Life After Philosophy

Episode 50: THE PODCASTER +17 Years MA in Philosophy

Erika Ahern is a seasoned journalist, Managing Editor for Refine, CatholicVote's lifestyle newsletter, and co-host of the LOOPcast. Her writing has appeared in USA Today, Washington Examiner, and other publications. She is a contributing author and editor for CatholicVote’s 2024 book For God, Country, and Sanity: How Catholics Can Save America. She appears regularly as a guest on podcasts and talk radio. Erika holds degrees in philosophy from The Catholic University of America (BA 2003) and Emory University (MA 2008). She and her husband live outside of New Haven, Connecticut, with their seven children. Hosted by Christopher Anadale LOOPcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theLOOPcast [https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2F%40theLOOPcast&data=05%7C02%7Canadale%40msmary.edu%7Caef08eb0c9df4d09f2b008ddd38dc8e0%7C1094034b6e0e4eb3a3bdfa55ae99b718%7C0%7C0%7C638899328143155796%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=0Zk8eESvxwWWheyMlxkczGXbsBOKGD%2FxeE7abSLxogE%3D&reserved=0] LOOPcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-loopcast/id1643967065 [https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fthe-loopcast%2Fid1643967065&data=05%7C02%7Canadale%40msmary.edu%7Caef08eb0c9df4d09f2b008ddd38dc8e0%7C1094034b6e0e4eb3a3bdfa55ae99b718%7C0%7C0%7C638899328143210831%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=vuZh%2FbieVTJESDZeOCYDcQBaXnXpyNRbK%2F7Bp7d4JN0%3D&reserved=0]

Episode 49: THE PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR +3 Years MA in Philosophy

Joey Wolfensberger is a full time faculty member in the Humanities Department at Montgomery College, in Maryland. He graduated from Mount St. Mary’s University with a bachelor’s degree in 2020, with 4 majors: philosophy theology, sociology, and criminal justice. In 2022 he earned a MA in Philosophical Studies degree from the same institution. He has taught philosophy at Montgomery College, Mount St. Mary's, and University of Maryland - Baltimore County. Hosted by Christopher Anadale

Episode 48: THE BLACKSMITH +9 Years Philosophy Major

Patrick Gill is a blacksmith of 16 years' experience and an adjunct professor of philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University. He earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the Catholic University of America in 2016, a Master of Business Administration degree from Mount St. Mary's in 2019, and a Master of Theological Science degree from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2025. Hosted by Christopher Anadale

Episode 47: THE SCIENTIST +8 Years MA in Philosophy

Zachary Robinson is Chief Scientist at Rising Tide, a startup that automates and optimizes business operations for last-mile logistics companies. He has 12 years of experience in algorithm development, applied mathematics, applied magnetics, digital signal processing, data analysis, software development, and more. He is a 2017 graduate of Mount St. Mary’s University with a Master of Arts in Philosophical Studies degree. He has also earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physics, and an MS in Applied and Computational Mathematics from Johns Hopkins University in 2014. Zachary is also a husband and the father of two children. 0:00 Shifting Lanes 5:11 Rising Tide 11:06 AI Cannot Reason Algorithmically 21:25 Economic & Psychological Problems with AI 27:50 Parenthood & Self-Understanding Study published by Apple: https://ml-site.cdn-apple.com/papers/the-illusion-of-thinking.pdf [https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fml-site.cdn-apple.com%2Fpapers%2Fthe-illusion-of-thinking.pdf&data=05%7C02%7Canadale%40msmary.edu%7C75395585d8f8453409f008ddc47f4d30%7C1094034b6e0e4eb3a3bdfa55ae99b718%7C0%7C1%7C638882773213937898%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=bwUpliEPczrzkcLHNOtIWPu1pfdHhG5rlmd7DMRgoCQ%3D&reserved=0]  AI losing to Atari at chess: https://futurism.com/atari-beats-chatgpt-chess [https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffuturism.com%2Fatari-beats-chatgpt-chess&data=05%7C02%7Canadale%40msmary.edu%7C75395585d8f8453409f008ddc47f4d30%7C1094034b6e0e4eb3a3bdfa55ae99b718%7C0%7C1%7C638882773213977420%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=XXyppl9OttOhhPTttfUrdUdY4HNpJyT5MBbAXZpVEnQ%3D&reserved=0]  Rising Tide's website: https://www.risingtide.us/ [https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.risingtide.us%2F&data=05%7C02%7Canadale%40msmary.edu%7C75395585d8f8453409f008ddc47f4d30%7C1094034b6e0e4eb3a3bdfa55ae99b718%7C0%7C1%7C638882773213991754%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=htEywNsBrRcu%2BDPiAsMfj7zSwFJBYRQa8ryfvIAvBJI%3D&reserved=0]  His LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharytrobinson/ [https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fzacharytrobinson%2F&data=05%7C02%7Canadale%40msmary.edu%7C75395585d8f8453409f008ddc47f4d30%7C1094034b6e0e4eb3a3bdfa55ae99b718%7C0%7C1%7C638882773214004692%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=FEL4bFWeut0K0VxzZTk84ppntXUI2CGFy1WxYWhnoVM%3D&reserved=0] MAPS program: https://msmary.edu/academics/graduate-school/master-of-arts-in-philosophical-studies.html [https://msmary.edu/academics/graduate-school/master-of-arts-in-philosophical-studies.html]

Episode 46: THE DEAN +23 Years Philosophy Major

R.J. Matava is Dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College and Associate Professor of Theology. He has taught at Christendom since 2010. He graduated in 2002 from Mount St. Mary's University. He then earned an MA in Theology from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington DC, and a PhD in theology from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He was the Liddon Fellow in theology at Keble College, Oxford, and Postdoctoral Research fellow at the Center for Medieval Philosophy at Georgetown University. He is a co-founder of Intercollegiate Catholic Studies and of the Institute for Liturgical Formation. Dr. Matava's interests lie at the crossroads of philosophy, Christian doctrine, and moral theory. He is convinced that the doctrine of personal vocation is one of the Church's most important but underappreciated teachings. Dr. Matava is the author of Divine Causality and Human Free Choice (Brill, 2016) as well as of several essays in journals and edited volumes, most recently the T&T Clark Handbook of Election (2023). 0:00 Memories of the Mount 3:05 Path to Professor 13:00 Oxford & St. Andrews 18:56 Christendom 2010-2025 28:45 AI Threat & Writing 38:05 Causes for Hope 41:32 Philosophy in the Life of the Church 45:10 Advice to Students Hosted by Christopher Anadale