Visitation Sessions (A Podcast)

How are Chris and Casey doing working from home with their wives? How do you reconnect with your spouse after a slew of babies in quick succession? How do you explain to your kids that your family can’t afford everything their classmates’ families can? On this week’s podcast, we’re answering these questions and more, sent to us by you. Show Notes: Mystic Monk Coffee New Melleray Abbey (Dubuque Tra...

Social media was supposed to bring the world closer together. It was supposed to make it easier for us to understand each other, grow in knowledge, and make more informed judgements about current events. Instead, it’s often done the opposite. This week, in the wake of events in Minnesota, Switzerland, Venezuela, and Washington, DC, we’re walking through minefields as we discuss how the changing na...

This week, we’re talking to You Tube sensation, small town mortician, and (most importantly) Catholic dad of four, Victor Sweeney. Over the past five years, Sweeney (33) has unexpectedly built a loyal following online for his penetrating insights about about death, dying, and the moments of grace made possible by both. He first began sharing that wisdom during Covid, in a series of uber viral vide...

As the Church moves from Christmas back into Ordinary Time, we’re talking about what that transition means in our own lives. We also talk about the Chapman’s pilgrimage to Rome, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, the Clarks, “The Pitt,” Christmas gifts, detective fiction, and the direction snow blows (Emily was jet lagged, folks, really jet lagged). Show Notes: Born to Run Bread of Angels by Patti Sm...

Christmas is three days away, and for our final podcast of 2025, we’re talking about memory: how the Church understands it, what it gives to us, how it defines us, and how, especially this time of year, it shapes the way we understand and celebrate Christmas. As a special Christmas bonus, the end of the episode features one of the Stapleton’s Christmas carols: their version of “What Star Is This?”...

It's cold and grey and the wind is a blowin' here in the Ohio Valley, so both the Stapletons and Chapmans are doing what families have always done in such times: gathering around the fire. For us, making space for fire in our homes has been, quite literally, life-changing, making winter warmer and life more human. Today, we're reflecting on why this is, examining what fire teaches us about God and...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit visitationsessions.substack.com Recently, one of Emily’s readers sent her a message, expressing her frustration over her fiancee’s enjoyment of video games and asking for advice. She thought the men needed to weigh in as well, so we recorded a special bonus episode focused on the question. We do these bonus episodes about once a month,...

Before Emily and Chris headed off to Illinois, we sat down to chat about the good, the bad, and the necessary of Thanksgiving. Kate shared stories, Casey cracked jokes, Emily wept, and Chris philosophized. So, pretty much your typical episode, only this time with a side of gravy. This episode of Visitation Sessions was brought to you with the help of Select International Tours, who is not only our...

Yes, Emily wrote another book . Yes, it’s getting obnoxious. And yes, we’re talking about it anyways. But, we’re also talking about aging and traveling and beer and Puritans and holiness and toxic teas and a whole lot more. It’s a great conversation, and we’re happy to have you join us for another episode of Visitation Sessions. This episode of Visitation Sessions is brought to you by Select Inter...

Today, is the Feast of the Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, an Italian religious sister who came to the United States to serve the Italian poor and ended up becoming one of the greatest forces for good in American history, founding dozens of orphanages, hospitals, and schools, during her 29 years in the States. It’s also National Adoption Month, and we could think of no way better of honoring Mother...

This week, we’re chatting about the pop culture phenomenon du jour, K-Pop Demon Hunters, plus the toxic culture of pop princesses, boy band fever, and cotton candy theology. Show notes are few and far between, but here are the videos of the Ambiguous Dance Company that Chris used to show the kids when they were toddlers on the daily. Higher Power (official dance video) Higher Power/Extraterrestria...

Today, we're talking about the Catholic origins of Halloween, how the holiday has been corrupted by Wiccans and consumerism alike, and how much darkness is good for all of us. Mentioned on today's show: "The Truth About Exorcists & Demons: A Conversation with Dave VanVickle" "The Goodness and Glory of All Hallow's Eve" by Emily Stimpson Chapman This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss th...

What makes a movie Catholic? What makes a movie great? And why, so often, are movies that call themselves Catholic, not great? Those are the questions on the table today, on Visitation Sessions. Also, a special thanks to this episode’s sponsor, Select International Tours . For 38 years, Select has been arranging group pilgrimages for Catholics to some of the holiest sites in Christendom and beyond...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit visitationsessions.substack.com We kept the conversation on Catholic movies going to ask the question: Is Nudity in films ever okay? Show Notes Amelie Akiru Lives of Others Schindler’s List Father Thomas Loya on Porn Versus Art

Today, we’re talking all things Sacred Scripture, from how the Historical Critical Method of Scripture Scholarship destroyed Scripture study to how Catholic parents can raise kids who know their Bibles better than the Protestants down the street. Special thanks to our sponsors, Select International Tours , the only Catholic tour company that offers a comprehensive online pilgrim formation program....

Kate and Casey are up in Wisconsin this week, making a documentary about a Catholic doctor who rides on horseback to serve the Amish (I think that’s how it goes), but before they left we chatted about all God’s creatures, great and small. Not the books. Not the tv shows. The actual animals: pigs, cows, chickens, dogs, cats. Does a love of animals make you happier and holier? Or can it sometimes ma...

Are any of us professional poets? No. Are any of us poetry professors? No. Are any of us poetry publishers? One more time, no. But who cares. Poetry is part of our human patrimony. It’s the language of love, the language of war, the language of fear, despair, and human longing. Writing poems is what humans do—all humans, in every age—and this week, in perhaps our most favorite conversation ever, w...

This week, we’re talking about one of the most glorious teachings of Catholicism: the saints! We also explore the Church’s teachings on relics, how grace transforms the material world, and how a relationship with the saints is meant to strengthen your relationship with Christ, not be a substitute for it. Show Notes: Saints: * Saint Gabriel Possenti * Saint Jude * Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity * S...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit visitationsessions.substack.com In this month’s bonus episode for full subscribers, we reflect on the events of last week, including the tragic death of Charlie Kirk, the initial responses in the culture, and how Christians should respond to chaos and hatred in the world. Note: This conversation was recorded prior to the arrest of Tyler...

What are some practical ways men (and women) can overcome the habit of using pornography? Why is doing penance for pornography use so helpful? How can grace, over time heal our hearts and minds? And why is it so important for single people to take action now, before they are married, to begin that healing process. That’s what we are having a conversation about this week, on Visitation Sessions. Sh...

The Stapletons convinced the Chapmans to go to their first ever Renaissance Fair in Pittsburgh and the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly of it all sparked quite the conversation about community and Catholicism. Also, Emily has a new cookbook out. It’s called Around the Catholic Table , and if you like good food, Catholicism, and community, you should buy it. Show Notes: The Surprisingly R...

Today, we’re talking about California, the Chapman’s adventures there, the reason Kate is sharing her story as a birth mother in her documentary The Inner Sea , and why the conversation around adoption and abortion in pro-life circles needs to deepen. Show Notes: The Inner Sea Springs of Love Building Belonging: Six Steps for Fostering and Adopting in Faith (An Adoption Education Curriculum) The C...

Earlier this month, The Church Life Journal ran an article by Michael Rota and Stephen Bullivant sharing some rather grim data on Catholic parents’ ability to raise Catholic children who stay Catholic as adults. In short, even with a little help from Catholic immigrants, the Church in America is essentially losing 9 out of 10 Catholics, once they become adults. “Rather grim” was a bit of an unders...

Marc Barnes is one of the coolest, smartest, most impressive guys we know. As one of the founders of both New Polity and the Harmonium Project , a professor at St. Joseph the Worker College , and the owner of a local farm to shelves grocery store, The Grocery Box , he has been putting Catholic Social Teaching into action in the streets of Steubenville for over a decade now. So, we thought we would...

Last week, the Vatican welcomed thousands of Internet evangelists to Rome for the Jubilee for Digital Missionaries and Influencers. Why would they do this? Why does it matter? What are the dangers of Catholics entangling themselves in Influencer Culture? And what does Emily really think about the word “Influencer”? We’re tackling all that and more this week, on Visitation Sessions. (Also, after we...