That's So Second Millennium

Leo - Episode P2 Artwork: by Francesco Solimena - Web Gallery of Art: Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15398079 This is hopefully a placeholder awaiting Bill's contribution. In this episode: Pope St. Leo I "The Great" 440-461 - of the Tome and the pacification of Attila the Hun Pope St. Leo II 682-3 Pope St. Leo III 795-816 - who crowned Charlemagne in 800 Pope St. Leo IV 847-853 Pope Leo V 903? Pope Leo VI 928-9 Pope Leo VII 936-9 Pope Leo VIII 964-5 Pope Leo IX (Bruno) 1049-54 - early reformer in an era of simony and clerical incontinence Pope Leo X (Giovanni de Medici) 1513-1521 - Renaissance pope at the time of Luther Pope Leo XI (Alessandro de Medici) 1605 Pope Leo XII (Annibale della Genga) 1823-1829 Pope Leo XIII (Gioacchino Pecci) 1878-1903 - Author of Rerum Novarum Please pardon the awkward insertion of "from Irenaeus of" [Lyon] into the episode toward the end...I had originally, mistakenly, called him Ignatius...and a few oddly timed pauses where I took the opportunity to blank out some even more excessive than usual "uhs". I miss podcasting and being in the classroom to keep me sharper on my speaking skills!

Dr. Paul Giesting and Bill Schmitt welcome listeners back for new episodes of our “legacy” podcast, “That’s So Second Millennium.” See below for biographies. Check out our archived episodes: That's So Second Millennium Here’s a chronological list of popes. For context in this episode, start with Pope Leo XIII (#256) and look through the 20th century for Popes Pius X, XI, and XII. (Please forgive a couple of small historical and mathematical mistakes--at one point Paul says something amounting to 5+7 make 11 or 4+7 make 12.) What’s in a name? Paul has developed a sports-inspired bracket for papal names and their likelihood, with 64 possibilities. We'll digitize it and post it in connection with the next episode. The Mad MonarchistPope Leo XIV conforms with Paul’s bracket prediction of the “top seed”: With the passing of Pope Francis, Leo was the most likely name to be chosen. Scholars have called the 1660-1836 period as “the long 18th century” in English literature. They point to a “long 19th century” between 1750 and 1914. Here’s one take on why Cardinal Robert Prevost chose Leo as his papal name. Leo is now the fourth-most common papal name in history along with Clement. The only more popular names are John, Benedict, and Gregory. Would you like to read the book—Their Name is Pius—that Paul read in his youth? Amazon says it doesn’t come cheap. You can also read Eamon Duffy’s The Stripping of the Altars. Pope Leo XIV has called for a new Rerum Novarum, according to the Aleteia news site. Here’s the bio of St. Francis Xavier, missionary and one of the original seven Jesuits. Yes, there was a Pope Lando, reigning in the years 913-914. Pope Julius I, a canonized saint, reigned in 337-352. Updated bio of Bill Schmitt: Bill Schmitt is a journalist, educator, and marketing communications specialist who has been an adjunct professor of English and media at several schools, most recently Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, IN. He served on the communications staff of the University of Notre Dame from 2003 to 2017, managing many projects and joining in a wide range of multimedia, interdisciplinary collaborations. Since then, his freelance work has included feature-writing, editing, podcasting, and blogging, with much of his work centered on the Catholic faith. Bill holds a BA from Fordham University and an MPA from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. Find his work at billschmitt.substack.com, OnWord.net, and billschmitt-onword on Linked-In.

Paul felt it was important to put Daniel's book title in the episode title, but Bill's suggested title is too good not to place somewhere: TSSM: NEW BOOK EXPLORES MEANING IN MOTION Paul GiestingWyoming Catholic CollegeDr. Daniel Shieldsavailable for purchase here“TSSM” podcastBill SchmittDr. Robert C. KoonsSt. Thomas Aquinasproofs for the existence of GodMaimonidesHelmholtzBrother Guy Consolmagno, SJSean Carroll

archived and accessibleSociety of Catholic Scientists“We Didn’t Start the Fire”“Sing God a Simple Song”Wyoming Catholic CollegeHoly Cross CollegePaul’s background in teaching, consulting, and public serviceBill’s life as writer-editor, broadcaster-blogger, and author.

Paul Seungoh ChungGod at the Crossroads of Worldviews: Toward a Different Debate about the Existence of Goda podcast, “What Do You Mean God Speaks?”Fuller Theological SeminaryAlasdair MacIntyreThomas KuhnStephen Hawking

This month's episode focuses on the psychology of emotions and the need to respect them. On the one hand we do not want to be controlled by negative emotions, but on the other, we cannot simply will them away. Further, we need positive emotions in order to live rich and loving lives; we cannot simply force our way forward forever. Not respecting our emotions leads them to hijack us in many ways. A notable example is compulsive behavior or obsessions. The extreme versions of these we call addictions. Matthew and Chantal developed their emotional fitness practice in order to reach people across a variety of cultural and economic backgrounds in South Africa, children in particular. Learn more about Matthew and Chantal's work at 5th Place. Note: Paul received a one month access pass to the 5th Place class on emotional fitness prior to recording this episode. Nothing else of monetary value was exchanged.

For August Paul interviewed Scott Gazzoli of the Causing the Effect podcast. He's a wealth manager in Brooklyn who has been through a long and harsh spiritual journey. We touch on fitness and the psychology of achievement and spend the most time talking about the deceptiveness of material goals--money, sex, physical pleasure--how spiritually and psychologically they turn out to be deceptive and destructive. Be sure to check out: Scott: Causing the Effect Podcast, on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram Our interview Scott's recommended read, Mindfulness in Plain English

Matt Swaim is the co-host of the Son Rise Morning Show, heard Monday through Friday 6-8 am on hundreds of stations in the nationwide EWTN Catholic radio network. He is also the outreach manager for the Coming Home Network, an apostolate that helps non-Catholic Christians who desire to learn more about, and consider entrance into, the Catholic Church. He co-hosts a podcast, “On the Journey,” for that organization. Paul and Bill talked with Matt largely about the challenges in understanding, and then catechizing and evangelizing about, the Real Presence of Christ’s body and blood, soul and divinity. It is this Eucharist, into which Catholics believe the bread and wine at Mass have been transubstantiated. Bill also has gotten to know Matt by being interviewed on the Son Rise show, and the two share an interest in media criticism on communication about religion. More generally, they discuss communication which uses symbolic language and sometimes loses touch with important truths. Matt has written a book that deals with these topics. Prayer in the Digital Age, was published by Ligouri Press in 2011. Bill has written a book on related topics. When Headlines Hurt: Do We Have a Prayer? was published in 2018. The topics of the Eucharistic and symbolism vs. the Real Presence became especially timely this year when the US Conference of Catholic Bishops initiated a “National Eucharistic Revival.” The bishops were reacting, in part, to national survey findings that only about one-third of American Catholics believe the Eucharist is the real body and blood of Jesus Christ, rather than a symbol. Survey findings came from the Pew Research Center, and Bill wrote about those findings recently for The Tablet, the newspaper of the Diocese of Brooklyn, NY. Matt made reference to the Latin maxim, Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi. He also referred to the “milkshake duck” meme and how it ties in with digital media culture. This savvy media analyst also made references to The Dark Knight and to the Hollywood films constituting “the Marvel universe” of comic book superheroes.

Louis AlbarranNican Mopohua.Thank You, St. Jude St. Jude by Brian SetzerMaking Culture“Saints and Scholars”Peter KreeftChristopher BaglowMoreau College InitiativeWilliam CavanaughPeter KreeftAldous Huxley

Quick hit running down the SCS Conference for 2022 at Mundelein Seminary outside Chicago. The conference theme was the environment. Info on the conferenceSCS YouTube channel with videos of talksLink to the slides for Paul's talk on uranium and nuclear power

The Catholic World Report wrote in a 2021 profileFather Benedict GroeschelGood Counselin Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization

In this episode, Paul and Bill situate themselves geographically, updating each other on their latest activities and changes in locale. Paul is on a medical mission to Billings, Montana, at the moment. Bill has moved from South Bend, where he was an adjunct professor at Holy Cross College, to Troy, NY, the hometown of his wife. Uranium mining is on Paul’s mind during his brief departure from Wyoming Catholic College in the small town of Lander. As a PhD geologist, Paul will make a presentation on the modern-day considerations of uranium mining and nuclear power at the 2022 conference of the Society of Catholic Scientists. The conference will be held on the first weekend of June at Mundelein Seminary near Chicago. (Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ, a consecrated brother in the Jesuits and a distinguished astronomer, will be honored by the SCS this year with its St. Albert the Great Award.) The inconveniences of uranium, says Paul, who has studied it since his graduate studies at the University of Notre Dame, stem from its undeniable value for power generation—and some characteristics he described as compellingly “weird.” He takes us on a professor’s tour of the periodic table and the uranium mining regions near his campus. Kazakhstan and Russia are key sources of uranium. In-situ leaching is a growing source for uranium elsewhere in the world, including in the US. Every state regulates uranium and any mining activities. For example, Texas has a Commission on Environmental Quality. There is a complex history of regulation of uranium and nuclear energy at both the state and federal levels. Paul referred to Bill’s membership in the international Secular Franciscan Order. Paul offers a survey of opinions and alternatives in energy policy for the Earth. For a very recent and well-informed video treatment of sustainable energy choices for the future, see “Can We Cool the Planet?” at PBS’s NOVA series website. India is probing possibilities for thorium as a source of nuclear energy. China is staking much of its energy future on nuclear power. In the US and elsewhere, politicians must get more serious about addressing crucial, conflict-ridden challenges, such as the storage and reprocessing of uranium. A note: Paul recommends the episodes on Nietzsche and Epicurean philosophy from the “Food 4 Thought” podcast, presented by Jonathan Kutz, which covers philosophy and science from Christian perspective. It’s a natural for fans of “That’s So Second Millennium.” You can access “Food 4 Thought” on several platforms, including Anchor and Audible. Cover photo: Yellow needle-like crystals of studtite ([(UO2)(O2)(H2O)2] · H2O) on flat orange crystals of becquerelite (Ca(UO2)6O4(OH)6 · 8H2O). Ex Gilbert Gauthier, via Adriana & Renato Pagano. Collection and photo by Gianfranco Ciccolini, as seen at mindat.org.

Darcia Narvaezpersonal websiteNeurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture, and Wisdomsummary of the bookBenedict XVI Vatican Foundationorgevolvednest.orgher blogs, including one she writes for Psychology TodayPaul and Bill have interviewed Darcia Narvaez previously in episodes 55-56 and 96.

As the emcee noted at a concert here in Lander, a Musical History Tour, the Renaissance--the period when Europe revived its intellectual life by re-evaluating the writings of the Hellenistic past--ends around the year 1600, give or take. By that time, the focus had shifted toward going beyond the ancients instead of merely revisiting their achievements. This shift in focus happened on a different schedule in different fields, to be certain. Music may have been well ahead of the ancients already in the high medieval period. The Scholastics, and indeed their Arabian predecessors, while firmly rooted in Aristotle and the Neoplatonists, were already progressing beyond those foundations in the thirteenth century. On the other hand, painting and sculpture may not have outstripped the Greeks and Romans until the nineteenth century. In any case, the seventeenth century would be the one in which Greek mathematics and Aristotelian natural philosophy gave way precipitously to new approaches. Algebra, lurking in the background of Greek thought and poking its head above the canopy in Arabian and Italian mathematics, would finally spawn analytic geometry and calculus. The focus and methods of natural philosophy would shift in many ways, including the use of mathematics and a great increase in the number of people collecting observations and conducting experiments and discussing their results with others. The existing sciences of astronomy, mechanics, botany, and zoology would be transformed, and chemistry and geology would be born outright. Inventions like the telescope and microscope would begin to reveal unsuspected layers of richness in the universe. -Bacon: bio and politics -The Reformation had to attack Scholastic *theology* but the universities continued to be heavily Aristotelian -Aristotle and the distinction between philosophy and science that would be inverted by the 19th century -Aristotle's focus on deduction and Bacon's polemical critique of the syllogism: "The New Organon" -The role of induction and statistical reasoning; Bacon's blind spot for mathematics and his tables Image: Francis Bacon by Paul van Somer, courtesy Wikimedia (By Paul van Somer I - pl.pinterest.com, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19958108)

Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers (deaconharold.com) is a Catholic deacon and public speaker. Bill and I had the privilege of interviewing him earlier this month. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers is one of the most incisive and authentic Catholic speakers and authors who have arisen to serve the New Evangelization, including an outreach to the younger generations who hunger to combine secular reality and meaningful Church values. Paul and Bill know Deacon Harold through our connections to the University of Notre Dame. But the Deacon’s reputation has spread internationally; as a scholar and a presenter nicknamed “the Dynamic Deacon,” he offers large groups from many backgrounds fresh resources for spiritual renewal, including the refreshment of male spirituality. This topic is masterfully addressed in his book, Behold the Man. Deacon Harold has appeared frequently on the EWTN Catholic radio and television networks. Recently, he took part in a discussion on racism and Catholic responses in an episode of the “Franciscan University Presents” program. A number of other books authored by Deacon Burke-Sivers over the years can be found here.

the Magis CenterFather Spitzer’s biographyauthorship of numerous bookscomPurposefulUniverse.comHealing the CultureNew Proofs for the Existence of GodJohn 6:30-52“Father Spitzer’s Universe.”

David Seitz, OFS, is a long-time professed member of the Secular Franciscan Order who holds an M.A. in theology from Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit. He has written a book, available on line, called Come Let Us Worship: Reflections on the Words and Prayers of the Mass. He produces podcasts, videos, blogs, and speaks publicly, offering reflection for spiritual growth based on the life and works of St. Francis of Assisi. Find him at tauministries.com and, on YouTube, look for his nickname, Franciscan Dave. Bill, also a Secular Franciscan, recently appeared on Dave's podcast, and I spoke with Bill about that conversation regarding journalism and virtuous communication. We discuss whether missionaries and scientists are also journalists and the spiritual value of seeking and spreading truth. Be sure to find their original conversation at Dave's site.

Here's our pre-conversation with Matthew Cloud prior to the full interview. In this segment we talk a little bit about the Ubuntu distro, the ubuntu philosophy of computer science, and 4th and 5th generation tools for generating working code to solve computer science problems in the context of Matthew's role connected to a grant for cybersecurity education through Ivy Tech and other schools in several states.

Matthew Cloudcomputer science program at Holy Cross CollegeIvy Techcyberseek.orgNational Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurityhttp://code.org

A solo episode from Paul today inspired by the content of Wyoming Catholic College’s Deductive Reasoning in Science course (SCI 301).