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The Thomistic Institute
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The Thomistic Institute exists to promote Catholic truth in our contemporary world by strengthening the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, in the Church, and in the wider public square. The thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Universal Doctor of the Church, is our touchstone.
The Thomistic Institute Podcast features the lectures and talks from our conferences, campus chapters events, intellectual retreats, livestream events, and much more.
Founded in 2009, the Thomistic Institute is part of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC.
63episodes
Episodes
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Life to the Full: Are You Surviving or Thriving? – Sr. Mary Madeline Todd, O.P.
6d ago00:51:39Tap to summarizeSr. Mary Madeline Todd argues that Christ calls us not merely to survive but to thrive, and that “life to the full” comes through meaning, suffering united to love, disciplined commitment, wonder, prayer, and sacramental life.This lecture was given on March 27th, 2026, at University of South Alabama.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:Sister Mary Madeline Todd, O.P., a Dominican Sister of the Congregation of Saint Cecilia, has spent over three decades joyfully living consecrated life and sharing the teaching ministry of Christ. After completing a master’s degree in English at the University of Memphis and in theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Sister was blessed to study in Rome, earning her doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. Sister Mary Madeline speaks and writes on spiritual and moral theology. She currently teaches theology at Aquinas College in Nashville, where she finds joy in helping the next generation discover the liberating freedom of who they are in Christ.Keywords: Acedia, Beauty, Boredom, Eucharist, Fatigue, Fullness of Life, Meaning, Prayer, Suffering, Wonder
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Science, Reason... and Beyond – Prof. Alexander Pruss
1w ago00:53:55Tap to summarizeProf. Alexander Pruss argues that science is powerful but limited, because it depends on presuppositions about logic, rationality, uniformity of nature, and value judgments that science itself cannot justify, and because human fulfillment ultimately points beyond reason to faith in an infinite being.This lecture was given on April 14th, 2026, at Florida State University.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:Alexander Pruss is professor of philosophy at Baylor University. He has two PhDs, one in mathematics and one in philosophy, and does research in metaphysics, philosophy of religion, ethics, epistemology, philosophy of science and philosophy of mathematics. Much of his work is centered on showing how pretty much everything in reality points to the existence of God. His books include The Principle of Sufficient Reason, Infinity, Paradox, and Causation, and One Body: An Essay in Christian Sexual Ethics. In his spare time, Pruss engages in a variety of hobbies including electronics, software development, and indoor rock climbing where he recently got two Guinness World Records.Keywords: Aristotle, Faith, Happiness, Human Nature, Infinity, Logic, Rationality, Science, Uniformity of Nature, Ultimate Origins
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Aquinas and Catholic Theology – Prof. Gaven Kerr
1w ago00:45:01Tap to summarizeProf. Gaven Kerr argues that Aquinas is central to Catholic theology because Thomas provides the systematic, deductive, and scripturally grounded framework needed to articulate doctrine about God, Trinity, and salvation.This lecture was given on March 26th, 2026, at Maynooth University.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:Gaven Kerr is a married father of three and a third order Dominican. He has degrees in scholastic philosophy and philosophy from Queen’s University Belfast: BA, MPhil, and PhD. His doctoral research was on the thought of Thomas Aquinas and Immanuel Kant. Gaven’s research focuses on the thought of St Thomas Aquinas and his connection with other important thinkers in the history of philosophy and theology. He has published articles in the Thomist, the American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, International Philosophical Quarterly, Journal of Philosophical Research, Yearbook of the Irish Philosophical Society. Gaven has two books with Oxford University Press. The first was published in 2015, Aquinas’s Way to God, and it dealt with Aquinas’s proof of God in the De Ente et Essentia. His second book which is due out later this year is on Aquinas and the metaphysics of creation. Gaven has taught philosophy at Queen’s University Belfast, St. Malachy’s Seminary Belfast, and Maynooth University. He has taught at Mary Immaculate College Limerick. He currently teaches philosophy at St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth.Keywords: Aquinas, Catholic Theology, Divine Simplicity, Dogmatic Theology, Fides et Ratio, Scriptural Interpretation, Sacramental Causality, Trinity, Theology as Science, Thomism
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Diagnosing Dignity in the Era of AI – Prof. Paul Scherz
1w ago00:44:06Tap to summarizeProf. Paul Scherz argues that AI-driven precision medicine and genetic risk prediction can undermine human dignity by turning health into an endless management of risk, increasing anxiety, weakening prudence, and subordinating both patients and clinicians to institutional control.This lecture was given on March 26th, 2026, at New York University.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:Paul Scherz is the Our Lady of Guadalupe Professor of Theology. His work examines the intersection of theology, science, medicine, and technology. His interests in ethics center on the role of virtue ethics, especially Stoic virtue ethics, in moral theology. He has published articles on many topics in bioethics, such as human enhancement, genetic technology, and end of life ethics. His books analyze issues like the moral formation of scientists, the role of risk in contemporary practical reason, the ethics of precision medicine, and the ethics of artificial intelligence.He began his career in science with a BA in molecular and cell biology from UC Berkeley (2001), a PhD in genetics from Harvard (2005), and a postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF. He then received an MTS and a PhD in moral theology from the University of Notre Dame (2010, 2014). His previous teaching positions were at the Catholic University of America and the University of Virginia. He is currently working on projects on the ethics of artificial intelligence and the historical influence of Stoicism on moral theology.Keywords: AI, Automation Bias, Clinical Judgment, Dignity, Explainable AI, Genetic Risk, Precision Medicine, Prudence, Risk Reduction, Surveillance Capitalism
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The Idea of a University – Prof. Raymond Hain
1w ago00:41:07Tap to summarizeProf. Raymond Hain presents John Henry Newman’s Idea of a University as a powerful defense of liberal education, arguing that a university should include theology because all knowledge forms one interconnected whole, yet also insisting that intellectual excellence is not the same as moral holiness.This lecture was given on March 26th, 2026, at University of Alabama.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:Raymond Hain is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Associate Director of the Humanities Program at Providence College in Providence, RI. Educated at Christendom College, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Oxford, he is the founder of the PC Humanities Forum and Humanities Reading Seminars and is responsible for the strategic development of the Humanities Program into a vibrant, world class center of teaching, research, and cultural life dedicated to the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. His scholarly interests include the history of ethics (especially St. Thomas Aquinas), applied ethics (especially medical ethics and the ethics of architecture), Alexis de Tocqueville, and philosophy and literature (especially Catholic aesthetics). His work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Templeton Foundation, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Charles Koch Foundation. His essays have appeared in various journals and collections including The Thomist, International Journal of Applied Philosophy, and The Anthem Companion to Tocqueville. He is the editor of Beyond the Self: Virtue Ethics and the Problem of Culture and is currently working on a monograph titled The Lover and the Prophet: An Essay in Catholic Aesthetics. He joined Providence College in 2011 and lives just across the street with his wife Dominique and their five children.Keywords: Education, Intellectual Formation, John Henry Newman, Knowledge, Liberal Education, St. Philip Neri, Theology, Theology in the Curriculum, University, Virtue, Whole of Knowledge
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Does Vatican II Permit a Hermeneutic of Rupture? – Prof. Christopher Malloy
2w ago00:46:09Tap to summarizeProf. Christopher Malloy argues that Vatican II does not permit a hermeneutic of rupture but demands one of continuity and reform, as Benedict XVI taught, rejecting both progressive over-spiritualization and traditionalist rejection of post-conciliar developments.This lecture was given on March 24th, 2026, at Franciscan University of Steubenville.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:Christopher J. Malloy is married to Flory with whom he has seven children. He earned his B.A. in Theology (second major in Philosophy) from the University of Notre Dame in 1992. He earned his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology (minor in Philosophy) from The Catholic University of America in 2001. Since then he has taught at The University of Dallas, where he currently serves as Professor and Chair of Theology. He has published three books: Engrafted into Christ: A Critique of the Joint Declaration [on Justification], Aquinas on Beatific Charity and the Problem of Love, and False Mercy: Recent Heresies Distorting Catholic Truth. He has published numerous blind peer-reviewed articles for journals such as The Thomist, Nova et Vetera, Freiburger Zeitschrift für Philosophie und Theologie, Josephinum, Angelicum, etc. He loves academia, especially publishing and teaching systematic theology, but he has always been fired up to give popular presentations highlighting the intelligibility and beauty of the Catholic faith, since that was the reason he got into Theology in the first place. Keywords: Benedict XVI, Continuity, Dei Verbum, Dignitatis Humanae, Hermeneutic of Rupture, Inerrancy, Lumen Gentium, Religious Freedom, Vatican II Reception
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Like Soul to Body?: The Church's Developing Understanding of Her Relation to the State – Fr. Brad Elliott, O.P.
2w ago01:03:21Tap to summarizeFr. Brad Elliott traces the Church's evolving use of the soul-body metaphor for her relation to the state, purifying it in modern social teaching to affirm the Church as a distinct perfect society ordered to supernatural ends while leavening the temporal order.This lecture was given on March 24th, 2026, at Cornell University.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:Fr. Brad Elliott was raised in Dayton Ohio and studied Jazz percussion at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. After being raised as a Missouri Synod Lutheran he entered the Catholic Church in 2002.After moving to California, Fr. Brad became an active, performing musician, with a reputation as a highly sought after drummer on the international scene. Working in Los Angeles, CA, he performed and recorded various styles of modern music from Rock to jazz and big band. During his time in Los Angeles he performed and toured extensively with artists such as Annie Stela and Brie Larson.After ten years as a professional drum set player and feeling a call to commit himself entirely to Jesus Christ, Fr. Brad chose to leave the music industry and become a Dominican friar within Western Dominican Province. After completing theological studies, he was ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ on June, 22nd 2018 at St. Dominic’s Church in San Francisco, CA.In 2014 Fr. Brad received an MA in philosophy from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley CA. In 2021 he received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. In 2025 he completed a Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC focusing on the role of human craft and participatory governance in the social doctrine of the Church. He is currently a professor of Moral Theology at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, California. He authored the book The Shape of the Artistic Mind published by Pontifex University Press in 2023.Keywords: Bellarmine, Catholic Social Teaching, Common Good, Giles of Rome, Leo XIII, Perfect Society, Pius XI, Societas Perfecta, Soul-Body Metaphor, Two Swords
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Foreigners’ Views on American Secularism: Alexis de Tocqueville, Max Weber, and G.K. Chesterton – Prof. James Nolan
2w ago00:45:42Tap to summarizeProf. James Nolan argues that Tocqueville, Weber, and Chesterton offer contrasting foreign views on American secularism, with Tocqueville and Chesterton seeing religion as essential to democracy and predicting its persistence, while Weber views Protestantism as inevitably fueling disenchantment.This lecture was given on March 23rd, 2026, at New York University.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:Professor James L. Nolan, Jr. is the Washington Gladden 1859 Professor of Sociology at Williams College, where he has been teaching since 1996. Professor Nolan’s teaching and research interests fall within the general areas of law and society, culture, technology and social change, and historical comparative sociology. His most recent book, Atomic Doctors: Conscience and Complicity at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age, was published with Harvard University Press in 2020. His previous books include What They Saw in America: Alexis de Tocqueville, Max Weber, G.K. Chesterton, and Sayyid Qutb (2016); Legal Accents, Legal Borrowing: The International Problem-Solving Court Movement (2009); Reinventing Justice: The American Drug Court Movement (2001); and The Therapeutic State: Justifying Government at Century’s End (1998). He is the recipient of several grants and awards including National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships and a Fulbright scholarship. He has held visiting fellowships at Oxford University, Loughborough University, the University of Notre Dame, Catholic University of America, and Nagasaki Junshin Catholic University.Keywords: American Democracy, Chesterton, Disenchantment, Iron Cage, Protestant Ethic, Religion, Secularization, Second Great Awakening, Tocqueville, Weber
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The Catholic Imagination of Oscar Wilde – Prof. Guiseppe Pezzini
2w ago00:56:46Tap to summarizeProf. Giuseppe Pezzini argues that Oscar Wilde's aestheticism and life journey reveal a Catholic imagination, where art confronts suffering and beauty leads to embracing the full reality of pain, culminating in his final reconciliation with faith.This lecture was given on March 23rd, 2026, at University of Galway.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:Prof. Guiseppe Pezzini is an Associate Professor of Latin Language and Literature at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, specializing in Early Latin (3rd–1st c. BC). A linguist and philologist by training, he explores the period's crucial role in shaping Roman-Greek cultural identity, applying expertise in ancient metre, textual criticism, and digital humanities to his research.His career has included teaching at the University of St Andrews and research fellowships at Magdalen College Oxford and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He studied at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa and earned his D.Phil. from the University of Oxford. From 2010 to 2013, he also served as an Assistant Editor for the Oxford Dictionary of Medieval Latin.Professor Pezzini's interests extend to the classical ancestry of modern English literature. This is seen in his forthcoming monograph, Tolkien and the Mystery of Literary Creation (Cambridge University Press 2025). Other recent and forthcoming books include volumes on Early Latin (Cambridge 2023), Roman Cultural History (Oxford 2025), and an edition and commentary on Terence's Heauton Timorumenos (forthcoming in the Cambridge ‘Orange Series’).Keywords: Aestheticism, Beauty, Conversion, De Profundis, Dorian Gray, Suffering, Happy Prince, Prison, Prophecy, Wounded Humanity
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Catholic Social Teaching: Highlights from the Popes – Prof. James Felak
2w ago00:49:06Tap to summarizeProf. James Felak traces Catholic social teaching from Leo XIII to Francis, showing how the popes defend human dignity, a just wage, solidarity with the poor, subsidiarity, and the balance between rights and duties against both unchecked capitalism and collectivist ideologies.This lecture was given on March 5th, 2026, at University of Washington.For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.About the Speakers:James Felak is a Professor of History and current holder of the Newman Center Term Professorship in Catholic Christianity at the University of Washington. He specializes in Catholicism in East Central Europe and has authored two books on Catholic politics in Slovakia, and a book on Pope John Paul II and his visits to his native Poland during and after Communist rule there. This latter work is based on hundreds of pages of papal speeches and sermons, and the records of the Communist government and secret police as they monitored the Pope during his visits. Besides courses on modern Europe, Felak teaches “The History of Christianity” and “Catholic Classics in Historical Context.” The latter course covers the major Catholic writers and thinkers from St. Augustine and St. Benedict through G. K. Chesterton and Flannery O’Connor. Felak is from southwestern Pennsylvania, received his doctorate from Indiana University, and has resided in Seattle since 1989.Keywords: Catholic Social Teaching, Common Good, Human Dignity, John Paul II, Just Wage, Leo XIII, Rights And Duties, Solidarity, Subsidiarity, Workers
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