Bobby Maddex interviews Andrei Oprescu, the director of the new documentary People of the Holy Mountain, a film featuring the Orthodox monks of Mt. Athos.

Bobby Maddex is joined by award-winning actor, Jonathan Jackson to discuss the new Theoria College of Filmmaking. Listeners can learn more about the college and apply here. Also, listeners can find Jonathan's book, The Mystery of Art, at the Ancient Faith Store.

John Maddex sits down with Man of God producer Yelena Popovic to get an update on the results from the Spring showings in the US. She shares some good news about a Canadian release as well as the availability of streaming and downloads very soon.

The heritage and theology behind Russian bells with Mark Galperin of Blagovest Bells.

Kevin Allen interviews Abbess Aemiliane of the Sacred Monastery of St. Nina about her miraculous rescue in Kansas City when a Sky Walk came crashing down on the public on July 17, 1981.

Bobby Maddex speaks with Yelena Popovic about the widely acclaimed film, Man of God, which is now available for purchase in digital format, DVD, and Blu-ray.

The traveling mic of AFR goes all the way to Korce, Albania to interview Metropolitan John. He grew up in communist Albania, found Christ in a miraculous way, became part of the underground and illegal Christian Church, and is now a member of the Holy Synod of the Autocephalous Albanian Orthodox Church under the hierarchical leadership of Archbishop Anastasios. It's a powerful story of God's grace and provision under very difficult circumstances.

In this episode Bobby Maddex interviews His Grace Bishop Alexei of Sitka and Alaska on the history of the Alaskan Orthodox Church. Wonderful discussion about what life looks like for the clergy of the church and its parishioners. If you would like to donate the Alaskan diocese you can do so @ odesa.org.

Bobby Maddex interview with Ann Van Fossen, the Chief Academic Officer for the Classical Learning Resourse Centre, also known as the CLRC, as well as, two of her teachers at the centre; John Bassett and Michelle Wib Band. To learn more about the CLRC please go to; clrconline.com. email @ info@clrconline.com Also the CLRC is offering a discount code until August 3,2023 which is AFR10

Bobby Maddex, the Director of Digital Media for Ancient Faith Ministries speaks with Dr. Andrei Psarev, a professor of Russian church history and Canon Law at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary. Dr. Psarev shares about his new project; This Day in the History of the Orthodox Church. Please visit https://www.patreon.com/rocorstudies for more information.

Bobby Maddex interviews Father Dragos Herescu who is the Principal of IOCS (Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies) in Cambridge, United Kingdom. For more information please visit their website @ https://www.iocs.cam.ac.uk

Bobby Maddex, the Director of Digital Media for Ancient Faith Ministries, interviews Dr. John Burgess, the James Henry Snowden, professor of Systematic Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

Bobby Maddox, the Director of Digital Media for Ancient Faith Ministries, interviews Fr.Patrick Viscuso, the president of the brand new Orthodox Canon Law Society of North America. Pleae visit www.oclsna.org to learn more about the Orthodox Canon Law Society of North America

Bobby Maddex interviews Dr. Andrei Psarev, a professor of Russian Church History and Canon Law and the Director of Undergraduate Studies at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, about his daily reflections on the history and theology of the Orthodox Church, now available on Substack: https://andreipsarev.substack.com.

In light of Israel's incursion into southern Lebanon, a look back at its 1982 invasion that became an 18-year occupation. / Politico Magazine

Viewers say last night's vice presidential debate was an even match, and an overwhelming majority felt the tone was positive. / CBS News

Interviews with 10-year-olds about the presidential election: "I wouldn't like someone who committed crimes to be my president." / CNN

A fact-check finds that no, there are not 13,099 illegal immigrant murders roaming free on American streets. / Alex Nowrasteh

See also: Researchers say a second Trump term could add an extra 4 billion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere by 2030. / Grist

A visit to Michigan and China shows how the US lost the solar power race. In short? Good old capitalism. / Bloomberg

New milk-tea chains in China have an aesthetic known as guochao, meaning "national and hip." / The New Yorker

Geologists make the counterintuitive case that Mount Everest is growing taller thanks to erosion. / Smithsoniian Magazine

DNA testing company 23andMe is sinking quickly, partly because it's run out of customers. / WIRED

Drug developers are developing birth control pills aimed at male Gen Zers and millennials. / axios

A study finds cannabis enhances the enjoyment of music, "confirming what every stoner already knows." / Marijuana Moment

A smartphone in San Francisco's Mission District is broadcasting what songs are currently playing nearby. / Bop Spotter

Video of "a particularly beautiful" murmuration of starlings observed in The Netherlands. / Kottke

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"Bolivia, too, is undergoing a kind of disillusionment with democracy." How the rest of the world views this year's US election. / The Dial

See also: How British vernacular invaded America, or why everyone's saying "gutted" now. / The Guardian

More solar activity could again make the Northern Lights visible to more areas of the world this weekend. / BBC News

"A lot of people just said, 'This is too good to be true. This cannot be real.'" In early tests, visual therapy using flashing lights appears to halt the progression of Alzheimer's. / Nature

See also: Researchers find that, compared to viewing reproductions, experiencing art in person creates a 10-fold increase in people's emotional response. / Hyperallergic

"Not a single organism survived. This is unprecedented. It's Europe's first completely dead river." Ukraine accuses Russia of intentionally poisoning a river. / The Guardian

The US military has been updating various advanced weapons systems with gaming-style controllers. / WIRED

See also: The CIA is posting messages in Farsi, Mandarin, and Korean on social media and the dark web as part of an effort to recruit informants. / NBC News

This is a chilling development: By pairing Meta's smart glasses with facial recognition, Harvard students were able to instantly dox strangers on the street. / 404 Media

But at least the AI that Meta includes with the smart glasses seems incapable of deciphering much of what it sees, though it will confidently lie to you about it anyway. / Gizmodo

Parents of the surveillance era are facing the reality of having children away at college. / The Wall Street Journal [+]

"The emotions I feel for her are real." AI companions can be a lifeline for those who struggle with relationships. / Esquire

See also: Does anyone have time to be a good friend anymore? / Dazed

From initial novelty to immediate slop, the five qualities of every AI app. / Read Max

"Being online has always involved searching for the needles of 'real' content in a large and messy haystack of junk. But never has the hay been as convincingly disguised as needles." / The New Yorker

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Due to some unforseen events, we missed a couple days last week. Sorry about that! All is better and we appreciate the readers who reached out.

Israel reportedly says any attacks on Iran will target its military, not nuclear or oil facilities. / CNN

Republican campaigns spend more money at Shake Shack and Jimmy John's while Democrats eat at Sweetgreen and Le Pain Quotidien. / The Washington Post [+]

People whose homes were damaged by recent storms are likely to be forced to "build up or move out." / Heatmap

Related: Emergency workers in North Carolina were withdrawn for fear of trucks of armed militia "saying they were out hunting FEMA." The local sherriff's office says otherwise. / The Guardian, Citizen Times

Nepalese teenager Nima Rinji Sherpa breaks the record for the youngest mountaineer to summit Earth's 14 highest peaks. / BBC News

A team finds the remains of one of the first climbers to attempt Mount Everest. / National Geographic

Prior to the 20th century, oyster reefs covered more than 1.7 million hectares across European oceans. / Bloomberg [+]

Do more people die from heat or cold? Cold, but most die from "moderate cold." / Sustainability by numbers

The amount of tents on the streets of San Franicsco is down 60% since July 2023. / The San Francisco Standard

New Yorkers deploy "anti-influencer architecture" in neighborhoods popular with TikTokers. / Curbed

See also: A nonprofit called Mothers Against Media Addiction aims to follow the model of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. / The Information

Fitness bros on TikTok participating in "locktober" may not know the term's history as a chastity kink. / Them

Author Rumaan Alan's solution for his midlife crisis is to get tattooed with things he doesn't want to forget. / Esquire

An argument for skipping wellness and personal development for "wasteful intervals of pure, delicious nothingness." / The Good Question

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China's appetite for an Iran-Israel war is said to be limited. / The Economist

Five takeaways from Kamala Harris's interview with Charlamagne Tha God. / The New York Times [+]

Donald Trump turns a town hall into a 39-minute "living-room listening session." / The Washington Post [+]

Why does the media still struggle to portray Trump accurately? Partly because of the "myth of the reasonable man." / Degenerate Art

A reporter's road trip through the Southwest, talking to voters, finds that "Latinos are as American as anyone else, if not more so." / The Los Angeles Times

Farmers worry that Trump's proposed "mass deportations" will decimate the US food supply. / Grist

Unrelated: Russia to unveil a new statue of Joseph Stalin. / Politico

Billionaires are said to be dominated by existential crises, "although each displays nuance when it comes to confrontation." / MacGuffin

Who left the United States a $7 billion payment? Theories suggest a Texan investment manager, but it's maybe someone still alive trying to minimize their taxes. / Sherwood

See also: There's no evidence the Internet Archive was hacked to edit history—but what if it was? / Interconnected

Unrelated: A video tour of New York City's so-called fake buildings. / Open Culture

TikTok is turning users with relatively low follower counts into paid shopping influencers. / rest of world

A new AI company enables users to create bots in the likeness of any person—without their consent. / WIRED

Old fashioned bookshops are now cool destinations for young people. "I can spend hours browsing—I think that's a big part of it." / The Guardian

Writers and authors create adhoc writing programs to compete with institutional workshops. / Airmail

Astrophysicists are "exulting" in new findings about the universe's first billion years, such as an image of the earliest known galaxy. / Quanta Magazine

Video and photos of 14,000 prescription lenses dangling in a Japanese forest. / Colossal

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Israel has damaged more buildings in two weeks than in a year of fighting with Hezbollah. / BBC News

A brief history of Hezbollah, Israel, and Lebanon. / Vox

China cracks down on "uncivilized" puns that people use to get around censorship controls. / The Guardian

One of the foremost American experts on fascism comes around to applying "this most toxic of labels" to Trumpism. / The New York Times Magazine [+]

An argument for making an "emotional hedge bet" on the presidential election—among 27 observations from a political insider. / Matt's Five Points

For Millennials, "wealth may have gone up, but if that's mostly housing wealth, then that's not actually making people better off." / The Washington post

Housing prisoners in "containment cages" for days—standing-room only, with no toilet or sink—is a widespread and unchecked practice in Texas. / Slate

In the past 40 years, the number of catastrophic injuries sustained by cheerleaders is greater than those sustained by female athletes playing all other high school and college sports combined. / The New York Times Magazine [+]

As of 2022, only about six percent of the nation's doctors identified as Black and only seven percent as Hispanic. / The Atlantic

What is the trendy recreational drug "pink cocaine?" A grab bag of different drugs dyed pink that often doesn't include cocaine. / The Associated Press

A "fruit detective" studies old paintings for produce we no longer eat. / Smithsonian Magazine

Photographs by Lars Tunbjörk of corporate worklife in the 1990s. / Lars Tunbjörk

"I don't have to tell you that posting on the internet is a weird thing to do." Lessons learned from a 90-day course taught by a TikTok influencer. / Defector

Watch: A carpenter fires his nail gun in time to a band performing next door. / Kottke

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Ancient Faith Radio correspondent Chrysanthe Loizos takes us "behind the scenes" at the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration in Ellwood City, PA. With the blessing of the Abbess, Mother Christophora, Chrysanthe gives us a glimpse into the daily life of the nuns as well as their purpose and goals.

A 26 minute documentary on an Orthodox coffee house/bookstore in Colorado Springs

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick journeys into the hollers of central Appalachia and encounters one of the least-known forms of American Protestant religion, exploring their faith, their music and one of their churches, through the eyes of an Orthodox priest raised in that tradition.

Fr. David Bozeman, Fr. James Bozeman, and Fr. Christopher Foley discuss their experience as members of the band Luxury and introduce the new documentary about that experience. The entire band suffered through an accident in the early Nineties that led to their conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy. Here is the trailer for the documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y4jIPn96Ig.

In this special documentary, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick goes on pilgrimage to encounter Fr. Nicola Yanney, an early 20th century Orthodox missionary in America and the first priest ordained by St. Raphael of Brooklyn, whose missionary territory included most of the Great Plains. Join Fr. Andrew as he explores the life of this holy man through interviews, research and prayer in Kearney, Nebraska, asking the question: Is Fr. Nicola a saint? Included with this documentary are 9 bonus tracks of extra interviews and other material that was not included in the main documentary.

Part two of "Transformation: Same-Sex Attraction Through the Lens of Orthodox Christianity." In part two, we take a deep dive into the theology surrounding same-sex attraction. What do the Scripture, canons, and Fathers have to say about it? Is it sinful to have a same-sex attraction? Archbishop Michael, Dr. Jeannie Constantinou, Fr. Harry Linsinbigler, Dr. Roxanne Louh, and Dr. Edith M. Humphrey are among our panelists. Resource: Christian Faith and Same Sex Attraction by Fr. Thomas Hopko

Part three of our four-part documentary Transformation: Same-Sex Attraction Through the Lens of Orthodox Christianity How are we doing as a Church at showing love to everyone who walks in our doors? Are we welcoming or judgmental? Does a warm welcome translate into endorsement of someone's lifestyle? If we are to truly love one another and bear one another's burdens, we need to get to know them first. Resource: Christian Faith and Same Sex Attraction by Fr. Thomas Hopko

The release of Windows 11 is still a number of months away, and we're still learning a lot about Microsoft's latest operating system update. In addition to the confusion about hardware requirements, there have been questions about other necessities.

Microsoft is changing its famous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) to black in Windows 11. The software giant started testing its new design changes in a Windows 11 preview earlier this week, but the Black Screen of Death isn’t fully enabled yet. The Verge understands Microsoft will be switching to a Black Screen of Death for Windows 11, matching the new black logon and shutdown screens.

Fr. Pat places the Sunday of St. Thomas in the overall context of the Pentecostarion, the fifty days that separate the Lord's Resurrection from the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

On the Sunday of the Holy Cross, Fr. Pat explains that it was the fear of death that Jesus faced while praying in the garden.

Fr. Pat contemplates what the life of the Virgin Mary teaches us concerning 1) dogmatic theology, 2) the life of piety and worship, 3) the moral, ascetical life.

A great pastor makes for a great church, right? Fr. Pat compares Peter, Paul, and Apollos, and their various ministries to the Corinthian Church.

Fr. Pat gave this sermon in Waynesburg, PA, at the funeral of beloved friend Nancy (Katherine) Thompson who fell asleep in the Lord on August 2, 2011.

Fr. Pat addresses the Word of God, the enemies of the Word, and the qualities of the heart.

Fr. Pat addresses the miracle of Christ healing the bleeding woman.

Fr. Pat examines three saints of the old covenant as three dimensions of the mystery of Christmas.

Fr. Pat takes a closer look at the wounds Christ suffered on his feet, hands, and side.

Fr. Pat makes three points with respect to the central teaching of Chalcedon, particularly as we prepare for the Feast of the Transfiguration.

Fr. Pat reflects on the mystery of the Cross as presented during Holy Week through the imagery of other biblical characters.

Fr. Pat explains how the calling of the apostles and the miraculous catching of fish are indications of the great crowds that would come to Christ upon hearing the Gospel.

Fr. Pat continues the allegory that Jesus began in the parable of the sowing of the seed.

Fr. Pat explains how the Parable of the Talents is really about the Last Judgment.

Fr. Pat examines the principle of synergy, the assent of Mary, and holiness and personal history as they relate to the Feast of the Annunciation.

Fr. Pat shares his homily from the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos.

Fr. Pat explores three ways of looking at Protagoras's infamous assertion.

Fr. Pat discusses the moral order in three stages.

Fr. Pat discusses three approaches to death.

Fr. Pat discusses the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.

Fr. Pat uses Aristotle's four causes to explore the consecrated life of the Mother of God.

Fr. Pat examines Psalm 3, a prayer that should be recited anytime a believer feels desperate and inundated.