Dope Popes—With Matt Sitman
Matthew Sitman joins Fighting Fascism to discuss Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, the Catholic critique of Big Tech and inequality, and faith in contemporary politics.
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Dope Popes w/ Matt Sitman / Fighting Fascism
Back in May, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas”—a surprisingly forceful call-out of dehumanizing technology, Big Tech oligarchs, and an economic order that casts the few as gods and the many as disposable. To talk about this work (and Aaron’s growing Catholicism-envy, and the utterly pathetic “faith” of J.D. Vance), we invited Matthew Sitman, co-host of the great Know Your Enemy Podcast and official Catholic sage of the erudite left, who walks us through this era of moral leadership from the Catholic Church. This is a good one. We swear, so help us God!
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Pope Leo XIV during a visit at the Maqam Echahid Martyrs’ Monument in El Madania, near Algiers, on April 13, 2026.
(Alberto Pizzoli / AFP via Getty Images)Back in May, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas—a surprisingly forceful call-out of dehumanizing technology, Big Tech oligarchs, and an economic order that casts the few as gods and the many as disposable. To talk about this work (and Aaron’s growing Catholicism-envy, and the utterly pathetic “faith” of JD Vance), we invited Matthew Sitman, cohost of the great Know Your Enemy podcast and official Catholic sage of the erudite left, who walks us through this era of moral leadership from the Catholic Church. This is a good one. We swear, so help us God!
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The Nation Podcasts
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
Chud of the Rings w/ Bret Devereaux / Fighting Fascism
We all love making fun of fascists. But Dr. Bret Devereaux makes an art of it. Bret is a historian of antiquity and a Tolkien scholar, and he doesn’t suffer fools. He’s been going at it with the world of online chud “historians” — the fascists who say they’re fighting to defend “Western Civilization,” something they’ve never bothered to actually try to understand. And he has similarly choice words for the far right billionaire freaks who idolize, and utterly misunderstand, the Lord of the Rings.
This is a genuinely delightful conversation for nerds like us. But it’s also a serious look into the ways the far right misuses history and literature to advance their fucked up worldviews — and how we can fight back.
Check out Bret’s WONDERFUL blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, at acoup.blog.
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