The EDIFY Podcast

EP092: Ross Douthat

Is there a new kind of conservatism? With Trump on the brink of his second term, America is about to experience a great reckoning – but what will it look like?

New York Times columnist and author, Ross Douthat, joins Erika to address what’s next for our country.

Ross also shares his conversion story, and what it’s like to be the “conservative voice” of the New York Times.

Get Ross’ books: https://www.amazon.com/Books-Ross-Douthat/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ARoss+Douthat

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EP091: Heather Heying

Science is racist? In 2017, evolutionary biologists and professors Heather Heying and her husband, Bret Weinstein, were violently threatened by a mob of students fueled by DEI adherents.  

Heather joins Erika to share how this new woke religion is suppressing science, beauty, and autonomy. 

From COVID to transgenderism, those claiming to “follow THE science” have put America’s education system and the freethinking world in a dangerous spot. Find out where it’s headed. 

Read Heather’s substack, Natural Selections, by clicking https://naturalselections.substack.com/.

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EP090: Ryan Ellis

Is the American Dream no longer affordable? 

Groceries are 30% higher, young families can’t afford homes, inflation is through the roof. 

Is it ever going to get better? 

Center for a Free Economy’s Ryan Ellis breaks down all you need to know about our current economic state – from the Catholic stance on economic policy to the best financial tips for young people. 

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EP089: Carlos Eire

Will America be the new Cuba?

 As a child, Carlos Eire watched communism destroy his country under Fidel Castro and he’s warning America to be wary of the same disturbing signs. 

Carlos shares his incredible odds-defying story from being airlifted into America during the 1962 operation Pedro Pan to becoming a Yale professor of Catholic Intellectual Tradition. 

BONUS: Professor Eire details how his fascinating new book on levitation and  bilocation in the early modern age challenges our world’s rejection of the supernatural! 

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EP088: Peter Wolfgang

Have the raging culture wars doomed America? 

Children are being mutilated in the name of “gender identity,” millions are flooding the border illegally, and who is even running our country?   

Time may be running out, but Family Institute of Connecticut’s Peter Wolfgang joins Erika to unpack how there’s still a chance for Catholics to save America.

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EP087: Ken Tashjy

Title IX is getting a makeover – one that could jeopardize women’s safety across college campuses to favor biological “trans-identifying” males. 

Campus Reform’s Ken Tashjy joins Erika to do a deep dive into these troubled times for higher education. 

DEI-favoring admissions. The elimination of women’s private spaces. Pro-Hamas riots and the First Amendment. Find out what’s at stake for American college students.

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EP086: Catherine Pakaluk

America is facing a crisis in its birth rate – in just 200 years, the number of children born has plummeted from around 7-8 children per woman to only 1.5. But is it still desirable to have multiple children today? 

Despite our modern age’s wealth and prosperity, people are intentionally having fewer children. American economist and mother of eight, Dr. Catherine Pakaluk, is here to break down why. 

Catherine’s book – Hannah’s Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth – looks at the research in a whole new light by exploring the reasons why some American women choose to have 5 or more children. 

Check out Catherine’s book: Hannah’s Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth

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EP085: Bree Solstad

Money, power, success. Bree Solstad was entrenched in the porn industry as a producer and actress –  but a dramatic encounter with Catholicism transformed her life. 

Bree shares her incredible conversion journey with Erika and explains why no one is too far gone for the Lord’s mercy. Her story of a soul pierced by truth’s beauty encourages hope in a culture lost in the exploitation of sexuality. 

Note: This episode contains discussion of themes that may not be suitable for younger listeners. 

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EP084: Keara Burke

“Your child will be born in terrible pain. This will put your fertility at risk. Abortion is the compassionate response.” 

This is the advice most frequently given to parents when they receive a life-limiting fetal diagnosis like Trisomy 18 or anencephaly for their baby. But is fear and death the only answer?

Keara Burke lived through this experience when her son Rory was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 in utero – her story proves firsthand that life-affirming and beautiful alternatives exist.

In this episode, Keara joins Erika to share her story and her work through Rory’s Way. Keara’s mission is to educate and guide parents through this difficult time with the support of perinatal care that dignifies the lives of babies regardless of how long they last. 

Erika and Keara cut to the heart of this emotional but crucial subject, discussing why letting nature take its course is not the default for society and how the number of babies misdiagnosed and aborted for defects is shockingly high.  

Learn more:

• Rory’s Way
• New York Times study on prenatal testing misdiagnoses 

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EP083: Dr. Quentin Van Meter

It’s a tough time to be a kid. Doctors and counselors are pressuring children to irreversibly change their bodies in the name of “identity,” while parents are coerced to play along with a fantasy or risk losing their child.

What ever happened to the adolescent experience?

Dr. Quentin Van Meter has seen it all as a pediatrician and joins Erika to break down why “gender medicine” doesn’t follow science or medicine.

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