The Future of Being Human—Dec 2025
What to read, watch, and listen to this month
Our world is moving fast—often in ways that feel overwhelming or even hopeless. As Christians, we are called to bring light into the darkest places.
Choosing Human is my attempt to do just that in my little corner of the internet—to bring hope to the fraught ethical questions we wrestle with, to remind us of the goodness and beauty that we are made for, and to choose what is truly human in a world that wants to rewrite us.
I’d love for you to join me!
Top Articles Worth Reading
Here are the ideas shaping the future of being human—and why they matter.
5. Lame Immortality by James Taylor Foreman
“… I was ready to make a deal with the devil so I would never have to think again. I believe consciousness is evil, so I wanted to create a system that replaces it.”
Bryan Johnson’s words here as just further evidence (not that we needed any) that vampirically siphoning your own son’s blood to extend your life is, in fact, demonic. It also strikes me that this reflection on consciousness echoes the way C.S. Lewis depicted evil in That Hideous Strength.
4. Motherhood Will Ruin Your Body (but only if you have bad anthropology) by Helen Roy.
Like I said:
3. My debate on disembodiment in the internet era with Helen Roy and Anna Bonanno
Helen’s original post: The Medium Is the Message
My response: The Myth of Disembodiment
Anna brings it home: It’s a Tool, It’s a Medium…It’s a Bomb?
2. The Post-Wellness Era by Erin Nystrom
Having gone through each of the stages she describes in my journey healing from chronic disease, this absolutely resonated with me. If you can eat the cheesecake, eat the cheesecake.
1.The One Thing You Should Never Tell a Mental Health Professional by Dr. Roger McFillin
It is both sad and terrifying to know that genuine religious experience is being pathologized in this way, for the patients but also for the “professionals” who are so alienated from the spiritual dimension of human existence.
Can you purport to fix the human mind when you don’t even feel your own soul?
Books + Deep Dives
Mom Genes: Inside the New Science of Our Ancient Maternal Instinct by Abigail Tucker. A+. Also a top favorite book cover of all time (up there with Peachy Keenan’s Domestic Extremist, which she apparently designed herself, upping its awesomeness).
Clean: The New Science of Skin and the Beauty of Doing Less by James Hamblin. Worth reading despite his terrible theology. Were there no editors qualified to explain the difference between baptism and “ritual washing”??
Podcasts + Media
The Eugenic Debate on Louise Perry’s Mother, Maiden, Matriarch podcast
Engaging, enlightening, and also—frustrating. The fatal flaw in eugenics is not merely its methods (also terrible) but its ethos: the pervasive belief that some of us are more equal than others. It makes me suspect that deep down, eugenicists share a primordial woundedness and are ultimately scrambling to prove their own worthiness and lovablity (well, aren’t we all?).I would listen to any conversation between Bishop Baron and Fr. Mike Schmitz, but this one was an especially profound reflection on the eternal significance of Advent, the wheel of fortune (not the game show), and how to address the fear of death.
Why Smart Women Still Choose Motherhood with Dr. Catherine Pakaluk
I had a LOT of brilliant guests on Brave New Us podcast this season. This episode stands out in my mind as uniquely hopeful and inspiring as we look towards a virtuous and truly human future.The Biology of Theology of the Body
Vicky Thorn’s brilliant talk expanding on Pope St. John Paul II’s work using the latest scientific discoveries will blow your mind. No exaggeration.My interview with Danielle Bean on the Grace, Unfiltered Series
We discuss finding hope and healing through autoimmune disease and how God brings growth even in the most barren seasons
Culture Corner
What’s one piece of content that made you think differently this week? Reply with a link—I’ll feature a favorite pick next time.
Guillermo del Toro’s remake of Frankenstein is gruesome, but worth watching, especially as a commentary (intended or not) on how scientists are increasingly creating things that have not existed before, and might not be the best at recognizing or upholding the dignity of their creations.
“Orphan Black” is my top favorite TV series I have watched in a long while. It follows the story of a group of women who discover that they are clones and try to unravel the mystery of their origins. (Content warning: I would not watch with my kids until they are grown).
For the kids: Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies is a YA dystopia where 16-year-olds undergo plastic surgery in order to enter society. Of course, there is an alternative, one that resists the compulsion to remake yourself. Both the book and Netflix’s mediocre film version are great for starting conversations about what makes us valuable and how our appearance factors into that (and the ethics of compulsory medical procedures, and government overreach…take it where you will, primary educators!).
From the Archives
What’s the best piece of content YOU have read or listened to this week?
I’d love to know! Please drop a link in the comments.
Thanks for reading.
AMDG,
Samantha
Thank you for this! Father Mike and Bishop Barron in conversation together was such a gift ☺️
I just listened to an episode of the podcast Well Considered discussing "How Pelvic Structure Shapes Birth: A Natural Minded Approach to C-Sections with Adrienne Davidson" and found it very interesting. It adds a dimension to the "natural vs medical" childbirth conversation I have never heard before.
My physiology allows for quick unmedicated vaginal births (at least three so far, who knows what the future will bring) but a lot of difficulty breastfeeding. Just another interesting facet of what it means to be human - if God shaped each of us intentionally, how do we see the gift when our bodies aren't functioning how we wish them to?
Thank you again for the roundup!