In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Mark Saunders, who has an incredible "reversion" story to tell. Raised in a devout Catholic household Mark explains why he initially left the Catholic Church – despite working as an altar server and even discerning the priesthood at one point! – and how his success as a musician led to a life of sin, depravity, and eventually found him seeking out Jesus once again – and finding him in an anti-Catholic, Evangelical church. From there, Mark's ...
Jul 23, 2025•1 hr 46 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by ETWN's Dr. Matthew Bunson to talk about everything related to the Pope. We discuss Pope Leo XIV but also the history of the papacy, the biblical roots of the idea of the pope, how popes are elected and how that's changed over time, why the development of papacy authority is actually not what you think, and what we can make of the early papacy of the first American Pope. This plus a ton more on an amazing episode of The Cordial Catholic! For ...
Jul 16, 2025•1 hr 4 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by early Church historian, scholar, and translator Dr. DP Curtin, to talk about what the documents left behind by the very earliest Christians tell us about the faith. Dr. Curtin, translator of hundreds and hundreds of documents from the Early Church, sits down to explain just how Catholic-sounding the first Christians were. What they believed about Communion – the Eucharist – baptism, the authority structure of the Church, and much more. And h...
Jul 09, 2025•1 hr 17 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the wonderful Dr. Carly York, a former Evangelical worship leader, a student of church music, a musician in her own right, and a Catholic convert. Dr. York's story – a journey from small-town baptist music ministry to studying Gregorian Chant at the Catholic University of America – is an incredible tale! Dr. York explains how following her passion and her gifts from God – studying and performing Church music – led her deeper and deeper towar...
Jul 02, 2025•1 hr 12 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Deacon Frank – a deacon, author, columnist, and speaker – to unpack the biblical roots, proof, and evidence for the Perpetual Virginity of Mary . Using the Bible as the jumping off point, Deacon Frank is speaking directly to our non-Catholic Christian audience as he explains what makes Catholics believe – in tandem with the Early Christians – that Mary was not only a virgin before and after the birth of Jesus but was vowed, from the beginnin...
Jun 25, 2025•1 hr 11 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Catholic Answers author, apologist, and columnist John Clark to talk about the stigmata – the incredible, miraculous wounds of Christ as experienced by some of the most profound saints down through history. And, the incredible evangelical power that the stigmata – and stigmatists – have today! We dig into the lives of great saints like Padre Pio, St. Francis of Assisi, and more and discuss not only the profound properties of their miracles a...
Jun 18, 2025•1 hr 10 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Jannah Russell to share her remarkable Catholic conversion story. Raised in the Jehovah's Witness tradition, Jannah explains how her and her husband became disillusioned with the group, eventually leaving, and rediscovering faith on their own. Their journey, ever seeking the truth of Christ and His Church, led them into Evangelical Christianity where experiences around Communion, baptism, and the interpretation of Scripture set off some of t...
Jun 11, 2025•1 hr 8 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the incredible Dr. Peter Kreeft, philosopher, theologian, and one of the most important modern converts to the Catholic faith to unpack his own conversion journey and discuss why it makes good logical, philosophical, biblical, and historical sense to become Catholic. We talk about his journey from Calvinism to Catholicism, the centrality and logical sense of the Eucharist, the Reformation, and much, much more. Including, of course, his objec...
Jun 04, 2025•1 hr 6 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my two friends and former Evangelical seminarians (and, in Chris's case, a pastor) to discuss the importance of the Pope. Why is the Pope so important? In their trademark cordial and insightful style, Brandon and Chris help us to dig deeply into the biblical and historical roots of the papacy, the importance of the Pope as a tangible point of unity for Christianity, the reality of apostolic succession, and the witness of the Early Church – a...
May 28, 2025•1 hr 32 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Father Donald Haggerty, priest at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York and the author of a number of fine books including The Hour of Testing: Spiritual Depth and Insight in a Time of Ecclesial Uncertainty. We're talking about taking the temperature of society and responding to crises both in the world and within our very own Catholic Church. It's a great episode. We talk about the need for abandonment to God, the importance of prayer, and ho...
May 21, 2025•1 hr 6 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by one of my all-time liturgical heroes Chris Carstens to talk all things liturgy – and the centrality of Christ at Mass. What is the liturgy? What is it meant to do and how are we meant to do it? Why do we worship liturgically? And how can we do it better? Plus, we talk about the future of the liturgy (and how the liturgy used to be) and Chris brings all kinds of hope and good thoughts with him on this visit by unpacking what he's seeing, on t...
May 14, 2025•1 hr 10 min
In this special episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined, from Rome, by Fr. Haig Chahinian, a priest in the Armenian Catholic Church, and the CEO of Salt and Light Media , to talk about the importance of a pope, the papacy, and papal conclaves for the Eastern Catholic Churches. While Fr. Haig was originally scheduled to talk about Eastern Catholicism our plans were completely up-ended by the passing of the Holy Father and the calling of the conclave – so, a very special episode is being dropp...
May 08, 2025•30 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my friend Brian Jacobson, a former Protestant pastor and a convert to the Catholic faith, to unpack his incredible story and the reasons why he absolutely fell in love with the Catholic faith. From the initial realization – at an ecumenical Bible study – that him and his fellow Protestants couldn't agree on the "essentials" of the faith, Brian's journey into looking for the source and authority of Scriptural interpretation takes a number of ...
May 07, 2025•1 hr 18 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my friend author, podcaster, and former Episcopalian priest Andrew Petiprin to talk unpack one of the biggest misconceptions about the Catholic Church: that Catholicism is simply another Christian denomination. With aplomb, charity, and with Scripture and the history books in hand, Andrew explains exactly what's wrong with thinking of Catholicism as just another denomination, why that matters, and why it's abundantly clear from history and S...
Apr 30, 2025•1 hr 20 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Hugh Owen, the founder and director of the Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation to talk about the Catholic perspective on the literal story of creation. Can Catholics believe in a literal reading of Genesis? Has the Catholic Church officially adopted the theory of evolution? What does the science actually say? And what is lost is the typical discussion between science, evolution, and creation? Hugh joins me to unpack these questions and mo...
Apr 23, 2025•1 hr 48 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my friend Matthew Becklo, writer, editor, and Publishing Director for Bishop Barron's Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, to talk about the Catholic "both/and" paradigm that uniquely defines the Church that Christ founded. Neither "earthbound" or too "heavenly-minded," Becklo shows how, time and again, the Catholic Church walks the line between being too worldly and being too disengaged with the world. In how the Church worships, the role of t...
Apr 16, 2025•1 hr 28 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the one and only Fr. Robert Spitzer, SJ, PhD in a conversation that aims to turn the conventional tropes about Faith vs. Science on its head and to talk about areas where faith fills in the gaps left by science. The host of EWTN's Father Spitzer's Universe, the author of over 18 books and many scholarly articles, and the President of the Magis Center of Faith and Reason and the Napa Institute Fr. Spitzer, has the credentials coming out of hi...
Apr 09, 2025•46 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Sophia Nikolai, a self-described anti-Catholic who is here to share her absolutely incredible conversion story with us. With an anti-Catholic, Evangelical background, Sophia considered herself firmly grounded in her Christian faith until an encounter with a quotation from the Early Church Fathers and some pretty miraculous interventions began her on a journey completely and utterly out of her comfort zone. Listen to Sophia's amazing journey ...
Apr 02, 2025•1 hr 14 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Jill Simons, author, speaker, and the driving force behind Many Parts Ministries , which helps Catholics discern their spiritual gifting and charisms. We're going to talk, this week, about how we figure out where we fit in the Catholic Church – especially for those who have just become Catholic, will become Catholic shortly, or are thinking about becoming Catholic. We talk about how to discern what you're good at, how the lay person in the C...
Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 7 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined once again by my good friend and fellow convert Keith Nester to unpack a controversial claim! Keith spent over 20 years in Protestant ministry before converting to Catholicism and joins me to talk about the idea that so many converts – myself included – experience in their conversion to Catholicism: that they become better Christians! Keith joins me to explain why his love for Scripture, his devotion to prayer, his experience of Christ, and his...
Mar 19, 2025•1 hr 11 min
In this very special episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my two friends Catholic Answers apologist Joe Heschmeyer and Gospel Simplicity host Austin Suggs for an extraordinary conversation about what it takes to convert to Catholicism. This is the most cordial, thoughtful conversation you'll ever hear! Austin, a Protestant Christian, has spent many years on his fantastic YouTube channel talking to the best and brightest in the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches so I'm joined b...
Mar 12, 2025•2 hr 1 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by author Dustin Shane, a convert to Catholicism from the Jehovah's Witnesses, to talk about his harrowing and incredible faith journey. From his experience growing up in a devout Jehovah's Witness family to his wandering years and his ultimate decision to leave the faith (and face being shunned by his family!) there's a whole lot to unpack in this journey that I'm sure you'll love. Above all, Dustin gives us a unique perspective we don't often...
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 12 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Alex Dee from the Saints Alive podcast to talk about the incredible witness of the saints, the importance of passing on these amazing stories to our children, evangelization, and the amazing Lenten initiative that Saints Alive is about to embark on. Alex is an awesome, on-fire guy, and his insights into the stories of the saints, his own experiences in evangelization, and his heart for storytelling shines through in this episode. I hope you ...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 6 min
In this very special episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Kenny Burchard and Sam Nunnally, two former Evangelical, Charismatic pastors who converted to Catholicism to tell their stories, talk about their biggest misconceptions about Catholicism, and cordially explain how they set things straight. In this episode we'll talk about the misconceptions that Kenny and Sam held about Catholicism (and where they came from!), some of the struggles they faced as Evangelical pastors trying to app...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 15 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Dr. Cheryl Hughes to talk about one of the most prolific "convert makers" in American Catholic history: Archbishop Fulton Sheen. Dr. Hughes, a biographer of Fulton Sheen, joins me to talk about what made his evangelism so effective, what we can learn from him today, and how God used Abp. Sheen who was in the right place at the right time. We talk about the role of Catholic apologetics when speaking to our non-Catholic Christian brothers and ...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 10 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Avery Reukauf, a Catholic convert with one of the most incredible conversion stories you'll ever hear! From the untimely death of her mother following a radical decision to be baptized to her decision to join the military and her deployment to Iraq to her whirlwind marriage and the birth of her children to miracle upon miracle as Avery and her husband move from denomination to denomination in fervent pursuit of Christ – you'll be on the abso...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 27 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by speaker, author, and accomplished Catholic Answers apologist Dr. Karlo Broussard to talk about praying to the saints. How do we know it's OK to pray to the saints? Why would the Church encourage it when it seems discouraged in the Bible? How do we know they can hear us? How is that even possible? This, and much more, as Karlo uses Scripture and evidence from the Early Church to explain why it isn't only OK to pray to the saints but actually ...
Jan 29, 2025•1 hr 6 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Dr. Matthew Wiseman for one of the most phenomenal conversion stories we've had on this podcast. Raised in a devoutly Southern Baptist home, Dr. Wiseman and his family, seeking a deeper understanding of the Bible, found themselves immersed in the Messianic Movement – also known as the "Hebrew Roots" movement – and seeking to put into practice the Old Testament Jewish laws as New Testament Christians. What transpires from here is nothing shor...
Jan 22, 2025•1 hr 23 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my friend theologian, biblical scholar, and former Protestant pastor Dr. John Bergsma to talk about the deeply biblical roots of the Year of Jubilee. Pope Francis has declared 2025 a "Year of Jubilee" but what exactly does that mean? What are the "sacred portals" opening up across Rome? What kinds of special graces are available for Catholics? And where in the world does this idea even come from? With his deep knowledge of Scripture, his sen...
Jan 15, 2025•1 hr 7 min
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic , I'm joined once again by one of my favourite guests and yours, my good friend Rod Bennett. Rod is a Catholic convert with a unique way of looking at the faith and a penchant for asking some of the most penetrating questions about what connects as divides us as Protestants and Catholics. On this episode, we talk about the question of Christian unity and how can Protestants, ever, accomplish what Jesus prayed for in John 17? It's an utterly fascinating con...
Jan 08, 2025•1 hr 14 min
