Royal (affiliate link)

A Hidden Life

See how the legacy media serves up the story: Hospital tells family brain-dead Georgia woman must carry fetus due to abortion ban - NPR; Case of brain-dead pregnant woman kept on life support in Georgia raises tricky questions — AP; Adriana Smith’s case is the latest instance in which Georgia’s six-week abortion ban and its impacts on Black women have raised serious concerns. Louisiana Illuminator

Joe Biden’s “I have cancer” remark

The Leopard Dramatization Series (definitely R-rated with steamy scenes, not for children)

The Demise of the Papal States Was a Gift to the Church by Father Raymond J. de Souza

Do you look forward to our podcast? Please consider supporting our work! Your paid subscription means a lot to us!

Don’t wish to take out a paid subscription just now? We understand!

How about this:

We are so grateful when you share our episodes! Sharing is a great way to support us!

Show Notes:

The first words of the new Pope:

Pope Leo XIV @pontifex “Peace be with you all! This is the first greeting spoken by the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd. I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, and among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world.”

The simple truth of how Leo XIV was elected by Phil Lawler

The Network That Led to Pope Leo XIV’s Election by Giovanni Sadewo

The College of Cardinals Report

Il racconto di Prevost su Bergoglio: "Non andavamo sempre d'accordo" (The future Pope Leo XIV reports on his disagreements with Pope Francis: Google will translate for you.)

Part 2:

Academic “research” into bonkers topics, funded by tax dollars and coming to a hospital near you (if not already there):

Academics Call Pregnancy A Disease by William Briggs

Men Can’t Get Pregnant—No Matter What Yale Says: When academic theory turns pregnancy into performance art, women and science are left behind.

Federal funding for colleges and universities is way more complicated than you might think:

How U.S. colleges are navigating cuts to grants for research after Trump restricts federal funding PBS News

The Nuances and Challenges of Federal Funding for Research — Guest Post by An Academic from William Briggs’ Science Is Not the Answer Substack

St. Hildegard’s Garden: Recipes and Remedies for Healing Body and Soul by Paul Ferris, Foreword by Leila M. Lawler

Do you look forward to our podcast? Please consider supporting our work! Your paid subscription means a lot to us!

Don’t wish to take out a paid subscription just now? We understand!

How about this:

We are so grateful when you share our episodes! Sharing is a great way to support us!

Show Notes:

The TikTok that encapsulates the argument and experience of Mental Load

“Mental Load is a psy-op” by Leila Marie Lawler

New state law in Washington will attack confessional seal Catholic Culture

The Justice Department announces First Amendment investigation into Washington State’s new anti-Catholic law, Senate Bill 5375

Catholics are uneasy… Leila Marie Lawler on X

The Vatican Financial Mess Pope Francis Couldn’t Fix WSJ

ProPublica awarded Pulitzer for falsely framing abortion pill death as result of pro-life law Catholic Vote

Why the Left Lies about Amber Thurman by Leila Marie Lawler

Laurus by Eugene Vodolazkin (affiliate link)

Do you look forward to our podcast? Please consider supporting our work! Your paid subscription means a lot to us!

Don’t wish to take out a paid subscription just now? We understand!

How about this:

We are so grateful when you share our episodes! Sharing is a great way to support us!

Show Notes:

Today we have a lively, wide-ranging conversation about the goings on in Rome, including the background on Cardinal Parolin and the amazing Cardinal Joseph Zen — and much more! Phil’s long experience with such matters shines through this discussion!

New study reveals an adverse event rate 22 times higher than the FDA-approved drug label reports. EPPC

Katy Faust on X

Katy Faust: As of 2025, 11 states and D.C. let minors get abortions without parental consent or notification: AK, CA, CT, IL, ME, MN, NV, NJ, NM, NY, OR, and D.C. No parent required. No warning given. The new #AbortionPill report captures minors who experienced severe complications too.

Do you look forward to our podcast? Please consider supporting our work! Your paid subscription means a lot to us!

Don’t wish to take out a paid subscription just now? We understand!

How about this:

We are so grateful when you share our episodes! Sharing is a great way to support us!

Show Notes:

The death of Pope Francis:

Facts—and fictions—about the papal interregnum; What to do when the conclave comes; The curious background of the Pope’s ‘fixer’ — all by Phil Lawler

The Church After Francis by Arcbishop Charles Chaput

College of Cardinals Report (with profiles and background information on papabili)

The new Pope's #1 priority (Before he can get to all the other disasters) by Leila M. Lawler

The Illinois homeschooling bill, the bishops, and implications for the political battle ahead:

What the Illinois Home Schooling Bill Reveals About Democrats The lack of school choice in the state is fueling the left’s broader assault on educational freedom. By Corey DeAngelis (Wall Street Journal)

Illinois bishops drop opposition to controversial homeschool bill Catholic Vote

Do you look forward to our podcast? Please consider supporting our work! Your paid subscription means a lot to us!

Don’t wish to take out a paid subscription just now? We understand!

How about this:

We are so grateful when you share our episodes! Sharing is a great way to support us!

Show Notes:

Whatever your worst fever dreams/nightmares about in vitro fertilization are, know that it’s already happening. We came for the infertility; we stayed for the brave new world?

IVF must be made illegal. It should be absolutely illegal to conceive a child outside the mother’s womb.

Eugenics:

“This baby was carefully selected as an embryo.” — New York Times

“This vial is made to hold human embryos.” — New York Times

Markets and Uses:

The Future of IVF: The New Normal in Human Reproduction NIH

Infertile people, gay and trans couples yearn for progress on lab-made eggs and sperm NPR

“Spare” living human bodies might provide us with organs for transplantation MIT

An artificial womb could build a bridge to health for premature babies NPR

The Eucharist

Eucharistic Affirmations by Rev. Donald Keefe, SJ

The Eucharist: the ultimate reality by Phil Lawler

Joe Biden Made More Than 600 Grants to Stop ‘Disinformation.’ Donald Trump Now Has a Plan for Them.

Books we’re reading

Peace Like a River by Lief Enger (affiliate link)

Laurus by Eugene Vodolazkin (affiliate link)

Do you look forward to our podcast? Please consider supporting our work! Your paid subscription means a lot to us

Don’t wish to take out a paid subscription just now? We understand!

How about this:

We are so grateful when you share our episodes! Sharing is a great way to support us!

Show Notes:

* The Catholic Role in the American Founding by Phil Lawler; for a fuller picture of the argument, see also an earlier piece on a closely related topic: Has the American Experiment Failed?

* Representatives Luna and Petterson on Proxy Voting in the House. They are as embarrassing to womanhood as they are ignorant of how things are done in Congress.

“Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), both new mothers, spoke against a House rules package provision to block Rep. Luna's discharge petition to bring to the floor a bill she co-sponsored with Rep. Pettersen that would allow new parents in Congress to vote by proxy.”

* Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times by H. W. Brands (affiliate link)

* My Favorite Wife with Cary Grant — There’s something else troublesome about this movie Leila forgot to mention — maybe next week!

* The Parent Trap with Maureen O’Hara and Hayley Mills

* The Parent Trap (remake) with Lindsey Lohan and Denis Quaid

For next week, you might want to read these long pieces in the New York Times about IVF (they are unlocked as of this posting):

This baby was carefully selected as an embryo —

“Sex is for fun, and embryo screening is for babies,” she said in a video she shared on X.

“The testing was meant to look at intellectual disability, not intellectual ability,” Nathan Treff, Genomic Prediction’s chief scientific officer and one of its founders, told me, disputing the idea that parents were looking for supersmart embryos. Intellectual disability, he stressed, is “a medical condition,” and he did not rule out one day offering screening for it again.

— and This vial is made to hold human embryos

Please consider supporting our work! Your paid subscription means a lot to us!

Don’t wish to take out a paid subscription just now? We understand!

How about this:

We are so grateful when you share our episodes! Sharing is a great way to support us!

Show Notes:

Part One

Durango mother accuses [trans] couple of illegally housing her transgender [sic] child

A Man Called Otto

Jon Root on Twitter: The Chosen’s wet dream

And in general, just say no to The Chosen. Christology matters. Reject the false "Jesus” of the Chosen by Leila Miller

How sitcoms helped shape “queer history” — from the perspective of a fan. Note that the “fairness” — i.e. promotion of positive characterizations — is rationalized by “negative” ones.

Part Two

Trump Admin To Defend Catholic Charities In Key SCOTUS Case While Fighting Org In Lower Courts (Daily Caller)

Supreme Court Case: Is Catholic Charities ‘Secular’? (Wall Street Journal editorial)

Wisconsin Denies the Religious Dimensions of Charity (First Things)

Supreme Court Leans Toward Catholic Charity in Tax Case

Phil discusses the Catholic Charities situation further on The World Over with Raymond Arroyo

We Have Ceased to See the Purpose: Essential Speeches of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (The Center for Ethics and Culture Solzhenitsyn Series) (affiliate link)

Part Three

Black Mass in Kansas

Remembering a victory at Harvard: Satan defeated, the Eucharist enthroned

Has the American Experiment Failed? by Phil Lawler — we will talk more about this next week!

Thanks for listening to The Home Front! Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber so you won’t miss an episode!

Don’t wish to take out a paid subscription just now? We understand!

How about this:

We are so grateful when you share our episodes! Sharing is a great way to support us!

Show Notes:

* President Trump: Boasberg should be impeached!

* Wall Street Journal: The Judicial Impeachment Distraction by William McGurn

It isn’t a new problem. In Trump v. Hawaii—the 2018 travel ban case—Justice Clarence Thomas said the court had a constitutional obligation to take on the federal judiciaries’ increasing resort to nationwide injunctions.

“These injunctions did not emerge until a century and a half after the founding,” Justice Thomas wrote. “And they appear to be inconsistent with longstanding limits on equitable relief and the power of Article III courts. If their popularity continues, this court must address their legality.”

More recently, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that he was “stunned” by his colleagues’ decision to reject the Trump administration’s request to force the restoration of foreign aid it had canceled.

“Does a single district-court judge,” he wrote, “who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars?” It’s still a good question.

* A Supreme Court Remedy for Nationwide Injunctions by Elizabeth Price Foley

There is something the justices can do to rein in nationwide injunctions: exercise their authority under the Rules Enabling Act of 1934 to amend the federal rule on injunctions.

The recent outbreak of nationwide injunctions damages our constitutional system. They were almost unheard of before the 1960s. Only 12 were issued against George W. Bush and 19 against Barack Obama during each of their two terms. Joe Biden faced 28. Mr. Trump faced 86 during his first term, almost all issued by Democrat-appointed judges. Two months into his second term, more than 15 have already been issued.

* Newt Gingrich:

“The Chief Justice can defend the court by overruling bad judges before the Executive and Legislative branches start acting against them.”

* Judge Overreaches Amid Latest Lawfare Against Trump:

From the onset, Boasberg failed to recognize his court lacks the jurisdiction to hear this case. Why? The ACLU filed this case in the District of Columbia. The five Venezuelan plaintiffs represented by the ACLU are not detained in D.C., but in New York and Texas. The Supreme Court ruled in Rumsfeld v. Padilla that no court has jurisdiction over a habeas petition unless those filing the petition are detained in the district in which it was filed.

* You don’t have to play with your kids! Your presence is what they want. By Leila M. Lawler

* Prayers from the Ark & The Creatures’ Choir by Carmen Bernos de Gasztold, translated by Rumer Godden, Penguin Books — this is the copy we have.

It is out of print. You can find other editions with other illustrations as well, second hand. You can read it here on the Smithsonian site.

Thanks for listening to The Home Front! Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber so you won’t miss an episode!

Don’t wish to take out a paid subscription just now? We understand!

How about this:

We are so grateful when you share our episodes! Sharing is a great way to support us!

Show Notes:

Vaccine resources — a compilation by Leila — please read before arguing with us!

The Forgotten Triumph: How Public Health, Not Vaccines, Ended the Measles Mortality Crisis — many charts and graphs with explanations about how manipulations can fool you

A must-listen/watch: Parents Of Child In Texas Measles Outbreak Death

The doctor whose treatment should have been used — and is helping other children in West Texas: “Exclusive: ‘Just Normal Doctoring’ — a Texas Doctor’s Eyewitness Report on Measles Outbreak”

The Brownstone Institute’s series on how the Covid panic was perpetrated

The “name begins with an H” rabidly pro-vaccine name Leila blanked on: Dr. Peter Hotez. Update: go here for a long survey of Hotez’s misrepresentation of vaccines and their saftey.

“The Times presents Hotez as a scientist and pediatrician at the Baylor College of Medicine, and in recent years he’s become a leading go-to “expert” for the mainstream media on the topic of vaccines. Undisclosed by the Times is that he’s also a vaccine developer who holds several patents for vaccines against tropical diseases and co-director of the school’s Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. “In 2017, the center entered a partnership with the German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA to advance development of vaccines for tropical diseases (not to be confused with Merck & Co., the US vaccine manufacturer).”

“The center’s purpose, in his own words, is to “secure funding and advance the development of drugs, vaccines, and other health tools . . . that currently the pharmaceutical companies are unable to invest in due to inabilities to promise shareholder returns.” Since pharmaceutical companies view certain proposed vaccine products as an unprofitable venture, the costs are subsidized through “product development partnerships” like Baylor’s. As Hotez explains, a key source of funds is the government, meaning that the costs of vaccine development are being subsidized by the taxpayers.

Another name Leila blanked on: Mark Zuckerberg! Point being, things are still being subjected to the algorithm based on politics. Why should we believe his “admission” about the Biden years? It’s Hard To Take Zuckerberg’s Sudden About-Face On Free Speech Seriously

St. Patrick, meet the Synod on Synodality, by Phil Lawler

The ‘self-referential’ Synod by Phil Lawler

Rearranging the Deck Chairs By Francis X. Maier

Is the Synod Asking the Wrong Questions? (Part I); Is the Synod Asking the Wrong Questions? (Part II of II) by Phil Lawler

The Last Hurrah — great old movie! The book is one of Phil’s favorites. (affiliate link)

Thanks for listening to The Home Front! Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber so you won’t miss an episode!

Don’t wish to take out a paid subscription just now? We understand!

How about this:

We are so grateful when you share our episodes! Sharing is a great way to support us!