Best Renovatio Podcasts (2024)

1
What is the Write Way to Read? 39:56

2d ago39:56

39:56

Does reading help you think if you write your thoughts about what you’re reading? What’s the difference between writing books about books, and writing books drawn from one’s own experiences? Such questions relate to matters that are both practical and philosophical. In this episode of our podcast, Safir Ahmed, editor of Renovatio, interviews philos…

1
Who Gets to Define Islam? with Caner Dagli 40:27

31m ago40:27

40:27

Who is better placed to say what Islam is: the academic from the “outside” or the practitioner from “within”? In this episode of the Renovatio podcast, Ubaydullah Evans interviews Caner Dagli, a scholar of Islamic Studies, to explore the surprisingly elusive answer to the question: “Who gets to define Islam?” As an academic, Dagli critiques the app…

1
The Limits of Aggression 35:08

2M ago35:08

35:08

Asma Afsaruddin argues that jihad (martial engagement) as articulated in the Qur’an and by numerous classical Muslim scholars is primarily defensive in nature. The crux of her argument relies on relevant verses from the Qur’an and prominent Sunni exegetes such as Ibn Abbas, Mujahib ibn Jabbar, and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi. These commentators, writes As…

1
The Trouble with Consciousness (Mark Delp and Esme Partridge) 37:59

3M ago37:59

37:59

By Renovatio

1
We Are Not Our Brain (Muhammad Faruque and Esme Partridge) 34:04

3M ago34:04

34:04

Modern science identifies the self with the brain, but this materialist conception of the self is wholly insufficient.By Renovatio

1
The Ancient Roots of Transhumanist Thinking 35:56

11M ago35:56

35:56

Lenn E. Goodman, an expert on Jewish and Islamic metaphysics, joins Esme Partridge to discuss the philosophical heritage of AI (artificial intelligence)—which he locates in the medieval and renaissance study of alchemy, which ultimately sought to create man from matter—and the implications of our rapid embrace of AI.…

1
"Is a Great Books Education for Everyone" with Thomas Hibbs 42:43

1+ y ago42:43

42:43

"One thing that is true of [the Great Books] list is that you cannot… think that it is a unified, monolithic view of the truth. Hobbes and Machiavelli disagree vehemently with Plato, right? There's some continuity there, but Aquinas does not agree with David Hume, who is an atheist. So, at a minimum, an honest reading of that tradition is an introd…

1
"The Knowledge that Transcends the Empirical World" with Hasan Spiker 42:55

1+ y ago42:55

42:55

"The empirical in the traditional notion of reason is only one component in the uncovering of our knowledge. But knowledge really involves uncovering the intelligible object. So what that means is the intelligible object is not there in the empirical world—that actually means transcending the empirical world to make contact with this intelligible e…

1
"The Decline of Morality Amidst the Celebration of the Self" with Chris Hedges 43:42

1+ y ago43:42

43:42

“If your ultimate concern is yourself, if you have spent your life building a monument to yourself, then in biblical terms, that’s idolatry. I think we live in an idolatrous society… I think it is extremely difficult for people to achieve a moral life without a community.” Chris Hedges speaks to Renovatio editor Safir Ahmed about what fuels our con…

1
Sculpting the Self with Muhammad U. Faruque and Esmé Partridge 47:18

2+ y ago47:18

47:18

In this podcast, Muhammad U. Faruque speaks with Esme Partridge on his recently published book, Sculpting the Self: Islam, Selfhood, and Human Flourishing, which examine notions of selfhood and subjectivity before and in the modern period. Muhammad U. Faruque is Inayat Malik Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati. Esmé L. K. Partridge …

1
What, Other Than God, Do We Worship? 44:41

2+ y ago44:41

44:41

Listen and read show notes on Renovatio: https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/media/what-other-than-god-do-we-worshipBy Zaytuna College

1
Chapter 12: "Legions, Arise!" 38:19

2+ y ago38:19

38:19

We return to northern Pohjakaar as the dark hands of fate and the unforgiving governance of prophecy continue moving the evil lord Blackwing towards his destiny! The new time of the Kralzarr is at hand, as the old is swept aside! In the shadows of Mount Vysokaya Gora, an out-of-place stranger is discovered amongst the Sibberlow savages! Kumasan is …

1
Chapter 11: "Renovatio" 30:50

2+ y ago30:50

30:50

This week, we arrive in Northwest Pohjakaar, high at the top of Mount Vysokaya Gora, the tallest peak in all of Coralia. CAST OF CHARACTERS: DOUGLAS JOHNS/KUMASAN: James Dorton THE VAHKMALLA: Tucker Thomasson MAGOG GABBRIELL: Wally Phelps BRANDON JOHNS (DOUGLAS' DAD): Jason Robbins POHJKATILL MAN IN CAVE: David Paul Seymour SIBBERLOW 1 (Shapeshifte…

1
Protection from Power with Mohammad Fadel and Lawrence Jannuzzi 58:03

3y ago58:03

58:03

Listen and read show notes on Renovatio: https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/media/protection-from-powerBy Zaytuna College

1
Episode 10: "The Assassin's Trail" 30:28

3y ago30:28

30:28

Following the assination of Varnasso Caldderron, which was meant for the King, The Caldderron clan busy themselves with Varnasso's funeral while also investigating the identity of his killer! Kumasan Episode 10, "The Assassin's Trail". Kumasan is created, written and Produced by David Paul SeymourThe Merry Band of Players for this week's episode wa…

1
Episode 9: "The Blackwater Box" 30:25

3y ago30:25

30:25

It is six years later, and the boatbuilder's son, Aydon Paullon, has made his way quickly up the ranks of the Pirate Crew of the Screaming Eagle, led by Captain Morgan Allmah. The crew face a hellish encounter in the swamps of Blackwater before arriving in Fauruak, the foreboding lair of the Dhalmadu queen where they must retrieve a most mysterious…

1
Episode 8: "The Citadel, Part II" 40:37

3y ago40:37

40:37

The exciting conclusion to "The Citadel"! The story of Galddoxx Gabbriell unfolds and all shall be revealed! Kumasan is created, written and Produced by David Paul Seymour The Merry Band of Players for this week's episode was: GALDDOXX GABBRIELL: Tucker Thomasson MAGOG: Wally Phelps VERRA GABBRIELL: Suzy Bravo PRIEST MAH-KAHIN: James Dorton PRIEST …

1
Episode 7: "The Citadel, Part I" 36:32

3y ago36:32

36:32

After 50 years away, Magog Gabbriell returns to his childhood home, The Citadel, and is greeted by old friends as he unlocks the many hidden secrets of his father, Galdoxx Gabbriel. Kumasan is created, written and Produced by David Paul Seymour The Merry Band of Players for this week's episode was: Wally Phelps as Magog Gabriel Tucker Thomasson as …

1
What Is the Nature of Being Alone? (Stephen A. Gregg and Asad Tarsin) 46:04

3y ago46:04

46:04

Listen and read show notes on Renovatio: https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/media/what-is-the-nature-of-being-aloneBy Zaytuna College

1
Episode 6: "Blackwing" 33:56

3y ago33:56

33:56

Alvasst Haoernkkorr returns to the battlefield shared by the Kralzarren and the Pohjkatill, where his dark fate, and the fate of the entire Kralzarr nation, will be forever sealed... Kumasan is created, written and Produced by David Paul Seymour The Merry Band of Players for this week's episode was: David Paul Seymour as Alvasst Haoernkkorr/Blackwi…

1
Episode 5: "Scorched Earth Death's Head" 27:19

3y ago27:19

27:19

This week, we leave the planet of Coralia entirely and travel 80 billion light years across the Universe, to a planet you are intimately familiar with.....Earth. But an Earth you will not recognize for a few years yet to come. Earth is in the grip of the Last Great War, as we are introduced to Douglas Johns, who will come face-to-face with his own …

1
Episode 4: "The Wielder of Two Swords" 32:16

3y ago32:16

32:16

This week, we touch down upon the Green Goddess Isles of Serq. We are introduced to Ysidra Caldderron, who has just been appointed her clan's new Warlord Supreme; just in time for an epic battle against the Al-Kallalladd! But a sinister event will change her and her family's life forever! Kumasan is created, written and Produced by David Paul Seymo…

1
Why Beauty Is Not Optional with Oludamini Oggunaike and Ubaydullah Evans 51:14

3y ago51:14

51:14

What better topic for discussion than beauty, muses Oludamini Ogunnaike, a regular contributor to Renovatio and a scholar of Islam in north and west Africa. Beauty is inseparable from truth, goodness, and justice, yet reference to it is missing from many of our most important discussions on those matters. The neglect of beauty has been detrimental …

1
Episode 3: "The Boatbuilder's Son" 32:17

3y ago32:17

32:17

Young Aydon Paulon dreams of adventure beyond his father's small boatyard in Dooroenhel, upon the Eastern continent of Nemutte. His wish is quickly granted once he must face a deadly encounter alone upon the roaring ocean Haf!Kumasan is created, written and Produced by David Paul SeymourThe Merry Band of Players for this week's episode was:Dillon L…

1
Episode 2 "The Hammer of Heaven" 25:20

3y ago25:20

25:20

This week, our adventure takes us to Luxxuss, on the southern coast of Quendror, where we meet the wizard Magog Gabbriell and his raven Quannatarr! KUMASAN is a fantasy-fiction podcast with a continuing, weekly storyline. The series is a mixture of radioplay and audiobook; with uniquely voiced characters, cinematic sound effects, and richly detaile…

1
Episode 1 "Evil In The Sky" 21:37

3y ago21:37

21:37

KUMSAN Season 1, Episode 1 "Evil In The Sky" Welcome to Coralia! There are many beginnings to our story, as you will eventually learn; but for now, let us begin it here, upon this current battlefield, in these wild woods of Northernmost Pohjakkar... Kumasan is created, written and produced by David Paul Seymour. The "Merry Band of Players" for this…

1
Graceful Giving and Grateful Receiving 41:51

3y ago41:51

41:51

Asad Tarsin, author of Being Muslim: A Practical Guide, speaks with Joshua Lee Harris, a specialist on the work of Thomas Aquinas, on his article for Renovatio, “The Human Arts of Graceful Giving and Grateful Receiving.” In their conversation, Harris explains how his desire to understand gratitude grew from wanting to inculcate gratefulness in his …

1
Power to the People? 1:01:45

3y ago1:01:45

1:01:45

In this episode, scholars Caner Dagli and Andrew March discuss theories of democracy and their relationship to modern Islamic thought, how modern Muslims grapple with democracy’s promise as well as its baggage, and whether metaphysics can (or should) be untangled from politics. (While March raises Tunisia as an example of a succeeding Muslim democr…

1
Cultivating the Life Skill of Writing 30:15

3y ago30:15

30:15

The mere act of writing for one’s self tends to reveal the fact that each one of us contains multitudes. When we write in our diaries or journals, we employ rhetorical devices even though our audience is within us. Scott Crider and Sarah Barnette—both are teachers and scholars committed to the craft of writing—discuss how conversing with one’s self…

1
Are Believers a Political Tribe? (Asma T. Uddin and Caner K. Dagli) 53:53

3y ago53:53

53:53

Asma T. Uddin litigated issues of religious liberty for years, but it wasn’t until Burwell v. Hobby Lobby—the US Supreme Court case about whether the Affordable Care Act required Christian owners of a private company to offer contraception as part of their employee health coverage—that she felt thrust into an arena where religious freedom was under…

1
Equality in the Ancient World with Juan Cole and Ubaydullah Evans 40:54

3+ y ago40:54

40:54

What kind of equality could be universal? A scan of history shows that our modern ideal of equality is more fiction than fact. In this episode, Ubaydullah Evans interviews the historian Juan Cole on his forthcoming article for Renovatio that addresses the issue of equality by examining the text and context of the Qur’an. The two discuss how equalit…

1
What Makes a Book "Great"? Fr. Francisco Nahoe and Sarah Barnette 41:13

3+ y ago41:13

41:13

Sarah Barnette, a scholar of Victorian literature, speaks with Fr. Francisco Nahoe on great books and the pleasure of reading. Fr. Francisco, a Roman Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, is a scholar of Renaissance literature currently teaching courses in rhetoric and philosophy at Zaytuna College. The writers Barnette reads, such as the Brontë si…

1
From Fanaticism to Faith: Joram van Klaveren and Ubaydullah Evans 37:25

3+ y ago37:25

37:25

In the Netherlands, the political climate was toxic with anti-Islam bigotry when Joram van Klaveren made a name for himself as a prominent and ambitious politician. He helped to lead the Party for Freedom, with its central platform hostile to Islam and Muslims in the Netherlands. When he set out to write a book that would ground his rhetoric agains…

1
The Decline of Language and the Rise of Nothing: Hamza Yusuf and Thomas Hibbs 37:42

3+ y ago37:42

37:42

Hamza Yusuf interviews President Thomas Hibbs, former president of the University of Dallas, on the importance of rekindling a love of language so we might better articulate ourselves and possess the words to describe our experience of the world. Hamza Yusuf and Thomas Hibbs discuss, among other topics, how the silos created by our culture leave us…

1
Philosophy without God (David Bentley Hart and Caner Dagli) 1:04:01

3+ y ago1:04:01

1:04:01

How should religious philosophers understand the methods and goals of modern philosophy? In this episode, Caner Dagli interviews David Bentley Hart on the state of philosophy and whether the believer can be hopeful about its future. They take on the fragmentation of science, philosophy, and art and discuss the consequences of the humanities being c…

1
Why Are Muslims Seen as a Race? (Khalil Abdur-Rashid and Caner Dagli) 1:19:45

3+ y ago1:19:45

1:19:45

In this episode, Caner Dagli and Khalil Abdur-Rashid explore racialization and religion, using Dagli’s article for Renovatio, “Muslims Are Not a Race,” as a point of departure to examine whether the lens of race obscures actual motivations behind Islamophobia—be they sectarianism, dehumanization caused by war, or political disputes—or helps defang …

1
The Qur’an, the Prophet, and a Forgotten History - Juan Cole in conversation with Hamza Yusuf 1:00:39

5y ago1:00:39

1:00:39

Juan Cole's Muhammad: Prophet of Peace Amid the Clash of Empires (2018) retells the history of the prophetic period in seventh-century Arabia through the context of a brutal war between the Iranian Sassanian Empire and the Roman Empire in the Near East. In this conversation, Juan Cole and Hamza Yusuf reflect on how a new understanding of the histor…

1
Conversing with a National Treasure: Wisdom and Wit with Eva Brann 42:25

5+ y ago42:25

42:25

Hamza Yusuf, President of Zaytuna College, converses with Eva Brann, the sagely long time educator and author of St. Johns College in Annapolis Maryland about philosophy, wisdom, and wit.By Zaytuna College

1
The Art and Artifice of Poetry (Scott Crider & Hamza Yusuf) 1:10:53

6y ago1:10:53

1:10:53

Scott Crider and Hamza Yusuf discuss the art and artifice of poetry. https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/authors/scott-crider https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/authors/hamza-yusuf ____________________________________ Moon Landing – W. H. Auden It’s natural the Boys should whoop it up for so huge a phallic triumph, an adventure it would not have occurred to w…

1
What Conservatism Really Means (Roger Scruton & Hamza Yusuf) 1:00:37

6y ago1:00:37

1:00:37

In modern educated circles, the philosophy of Conservatism doesn’t usually enjoy a good opinion. Liberalism being the default philosophy of the educated classes. The conversation we present today presents conservatism divorced from politics, as a philosophy of conserving only what is good of the past, and might challenge you to reconsider your opin…

1
The Secret of the Morality Tale 33:28

6+ y ago33:28

33:28

Renovatio's Editor Safir Ahmed sits down with Cyrus Ali Zargar for a chat about his research into the role of storytelling in Islam's ethical tradition. Cyrus Ali Zargar is an assosiate professor of religion at Augustana College who recently published a book entitled The Polished Mirror: Storytelling and the Pursuit of Virtue in Islamic Philosophy …

1
What the Hadith Tradition Reveals About Religion in Academia 39:23

6+ y ago39:23

39:23

The study of Hadith is a subject which is often misunderstood. We asked Jonathan Brown to help clarify some of the most common misconceptions about the study of Hadith from different perspectives. Jonathan Brown is an American scholar of Islamic studies. He is an associate professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service where he also…

1
The Silent Theology of Islamic Art 1:35:56

6+ y ago1:35:56

1:35:56

To many, the silent theology of Islamic art can speak more profoundly and clearly than the most scholarly works, and its beauty can be more evident and persuasive than the strongest of arguments. The Qur’an is not a set of syllogisms or prosaic rational proofs but a recitation of unmatched linguistic beauty, filled with symbols, stories, metaphors,…

1
Can Religion Be Studied Impartially? (Caner Dagli) 1:07:11

6+ y ago1:07:11

1:07:11

A wide ranging interview about the study of Islam with Caner Dagli. Dagli is an associate professor of religious studies at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, specializing in Qur'anic studies, interfaith dialogue, and philosophy. An editor of The Study Quran, he was among the 138 Muslim signatories of the 2007 letter “A Common Word Between…

1
Realign: How to Program Your Food to Work For You 21:43

6+ y ago21:43

21:43

In this episode, I’ll be breaking down the science of your food, and how you can utilize built in feature your body has always had to program it to work for you!