Spe Salvi Institute Podcast

The Metaphysical Cinema of Krzysztof Kieślowski

What does a secular Polish filmmaker have to teach us about the soul? More than you might expect. In this episode, Robert Mixa and Andrew Petiprin sit down to explore the life and work of Krzysztof Kieślowski — one of the most quietly profound filmmakers of the twentieth century — and ask why his films continue to haunt viewers long after the credits roll. From the moral intensity of The Dekalog, a ten-part meditation on the Ten Commandments set in a Warsaw apartment block, to the mystery of The Double Life of Véronique, and the soaring ambition of the Three Colors Trilogy (Blue, White, and Red), Kieślowski created a body of work worth contemplating. Robert and Andrew explore what it means that a filmmaker who identified as an "agnostic mystic" kept returning — compulsively, almost helplessly — to questions of providence, the hidden connections between human souls, the weight of moral choice, and the strange luminosity of ordinary life. Is there a theological grammar underneath Kieślowski's images? Why do his films feel like prayers? And what can Catholics and serious Christians learn from an artist who approached transcendence from the outside, and got closer to it than most? Listen in and learn why Kieślowski is worthy of high admiration.

Bishop Erik Varden: The Post-Secular West

In this episode of the Spe Salvi Institute Podcast, Andrew Petiprin and Robert Mixa sit down with Bishop Erik Varden, O.C.S.O. — Trappist monk, Bishop of Trondheim, and one of the most compelling Catholic voices in the world today. Born into a non-practising Lutheran family in Norway, Bishop Varden traces his remarkable spiritual awakening and journey to the Church, the monastery, and the episcopate, sharing his formation as a scholar of Syriac language and Christian anthropology, his conviction that even countries marked for centuries by the Christian faith stand in constant need of conversion, his appreciation for film directors like Krzysztof Kieślowski, his experience leading this year's Lenten retreat for Pope Leo XIV, and his deeply considered thoughts on the nature of Christian hope. Be sure to check out Bishop Varden's website, Coram Fratribus, at https://coramfratribus.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbk5OdjdfUTRuSHJLbmFRMm0yWi1UZHRKNjNHUXxBQ3Jtc0trSTVIbjlycWRualpNUXFMcnlXYXFHZUs5WjlBaDRLQnNZWFBKb3JYeVVSbmYtVTEtaGc5b0dHNmFPZzl5QmxIZXdmMTVYb0VVSXQzSWowYXR6SGVVNFo0dGJDMThQYlI3Vk5HdEhzdVJRbWxnU0kzVQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fcoramfratribus.com%2F&v=6K4JpjwaNbk]

Pope Benedict XVI on Revelation with Richard DeClue

In commemoration of Pope Benedict XVI’s birthday on April 16, Robert Mixa and Andrew Petiprin sit down with Dr. Richard DeClue, Professor of Theology at the Word on Fire Institute and author of The Mind of Pope Benedict XVI: A Theology of Communion, to explore Pope Benedict XVI’s profound understanding of divine revelation as God’s personal self-communication in history rather than a mere collection of doctrines. Drawing from Ratzinger’s groundbreaking study of St. Bonaventure, his pivotal role in shaping Vatican II’s Dei Verbum, and his vision of Christ as the living “Thou” of revelation, Dr. DeClue unpacks how Scripture and Tradition flow from the incarnate Word, inviting us into Trinitarian communion.

Pope Leo XIV on the Value of Sport

In this episode of the Spe Salvi Institute Podcast, founders Robert Mixa and Andrew Petiprin discuss Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic letter "Life in Abundance: On the Value of Sport", released ahead of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics. Drawing on John 10:10 (“I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly”), the Pope presents sport as a “school of life” that forms body, relationships, and spirit—teaching resilience, generosity, respect, and joy—while urging the Church to guide athletes amid commercialization and the idol of victory. Robert and Andrew explore how the letter echoes St. Paul’s call to be athletes in the spiritual life: “Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Cor 9:24-27) and “I have finished the race” (2 Tim 4:7). They show how physical sport trains the very habits of spiritual athleticism—discipline, endurance, humility, and hope—while also diving into the experience of “flow” as a foretaste of spiritual joy and sport’s civic value in building community and renewing culture.

Rage Against the AI Chatbot with Marc Barnes

In this episode, Robert Mixa welcomes Marc Barnes, editor of New Polity, for a conversation about the sudden rush to insert AI chatbots into our lives without much consideration of what we are really doing. Even Catholics have come to love AI. From Catholic Answers’ “Fr. Justin” AI app to Magisterium AI, Catholics have embraced this technology. It’s time to hear from a Catholic who is calling us to hit the brakes and think. Maybe large language models are not just neutral tools that can “save time” and “meet people where they are.” Barnes dismantles these claims and revels in his rage against the machine.