Ever wondered if the "Patron Exclusive Content" is worth it? Here's a sneak peak for you! It includes the opening talk from Mike's Lenten parish retreat as well as a few songs from the U2 concert Mike did for patrons for episode 19 with Christopher West.

INCONCEIVABLE! How have we not talked about the Princess Bride on this show yet? Tom Corcoran of Rebuilt welcomes Mike to the Church of the Nativity in Timonium, MD to discuss the most delightful movie of all time. We cover a lot including:

- How to help a parish

- Feminine and masculine strength

- How many men fail

- How to be a hero?

- What if I feel trapped by my life?

- Is faith naive?

- What is true love? Is it only in fairy tales?

- Why God hates spoilers

Sex sells and it always has but with the advent of streaming, shows have much more leeway to display nudity and sex. In another potentially TMI episode, author & speaker Mary Lenaburg joins us to talk about:

- What’s the difference between porn & nudity

- How porn affects individuals, couples, and society

- How to talk to a spouse about porn

- What can single, celibate, and queer/SSA people do?

- How God loves freaky people too

- Should we all cancel our streaming services?

We all have songs that take us back to key moments in our lives. In this episode, Chika & Mike share stories from their youth and that music that accompanies them. Along the way we discuss:

- Mistakes

- Starting over

- Friends who call you out

- Family and family wounds

- Weddings!

- When Mike almost became a priest

- Living with anxiety

- Music you “aren’t supposed to like”

We all have songs that take us back to key moments in our lives. In this episode, Chika & Mike share stories from their youth and that music that accompanies them. Along the way we discuss:

- Mistakes

- Starting over

- Friends who call you out

- Family and family wounds

- Weddings!

- When Mike almost became a priest

- Living with anxiety

- Music you “aren’t supposed to like”

It’s about time we talked about the GOATs of Rock N’ Roll: THE BEATLES! Speaker & musician Dominic Quaglia joins the show to geek out about their music and contemplate their messages.

• Some personal stuff comes out as we discuss:

• Friendships

• Losing & finding hope

• Jesus’ most revolutionary teaching

• Mary

• Suffering

• And more!

Avatar is once again the biggest movie in the world. Ripe with Catholic allegory and lessons for our role in the natural world and our relationships to its different peoples, this movie is way more than just a visual spectacle. Journey with us into the world of Pandora and the culture of the Na’vi. Awaken Catholic president Nick De La Torre joins us once again to talk about:

- is caring for the environment a liberal thing? Should conservatives care?

- Consumerism

- proselytization vs evangelization

- learning from atheists

- meeting Christ in the poor & marginalized

- what do we make of the Catholic Church’s role in colonialism and poor treatment of indigenous peoples?

- how did an atheist create a thoroughly Catholic allegory for the sacramental and Christian communal life?

- And much more!

The Chosen is probably the best screen adaptation of the Jesus story ever made. Bishop Bill Byrne of the Diocese of Springfield, MA joins us to talk about what it gets right about Jesus and his followers, and what it means for you and me. We discuss:

- Can we trust the Bible stories?

- Scandal in the Church

- The Virgin Mary

- Avoiding obscure theological debates

- What to do when we feel broken

- Political violence

- Is evil winning?

- And much more!

Mike & a team of other alumni and students from the Catholic University of America recently ran a session at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Long Beach, CA. While there, we had a great conversation about the career, music, and spiritual journey of Justin Bieber and we got real deep into some stuff including:

- Can you forgive but also set boundaries?

- How can God be part of your friendships? Your romance?

- How to come down gracefully from a spiritual high

- What does a friendship/romance with God look like?

- Porn addiction (it’s not just for men)

- Is there anything good about “Cancel Culture?”

- Purpose

. . . and more!

Mike recently crashed Edmund Mitchell’s Studio in Grapevine, TX and the two shared some of their favorite songs with each other. A fantastic, goofy conversation ensued featuring music by David Wimbish & the Collection, Penny & Sparrow, and Cory Wong.

We dove into:

- the value & risk of doubt

- our inner monsters

- what it takes to live a life of faith

- making stupid decisions

- living a confounding life

- Jesus being awesome

- Creativity

- How are we gonna pay for all these hats?

- manly hand holding

- and much more!

Probably DC Comics’ best movie to date, Wonder Woman hits on some of the biggest questions of history. We dive into them with the help of Ogechi Akalegbere, speaker, youth minister, and winner of the 2021 Cardinal Bernardin Award for Leadership. We tackle:

- Are humans fundamentally good or bad? What about me?

- Is the devil real? Is the devil just an excuse for bad behavior?

- Forgiveness

- The myth of redemptive violence

- Suffering & Sacrifice

- diversity in the Church

Mumford & Sons have been our most requested/suggested episode and we are finally doing it! Nashville recording artist Ricky Vazquez of Village Lights (who were just nominated for a Dove award) joins us to discuss the lyrics and music of the neo-folk rock giants. We go pretty deep as we discuss:

- The struggles of being a young man

- Sex, passion, intimacy, chastity, love, & romance

- The necessity of desire for hope

- Facing darkness & suffering

- The search for God & meaning

- Plato, St Augustine, & Pope Benedict

Paramore’s influence is all over the airwaves and interwebs these days. We revisit one of Mike’s favorite bands with the help of recording artists and founders of Enemy Love Records, Emma Fradd & David Kruse. In this episode we discuss:

- Losing your innocence

- Fake happiness

- Can you choose joy?

- The relief of hitting rock bottom

- What is hope & how do I get it?

- Why we sin

- The ritual of grief

- Authenticity & Creativity

We kick off Season 3 of Pop Culture Catechism with everyone’s favorite religious dystopia: The Handmaid’s Tale. Samantha Povlock, founder & Editor in Chief of FemCatholic, joins us to talk about:

-Feminism

-The Patriarchy

-Consent & sexual assault

-Is sex in America too masculine?

-Unjust Laws

-Do Catholics want a theocracy?

With Amazon’s new “Rings of Power” show about to be released, it’s time to delve “deeply & greedily” into the lore of Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.” Jon Marc Grodi (The Coming Home Network, Elevate Ordinary) returns to the show to nerd out about the rich mystical, spiritual, and mythological meaning of this remarkable work of literature. We discuss:

- how sin seduces us

- the antidote to both pride & despair

- how to be a real man (or woman)

- world transforming friendships

- how God really is in control

- and much more!

Facts? Truth? History? Myth? What does it all mean and how do we know? Bible Geek & LifeTeen CIO Mark Hart joins us to spelunk the world & themes of Indiana Jones. We discuss:

- Biblical archeology & history

- Icons vs Idols

- Mystery & myth

- Fathers & Sons

- Mary

- Faith & Reason

- Pride, Glory, & Fame

- Which is the best Indy movie

- And as usual, why Jesus is awesome :)

Blink 182 were as big as Britney in their heyday and set the tone for rock music for a decade. Anthony D’Ambrosio, co-founder of Catholic Creatives, joins us to explore the Godfathers of Emo. We discuss:

- Vulnerability

- Manliness & Masculinity

- Growing up

- Learning about sex

- Boomers

- Jesus

- Reverence & Irreverence

And much more!

The biggest movie in the world is also ripe with ethical dilemmas pertinent to the modern context. In this solo episode, Mike looks at both Top Gun movies through the lens of “Just War Theory” and Catholic teaching on war and peacemaking.

What can Christians learn from the sexiest show on Netflix? Mike’s wife, Maddy, and their good friend, Emily, talk about why they think Bridgerton is SO GOOD, but also kind of awful. This episode is all about sex and we talk openly and explicitly about a range of topics including:

- Foreplay & afterplay

- Oral sex & manual stimulation

- Forgiveness & healing

- Contraception & pulling out

- How much does sexual experience matter?

- Problems with sex & intimacy

- Why sex is awesome

- Why Jesus is awesome

In this follow-up episode, we continue our conversation about protest music with a focus on the debate over abortion. Again, we welcome Consistent Life Ethic activists Savannah & Ryan Ackermann as our guests.

We discuss:

- The plight of the mother in a crisis pregnancy

- Is abortion really as big of a deal as these other social justice issues?

- What now for the pro-life movement?

- And much more!