Kresta in the Afternoon

On Wednesday the Supreme Court met to hear oral arguments in the Dobbs v Jackson case. We spoke about it last week and the initial reaction was that pro-lifers have good reason to be optimistic about how everything played out. We take a closer look at the questions that were asked, trying to get a feel for how the Court may rule this spring. Pat Gillen joins us.

Yesterday the White House announced a Diplomatic Boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. This means that athletes will still compete in the Games, but no US officials will be there. Will this send an effective message? How might China respond? We take a look.

A recent study suggests that women who take the pill are nearly 10 percent worse at recognizing subtle expressions of complex emotions like pride or contempt. What does this say about the possible impact of oral contraceptives on social interactions? We talk with Dr Greg Popcak.

In 2007, 24 percent of Americans identified as Catholic. By 2014, that had dropped to 21 percent. The number of people who claim no religious affiliation has surpassed Catholics and evangelicals, making "nones" the largest religious group in the United States. Catholics are simply walking away from the Church. Yet there are many committed, faithful Catholics who desperately want to stem this tide. Tim Glemkowski joins us.

In early December, 2009, Tiger Woods, one of the most popular and successful athletes of his generation, had his shocking fall from grace. He had previously expressed belief in aspects of the Buddhist faith, and in the weeks following the story becoming public Fox News analyst Brit Hume encouraged him to turn to the Christian faith for more complete forgiveness and redemption. What does Christianity offer that Buddhism doesn’t? Al takes a look.

For years, Colleen Campbell saw herself as a perfectionist. She drafted her first résumé in sixth grade, spell-checked her high-school boyfriend’s love letters, and thought of herself as an ambitious but well-rounded person who worked hard and played hard. But after she became a mother, she saw how insidiously perfectionism had infected her spiritual life, and how harmful it could be to her family. Seeking help, she turned to the saints. She joins us to share how the saints' inspiration helped her trade her own dream of perfect for God's.

On December 4, 1674 Fr Jaques Marquette and fellow explorer Louis Joliet established the first European dwelling at the mouth of the Chicago River. The settlement would eventually become the city of Chicago. Fr. Martin also founded settlements in Sault Ste Marie and St. Ignance, Michigan, and he and Joliet were the first Europeans to explore and map the northern portion of the Mississippi River. He's just one of the many priests who helped build Western Civilization. Fr. William Slattery joins us with more.

How did the ancient Christians know who Messiah would be? One sign was detailed in the first chapter of Malachi: "From the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts." We talk with Mike Aquilina about how the early church was defined by Malachi's oracle and how they found identity in the Eucharist.

These first weeks of Advent focus more on the Lord’s second coming in glory than on His first coming at Bethlehem. The Gospel clearly states that we must always be prepared, for at an hour we do not expect, the Son of Man will come. “Ready” is the key word. But how should we be ready? We talk with Msgr Charles Pope.

A great philosopher once observed, "Philosophers let theories get in the way of what they and everybody else know." A lot of ink has been spilt in order to obscure what we really can't not know about reality, humanity and morality. We begin to unpack that with Fr. Robert McTeigue