Bobby interviews AmandaEve Wigglesworth, the author of a new Conciliar Press book titled Celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas: A Family Devotional in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition.

Bobby interviews Katherine Hyde, an acquisitions editor at Ancient Faith Publishing, about the new Ancient Faith Prayer Book.

Bobby Maddex interviews Daniel Opperwall, the author of the new AFP children's book We Pray.

Bobby Maddex interviews Joseph Letendre, the author of the new AFP book When You Pray: A Practical Guide to an Orthodox Life of Prayer.

On a new live pop-up-edition of Ex Libris, Bobby Maddex interviews Angela Isaacs, the author of the new Ancient Faith Publishing children’s board book I Pray Today.

Bobby Maddex interviews Benedict Sheehan, Xenia Sheehan, and the poet Sydney Lea about the new AFP book The Shield of Psalmic Prayer by the late Donald Sheehan.

Bobby Maddex interviews Megan E. Gilbert, the author and illustrator of the new AFP book A Mother’s Prayer.

Fr. Wilbur introduces his new podcast by talking about the depth of the Psalms and how the Church views the Psalms in terms of the Historical, the Christological, and the Liturgical.

Dr. John Mark speaks with his colleague Holly Ordway about her journey to Christianity. Her book is Not God's Type: An Atheist Academic Lays Down Her Arms.

Dr. John Mark Reynolds discusses the importance of finding balance in the church.

Dr. John Mark Reynolds speaks with teacher Miray Katrib about languages, growing up in Lebanon and Miami, and staying in the Faith.

Dr. John Mark Reynolds speaks with teacher Miray Katrib about coming to the St. Constantine School, and the importance of language learning.

Dr. John Mark Reynolds talks about Orthodoxy history and today's global church community.

Supporting another's self-destruction is not a compassionate or morally neutral act.

Who should decide what is best for a child, the parents or medical professionals and the state?

LG Display’s new free-form screen technology can expand from 12 to 18 inches, with a resolution of 100ppi. The display also uses a micro-LED light source smaller than 40 micrometers, so it can apparently be stretched over 10,000 times. While this probably isn’t your next smartphone, we could see the tech in clothing, car panels and more.

LG Display has pushed the boundaries of screen tech for a while, revealing folding screens before foldable phones appeared, roll-up TVS before roll-up TVs went on sale and transparent displays before they appeared in fancy stores, theme parks and elsewhere. So expect to see this Bop-it of displays somewhere, eventually.

— Mat Smith

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Netflix’s ad tier has attracted more than 70 million subscribers

However, many have probably downgraded from a premium tier.

Netflix is crowing that its ad-supported tier now boasts 70 million global users. Amy Reinhard, president of advertising at Netflix, says the company continues “to see steady progress across all countries’ member bases.” But there isn’t any information about existing customers. It’s very possible a lot of people downgraded from a premium tier to an ad-supported tier.

Continue reading.

Fujifilm is developing a 102MP medium format cinema camera

With a new sensor 1.7 times larger than full frame.

Fujifilm is developing a medium-format, 102-megapixel cinema camera, the company said in a surprise announcement. Due next year, the GFX Eterna will carry a boxy, modular design reminiscent of Sony’s FX6. The new camera will have a medium format GFX 102-megapixel (MP) CMOS II HS sensor, the same one used on the GFX100 II. That sensor is 43.8mm x 32.9 mm in size — that’s 1.7 times larger than the full-frame sensor on the FX.

The benefits will be extra dynamic range, potentially high resolution and a very shallow depth of field, which should enable cinematic shots with the right lens. Having said that, Fujifilm currently has no GFX glass designed specifically for film production. It’s working on it, though.

Continue reading.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA's research center responsible for robotic space missions, will lay off more workers before the year ends due to budget constraints. JPL Director Laurie Leshin has announced in a memo addressed to employees that the reduction will affect 325 people, or about five percent of its whole workforce. Leshin explained that the lab took various measures to meet its budget allocation for the 2025 fiscal year and to minimize the adverse effects of a limited budget on its workers. In the end, though, JPL "reached the difficult decision" to make "one further workforce reduction."

The lab already cut 530 employees and cut over 100 contractors from its roster earlier this year because of uncertainty over the final budget that the Congress will give NASA for 2024. It also froze hiring in response to the dilemma. The main reason why the lab had to implement those measures was because the Mars Sample Return Program was allocated a much smaller budget than it needed. NASA had requested $950 million for the mission, but only $300 million was allocated for it. 

NASA's original plan was to bring home the samples collected by the mission in 2040. But its budget ballooned from $7 billion to $11 billion, and as The Washington Post notes, the government found the return date "unacceptable." For the 2025 fiscal year, NASA only requested $200 million for the project that could go through significant changes. The agency is now looking for ways to alter the mission and is even considering proposals from private companies. 

Leshin said that the layoffs will affect all areas of the lab, including its technical, business and support divisions. "[W]e had to tighten our belts across the board, and you will see that reflected in the layoff impacts," she said. JPL's director also said that the US presidential election results have nothing to do with the reduction that the "action would be happening regardless" of its outcome. 

What is the difference between a career and a vocation? Dr. Rossi tells a personal story from his days as a Monk.

Dr. Rossi uses the analogy of his GPS to bring home a point about how the Lord guides our way.

Today, Dr. Rossi reflects on Met. Kallistos Ware's book, The Orthodox Way, and tells about the journey of living the Orthodox life in Christ.

Today we have the special treat of hearing several recordings obtained by Dr. Rossi of people singing the Jesus Prayer.

Dr. Rossi continues to talk about the Jesus Prayer.

Dr. Rossi, interviews Fr. Raymond Browne, Rector of St. Mark's Orthodox Church (OCA) in Wrightstown, PA, on the topic of identity.

Dr. Rossi interviews Matushka Robin Freeman, Director of Music at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary.

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Dr. Gayle Woloschak about OCAMPR and her life and faith journey. Dr. Woloschak, professor of Radiation Oncology at Northwestern University in Chicago and an adjunct professor of Religion and Science at Lutheran School of Theology Chicago, and at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, as well as Professor of Bioethics at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, NY.

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Dr. Gayle Woloschak on the topic of bioethics. Dr. Woloschak is a professor of Radiation Oncology at Northwestern University in Chicago and an adjunct professor of Religion and Science at Lutheran School of Theology Chicago, and at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, as well as Professor of Bioethics at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, NY.

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Fr. Alexis Trader, author of Ancient Christian Wisdom, on the topic of overcoming impulsivity and the desire to control the world around us.

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on praying the Jesus Prayer with a living faith.

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on the way in which prayer deepens our love for God.

Fr. Lawrence Farley reminds us that the resolution to our fearful inability to know and plan for the future lies in trusting Jesus.

Fr. Philip LeMasters reminds us that our Orthodox faith does not require us to abandon or condemn any dimension of life, but instead to offer all that we are and do for fulfillment and blessing and healing.

Fr. Lawrence Farley argues that we must show love for all people—male or female, straight or gay or transgendered—but as we articulate and transmit our Christian culture to our young and to our catechumens, we must also take care to include a traditional understanding of gender.

Our contemporary culture forms many people who cannot imagine any purpose higher in life than the pursuit of self-centered pleasure on their own terms. Fr. Philip LeMasters explains that on the Sunday of All Saints, the Church reminds us that we are called to follow a very different and much better path.

Dn. Michael Hyatt is the chair of the Ancient Faith Ministries board and a Deacon at St. Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Church in Franklin, TN. Most people know him as one of the top leadership mentors in the country and the Founder and CEO of Michael Hyatt & Company, an online leadership development company dedicated to helping high achievers win at work and succeed at life. In this commentary (which is actually a sermon given at St. Ignatius), Dn. Michael assesses the impact of social media on people in general and Christians in particular. Be looking for the return of his Ancient Faith Radio podcast At the Intersection of East and West in September!

Nic Hartmann, a parishioner at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, reminds us that God sometimes wills that we lead a life seeking our salvation through the world.

In this broadcast—recorded "on the road"—we examine a brief word by Abba Dorotheos of Gaza on the spiritual symbolism of Christ's entry into Jerusalem.

What is implied in the "our" of the "Our Father"? In this week's episode, Fr. Matthew examines two passages from St Cyprian's treatise on the Lord's Prayer, which focus on questions of unity and community in the Son of God. Do we live this communion in our own life of prayer?

St. John of the Ladder, whom we normally read during Great Lent, is a Father who offers practical guidance to Christian life of every moment. In this week’s broadcast, Archimandrite Irenei explores a series of passages from Step 1 of St John’s Ladder to Paradise, on the specific issue of the universal calling of the Christian life, coupled with the need for each person to seek out a suitable way of life for the spiritual struggle to be exercised.

St John of the Ladder, whom we normally read during Great Lent, is a Father who offers practical guidance to Christian life of every moment. In this week's broadcast, Fr Dcn Matthew explores a series of passages from Step 1 of St John's Ladder to Paradise, on the specific issue of the universal calling of the Christian life, coupled with the need for each person to seek out a suitable way of life for the spiritual struggle to be exercised.

This week, in anticipation of Forgiveness Sunday, Archimandrite Irenei explores a series of patristic texts that deal with the imperative of forgiveness, and the need to forgive as the gateway into the life offered by Christ in the Church.