00:00 Pope Benedict II, whose birth name was Joseph Ratzinger, announced his retirement on February 11th after a long tradition of changing names when becoming Pope.

04:06 Pope Benedict II announced his retirement, which is a rare occurrence in the history of the papacy, with the last pope to retire being Gregory the 12th in 1415.

08:05 The process of electing a new pope has begun and they are trying to push the vote forward to happen sooner than the usual 15 days after the previous pope retires or dies.

12:11 The pope is considered the direct successor of Peter and is believed to have the same powers as Peter, including infallibility in matters of spirituality and religion.

16:34 When a Pope dies, the Secretary of State assumes the non-theological responsibilities of the Pope immediately, similar to how the Vice President takes over when the President passes away, and they confirm the Pope's death by calling the Pope's name three times, but the myth that they tap the Pope on the head with a silver hammer is no longer true.

20:38 The College of Cardinals enters conclave, where they are sequestered until they can come to a two-thirds agreement on electing a new Pope, with the possibility of switching to a simple majority after 12 or 13 days.

24:50 The process of voting for a new Pope involves writing the name of the Pope on a rectangular ballot, folding it twice, placing it on a plate, and then dumping it into a ballot box, with the Cardinals holding the ballot in the air to show that nothing has been tampered with, and the ballots are counted by scrutineers who ultimately tally the votes, with unsuccessful ballots being burned and the smoke signaling whether a Pope has been elected or not.

28:57 Once the new Pope has accepted his election and chosen a name, the cardinals pay homage to him and the oldest cardinal announces the new Pope to the crowd, resulting in a wild and emotional reaction.

33:05 The tradition of the Pope choosing a new name began with Pope John II, and now they typically choose the name of a previous Pope they admired or a favorite saint.

37:18 The hosts thank a listener named Anne-Marie and express their appreciation for her support, while also mentioning that they enjoy receiving odd and unique messages from listeners.