Ignatius Press Podcast

State surveillance. Artificial intelligence. Advanced reproductive technology. Many of the elements Peco Gaskovski depicts dramatically in his new novel Exogenesis seem to be only a step or two ahead of where we are in the world today. But Gaskovski’s dystopian vision of a society with mass sterilizations of undesirable populations, an intricate social credit system managed by AI, and omnipresent government surveillance is, ultimately, not without hope. In this episode, host Andrew Petiprin speaks with Gaskovski, an author and neuropsychologist, about Exogenesis and the colliding forces in society, culture, and science today that inspired it. While the world of Exogenesis is bleak in many ways, Gaskovski’s worldview is not. With gripping action and complicated characters, the book strikes a balance between realism about human nature in the face of technological temptations and social pressure, and hope that truth and beauty can survive amid persecution and suffering. You can find Exogenesis by Peco Gaskovski at Ignatius.com or your local Catholic bookstore.

Tomie dePaola was one of the most beloved authors and illustrators of children’s books of the last 50 years. When he died in 2020, readers of all ages mourned. While many knew him best for his Strega Nona stories, dePaola also wrote and illustrated many books about Catholic saints and feast days, as well as adaptations of Bible stories.   Sarah Mackenzie, author and founder of Read-Aloud Revival, got to know Tomie dePaola in the last several years of his life, visiting him in his studio and corresponding with him regularly. She wrote about her friendship with him in the foreword to the new book, Through the Year with Tomie dePaola, which collects dePaola’s artwork depicting saints and illustrating important feasts of the liturgical year.   In this episode, Andrew Petiprin speaks with Mackenzie about her relationship with dePaola, the lasting impact of his books and artistic vision, and how reading our way through the liturgical year, especially with young children, can bring us closer to God and to each other.   Related reading:   Through the Year with Tomie dePaola   Read-Aloud Revival with Sarah Mackenzie   “The unique and enduring illustrative art of Tomie dePaola” by Paul Senz | Catholic World Report  

Fall is here and the kids are back in school, which makes this week’s episode particularly timely. Host Andrew Petiprin speaks with Mark Brumley, president of Ignatius Press, about the changing landscape of religious education, the explosion of Catholic resources now available to parents wishing to form their kids in the Faith, and the new Word of Life catechetical series, co-published by Ignatius Press and the Augustine Institute. Brumley describes the approach adopted by Word of Life for “evangelizing catechesis,” which seeks to not only convey content about the doctrines and practices of the Catholic Faith, but also evangelize students, teachers, and parents as well. It is important to catechize the catechists, Brumley stresses, so they can in turn form the next generation in the Faith. Word of Life was designed to do just that, he says, with engaging print materials, as well as high-quality video and digital enrichment materials. Related reading: “Word of Life curriculum draws praise from catechists” by Kathy Schiffer | Catholic World Report “Word of Life: The future of Catholic religious education is here” by Joanne McPortland | Aleteia

“Lead, kindly light.” These words of St. John Henry Newman have long resonated with Christians who strive always to place their trust in Christ. The saint’s words are perhaps particularly dear to those whose Christian journey has taken them through the Anglican Communion and into the Catholic Church, as Newman’s did. One such pilgrim is Fr. Dwight Longenecker, whose path from Protestant fundamentalism, through the Church of England, and finally to the Catholic priesthood is chronicled in the new book, “There and Back Again,” now available from Ignatius Press. In this episode, our host Andrew Petiprin speaks with Fr. Longenecker about the twists and turns of his spiritual journey, which took him around the world and back again in pursuit of God’s will and eternal Truth. Related reading: There and Back Again: A Somewhat Religious Odyssey by Fr. Dwight Longenecker Fr. Longenecker’s blog, “Standing on My Head” “A Hobbit’s Journey Home, Parts One and Two” by Joseph Pearce

When Pope Benedict XVI passed away on December 31, 2022 at the age of 95, Catholics the world over mourned the loss of a spiritual father as well as a brilliant theologian. Among those who knew the late pontiff best was Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., founder and editor of Ignatius Press. Fr. Fessio studied with Pope Benedict—when he was still Fr. Joseph Ratzinger—during Fessio’s doctoral studies in theology in Germany in the 1970s. In this episode, Fr. Fessio joins our host Andrew Petiprin to offer some memories of his time with Pope Benedict XVI, as well as insights into the writings of the man many consider one of the most important theologians of the 20th and 21st centuries. They also discuss the newly released book What is Christianity? The Last Writings, a collection of essays—many never before published—written by the late pope in the years following his resignation of the papacy in 2013. The chapters of this book cover a wide spectrum of subjects, including the liturgy, interreligious dialogue, the priesthood, clerical sexual abuse, and the Eucharist.

Since the 2012 release of her first book on the Sexual Revolution, Mary Eberstadt has engaged in what she considers an often thankless task—honoring the suffering of those who have been victimized by the massive changes that have rocked society since the 1960s. The Pill, no-fault divorce, and plummeting marriage rates have not made us freer, happier, or healthier, Eberstadt has argued; instead they’ve ushered in an era of unprecedented loneliness, mental health problems, and weakened support systems for the most vulnerable. In this episode, Eberstadt speaks with Andrew Petiprin about her newest book, Adam and Eve after the Pill, Revisited, which looks at how the damaging forces of the Sexual Revolution have accelerated in the last decade, leaving more victims in their wake, often in the name of tolerance, acceptance, and freedom. Eberstadt also sees many reasons for hope. More and more secular voices have begun to question the pieties of the Sexual Revolution, recognizing the chaos that has accompanied the dismantling of traditional family structures and articulating a yearning for connection and interdependence, rather than radical autonomy and isolation. Related reading: Adam and Eve after the Pill, Revisited by Mary Eberstadt Revisiting Adam and Eve after the Pill: An interview with Mary Eberstadt by Paul Senz

While the name of Jozsef Cardinal Mindszenty may not be well known among Catholics today, during the Cold War the archbishop of Esztergom and primate of Hungary was one of the most noteworthy Catholic churchmen in the world. Admired for his heroic resistance in the face of Communism, then Nazism, and then Communism once again, Cardinal Mindszenty spent years in prison for his Christian witness against brutal totalitarianism. In this episode, host Andrew Petiprin speaks with Professor Daniel J. Mahoney, professor emeritus of political science at Assumption University. Professor Mahoney wrote the introduction to a new edition of Cardinal Mindszenty’s Memoirs, published by Ignatius Press. The two discuss the struggles in which Mindszenty was inevitably embroiled as leader of the Hungarian Church during decades of social and political upheaval. They look at the powerful witness of Christian suffering Mindszenty gave to his countrymen and to the whole world, as he lived through years of solitary confinement, then more than a decade within the walls of the American embassy, and then finally exile from his beloved homeland. And they consider the continued relevance of Mindszenty’s story, at a time when questions of Christian conscience, political coercion, and secular encroachment on the Church remain pressing. Related links: Memoirs, by Jozsef Cardinal Mindszenty, with a foreword by Joseph Pearce and an introduction by Daniel J. Mahoney “Cardinal Mindszety and the recovery of heroic Christian virtue” by Daniel J. Mahoney “The Cardinal Who Stared Down Communism” by Sean Salai

“How do I make up my mind?” Making decisions, from the life-changing to the seemingly inconsequential, can be a frustrating, even paralyzing, experience for many. With more distractions at our finger-tips than ever before, young people in particular face a host of challenges when it comes to discerning and navigating a path through life. Fr. J. Augustine Wetta, O.S.B. has written a unique book for the perplexed—or even just those who wonder if they need a different approach to decision-making in their lives. In “Pray. Think. Act.: Make Better Decisions with the Desert Fathers,” Fr. Wetta applies centuries-old wisdom to the decision-making process, examining each step in how we should make up our minds with wit, empathy, and candor. In this episode, your host Andrew Petiprin explores the steps in solid decision-making with Fr. Wetta, whose signature mixture of personal anecdotes, laid-back humor, and practical advice make him a genial guide through what can be a difficult process. Fr. Wetta has honed his approach in his work with high-schoolers, but he has insights that will benefit anyone who finds himself struggling to make prayerful, considered decisions—which is, at some time or other, most of us. Related links: “Pray. Think. Act.: Make Better Decisions with the Desert Fathers” by J. Augustine Wetta, O.S.B. “Humility Rules: Saint Benedict’s Twelve-Step Guide to Genuine Self-Esteem” by J. Augustine Wetta, O.S.B. “The Eighth Arrow: Odysseus in the Underworld, A Novel” by J. Augustine Wetta, O.S.B.

Jimmy Mitchell works with young people every day in his job as director of campus ministry at a high school in Florida. He sees their struggles to form relationships with others, to manage the growing presence of technology in their lives, to deepen their spiritual lives. He also sees their desire for the true, the good, and the beautiful, and their yearning for connection, meaning, and happiness. Mitchell’s new book, “Let Beauty Speak: The Art of Being Human in a Culture of Noise,” is informed by his experiences working with young people, but its blueprint for a way of life has wider appeal. The principles he outlines in the book—including wonder, freedom, friendship, joy, culture, and more—empower Christians to evangelize by bringing beauty to the forefront of their lives. In this episode, Andrew Petiprin speaks with Jimmy Mitchell about the beauty of a life well-lived, and how such a life can work as a powerful tool for evangelization.   Related links: “Let Beauty Speak: The Art of Being Human in a Culture of Noise” by Jimmy Mitchell “The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise” by Robert Cardinal Sarah “The Art of Living: The Cardinal Virtues and the Freedom to Love” by Edward Sri “How a ‘culture of conversion’ transformed a Catholic high school” | Catholic News Agency/Catholic World Report

Jeremy Christiansen was a young married man, raising his children in the Mormon faith in which he’d grown up himself, when he began experiencing doubts about the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As he looked at his upbringing, his marriage, and everything he had always believed to be true, Christiansen began a journey of spiritual questioning that led him away from Mormonism and ultimately into the Catholic Church. Christiansen’s process of conversion is the subject of his new memoir, “From the Susquehanna to the Tiber,” available now at Ignatius.com. In this episode, our host Andrew Petiprin speaks with Christiansen about the destabilizing experience of losing his faith in Mormonism, the joys and challenges of finding a spiritual home in the Catholic Church, and how the Church can better understand and engage with Mormons. Related links: “From the Susquehanna to the Tiber: A Memoir of Conversion from Mormonism to the Roman Catholic Church” by Jeremy Christiansen “Logically navigating the journey from Mormonism to the Catholic Church” by Casey Chalk “To be deep in history is to cease to be Mormon: An interview with Jeremy Christiansen” by Paul Senz