Catholic Phoenix Podcast

Norm Allgood is the CEO of Synergis Education, a Phoenix-area company that helps colleges and universities design launch and grow innovative classrooms. He talks about his childhood in Detroit, his time in the military, his family's experience with adoption, his company, and of course, his Catholic faith. His company can be found at www.synergiseducation.com. Sponsors for this episode are: Eddie Mortgage-Try them and experiences the difference. The Bearded Savant-Live Handsome! Visit us in iTunes.

Wesley J. Smith is a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center on Human Exceptionalism and a consultant for the Patient Rights Council. He has written many consumer rights books ( with Ralph Nader) and even more books criticizing the state of modern medicine and bioethics. His most recent book is Culture of Death: The Age of "Do Harm" Medicine. Smith is a frequent contributor to The National Review. Also, his work has appeared in numerous other publications such as USA Today, The San Francisco Chronicle and The New York Times, to name a few. He can also be found on Twitter at @forcedexit. Listen in iTunes. Our sponsor for this week is: The Eddie Mortgage Team-Contact them today and experience the difference!

Bradley Hahn is a Tempe-based attorney who is also the CEO of Solidarity Healthshare, a healthsharing organization based on specifically Catholic principles. Brad discusses Solildarity and the state of American health care. Solidarity can be found at: www.solidarityhealthshare.org Sponsors for this episode: Connolly Asset Management-Financial stability starts with you! Visit the website for investment advisory services and/or life insurance. Also, get modern and stylish liturgical calendars at www.liturgicalcalendars.com.

Catholic Phoenix is entering it's 5th year of partnership with Solis Camerata to put on the annual Sacred Music Concert. This year, the theme is "Songs of the Cathedrals" and artistic director Kira Rugen joins the show for a discussion about the program. Kira has a Doctorate in Musical Arts from Arizona State. She has also taught at ASU and has performed in, directed and conducted choirs throughout Phoenix. Her website is www.kirarugen.com and Solis Camerata can be found at www.soliscamerata.com. Info on the concert can be found on the concert events page. Sponsors for this week: Caritas Press- Get all types of Catholic reading from rosary meditations to adult fiction to children's books. The Bearded Savant-Your first choice for fine men's grooming products. Live Handsome.

Brent Phillips and his wife, Leah, lead an organization known as Cherish Uganda, a Christian mission which loves, homes and educates orphaned and vulnerable children suffering from HIV/AIDS in Africa. Brent and Leah have 5 children and currently live in Austin, TX, where he operates and fundraises for Cherish remotely. They just moved back to Texas after about 5 years in Uganda in the interest of solidifying partnerships here in the U.S.. Cherish Uganda can be found on Facebook and at www.cherishuganda.org. Our sponsor this week is Eddie Mortgage. Contact them today and experience the difference!

For this episode, Dr. Stephen Matuszak joins the show for a conversation about the spiritual struggles the newly ordained St. Teresa endured. Her early life saw strong communion with Jesus, but this was largely absent during most of her public life and most productive charity work. Dr. Matuszak teaches at Notre Dame Prep in Scottsdale. Previously, he lived in Naples, FL where, among other things, he taught at Ave Maria University and at the St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary. His undergraduate degree is from the University of Dallas and he got his PhD at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. Sponsors for this episode: Connolly Asset Management-Financial stability starts with you. Visit the firm online at www.connollyassetmgmt.com. Also, get modern and stylish liturgical calendars at www.liturgicalcalendars.com.

Rodney Stark is Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor University. He has written about 40 books and 160 scholarly articles on a variety of subjects from crime to city life in ancient Rome. However, he is probably best known for his work on religion. Throughout his decades of research, Prof. Stark has encountered a great deal of anti-Catholic bias and, though he is a practicing Protestant, he attempts to set the record straight with his latest book, Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History. Visit his website at www.rodneystark.com. Sponsors for this episode are: Eddie Mortgage-Try them and experiences the difference. The Bearded Savant-Live Handsome!

Nicole DeMille is a prominent Catholic writer/blogger. She maintains her own site, Invisible Woman and has appeared on sites such as Epic Pew, among others. Also, she was a guest on EWTN's The Journey Home. She joins Doug for a fantastic talk about her journey. We have one sponsor this week: Caritas Press-Catholic reading from rosary meditations to children's books.

This week's guest is Gracy Olmstead, a senior writer for The American Conservative. Her work has also appeared in The Weekly Standard, The National Review, Acculturated and The Federalist. She and Doug touch on a variety of interests, including a pieces she recently did on farming, consent and Stranger Things. She can be found on Twitter at @gracyolmstead. This week's sponsors: The Eddie Mortgage Team-Reach out to them now and experience the difference. The Bearded Savant-Get their men's grooming products and Live Handsome! Connolly Asset Management-Financial Stability starts with you.

Zach is the Director of Communications for the Family Policy Institute of Washington (State). The FPIW promotes activism and policy regarding issues involving life, marriage and religious liberty. The have a host of great videos on their Youtube channel and they can be found online here. Zach can also be found on Twitter at @ZachGFreeman. Our sponsors for this episode: Eddie Mortgage-Call them and experience the difference. Caritas Press-Catholic reading for all ages. And get your liturgical calendars here. Thanks to our sponsors, please support them.

Adam Bartlett is a composer, conductor and teacher of Catholic sacred music and editor of liturgical and musical resources, and serves as President and Editor of Illuminare Publications. He received his B.A. degree in Music from Arizona State University,, and received his M.A. degree in Liturgical Studies from the Liturgical Institute of the University of St. Mary of the Lake. He is the composer and editor of Simple English Propers (CMAA, 2011), and is the editor of the Lumen Christi Series (Illuminare Publications, 2012-2016). Adam has given catechetical and practical workshops on topics of Catholic sacred music and liturgical chant throughout the United States, and has presented at academic conferences internationally on topics of sacred music and liturgy. He served as a parish and cathedral music director in the Diocese of Phoenix for over ten years, and then as a faculty member for the Liturgical Institute and Mundelein Seminary of the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, IL. Adam resides i

Jason Walsh is the Executive Director of AZRTL. He discusses his background and involvement with the organization, along with talking about the group's current focus on education and reaching students. They can be found online at www.azrtl.org. We have three sponsors for this episode. The Bearded Savant- Live handsome! The Eddie Mortgage Team-Reach out to them now at www.eddiemortgage.com and experience the difference. Lastly, get an at-a-glance Liturgical Calendar here. Thanks to them for supporting us, please support them!

Russell Shaw has written thousands of articles and numerous books. He has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, America, Crisis, Catholic World Report and the National Catholic Register, among others. His latest book is Catholics in America: Religious Identity and Cultural Assimilation from John Carroll to Flannery O'Connor. He talks with host Doug Connolly about that book and how Catholicism fits into American life. The show has two sponsors this week. The first is Caritas Press. From rosary meditations to books for kids to adult fiction, you can find great Catholic reading at www.caritaspress.org. The second sponsor is www.liturgicalcalendars.com. Modern calendars for a timeless faith. See the highlights of the Church year at a single glance. Of course, please rate the podcast on iTunes.

Dr. Ryan Hanning is the Assistant VP and Director of Cultural Advancement at the University of Mary-Tempe, where he also teaches Catholic Studies and Church History. He has degrees from Arizona State and Northern Arizona, has done post-graduate work at the University of Dallas and got his PhD in Theology at the Maryvale Institute, Liverpool Hope University, UK. He is also particularly well-versed in Church History from the 16th through 18th centuries. His past positions include serving as the Diocesan Director of Family Catechesis for Phoenix and serving as a Director for Religious Education at the parish level. He can be found online here. Thanks for listening. Our sponsors for this show are: The Eddie Mortgage Team-Experience the Difference Connolly Asset Management-Financial Stability Starts With You The Bearded Savant-Live Handsome

This episode takes a detour into Arizona history as the guest is Jeff Guinn, author of The Last Gunfight, about the shootout at the OK Corral. Guinn discusses his interest in the subject, his research and how it matters in the context of modern current events. Guinn's other non-fiction works in Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde, Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson and the upcoming book, The Road to Jonestown. He also is the author of the Cash McLendon series of novels, about the Old West. His publisher page can be found here. The first show sponsor for this episode is the Eddie Mortgage Team by Signature Loans LLC. The second show sponsor is Connolly Asset Management.

Prof. Rahe talks with Doug about his book The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta as well as current events. Prof. Rahe has degrees from Yale, Cornell and Oxford, and has published numerous books and papers on classical history, politics and European intellectual thought. His book on Sparta is the first in a series about the subject and he can be found online here. Also, for the first time, please thank our sponsors! First, we have The Eddie Mortgage Team of Signature Home Loans. Please contact Eddie Knoell for your Phoenix-area mortgage needs. www.eddiemortgage.com Also, we want to thank the fine people at The Bearded Savant. Please peruse their selection of men's grooming products. Remember to "Live Handsome". www.thebeardedsavant.com Please remember to give us a rating on Itunes.

For this show, we dive into classic Russian literature. Doug enlists the help of local Phoenix teacher Brett Gilfillan to break down "Crime and Punishment". They talk about why it matters to culture in general and Catholics, in particular. Whether you are a literature expert like Brett or a novice like Doug, this episode has something for you. Rate us in iTunes!

William Dempsey is the president and a founding member of Sycamore Trust, a group committed to preserving the Catholic identity of the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Dempsey talks about a variety of topics, most notably, Notre Dame's recent controversial decision to award the prestigious Laetare Medal jointly to John Boehner and Joe Biden. Dempsey is a graduate of Notre Dame and Yale Law School. Also, he served as president and CEO of the American Federation of Railroads. The Sycamore Trust can be found at sycamoretrust.org. Please rate us on iTunes!

Sean Kelly heads up the Tempe chapter of St. Paul's Street Evangelization. This ministry attempts to take the gospel to the public by offering rosaries and having conversations with strangers in settings from libraries to street fairs. Their website can be found here. Rate us in iTunes!

This is the audio from Prof. George's speech in Phoenix on April 26th, 2016 at St. Mary's High School. Rate us in iTunes!