Visitation Sessions (A Podcast)

We’re BAAAaaack! The gang is back together again, and share stories and insights of their travels abroad. Emily & Chris return from the green pastures of Austria and the English moors, and regale us with tales the motherland, and how our souls are really pining for something beyond this world. Hear how Kate produced a Shakespeare production, and how Casey rescued a stranger on hot day. Show notes:...

The ever-reaching tentacles of AI are EVERYWHERE these days, and Pope Leo has finally given us some insights and moral considerations in his recent Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas . All of us on the far-flung corners of the globe currently are pouring through his writings, preparing for a future episode. This week, Emily is busily lecturing in the kitchen of a medieval monastery, and has assigned h...

How Not to Save the Planet Letters from Austria Steubenville Warming Center This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit visitationsessions.substack.com/subscribe

Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose by Flannery O'Connor All Along the Waterfront Silver, Sword, and Stone: Three Crucibles in the Latin American Story by Maria Arana Thomas Crapper Ursula K. Le Guin article This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit visitationsessions.substack.com/subscribe

As the age of AI dawns, how do you hold on to your capacity to think, write, focus, empathize, and do all the things proper to human persons? According to some folks, the answer is friction-maxxing — otherwise known as going out of your way to do human things the old-fashioned way. This week, we’re chatting about the nature and benefits of friction-maxxing … and whether it’s actually necessary for...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit visitationsessions.substack.com Last week, we couldn’t record our podcast because Emily had no voice. Not a raspy voice. Not a hoarse voice. Quite literally no voice. This week, we can’t record because the Stapletons are sailing the high seas sans Internet with Casey’s family. We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming next we...

Is it wrong to bet on sports? What about playing the lottery? Or all those 50/50 tickets every Catholic school in America is selling? This week, we’re parsing the Church’s very broad teaching on gambling, as we chat about games of chance and being good stewards of the money God has given us. Show Notes: CCC 2413 “The Rise of Sports Betting is a Growing Public Health Crisis” AOC on gambling On the...

Why do Christians celebrate Holy Week? What is the point of it all? How have we done it in the past? How are we doing it now? And how does it shape us as Christians? Talking about all that and more this week, on Visitation Sessions. P.S. Special thanks to Select International Tours for sponsoring this week’s episode. Select does many things very, very well, and one of those things is pilgrim forma...

For the past two months, one of us (Chris) has been teaching a class on the history of Black Catholics in the United States. This week, we’re talking about some of that history and the consequences it has for the life of the Church in America today. Show Notes * The History of Black Catholics in the United States by Cyprian Davis * A Black Patriot and a White Priest by Stephen J. Ochs * Desegregat...

It’s Saint Joseph’s feast day, and we are celebrating this very special solemnity by taking a break from all our Lenten fasts and diving into the Scriptural and theological foundations of building a relationship with Saint Joseph (and all the other saints). Note: This relationship should not include burying a statue of Saint Joseph upside down in your yard, thinking that will somehow get your hous...

We’ve had a slew of new listeners since the New Year, and that was reflected in the questions you all sent for this week’s Q&A. So, this week, we’re sharing all about Casey’s time as monk (technically “canon”), Emily’s year cleaning toilets for world leaders, Kate’s plumbing free, electricity free mountain cabin, and Chris’s fall from grace. Hope you don’t regret asking! Show Notes: Reclaiming Qui...

This week we’re circling back to actually answer the questions we asked last week: Is feminism the root of all evil and can Catholics call themselves feminists? We’re also tackling the sticky wicket of who gets to define feminism, why women need the vote, and why tutus are not the wisest choice of attire for hog tying competitions. Show Notes: Spiritual Theology by Jordan Aumann Women in the Days...

What is feminism? Is it really rotten root and branch? Can Christians call themselves feminists? What do proponents and opponents of feminism get right? What do they get wrong? Why does Emily know so much about Mary Wollstonecraft? And why is it so important to never respond to an email when Casey is talking? All this and more in the first part of our conversation about feminism. Show Notes: The F...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit visitationsessions.substack.com Hey folks, we’re taking a break this week to allow the Chapmans to catch up on work, life, and everything after their unexpected week away. But, if you’re a full subscriber, we do have that promised bonus episode for you on our various dating wins and disasters before and after marriage. Enjoy! (And if yo...

This week, we’re talking about why it’s so hard for Catholics to find love, marriage, and that baby carriage, and how so much of the current conversation around dating is missing the mark. P.S. We recorded this talk before the Chapmans left town both for a family funeral and to spend time with Emily’s mom, who is not doing well. Please keep them in your prayers. A Word from Our Sponsor This week’s...

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...