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Home > jesuitical > Fr. Charles Coughlin: America’s first mass-media demagogue priest
Podcast: jesuitical
Episode:

Fr. Charles Coughlin: America’s first mass-media demagogue priest

Category: Religion & Spirituality
Duration: 00:54:27
Publish Date: 2022-01-07 11:00:00
Description:

A charismatic demagogue with millions of devoted followers. A novel means of communication with little government regulation and few guardrails. The threat of violence in the streets and a country in crisis.

No, we’re not talking about the 45th president but America’s first radio priest, Father Charles Coughlin. On “Radioactive,” a new podcast series from Tablet Studios, Andrew Lapin takes listeners through the history of Father Coughlin, who through a mixture of Catholic piety, anti-Semitism and raw political ambition became the most popular voice on the U.S. airwaves during the Great Depression and the lead up to World War II.

We ask Andrew what Father Coughlin’s story can tell us about the connection between religious demagoguery and authoritarianism; the Wild West of new media platforms; and the failure of the church to reign in Catholics who exploit these toxic forces.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley share some Pope Francis-inspired New Year’s resolutions and give their predictions for Catholic stories coming in 2022.

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What’s on tap?

Bringing in the New Year with some Bubbly

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