Catholic Review Radio

🎬 Enjoy additional conversation with our guests on Hollywood and the movies in this special bonus episode for the 2026 Oscars season!

Catholic Review Associate Publisher Chris Gunty is joined by Daughter of St. Paul Sister Rose Pacatte, OSV News media reviewer John Mulderig, and co‑host Ann Augherton of the Arlington Catholic Herald for a fast‑moving, insightful conversation about Hollywood’s biggest night, coming up March 15.

From the imaginative spectacle of Sinners to the quiet beauty of Train Dreams, the panel explores why 2025’s films leaned into offbeat storytelling, ordinary heroes, and marathon running times. They break down each Best Picture contender in brief, highlight standout performances, debate moral and spiritual themes, and share their personal favorites of the year.

Whether you love film, faith, or sharp cultural conversation, this episode offers thoughtful perspectives – and a few surprises – on what makes great cinema today.

🎬 Catholic Review Radio’s 2026 Oscars Special dives into the year’s most surprising, soulful, and genre‑bending Best Picture nominees. Catholic Review Associate Publisher Chris Gunty is joined by Daughter of St. Paul Sister Rose Pacatte, OSV News media reviewer John Mulderig, and co‑host Ann Augherton of the Arlington Catholic Herald for a fast‑moving, insightful conversation about Hollywood’s biggest night, coming up March 15.

From the imaginative spectacle of Sinners to the quiet beauty of Train Dreams, the panel explores why 2025’s films leaned into offbeat storytelling, ordinary heroes, and marathon running times. They break down each Best Picture contender in brief, highlight standout performances, debate moral and spiritual themes, and share their personal favorites of the year.

Whether you love film, faith, or sharp cultural conversation, this episode offers thoughtful perspectives – and a few surprises – on what makes great cinema today.

Mark Viviano welcomes Baltimore Orioles pitcher Cade Povich for a heartfelt conversation about faith, baseball and purpose. Preparing for his third Major League season with the Baltimore Orioles, Povich reflects on a life-changing milestone: his reception last year into the Catholic Church at age 25.

Povich shares how his journey began with childhood curiosity, deepened in Catholic high school theology classes and matured amid the pressures of professional baseball. Encouraged by teammates, his wife’s faith and guidance from a priest, he completed months of formation during the grind of the MLB season. The day after his baptism, he was back on the mound for a Major League game.

Povich also discusses the growing Christian fellowship within clubhouses across baseball and why he openly shares his faith to inspire others.

Exploring the beauty and challenge of Catholic marriage, this week’s episode of "Catholic Review Radio" features author and homeschooling mother Caitrin Bennett discussing her award-winning book, "Holier Matrimony: Married Saints, Catholic Vows and Sacramental Grace." A parishioner of St. John Francis Regis Parish in Leonardtown, Bennett shares how her desire to find married saints as companions in her own vocation grew into a richly layered work on saintly couples, Catholic wedding vows and sacramental grace.

In a new pastoral letter released Feb. 9, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore takes the occasion of the nation’s 250th anniversary to address “a moment of grace and responsibility.” Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talked with the archbishop about the motivation for the letter, which is subtitled, “Toward a Renewed Political Culture.” Archbishop Lori notes in the interview that the extreme polarization of the current political climate is painfully evident and that we need to find common ground to work for human dignity.

Oscar Wilde once said, “Every sinner has a past. Every saint has a future.” Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talks with Tim Jeffries and Joe Reynolds, producers of the popular video series “Sinners and Saints,” which is now filming its third season. They talk about how each of us is a broken sinner and how we should strive to become saints. Even some of the holiest saints we can think of, including St. Augustine, were notorious sinners before they changed their ways.

Catholic Review Radio this week explores faith, education and community across generations. George Matysek speaks with Dr. Mary Lou Yam, president of Notre Dame of Maryland University, and Austin Koo, development director at Brightview Senior Living, about a long-planned partnership that will bring a senior living community to the university’s campus. The project will create housing for independent living, assisted living and memory care while opening the door to intergenerational learning.

Later in the program, professional performer Melissa Victor, currently touring with the hit musical "Wicked," joins the show. A graduate of Archbishop Borders Catholic School in Highlandtown and a parishioner of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Baltimore, Melissa answers questions about her musical career from current students at her alma mater.

Addiction and recovery touch countless individuals and families, yet the deeper story behind the recovery movement is often unknown. On this episode of Catholic Review Radio, Rita Buettner speaks with authors Tom Adams and Joy Jones about their book, "A Marriage That Changed the World: Lois and Bill Wilson and the Addiction Recovery Movement." Their conversation reframes the familiar history of Alcoholics Anonymous by highlighting addiction as a family disease and recovery as a shared, spiritual journey.

Adams and Jones shine a light on the essential but frequently overlooked contributions of behind-the-scenes partners who were critical to the founding of both Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon Family Groups. The episode also examines the Christian roots of the 12-step program, the influence of Catholic leaders and the Church’s role in welcoming Catholics into recovery.

Deacon Greg Kandra is a writer, retreat leader, blogger and author. Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty chatted with Deacon Kandra about his most recent book, “Peace Be with All of You: The Mission and Message of Pope Leo XIV,” from Word Among Us. He explains why service, unity and hope in Christ are hallmarks already of the new pope’s tenure, based in Augustinian spirituality. He also talks about how to prepare well for Lent.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are some of the oldest versions of the Bible that have ever been discovered, dating back even before the time of Christ. Discovered in 1947 in Qumran, a portion of the scrolls are now on display in Washington, D.C., at the Museum of the Bible. Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty walked through the exhibit with Dr. Robert “Bobby” Duke to learn about how the exhibit came about, why the scrolls are important to understanding Scripture and how the scrolls are preserved today. The museum’s exhibit provides a window into the Second Temple Period in Jerusalem (538-70 B.C.), and includes a large stone from the Western Wall where visitors can leave prayers.