Uncommon Sense
Nancy C. Brown
The podcast where we talk about all things Chesterton, which includes everything, and everything else. Learn more about Chesterton, his life, his books, his way of thinking.
- 42 minutes 51 secondsRE-AIRING: Saint Nicholas, Santa, & Father Christmas!
FROM THE ARCHIVES: (Originally aired 12-3-2024)
Grettelyn and Joe speak with their colleague, Tyler Blanski, about Saint Nicholas, why Father Christmas shows up in Narnia, what Jupiter has to do with it, and more!
To sign up for the Society's daily Advent quotations from Chesterton, along with reflections and Scriptures on which to meditate, visit https://www.chesterton.org/advent
Check out our whole [2024] Advent & Christmastide series playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm8wkRUR11ar3uer8l1EJ0S9hgAR1Ddz1
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16 December 2025, 5:00 am - 40 minutes 47 secondsRE-AIRING: Is Christmas Pagan? (No, it isn't)
FROM THE ARCHIVES: (Originally aired 12-10-2024)
Grettelyn and Joe speak about some of the myths and misconceptions surrounding Christmas, and how we can respond to them (with Chesterton's help)!
To sign up for the Society's daily Advent quotations from Chesterton, along with reflections and Scriptures on which to meditate, visit https://www.chesterton.org/advent
Check out our whole Advent & Christmastide series playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm8wkRUR11ar3uer8l1EJ0S9hgAR1Ddz1
OTHER LINKS:
- G.K. Chesterton, "The History of Christmas": PART 1: https://library.chesterton.org/the-history-of-christmas-55156/ PART 2: https://library.chesterton.org/the-history-of-christmas-cont-35676/
- Who Were The Magi? (Dave Armstrong) - https://www.ncregister.com/blog/who-were-the-magi
- The Dating of Christmas (Jimmy Akin) - https://jimmyakin.com/2014/11/the-dating-of-christmas.html
- Christmas is Pagan REBUTTED (Joe Heschmeyer) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KBFfWe1KcQ
- Christmas and Pagan Roots (U.S. Catholic) - https://uscatholic.org/articles/202312/glad-you-asked-does-christmas-have-pagan-roots/
- Christmas, Pagan Romans and Frodo Baggins (Father Dwight Longenecker) - https://dwightlongenecker.com/christmas-pagan-romans-and-frodo-baggins/
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9 December 2025, 5:00 am - 1 minute 43 secondsSpecial #GivingTuesday Message from Stacey Bowman
Stacey Bowman, VP Advancement for the Society of G.K. Chesterton, with a special message for Giving Tuesday 2025. Donate today at https://give.chesterton.org/EOY2025.
2 December 2025, 8:18 pm - 30 minutes 14 secondsRE-AIRING: G.K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens, and Christmas
[RE-AIRING]
It's a Chestertonian Christmas Carol! Joe Grabowski joins the show to lead us down the path of G.K. Chesterton's take on Charles Dickens and his love of Christmas. It's a very, merry episode with no Scrooges allowed. Tune in to this episode! https://chesterton.org/uncommonsense #chesterton #gkchesterton #christmas #charlesdickens #achristmascarol #jesus #spirit #carol #dickens
Contact us at [email protected].
Join us for Advent at chesterton.org/advent.
Get your Chestertonian Christmas gifts at chesterton.org/store/
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2 December 2025, 5:00 am - 44 minutes 23 secondsGifts of Gratitude - Advent with G.K. Chesterton
In this episode, Joe and Jen talk about the upcoming Advent reflection series from the Society of G.K. Chesterton, "Gifts of Gratitude." #advent #christmas #chesterton #gkchesterton #gratitude
You can contact us at [email protected].
Sign up for "Gifts of Gratitude" and download our free resources at https://chesterton.org/advent.
The "Snapdragon" episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH9sz7gDX94
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25 November 2025, 5:00 am - 39 minutes 35 secondsBuilding Catholic Culture, with Emily Stimpson Chapman
In this episode, Grettelyn interviews Emily Stimpson Chapman about faith, hospitality, community and the Catholic worldview. #theologyofhome #theologyofplace #chesterton #gkchesterton #community #hospitality
You can contact us at [email protected].
Learn more about Emily Stimpson Chapman: https://www.emilystimpsonchapman.com/
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18 November 2025, 5:00 am - 37 minutes 55 secondsRE-AIRING: Belloc's "The Four Men" with Deacon Nathan Allen
[RE-UPLOAD] No new upload this week, but enjoy this re-airing from last year, appropriate for the season: Belloc and the Four Men!
In this episode, Joe talks with Deacon Nathan Allen, who annotated ACS Books' version of Hilaire Belloc's delightful novelette, "The Four Men."
#belloc #gkchesterton #hilairebelloc #chesterton #thefourmen
To buy ACS Book's "The Four Men" visit https://www.chesterton.org/store/product/four-men/
You can contact us at [email protected].
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11 November 2025, 5:00 am - 53 minutes 29 secondsChesterton and Cardinal Newman
In this episode, Joe talks about the newest Doctor of the Church, Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman, and some of the connections between his thought and G.K. Chesterton's. #chesterton #gkchesterton #johnhenrynewman #cardinalnewman #saintjohnhenrynewman
You can contact us at [email protected].
Mentioned in this episode:
Word on Fire Show: https://www.wordonfire.org/videos/wordonfire-show/
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4 November 2025, 5:00 am - 43 minutes 2 secondsFunerals are for the Living? Our Halloween episode!
Can you tell it's Joe's favorite time of year? Join him and Grettelyn as they discuss All Hallows', funerals, the customs of the poor, and more! We did have a slight technical hiccup in the making of this episode when Joe's camera went away for a bit. If you spot it, leave us a comment with the timestamp and the appropriate emoji (you'll know which that is). This is where we find out who watches the whole episode and who's reading to the show notes! #chesterton #gkchesterton #daysofthedead #halloween #allsaints #skeletons
You can contact us at [email protected].
Mentioned in this episode:
"The Hastiness of Modern Journalism" by G.K. Chesterton: https://library.chesterton.org/funerals-are-for-the-living-27276/
"A Defense of Skeletons" by G.K. Chesterton: https://library.chesterton.org/the-defendant-66905/#a-defence-of-skeletons
Last year's All Hallowstide Series:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to5eTF2gAyE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtppIqGMrOs
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28 October 2025, 4:00 am - 35 minutes 34 secondsHurry, the Early Bird, and the Earlier Worm - Chesterton on Modern Journalism
Joe talks about the hurry and haste of modern life, especially modern journalism, with some insights from G.K. Chesterton - and a couple cardiologists! What is "hurry sickness"? How can we resist the pressure to rush to judgment? What does it mean to be "Type A"? And why does Chesterton extol the benefits of sleeping in and being late to breakfast? Find out today! #chesterton #gkchesterton #journalism #hurry #hurrysickness
You can contact us at [email protected].
Essays mentioned in this episode:
"The Hastiness of Modern Journalism" by G.K. Chesterton: https://library.chesterton.org/the-hastiness-of-modern-journalism-68950/
"Type A behavior pattern: some of its pathophysiological components" by Meyer Friedman, MD: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1807381/
"Rendering to God" by Dr. Jacob Imam: https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2025/09/rendering-god-jacob-imam.html
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21 October 2025, 4:00 am - 54 minutes 51 secondsChesterton on Studying History: Hastings & "The Heart of History"
Joe and Grettelyn talk about finding "the heart in history," and how Chesterton can help us get excited to learn even about obscure things of the past — like the Battle of Hastings! Today is the anniversary of that great battle in 1066, which shaped the whole Western world. What does it mean for us? Why should we care? Listen in and read along! #chesterton #history #gkchesterton #battleofhastings #normaninvasion #williamtheconqueror
You can contact us at [email protected].
Essays mentioned in today's episode:
"Three Ways of Reading History": https://library.chesterton.org/three-ways-of-writing-history-27303/ "Introduction" to the Song of Roland: https://library.chesterton.org/introduction-18111/ "A View of William the Conqueror": https://library.chesterton.org/a-view-of-william-the-conqueror-86512/
Check out The Troubadours discussing "Belloc vs. Tolkien on 1066": https://www.youtube.com/live/fkjyAibwUlw?si=mdlr2c0tGrY-1pG1
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14 October 2025, 4:00 am - More Episodes? Get the App