Glad You Asked
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S8E5 #90: Heidi Schlumpf - Do women have an equal voice in the church?
While people sometimes use the term "the church" as shorthand for the Vatican or the magisterium, the church is, strictly speaking, all its members, regardless of gender or vocation. So, while…
S8E4 #89: Laura Fanucci - What's the point of prayer?
In the 6th chapter of Matthew's gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray, introducing what today we call the "Our Father," or the "Lord's Prayer." But Jesus imparts this prayer in the context…
S8E3 #89: Baird Linke, Catalina Morales, and Drew Stever - What do young people want from the church?
This Easter—2026—multiple Catholic parishes across the nation saw a surge in adult baptisms and new converts entering the church. Some dioceses reported all-time records for people becoming Catholic…
S8E2 #88: Paul Jarzembowski - What do you do if you don't like your pastor?
People go "parish hopping" for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes it's because of simple things like wanting more convenient mass times, or a shorter drive. Or it might be because they're looking for a…
S8E1 #87: Bishop John Stowe - Would St. Francis appreciate being your garden statue?
You don't have to be Catholic to recognize St. Francis of Assisi. Across the nation, you can find this gentle bearded figure, clad in simple robes, often with birds perched on his shoulders, as he…
S7E12 #86: Natalia Imperatori-Lee - Was Mary an apostle?
Catholics are accustomed to thinking of the term apostle as referring exclusively to men: the Twelve who followed Jesus and were with him at the Last Supper, as well as the Apostle Paul. But the…
S7E11 #85: Kat Armas - Was Mary a revolutionary?
Mary's "Magnificat" is pretty revolutionary. It isn't praising God for abstract blessings, but for real material events, all of which have to do with radical social justice. And this makes sense,…
S7E10 #84: Julie Hanlon Rubio - Was Mary a feminist?
"Look to Mary as a model of authentic womanhood." That's the message church leaders have directed at generations of Catholic women and girls. Often, latent in this message, is the notion that…
S7E9 #83: Eilis McCulloh - Does the church support universal health care?
According to several recent studies of health care systems across the globe, the U.S. health care system lags far behind those in other developed nations. The system is more expensive per person, but…
S7E8 #82: Lorna Gold - What does the church really teach about climate change?
Recent years have seen increased climate-related natural disasters. In the United States, an inland hurricane brought catastrophic flooding to the mountains of North Carolina. Ash from wildfires in…
S7E7 #81: David Swanson - Is there such thing as a just war?
Catholic just war theory is a moral framework for evaluating warfare that dates back to St. Augustine but has its roots in older, pre-Christian ethical systems. Though the theory has been widely…
S7E6 #80: Stephen Schneck - What is the separation of church and state?
Here in the United States, the principle that church and state should be separate is so woven into the fabric of our culture, many take it for granted as a fact of American life. We understand that…
S7E5 #79: Ed Simon - Are we living in the end times?
In the Christian tradition, "apocalypse" simply means revelation, or unveiling. Yet somewhere along the line, the word came to be associated not just with prophecies about the end of the world, but…
S7E4 #78: Renée Roden - Can Catholics be anarchists?
For many, the term "anarchy" connotes chaos, disorder, even violence. Yet some anarchists are pacifists. And some are even Christian. The earliest Christian communities, some scholars believe, had…
S7E3 #77: Luis Campos Ribeiro - Should Catholics consult their horoscopes?
The belief that the movement of heavenly bodies shapes or predicts events has been around for thousands of years and can be found in many ancient cultures. Even today, some people look to their…
S7E2 #76: Leo Guardado - What happened to the Catholic tradition of sanctuary?
The tradition of churches as places of refuge for those in fear of the law goes back centuries. It figures in several popular stories set in the Middle Ages, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame…
S7E1 #75: Jack Downey - Does the church support civil disobedience?
Catholics have frequently taken a stand against civil authorities, even breaking the law, to remain true to their faith. The early martyrs refused to worship the Roman gods and were murdered for it.…
S7 Coming Soon: Season 7 of Glad You Asked
Over the past 75 episodes, the Glad You Asked podcast has addressed dozens of your top questions about Catholic history, scripture, and theology. The hosts have posed questions like: Do dogs go to…
S6E12 #74: Dean Dettloff – What is a Jubilee Year?
In February of 1300, Pope Boniface VIII, in the papal bull Antiquorum Habet Fida Relatio, declared the first-ever Catholic Jubilee Year. Anyone who made a pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles…
S6E11 #73: Bishop John Stowe – What does it mean to be a "pro-life" Catholic?
The earliest documented use of the term pro-life was in a book on parenting and child education. The book, Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing, by A.S. Neil, was published in 1960 and…
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Glad You Asked has published 97 episodes since August 2022, covering topics in Christianity, Religion & Spirituality.
Glad You Asked is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 29m.
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