Whatever else they’re thinking about, every college president in the U.S. has one common concern right now — the coming demographic cliff. In 2024, the U.S. recorded a birth rate of 1.6 births per woman, the lowest rate on record, well below the population replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman. Children born in 2007 will head to college next fall. Then, fewer and fewer students will apply and attend college, simply because there are fewer and fewer students in high school. Jack Figge joins us with more.

Further Reading

‘Never going out of style’ — How Catholic colleges aim to navigate the demographic cliff

Guest Info

Jack Figge is a young Catholic journalist pursuing an MBA at Benedictine College, with a BA in political science and theology

In today’s First Reading, Paul writes to Timothy from the edge of death with the authority of an apostle. His life has already been placed upon the altar of Jesus Christ. Every line of his letter is the voice of a prisoner who knows what the Gospel demands of us. Marcus unpacks today’s readings.

Several viral videos this spring showed college commencement speakers praising the potential of AI, only to be showered by a chorus of boos from graduates concerned about their job prospects. What is the role of education in a world increasingly governed by AI? Dr Dan Guernsey joins us.

Guest Info

Dr. Daniel Guernsey is senior fellow at the Cardinal Newman Society and associate professor of education at Ave Maria University

As Catholics, we are called to use the resources God has given us in a morally responsible way. We talk about it with James Peregoy.

Ave Maria Mutual Funds

Guest Info

James Peregoy is co-manager of the Ave Maria Bond Fund and the Ave Maria Undiscovered Fund, and a research analyst responsible for fixed income research and trading functions. He is also responsible for the equity trading functions of the mutual funds. Before joining Schwartz Investment Counsel, Inc. he worked as a consultant at Plante Moran. James holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance and Statistics from Grand Valley State University. He has also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Most people think of parenting as a set of techniques that we use on kids make them behave. But St. John Bosco encourages us to instead approach parenting as a mentoring and discipleship relationship we have with our children. Dr. Greg Popcak has more.

Guest Info

Dr. Greg Popcak is the founder of CatholicCounselors.com Together with his wife Lisa, he’s the author of over 20 popular books, and the host of More2Life, heard each day at 10am E on EWTN radio. Greg and Lisa are also the founders of the CatholicHOM app that provides couples and parents with the coaching and resources they need to build strong domestic churches.

Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico has become a rising star in the progressive Christian movement. His pastor rejects the use of male pronouns for God, calls the Annunciation mythological, and rejects the apostle Paul as a homophobic jerk. Talarico claims that the Angel Gabriel asking Mary to be the mother of Christ is a defense of abortion rights. Marcus looks at the line of Protestant thinking that led to such a position.

Further Reading

Are Texans Ready for Talarico’s Kind of Christianity?

A Secular Age

Fr. Larry Holland, an elderly priest in Vancouver, Canada, has recently been in the news after it was disclosed that the hospital where he was recovering from a fractured hip offered to help him die. We look at the story and how the country continues to push for Medical Aid in Dying with Mark Bradford.

Further Reading

Living and Dying in Canada

Further Reading

Mark Bradford was appointed Fellow for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at the beginning of 2023. For over twenty years, he has been blessed to serve in leadership positions in various church ministries, including as the founding president of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation in the U.S. Mark and his wife Denise are parents to Thomas, their sixth of seven children (and first son), who happens to have been gifted with an extra 21st chromosome. Mark is a passionate advocate for those born with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. He especially advocates against the threat of abortion following a prenatal diagnosis at every opportunity. He is the author of Let Us Pray: Catholic Prayers for All Abilities and the editor of Indispensable: A Catholic Guide to Welcoming Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (both published by Word on Fire). The Bradfords reside in the Philadelphia suburbs.

AI’s biggest contributions to human wisdom may be the questions it poses, not the answers it generates. Humanity needs to develop wiser, more nimble judgment in order to put our best feet forward as we encounter competition, such as AI. We talk about it with Bill Schmitt.

Further Reading

‘We are Parthians, Medes and Elamites ... and Claude?’

Guest Info

Bill Schmitt is a Catholic journalist, author, educator, and marketing-communications specialist whose recent work can be seen on the Magis Center blog, in the diocesan newspaper of the Diocese of Albany, and in commentaries at “Phronesis in Pieces” on the Substack platform and at “OnWord.net”. As a secular reporter/editor, he worked at Gannett Westchester Newspapers, McGraw-Hill, Cahners Business Information, Kiplinger Washington Letter, and Chemical Week magazine. Bill has been an adjunct professor of English and media at several schools, including Fordham University and the University of Notre Dame.

The proud man’s first temptation is not necessarily open rebellion against God. It is slower and more subtle, as man thinks his own will to manage his life is sufficient. The Psalms give us the anatomy of this temptation, and look at how pride poisons our entire world – and offer an antidote. Marcus has more.

Understanding the Trinity begins with the divine unity. We unpack the mystery with Dr. Matthew Levering.

Guest Info

Matthew Levering (PhD Boston College) is the James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology at University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois.