Welcome to the Tomistic Institute podcast.

Our mission is to promote the Catholic intellectual tradition in the university, the church, and the wider public square.

The lectures on this podcast are organized by university students at Temistic Institute chapters around the world.

To learn more and to attend these events,

visit us at to mystic institute.org. A few years back, I was at a Catholic event, at which the

organizer had the grand idea of trying to efficiently serve food. So, of course, there is a buffet line. The problem was that the event

was so large that the buffet line itself wrapped around the room seemingly several times.

And I had the fortune or the misfortune of being stuck at a point in the line where the people

in front of me already knew each other, and they were having a conversation.

And there was someone behind me who was very, very socially awkward.

So since I also am socially awkward,

this was an awkward fest.

And what was even more awkward was that the woman behind me

informed me that she was a media studies major.

So I asked her what she did, and her description was something like she watched the news

and paid attention to different forms.

And so I awkwardly said, ah, you dedicate yourself to the news, and I dedicate myself to the olds.

And unlike your response, which is what I was fishing for, she just gave me an awkward stare.

So, because I'm a philosopher, I gave an unasked for explanation. I said, you look for the

newest change. I look for what never changes. More blank stare. And so I thought, all right, well,

I'm on a roll, so I might as well just dig in.

So I said, I've been on a news fast for 18 months.

...