Kresta in the Afternoon

A recent study suggests that women who take the pill are nearly 10 percent worse at recognizing subtle expressions of complex emotions like pride or contempt. What does this say about the possible impact of oral contraceptives on social interactions? We talk with Dr Greg Popcak.

In early December, 2009, Tiger Woods, one of the most popular and successful athletes of his generation, had his shocking fall from grace. He had previously expressed belief in aspects of the Buddhist faith, and in the weeks following the story becoming public Fox News analyst Brit Hume encouraged him to turn to the Christian faith for more complete forgiveness and redemption. What does Christiani...

In 2007, 24 percent of Americans identified as Catholic. By 2014, that had dropped to 21 percent. The number of people who claim no religious affiliation has surpassed Catholics and evangelicals, making "nones" the largest religious group in the United States. Catholics are simply walking away from the Church. Yet there are many committed, faithful Catholics who desperately want to stem this tide....

On December 4, 1674 Fr Jaques Marquette and fellow explorer Louis Joliet established the first European dwelling at the mouth of the Chicago River. The settlement would eventually become the city of Chicago. Fr. Martin also founded settlements in Sault Ste Marie and St. Ignance, Michigan, and he and Joliet were the first Europeans to explore and map the northern portion of the Mississippi River. H...

For years, Colleen Campbell saw herself as a perfectionist. She drafted her first résumé in sixth grade, spell-checked her high-school boyfriend’s love letters, and thought of herself as an ambitious but well-rounded person who worked hard and played hard. But after she became a mother, she saw how insidiously perfectionism had infected her spiritual life, and how harmful it could be to her family...

These first weeks of Advent focus more on the Lord’s second coming in glory than on His first coming at Bethlehem. The Gospel clearly states that we must always be prepared, for at an hour we do not expect, the Son of Man will come. “Ready” is the key word. But how should we be ready? We talk with Msgr Charles Pope.

How did the ancient Christians know who Messiah would be? One sign was detailed in the first chapter of Malachi: "From the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts." We talk with Mike Aquilina about how the early church was defined by Mal...

A great philosopher once observed, "Philosophers let theories get in the way of what they and everybody else know." A lot of ink has been spilt in order to obscure what we really can't not know about reality, humanity and morality. We begin to unpack that with Fr. Robert McTeigue

When it comes to the history of Christianity, the Catholic Church makes a pretty bold claim: that the earliest Christians were Catholics―and that their beliefs and practices have continued unbroken all the way to the present-day Church. Joe Heschmeyer helps to back up this claim.

Hugo Delgado was raised Catholic but soon found himself wooed away by elements of the New Age movement. He joins us to share how he was led away from the Church, and what led him back.

The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. And understanding it begins with understanding its history. We talk with William Albrecht about the church fathers and the history of teaching on transubstantiation.

The Gospels lie at the very heart of our lives as Christians, for it is through the Scriptures that Christ is revealed to us as a person. How does understanding the Biblical Covenant aid us in our work of evangelization? Rob Corzine joins us.

The Supreme Court heard opening arguments today in Dobbs v Jackson, which has the potential to be the biggest abortion case at the court since Roe v Wade. Clarke Forsythe reports on what was said and asked.

We're beginning to learn more about the school shooting yesterday at Oxford High School in Michigan. Four kids were killed and several more are injured, and the entire community will never be the same. Jennifer Hubbard experienced this pain herself when her daughter was killed at Sandy Hook in 2012. Al spoke with her this morning and we share the conversation in this segment.

Many people see the Christian Gospels of the New Testament to be mere fairy tales. But they are real stories that tell us of the lives of real people. Guest Host Marcus Peter examines the Gospels as biographies with Luke Lancaster.

Advent is an ideal time to study and reflect on how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies. In his Gospel, Matthew declares Christ to be Emmanuel, linking him to passages throughout Isaiah and other Old Testament books. We’ll talk about it again with Dr Leroy Huizenga.

Every day we seem to make and act upon all kinds of choices: some trivial, others so consequential that they change the course of one's life, or even the course of history. But are these choices really free, or are we compelled to act the way we do by factors beyond our control? Is the feeling that we could have made different decisions just an illusion? And if our choices are not free, is it legi...

Do you want to change your life and form new habits that will draw you closer to God? Well, there’s no time like the present to try. Fr. Roger Landry joins us with a look at John Paul II’s Six Pillars of Holiness and how they can help you grow closer to Christ.

Advent is officially underway, and it’s a great opportunity for us to grow in our relationship with Jesus. The path of following Jesus is an ancient and storied spiritual tradition. Yet many believers are not familiar with the three major forms of prayer and the three stages of spiritual growth that exist to bring them closer to God. We’ll explore them with Brant Pitre.

Gambling. Alcohol. Food. Narcotics. Pornography. We probably all know someone who struggles with an addiction to these or another substance. Scott Weeman is no exception. His struggles with alcohol and his subsequent healing led him to found Catholic in Recovery, the final winner of the 2021 OSV Challenge. Scott joins us.

On this date in 1980, Dorothy Day died. She’s one of America’s preeminent Catholic social activists. Terrence Wright joins us with a look at her radical response to Christ’s love and how she overcame an abortion and a suicide attempt to become a messenger of mercy.

Peter Jackson has released a new massive documentary series exploring the Beatles and the development of their album Let it Be. Media reviewers have fawned over it - but what does it actually tell us about reality? Al discusses.

For the Hebrew people, the temple was the center of the universe. God revealed Himself through the temple, the priesthood and the covenants. Steven Smith takes us on a deep dive through the Old and New Testaments, exploring the priesthood and God's covenant with His people.

Do you see your work as simply a job – or does it change who you are as a person on mission? Al discusses

The late Fr Paul Mankowski wrote with a unique wit, a singular breadth of learning, and a penetrating insight into the challenges of Catholic life in the postmodern world. He suffered for his convictions but never lost hope in the renewal of Catholicism, and the truth of what the Church proposed to the world. We examine his legacy with George Weigel.