Archaeologists Discover an Ancient Roman Sandal with Nails Used for Tread

A recre­ation of the mil­i­tary san­dals. (Pho­to: Bavar­i­an State Office for Mon­u­ment Preser­va­tion) Whether you’re putting togeth­er a stage play, a film, or a tele­vi­sion series, if the sto­ry is set in ancient Rome, you know you’re going to have to get a lot of san­dals on order. This task may sound more straight­for­ward than … Read more

The Olympics in the 2020s Versus 1912: See Side-by-Side Comparisons of the Athletes’ Performance Then & Now

The Olympic Games have their ori­gins in antiq­ui­ty, but their mod­ern revival has also been going on longer than any of us has been here. Even the fifth Sum­mer Olympics, which took place in Stock­holm in 1912, has passed out of liv­ing mem­o­ry. But thanks to the tech­nol­o­gy of the twen­ty-first cen­tu­ry, we can call … Read more

Scott Hahn on cremation, Gene Wolfe, Ben-Hur, Jane Greer, Charlie Parker

Aug 1, 2024 A collection of highlight clips from past episodes. 77 Gene Wolfe, Catholic Sci-Fi Legend—Sandra Miesel, Fr. Brendon Laroche https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-77-gene-wolfe-catholic-sci-fi-legend-sandra-miesel-fr-brendon-laroche/ Ben-Hur w/ Elizabeth Lev (Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast) https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ben-hur-1959-w-elizabeth-lev/ 80 Bring Out Your Dead – Scott Hahn https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-80-bring-out-your-dead-scott-hahn/ 81 Love Like a Conflagration – Jane Greer https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-81-love-like-conflagration-jane-greer/ 126 How Charlie Parker Changed … Read more

David Bowie Predicts the Good & Bad of the Internet in 1999: “We’re on the Cusp of Something Exhilarating and Terrifying”

“We’re on the cusp of some­thing exhil­a­rat­ing and ter­ri­fy­ing.” The year is 1999 and David Bowie, in shag­gy hair and groovy glass­es, has seen the future and it is the Inter­net. In this short but fas­ci­nat­ing inter­view with BBC’s stal­wart and with­er­ing inter­roga­tor cum inter­view­er Jere­my Pax­man, Bowie offers a fore­cast of the decades to … Read more

Nick Cave Narrates an Animated Film about the Cat Piano, the Twisted 18th Century Musical Instrument Designed to Treat Mental Illness

What do you imag­ine when you hear the phrase “cat piano”? Some kind of whim­si­cal fur­ry beast with black and white keys for teeth, maybe? A rel­a­tive of My Neigh­bor Totoro’s cat bus? Or maybe you pic­ture a piano that con­tains sev­er­al caged cats who shriek along an entire scale when keys are pressed that slam sharp­ened … Read more

Longlegs, Satanism, and Our Need for Cosmic Justice

Note: This review contains potential spoilers for Longlegs. “Are you still saying your prayers? Our prayers protect us from the Devil.” Osgood Perkins’s latest horror film Longlegs follows FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) in her search for a serial killer connected to the occult. The film relies on haunting aesthetics and thrills for its … Read more

Unpacking the Closet: How Inside Out 2 Resurfaced My Childhood Trauma

I have a confession. I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor, but until two days before seeing Inside Out 2, I still hadn’t even seen the first Inside Out. I know. Malpractice. Despite the hype, Inside Out met and exceeded my expectations. The personification of the core emotions—sadness, joy, fear, anger, and disgust—were delightfully impactful (although we … Read more