Resisting Fascism: Father Alfred Delp

On May 3rd, 2025, I had the opportunity to discuss with the critical theorist and theologian, Dr. Rudolf Siebert, the life, times, and martyrdom of the Jesuit priest, Father Alfred Delp. Born of his Catholic faith, Delp was a staunch anti-Nazi, and was part of the Kreisau Circle that envisioned a new and radically different society that would come after the fall of the Nazis. Because of this, and because of his tangential connection to Claus von Stauffenberg’s failed assassination plot against Hitler, Delp was arrested, imprisoned, interrogated, beaten, and eventually stood trial in front of the communist-turned-fascist judge, Roland Freisler. Found guilty, Delp was executed on February 2, 1945. This discourse was sponsored by Ekpyrosis Press and the Institute for Critical Social Theory.

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“Where Id is, Ego shall be”: A Freud Portrait for a Freud Book

On April 1st, 2025, I had the opportunity to meet with the great portrait artist, Mahalia Stelter, an alumna of The University of Olivet, to celebrate the publication of the new book, Sigmund Freud as a Critical Social Theorist: Psychoanalysis and the Neurotic in Contemporary Society, edited by Seyed Javad Miri and I. Mahalia’s portrait of Freud was used for the cover of the book, and was photographed by Aubrey Helfrich. The book is published by Brill (Leiden, Netherlands), and is available for purchase via Brill’s website, or through Amazon. Get your copy of the Freudian goodness now, or have your institution order a copy.

For a discussion on Freud and his relevance to the Frankfurt School, see my discussion with Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert.

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Talking Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Fascism with Rudolf J. Siebert

On March 15th, 2025, I had the pleasure of discussing the life and work of the German Lutheran Pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, with the critical theorist and theologian, Rudolf J. Siebert. We discussed the historicity of the 2024 movie, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Assassin, and why it is important to remember individuals like Bonhoeffer who resisted fascism, especially in light of the latest rise of authoritarian populism in the West. We also discussed Bonhoeffer’s concept of “stupidity” and “cheap grace” among others. The discourse was sponsored by Ekpyrosis Press and the Institute for Critical Social Theory.

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Remembering Malcolm X in an Age of Crisis

On February 21st, 2025, we remembered the anniversary of Malcolm X’s 1965 assassination at The University of Olivet, at my annual Malcolm X Lecture Series. For an audience of students, faculty, and administrators, I gave a presentation entitled, “Remembering Malcolm X in an Age of Crisis: 5 Lessons from a Revolutionary Life.” In this presentation, I focused on what we can learn from Malcolm X’s own life in a time of social disintegration, racial and religious antagonisms, and political-economic strife, and how we can apply those lessons to our own time, as we experience the rise of populist parties and figures, attempting to negate the progress that has been made in Western society. This event was sponsored by the Department of Arts and Humanities at UO.

Some years ago, Seyed Javad Miri and I edited a volume of essays on Malcolm X, which is available through Haymarket Books: Malcolm X: From Political Eschatology to Religious Revolutionary. Get your copy now!

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The Authoritarian threat to Democracy: a discussion with Rudolf J. Siebert

On February 1st, 2025, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert, critical theorist of religion and society, and Professor Emeritus at Western Michigan University, to discuss the ongoing threat to democracy posed by right-wing authoritarian movements and figures. Dr. Siebert is not optimistic, seeing that – at least in America – we’ve already moved into an authoritarian stage of development, and that “anocracy,” the combination of democracy and authoritarianism, is not possible. This discourse was sponsored by the Institute for Critical Social Theory and Ekpyrosis Press.

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Institute for Critical Social Theory – Inaugural Conference, 2025

Come join the Institute for Critical Social Theory at our inaugural conference, July 17-19, 2025, at Bristol University (UK). Seyed Javad Miri and I are the plenary speakers in this three day conference. Our conference theme is “Critical Theory in an Age of Social Disintegration.” The Call for Papers is below, or visit us at the ICST website: Institute for Critical Social Theory.

ICST – Call for Papers – Bristol Conference 2025 2.0Download
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“Transforming Catastrophe into a Catalyst for Change” – MLK Day at UO

On January 22, 205, I had the honor of speaking at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Inaugural Luncheon held at The University of Olivet. My speech was entitled, “Transforming Catastrophe into a Catalyst for Change,” wherein I talked about taking MLK’s radicality seriously, what created his radicality – as a response to systematic racism and episodic racism, and how Dr. King understood Hegel’s philosophy of history: from regress comes great progress, as long as we’re willing to do the work! I was joined on stage by President Steven Corey, Dr. Tonya Bailey (Oakland University), and the motivational speaker, Dr. Eric Thomas. The music was outstanding! We heard musical performances by the Olivet Choir/Choral, Robert Kyle II, MJ and the Band, and the flautist Brandon Marceal. The event was arranged by the amazing Joshua Gillespie (UO) and the Hiram Archer Student Success Academy (HASSA) at UO. It was a powerful event honoring a prophetic brother, Dr. King.

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Talking Christian Nationalism in Scotland

On January 9th and 10th, I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the “Whose Christianity Anyway: Theological Contestations in the Public and Political” conference at New College, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh in Scotland. My presentation was entitled, “From the Cold War to the Warm Embrace: Russian Church-State Symphonia as a Template for the Re-Christianization of the United States.” The presentation sparked an excellent conversation about the nature of Christian Nationalism, why in particular the Russian model of “Symphonia” appeals to American Christian Nationalists, and the important differences between American Christian Nationalists and the Russian Orthodox Church. Our two keynote speakers, Jan-Werner Müller (Princeton) and Mariëtta van der Tol (Cambridge), gave very insightful presentations. A big thank you goes out to Thiu Elias and Stephen Dolan for all their hard work organizing the conference, and The University of Olivet for their financial support.

Whose Christianity Schedule and SessionsDownload

On the 11th of January, I was able to spend some time in Edinburgh as a simple American tourist, seeing numerous important landmarks, such as the Edinburgh castle, Victoria Street, Greyfriars Church and Kirkyard, and St. Giles Cathedral (where old fuss-and-feathers John Knox preached). Below are some pictures from the journey.

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