Catholic in America

Have we forgotten what it means to be human?

In an age of artificial intelligence, rapidly advancing technology, radical individualism, and growing confusion about human identity, even the most basic questions about who we are have become surprisingly difficult to answer.

On this episode of Catholic in America, Jason Adkins welcomes Dr. John Grabowski, professor of moral theology and ethics at The Catholic University of America and author of A Catholic Guide to Being Human, to explore what the Catholic faith teaches about the dignity, purpose, and destiny of every human person.

Drawing on Scripture, Catholic theology, and the teachings of St. John Paul II, Dr. Grabowski explains why human beings are more than their abilities, productivity, independence, or physical characteristics. We are created in God's image, united in body and soul, made for communion with others, and ultimately called to eternal life with God.

Together, Jason and Dr. Grabowski examine how our understanding of humanity shapes the way we approach marriage, family, work, disability, human dignity, and the common good. They also discuss the growing influence of artificial intelligence, the dangers of replacing authentic human relationships with technology, and why the Church's understanding of the human person offers an important response to today's cultural confusion.

At the heart of the conversation is a profoundly Christian truth: we discover who we are most fully through Jesus Christ, who reveals both the love of the Father and the true meaning of our humanity.

As technology continues to change the world around us, perhaps the most important question is not what machines can become, but whether we remember who God created us to be.

• A Catholic Guide to Being Human | Our Sunday Visitor https://orderosv.com/product/a-catholic-guide-to-being-human
• Dr. John Grabowski | The Catholic University of America https://trs.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/grabowski-john/index.html
• A Catholic Guide to Being Human: Hope Amidst Confusion | The Catholic University of Americahttps://www.catholic.edu/all-stories/catholic-guide-being-human-hope-amidst-confusion
• Theologian Explains New Book, A Catholic Guide to Being Human, in a Time of Confusion | OSV Newshttps://www.osvnews.com/theologian-explains-new-book-a-catholic-guide-to-being-human-in-a-time-of-confusion/

Jason Adkins, host of Catholic in America, engages our own time, culture, and political milieu with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to explore how to live more fully Catholic. With so much to explore, we have guests from a variety of perspectives and faith backgrounds, and conversations do not necessarily constitute endorsements. 

Catholic in America is an OSVNews.com podcast partnership. Support Catholic in America by becoming a patron of the show here. 

What happens when a woman takes the abortion pill and then changes her mind?

Dr. George Delgado has spent years working with women facing exactly that situation. A family physician and founder of the Abortion Pill Reversal Network, Delgado helped pioneer the use of progesterone after mifepristone in an effort to continue a pregnancy. In this episode of Catholic in America, Jason Adkins talks with Dr. Delgado about how abortion pill reversal began, how the protocol works, and why it has become so controversial.

Dr. Delgado recounts the remarkable story of receiving a call about a woman who had taken mifepristone and regretted her decision. Drawing on his knowledge of progesterone and mifepristone, he developed a protocol and found a physician willing to treat her. Months later, he learned that she had delivered a healthy baby. 

The conversation explores the rise of chemical abortion, how mifepristone and misoprostol work, the medical debate surrounding abortion pill reversal, and Delgado's argument for greater awareness and medical access for women who change their minds after beginning a chemical abortion. Delgado also discusses the women he has encountered through this work and the transformation he says he has witnessed in their lives. 

Jason and Dr. Delgado also examine what the increasing prevalence of chemical abortion means for the pro-life movement and how Catholics can respond by accompanying women, defending human dignity, and building a culture that supports both mothers and their unborn children. 

For Dr. Delgado, abortion pill reversal represents something profoundly Catholic: when someone believes she has made an irreversible decision, the Church should be there offering help, hope, and another chance.

Show Links

Dr. George Delgado
https://lozierinstitute.org/team-member/george-delgado/

Abortion Pill Reversal: A Second Chance at Choice
https://ignatius.com/abortion-pill-reversal-aprp/

Abortion Pill Rescue Network | Heartbeat International
Information and assistance for women seeking abortion pill reversal.
https://www.heartbeatinternational.org/our-work/apr

Steno Institute
Research, education, and resources on abortion pill reversal.
https://stenoinstitute.org/about/

The Basic Biochemistry of Abortion Pill Reversal | Charlotte Lozier Institute
https://lozierinstitute.org/primer-the-basic-biochemistry-of-abortion-pill-reversal/

California Lawsuit Concerning Abortion Pill Reversal | Thomas More Society
https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/apr

Jason Adkins, host of Catholic in America, engages our own time, culture, and political milieu with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to explore how to live more fully Catholic. With so much to explore, we have guests from a variety of perspectives and faith backgrounds, and conversations do not necessarily constitute endorsements. 

Catholic in America is an OSVNews.com podcast partnership. Support Catholic in America by becoming a patron of the show here. 

What if the UFO phenomenon isn't really about aliens?

Scholar of religion Diana Walsh Pasulka has spent years studying reports of UFOs, unidentified aerial phenomena, non-human intelligence, emerging technologies, and the religious ideas developing around them. What she has found raises much bigger questions than whether extraterrestrials are visiting Earth.

In this episode of Catholic in America, Jason Adkins talks with Dr. Pasulka about her new book, The Others: UFOs, AI, and the Secret Forces Guiding Human Destiny, and the strange intersection of religion, technology, artificial intelligence, and reported encounters with non-human intelligence. 

Pasulka traces how her research in Catholic history unexpectedly led her into the world of UFOs and UAPs. She explains why she began seeing similarities between modern accounts and older religious reports of extraordinary phenomena, and how digital technology has helped create new decentralized systems of belief around UFOs. 

The conversation also explores artificial intelligence, transhumanism, Silicon Valley, René Girard, Marshall McLuhan, Teilhard de Chardin, the spiritual ideas surrounding early space exploration, and Pasulka's argument that Christians need to recover traditions of discernment when confronting claims about mysterious forms of intelligence. 

Ultimately, the question is not simply whether something strange is out there. It is whether technology and new forms of spirituality are changing how we understand ourselves, God, and what it means to be human.

Are we seeking transcendence through Christ, or building another Tower of Babel?

Links

Diana Walsh Pasulka
https://dwpasulka.com/

The Others: UFOs, AI, and the Secret Forces Guiding Human Destiny
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250394866/theothers/

Ross Douthat interviews Diana Walsh Pasulka
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7n4nctI60c

Alien civilizations have not visited Earth and never will, physicist claims
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/alien-civilizations-not-visited-earth-140700410.html

CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION

Interested in exploring these questions even further? Listen to our conversation with Daniel O’Connor, “Aliens, AI, and the End of Truth: The Great Deception Uncovered.” It offers another Catholic perspective on UFOs, artificial intelligence, non-human intelligence, and the spiritual questions surrounding our rapidly changing technological world.

Jason Adkins, host of Catholic in America, engages our own time, culture, and political milieu with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to explore how to live more fully Catholic. With so much to explore, we have guests from a variety of perspectives and faith backgrounds, and conversations do not necessarily constitute endorsements. 

Catholic in America is an OSVNews.com podcast partnership. Support Catholic in America by becoming a patron of the show here. 

Eight hundred years after his death, St. Francis of Assisi remains one of the most recognizable and beloved saints in the world. But do we really know Francis?

In this episode of Catholic in America, Jason Adkins welcomes Capuchin Franciscan Fr. Bobby Barbato, rector of the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi in San Francisco, for a fascinating journey through the life, conversion, and enduring witness of St. Francis.

Fr. Bobby takes us beyond the familiar images of Francis preaching to birds and loving creation to reveal a man radically transformed by his encounter with Jesus Christ.

They revisit some of the defining moments of Francis' life, including his failed pursuit of knighthood, his embrace of the leper, Christ's call at San Damiano to "repair my house," his embrace of poverty, his life with the Franciscan brothers, and the Canticle of Brother Sun.

Along the way, they explore what these stories can teach Catholics today about conversion, discipleship, money, power, technology, community, care for creation, and learning to see the world through the eyes of Christ.

Fr. Bobby also explains why Francis' famous love of creation was far more than sentimentality, what it really means to "live penance," why Francis could call death his sister, and how his radical humility offers an alternative to a culture obsessed with power, possessions, prestige, and influence.

As the Church marks the 800th anniversary of St. Francis' Transitus on October 3, 2026, this conversation invites us to rediscover not simply the Francis we think we know, but the disciple whose life continues to challenge Christians eight centuries later. 

Links:

• Shrine of St. Francis and the Porziuncula Indulgence: https://shrinesf.org/the-pardon-of-assisi/
• Vatican News article on the plenary indulgence in the Jubilee Year of St. Francis: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2026-01/year-saint-francis-indulgence-assisi.html
• Franciscan shrines in the USA: https://www.catholicshrines.org/post/8-shrines-and-pilgrimage-sites-in-the-usa-to-visit-during-the-franciscan-jubilee-year
• Fr. Bobby Barbato, OFM Cap. Bio: https://www.franciscanpilgrimages.com/pilgrimage-staff/vita-barbato/

Jason Adkins, host of Catholic in America, engages our own time, culture, and political milieu with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to explore how to live more fully Catholic. With so much to explore, we have guests from a variety of perspectives and faith backgrounds, and conversations do not necessarily constitute endorsements. 

Catholic in America is an OSVNews.com podcast partnership. Support Catholic in America by becoming a patron of the show here. 

What does evangelization have to do with politics?

More than we might think.

In this episode of Catholic in America, Jason Adkins welcomes Dr. Matthew Petrusek, Senior Director of the Word on Fire Institute and author of Evangelization and Ideology: How to Understand and Respond to the Political Culture.

Petrusek argues that politics can provide Catholics with an important opportunity for evangelization. Political debates inevitably raise deeper questions about morality, human dignity, justice, truth, and ultimately our understanding of reality itself. Rather than abandoning these conversations, Catholics should learn how to engage them with reason, courage, charity, and a well-formed understanding of Catholic social teaching. 

Jason and Matthew discuss why politics is much bigger than elections, how Catholics can distinguish arguing from fighting, why local political engagement matters, and how institutions themselves can become places of evangelization.

They also explore the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity, the dangers of ideology, the importance of natural law, and what Petrusek describes as a Catholic approach of "hopeful realism" toward political life.

Ultimately, evangelizing political culture is not about creating heaven on earth or imposing Catholicism through government. It is about helping create a society where it is easier for people to pursue what is good, true, and ultimately Christ Himself. 

Links: 

Matthew Petrusek Bio and Evangelization and Ideology
https://bookstore.wordonfire.org/pages/matthew-petrusek?srsltid=AfmBOopnBaDU5JlHrmxNRyXV6V8RNjdA6vOUGubhkz-TD8hfkY68bGP2

Word on Fire Institute
https://institute.wordonfire.org/

Pope St. John Paul II on Catholic Social Teaching and Evangelization
https://focusequip.org/catholic-social-teaching-and-the-new-evangelization/

Jason Adkins, host of Catholic in America, engages our own time, culture, and political milieu with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to explore how to live more fully Catholic. With so much to explore, we have guests from a variety of perspectives and faith backgrounds, and conversations do not necessarily constitute endorsements. 

Catholic in America is an OSVNews.com podcast partnership. Support Catholic in America by becoming a patron of the show here. 

Should Catholics stay out of politics?

Far from it.

In this special live episode of Catholic in America, recorded at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, Jason Adkins explores why the Church teaches that political engagement is not optional, but an essential expression of Christian charity. 

Drawing from Scripture, Catholic social teaching, and the wisdom of Popes Leo XIII, Francis, and Leo XIV, Jason argues that politics is far more than elections or partisan conflict. At its best, politics is the pursuit of the common good and one of the primary ways Catholics love their neighbor.

Throughout the lecture, he explains how Catholics can faithfully engage today's most difficult public debates, including bioethics, religious liberty, education, healthcare, assisted suicide, and the dignity of every human person.

Topics include:

• Why politics is "one of the highest forms of charity"
• The Catholic understanding of the common good
• Why the Church must be present in public life
• Catholic social teaching beyond partisan politics
• Building relationships with elected officials
• Why Catholics should engage bioethical issues
• The dignity of every human person from conception to natural death
• Forming consciences rather than winning arguments
• What Pope Leo XIV's early teaching means for Catholics today
• How ordinary Catholics can transform their communities

Whether you're active in public life or simply wondering how your faith should shape your civic responsibilities, this conversation offers a compelling vision for living the Gospel beyond the walls of the church.

Jason Adkins, host of Catholic in America, engages our own time, culture, and political milieu with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to explore how to live more fully Catholic. With so much to explore, we have guests from a variety of perspectives and faith backgrounds, and conversations do not necessarily constitute endorsements. 

Catholic in America is an OSVNews.com podcast partnership. Support Catholic in America by becoming a patron of the show here. 

What happens when the desire to belong begins to replace the search for truth?

In this episode of Catholic in America, Jason Adkins sits down with author, entrepreneur, and Catholic University scholar Luke Burgis to discuss his newest book, The One and the Ninety-Nine: How to Find Identity and Cultivate Individuality in an Age of Social Contagion. 

Together they explore one of the defining questions of modern life: How do we remain true to ourselves while living in community?

Drawing from Scripture, philosophy, psychology, the Rule of St. Benedict, René Girard, and Catholic social teaching, Burgis explains why today's culture often rewards conformity over conscience and why authentic communion requires strong, well-formed individuals.

Topics discussed include:

• Why social contagion shapes modern culture
• The difference between community and communion
• How technology and artificial intelligence influence identity
• Why friction and suffering help form virtue
• The importance of conscience in Catholic life
• The danger of groupthink, even inside the Church
• What the Parable of the Lost Sheep teaches about personal identity
• How families, education, and work help form the "solid self"

Whether you're navigating social media, raising a family, leading a business, or simply trying to live your faith with integrity, this conversation offers practical wisdom for becoming the person God created you to be.

Links

The One and the Ninety-Nine
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250373038/theoneandtheninetynine/

Wall Street Journal Review
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/the-one-and-the-ninety-nine-review-a-study-in-selves-688114da

Luke Burgis
https://lukeburgis.com/

Jason Adkins, host of Catholic in America, engages our own time, culture, and political milieu with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to explore how to live more fully Catholic. With so much to explore, we have guests from a variety of perspectives and faith backgrounds, and conversations do not necessarily constitute endorsements. 

Catholic in America is an OSVNews.com podcast partnership. Support Catholic in America by becoming a patron of the show here. 

Why are so many people lonely, anxious, and disconnected despite having more comforts and conveniences than ever before?

In this episode of Catholic in America, Jason Adkins welcomes Dr. John Cuddeback, professor of philosophy at Christendom College, to discuss his new book, The Intentional Household: Living As If People Matter. 

Dr. Cuddeback argues that one of the greatest crises of modern life is not political or economic. It is the loss of the household as a true community of daily life.

Rather than simply sharing a roof, families are called to become places where friendship, meaningful work, hospitality, prayer, and genuine leisure shape every aspect of life.

Together, Jason and Dr. Cuddeback explore:

• Why the household is the foundation of civilization
• The difference between a house and a home
• Why technology should serve relationships, not replace them
• The forgotten importance of shared work and shared leisure
• Why friendship is the foundation of marriage and family
• The wisdom of Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Wendell Berry
• Raising children through culture, not merely instruction
• Caring for the elderly as an essential part of family life
• Practical ways to become more intentional at home

Whether you're single, married, raising children, or entering retirement, this conversation offers timeless wisdom for building a life where people truly matter.

Links: 

• John Cuddeback Bio: https://www.christendom.edu/academics/undergraduate-faculty/john-a-cuddeback/
• LifeCraft: https://life-craft.org/
• The Intentional Household: https://ignatius.com/intentional-household-the-inhp/

Jason Adkins, host of Catholic in America, engages our own time, culture, and political milieu with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to explore how to live more fully Catholic. With so much to explore, we have guests from a variety of perspectives and faith backgrounds, and conversations do not necessarily constitute endorsements. 

Catholic in America is an OSVNews.com podcast partnership. Support Catholic in America by becoming a patron of the show here. 

More than forty years after his death, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen continues to inspire Catholics around the world.

In this episode of Catholic in America, Jason Adkins speaks with Bishop Louis Tylka, promoter of Sheen’s cause for canonization and leader of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, about the life, legacy, and enduring relevance of one of the greatest evangelists in American Catholic history. 

Known for his groundbreaking television program Life Is Worth Living, Archbishop Sheen brought the Gospel into millions of homes at a time when television was still a new medium. Yet behind his remarkable communication skills was something far deeper: a profound friendship with Jesus Christ rooted in a daily Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament. 

Topics discussed include:

• Fulton Sheen’s early life and vocation
• His rise as a radio and television pioneer
• Why Life Is Worth Living attracted over 30 million viewers weekly
• The role of philosophy and theology in shaping his thought
• His influence on Catholic apologetics and evangelization
• The central importance of the Holy Hour in his life
• Why Sheen remains relevant in the digital age
• The miracle attributed to his intercession and the path to beatification
• What modern Catholics can learn from his witness

Bishop Tylka offers a compelling portrait of a man whose success was never rooted in celebrity, but in prayer, holiness, and a deep desire to bring people into friendship with Christ. 

As Catholics navigate a rapidly changing media landscape, Sheen’s example offers a timeless lesson: effective evangelization begins not with technology, but with prayer.

Links:

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation

Bishop Louis Tylka Biography
Bishop Louis Tylka Bio

Life Is Worth Living: "Pain and Suffering"
Life Is Worth Living Sample Episode

William F. Buckley Interviews Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Buckley Interview with Fulton Sheen

Jason Adkins, host of Catholic in America, engages our own time, culture, and political milieu with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to explore how to live more fully Catholic. With so much to explore, we have guests from a variety of perspectives and faith backgrounds, and conversations do not necessarily constitute endorsements. 

Catholic in America is an OSVNews.com podcast partnership. Support Catholic in America by becoming a patron of the show here. 

Is our obsession with aliens and AI preparing us for a spiritual deception?

In this electrifying episode of Catholic in America, Jason Adkins interviews philosopher, theologian, and author Daniel O’Connor, who argues that belief in extraterrestrials and superintelligent AI may be part of a growing cultural movement away from Christ — and toward idolatry and deception. Drawing on theology, Church history, science, and pop culture, O’Connor proposes that the so-called “First and Last Deception” mirrors the serpent’s lie in the Garden of Eden: that humans can become like gods through a non-human intelligence.

Whether you're a skeptic, a science-fiction fan, or someone curious about how Catholics should think about aliens and AI, this conversation offers a clear, thought-provoking, and spiritually grounded perspective.

Topics Covered:

• Why Daniel O’Connor believes aliens don’t exist — and never have
• How AI is being used as a spiritual gateway
• What Scripture and the Catechism say about non-human intelligences
• The manipulation of public fear through “disclosure” events
• The eerie connection between 1947, UFOs, and the Cold War
• C.S. Lewis, the Church Fathers, and popes on extraterrestrial life
• Why only man is made in the image of God
• The Church’s warnings against false messianism and pseudo-scientific prophets
• What Catholics can do to avoid being deceived

O’Connor’s book is not just about debunking aliens or AI hype. It’s about holding fast to the truth of Christ in an age of spiritual confusion and technological seduction.

Links:

Daniel O’Connor’s Bio
https://dsdoconnor.com/about-me/

Book: The First and Last Deception: Aliens, UFOs, AI, and the Return of Eden’s Demise
https://www.amazon.com/First-Last-Deception-Aliens-Return-ebook/dp/B0DJFWQ421

YouTube Channel: Daniel O’Connor Lectures
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwB70gZ4NGlbFgnoY9FMUwg/videos

Jason Adkins, host of Catholic in America, engages our own time, culture, and political milieu with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to explore how to live more fully Catholic. With so much to explore, we have guests from a variety of perspectives and faith backgrounds, and conversations do not necessarily constitute endorsements. 

Catholic in America is an OSVNews.com podcast partnership. Support Catholic in America by becoming a patron of the show here. 

Jason Adkins, host of Catholic in America, engages our own time, culture, and political milieu with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to explore how to live more fully Catholic. With so much to explore, we have guests from a variety of perspectives and faith backgrounds, and conversations do not necessarily constitute endorsements. 

Catholic in America is an OSVNews.com podcast partnership. Support Catholic in America by becoming a patron of the show here.