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
Feb 19, 2026 • 51min
How to Avoid Being Unhappy: Gluttony and the Proper Place of Food and Alcohol in the Good Life – Prof. W. Scott Cleveland
W. Scott Cleveland, associate professor of Philosophy and Catholic Studies who studies ethics and virtue theory, explores how food and alcohol can shape a flourishing life. He contrasts feasting that builds friendship with forms of gluttony that harm health and relationships. Short, practical guidance on measured drinking, mindful eating, and feasting as communal joy.
20 snips
Feb 18, 2026 • 40min
The Terrible Covenant of Sloth: Boredom and the Resistance of Joy – Dr. R.J. Snell
R. J. Snell, Editor-in-Chief of Public Discourse and director of academic programs at the Witherspoon Institute, is a scholar of Thomistic thought and boredom. He diagnoses student frenzy and modern busyness as sloth, contrasts frantic diversion with committed action, reads Judge Holden as a symbol of refusal, and urges recovery of delight through contemplation, feasting, and Eucharistic receptivity.
Feb 17, 2026 • 38min
Money, Pleasure, Influence and the Key to a Happy Life – Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.
Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P., a Dominican theologian and author, explores why money, pleasure, and influence fail as final ends. He explains human nature, how our faculties point to communion with God, and the role of faith, hope, and charity. Short practical precepts on referring life to God and willing a higher state round out the conversation.
Feb 16, 2026 • 53min
Do We Really Have a Bill of Rights? – Prof. Jerome Foss
Jerome C. Foss, a scholar of Catholic political thought and the U.S. Constitution, appears. He traces English and Lockean roots of American rights and explains why the founders resisted a standalone Bill of Rights. He explores Madison’s political strategy, the Constitution’s integrated limits, and how modern readings shift civic imagination away from communal republicanism.
8 snips
Feb 13, 2026 • 49min
John Henry Newman's Critique of Liberalism: Lessons from the Aristotelian Tradition – Prof. Joshua Hochschild
Prof. Joshua Hochschild, a philosopher and former dean specializing in medieval logic and metaphysics, explores John Henry Newman’s critique of liberalism. He links Newman to Aristotelian ideas about first principles, intellectual virtue, and the illative sense. Listens unpack Newman’s poem and Idea of the University, and shows how faith, reason, and doctrine development interconnect.
Feb 11, 2026 • 50min
The Types of Miracles and the Possibilty of Demonic Miracles – Fr. Anselm Ramelow, O.P.
Fr. Anselm Ramelow, O.P., Dominican philosopher and Thomist scholar, gives a clear tour of how miracles are graded and why only God can do the highest acts. He explains middle and low-level signs, how angels and demons can mimic wonders, and how to discern spiritual origins. The talk also addresses Hume’s critique, Lourdes investigations, and limits on finite spirits.
Feb 10, 2026 • 54min
Fire on the Altar: A Lecture on St. Augustine – Prof. Chad Pecknold
Prof. Chad Pecknold, Catholic theologian and Augustine specialist, offers a sacramental reading of Augustine’s Confessions. He explores the heart as an altar, sin as bad offerings, Monica’s vicarious prayers, the Platonic ascent toward Being, and Christ as the necessary mediator uniting soul and sacrament.
Feb 9, 2026 • 55min
Dominican Mystics of the Rhineland – Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy, O.P.
Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy, O.P., a Dominican priest and Thomistic instructor, guides a tour of Rhineland Dominican mystics. He compares apophatic language and Aquinas, examines Meister Eckhart’s Grund and controversies, and explores Tauler’s scripture-rooted union and Margaret Ebner’s Eucharistic visions. Short, thought-provoking reflections on detachment, mystical ground, and integrating mysticism with Trinitarian theology.
Feb 6, 2026 • 51min
Catholic Women in the Arts & Sciences: An Underappreciated Tradition – Dr. Bronwen McShea
Dr. Bronwen McShea, historian of Catholicism and author with positions at Yale, Princeton, and Columbia, traces a long tradition of learned Catholic women. She highlights medieval convent scholarship, Renaissance patrons and humanists, and early modern women scientists and professors. Short, vivid stories bring overlooked scholars, mystics, and patrons into focus.
Feb 5, 2026 • 51min
The Natural Law Ethics of Killing – Prof. Christopher Tollefsen
Christopher Tollefsen, Professor of Philosophy and Thomistic natural law scholar, explores whether intending the death of an innocent is ever morally permissible. He contrasts Augustine and Aquinas on lying and killing. He explains the doctrine of double effect, intention versus side-effect, self-defense, public authority to use force, and how human dignity informs an absolute prohibition on intending death.
