An NBA Legend, an NFL Lineman, a Priest, and a Psychiatrist Walk Into a Bar...
As a kid born and raised in Washington State, I grew up watching John Stockton—the local kid from Spokane who had come out of Gonzaga—dazzle with his performances in the NBA finals as arguably the best point guard ever to play basketball. Also, as a Packer’s football fan, I was happy when former Green Bay MVP offensive tackle Ken Ruettgers recently reached out for an interview on the podcast he co-hosts with Stockton. During our interview, I found both of these former professional athletes to be remarkably well-informed on the issues I’ve been posting about here. They are doing great work for the medical freedom movement, and I hope you enjoy our recent interview as much as I did.
My dear friend, Fr. Ambrose Criste, might be the most intelligent and learned person I know (and I’m fortunate to know quite a few smart people). A former Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, he shocked his academic colleagues and professors when he walked away in the middle of his Rhodes fellowship to respond to God’s call to the priesthood. Until recently Fr. Ambrose lived at a thriving monastery, St. Michael’s Abbey, located near my home in Orange County California (he recently moved to Illinois with three fellow Norbertine priests to establish a new monastery there). I recommend you visit the newly constructed Abbey, which ranks among the most beautiful churches in the U.S., if you are ever in Southern California (see the photo below for a glimpse of the church’s interior). There you can enjoy several times daily the gorgeous Gregorian chant of the Norbertine priests and the tranquility of the setting.
In this recent conversation Fr. Ambrose and I sat down for one of my favorite interviews this year: in addition to discussing government censorship and the precursors of totalitarian systems, starting around minute 36 we also do a deep dive on philosophical questions about knowledge, the pursuit of truth, our shared rationality, and the religious dimension. I hope you enjoy the interview.
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