The Thomistic Institute
The Thomistic Institute
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.
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 27, 2026 • 53min
Why Modern Christians Need the Eucharist – Prof. Michael Dauphinais
Michael A. Dauphinais, a Thomistic scholar and professor who studies Aquinas and C.S. Lewis, explains why the Eucharist matters for modern Christians. He explores modernity’s limits, the creed as encounter with Christ, biblical roots in John and Corinthians, early testimony, and Aquinas’s view of the Eucharist as restorative communion with the Trinity.
10 snips
Mar 26, 2026 • 43min
Catholic Doctrine and Judaism – Prof. Gavin D'Costa
Gavin D'Costa, a leading scholar of Catholic‑Jewish relations and theology professor, speaks on how Vatican II reshaped the Church's stance toward Judaism. He covers the council's key texts, the rejection of collective blame, debates over covenant and Jewish identity, tensions around mission and witness, and contemporary challenges like defining antisemitism and interfaith dialogue.
13 snips
Mar 25, 2026 • 45min
Justified by Grace, Works, or Faith? – Prof. Michael Root
Prof. Michael Root, Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology who moved from Lutheranism to Catholicism, explores how grace, faith, hope, love, and works interrelate in salvation. He reframes the faith versus works debate, traces historical arguments, and explains how grace elevates human nature toward a merited destiny while preserving freedom.
Mar 24, 2026 • 59min
Why the Catholic Church Has Priests – Fr. Dominic Langevin, O.P.
Fr. Dominic Langevin, O.P., a Dominican theologian and dean who studies sacraments and liturgy, explains the priesthood as a divinely willed system of mediation. He outlines how ordained ministers bestow divine gifts, lift prayers, and are configured to Christ the High Priest. He traces scriptural and patristic roots, explains why ministers are male, and defends the Church’s ordered pastoral structure.
39 snips
Mar 23, 2026 • 32min
Aquinas on Predestination: The Main Issues – Fr. John Baptist Ku, O.P.
Fr. John Baptist Ku, Dominican priest and Thomistic theologian, unpacks Aquinas’s take on predestination and divine providence. He discusses how God’s universal salvific will, efficacious grace, and real human freedom coexist. He contrasts Catholic single predestination with Calvinist double predestination, critiques Molinist middle knowledge, and explains how contingency expresses divine power.
Mar 20, 2026 • 46min
Immortality and Immateriality – Prof. Thomas Osborne
Thomas M. Osborne Jr., a Thomist scholar and philosophy chair known for work on Aquinas and moral psychology, explores how Aristotle and Aquinas link immaterial intellect to the soul's immortality. He contrasts modern consciousness debates with classical concerns. Short segments examine levels of life, intentional presence in perception, intellect’s universality, and Aquinas’s arguments for an immaterial intellect.
7 snips
Mar 19, 2026 • 44min
Beyond Work and Play: Aristotle on Friendship, Contemplation, and The Value of Human Activity – Prof. Marshall Bierson
Marshall Bierson, assistant professor of philosophy focused on ethics and Thomistic-informed psychological questions. He explores Aristotle’s distinction between work, play, and deeper energetic activities. He highlights why friendship and contemplation uniquely allow us to “rest” in what is truly good. He also shows how Aquinas radicalizes this by making friendship with God central to human fulfillment.
Mar 18, 2026 • 46min
St. Thomas Aquinas on Pleasure and the Good Life – Dr. Erik Dempsey
Dr. Erik Dempsey, scholar of Aristotle and Aquinas and professor of government, classics, and religious studies, explores pleasure as a natural, God-given signal of human ends. He contrasts modern hedonism with genuine delight, explains Aquinas’s distinctions among pleasures and joy, and shows why temperance and virtue are needed to order desire toward the good.
12 snips
Mar 17, 2026 • 53min
Suffering and the Communion of Saints – Prof. Timothy O'Connor
Timothy O'Connor, Mahlon Powell Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science at Indiana University, explores why an all-loving God permits horrendous suffering. He contrasts theoretical and pastoral approaches and examines Stump and Adams on narrative, postmortem meaning, freedom, and divine love. He ends by considering how the communion of saints might integrate diverse sufferings into a shared eternal union with God.
13 snips
Mar 16, 2026 • 52min
Friendship: The Art of Striving and Thriving Together – Sr. Mary Madeline Todd, O.P.
Sr. Mary Madeline Todd, O.P., a Dominican theologian and teacher with a doctorate in Sacred Theology, explores friendship through Aristotle and Aquinas. She discusses types of friendship, virtuous mutuality, benevolence as willing another's good, sacrifice, shared life and conversation, and how prayer and communion with Christ transform and deepen human bonds.
