The Tradistae Podcast

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An audio essay by Thomas Hackett which describes the sin of "digital gluttony", analyzes how it is fueled by the late-capitalist "attention economy", and offers some advice on how to escape the technocratic paradigm.

Summary of Advice

Using the Internet Intentionally

Long lock-screen password

Prayers before logging on

Log out of social media, every time

Turn off wifi at appointed times

Sleep away from your phone

Removing Occasions of Sin

Turn screen black and white

Turn off all notifications

Delete Apps

Use productivity blockers

Escaping the Technocratic Paradigm

Good: Switch to a Light Phone (link)

Better: Switch to a Flip Phone (link)

Best: Get rid of your phone!

Sources and Authorities

St Thomas Aquinas on the Vice of Curiosity and the Virtue of Studiousness

Redemptoris Missio (cf. Section 37) | Pope Saint John Paul II 

Laudato Si' (cf. Chapter III) | Pope Francis

Fratelli Tutti (cf. Sections 42-50) | Pope Francis 

Message of Saint JPII on the Internet (2002)

Recommended Readings

The Addiction Problem in Catholic Media | The Lamp

"A Monastic Vice for the Internet Age" | First Things

The Website of Blessed Carlo Acutis 

Fr John Hollowell on Logging Off

The "Phones Are Bad" Animation (by Steve Cutts)

Citations

"Minimized Distraction" (February 2013) | A presentation by Tristan Harris 

"The Binge Breaker" | The Atlantic

Statistics on the Core of the Digital Economy

"The digital economy is becoming ordinary" [i.e. dominating every corner of the physical economy with the technocratic paradigm]

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, by the power of Thy Name, conquer the Internet. Make this new forum of modern communication, forged by warfare and capitalism, a pliant tool of Thy faithful to proclaim Thy Truth and serve the common good of the whole human race; for swords Thou beatest to ploughshares, and spears into sickles (Isaiah 2:4).

Lord Jesus, Fount of Wisdom, restrain our curiosity and draw us out of the flood of information that we may encounter true wisdom in Thee. Teach me the meaning of Thy proverb: "Study wisdom, my son, and make my heart joyful, that thou mayest give an answer to him that reproacheth." (Proverbs 27:11)

Lord Jesus, Word made flesh, ensare the restless evil of my tongue, that I may seek souls in every message and post. Grant me charity, lest I tremble at Thy doctrine: "Whosoever shall say to his brother... Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." (Matthew 5:22)

O Face of Christ, emerge! O Voice of Christ, be heard! Rebuke the winds and calm the sea in this galaxy of sight and sound. By Thy command we wait, to put out nets into the deep, and draw forth what Thou wilt. (Luke 5:4) Amen.

Saint Isidore of Seville, pray for us.Encyclopedist of God, pray for us.Last Scholar of the Ancient World, pray for us.

Saint John Paul II, pray for us.Harbinger of the New Millenium, pray for us.Prophet of the New Evangelization, pray for us.

Blessed Carlo Acutis, pray for us.Eucharistic Programmer, pray for us.Patron of the Internet, pray for us.

Music:

"I Should Probably Go To Bed" | Dan + Shay

"The Smartphone Hour" | Be More Chill 

"Twitter Rap" | Dan Bull

Support Tradistae on Patreon

Thomas Storck is an author who has written on Catholic Social Teaching, distributism, and culture for decades. In this episode, Thomas Hackett interviews Storck about his book An Economics of Justice and Charity: Its Development and Contemporary Relevance (which you can purchase here).

A complete list (with links) of Thomas Storck's writings can be found here.

A few of our favorite Storck articles can be found below:

"The Sin of Usury" | The Josias

"Is the Action Institute a Genuine Expression of Catholic Social Thought" | The Distributist Review 

"Capitalism and Distributism: Definitions and Contrasts" | Faith and Reason

"Justice and Charity: A Review" | The Distributist Review

Thomas discusses the Catholic Economics Roundtable with James and Jacob.

Find the full episode and support the show on patreon.com/tradistae!

An excerpt from Part 2 of our reflection on the 2021 Vigil for an End to Abortion. You can find the full episode on patreon.com/tradistae. Thank you for your support!

Links

Liberation Hymns PDF

The Tablet Article

Catholic News Agency Article 

Event Flyer 

See Tradistae's Pro-Life Easy Essays

March for Life (2020) Reflection, Part 1

March for Life (2020) Reflection, Part 2

Thomas, Monica, Lawrence, Elliot, James, and Luke discuss their time together at the 2021 Vigil for an End to Abortion, where they spent the night in prayer and song on the steps of the Supreme Court. Pictures can be found on the Tradistae twitter. Thank you to everyone else who joined us!

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Links

Liberation Hymns PDF

The Tablet Article

Catholic News Agency Article 

Event Flyer 

See Tradistae's Pro-Life Easy Essays

March for Life (2020) Reflection, Part 1

March for Life (2020) Reflection, Part 2

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Music: "Down by the Riverside" and "Lully, Lulla, Lullay"

This is the first part of the Catholic Economics Roundtable hosted on Michael Lofton's Reason and Theology youtube channel.

Thomas from Tradistae defends distributism; Jose Mena of the Tradinistas defends socialism; Trent Horn defends capitalism.

This is the first part of the Catholic Economics Roundtable hosted on Michael Lofton's Reason and Theology youtube channel.

Thomas from Tradistae defends distributism; Jose Mena of the Tradinistas defends socialism; Trent Horn defends capitalism.

Thomas interviews economist Dr. Levi A. Russell, a fellow at the Leonine Institute, on usury and the "Solidarism" of Pesch, a Jesuit economist.

Resources on Solidarism

Ethics and the National Economy by Heinrich Pesch, S.J.

PDF: The Economics Ideas of Bernard W. Dempsey, S.J.

An Introduction to Pesch's "Solidarism" by Rupert J. Ederer

Ederer's review of The Church and the Market by Thomas Woods

Dr. Russel's review of Trent Horn's anti-socialist book

Episode #26: Interview with Amar Patel

Resources on Usury

Easy Essay: Understanding the Social Sin of Usury

An Introduction to Thomistic Economics | Tradistae

Mentions of Usury in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: § 2269 and § 2449

Brian McCall's "Unprofitable Lending: Modern Credit Regulation and the Lost Theory of Usury"

Zippy Catholic's "Usury FAQ, or money on the Pill"

"Usury and Interest: Correcting Modern Errors" (A policy paper of the Leonine Institute)

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Updates:

Catholic Economics Roundtable (this Saturday Evening)

Flyer

Youtube Link

Vigil for an End to Abortion (January 28th-29th)

Flyer

New Polity Conference (March 19th-20th)

See Schedule and Register Here

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Outro: Easy Terms

In the second half of our episode on the Catholic Worker Zoom Conference of 2020, we talk about the four breakout presentations we attended and conclude with happy news about the progress of Dorothy Day's canonization.

Links

Episode #4: On the Origins of the Catholic Worker Movement

All-night Vigil (March for Life) - Announcement Flyers

The Official Catholic Worker Website

The Forgotten Radical Peter Maurin: Easy Essays from the Catholic Worker (We strongly encourage getting a copy of this book)

"Liturgy and Economics" Class Outline from the Simone Weil House

Go start and/or support a Christ Room!

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To support the work of Tradistae, please leave a review, share with a friend, become a patron on Patreon, and, above all, keep us in your prayers.

In the first half of our episode on the Catholic Worker Zoom Conference of 2020, we talk about the history of such gatherings, the opening presentations, and the small group discussion. 

Links

Episode #4: On the Origins of the Catholic Worker Movement

All-night Vigil (March for Life) - Announcement Flyers

The Official Catholic Worker Website

To support the work of Tradistae, please leave a review, share with a friend, become a patron on Patreon, and, above all, keep us in your prayers.