

The Magnificast
The Magnificast
A weekly podcast about Christianity and leftist politics. The Magnificast is hosted by Dean Dettloff and Matt Bernico. Each week's episode focuses on a unique or under-realized aspect of territory between Christianity and politics that no one taught you about in sunday school.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 4, 2023 • 1h 3min
Queer Theology w/ Shannon Kearns & Brian Murphy
Shannon Kearns and Brian Murphy discuss building queer theology through storytelling and community. They explore the transformative potential of queer theology and the importance of amplifying marginalized voices. They navigate public theology, advocating for trans rights and challenging the middle ground. They emphasize the importance of connecting young LGBTQ+ individuals to sacred storytelling and appreciating perspectives on liberation theology.

Feb 25, 2023 • 1h 6min
Give Up the Blockade for Lent
You might have caught it on social media, but we're starting a letter-writing campaign for lent that calls on President Biden and Congressional representatives to remove Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list and to end the US Blockade on Cuba. In this episode, we talk through the lenten practice we're suggesting and giving you the facts about the blockade, the nuts bolts of the legislation that make up the blockade, and what we can do! You can find out letter-writing guide here: https://bit.ly/3YW1bTn “A Sanctioned Crisis” by Joy Gordon at Commonweal- https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/sanctioned-crisisBiden Should Reverse Trump’s Designation of Cuba as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism ” - https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/cuba-state-sponsor-terrorism/Here's the Presbyterian Church's policy on Cuba: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/wp-content/uploads/New-Hopes-and-Realities-in-Cuban-American-Relations-2016-ACSWP.pdf

Feb 18, 2023 • 1h 9min
He Gets Us w/ Josiah Daniels
This week, Josiah Daniels has joined us from the frontlines of the culture war, where he's been reporting on the He Gets Us campaign for Sojourners. In this episode, we talk about the "elite capture" of Jesus, dark money, and the conservative Christian PR machine. Read Josiah's piece here: https://sojo.net/articles/what-he-gets-us-ads-get-wrong-about-jesusListen to Josiah talk about this on NPR: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/11/1156344092/behind-the-he-gets-us-ads-for-jesus-airing-during-the-super-bowl

Feb 12, 2023 • 59min
Praying the Psalms
Dealing with your evangelical past means that sometimes you have to work really hard to recover particular spiritual practices, like praying. In this episode, we talk about learning to pray again through the Psalms. In this conversation, we learn from Ernesto Cardenal's appropriations of the Psalms from his book, Psalms. In this episode, we talked about: Psalms - Ernesto Cardenal Our May 2021 episode Sandino's Nation w/ Stephen Henighan Flights of Victroy - Ernesto Cardinal Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues*Support The Magnificast on Patreon* http://patreon.com/themagnificast *Get Magnificast Merch* https://www.redbubble.com/people/themagnificast/

Feb 4, 2023 • 53min
Dependency Theory
Last week we chatted about development and liberation, this week we're introducing another big idea in that conversation: dependency theory. Dependency theory has fallen out of style lately, but it's still a useful idea for thinking about the relationships between so-called "developing" countries and the imperial core. Get into it with us!
Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong
Outro music by theillogicalspoon
https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues
*Support The Magnificast on Patreon*
http://patreon.com/themagnificast
*Get Magnificast Merch*
https://www.redbubble.com/people/themagnificast/

Jan 28, 2023 • 1h 3min
Development & Liberation
Within the orbit of liberation, there's a closely related term that we've never really talked about on the podcast before: development. What does it mean to be a "developing country?" What is that development toward? To get to the bottom of it, we read a chapter from Gustavo Gutiérrez's A Theology of Liberation to understand why we need liberation, not development.
Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong
Outro music by theillogicalspoon
https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues
*Support The Magnificast on Patreon*
http://patreon.com/themagnificast
*Get Magnificast Merch*
https://www.redbubble.com/people/themagnificast/

Jan 21, 2023 • 1h 5min
Monopoly Capital 2: Two Paul Too Furious
It's time for the second installment of our Monopoly Capital series. In this episode, we talk about the ways monopoly capital reabsorbs all of the surplus it produces in some incredibly frustrating ways!
Here's the MR article we mentioned in the show: https://monthlyreview.org/2016/07/01/surplus-absorption-and-waste-in-neoliberal-monopoly-capitalism/

Jan 13, 2023 • 1h 2min
Monopoly Capital Part 1
Karl Marx is great, but a few things have changed since he wrote capital. Instead of corporations competing against one another, global corporations have gained monopoly power and are able to set prices with little to no competition. In this episode, we're jumping into Paul Baran & Paul Sweezy's Monopoly Capital!
Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong
Outro music by theillogicalspoon
https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues
*Support The Magnificast on Patreon*
http://patreon.com/themagnificast
*Get Magnificast Merch*
https://www.redbubble.com/people/themagnificast/

Jan 7, 2023 • 59min
Special Guest Star Dean Dettloff
Folks, we're bringing 2023 in with a bang. Dean Dettloff, the cohost isn't with us for this one, but don't worry, Dean Dettloff the guest star, is! Tune in (is that what you do with podcasts?) and listen to us chat about Dean's trip to Cuba and what it means for us as Christians in the United States.
Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong
Outro music by theillogicalspoon
https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues
*Support The Magnificast on Patreon*
http://patreon.com/themagnificast
*Get Magnificast Merch*
https://www.redbubble.com/people/themagnificast/

Dec 31, 2022 • 53min
Magnificast Classic: An Uneasy Solidarity
Folks, the holidays wiped us out! We'll be back in the new year with the hot content you crave. Until then, check out this classic episode about David Roediger's essay Making Solidarity Uneasy.
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One of the big motivating ideas on the left is solidarity. But, what does that really mean? In this episode, Matt and Dean talk through David Roediger's essay Making Solidarity Uneasy: Cautions on a Keyword from Black Lives Matter to the Past.
Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong
Outro music by theillogicalspoon
https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues
*Support The Magnificast on Patreon*
http://patreon.com/themagnificast
*Get Magnificast Merch*
https://www.redbubble.com/people/themagnificast/


