The Patrick Coffin Show | Interviews with influencers | Commentary about culture | Tools for transformation

Todd Komarnicki is a natural raconteur. He knows well how to distill vast amounts of story information into a resonant format that, well, works. This skill has been honed over many years and helps explain why he's a sought after screenwriter and movie producer (start the list with Elf, Resistance, and Meet Dave). His latest film is Sully, directed Clint Eastwood, starring Tom Hanks about Capt. Che...

I've been watching and listening to Andrew Klavan for a few years and always admired his communication chops. He has something to say and he says it well. Two of his novels have been adapted into movies, True Crime, directed by Clint Eastwood, and Don't Say a Word starring Michael Douglas. In the interview you'll find out how and why he came to Christ; the unique challenges faced by Jewish finders...

There's manhood, and then there's Catholic manhood. How does the Catholic adjective condition the manhood subject? In this free-wheeling interview with the creators of the popular new podcast, The Catholic Man Show , co-hosts Adam Minihan and David Niles explore the seldom navigated waters of the ways in which the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Faith brings virtue and courage to men today. The...

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia speaks with the same direct, guile-free way he writes. As a pastor of a large American city, he knows his audience: They are largely post-Christian, cynical about "organized religion," and don't abide clichés and easy grace. Archbishop Chaput (pronounced SHAP-you) is also a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi tribe, the second Native American to be conse...

If you're like me, you enjoy complaining about bad church music. Whether it's the stuff the Glory and Praise collections, or the St. Louis Jesuits, or the Marty Haugen/David Haas Monster – most of what passes for hymns of Christian worship at suburban parishes today is dreck: saccharine, sentimental, and syrupy, not to mention mostly unsingable (unless you have vast experience belting out Broadway...

God says he hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). Jesus tells his followers that Moses only permitted divorce because of the hardness of their hearts, and that divorce and remarriage constituted adultery (Matthew 19). Yet our culture has become more and more pro-divorce since no fault divorces laws were first passed (under Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1969). Divorce has lost its stigma. Dr. Diane Medved has writ...

Smart phones have given rise to a nation of zombies. You see them everywhere, staring vacantly at their glowing screens in restaurants, amusement park line-ups, in churches, park benches, and family dining room tables. In his book Glow Kids , Dr. Nicholas Kardaras has laid his finger on a growing problem that few are willing to tackle let alone diagnose and treat. Some people even argue that glowi...

Father Sean speaks with a firm, quiet authority about pornography. It's not just because he's a priest of the High Priest Jesus Christ, nor that he's the Theological Advisor to Integrity Restored ( www.integrityrestored.com ). It's also because, starting at a very young age, he got ensnared by the shiny darkness of compulsive porn use. His counsel is therefore personal, experiential. In this revea...

Clay Olsen is a man on a mission. The organization he cofounded and now leads, fightthenewdrug.org, is dedicated to education young people of all ages understand the nature of pornography addiction but also the emotional and social harms occasioned by even "moderate" or "occasional" porn use. FTND is not faith-based and doesn't rely on religious principles to engage the phenomenon. It's all about...

  It's safe to call Dr. Bill Struthers a brainiac. He holds a doctorate in from the University of Chicago and his research employ the use of stereotaxic surgery, immunochemistry, and behavioral manipulations to investigate gene expression in the cingulate cortex and basal ganglia. He is also a visiting scholar in science and religion at Oxford University. His academic credentials, however, have ha...

Matt Fradd knows at least 129 different ways to talk about why pornography is immoral, bad for relationships, and great training for emotional immaturity. The "Australian by birth, Catholic by choice" author and speaker sat down with me to talk about ways you can discuss the porn problem with those who don't think it's a problem – without (this is key) relying on religious or faith-based resources...

Vancouver-based PR director Jim Hoggan (pronounced Hogan) thinks strong disagreement can co-exist with civility. In today's media culture, modes of communication (from emails to memos to blog posts) have become more swords than words. Have you noticed how many YouTube debates are described as some version of, "Watch our hero eviscerate (or slaughter/kill/slay/own/etc. the other guy"? We can't seem...

Dr. Donald DeMarco is a leading Canadian philosopher, writer, and pro-life lion. He is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at St. Jerome's University, Waterloo, Ontario; a Visiting Scholar with Holy Apostles College and Seminary; and is the author of 21 books. In my podcast interview with him, he unpacked what is to my mind the deepest mystery of all: how God's provident care, can co-exist with human...

Tony Esolen speaks with the urgency and verbal economy of a prophet. No words are wasted and the point of the conversation is ever before him. The professor of Renaissance English Literature and the Development of Western Civilization  at Providence College in RI, is a translator and a sage of things cultural and authentically Catholic. He's also a connoisseur of classic movies. Following a strong...

Dr. Sebastian Gorka's family of origin knows all about oppression and persecution, having fled the Soviets during the 1956 Revolution in Hungary. Educated in the UK, Sebastian eventually settled in the United States. Through his Congressional testimony, his work as a professor with expertise in irregular warfare, and his new book Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War , he says America (and the west) s...

Steven D. Greydanus (SDG) knows movies. He created DecentFilms.com in 2000, and he has penned untold hundreds of thoughtful reviews and essays on film criticism. Steven is the film critic for the  National Catholic Register  and, with his co-host David DiCerto, hosts the Gabriel Award–winning cable TV show " Reel Faith " for  New Evangelization Television . He's a longtime member of the  Online Fi...

Is the Catholic Church socialist? Are rich people the problem? How can people of faith strive for success in business without replacing God with mammon? Orange County attorney, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Tim Busch separates fact from fiction.

Can you live the rock and roll lifestyle without losing your soul? Top drummer Mike Miley keeps time for Rival Sons, the support band for Ozzy Osborne. Here he discusses the joy of walking off stage from 60,000 screaming rock fans and heading to Mass. 

Only a tiny sliver of movies made each year make it to the very top. Why is that? Why has Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and The Chronicles of Narnia universally resonated? Father Robert Spitzer, SJ, digs into the mystery of Myth.

Let's face it: most church marketing sucks. How to effectively tell the greatest story ever told to savvy consumers? When did Jesus stop being the model for Christians in media? Author and branding guru Phil Cooke talks solutions and strategies that work.

Does God have a sense of humor? Why are funny things funny, anyhow? The excessively funny Tom Leopold ("Seinfeld," "Cheers," and many other shows) talks about the power of humor and the not-quite-likely story of coming to the Catholic Faith from Judaism.

Where does free speech end and totalitarianism begin? Don't buy into the ever-expanding variety of new pronouns for transgendered or "non-binary" persons? Learn the cost of standing up to the PC bullies with Dr. Jordan Peterson.

What do the experts on parenting know, anyway? If you're a parent or are about to be one, you'll love hearing TV and radio host Dr. Ray Guarendi take aim at the Expert Class. Some serious myth-busting by the clinical psychologist and father of ten.

Was the founding of America a matter of random political and military forces, or was God in the "design mix"? If so, how directly? Michael Medved, author and national radio host provides example after example of Providence in rise of the Republic.

What's the founding DNA, so to speak, of America and the west, and how can we heal the damage? Dr. Brad Birzer of the renowned Hillsdale College provides a diagnosis and a direction toward hope in the first episode of "The Patrick Coffin Show" podcast. Don't forget to Subscribe to the show in YouTube, as well as the podcast so you can get the weekly show updates. Please leave an honest review of t...