Episódios
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Habemus Papem! All four of us (but especially the resident redhead) have caught Pope Fever, and our new Holy Father is all we can talk about. So, today, we thought we would talk about it with you. In this episode, we’re chatting about our reactions to Pope Leo XIV—first, second, and third reactions that is—as well as our hopes for this new Leonine papacy.
We also want to thank one of our favorite Catholic businesses, The Little Rose Shop, for sponsoring this episode of Visitation Sessions. Emily and Chris have acquired so many beautiful items from the Little Rose shop over the years, that you’d think they were running a Little Rose Shop outlet store. Family favorites include their fantastic saint dolls, quiet Mass books, and cross back aprons. But whatever you choose to purchase, make sure to use the code Visitation15 at checkout to save 15 percent.
Last but not least, while we have your attention, if you too have Pope Fever and want to travel to Rome with the Chapmans to line up for the chance to see Pope Leo XIV on New Year’s Eve, a few spaces remain for the December pilgrimage, which will run from December 26 until January 4. To register or learn more, visit Select International Pilgrimages.
Show Notes:
The Pillar
Conclave Season: by Emily Chapman
The Both/And Pope: On the Burden of Poping in the Age of Social Media by Emily Chapman
The Full Stature of Christ: The Ecclesiology of Dom Virgil Michael by Sister Jeremy Hall (out of print)
Dom Virgil Micheal (American Catholic History Podcast)
If you love the show and want to support sane(ish) Catholic conversation, consider becoming a full subscriber today.
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Between Kate’s film festival showings and Emily’s speaking engagements (Buffalo last week, Ottawa this week), the past couple of weeks have been a little insane for the Stapletons and Chapmans. We did manage to squeeze in a short Q&A, though, where we answer some of your questions about NFP and Artificial Intelligence.
On Thursday, May 8, though, we have a special thank you gift coming for our full subscribers. On that day, Kate will celebrate the birthday of her first daughter Brigid, whom she placed for adoption 24 years ago. We thought Brigid’s birthday, which is followed so closely by Mother’s Day, would make this a great time to share Kate’s beautiful story about their journey, The Inner Seas, with you.
The Inner Seas is a documentary about motherhood, music, adoption, and the long stories God writes. It is a testimony to the goodness of the unexpected and has already been selected by four prestigious film festivals, garnering it the much desired “Four Laurels.” As long as it is still on the festival circuit, Kate can’t make it publicly available. But we can share it behind a paywall, so that is what we will do Thursday. Keep an eye on your inbox for a link to view the film. And if you’re not a full subscriber, but would like to become one, just click the link below!
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Today, we’re talking to our good friend Rob Corzine, vice president of Academic Programs at the St. Paul Center, about conclaves past and present, and how despite humanity’s best efforts, the Holy Spirit proves again and again that he is in charge. And our apologies that this episode is dropping later than promised. We decided we wanted to wait until after Pope Francis funeral to drop an episode that was so heavy on conclave talk!
Show Notes:
Good Pope, Bad Pope: Their Lives, Our Lessons by Mike Aquilina
Discovering the Doctors and Hildegard of Bingen by Emily Stimpson Chapman
“I would not say so, in the sense that the Holy Spirit picks out the Pope. . . . I would say that the Spirit does not exactly take control of the affair, but rather like a good educator, as it were, leaves us much space, much freedom, without entirely abandoning us. Thus the Spirit’s role should be understood in a much more elastic sense, not that he dictates the candidate for whom one must vote. Probably the only assurance he offers is that the thing cannot be totally ruined. . . . There are too many contrary instances of popes the Holy Spirit obviously would not have picked!” Pope Benedict XVI
A Jubilee Christmas
The Chapman family us heading to Rome on December 26 to spend 10 days soaking in the beauty of Rome at Christmas, celebrating the end of the Jubilee Year, and ringing in the New Year with our new Holy Father (!). We would love to have you join us. The pilgrimage is filling up fast, but we still have room for a couple more families (or quite a few singles or several couples). There are so many graces to be had on pilgrimage—graces of friendship, of learning, of beauty, and worshipping at the very heart of the Church. These pilgrimages are never easy to embark on. Sacrifice is always involved. But if God is calling you to go, this is one journey you won’t regret. You can learn more here.
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Before Easter, we recorded a podcast for this week. And then some things happened. We’re still sharing this episode, as recorded, but we’ll be back later in the week with a new episode about the passing of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, plus the upcoming conclave, the nine days of mourning, and more. We’re bringing on a special guest who is way more up on his Church history and conclave procedures than we are, so if you have questions, drop them in the comments or send them along in the dms, and we’ll put them to our expert when we record tomorrow (Thursday, 4/24/25).
This episode was made possible by the support of The Catholic Balm Company, makers of clean, non-toxic personal care products for men, with scents inspired by our Catholic Faith. We love, use, and have been spending our own money on these products for years, and think you will will love them, too. So, if you’re looking for beard balms, face lotions, lip balms, soaps, and colognes that work as great as they smell and aren’t loaded up with ingredients you can’t pronounce, check them out at catholicbalm.co.
Show Notes
John Henry Newman on Difficulties versus Doubts
The Catholic Table by Emily Stimpson Chapman
Farrow and Ball Paints
The Inner Seas, a documentary by Kate Stapleton
Homeschool Connections Classes with Christopher Chapman
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With Good Friday soon upon us, we’re talking through fasting and abstinence, the good of penance, and the penance of Palm Sunday with small children.
Mentioned on today’s episode:
St. Michael’s Abbey
The Rule of St. Augustine (as it pertains to fasting)
“Fasting: A Source of Trial,” Sermons of Saint John Henry Newman
“All About Lent: The Fast,” Emily Stimpson Chapman
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If Chappell Roan is good at anything besides singing, it’s inspiring lively conversation. Buckle up for a free flowing and wide ranging conversation about parenting, influencers, community, country music, the Diocese of Pittsburgh’s shameful maternity leave policy, and mimetic desire (because why not).
P.S. This week, a little over 13 months after we launched this podcast, we crossed the 130,000 download mark! That is an amazing feat for a little podcast like ours, and we are so grateful to all of you who are listening and sharing! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Show Notes:
Call Her Daddy with Chappell Roan
“The Weeds and Wheat of Motherhood,” by Emily Stimpson Chapman
Renee Girard and Mimetic Desire
“Study: The Experiences of U.S. Adults Who Don’t Have Children,” Pew Research Center
Anne Hathaway: “Abortion is another word for mercy.”
Drunkard’s Prayer, Over the Rhine
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
Gabby Barrett
All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood by Jennifer Senior
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After we finished “Let’s Talk About Sex,” our most recent conversation with Monica and Renzo Ortega of Two Become Family , we kept recording as we discussed the Manosphere’s obsession with the marital debt, what they get wrong, and what they get right.
This episode is available for full subscribers only. Not a subscriber? We would love for you to become one today.
For …
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How do you talk with your spouse about sex? How do you communicate your fears, struggles, needs, and love to them? Why are these conversations so very hard? And why also are they so very important? This week, we’re talking about those questions and more, with our friends Renzo and Monica Ortega, authors of the new book: Lovemaking: How To Talk About Sex With Your Spouse and hosts of the podcast and Substack, Two Become Family. You’ll hear about how struggles with sex and communication almost destroyed their marriage, how they overcame those struggles and past sexual sin, how they leaned into discernment as a family, and how discernment, mentorship, and a mature approach to NFP can help your marriage, too.
PS. Full subscribers, a bonus episode will be coming your way later this week, where we continue our conversation with the Ortegas, focusing on the Manosphere and the marital debt. Not a full subscriber? Just click the button below.
Show Notes:
Lovemaking: How to Talk About Sex With Your Spouse by Renzo and Monica Ortega
Love and Responsibility by Karol Wojtyla (Pope Saint John Paul II)
Man and Woman He Created Them by Karol Wojtyla (Pope Saint John Paul II)
Humanae Vitae by Pope Saint Paul VI
These Beautiful Bones: An Everyday Theology of the Body by Emily Stimpson Chapman
“Battles of the Sexes: Duals Between Men and Women in 1400s Fectbucher,” The Public Domain Review
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St. Patrick’s Day is almost upon us, so this week we’re talking about heavenly visions of lakes of beer, the goodness of alcohol, the badness of drunkenness, and bizarre stories about St. Patrick himself (courtesy of Casey, of course).
Show Notes
St. Brigid’s Fire by Kevin Heider
Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe
Drinking with the Saints by Michael Foley
St. Thomas on Boorishness
St. Thomas on sobriety and drunkenness
The Communion of Saints and the Consumption of Alcohol
What the Church Says About Drunkenness
Catholics, Alcohol, and Drinking
If you’re enjoying this podcast, consider buying us a virtual cup of coffee each month. Your $5 pledge helps keep the podcasts coming by paying for equipment, babysitting, travel costs, and the time it takes to pull this off (almost) every week.
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Recently, in The Free Press, the writer Chris Arnade penned an essay asserting that “Every Man Wants to Be a Hero.” So, this week, we’re discussing if that’s true, along with what heroism means, the attraction of the anti-hero, forming little boys to be heroes, and why or why not women have the same desire for heroism. Nazis, video games, the Manosphere, and mermen also somehow figure in to the conversation. Because why not!
Show Notes:
Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America by Chris Arnade
“All Men Want to Be Heroes,” by Chris Arnade
Interview with Louise Perry on Honestly (February 14, 2025)
“Warbloods”
Childcraft 1984: Great Myths and Legends
Wall-E
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What is IVF? Why does the Church oppose it? Why do we hear so little about it in our parishes?How does the conversation need to change? What does the Catholic tradition of celibacy have to teach us about sex, marriage, and babies? We’re talking about all this and more, this week?
Show Notes
Revelations (Alvin Ailey Ballet)
Donum Vitae Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Dignitas Personae Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
“Begotten, Not Made: A Catholic View of Reproductive Technology” by Dr. John Haas
Conceived by Science: Thinking Compassionately and Carefully About IVF by Stephanie Grey Connors
IVF Is Not the Way: The False Promises of Artificial Procreation by Dr. Stacy Trasancos (Pre-Order
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Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa for this delayed bonus episode! Between talks … and film festivals … and photo shoots … and deadlines … and snow days … and all the kids, the four of us are stretched way too thin right now. We are working on a plan to help with that. Until then, we ask for your mercy.
Here, though, as promised last week, is a litt…
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Sorry for the repost! We had a little error that needed fixing!
So many of you have asked us to do a more thorough discussion of the Four Temperaments and why this is is such a deeply Catholic (and helpful) understanding of the human person. It turned out to be more of a conversation than we could tackle in an hour, so consider this a solid start.
(Also, if you’re a full subscriber, keep an eye on your inbox for a bonus episode tomorrow, in which we talk about how our temperaments play out in our own marriages.)
Show Notes
Spiritual Theology by Jordan Auman
The Temperament God Gave You by Art and Laraine Bennet
A Temperament Quiz
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What possesses a man to turn the hardest, saddest, most humiliating chapter of his life into a book? How do you write about your wife’s infidelity without losing your wife all over again? What does life look like afterwards?
This week, we’re talking about those questions and more with author and humorist, Harrison Scott Key. Back in October, we discussed his book, "How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told. It’s a doozy of a book and it was a doozy of an episode. It was, in fact, our most listened to, most talked about episode to date, which is why we were thrilled when Harrison offered to come on the show and chat with us.
If you haven’t listened to that episode yet, you can find it here.
And if you haven’t read the book yet, you really should.
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It’s been the winter of non-stop sickness around here, so with germs on all our brains, we decided to unpack what the Church has to say about sickness and suffering and what we learn about ourselves when confronted with our own and other’s weakness.
Also, for those of you in or near Wisconsin, the Stapletons are traveling to Door County next week for the world premiere of their documentary film, The Inner Sea. If you are in the area, you can purchase tickets to see the movie on Saturday, February 15 at 5 pm. You can also follow their film and story on Instagram.
Show Notes:
Some of these documents and books we mentioned on the show. Others are important reads for anyone wanting to know more about the Church’s understanding of suffering
Salvifici Doloris by John Paul II
Salvifici Doloris (Endow Study Guide) by Emily Stimpson Chapman
Hope to Die by Scott Hahn and Emily Stimpson Chapman
God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine by Rose Sweet
The Problem of Pain by CS Lewis
Making Sense Out of Suffering by Peter Kreeft
Offer It Up: Discovering the Power and Purpose of Redemptive Suffering by Megan Hjelmstad
This post contains affiliate links. When books are purchased through these links, we may earn a few pennies.
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The Russians are on the march in Ukraine. The Chinese are rattling sabers in the direction of Thailand. The Middle East is …the Middle East. California is in flames. Snow is falling on beaches in Florida. And Tik Tok may or may not be going dark (please, God, please). Is it the end of the world? Or just another week on earth?
This week we’re talking about the end of the world and how Christians are called to prepare for whatever comes next.
Show Notes:
* “Every Man Should Be Able to Save His Own Life,” The Art of Manlines
* Where is the Ark of the Covenant?
* “Christians Die Defending Ark of the Covenant”
* “Sorry Indiana Jones, the Ark of the Covenant Is Not Inside an Ethiopian Church”
* German Boy: A Child in War by Wolfgang W.E. Samuel
* “How Not to Die in 2025” (Bari Weiss interviews Bryan Johnson)
* Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever (Netflix Documentary)
* Nick Cave on “Cynicism”
* The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher
* Catastrophe by David Keys
* The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukiyama
* Feminism Against Progress by Mary Harrington
* Everything is Broken by Bob Dylan
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We’re kicking off the New Year by talking about the importance (and pitfalls) of making resolutions, setting goals, and crafting a vision for the year. How, as Catholics, should we approach these things? And how, as Catholics, do we make sense of God having different plans for our year than our own?
Show Notes:
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1500: “Illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted in human life. In illness, man experiences his powerlessness, his limitations, and his finitude. Every illness can make us glimpse death.”
Steubenville’s Nutcracker Village
On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs: Teaching, Writing, Playing, Believing, Lecturing, Philosophizing, , Singing, Dancing by Father James Schall, SJ
St. Thomas Aquinas on Smell (Summa, Prima Pars, Q. 91)
“Will Video Kill the Audio Star in 2025?”
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Sorry friends, we have all had various versions of the plague these last few weeks, plus Chris and Casey had mountains of finals to grade, so getting this last podcast edited has proven challenging. But we made it, 24 hours before Christmas, so as you finish your wrapping and ready your house for the great feast, you now have something to keep you occupied. It’s basically a bunch of Catholics, trying to remember the details of Bible stores, so Catholics be prepared to be impressed and Protestants be prepared for a good laugh.
We hope you all have the merriest of Christmases, and hope you enjoy this Christmas Carol from Kate and Casey (which full subscribers got to hear last week, before the rest of the world).
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Over the next two weeks, we’re talking about the heroes of the Christmas story, from the ancestors of Christ to Mary and Joseph, St. Nick, St. Lucy, St. Juan Diego, and John McClane. This week’s episode focuses on St. Nick—the man, the myth, the legend—and how we approach talking about him in our families (so if you’re listening with Santa loving little ones around, definitely use those earbuds!),
Show Notes
“How to Do Santa Without Lying to Your Kids” by Kendra Tierney
“Not Believing in Santa Claus is Like Not Believing in Jesus…or George Washington,” by Kendra Tierney
“Yes, Jesus Really Existed and He was Born on December 25,” Father Dwight Longenecker
“What’s Wrong with Santa” by Father Dwight Longenecker
The Wiggles Christmas Special
The Toronto gay mall santa serial killer
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Today, we’re discussing pressing questions like: should we play Christmas music during Advent? Listen and find out.
“Astrology, Politics, and Parenting, Oh My,” by Emily Chapman
The Simplest of Advent Retreats
Nicholas: the boy who became Santa
riu riu chiu by chanticleer
huron carol by the stapletons.
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