USCCB Clips

Why do we feel more isolated than ever? How do kids from smaller families have a harder time forming connections later in life? What do people mean when they talk about identity, using phrases like "it's who I really am"? Mary Eberstadt discusses answers to those questions, her new book Adam and Eve After the Pill Revisited, and the unfolding impact of the Sexual Revolution. Later (32:00), Kara joins as we continue our run-up to the Oscars with part 1 of our discussion of CODA, last year's Academy Award Best Picture winner.

Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2023/02/24/ep-108-the-revolutions-aftermath-plus-coda-part-1/

Our coverage of the National Eucharistic Revival continues with Sr. Alicia Torres, managing editor of the Eucharistic Revival's newsletter, who shares how her relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist animates her calling as a Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist. Later (18:45), Kara Bach joins as we attempt to wrap our minds around Everything Everywhere All at Once. This Academy Award front-runner has a lot to say about a lot (as the title might suggest), and we try to separate the googly eyes from the sinister bagels.

Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2023/02/10/ep-107-eucharist-and-vocation-plus-everything-everywhere-all-at-once/

Lucas Koach talks with Aaron Weldon and Todd Scribner about the 2023 International Religious Freedom Summit, and about the USCCB's role in promoting religious freedom around the world.

Kara and Andrew devote an entire episode to Titanic on the 25th anniversary of the film's long run in theaters, which happens to coincide with director James Cameron's new film, Avatar: The Way of Water. The aquatic adventure from 1997 has quite a bit more to offer for reflection on the call to love, however. As is unavoidable when talking about this movie, the conversation gets emotional. 

Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2023/01/27/ep-106-titanic/

We are kicking off the new year with a look at the Eucharistic Revival! Fr. Craig Vasek gives us the scoop on this growing movement to restore faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Then (27:35), Kara Bach joins to talk about Steven Spielberg's Oscar-contending autobiographical family drama, The Fabelmans.

Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2023/01/13/ep-105-eucharistic-revival-plus-the-fabelmans/

We're ending the year by celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Muppet Christmas Carol! Kara and Andrew wax theological about this all-time classic, which builds in surprising ways on Charles Dickens's original 1843 novella. According to this version of Scrooge, love is the only thing sillier than a Merry Christmas. How's that working out for him?

Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2022/12/15/ep-104-the-muppet-christmas-carol/

What did Aquinas say about marriage? How does he reveal the true nature of marriage as we live it out today? Did he get everything right, and if not, how do we approach it now? Fr. Gregory Pine, OP, joins to answer those questions and more! Then, Kara joins (22:30) to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Casablanca and how world events impact the call to love.

Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2022/12/02/ep-103-aquinas-and-casablanca/

Kara and Andrew finally complete their quest to review season 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power! Most of the story is not original to Tolkien and was produced by a company whose practices diverge considerably from the Gospel. So why does the show quote almost directly from scripture and the moral theology of Thomas Aquinas with strange regularity? Why is divine providence hinted at more heavily than in the Lord of the Rings films? What's going on here?

Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2022/11/18/ep-102-the-rings-of-power/

Canavox's Lucas Fennell joins to talk about what we can learn about friendship and its impact on fatherhood, drawing from his years of experience working with teenage boys and incarcerated men. 

Then (25:10), Kara and Andrew finally start their coverage of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Now that season 1 is complete, we can finally talk about it, but will we fit everything into one episode? (No).

Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2022/11/04/ep-101-friends-and-fatherhood-plus-the-rings-of-power/

William McCormick, SJ, discusses his book, The Christian Structure of Politics: On the De Regno of Thomas Aquinas, with Aaron. The book discusses key principles of Catholic political thought, as well as offering a close reading of an important work by St. Thomas Aquinas.