The Cordial Catholic

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Mark Saunders, who has an incredible "reversion" story to tell.  Raised in a devout Catholic household Mark explains why he initially left the Catholic Church – despite working as an altar server and even discerning the priesthood at one point! – and how his success as a musician led to a life of sin, depravity, and eventually f...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by ETWN's Dr. Matthew Bunson to talk about everything related to the Pope.  We discuss Pope Leo XIV but also the history of the papacy, the biblical roots of the idea of the pope, how popes are elected and how that's changed over time, why the development of papacy authority is actually not what you think, and what we can make of t...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by early Church historian, scholar, and translator Dr. DP Curtin, to talk about what the documents left behind by the very earliest Christians tell us about the faith.  Dr. Curtin, translator of hundreds and hundreds of documents from the Early Church, sits down to explain just how Catholic-sounding the first Christians were. What they belie...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the wonderful Dr. Carly York, a former Evangelical worship leader, a student of church music, a musician in her own right, and a Catholic convert. Dr. York's story – a journey from small-town baptist music ministry to studying Gregorian Chant at the Catholic University of America – is an incredible tale!  Dr. York explains how follow...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Deacon Frank – a deacon, author, columnist, and speaker – to unpack the biblical roots, proof, and evidence for the Perpetual Virginity of Mary .  Using the Bible as the jumping off point, Deacon Frank is speaking directly to our non-Catholic Christian audience as he explains what makes Catholics believe – in tandem with the Early Christi...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Catholic Answers author, apologist, and columnist John Clark to talk about the stigmata – the incredible, miraculous wounds of Christ as experienced by some of the most profound saints down through history. And, the incredible evangelical power that the stigmata – and stigmatists – have today!  We dig into the lives of great saints like P...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Jannah Russell to share her remarkable Catholic conversion story.  Raised in the Jehovah's Witness tradition, Jannah explains how her and her husband became disillusioned with the group, eventually leaving, and rediscovering faith on their own.  Their journey, ever seeking the truth of Christ and His Church, led them into Evangelical...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the incredible Dr. Peter Kreeft, philosopher, theologian, and one of the most important modern converts to the Catholic faith to unpack his own conversion journey and discuss why it makes good logical, philosophical, biblical, and historical sense to become Catholic.  We talk about his journey from Calvinism to Catholicism, the centrality...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my two friends and former Evangelical seminarians (and, in Chris's case, a pastor) to discuss the importance of the Pope.  Why is the Pope so important?  In their trademark cordial and insightful style, Brandon and Chris help us to dig deeply into the biblical and historical roots of the papacy, the importance of the Pope as a tangib...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Father Donald Haggerty, priest at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York and the author of a number of fine books including The Hour of Testing: Spiritual Depth and Insight in a Time of Ecclesial Uncertainty.  We're talking about taking the temperature of society and responding to crises both in the world and within our very own Ca...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by one of my all-time liturgical heroes Chris Carstens to talk all things liturgy – and the centrality of Christ at Mass. What is the liturgy? What is it meant to do and how are we meant to do it? Why do we worship liturgically? And how can we do it better?  Plus, we talk about the future of the liturgy (and how the liturgy used to be) and C...

In this special episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined, from Rome, by Fr. Haig Chahinian, a priest in the Armenian Catholic Church, and the CEO of Salt and Light Media , to talk about the importance of a pope, the papacy, and papal conclaves for the Eastern Catholic Churches.  While Fr. Haig was originally scheduled to talk about Eastern Catholicism our plans were completely up-ended by...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my friend Brian Jacobson, a former Protestant pastor and a convert to the Catholic faith, to unpack his incredible story and the reasons why he absolutely fell in love with the Catholic faith.  From the initial realization – at an ecumenical Bible study – that him and his fellow Protestants couldn't agree on the "essentials&quot...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my friend author, podcaster, and former Episcopalian priest Andrew Petiprin to talk unpack one of the biggest misconceptions about the Catholic Church: that Catholicism is simply another Christian denomination.  With aplomb, charity, and with Scripture and the history books in hand, Andrew explains exactly what's wrong with thinking...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Hugh Owen, the founder and director of the Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation to talk about the Catholic perspective on the literal story of creation.  Can Catholics believe in a literal reading of Genesis? Has the Catholic Church officially adopted the theory of evolution? What does the science actually say? And what is lost is the t...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my friend Matthew Becklo, writer, editor, and Publishing Director for Bishop Barron's Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, to talk about the Catholic "both/and" paradigm that uniquely defines the Church that Christ founded.  Neither "earthbound" or too "heavenly-minded," Becklo shows how, time and again, th...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the one and only Fr. Robert Spitzer, SJ, PhD in a conversation that aims to turn the conventional tropes about Faith vs. Science on its head and to talk about areas where faith fills in the gaps left by science. The host of EWTN's Father Spitzer's Universe, the author of over 18 books and many scholarly articles, and the Preside...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Sophia Nikolai, a self-described anti-Catholic who is here to share her absolutely incredible conversion story with us.  With an anti-Catholic, Evangelical background, Sophia considered herself firmly grounded in her Christian faith until an encounter with a quotation from the Early Church Fathers and some pretty miraculous interventions...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Jill Simons, author, speaker, and the driving force behind Many Parts Ministries , which helps Catholics discern their spiritual gifting and charisms. We're going to talk, this week, about how we figure out where we fit in the Catholic Church – especially for those who have just become Catholic, will become Catholic shortly, or are t...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined once again by my good friend and fellow convert Keith Nester to unpack a controversial claim! Keith spent over 20 years in Protestant ministry before converting to Catholicism and joins me to talk about the idea that so many converts – myself included – experience in their conversion to Catholicism: that they become better Christians! Keith...

In this very special episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my two friends Catholic Answers apologist Joe Heschmeyer and Gospel Simplicity host Austin Suggs for an extraordinary conversation about what it takes to convert to Catholicism. This is the most cordial, thoughtful conversation you'll ever hear! Austin, a Protestant Christian, has spent many years on his fantastic YouTub...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by author Dustin Shane, a convert to Catholicism from the Jehovah's Witnesses, to talk about his harrowing and incredible faith journey.  From his experience growing up in a devout Jehovah's Witness family to his wandering years and his ultimate decision to leave the faith (and face being shunned by his family!) there's a whol...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Alex Dee from the Saints Alive podcast to talk about the incredible witness of the saints, the importance of passing on these amazing stories to our children, evangelization, and the amazing Lenten initiative that Saints Alive is about to embark on.  Alex is an awesome, on-fire guy, and his insights into the stories of the saints, his own...

In this very special episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Kenny Burchard and Sam Nunnally, two former Evangelical, Charismatic pastors who converted to Catholicism to tell their stories, talk about their biggest misconceptions about Catholicism, and cordially explain how they set things straight.  In this episode we'll talk about the misconceptions that Kenny and Sam held about...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Dr. Cheryl Hughes to talk about one of the most prolific "convert makers" in American Catholic history: Archbishop Fulton Sheen.  Dr. Hughes, a biographer of Fulton Sheen, joins me to talk about what made his evangelism so effective, what we can learn from him today, and how God used Abp. Sheen who was in the right place at the...