JUST FYI POD: Conversations about Culture, Ideas, and Life – Details, episodes & analysis

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JUST FYI POD: Conversations about Culture, Ideas, and Life

Christopher B. Barnett

Religion & Spirituality

Frequency: 1 episode/12d. Total Eps: 73

Professor, scholar, and writer/novelist Christopher B. Barnett is joined by fellow authors Amy Welborn and Clark J. Elliston to explore issues pertaining to religion, philosophy, and contemporary culture. Episodes with Amy will be dubbed JUST FYI POD: CULTURE and anchored in topics such as movies, TV, and literature. Episodes with Clark will be called JUST FYI POD: IDEAS and centered on various topics in theology, philosophy, and higher education. In both cases, the goal is to provide informative yet accessible discussions of the issues and questions that make life meaningful.

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🇨🇦 Canada - spirituality
31/01/2026
#97

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https://www.amazon.com/Discipline-Punish-Prison-Michel-Foucault/dp/0679752552

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JUST FYI POD: IDEAS: "Higher Ed in the ChatGPT Era, Part IV: Does It Matter if Students Can't Read Anymore?"

Season 3 · Episode 4

Thursday, January 22, 2026 • Duration 01:36:00

The main task of JUST FYI POD: IDEAS’ third season is to discuss: “’Higher Ed in the ChatGPT Era: How Did We Get Here? Where Is It Going?” On today’s episode, my cohost Clark Elliston and I will discuss the topic: “Does It Matter if Students Can’t Read Anymore?” This is an issue that has caused more than a little hand-wringing, both among educators and in the popular media. Indeed, the issue isn’t whether literacy is declining among young people, particularly in the United States. That much is certain. No, the real questions are:

Why is this happening?
What are its consequences?

Clark and I will take a look at the data and add our own observations. Then, in conclusion, we will ponder how this trajectory has impacted and will continue to impact the United States and Western culture in general, paying special attention to religious and political concerns that are already emerging downstream.

Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details and much more content. Subscribe for free today! As ever, your generosity and support are greatly appreciated!

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JUST FYI POD: CULTURE: "The Best of 2025: A Cultural Retrospective"

Season 3 · Episode 6

Wednesday, December 31, 2025 • Duration 02:16:03

Amid the hum and hullabaloo of pre-Christmas activities, Amy Welborn and I found time to meet at Cahaba Brewing Co.in Avondale, where we discussed what we enjoyed (and, well, didn’t enjoy!) about 2025. Though interspersed with firsthand (!) stories about international travel and biker gangs in Pennsylvania, our conversation centers on culture—in particular, our respective “Best of 2025” lists in the following categories:

Movies
Television
Books
Theater
Music

So, pour a flute of champagne and join us as we look back on 2025 and get ready to usher in 2026. Te Deum laudámus!

Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details and a miscellany of engaging content. Start out the New Year right and subscribe for free today! As ever, your generosity and support are greatly appreciated!

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JUST FYI POD: IDEAS "Our Ten Favorite Works of Philosophy: #1"

Season 2 · Episode 11

Monday, August 25, 2025 • Duration 01:52:45

The main task of JUST FYI POD: IDEAS' second season is to discuss "Our Ten Favorite Works of Philosophy." On today's episode—and at long last!—my cohost Clark Elliston and I wrap up our countdown and explore two very different philosophical works—one that is a classic (and seemingly prescient) analysis of the modern sociopolitical order, and another that exemplifies the so-called “theological turn” in postmodern phenomenology.

First up is Søren Kierkegaard’s 1846 treatise A Literary Review (En literair Anmeldelse), which, as I will explain, provides an early and prophetic account of the media, public opinion, and bourgeois conformity in contemporary Western society. Next, Clark will turn to Emmanuel Falque’s The Metamorphosis of Finitude: An Essay on Birth and Resurrection(Métamorphose de la finitude. Essai philosophique sur la naissance et la résurrection), which uses Christian theology to probe a fundamental human reality—that our very existence hinges on the simple, but profound, fact that we have been born at all. Life, in other words, is more about birth than death.

As always, additional content and links can be found at JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com). Please subscribe for free today, and, as always, consider following, liking, rating, and sharing our work. Your generosity and support are much appreciated!

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JUST FYI POD: IDEAS: "Our Ten Favorite Works of Philosophy: #2"

Season 2 · Episode 10

Monday, July 28, 2025 • Duration 02:10:19

The main task of JUST FYI POD: IDEAS' second season is to discuss "Our Ten Favorite Works of Philosophy." On today's episode, my cohost Clark Elliston and I explore two massively influential texts from the twentieth century. Yet, before doing so, we spend some time discussing the recent flash floods in Central Texas, which devastated Clark's hometown of Kerrville. In this opening segment, Clark gives a firsthand account of what life is now like in the Texas Hill Country. Next, and not unrelatedly, we pivot to my analysis of Martin Heidegger's famous work The Question Concerning Technology (Die Frage nach der Technik), which was first published in 1954. Finally, Clark offers an assessment of Emmanuel Levinas' 1974 treatise Otherwise than Being, or Beyond Essence (Autrement qu'être ou au-delà de l'essence).

As always, additional content and links can be found at JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com). Please subscribe for free today, and, as always, consider following, liking, rating, and sharing our work. Your generosity and support are much appreciated!

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JUST FYI POD: CULTURE: "Ten Novels That Changed Our Lives: #1!"

Season 2 · Episode 16

Monday, July 14, 2025 • Duration 01:45:00

The main task of JUST FYI POD: CULTURE's second season is to discuss "Ten Novels That Changed Our Lives." On today's episode, my cohost Amy Welborn and I resume our countdown, this time focusing -- at long last! -- on the #1 novel on our respective lists. I begin by examining Fyodor Dostoevsky's last and greatest novel THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV (Братья Карамазовы, 1880). Next, Amy delves into THE POWER AND THE GLORY (1940), arguably the magnum opus of British author Graham Greene. Both novels are considered classics of world literature. However, as Amy and I discuss, they are also theologically insightful and, in a unique way, spiritually transformative.

Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details and much more content. Subscribe for free today, and, as ever, consider following, liking, rating, and sharing our work. Your generosity and support are much appreciated!

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JUST FYI POD: CULTURE: "Ten Novels That Changed Our Lives: #2"

Season 2 · Episode 15

Monday, June 9, 2025 • Duration 01:36:56

The main task of JUST FYI POD: CULTURE's second season is to discuss "Ten Novels That Changed Our Lives." On today's episode, my cohost Amy Welborn and I resume our countdown, this time focusing on the #2 (!) novel on our respective lists. I begin by examining what is undoubtedly one of the most important books in the history of world literature--namely, Don Quixote (1606/1615) by Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616). Next, Amy delves into Brideshead Revisited (1945), the magnum opus of the great English Catholic novelist Evelyn Waugh (1903-66). Written in different languages and in different eras, these two novels make for a curious pairing. And yet, both force us to grapple with the challenges of earthly life, not to mention the attendant human longing to find meaning therein

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JUST FYI POD: IDEAS: "Our Ten Favorite Works of Philosophy: #3"

Season 2 · Episode 9

Monday, June 2, 2025 • Duration 01:47:28

The main task of JUST FYI POD: IDEAS' second season is to discuss "Our Ten Favorite Works of Philosophy." On today's episode, my cohost Clark Elliston and I explore two recent philosophical texts -- one that is already considered a classic in the field, another that presents a penetrating overview some of philosophy's greatest thinkers. The former is Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory (1981), which, as I will explain, has had a massive influence on the recovery of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas in the tradition of virtue ethics. Next Clark will turn to Stephen Mulhall's Philosophical Myths of the Fall (2007), which probes the ethico-religious dimension in the thinking of Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

As always, additional content and links can be found at JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com). Please subscribe for free today, and, as always, consider following, liking, rating, and sharing our work. Your generosity and support are much appreciated!

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JUST FYI POD: CULTURE: "Emergency Pod! Live from Rome on the Election of Pope Leo XIV"

Season 2 · Episode 14

Friday, May 9, 2025 • Duration 38:12

Habemus papam! On May 8, Robert Francis Prevost, a Chicago native and a 1977 graduate of Villanova University, was elected Bishop of Rome at the 2025 papal conclave. He took the (meaningful) name of Leo XIV and is the first pope to be born in the United States. Joining me with instant reaction to this historic election is Amy Welborn, who is currently in Rome and was, in fact, present for the announcement today. See Just FYI (cbarnett,substack.com) for more details, links, and much, much more content!

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JUST FYI POD: CULTURE: "Ten Novels That Changed Our Lives: #3"

Season 2 · Episode 13

Monday, May 5, 2025 • Duration 01:44:18

The main task of JUST FYI POD: CULTURE'S second season is to discuss "Ten Novels That Changed Our Lives." On today's episode, my cohost Amy Welborn and I resume our countdown, this time focusing on the #3 novel on our respective lists. Amy begins by examining Flannery O'Connor's darkly comic debut WISE BLOOD (1952). Next, I explore Cormac McCarthy's fêted late masterpiece THE ROAD (2006). These two works are very different in tone, and yet both ponder the possibility of a godless world -- and why only the eternal can sustain human beings amid their existential suffering.

Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details and much (much!) more content. Subscribe for free today, and, as ever, consider following, liking, rating, and sharing our work. Your generosity and support are much appreciated!

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JUST FYI POD: IDEAS: "Our Ten Favorite Works of Philosophy: #4"

Season 2 · Episode 8

Monday, April 21, 2025 • Duration 01:47:24

The main task of Just FYI Pod: Ideas’ second season is to discuss "Our Ten Favorite Works of Philosophy." On today's episode, my cohost Clark Elliston and I explore two key works from the transformative years of the mid 20th Century. First, I dive into Simone Weil's posthumously published classic The Need for Roots: Prelude Towards a Declaration of Duties Towards Mankind (L'Enracinement, prélude à une déclaration des devoirs envers l'être humain). Next, Clark turns to Iris Murdoch's 1970 exploration of moral philosophy entitled The Sovereignty of Good. Two great texts by two of the previous century's most creative and incisive intellects!

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JUST FYI POD: Conversations about Culture, Ideas, and Life – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

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Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

JUST FYI POD: Conversations about Culture, Ideas, and Life – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other12

Amazon6

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other12

Amazon6

Wikipedia3