Archive for the ‘podcast’ Category

Return of the GEEKS

March 1, 2009

Last spring, in one of my favorite interviews to date, I spoke with Marybeth Hicks, who artfully and passionately stated her mission to “uncool” America. How? By raising up GEEKS – Genuine, Enthusiastic, Empowered Kids! Listen in as she demystifies the consumer culture and teaches us how to build a real human culture, where persons are more important than possessions, and character is nobler than cash. The podcast of my interview with Marybeth is here.

I just caught the new YouTube video (above) on her website and thought I’d give GEEKS another plug!

From the website “Bringing Up GEEKS”
The “culture of cool” is everywhere, and it’s stealing childhood innocence from an entire generation of American kids. If cool is a cell phone by sixth grade, unfettered access to media and pop culture and a cynical – even jaded – attitude about life, it’s time to redefine what’s cool for our children.

Author, columnist and speaker Marybeth Hicks has an answer: Bringing up Geeks – Genuine, Enthusiastic, Empowered Kids. To Hicks, a “geek” is an authentic kid enjoying an innocent childhood, and a parent raising a geek is doing the right things. In her innovative and accessible book, Hicks advises parents to teach children to resist the influences of popular culture and the social pressure to conform to the expectations and behaviors of the “cool” crowd. Parents of geeks remember to keep the focus on raising kids for long-term success — not for popularity as children.

In a voice full of common sense, humor and insight, Bringing up Geeks has the potential to launch a child-rearing movement that promotes innocence over exploitation, substance over style, and genuine self-esteem over superficial acceptance. The book has already earned high praise from parents across America, as well as from notable names in media, education and child advocacy.

Answering the New Atheism with Ben Wiker

November 12, 2008

Are You Able to Answer the Arguments of an Atheist?

In this week’s radio show, I interviewed Dr. Ben Wiker, co-author with Dr. Scott Hahn of a new book that hears and answers the arguments put forth in evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins’ best selling book The God Delusion.

Benjamin Wiker received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University, and has taught at Marquette University, St. Mary’s University, Thomas Aquinas College, and Franciscan University. A senior fellow with the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and with Discovery Institute, he is now a full-time writer. He lives in rural Ohio with his beloved wife and children, and an ever-increasing number of a moderately useful but always entertaining animals. To learn more about Wiker’s books, click here. For information on interviews and speaking engagements, click here.

From his website:
Answering the New Atheism: Dismantling Dawkins’ Case Against God
cuts through the shoddy reasoning, logical blunders, and factual errors that populate Richard Dawkins’ best-selling book The God Delusion. Scott Hahn and Benjamin Wiker provide readers with sharp logic and clear reasoning, exposing the muddle-headed thinking behind Dawkins’ veneer of intellectual rigor. Along the way, Hahn and Wiker offer a cogent and convincing argument for God’s existence.

“Rarely, if ever, in my many years as a professor of philosophy did I ever have the opportunity to read such a compelling argument.”
– Antony Flew, Author of There Is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind

The podcast of my interview with Ben is available here.
For a video interview of the authors discussing this book, click here.

Fr. Frank Pavone Interview – Priests for Life

October 21, 2008

My guest on the radio tonight was Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director for Priests for Life. “… started in 1991 to do one of the most important tasks in the Church today . . . to help priests around the world spread the Gospel of Life to their people. The ministry of the priest is demanding. The priest presents to the world truths that are difficult to grasp. The priest confronts injustices in the world, which are often deeply entrenched in the attitudes and laws of society. Priests must be steadfast in calling for the protection of life at every stage, in exposing the myths surrounding abortion and euthanasia, and in working with others to provide compassionate alternatives.”

The podcast can be found by clicking here!

GREAT RESOURCES!
Fr. Pavone’s Blog
Voter Guide on Key Issues
What Abortion Is
Rachel’s Vineyard
CatholicVote.com

The Catholic Vision of J.R.R. Tolkien

August 26, 2008

“Humanity in every age, and even today, looks to works of art to shed light upon its path and its destiny. “
– Pope John Paul II

I had a wonderful conversation last week with Generation Life speaker Matt Chominiski on the Catholic vision of J.R.R. Tolkien. We blazed a trail with the characters of the Fellowship through some of the inspiring themes that made this novel a worldwide phenomenon, and a truly Catholic classic: Providence, friendship, love, loyalty, sacrifice, creation, stewardship, a touch of Chesterton’s Distributism, virtue and vice, and the unfailing power of hope.

For the podcast, visit iTunes and search the store for “The Heart of Things or Bill Donaghy” or just click here and listen right from the podcast website (the show is an hour long and may take some time to download).

WEB ARTICLES AND ESSAYS:
http://tolkienandchristianity.blogspot.com/

BOOKS on TOLKIEN:
J. R. R. Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-Earth, by Bradley J. Birzer.

J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality, and Religion, by Richard L. Purtill.

Tolkien: Man and Myth, by Joseph Pierce. Ignatius Press, December 2001.

Tolkien: A Celebration – Collected Writings on a Literary Legacy, edited by Joseph Pierce. Ignatius Press, November 2001.

Tonight’s Show: Serra Club and Vocations

June 24, 2008

Spirit of Serra from Serra Boston on Vimeo.

My guests tonight on the Heart of Things radio show are Bill Taylor and Gene Boggia, members of the leadership team of the Serra Club, an international organization dedicated to fostering, affirming and promoting vocations to priestly and religious ministry in the Catholic Church.

The Serra Club’s Objectives & Purposes are:
– to foster and promote vocations to the ministerial priesthood in the Catholic Church as a particular vocation to service, and to support priests in their sacred ministry;
– To encourage and affirm vocations to consecrated religious life in the Catholic Church; and
– To assist its members to recognize and respond in their own lives to God’s call to holiness in Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.

New Podcast Up: The Ministry of Courage

June 12, 2008

In this week’s show, I spoke with Dominic Lombardi, Director of the Family Life Office in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and Richard and Paul, facilitator and member, respectively, of the Church sanctioned Courage Apostolate. The podcast is available here.

The Courage Apostolate (from the website)

Persons with homosexual desires have always been with us; however, until recent times, there has been little, if any, formal outreach from the Church in the way of support groups or information for such persons. Most were left to work out their path on their own. As a result, they found themselves listening to and accepting the secular society’s perspective and opting to act on their same-sex desires. His Eminence, the late Terence Cardinal Cooke of New York, was aware of, and troubled by this situation. He knew that the individual dealing with same-sex attractions truly needed to experience the freedom of interior chastity and in that freedom find the steps necessary to living a fully Christian life in communion with God and others. He was concerned that many would not find this path and would be constantly trying to get their needs met in ways that ultimately do not satisfy the desires of the heart. In response to this concern, he decided to form a spiritual support system which would assist men and women with same-sex attractions in living chaste lives in fellowship, truth and love.

Techno-Catholics – Evangelizing with New Media

June 9, 2008

I had a great conversation this morning with Greg Willits, the host of the first-ever Catholic New Media Celebration, to be held in Atlanta, GA on Sunday, June 22. He’s the Chief Operations Officer of the Star Quest Production Network (www.sqpn.com). Greg, along with his wife Jennifer, also created the popular “That Catholic Show” video series and also co-hosts the award-winning Rosary Army Catholic Podcast. These are incredible vehicles for bringing the life of faith into the lives we live in the culture today. There’s something for everyone in the work of SQPN! Listen to our podcast interview here. And watch a sample of a That Catholic Show Episode below! Registration for the Catholic New Media Celebration is free, as well as for the Eucharistic Congress preceding it in Atlanta. Check out the resource websites below for more info…

RESOURCES:
www.celebration.sqpn.com

www.rosaryarmy.com
www.thatcatholicshow.sqpn.com
www.sqpn.com

Abortion Changes You

June 6, 2008

A new podcast is up on the very controversial topic of abortion. Michaelene Fredenburg is the creator of Abortion Changes You, an outreach for those affected directly or indirectly by abortion. Staying away from the polarization that often takes place in the culture, Michaelene instead focuses on the hearts left wounded by abortion, She has created a place for healing, sharing stories, and building a new life after the fallout of a practice that is taking its toll on countless unseen victims every day. Michaelene’s own story follows…. please consider passing this story on to someone whom you know needs support.

“When I became pregnant at 18, I had an abortion. I was completely unprepared for the emotional fallout. I thought the abortion would erase the pregnancy. I thought I could move on with my life. I was wrong. I experienced periods of intense anger followed by periods of profound sadness. When my feelings became too difficult to deal with, I reached out for help from a trained counselor. With counseling and the help of supportive friends, I was able to enter into a healthy grieving process. In addition to grieving the loss of my child, I slowly became aware of how my choice to abort had impacted my family. I was surprised and saddened that my parents, my sister, and even my living children struggled to deal with the loss of a family member through abortion. Over the years I’ve heard many heartrending stories about abortion. Although each story is unique, a common thread moves through them all—abortion changes you. Yet there is no forum to help abortion participants—and the people who are closest to them—explore this tragic truth. Although abortion has touched many of us, we rarely share our personal experiences regarding it. This is what led me to write a book that shares some of the stories I’ve heard. There was also a need for a safe space for people to tell their stories, explore the ways abortion has impacted them, and find resources. We created AbortionChangesYou.com to fill this need. It is my hope that this Web site will assist you as you seek to make sense of your abortion or the abortion of someone close to you.”

Two New Podcasts are Up!

May 22, 2008

In my interview with Sr. Josephine Kase, the Assistant Director for the Office of Ecumenical & Interreligious Affairs in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, we spoke on Sister’s work in building up and sustaining dialogue among other Christians and non-Christians within the Archdiocese.

Lisa Hendey is the Founder and Editor of CatholicMom.com, a Catholic web site focusing on the Catholic faith, Catholic parenting and family life, and Catholic cultural topics. We spoke at length on the idea of “E-vangelizing” through blogs, websites, and podcasts! Lots of good resources at www.CatholicMom.com! The podcasts are available here!

New Podcast Up! East Meets West! The Church Breathes with Both Lungs

May 10, 2008

My interview was with Fr. Paul Mouawad, pastor of St. Sharbel Maronite Church, Newtown Square, PA. We spoke of the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church, the history of the Maronite Catholic Church dating all the way back to the 4th century, and of the relationship of East and West today. Father speaks the Our Father in the liturgical language of the Maronites; Aramaic-Syriac, and sings a prayer in that ancient tongue. It’s a wonderful history lesson and one that is very timely, as our own Cardinal Rigali will welcome the Patriarch of Lebanon, His Eminence and Beatitude Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir, to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia this May 16. During his visit, the Maronite Patriarch will be honoured at a Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. All are welcome to attend!

Get the podcast here!