How should Catholics approach problems on a global scale? Here’s the thing—we can do more harm than good if we go into issues without a firm educational foundation. We can also do more harm than good if we leave our faith in the dust as we charge forward with a well-intentioned heart. Catholic social teaching is a set of tenants that informs how we should make global decisions and how we should love our neighbors, both next door and on the other side of the world. Beth King-Howard, today’s guest...
Sep 11, 2019•47 min
It’s back-to-school time! Well, not for us, since I have two toddlers. But so many of you are headed back to school, whether as students or teachers. I’m so excited to be bringing you an insightful conversation with Emily LaPorte, a Catholic school teacher. But this isn’t a lighthearted conversation about the ABC’s. Emily + I are talking about both the joys and difficulties of being a teacher of small children. We also discuss things like whether or not kids in Catholic schools live in bubbles, ...
Sep 04, 2019•37 min
Do you ever feel like your relationship with Jesus is…polite? Yes, thank you, I’m sorry, and that’s about it? Today’s guest, Kathryn Whitaker, talks about how part of her conversion to the Catholic faith involved deconstructing her boundaries with Jesus, and how one of the results of a deeper faith is implementing boundaries with others. Kathryn walks us through how to only say yes when it’s a “hell yes” and how to STOP feeling guilty about that “no”. We also talk about her new book, Live Big Lo...
Aug 28, 2019•35 min
Is there an issue that just sets your heart on fire, but you have no idea how to get started on making an impact about it? Today we're talking to Lauren Roach, a Milwaukee activist (and the Community Manager for the CFP!) Lauren is tirelessly fighting to get pornography declared a public health crisis in Wisconsin, and she's here to chat with us about how she put a passion into ACTION, as well as some pornography statistics you may be unfamiliar with (like the link between human trafficking and ...
Aug 21, 2019•35 min
Q & A DAY! ✨👋🏻 I’m off exploring Poland with my family, so please enjoy this question + answer session. I solicited questions from Instagram and we wound up talking about everything from healthy boundaries to teaching kids about the faith to morning routines to dealing with discouragement. Enjoy! Today’s episode is brought to you by Select International. Head to selectinternationaltours.com/feminist to learn more about the amazing Catholic pilgrimages Select has to offer. Today’s episode i...
Aug 14, 2019•42 min
I'm launching a new podcast! Don't worry, CFP isn't going anywhere. ;) This is a podcast about another topic near + dear to my heart--children's books and how they're made. In this minisode, I'm sharing the trailer + also explaining why I wanted to share this show with all of you, the sweet listeners of the Catholic Feminist Podcast. Basically, God? He answered some serious promises. + I want to take you all with me on this journey. If you're having a hard time finding it, search for "Claire Swi...
Aug 12, 2019•13 min
What do sleep + self-care have to do with our faith life? As it turns out…a lot. Today on the show we have Carleara Weiss, PHD, breaking down how feminists can get more sleep, why women may have a harder time sleeping than men (#hormones), and why sleep affects our spirituality. Carleara + I also discuss how to get more women involved in STEM and the importance of 👏🏻mentoring👏🏻 women in your field. I love Carleara’s viewpoint on her faith being strengthened by science and how we as humans ar...
Aug 07, 2019•35 min
When Jesus told us to welcome the stranger, He meant it. That’s a principle that today’s guest, Andrea Mendoza, is truly living out. She volunteers with immigrants within our country and helps provide them with basic necessities that enable them to live out their dignity. Andrea is also sharing her own parents’ story of living in our country undocumented for years. Andrea will truly inspire you, but what I love most about her is the way she has turned her passion and empathy into real, concrete ...
Jul 31, 2019•46 min
“I work full-time in the pro-life movement, and even I’ve been getting whiplash.” That’s what today’s guest, Morgan Korth from WeDignify, told me. I couldn’t agree more. Every day, a new state is in the news for its newly passed abortion law. Today, Morgan is helping us break down the current state of abortion law in the US. We also talk about whether or not overturning Roe is really ENOUGH. I love Morgan’s wisdom on engaging civically vs. disconnecting to contemplate + her passion for TRULY end...
Jul 24, 2019•47 min
Let’s talk about hormonal birth control. The fact that most Catholic women are on it, and the fact that few of us know what it even does. Today’s podcast guest, Sarah Tramonte, is a registered nurse + an NFP instructor. Sarah walks us through what the heck birth control even does, why it’s SO frequently prescribed, if there’s ever an occasion where it might be the right choice for a non sexually-active person (her answer may surprise you!) and whether or not it’s really an abortifacient. 🤯 Sara...
Jul 17, 2019•45 min
How do you keep living a life of faith after an impossible-to-imagine tragedy occurs? ✨ Today’s guest, speaker and writer Leticia Ochoa Adams, is no stranger to grief. After her son committed suicide a couple of years ago, she decided to live the rest of her life sharing his story + walking through her journey of sorrow publicly. We talk about how to remain in relationship with Christ after horrible things happen and why “getting over” grief just isn’t a thing. We also dive into what we call Cat...
Jul 10, 2019•42 min
You know when you hear God’s voice whisper to you, and you’re like… no. Wrong girl. Thanks, but no thanks. Today’s guest sure does. When Sr. Marcia Hall was trying to figure out what direction to take her life, the thought of joining the Oblate Sisters of Providence was the last thing on her mind. But she eventually gave God her own fiat and joined the Oblate Sisters, which was the first religious order created for Black women. The order was founded in 1828 by 2 women who heard a call to religio...
Jul 03, 2019•33 min
If someone called you saying that their house was robbed, what’s the first thing you would say? Probably you should have locked your doors , right? Or maybe, Are you sure? Maybe you didn’t understand what the robber was doing . Possibly That can’t be true. I know your neighborhood. Only nice people who would never steal live there . Proooooobs not. I’m guessing it would be something more like, I’m so sorry that happened to you . Today’s guest, Adele Smith, is a survivor of sexual violence. After...
Jun 26, 2019•49 min
“And we will love naturally, we will try to do something. First in our own home, next door neighbor in the country we live, in the whole world. ” - Mother Teresa. I love Mama T so much I named a baby after her, and this quote is one of the reasons why. It’s a commonly-told anecdote that when people asked her how they could change the world like she was doing, she told them to go home and love their families. The family is truly the bedrock of our Christian faith, and although volunteering and do...
Jun 19, 2019•39 min
How come we never hear priests talking about race from the pulpit? I mean, maybe YOU do. But I’m pretty sure I literally never have. And that’s not ok. It’s a social issue plaguing our society, the same as other topics I hear about frequently, like abortion, poverty, and murder (the gang activity in Milwaukee, y’all. Fix it Jesus.) I have my theories. So does today’s guest, Danielle Brown. Danielle is the associate director of the USCCB’s Committee Against Racism. She’s breaking down WHAT exactl...
Jun 12, 2019•40 min
When I started the Catholic Feminist, one of my guiding principles was to get as close to those affected by issues as possible. Talking about eating disorders? Speak to someone who’s had one. Talking about racism? Speak to someone who’s experienced it. Talking about clergy sexual abuse? Have a victim share their story. Today’s guest, Krista Keil, is a Catholic speaker who’s bravely sharing her story of adult sexual abuse with us today. Krista and I talk about her story, how she was able to remai...
Jun 05, 2019•35 min
If only Catholic priests would get married, sexual abuse wouldn’t be a problem. Everyone else abuses kids, too. It’s not just Catholics. After the Dallas Charter, there’s practically NO sexual abuse by Catholic priests. If the above statements make you 🙄🤢😬😡, today’s episode is for you. Maggi Van Dorn is the host of Deliver Us, a podcast that covers the history of the Church sexual abuse scandals and how we got to where we are today. Maggi and I talk all about whether or not the Church is STI...
May 29, 2019•49 min
I’m married to an immigrant. Now, he didn’t claim asylum at the border to escape gang activity. His dad won something called a lottery (I always tell people he won it like in Titanic when Jack wins tickets…but that’s not exactly accurate) and his family picked the US over New Zealand. They were escaping something serious, but less immediately deadly: a horrendous economy brought about by years of communism and no opportunities for upward motility in careers. Immigration is something everyone has...
May 22, 2019•48 min
We're talking about abortion. Buckle up. Tune in to hear my thoughts on why we're talking about abortion all wrong as a society + often a Church.
May 21, 2019•27 min
It’s what we’re told to do without ceasing. It’s my first recommendation for any struggle. It’s at times the only thing we know to do. But…why does cultivating a prayer life feel so freaking hard sometimes? Because to be honest, the Rosary can feel SO dry. I want to snuggle up with my Bible and a candle and coffee but, um, my kids wake up at 6:30 and if I don’t workout beforehand I feel like a lunatic all day. I love the idea of having this really steady prayer routine but I just struggle to rea...
May 15, 2019•47 min
Who gets a miracle? It seems like a weird question. But miracles happen—and one happened to today’s guest. When hearing the story of her son’s birth, trauma, and miraculous recovery, though, one question that stopped me in my tracks and weighed on my heart was why Bonnie ? Not that she’s not awesome—because she is—but because so many praying parents lose children every day. Bonnie + I unpack this a bit after she tells her story, explains how saints utilize miracles to become canonized, and why A...
May 08, 2019•49 min
You know that sinking feeling you get when you realize you haven’t been to Confession in 6 months, or when your friend casually mentions she hit up daily Mass with her three kids, or when you struggle to fit five minutes of prayer into your day? That I-suck-I’m-lukewarm-God-thinks-I’m-lazy feeling? That’s spiritual perfectionism, and it’s not of the Spirit. Today’s guest, Colleen Carroll Campbell, is something of an expert on this topic. A mom, former presidential speechwriter, and Catholic spea...
May 01, 2019•41 min
We often talk about postpartum care in terms of nursing or sleep deprivation…but what about the spiritual and emotional side of things? Today’s chat is with Rebecca Christian of Fiat Doula Services. Rebecca is walking us through why she decided to transition from screenwriting to doula services, why she focuses her practice on postpartum care, and what moms who are struggling in the postpartum stage of life can do to begin to feel like themselves again. We also talk about how silence has been br...
Apr 24, 2019•30 min
When you’re doing intensely emotional work, burnout is common. My dear friend Megan is on the show today to discuss her experience working in social services with young people on the autism spectrum and what a period of unemployment after burnout taught her God and His faithfulness. We also talk about how Megan has been able to find Catholic community as a single young adult. You’ll love her thoughts on disability advocacy, her passion for honoring the gifts of our brothers and sisters with disa...
Apr 17, 2019•53 min
EPISODE 100! In today’s show, I’m sharing five things I’ve learned over the past 100 episodes and what you can expect from the Catholic Feminist moving forward. It’s been such a joy to be with you these past 2 years (don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere right now!) and I am so grateful for you. YOU. I’m praying for the listeners of the show extra hard.
Apr 10, 2019•29 min
“Fragility makes us strong. You can't be sensitive to other people's needs or aware of what's going on without you unless you have a certain amount of fragility. You have to be able to be moved by the people around you." That's just ONE of the many mic drops on today's episode. Sara Racicot and Noel Hrnchir are the co-hosts of Way of the Wildflowers, a podcast for women. When you hear women compared to flowers, it's easy to roll your eyes'we're not fragile! We're tough and strong and fierce and ...
Apr 03, 2019•39 min
Political conversations these days tend to get ridiculously heated. How can we speak the truth of the Gospel without becoming a clanging cymbal? Political writer Kathryn Jean Lopez is here to help us understand some tenants of Catholic communication, understand how to keep the hope in a despairing world, and helping us break out of our political boxes. Enjoy! Today's episode is brought to you by Audible. For a free audio book, head to audibletrial.com/catholic. Today's episode is also brought to...
Mar 27, 2019•39 min
Full disclosure: I FREQUENTLY tell people that our show isn’t super heavy on theology. Because it’s not! But today’s guest, Amy O’Connell, has a Master’s in theology and she’s here to explain to us WHY women theologians are so important. We also talk about running a literary journal in a clickbait world, creating content that appeals to both men and women, and how the Rosary is bringing her closer to God. Enjoy! Today’s episode is brought to you by Sock Religious. For 10% off a pair of cozy, com...
Mar 20, 2019•40 min
Being a working mom can have plenty of “bumps” in the road (…see what I did there?) but your postpartum rights shouldn’t be one of them. I absolutely loved chatting with attorney Emily Kearney on today’s show! Emily has experience in postpartum rights in the workplace and speaking with her about our rights if we’re returning to a secular workplace post-childbirth was fascinating. We also talked about her work in the area of broader disability rights, why she feels we’re so indifferent about able...
Mar 13, 2019•44 min
Today is Ash Wednesday. As we dive into the 40 days before Christ’s death and resurrection, you may have incorporated Bible reading into your Lenten journey. But lets be honest…how many of us try and tiptoe around the Old Testament? That half of the Bible can seem crazy, confusing, and straight up overwhelming. But today’s podcast guest, author Danielle Bean, believes there are strong connections to be drawn between the women of the Old Testament and the #MeToo movement. I loved chatting with Da...
Mar 06, 2019•41 min
