The Open Door

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck and Christopher Zehnder interview Kyle Washut on What Makes for a Truly Catholic Transformative Education. (September 30, 2026)

American higher education is big business: specialized, politicized, and increasingly disconnected from the pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty. Many colleges and universities have become little more than diploma factories for the all-important job market. In fact, many have lost sight of what education can and should be.

But a great realignment is underway as educational renewal movements spring up around the country based on one particularly successful model of education. But that model --  Pearson Integrated Humanities Program (IHP) at the University of Kansas -- was so successful that it endured "death by bureaucracy!" (In other words, too many students were converting to the Catholic faith including Bishop James D. Conley, Bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska who wrote the foreword!)

Speaking upon the value of a solid Catholic education, especially in higher education, is Wyoming Catholic College's president, Fr. Kyle Washut based on the insightful volume: Truth on Trial: The Rise and Fall of the Integrated Humanities Program at the University of Kansas, published by The Adeodatus Series on Catholic Education and Culture.

What lessons can be learned? 

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck, Christopher Zehnder, and Andrew Sorokowski talk with Gerry Turcotte, President & Principal, St Mark's College & Corpus Christi College, Vancouver, British Columbia, about the concept of liminality.

Gerry is the author of The Space Between, available at The Space Between by Gerry Turcotte | En Route Books and Media

The Space Between by Gerry Turcotte is a wry, tender novel that explores faith, failure, love, and longing through a series of sharply observed episodes. Moving from boyhood to adult reckoning, Turcotte writes with humor, intellectual depth, and emotional honesty about the spaces between belief and doubt, devotion and rebellion, intimacy and solitude. This is a reflective, often laugh-out-loud meditation on identity, grace, and becoming human.

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck, Christopher Zehnder, and Andrew Sorokowski talk with Jeb Smith, author of Missing Monarchy: Correcting Misconceptions About The Middle Ages, Medieval Kingship, Democracy, And Liberty.

When you think of democracy, what comes to mind? Comparing democracy to monarchy, are you thankful to be living free rather than suffering oppression under a medieval tyrant? What if you could be evidentially shown that the democracy you hold so dear is not only less ideal than you’ve been taught, but is actually inferior to the kingdoms of the Middle Ages? Get ready for a real history lesson you won’t soon forget.

In Jeb Smith’s latest work Missing Monarchy, he uncovers eye-opening facts about the Medieval period, kingship, democracy, and more. When you learn how societies of our past addressed their governmental needs, you may begin to perceive that our current system isn't the utopia it is commonly portrayed as. And as you come to understand how power is wielded under our democracy, you just might start missing monarchy too. 

https://www.amazon.com/Missing-Monarchy-Correcting-Misconceptions-Democracy/dp/B0D6BJPSFY

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck and Andrew Sorokowski talk with Matthew Vander Vennet about the Sacra Doctrina project.

1. What is the Sacra Doctrina project?
2. What do you see in the current practice of theology that needs correction or enhancement?
3. On your website you speak of "speculative theology" as the foundation for theology. In current usage speculative generally means making good guesses or musing about something. Is that what you mean by "speculative theology"?
4. How is good theology related to good philosophy? How is St. Thomas important for both these sciences?
5. One of the issues in current theological discussion involves the question of whether historical and cultural particularities ought to be the starting point for theology or whether we can know certain universals from which we can then deduce other facts, even though we must still take account of historical and cultural facts. Can you comment on this, and on how differing approaches to this question have affected Catholic intellectual life since the Council?

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck and Christopher Zehnder talk with Virginia Arbery about Nationalism.

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck, Andrew Sorokowski, and Christopher Zehnder interview Jared Staudt, editor of The American Catholic Land Movement (June 10, 2026)

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck, Andrew Sorokowski, and Christopher Zehnder talk with Richard Spinello, a professor at Boston College, on the relationship between philosophy and theology, particularly within the Catholic tradition.

Spinello emphasized the importance of philosophy in theological education, highlighting the need for a solid philosophical foundation, especially in ethics and metaphysics. The conversation also touched on the decline of Thomism in modern academia and the influence of modern philosophy on theology, particularly the challenges posed by relativism and postmodernism. The panelists agreed on the necessity of a metaphysical dimension in Catholic philosophy and the need for a revival of Thomistic studies.

For more on this point, see Spinello's Four Catholic Philosophers: Rejoicing in the Truth (Jacques Maritain, Edith Stein, Dietrich von Hildebrand, Karol Wojtyła) 

This book unfolds the intersecting life stories of four important Catholic philosophers of the 20th century, namely, Jacques Maritain, Edith Stein, Dietrich von Hildebrand, and Karol Wojtyla, and examines the salient themes of their respective philosophies. Exploring the lives of these four individuals will unlock for the reader the nature of Catholic philosophy, which always aspires to a higher wisdom and the discovery of the hidden harmony of the universe. The spiritual itinerary of these faithful scholars is part of a larger story, therefore, of the intimate relationship between faith and reason that is at the heart of Catholic intellectual life. 

https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/fourcatholicphilosophers/

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck, Christopher Zehnder, and Andrew Sorokowski talk with Fr. Richard O Connor on Dialectics.

In this episode of The Open Door, Thomas Storck, Christopher Zehnder, and Andrew Sorokowski interview Fr. Richard O Connor on his book Pastoral Lessons: A Study in Pastoral Theology, Theory and Practice (April 8, 2026). 

This book offers a comprehensive exploration of the priestly vocation in light of Christ’s threefold office as King, Prophet, and Priest. Drawing from Scripture, Vatican II, the Catechism, and the writings of St. John Paul II, O Connor blends theology with lived parish experience. This guide equips seminarians, clergy, and lay leaders to shepherd, teach, and sanctify God’s people with wisdom and pastoral charity.

Pastoral Lessons: A Study in Pastoral Theology, Theory and Practice by Fr. Richard O Connor | En Route Books and Media

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck, Andrew Sorokowski, and Christopher Zehnder interview David Lyons, Director of the Office of Catholic Advocacy and Social Doctrine for the Columbus diocese.

This article https://catholictimescolumbus.org/local/human-life-and-the-social-order-the-work-of-the-office-of-catholic-advocacy-social-doctrine/ highlights some of his work. The panel focuses on efforts to combat what he calls industrial gambling, corporate domination of the housing market and "data centers' binges on public utilities like electricity and water."