Follow: Logging Out and Leaning In , a serial non-fiction book available only to Letters subscribers. You’re probably reading this on your cell phone. And just before you read this, you probably saw something else that made you mad. A controversial hot take. A perfectly-primped-and-primed mom influencer with her five children in identical rust-toned overalls. A “Christian” influencer holding not-so-Christian opinions. Follow is an 9-part serialized book that’s equal parts hope-filled invitation ...
Mar 24, 2021•9 min
Oh, my sisters—it has been the absolute joy of a lifetime. May we continue to believe in Christ, in the church, and in ourselves. I just wanted to chat with you today about how to walk forward as a Catholic feminist, and how to celebrate the Gospel goodness + your fellow sisters. Please, please, please stay connected with the Catholic Feminist! I’ll still be on Instagram . You can check out my books . I hope you consider joining us on pilgrimage . Maybe you’ll even hop on our subscriber list for...
Nov 25, 2020•33 min
This spring, when many of us were unable to attend Mass, we felt the ache for normalcy and the sacraments. Personally, it reminded me that all around the world, millions of Christians are being persecuted for their faith--that the ability to safely attend mass is a privilege I have that so many others don't. Today's guest is Gia Chacon, founder of For The Martyrs. Gia's passion for speaking up for persecuted Christians is truly inspiring and I learned SO much from her about things going on in Ir...
Nov 18, 2020•35 min
Juggling motherhood + business as an artist isn’t easy for anyone, and today’s guest is no exception. Ann Vaeth of Paper Monestary is helping us understand how motherhood can HELP our art, not hinder it, and how she thrives as a Catholic artist when the artistic world is so secular. So often these days, motherhood is shown as a hinderance to artistic endeavors and I love this truly feminist perspective from Ann. We also discuss her conversion to the faith, if Ann struggles with comparison on Ins...
Nov 11, 2020•33 min
You’ve heard it constantly: the “nones” are the fastest growing religion in the world. Why are we hemorrhaging Catholics? Author, wife, and mama Mallory Smyth breaks down why she spent time away from the Catholic faith and what brought her back. In her story, we can find lessons learned about keeping, spreading, and living the faith. This isn’t a board meeting of parish workers talking about How to Attract the Millennials, it’s just 2 friends sharing their own stories of finding Jesus in the Cat...
Nov 04, 2020•38 min
It's one of the joys of the podcast that I get to sometimes sit with my besties and do deep dives over their life decisions--ha! On today's show, we're chatting with Emily Linn, a young adult minister within the Diocese of Milwaukee. Emily is a wife, mom, and passionate ministry worker who has some great insight into burnout. What does burnout feel like? How do you know if you should step away from your ministry job? How do you know if you're truly 'called' to ministry? These are the questions E...
Oct 28, 2020•39 min
Did you know that 1 in 5 women use the Internet for sexual activity every single week?! My mind was blown when I learned that statistic. When you know it’s THAT large a number, you know it has to be an awful lot of Catholics engaging in practices that dehumanize our brothers and sisters and shred God’s design for healthy sex. Today’s guest, Bella Bryant, knows exactly what it’s like to suffer from pornography addiction. She’s here to share her story of healing, how her sexual abuse as a child im...
Oct 21, 2020•33 min
Here’s the tricky part about being a feminist: I want every woman to feel confident and empowered…and I also want every woman to be healthy. And I know that right now, especially in America, we’re not. So how can we treat our bodies like temples while also avoiding fat shaming or pride? Today’s guest, Rebecca Dussault, is an Olympic cross-country skier and a mom of six with a passion for the intersection of fitness and faith. We dive into allllll of it: why she thinks the Olympics committees dis...
Oct 14, 2020•47 min
Danielle Noonan is a singer, songwriter, speaker, and mama with a passion for following God’s call—even when it meant moving her family out to a farm! I loved chatting with Danielle today all about the beauty of art within the Catholic Church, what COVID has been like as a musician, and what her songwriting process entails. We also dive in to why she decided to join us on our 2021 pilgrimage to France. Enjoy! This episode was brought to you by Ave Explores , an initiative of Ave Maria Press. Sig...
Oct 07, 2020•38 min
In today's episode, we're talking with writer and podcaster Samantha Stephenson all about egg donation, surrogacy, and other troubling bioethics developments that the world accepts and the church refuses. Why is that? Isn't egg donation just #womenhelpingwomen? Isn't surrogacy just helping women who want to have kids have them?! Not so, says Samantha--in fact, her insight as to why these procedures are harmful for women is incredibly interesting and she provides tons of resources for those inter...
Sep 30, 2020•41 min
Today, I’m bringing YOUR questions to Danielle Brown, the Associate Director of the USCCB’s Committee Against Racism. We’re talking everything from Black Lives Matter to talking to your specific priest about racial justice to how to have conversations about race in a way that honors God. It’s easy , sisters, to be angry and allow our anger to divide us from our fellow sisters. To paint them as caricatures and dehumanize. It’s harder to have conversations in a way that views each person as Imago ...
Sep 23, 2020•47 min
A few months ago I heard one of my favorite podcasters mention that she went to marriage counseling sometimes with her husband, and I’m embarrassed to admit that I was a bit…scandalized. I know! I stink. But in my mind, marriage therapy was for people who were, like, borderline divorce. It seemed awkward and shameful. And even though we’d had plenty of episodes on therapy, I realized I still had barriers built up around the idea of marriage counseling. Thankfully, marriage and family therapist J...
Sep 16, 2020•31 min
In today’s episode, we’re chatting with Karna Lozoya, a veteran Catholic reporter with a nose for news and a passion for the truth. We talk all about her new podcast, Crisis, which explores the origins and reforms of the sexual abuse crisis within our church. I especially enjoyed hearing about Karna’s experience interviewing victims and how it impacted her views as a Catholic. This is a heavy topic handled with grace and compassion, and while it may frustrate you as it did me, I hope that it als...
Sep 09, 2020•39 min
Amanda Vernon grew up singing hymns passed down from generations before her since her father told her if she was singing, she might as well be praying. And she never stopped doing either! Today, Amanda is an accomplished musician with four kids who spreads the Gospel through the gift of music. She's also a writer, and her book discusses the tumultuous time in her life when she dated a man who eventually discerned the priesthood. I absolutely loved her insight on intimacy: why do we all need it? ...
Aug 26, 2020•39 min
This ones for my book nerds: where you at? 📚If you love Jesus and love books, but don't always love books *about* Jesus, this ones for you. Author Lindsey Todd and I are talking about why she writes novels, why we think so much Catholic fiction falls flat for us, and why it's important for Catholics to read outside of our bubbles from time to time. We also chat about her work with the Chastity Project and she tries to convince me to outline my writing projects, which...I'm still not 100% sold o...
Aug 19, 2020•31 min
When I first read Sister Desiré's public letter on being the only black Felician sister, I was struck by one line in particular: that she felt invisible. As Catholic feminists, we know that we don't want a single one of our sisters to not feel seen, known, encouraged, and loved. So I invited Sr. on the show to walk us through why she feels that way, how we can be better listeners to one another, and how we can acknowledge pain while searching for solutions within the racial justice movement. We ...
Aug 12, 2020•39 min
Are you a cradle Catholic or a loud & proud convert? Today's guest, Claudine Noel, shares her story of falling in love with the Catholic faith and being baptized with zero family present. Her vulnerability and strength were so inspiring to me, and are part of what makes her a phenomenal life coach! Claudine is here to share with us how she embodies the feminine genius in her life coaching business, what the difference is between life coaching, therapy, and spiritual direction, and the import...
Aug 05, 2020•34 min
Jesus hung out with the poor. But you know who funds Catholic Relief Services, builds the churches, donates the food, influences the culture? The rich, friend. If you have greater than $4,000 in property or your bank account, congratulations—you’re in the top 50% of wealth owners in the world. Today’s guest is Elena Nunez Murdock, a passionate Latina and entrepreneur whose new company, Mission 2 Launch, helps Catholics transform their careers. Elena and I are talking all about wealth: is it bad?...
Jul 29, 2020•44 min
During COVID, are you spending a lot more time online than usual? If so...who are you paying attention to? Your IRL friends? Popular Catholic speakers? Are they diverse in thought and culture? Are they intelligent? Are they funny? Do they speak to people with charity? Today's guest is Sam Povlock, an online-turned-real friend and the founder of FemCatholic. Sam was on the show before a million years ago but I'm thrilled to have her back to talk about her new online community, FIAT. We also discu...
Jul 22, 2020•47 min
We're told that we can't look away from problems of the world: we must be knee-deep in activism at all times, constantly aware...but is it okay to step back? To let things sink in before responding in a flash? Heck yes says today's podcast guest. Maribel Rodriguez Laguna is a therapist on the board of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association. We chat about why burnout occurs, why so many "wounded healers" enter ministry and mission work, and why there's *still* so much stigma around mental health ...
Jul 15, 2020•35 min
Real healing is not a passive process. It’s active. It requires bravery. It requires leaning in. It requires vulnerability. These are things we know but fail to act on. We’d rather drown our sorrows in #hustling, in alcohol, in social media pseudo justice. Especially when the hurt came from the church or its members, how do we find true healing in Christ? Heather Khym is a wife, mom, podcaster, and speaker with a passion for helping women find true healing in their lives. Today on the show she t...
Jul 08, 2020•39 min
Let’s talk about sex, baby 🎶😂 Today on the show we welcome back Dr. Monique Ruberu, a Catholic wife, mother, and OBGYN. Monique is chatting with us all about how false chastity teachings can damage intimacy in marriage, what to do if intercourse is painful for you, and what it’s like being a doctor during COVID. Pour a glass of wine and settle into your couch, because this is some serious girl talk with a medical resource here to educate us! I have spent many an evening talking to a girlfriend...
Jul 01, 2020•46 min
Can I be honest for a sec? Sometimes, when I hear about people leading entire marches or writing important policies or starting non-profits, I start to wonder if what I do is insignificant. I know that’s not a very feminist thought—how often on here do we talk about different women having different callings?! But that doesn’t mean the thought doesn’t bop through my head now and then. All I do is write children’s books and potty train toddlers and talk about Jesus , I think. How am I contributing...
Jun 24, 2020•34 min
If you’re a feminist, you’re probably familiar with Betty Friedan’s “Problem That Has No Name.” This was the idea that “housewives” of the 50s and 60s and widespread unhappiness that stemmed from their oppression. While some of that is certainly factual—being a woman in the 60s had plenty of very real burdens, some of which Betty Friedan correctly identified—today’s guest, Sue Ellen Browder, believes that problem DOES have a name: a God-sized hole in our hearts. Sue Ellen is a former writer for ...
Jun 17, 2020•33 min
The past couple of weeks have taught us more than ever that the media plays a fundamental role in our screwed-up society. Love 'em or hate 'em or somewhere-in-between-'em-because-they-are-varied-humans, reporters are still very much a gatekeeper in between the public and what's going on in the world. Sure, anyone can take a video on their phone and throw it up on Twitter, but journalists are the people who help us contextualize and verify truth. Or at least...they should be. But some outlets hav...
Jun 10, 2020•33 min
My name is Claire + I’m a control-aholic. It’s true! I love control like the Julia Child loved butter. And although parenting is basically one long exercise in letting go of control, the truth is, I do have some control over my little ones. I decide we’re going to Mass on Sundays, and we go. I decide we’re having broccoli for dinner, and we do (although whether or not they eat is a whole ‘nother issue.) I decide we don’t watch movies that don’t align with our values, and we don’t. But there will...
Jun 03, 2020•36 min
After 150 episodes, it is a true joy to sit + chat with you all 1-on-1 today. I would say “I can’t believe we’re here!” but to be honest…I knew how phenomenal Catholic women were when I started this. I’m not surprised that you’re on fire for the topics we discuss on this show. I’m not shocked that you love tuning into our guests, whether they’re well-known speakers or just everyday women. I’m not stunned that when it’s time to turn on a podcast, you’re the type of woman who wants to hear about i...
May 27, 2020•42 min
If you’re a busy Catholic feminist, you probably feel like you’re juggling 19 balls in the air. Maybe you have kids, or a career, or both, or a graduate degree, or you’re trying to get in shape, or you’re volunteering in your neighborhood, or your leading an action council at your parish, or-or-or… Finding time to read? Impossible. Not so, says today’s podcast guest. Marcie Stockman is the founder of Well-Read Mom, a set of resources for busy women looking to fit more great books into their live...
May 20, 2020•35 min
When someone states their skin color or culture--"I'm a Black Catholic." "I'm a Polish Catholic." "I'm a Hispanic Catholic." It can be tempting to want to wave it off. We're all *one family*, right? Why do these differences matter? But today's guest is here to talk to us about how our church is bigger than our culture, and therefore, all of our cultures must be allowed to be present. Shannon Schmidt is a mom, podcaster, and biracial Catholic with a passion for theology and our church. We discuss...
May 13, 2020•44 min
What's it like to go to a Catholic college and find yourself unexpectedly...expecting? Today's guest, Monica Aberle, knows all about it. Monica is joining us to talk about how we can find hope in unexpected seasons: when times of chaos or complexity threaten to rob us of our joy, how can we lean into God and trust him in all things? As the founder of Everyday Mamas, Monica knows what it's like to find the beauty in the everyday, even when the everyday isn't exactly lining up with your picture-pe...
May 06, 2020•38 min
