Esther and the Paradoxical Power of Sexual Difference

Esther defeats the idolatrous god-king through the strange power of weakness. Join Marc and Maria’s discussion of monolithic and idolatrous power structures and their vulnerability to the particular vocation of women. Catch up with Episode 1: youtu.be/Glj3ojZERvw?si=G1CfeS7pD2cf9TxdYou can follow along with the Esther Rabah, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on Esther from the 6th and 11th centuries: https://www.sefaria.org/Esther_Rabbah Come meet Maria and Marc at New Polity's 2026 conference "Man, Woman, Tyrant, Slave"! Learn more and register at https://newpolity.com/2026If you’re fascinated by the topic of sexual difference, take a deep dive with New Polity Issue 7.1/2: articles from Slavoj Zizek, D.C. Schindler, Rocco Buttiglione and more: https://newpolity.com/single-issues/7-1/2 Get offline: subscribe to New Polity Magazine. https://newpolity.com/magazineRead our essays: https://newpolity.com/essaysPlease consider donating to help us make more: https://newpolity.com/donate

What is the metaphysical difference between man and woman? Philosophy has long had a problem explaining the difference between men and women, even though it is a basic and fundamental reality. Are men and women different essentially? Is there a particularly "female soul" and a "male soul?" Is the brute fact of the sexually differentiated body the basis for sexual difference, or does that presuppose the problem? In man and woman are we dealing with an opposition or a contrariety? In this new podcast series, Marc Barnes and D. C. Schindler discuss the metaphysics of sexual difference, arguing for a new approach to the question. The New Polity Conference on Man and Woman is two months away! Learn more and register at https://newpolity.com/2026Subscribe to New Polity Magazine: https://newpolity.com/magazineRead our essays: https://newpolity.com/essaysHelp us make more: visit https://www.newpolity.com/donate

What do the matriarchs of the Old Testament teach us regarding the roles of men and women? In this podcast, Marc Barnes and Maria Brandell discuss the biblical story of Esther and how it reveals the specific vocation of women. We are two months away from New Polity's 2026 conference "Man, Woman, Tyrant, Slave"! Learn more and register at https://newpolity.com/2026Subscribe to New Polity Magazine! https://newpolity.com/magazineRead our essays: https://newpolity.com/essaysPlease consider donating to help us make more: https://newpolity.com/donate

The Iran War is close to entering its third week, and hostilities continue to escalate. Off-ramps for de-escalation are closing and the American public is, largely, unsupportive of the war. In this podcast, Alex Denley hosts a roundtable discussion with three professors of the College of St. Joseph the Worker, Dr. Andrew Willard Jones, Dr. Alex Plato, and Dr. Jared Goff, on whether the Iran War fits the criteria of a just war according to Catholic Social Teaching. They also discuss the circumstances of the war, the stated objectives of the Trump administration, and whether modern warfare is capable of being waged justly. New Polity and the College of St Joseph the Worker are hosting a masterclass on Catholic Social Teaching this summer. Learn more and register at https://newpolity.com/masterclassSubscribe to New Polity Magazine! https://newpolity.com/magazineRead our essays: https://newpolity.com/essaysCheck out our books! https://newpolity.com/press

In this podcast, Marc Barnes and Michael Boland discuss the upcoming New Polity magazine, Issue 7.1, on Man and Woman. Specifically, they discuss the philosophical and metaphysical problems of sexual difference, and how our understanding of man and woman impacts our view of politics. Subscribe to New Polity Magazine by March 1st to receive Issue 7.1! https://newpolity.com/magazineThe 2026 New Polity Conference is only three months away! Learn more and get your ticket at https://newpolity.com/2026Issue 7.1 of New Polity Magazine on Man and Woman:Margaret Harper McCarthy on the Feminist Roots of Transgenderism.Rocco Buttiglione on Wojtyła, Freud, and Edith Stein.Slavoj Zizek on Pluribus.D. C. Schindler on the Metaphysics of Gender. Michael Hanby on the Politics of Transgender Theory.Maria Brandell on the Meaning of Woman in Edith Stein. Christopher Dawson on Christianity and Sex. With Reviews, an Introduction to Tobit, and more.

In this podcast, Matthew Harvey Sanders, CEO of Longbeard (creator of MagisteriumAI), and Marc Barnes, editor of New Polity, debate whether Catholics should build and use AI chatbots. Barnes argues that Catholic AI chatbots are objectively evil because they generate probabilistic statements about the faith, are irresponsible in their responses, and are inherently fake conversations with non-persons. Sanders argues that Catholics should embrace this new technological development and that there is an openness from the Vatican about the creation of a true artificial intelligence. This debate is hosted by Edmund Mitchell of the Faith and AI Project. Check out Faith and AI Projects's other podcasts here: https://faithandaiproject.com/podcastThis debate has also occurred in writing. Barnes’s initial article “Delete Magisterium AI” can be found here: https://newpolity.com/blog/delete-mag.... Sanders’s response is here: https://www.longbeard.com/blog/respon.... Finally, Barnes’s second response is here: https://newpolity.com/blog/broken-ble....Subscribe to New Polity Magazine! https://newpolity.com/magazine Check out our books! https://newpolity.com/press Read more: https://newpolity.com/essays

What is the Catholic response to AI? Pope Leo XIV, in his recent message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, takes a critical look at AI: namely, how it is "encroach[ing] upon the deepest level of communication, that of human relationships." Pope Leo asserts that our faces and voices are sacred, a witness to the unique, singular dignity of each human person. With AI already mimicking persons in social media and through deepfakes, the Pope calls for overcoming the "anthropomorphizing tendencies of AI systems." In this podcast, Marc Barnes and Reuben Slife go line-by-line through the message of Pope Leo, and discuss it's implications for the Catholic approach to AI. "Message of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV for the 60th World Day of Social Communications" Register for New Polity's 2026 Conference! https://newpolity.com/2026 Subscribe to New Polity Magazine! Check out our books!Read more.

The book has long been the place of completed thought, able to incorporate previous work and advance new thought. That is going away. AI generation is polluting the discourse; leading to a state where all "new" publications are, in fact, summarized AI restatements of the previous state of the question. In this podcast, Marc Barnes and Andrew Willard Jones discuss the effects of AI on the the technology of the books, and how a literate culture persists. Subscribe to New Polity Magazine!: https://newpolity.com/magazineRegister for New Polity's 2026 Conference! https://newpolity.com/2026Help us make more: visit https://www.newpolity.com/donate

Happy New Year! In this podcast, Marc Barnes and Alex Denley discuss New Polity's 2025 year, the books and magazines published, and look ahead to the New Year. Thank you to everyone who read or listened to us this year. Check out our essays: https://newpolity.com/essaysSubscribe to New Polity Magazine! https://newpolity.com/magazineCheck out our 2026 Conference! https://newpolity.com/2026Please consider donating at https://newpolity.com/donate

We are excited to announce New Polity's 2026 conference: Man, Woman, Tyrant, Slave. Learn more and register at https://newpolity.com/2026The sixth annual New Polity conference aims to refute bad ideas concerning marriage and sexual difference; to debate the metaphysics of man and woman; to argue for a profound continuity between the order of man and woman and the political and cosmic order as a whole; to shed a light on the tyranny-destroying potential of marriage; and, in sum, to rediscover the mystery and purpose of sexual difference as revealed by the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. In this podcast, Marc Barnes and Andrew Willard Jones discuss the relation of man and woman, the metaphysical implications, and the conference.