The Making Every Class Catholic Podcast

Copy and paste blurb from Substack

In this episode of the Making Every Class Catholic podcast, I’m joined by Kenneth Craycraft, author of Citizens Yet Strangers , for an engaging conversation on faith, politics, and the challenge of forming students as Catholics in a polarized civic culture. Drawing on his work and experience, Ken reflects on the tensions Catholic educators face when teaching subjects like civics, history, and soci...

In this episode of the Making Every Class Catholic podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Andrew Salzmann of Benedictine College for an engaging conversation on a fundamental question: What is an education? Drawing from theology, philosophy, and classroom experience, Andy invites us to reconsider education not as information transfer or product generation, but as a process of formation—one that shapes how stu...

In this episode of the Making Every Class Catholic podcast, I’m joined by Father Nick Schneider—a priest of the Diocese of Bismarck and elementary school Montessori teacher—for a rich and wide-ranging conversation on Catholic education, human formation, and the enduring relevance of Maria Montessori’s work. Father Nick shares the remarkable story of how a struggling parish school led him, through...

In this episode of the Making Every Class Catholic podcast, I’m joined by Dominic de Souza—web designer, writer, and founder of the Legend Fiction community—for an in-depth conversation about stories, imagination, and the cultural importance of fiction. Dominic is the man behind the beautiful Making Every Class Catholic website , but his deepest passion is helping writers create stories that can h...

In this episode of the Making Every Class Catholic podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Randy Boyagoda—novelist, essayist, book critic, and professor of English at the University of Toronto—for a wide-ranging conversation about literature, language arts, and what it means to read and tell stories as Christians. Randy invites us into a faith-informed way of seeing: a sacramental imagination that recognizes t...

Artificial intelligence has become the question everyone in Catholic education feels obligated to address. But beneath the anxiety about cheating, policies, and classroom management lies a much more fundamental issue: What is education actually for? When AI can generate essays, art, music, lesson plans, and arguments instantly, it forces us to confront a confusion that long predates ChatGPT—the te...

What does it mean to “teach theology from a Catholic point of view” when theology is already “the Catholic class”? And how might you do that in a school where many (even most) of your students aren’t Catholic in the first place? In this episode, I talk with Deacon Charles Beard , theology teacher at Cascia Hall in Tulsa, Oklahoma, about what makes theology more than “religious facts” or “the Jesus...

In Episode 11, I am joined by Jake Tawney, Chief Academic Officer at Great Hearts Academy and author of Another Sort of Mathematics . Join us as we explore how mathematics reveals objective and eternal truth, why proofs matter for both reason and wonder, and how the discipline of math can be seen as a bridge between heaven and earth. We talk about teaching students to encounter math as more than c...

In episode 12, Fr. Ambrose Christ, O.Praem., director of the Evermode Institute and Norbertine priest, joins Brett to discuss how genuine renewal begins with the conversion of hearts—teachers and administrators rediscovering their vocation as saints in the making. Drawing on the 900-year tradition of the Norbertines, Fr. Ambrose shares how the Evermode Institute’s four-year formation program is he...

In Episode 10 , I am joined by Dr. Charles Camosy , Catholic bioethicist and prolific author. Join us as we explore how health is never just about the body but is connected to questions of justice, freedom, technology, sexuality, disability, and the very meaning of the human person. We talk about why theology matters for the medical humanities, how Catholic educators can help students think critic...

In Episode 9, I am joined by Dr. Matthew Hoven, Associate Professor and Peter and Doris Kule Chair in Religious Education at St. Joseph’s College, University of Alberta. Together we explore the surprising connectionsbetween sport, play, and Catholic education . From the theology of leisure to the “spirit of play,” Dr. Hoven shares insights from his courses and books— HockeyPriest and On the Eighth...

In Episode 8, I am joined by Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, Associate Professor and Director of Sacred Music at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, California, where she holds the William P. Mahrt Chair in Sacred Music and serves as the founding Director of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music. Joins us to think about what music is, it's role in human life and flourishing and how thinking abou...

In Episode 7, I am joined by Drs. Kelly Kearse and Stacy Trasancos. Dr. Kearse recently published peer reviewed scientific work on Eucharistic miracles which Dr. Trasancos brought to a wider audience in this piece in Crisis Magazine: https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/exaggerations-and-eucharistic-miraclesThe questions raised by Dr. Kearse's research are essential for clear thinking about the rela...

In Episode 6, I am joined by Dr. David Cloutier, Professor of Moral Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Cloutier specializes in , among other things, Catholic social teaching. Join us as we talk about how Catholic social teaching can impact our teaching, and in particular how we can use it as a resource for teaching social studies and related subjects in Catholic schools. Theme music by...

In Episode 5, I am joined by Dr. Rebecca Rook, Associate Professor in the Education Department at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Dr. Rook has used Educating for Eternity: A Teacher's Companion for Making Every Class Catholic to teach introductory education students at FUS. Tune in as she shares with us about that experience and about the exciting and innovative final projects her s...

In episode 4 of the l Making Every Class Catholic podcast, I interview Jared Staudt, Director of Content for Exodus 90 and author of the new book Words Made Flesh: The Sacramental Mission of Catholic Education.https://www.cuapress.org/9781949822441/words-made-flesh/Theme music by Braden Kuntz.

In episode 3 of the l Making Every Class Catholic podcast, I interview Elisabeth Sullivan, Executive Director of The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education (ICLE). Elisabeth and ICLE are at the forefront of the renewal of Catholic education. When I wrote Educating for Eternity: A Teacher's Companion for Making Every Class Catholic, I had initially planned to write a chapter on pedagogy. But ever...

In episode 2 of the l Making Every Class Catholic podcast, I interview Archbishop J. Michael Miller, Archbishop of Vancouver and former secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education. Archbishop Miller has long been a champion of authentic Catholic education and his book The Holy See's Teaching on Catholic Schools is widely used and cited by those working towards the renewal of Catholic...

In the inaugural Making Every Class Catholic podcast, I interview Dr. Christopher Baglow of the McGrath Center for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Baglow is a leading thinker on Catholic Academic Integration, and leads a team doing professional development work on this in Catholic schools across the United States. His particular expertise is on the relationship between faith and s...