The Sacrament of Baptism saves us on an individual level. But it also goes beyond that – it is a vehicle to union with those who need God’s love. Mike Schramm joins us.

Further Reading

The Other Way Baptism Saves

Follow Mike on Substack

Guest Info

Mike Schramm lives in southeastern Minnesota with his wife and seven children. There, he teaches theology and philosophy at Aquinas High School and Viterbo University. He earned his MA in theology from St. Joseph’s College in Maine and an MA in philosophy from Holy Apostles College. You can find his writing at Busted Halo, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Catholic Insight, Catholic Exchange, and the Voyage Comics Blog. He is also the managing editor of the Voyage Compass, an imprint of Voyage Comics and Publishing, and co-hosts the Voyage Podcast with Jacob Klatte.

Carl Olson grew up in strongly anti-Catholic home with a father who believed that Catholics “worship the pope” and “think the pope can’t sin.” The papacy is one of the biggest obstacles Protestants face when considering the Catholic faith. But the teaching is built solidly on the Scripture. Carl joins us with more.

Further Reading

The Papacy and Sacred Scripture

Guest Info

Carl E. Olson is editor of Catholic World Report and Ignatius Insight. He is the author of Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?, Will Catholics Be “Left Behind”?, co-editor/contributor to Called To Be the Children of God, co-author of The Da Vinci Hoax (Ignatius), and author of the “Catholicism” and “Priest Prophet King” Study Guides for Bishop Robert Barron/Word on Fire. His recent books on Lent and Advent—Praying the Our Father in Lent (2021) and Prepare the Way of the Lord (2021)—are published by Catholic Truth Society. The Most Asked Questions about Faith, Reason, Jesus, and the Bible, co-authored with Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., will be published by Ignatius Press in Fall 2026. He is also a contributor to “Our Sunday Visitor” newspaper, “The Catholic Answer” magazine, “The Imaginative Conservative”, “The Catholic Herald”, “National Catholic Register”, “Chronicles”, and other publications.

The Flourish Fundraiser to support Arbor Woman Health will take place on September 10 and you can be there! The evening includes delicious food, live music, and a keynote address by Dr. Kristin Collier. Dr. Rusty Chavey has the details.

Learn More about the Event

Guest Info

Dr. Rusty Chavey is the founder of Emmaus Health in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is also Professor Emeritus in the Department of Family Medicines at the University of Michigan.

If you read the Gospel readings today, you’ll see one of those deceptively brief encounters in the Gospel narratives, this one between Jesus and Nathanael. but There’s deep meaning behind the language that’s going forth here. Marcus takes a closer look.

A recent longform piece in The Atlantic asks how Civilization can survive the postliterate area. It’s inspired by several recent studies showing a steady decline in American literacy. In one 2024 nationwide exam, only 35% of high school seniors ranked “proficient” in analyzing complex themes in fiction or the effectiveness of an essayist’s argument. From 1984 to 2025, the percentage of 13-year-olds who said they rarely or never read on their own for fun jumped from 8% to 29%. Is the age of reading over? David Bonagura joins us.

Further Reading

The Age Of Reading Is Over

The End of Reading Is Here

David’s website

Guest Info

David G. Bonagura, Jr. is the author, most recently, of 100 Tough Questions for Catholics: Common Obstacles to Faith Today, and the translator of Jerome’s Tears: Letters to Friends in Mourning. An adjunct professor at St. Joseph’s Seminary and Catholic International University, he serves as the religion editor of The University Bookman, a review of books founded in 1960 by Russell Kirk.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus asks the disciples who people say that the Son of Man is – and then he confronts Peter “but who do YOU say that I am?” We unpack the readings with Rob Corzine.

Guest Info

Rob Corzine is the vice-president of programs for the St Paul Center for Biblical Theology

As we pray for a just peace in the Middle East, some Catholics and Protestants have been engaging in a different yet related battle—regarding whether the Temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt, how and when the Antichrist will appear, and God’s plan otherwise for the End Times. We talk about the debate with Tom Nash.

Further Reading

Will the Temple Be Rebuilt?

Guest Info

Tom Nash has served the Church professionally for more than 35 years, including as a theology advisor at the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). He is a staff apologist for Catholic Answers, and a contributing writer for both the National Catholic Register and Catholic World Report. Tom appears as a periodic guest host for Ave Maria in the Afternoon and has appeared as a regular guest apologist on Catholic Answers Live for more than fifteen years. Tom is the author of The Biblical Roots of the Mass, To Whom Shall We Go?: The Biblical Case for the Catholic Church, and 20 Answers: The Rosary. He is also a contributing author to Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Mass, and Faith Facts: Answers to Catholic Questions, Vols. I and II. He is also a regular member of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars.

On Saturday, we celebrate the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. When Marcus was still a Protestant, he detested such celebrations, believing they were proof that Catholics worshipped Mary. Since his conversion, he has come to appreciate Mary as a mother and a queen. He shares more.

Further Reading

Behold Your Mother: A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines

Stockholm Syndrome is a term used to describe a bond that forms between a captive and their captors, and was coined after an attempted bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden in August 1973. While most of us will hopefully never be held hostage, we are all in a “Stockholm Syndrome” relationship with the devil – for we all have sins we have not yet let go of. Marcus has more.

The latest entry in the Toy Story franchise features a young girl whose parents buy her a tablet so she can be like the other kids. The story is an illustration of a larger cultural phenomenon – the ubiquity of screens in our society. Paul Kengor joins us.

Further Reading

Toy Story 5 and the Vanishing America of Toy Stores and Churches

Guest Info

Paul Kengor is Editor of The American Spectator.Dr. Kengor is also a professor of political science at Grove City College, a senior academic fellow at the Center for Vision & Values, and the author of over a dozen books, including A Pope and a President: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Extraordinary Untold Story of the 20th Century, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Communism, and Dupes: How America’s Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century.