Sep 21

Fashionable Zealots and the Outrage Machine

This week’s podcast looks at the important book by Tobias Rose-Stockwell: Outrage Machine: how tech amplifies discontent, disrupts democracy, and what we can do about it. The pugs engaged the book, recognizing that the author is correct to note how social media and contemporary t ... Show More

1h 3m

Sep 14

Environmentalist Misanthropes

In this episode, Glenn leads off the discussion by citing recent claims by scientists that we need to reduce global population by more than half by 2200 for the sake of the planet. The guys note the failed predictions of Paul Ehrlich’s 1968 book The Population Bomb that have led ... Show More

1 h

Sep 7

Can America Survive as a Republic Without Virtue?

Today the Pugs reflect on an essay from Matthew B. Crawford’s Substack entitled, The Fate of Liberty in the American Experiment. One feature of the essay is a reflection on the understanding of virtue assumed by the American Founders, does it have more in common with the classica ... Show More

1h 1m

Jan 2018

History of Islamic Theology

This episode we trace the emergence of orthodoxy in Islamic thought. Starting with the debates about predestination and the nature of the Qu’ran we mark the development of Islamic theology from the writings of Hasan i Basri and the Qadarites or Qadiriyyah to the formation of the ... Show More

43m 35s

Jan 2018

Al Ghazali and Ibn Taymiyyah

In our last episode of the season we wrap up the intellectual history of Islam by examining how the orthodoxies that we discussed in the previous episode were popularized. We talk about the emerging class of legal scholars called the ulema, the madhabs of Hanafi, Maliki, Shaif, a ... Show More

51m 27s

Jan 2022

why Islam makes sense : the signs of truth| islamic feelings

Assalamu’alaikum everyone! Today's episode is about why Islam makes sense. This episode talks about a bunch of different religions and goes through a few key contradictions in other religions that prove Islam:)

35m 23s

Apr 2022

Reason vs. Literalism? Kalam & Early Islamic Theology

As requested by the audience, in this episode we talk about the very early development of Speculative Islamic theology, or "Kalam". Support me on Patreon if you so wish: https://www.patreon.com/letstalkreligion Sources/Suggested reading:Winter, Tim ( ... Show More

26m 42s

Jul 2017

Popular Sufism, Ottomans, and Safavids

In this episode we explore how Muslims experience the fall of the Caliphate and how in turn Islam is shaped by the historical circumstances. Building upon the scholarly Islam developed by the Seljuks, we talk about the fusion of internal spirituality in the form of Sufism with or ... Show More

41m 20s

Nov 2002

Muslim Spain

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Muslim Spain. In 711 a small army of North African Berbers invaded Spain and established an Iberian Islamic culture that would last for over 700 years. Despite periods of infighting and persecution, Muslim Spain was a land where Muslims, Jews and C ... Show More

28m 7s

May 2022

8. Islam in Context

In this episode we talk about Islam at a high level, putting it into perspective as it relates to other religions that came before it, basic history, and Muhammad's character. Matthew 7:15-20.

1h 38m

Mar 2021

"Did Islam Spread by the Sword?" with Hassam Munir | Season1 Episode 1

The question of how Islam started from a small desert city in the Arabian Peninsula to eventually reach Spain and China is sometimes reduced to the faith being “spread by the sword.” In this episode, host Mohamad Zaoud talks to Hassam Munir, author of the Yaqeen Institute paper “ ... Show More

32m 51s

The Golden Age of Islam?