Cracks in Postmodernity

Rose Lyddon joins the pod to discuss martyrdom, the desire to die, the death of academia, the future of Substack, Simone Weil, Augustine, & Teresa of Avila.Check out her Substack https://roselyddon.substack.com/Check out Stephen's work on wanting to die young https://wisdomofcrowds.live/p/i-cant-stop-fantasizing-about-my and on Augustine & Teresa https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/p/the-sexual-personae-of-augustineFollow us at https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/

Marwa al-Sabouni joins the pod to discuss mosque architecture, urban design, the limits of modernism, and what the West gets wrong about Islam.

Check out her book https://www.thamesandhudsonusa.com/books/mosque-an-architects-exploration-of-form-faith-and-meaning-hardcover

And follow our Substack https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/

Matthew Vines joins the pod to discuss his NYTimes article about how queer theory is ruining everything for the gays.

Check out his article https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/opinion/queer-gay-rights.html

And follow our Substack https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/

Catherine Liu joins the pod to talk about trauma scripts, AOC and other fragile millennials, Laschian narcissism, the identitarian co-opting of the Left, and how to get over yourself. 

Check out her new book ‘Traumatized’ https://www.versobooks.com/products/3263-traumatized?srsltid=AfmBOopbQa25m4AqVp8AJGGAEUOiQwk8D6B1dJbtl6cKPEPz6w4Wcc1M 

And follow our Substack https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/

Stephen joins Juan Martinez and Juan Merchan on El Matiz podcast to talk about the evils of air conditioning, Baudrillard's love (and my hate) of hyperreal America, Lorca’s Poems, Shakira, the terror of shopping malls, the Floridian hellscape, and Canadian cathedrals.

For more, check out

https://elmatizdifusion.substack.com/

https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/p/take-this-lorca-waltz

https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/p/american-portals-reaching-the-alchemical

https://www.theblaze.com/lifestyle/my-crusade-against-air-conditioning

Steven Christoforou joins the pod to talk about Orthobros, internet Orthodoxy, Charles Taylor, cradle ethnic Orthodox, and other Orthodox things.Check out FOCUS https://focusnorthamerica.org/

And Steven's page https://stevenchristoforou.substack.com/

And follow our Substack https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/

Jacob Savage joins the pod to discuss why it's so hard to be a white [passing] cisgender millennial male writer, and why you should feel bad for us. Jk. We discuss everything from DEI in publishing to our favorite dude writers.

Check out is work here https://substack.com/@jacobksavage

And follow our Substack https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/

Nick Leeper SJ joins the pod to discuss his recent art exhibit, Andy Warhol, being a Jesuit, what constitutes sacrilege, and plays a round of "hot or not" with us.

Check out his work https://www.nkleepersj.com/

Read Stephen's review of his exhibit https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/p/nick-leeper-sj-isnt-pissing-on-the?utm_source=publication-searchAnd follow our Substack https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/

Luke Burgis joins the pod to discuss his new book 'The One and the Ninety-Nine', the tribalism of the culture wars, internet Catholicism, the loss of agency, and Dorothy Day.

Get a copy of his book here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250373038/theoneandtheninetynine/

And follow our Substack https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/

Julie Bindel joins the pod to discuss her book "Lesbians: Where are we now?", the gay man vs. lesbian rivalry, UK vs US cultural politics, TERFdom, conversion therapy, and more.

Check out her work https://juliebindel.substack.com/

And follow our Substack https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/

Lucian Wintrich joins the pod to talk about Twinks for Trump, his congressional campaign, the importance of engaging with rather than reacting against your ideological ops, & the excesses of contrarianism.

Check out his page here https://wintrichfornewyork.com/

And follow cracks in pomo here https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/

Jack from the Book Club From Hell pod joins us to discuss why he loves reading books so much, and his suggestions for people who want to get back into reading.

Check out his pod here https://bookclubfromhell.substack.com/

Joe Enabnit and Jonah Howell attempt to convince Stephen that lifting is not morally reprehensible.

Read Stephen's piece against lifting https://nopomo.substack.com/p/you-should-not-have-time-to-bulk

And Joe's piece in favor of lifting https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/p/archetyping-at-the-gym

Follow us on Substack ⁠https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/⁠ 

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re likely to have noticed the discourse has been set abuzz with talk of a crisis of masculinity. While the debate is out on whether the real culprit is feminism, toxic masculinity, the Nanny State, or automation, men are indeed struggling to find themselves. The rates of loneliness, drug abuse, and suicide among men have reached record highs.

In response, a proliferation of “manosphere” influencers has cropped up, selling a variety of remedies: Nietzschean vitalism, a return to the Bronze Age with a stoic regimen of powerlifting and renouncing see...

Father James Martin SJ joins the pod to discuss his new book ‘Work in Progress,’ polarization in the Catholic Church, trad zoomers, intergenerational dialogue, and his encounter with Camille Paglia. 

Follow us on Substack https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/ 

Check out Fr. Martin's book https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/jamesmartin 

Evelyn Quartz, Anton Cebalo, & Jeffery Tyler Syck join the pod to discuss the technocratic paradigm .

Check out their work:https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/cp/186860518⁠ ⁠https://brooklynrail.org/2026/02/field-notes/technocracy-2-0/

https://www.persuasion.community/p/localism-not-nationalism-will-cure

Cracks in pomo presents our Friday night meeting at the CW on Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum, the Mondragon workers' co-op, and how subsidiarity can help us transcend political polarization.

Andrew McLuhan joins the pod to discuss the current state of mass media and whether his grandfather [Marshall] would have an X account.

Check out Andrew's Substack: https://mcluhan.substack.com/

And read João Ruy Faustino's piece in pomo on McLuhan https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/p/marshall-mcluhan-was-not-a-globalist

Audrey Pollnow, Emilia Tanu-Chornay, and Bridget Ruffing shared their thoughts on being a woman in the post-girlboss era. Thanks to all who came out.

Fr. Stephen Koeth joins the pod to discuss his book Crabgrass Catholicism, the suburbanization of American Catholicism, urban ethnic politics, and assimilation.

Read Stephen's reviews in First Things and in ARC.

https://firstthings.com/how-suburbia-reshaped-american-catholic-life/

https://arcmag.org/the-sinful-suburbs/

Mary Harrington joins the pod to discuss Baudrillard's 1986 book America, NYC vs. LA vs. London, and Reagan's culture war.

Subscribe to our Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

Amidst the enforcement of speech codes, reactionary backlash, and an uptick in political violence, debates about the future of the First Amendment have taken center stage. Various ideological factions have emerged, emphasizing the need for speech to be free, ethical, or true. But what of the need for speech that is meaningful, that inspires profound thought and contributes concretely to the common good, and that is—in the least—genuinely interesting?

As a platform dedicated to rising above the discord in today’s divisive, self-serious discourse by prioritizing matters that transcend the merely ideological, Cracks in Postmodernity has hi...

Pierre d'Alancaisez and Amir Naaman join the pod to discuss their new book Inversion, gay narcissism, victimhood, Queers for Palestine, and more.

Purchase Inversion here: https://verdur.in/inversion/

And read an excerpt of Stephen's chapter here: https://www.compactmag.com/article/how-gay-identity-trumped-gay-sex/

Subscribe to our Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

Evelyn Quartz joins the pod to discuss #Resistance politics, Trump & Zohran's false populism, Charlie Kirk, No Kings, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lina Khan.

Check out Evelyn's article in Cracks in PoMo

https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/p/c

And check out her Substack

https://quartzevelyn.substack.com/

Subscribe to our Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

Cory Doctorow joins the pod to discuss his book 'Enshittification,' anti-trust policy, Lina Khan, and buying local.

Check out our other content on 'Enshittification'

https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/p/everything-is-crap-and-its-only-getting

https://nopomo.substack.com/p/the-lina-khan-horseshoe

Subscribe to our Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

Hollis Robbins joins the pod to discuss the future of higher ed, the impact of AI, and her love for Ayn Rand.

Follow Hollis on Substack https://hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/

And read our pieces on the future of higher ed

https://www.compactmag.com/contributor/hollis/https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/p/dont-send-your-kids-to-college

Subscribe to our Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

Jacob Williams joins the pod to discuss his conversion to Islam, the differences between Islam & Christianity, and the specter of an Islamic postliberalism.

Subscribe to our Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

In this episode of the ⁠⁠⁠Viral Cure: Making sense of internet discourse ⁠⁠⁠series, ⁠⁠⁠Stephen joins Research Associate at Aspen Philosophy & Society Mana Afsari, who has written several compelling essays about gender, politics, and internet discourse. We discuss:

Thanks to Interintellect for hosting our salon! https://interintellect.com/<...

In this episode of the ⁠⁠Viral Cure: Making sense of internet discourse ⁠⁠series, ⁠⁠⁠Stephen joins journalist Ross Barkan, who responds to both national and local political issues with a balanced, nuanced take. We discuss:

Thanks to Interintellect for hosting our salon! https://interintellect.com/

Subscribe to the Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

In this episode of the ⁠Viral Cure: Making sense of internet discourse ⁠series, ⁠⁠Stephen G. Adubato⁠⁠, joins &Campaign founder Justin E. Giboney, whose work focuses on giving people to tools to have tough conversations about divisive issues. We discuss:

Thanks to Interintellect for hosting our salon! https://interintellect.com/

Subscribe to the Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

In this episode of the Viral Cure: Making sense of internet discourse series, ⁠Stephen G. Adubato⁠, joins Wisdom of Crowd’s Executive Editor Santiago Ramos to discuss:

Thanks to Interintellect for hosting our salon! https://interinte...

Larry Chapp joins the pod to discuss Dorothy Day, life at the Catholic Worker, Pope Leo XVI, and US politics.

Check out his website here: https://gaudiumetspes22.com/

Subscribe to our Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

Ayishat Akanbi joins the pod to discuss cancelling her book deal, the errors of therapeuticism, the insanity of ideologues, and keeping it real in an artificial world.

Check out her Substack here: https://ayishatakanbi.substack.com/

Subscribe to our Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

Gloria Purvis joins the pod to discuss Carmelite spirituality, the legacy of Black Americans in the Catholic Church, and Church politics.

Read our first interview in America https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/09/23/gloria-purvis-interview-racism-pro-life-politics-devil

Subscribe to the Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

David Dudrick joins the pod to discuss Nietzsche, Foucault, Catholicism and cultural theory.

Read David's essay on Foucault https://www.compactmag.com/article/why-foucault-couldnt-kill-sexuality/

Read Stephen's article on Nietzsche https://www.newsweek.com/our-culture-war-two-sides-same-nietzschean-coin-opinion-1792783

Subscribe to the Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

Ross Barkan joins the pod to discuss 9/11 memes, life in the Outer Boroughs, Jane Jacobs vs. Robert Moses, the unironic pursuit of greatness, and his novel Glass Century.

Read Stephen's review of Glass Century in COMPACT https://www.compactmag.com/article/a-new-york-epic-for-our-time/

Subscribe to the Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

After long await, Musa al-Gharbi joins to pod to talk about wokeness, anti-wokeness, virtue signaling, campus protests, elite capture, and grassroots organizing.

Subscribe to the Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

Pieter Valk and I interview each other about the pieces we cross published on each other's Substacks.

Check out Pieter's piece 'From Pray-the-Gay-Away to Pansexual Pragmatism': https://cracksinpomo.substack.com/p/from-pray-the-gay-away-to-pansexual

And my piece 'From Drag to Dimes Square: The Return of the Homofascist': https://pieterlvalk.substack.com/cp/160499684

Pieter Valk is a speaker and author, the director of Equip, a cofounder of the Nashville Family of Brothers, an aspiring deacon in the ACNA, and a licensed professional counselor. Learn more at pieterLvalk.com and or on socials @pieterLvalk.

Emmett Rensin joins the pod to discuss his brilliant book The Complications: Going Insane in America, as well as mental illness, faith, and politics.

Follow his work here: https://emmettrensin.com/

Subscribe to the Substack: https://cracksinpomo.substack.com

In this third episode of the Searching for the Self in an Age of Simulation series, Stephen G. Adubato, host of Cracks in Postmodernity, joins philosopher John Milbank, author Shadi Hamid, and theologian William T. Cavanaugh, to discuss faith and globalization. 

How does globalization impact religious belief and practice? As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, believers face new opportunities to share their faith and new challenges in maintaining their local religious communities. Stephen G. Adubato joins John Milbank, Shadi Hamid, and William T. Cavanaugh for a compelling discussion on the dynamic interplay between faith and globalization.

...