Podcast appearances and mentions of Chris Hickey

Send us a textSo maybe Wallichs' "Battle of the Surf Bands" wasn't the best time and place for Wanda to demand a display model record player for her hospitalized pal and makeup man, Sparks, her beloved mutual crybaby over “Where the Boys Are.” But she could take in the teen-bikini scene from the ledge she's climbed up on, kick her heels to the pulsating Watusi beat, and try to make sense of her own exploited girlhood. Why couldn't Wanda—or seemingly any woman—find real love, like her dying Grandma Neva did? Fat chance, with these sales boys who either have no idea they're in the presence of a TV star, or recall this one as having been. . . thinner, somehow?Shouldn't the blonde hairs compulsively plucked from a celebrity's patchy scalp count for anything in this establishment? CREDITS:Catherine Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.We have double publishing news!!  Season Two's novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, has been released in print by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy ("Heart, soul, art, and the promise of Giant Vegetables... perhaps the last great untold chapter of the California Story." —Don Wallace).  Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Current-Fantasy-Charlie-Haas/dp/B0DJ1TJV82/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tuTmk2PLbYrhl35vNF26hNKifzMVNLxUX5sbuZKxIrSaOzMPlYjB5Uys5Y1YQ2ED1dDgQKbH8KqXAWxZaLQCQTt-KHNyPXOjQoh_573_J3WAGlt6ZVeniX-tqsXmWnQ3.CsBj4yVK4jbIFxGRKRiHullCZ9rJF1jsg1L23qgiuZE&dib_tag=se&qid=1728574532&refinements=p_27%3ACharlie+Haas&s=books&sr=1-1Season One's novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual by Alan Rifkin, has been released in print by Open Books (“A delectable tour de force through our fractured culture—witty, wise, memorable, and touching.”—Richard Bausch). Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Drift-That-Follows-Will-Gradual/dp/1948598795?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Running 3 restaurants can be nerve racking but what if they are all differnet concepts! Well thats what our guest Chris Hickey does, and he does it well! Global Street Food, Fine Dining, and A pizza spot! Plus Plum and Jeff may have to come to blows when they talk about pizza, the showdown is coming!

Send us a textIn author Noelle Calabretta's dream-infused and bittersweet new short story, "Sleepless Sheep," an insomniac rice farmer and failed poet who left his long-ago love beneath Mt. Fiji makes a return journey to the woods where she's remained. The story was developed in an upper-division fiction workshop at California State University, Long Beach. A second-year Fine Arts Ceramicist at California State University Long Beach, with an Associates degree in Studio Art, Calabretta is now minoring in Creative Writing, and her work has appeared in Sierra Journal. Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Find The Last We Fake's serialized novels in print.  Season Two's novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, has been released in print by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy ("Heart, soul, art, and the promise of Giant Vegetables... perhaps the last great untold chapter of the California Story." —Don Wallace).  Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Current-Fantasy-Charlie-Haas/dp/B0DJ1TJV82/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tuTmk2PLbYrhl35vNF26hNKifzMVNLxUX5sbuZKxIrSaOzMPlYjB5Uys5Y1YQ2ED1dDgQKbH8KqXAWxZaLQCQTt-KHNyPXOjQoh_573_J3WAGlt6ZVeniX-tqsXmWnQ3.CsBj4yVK4jbIFxGRKRiHullCZ9rJF1jsg1L23qgiuZE&dib_tag=se&qid=1728574532&refinements=p_27%3ACharlie+Haas&s=books&sr=1-1Season One's novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual by Alan Rifkin, has been released in print by Open Books (“A delectable tour de force through our fractured culture—witty, wise, memorable, and touching.”—Richard Bausch). Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Drift-That-Follows-Will-Gradual/dp/1948598795?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Send us a textFrom begging Jock Penny's autograph at Coffee Dan's, to blundering into a surf music contest at Wallich's, to brushing past a wisp of her former self outside a flower shop, Wanda is waylaid by memories of better times—the onion rings at Frankie's (“the world's only delicious vegetable”); the awards ceremony where, slid between two beaus at an effortless 103 lbs, she'd been honored for her heartfelt report on the loss of a local movie house (could she ever do works again that honor the daydreams of women in Bell Gardens and Reseda?). All this, as she searches and yearns for the perfect, maybe last, gesture of love to bring her dying Grandma Neva. And whose all-knowing voice is this anyway, interviewing her to reflect on her finest achievements? Catherine Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.We have double publishing news!!  Season Two's novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, has been released in print by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy ("Heart, soul, art, and the promise of Giant Vegetables... perhaps the last great untold chapter of the California Story." —Don Wallace).  Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Current-Fantasy-Charlie-Haas/dp/B0DJ1TJV82/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tuTmk2PLbYrhl35vNF26hNKifzMVNLxUX5sbuZKxIrSaOzMPlYjB5Uys5Y1YQ2ED1dDgQKbH8KqXAWxZaLQCQTt-KHNyPXOjQoh_573_J3WAGlt6ZVeniX-tqsXmWnQ3.CsBj4yVK4jbIFxGRKRiHullCZ9rJF1jsg1L23qgiuZE&dib_tag=se&qid=1728574532&refinements=p_27%3ACharlie+Haas&s=books&sr=1-1Season One's novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual by Alan Rifkin, has been released in print by Open Books (“A delectable tour de force through our fractured culture—witty, wise, memorable, and touching.”—Richard Bausch). Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Drift-That-Follows-Will-Gradual/dp/1948598795?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Send us a textUsing old acting-school chops to conquer the dance-away instincts ingrained by her family, Wanda phones at last for the directions to St. Jude's. But the flickering world at Sunset and Vine floods her with ancestral memory--from golden visits to the Hollywood Ranch Market, to the high-rise vistas behind casting couches where she'd fought her way free, to The Brown Derby, The Smoke House, the warm safety of Coffee Dan's. And is that Tab Hunter as Jesus in the revolving glass? Catherine Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Double publishing news!!  Season Two's novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, is being released in print by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy ("Heart, soul, art, and the promise of Giant Vegetables... perhaps the last great untold chapter of the California Story." —Don Wallace).  Visit: https://www.beckandbranch.com/the-current-fantasy. Season One's novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual by Alan Rifkin, has just been released by Open Books (“A delectable tour de force through our fractured culture—witty, wise, memorable, and touching.”—Richard Bausch). Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Drift-That-Follows-Will-Gradual/dp/1948598795?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Send us a Text Message.Achieving a moment's peace between mind and body in the bathroom of June's trailer after the aborted three-way, Wanda staggers off toward a darker reality ...fully reassembled, although, yes, forgetting her horse ...  But in the shelter of her own dressing room, teen memory is rounding the corner from sewing with the ladies to riding with boys.In what one listener describes as "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" if it were written by a woman, Catherine Hein's historical novel traces the journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's Daytalk who, in the spring of 1962, must face life without her closest ally, settle on one lover, conquer her eating disorder, and ace a round of Password in order to secure a coveted game-show gig. . . if the world doesn't change too much first.Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Publishing news!!  Season Two's novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, is being released in print on October 15 by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy. Visit: https://www.beckandbranch.com/the-current-fantasy. Season One's novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual by Alan Rifkin, will be released August 1 by Open Books, where it is already available for pre-order. Visit https://www.open-bks.com/library/moderns/the-drift-that-follows-will-be-gradual/order.html

Seirian Thomas, Rachel Couter, Chris Hickey and Capucine de Hennin discuss the UK financial services regulators' positions on the use of AI, and what firms can be doing to stay compliant.Here is the link to the AI webinar mentioned: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/4585775/CFE88CC16FFD70733F1F49D1C5FA4A9A

This week's episode:  "The Playwright,” a remarkable new short story by first-year talent Natalie Goss, about the subdued heart of a young Los Angeles theater reviewer-turned-dramatist who's losing the script.  Goss is a Child Development and Family Studies major now contemplating a minor or possible double major in English. She dreams of publishing a collection of both fiction and nonfiction, enjoys painting when not reading or writing, and hopes to become a counselor for the public school district of Oakland, where she was born and raised.  The story was developed in a lower-division fiction workshop at California State University, Long Beach.Intro and outro music is from the song Slow, performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker. Publishing news: Season Two's original novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, is being released in print this October by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy. Visit https://www.beckandbranch.com/the-current-fantasy. Season One's novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual, will be released in August by Open Books, where it is now available for pre-order. Visit https://www.open-bks.com/library/moderns/the-drift-that-follows-will-be-gradual/order.html Catherine Hein's novel THE CELEBRITY resumes next week.    

It's production as usual in Hotchkiss's office, despite the fact Sparks has landed in Good Samaritan, Wally Cleaver is sneaking cigarettes in fear of his dad, and Wanda's fixations lurch from Death by Graham Crackers to the sharp memory of a dark-haired actor at Sardi's (so she HAD slept with Chase McSteve) to the sweaty threesome inside June's wardrobe trailer that Wanda badly doesn't want until she does.In what one listener describes as "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" if it were written by a woman, Catherine Hein's historical novel traces the journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's Daytalk who, in the spring of 1962, must face life without her closest ally, settle on one lover, conquer her eating disorder, and ace a round of Password in order to secure a coveted game-show gig. . . if the world doesn't change too much first.Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born.Hein's other writing credits include The Bob Newhart Show and a children's story series in The Los Angeles Times about a traveling circus in occupied France.  She now holds a master's degree in English and an MFA in Fiction from California State University, Long Beach.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.

David Soerensen and Chris Hickey look at what the FCA's new sustainability disclosure requirements and labelling regime, soon coming into force, means for fund managers.

Somehow surviving an equestrian gauntlet of obstacles capped by an AWOL 14-year-old Wally Cleaver (“Will you go out with me when I get my license?”), Wanda has finally managed to dial out and hear the terrifying news about her grandmother. But her stage presence is nearly shot when the rotund, legendary fright maestro who directed The Crows and 57 Stairs finds her sitting in his office chair.In what one listener describes as "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" if it were written by a woman, Catherine Hein's historical novel traces the journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's Daytalk who, in the spring of 1962, must face life without her closest ally, settle on one lover, conquer her eating disorder, and ace a round of Password in order to secure a coveted game-show gig. . . if the world doesn't change too much first.Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born.Hein's other writing credits include The Bob Newhart Show and a children's story series in The Los Angeles Times about a traveling circus in occupied France.  She now holds a master's degree in English and an MFA in Fiction from California State University, Long Beach.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.

This was nothing like being a lamp ray glued to the back of Chase McSteve. Still, the weird-looking horse seems safe, until an explosion on the set of Abilene sends both Wanda and panicked beast off course--close enough to the home of television's Cleaver family that she could practically raid the fridge, while no closer to a word from grandmother than when she threw a jealous tantrum at Howard that same morning. In what one listener describes as "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" if it were written by a woman, Catherine Hein's historical novel traces the journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's Daytalk who, in the spring of 1962, must face life without her closest ally, settle on one lover, conquer her eating disorder, and ace a round of Password in order to secure a coveted game-show gig. . . if the world doesn't change too much first.Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born.Hein's other writing credits include The Bob Newhart Show and a children's story series in The Los Angeles Times about a traveling circus in occupied France.  She now holds a master's degree in English and an MFA in Fiction from California State University, Long Beach.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.

"In a couple days, either this would all prove to be a huge comedy of errors, or nothing would ever be the same...."It's existential overload for Wanda, as sex life, pet care, family catastrophe and unanswered phones collide with an all-powerful tub of vanilla ice cream.In what one listener describes as "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" if it were written by a woman, Catherine Hein's historical novel  traces the journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's Daytalk in the spring of 1962.Called to her grandmother's funeral in Orange County, the heroine must face life without her closest ally, settle on one lover, conquer her eating disorder, and ace a round of Password in order to secure a coveted game-show gig. . . if the world doesn't change too much first.Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born.Hein's other writing credits include The Bob Newhart Show and a children's story series in The Los Angeles Times about a traveling circus in occupied France.  She now holds a master's degree in English and an MFA in Fiction from California State University, Long Beach.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.

This week: Some people are the type to jump on a message marked "Urgent." For Wanda, it's complicated.In what one listener describes as "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" if it were written by a woman, Catherine Hein's historical novel  traces the journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's Daytalk in the spring of 1962.Called to her grandmother's funeral in Orange County, the heroine must face life without her closest ally, settle on one lover, conquer her eating disorder, and ace a round of Password in order to secure a coveted game-show gig. . . if the world doesn't change too much first.Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born.Hein's other writing credits include The Bob Newhart Show and a children's story series in The Los Angeles Times about a traveling circus in occupied France.  She now holds a master's degree in English and an MFA in Fiction from California State University, Long Beach.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.

Half-buzzed from a night of more sex than rest with Howard the Ex, and done dirty by Dexatrim, Wanda is about to get higher when the après le bain interview with Chase McSteve leads to deep kissing and a motorcycle date in the works.In what one listener describes as "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" if it were written by a woman, Catherine Hein's historical novel  traces the journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's Daytalk in the spring of 1962.Called to her grandmother's funeral in Orange County, the heroine must face life without her closest ally, settle on one lover, conquer her eating disorder, and ace a round of Password in order to secure a coveted game-show gig. . . if the world doesn't change too much first.Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born.Hein's other writing credits include The Bob Newhart Show and a children's story series in The Los Angeles Times about a traveling circus in occupied France.  She now holds a master's degree in English and an MFA in Fiction from California State University, Long Beach.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.

Wanda's moonlit drive on Mulholland turns into a hillside sleep-it-off, causing her to miss a big production meeting;  then Howard somehow gets a foot in her door on the eve of her location swim with Chase McSteve.In what one listener describes as "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" if it were written by a woman, Catherine Hein's historical novel of early '60s Hollywood traces the journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's Daytalk in the spring of 1962. Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early-‘60s Hollywood, was born.Hein's other writing credits include The Bob Newhart Show and a children's story series in The Los Angeles Times about a traveling circus in occupied France.  She now holds a master's degree in English and an MFA in Fiction from California State University, Long Beach.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.

Wanda survives her first appearance on the new show, but careful what song you perform afterward with a broken heart.In what one listener describes as "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" if it were written by a woman, Catherine Hein's historical novel of early '60s Hollywood traces the journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's Daytalk in the spring of 1962. Called to her grandmother's funeral in Orange County, the heroine must face life without her closest ally, settle on one lover, conquer her eating disorder, and ace a round of Password in order to secure a coveted game-show gig. . . if the world doesn't change too much first.Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early-‘60s Hollywood, was born.Hein's other writing credits include The Bob Newhart Show and a children's story series in The Los Angeles Times about a traveling circus in occupied France.  She now holds a master's degree in English and an MFA in Fiction from California State University, Long Beach.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.

There goes Wanda's diet after encountering ex-boyfriend Howard on the eve of her Daytalk debut. Catherine Hein's historical novel of early '60s Hollywood traces the journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's Daytalk in the spring of 1962. Called to her grandmother's funeral in Orange County, the heroine must face life without her closest ally, settle on one lover, conquer her eating disorder, and ace a round of Password in order to secure a coveted game-show gig. . . if the world doesn't change too much first.Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early-‘60s Hollywood, was born.Hein's other writing credits include The Bob Newhart Show and a children's story series in The Los Angeles Times about a traveling circus in occupied France.  She now holds a master's degree in English and an MFA in Fiction from California State University, Long Beach.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.

Season 3's novel, THE CELEBRITY, by Catherine Hein, traces the Hollywood journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's Daytalk in the spring of 1962. Called to her grandmother's funeral in Orange County, the heroine must face life without her closest ally, settle on one lover, conquer her eating disorder, and ace a round of Password in order to secure a coveted game-show gig—if the world doesn't change too much first. Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume, 1,150-page historical novel of early-‘60s Hollywood, was born.Hein's other writing credits include The Bob Newhart Show and a children's story series in The Los Angeles Times about a traveling circus in occupied France.  She now holds a master's degree in English and an MFA in Fiction from California State University, Long Beach. Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.

Richard Bausch (“A master of the novel as well as the story ” —Sven Birkerts, The New York Times)  previews a chapter of his 13th novel, PLAYHOUSE, scheduled for release by Alfred A. Knopf on February 14, then talks with Alan Rifkin about the book and his craft. Bausch's works have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, Harper's, The New Yorker, Narrative, Gentleman's Quarterly. Playboy, The Southern Review, New Stories From the South, The Best American Short Stories, O. Henry Prize Stories and The Pushcart Prize Stories; and they have been widely anthologized, including in The Granta Book of the American Short Story and The Vintage Book of the Contemporary American Short Story. The Modern Library published The Selected Stories of Richard Bausch in March, 1996. He has won two National Magazine Awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Lila-Wallace Reader's Digest Fund Writer's Award, the Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and The 2004 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. In 1995 he was elected to the Fellowship of Southern Writers. In 1999 he signed on as co-editor, with RV Cassill, of The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Since Cassill's passing, in 2002, he has been the sole editor of that prestigious anthology. Richard is the 2013 Winner of the REA award for Short Fiction. He is currently a professor at Chapman University in Orange, California. Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Special thanks to Ben Rifkin.

The finale of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They're fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, and the Internet of their time--the  telegraph, telephone, and movies--in favor of naked farming, altruism, and wild new music. The main characters, a family of four who abandon Berlin in hope of a saner life--middling violinist-dreamer Anna, factory worker Gerhard, prototypical flower child Lilli, and budding tech futurist Benjy--branch out from the fields of San Bernardino to the real estate tracts of burgeoning L.A., at once wrestling with and setting in motion the longings and questions that have beguiled and bedeviled every American generation since.CREDITS:Charlie Haas's screenwriting credits include Over the Edge, Tex, Gremlins 2, and Matinee. His journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New West, The Threepenny Review, and Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing, along with many other journals. Haas's previous novel, The Enthusiast, was published by HarperPerennial in 2009. Follow his Twitter feed at: @Charlie_Haas.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Find out more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credits songs for Season 2 are “Lullaby of Sunland,” composed and performed by Ben Rifkin, and “Trapeze Dress,” composed and performed by Dean Chamberlain. News and touring information about Dean are at therealcodeblue.com.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Sound production by Ben Rifkin.

Episode 11 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They're fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, and the Internet of their time--the  telegraph, telephone, and movies--in favor of naked farming, altruism, and wild new music. The main characters, a family of four who abandon Berlin in hope of a saner life--middling violinist-dreamer Anna, factory worker Gerhard, prototypical flower child Lilli, and budding tech futurist Benjy--branch out from the fields of San Bernardino to the real estate tracts of burgeoning L.A., at once wrestling with and setting in motion the longings and questions that have beguiled and bedeviled every American generation since.CREDITS:Charlie Haas's screenwriting credits include Over the Edge, Tex, Gremlins 2, and Matinee. His journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New West, The Threepenny Review, and Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing, along with many other journals. Haas's previous novel, The Enthusiast, was published by HarperPerennial in 2009. Follow his Twitter feed at: @Charlie_Haas.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Find out more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credits songs for Season 2 are “Lullaby of Sunland,” composed and performed by Ben Rifkin, and “Trapeze Dress,” composed and performed by Dean Chamberlain. News and touring information about Dean are at therealcodeblue.com.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Sound production by Ben Rifkin.

Episode 10 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They're fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, and the Internet of their time--the  telegraph, telephone, and movies--in favor of naked farming, altruism, and wild new music. The main characters, a family of four who abandon Berlin in hope of a saner life--middling violinist-dreamer Anna, factory worker Gerhard, prototypical flower child Lilli, and budding tech futurist Benjy--branch out from the fields of San Bernardino to the real estate tracts of burgeoning L.A., at once wrestling with and setting in motion the longings and questions that have beguiled and bedeviled every American generation since.CREDITS:Charlie Haas's screenwriting credits include Over the Edge, Tex, Gremlins 2, and Matinee. His journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New West, The Threepenny Review, and Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing, along with many other journals. Haas's previous novel, The Enthusiast, was published by HarperPerennial in 2009. Follow his Twitter feed at: @Charlie_Haas.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Find out more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credits songs for Season 2 are “Lullaby of Sunland,” composed and performed by Ben Rifkin, and “Trapeze Dress,” composed and performed by Dean Chamberlain. News and touring information about Dean are at therealcodeblue.com.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Sound production by Ben Rifkin.

Episode 9 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They're fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, and the Internet of their time--the  telegraph, telephone, and movies--in favor of naked farming, altruism, and wild new music. The main characters, a family of four who abandon Berlin in hope of a saner life--middling violinist-dreamer Anna, factory worker Gerhard, prototypical flower child Lilli, and budding tech futurist Benjy--branch out from the fields of San Bernardino to the real estate tracts of burgeoning L.A., at once wrestling with and setting in motion the longings and questions that have beguiled and bedeviled every American generation since.CREDITS:Charlie Haas's screenwriting credits include Over the Edge, Tex, Gremlins 2, and Matinee. His journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New West, The Threepenny Review, and Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing, along with many other journals. Haas's previous novel, The Enthusiast, was published by HarperPerennial in 2009. Follow his Twitter feed at: @Charlie_Haas.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Find out more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credits songs for Season 2 are “Lullaby of Sunland,” composed and performed by Ben Rifkin, and “Trapeze Dress,” composed and performed by Dean Chamberlain. News and touring information about Dean are at therealcodeblue.com.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Sound production by Ben Rifkin.

Episode 8 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They're fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, and the Internet of their time--the  telegraph, telephone, and movies--in favor of naked farming, altruism, and wild new music. The main characters, a family of four who abandon Berlin in hope of a saner life--middling violinist-dreamer Anna, factory worker Gerhard, prototypical flower child Lilli, and budding tech futurist Benjy--branch out from the fields of San Bernardino to the real estate tracts of burgeoning L.A., at once wrestling with and setting in motion the longings and questions that have beguiled and bedeviled every American generation since.CREDITS:Charlie Haas's screenwriting credits include Over the Edge, Tex, Gremlins 2, and Matinee. His journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New West, The Threepenny Review, and Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing, along with many other journals. Haas's previous novel, The Enthusiast, was published by HarperPerennial in 2009. Follow his Twitter feed at: @Charlie_Haas.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Find out more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credits songs for Season 2 are “Lullaby of Sunland,” composed and performed by Ben Rifkin, and “Trapeze Dress,” composed and performed by Dean Chamberlain. News and touring information about Dean are at therealcodeblue.com.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Sound production by Ben Rifkin.

Episode 7 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They're fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, and the Internet of their time--the  telegraph, telephone, and movies--in favor of naked farming, altruism, and wild new music. The main characters, a family of four who abandon Berlin in hope of a saner life--middling violinist-dreamer Anna, factory worker Gerhard, prototypical flower child Lilli, and budding tech futurist Benjy--branch out from the fields of San Bernardino to the real estate tracts of burgeoning L.A., at once wrestling with and setting in motion the longings and questions that have beguiled and bedeviled every American generation since.CREDITS:Charlie Haas's screenwriting credits include Over the Edge, Tex, Gremlins 2, and Matinee. His journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New West, The Threepenny Review, and Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing, along with many other journals. Haas's previous novel, The Enthusiast, was published by HarperPerennial in 2009. Follow his Twitter feed at: @Charlie_Haas.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Find out more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credits songs for Season 2 are “Lullaby of Sunland,” composed and performed by Ben Rifkin, and “Trapeze Dress,” composed and performed by Dean Chamberlain. News and touring information about Dean are at therealcodeblue.com.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Sound production by Ben Rifkin.

Episode 6 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They're fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, and the Internet of their time--the  telegraph, telephone, and movies--in favor of naked farming, altruism, and wild new music. The main characters, a family of four who abandon Berlin in hope of a saner life--middling violinist-dreamer Anna, factory worker Gerhard, prototypical flower child Lilli, and budding tech futurist Benjy--branch out from the fields of San Bernardino to the real estate tracts of burgeoning L.A., at once wrestling with and setting in motion the longings and questions that have beguiled and bedeviled every American generation since.CREDITS:Charlie Haas's screenwriting credits include Over the Edge, Tex, Gremlins 2, and Matinee. His journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New West, The Threepenny Review, and Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing, along with many other journals. Haas's previous novel, The Enthusiast, was published by HarperPerennial in 2009. Follow his Twitter feed at: @Charlie_Haas.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Find out more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credits songs for Season 2 are “Lullaby of Sunland,” composed and performed by Ben Rifkin, and “Trapeze Dress,” composed and performed by Dean Chamberlain. News and touring information about Dean are at therealcodeblue.com.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Sound production by Ben Rifkin.

Episode 5 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They're fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, and the Internet of their time--the  telegraph, telephone, and movies--in favor of naked farming, altruism, and wild new music. The main characters, a family of four who abandon Berlin in hope of a saner life--middling violinist-dreamer Anna, factory worker Gerhard, prototypical flower child Lilli, and budding tech futurist Benjy--branch out from the fields of San Bernardino to the real estate tracts of burgeoning L.A., at once wrestling with and setting in motion the longings and questions that have beguiled and bedeviled every American generation since.CREDITS:Charlie Haas's screenwriting credits include Over the Edge, Tex, Gremlins 2, and Matinee. His journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New West, The Threepenny Review, and Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing, along with many other journals. Haas's previous novel, The Enthusiast, was published by HarperPerennial in 2009. Follow his Twitter feed at: @Charlie_Haas.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Find out more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credits songs for Season 2 are “Lullaby of Sunland,” composed and performed by Ben Rifkin, and “Trapeze Dress,” composed and performed by Dean Chamberlain. News and touring information about Dean are at therealcodeblue.com.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Sound production by Ben Rifkin.

Episode 4 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, which unfolds the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They're fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, and the Internet of their time--the  telegraph, telephone, and movies--in favor of naked farming, altruism, and wild new music. The main characters, a family of four who abandon Berlin in hope of a saner life, branch out from the fields of San Bernardino to the real estate tracts of burgeoning L.A., at once wrestling with and setting in motion the questions that have beguiled and bedeviled every American generation since.CREDITS:Charlie Haas's screenwriting credits include Over the Edge, Tex, Gremlins 2, and Matinee. His journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New West, The Threepenny Review, and Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing, along with many other journals. Haas's previous novel, The Enthusiast, was published by HarperPerennial in 2009. Follow his Twitter feed at: @Charlie_Haas.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Find out more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credits songs for Season 2 are “Lullaby of Sunland,” composed and performed by Ben Rifkin, and “Trapeze Dress,” composed and performed by Dean Chamberlain. News and touring information about Dean are at therealcodeblue.com.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Sound production by Ben Rifkin.

Episode 3 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They're fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, and the Internet of their time--the  telegraph, telephone, and movies--in favor of naked farming, altruism, and wild new music. The main characters, a family of four who abandon Berlin in hope of a saner life, branch out from the fields of San Bernardino to the real estate tracts of burgeoning L.A., at once wrestling with and setting in motion the longings and questions that have beguiled and bedeviled every American generation since.CREDITS:Charlie Haas's screenwriting credits include Over the Edge, Tex, Gremlins 2, and Matinee. His journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New West, The Threepenny Review, and Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing, along with many other journals. Haas's previous novel, The Enthusiast, was published by HarperPerennial in 2009. Follow his Twitter feed at: @Charlie_Haas.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Find out more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credits songs for Season 2 are “Lullaby of Sunland,” composed and performed by Ben Rifkin, and “Trapeze Dress,” composed and performed by Dean Chamberlain. News and touring information about Dean are at therealcodeblue.com.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Sound production by Ben Rifkin.

Making a difference... Revolutionizing and industry... Saving lives... All of these things are the driving force behind this episode's guests, GermPass. The folks at GermPass, a division of MicroLumix Bioscience Technologies, have created the world's fastest automatic germ-killing biotechnology system for public touchpoints. Because, let's face it, whatever nastiness is living on doorknobs and elevator buttons doesn't need to be there! Join Frank as he sits down with Debra Vanderhoff, Chairman and COO, Chris Hickey, CEO, Jim Dotsikas, President, and Michelle Hogan, VP of HR and Operations, to hear all about how it is that this amazing technical innovation came to "Pass"! See what we did there?If you or someone you know wants to be featured in our next podcast, message us on Facebook! Until next time, keep Eatin', Drinkin', and Shoppin' Local.To learn more about MicroLumix and GermPass, visit their Facebook and website.

Season 2's original novel, titled SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, unfolds the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who come to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They're fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, and the Internet of their time--the  telegraph, telephone, and movies--in favor of naked farming, altruism, and wild new music. The main characters, a family of four who abandon Berlin in hope of a saner life, branch out from the fields of San Bernardino to the real estate tracts of burgeoning L.A., at once wrestling with and setting in motion the longings and questions that have beguiled and bedeviled every American generation since.CREDITS:Charlie Haas's screenwriting credits include Over the Edge, Tex, Gremlins 2, and Matinee. His journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New West, The Threepenny Review, and Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing, along with many other journals. Haas's previous novel, The Enthusiast, was published by HarperPerennial in 2009. Follow his Twitter feed at: @Charlie_Haas.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Find out more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credits songs for Season 2 are “Lullaby of Sunland,” composed and performed by Ben Rifkin, and “Trapeze Dress,” composed and performed by Dean Chamberlain. News and touring information about Dean are at therealcodeblue.com.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Sound production by Ben Rifkin.

Season 2's original novel, titled SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, unfolds the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who come to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They're fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, and the Internet of their time--the  telegraph, telephone, and movies--in favor of naked farming, altruism, and wild new music. The main characters, a family of four who abandon Berlin in hope of a saner life, branch out from the fields of San Bernardino to the real estate tracts of burgeoning L.A., at once torn by and setting in motion the questions that have beguiled and bedeviled every American generation since.CREDITS:Charlie Haas's screenwriting credits include Over the Edge, Tex, Gremlins 2, and Matinee. His journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New West, The Threepenny Review, and Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing, along with many other journals. Haas's previous novel, The Enthusiast, was published by HarperPerennial in 2009. Follow his Twitter feed at: @Charlie_Haas.Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Find out more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Closing credits songs for Season 2 are “Lullaby of Sunland,” composed and performed by Ben Rifkin, and “Trapeze Dress,” composed and performed by Dean Chamberlain. News and touring information about Dean are at therealcodeblue.com.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Sound production by Ben Rifkin.

You could say that Chris Hickey is a modern-day Wyatt Earp. Like the famed lawman of the wild west, Chris started his law enforcement career in Dodge City, Kansas. It was here where Chris had to make a fatal choice facing down an armed and known gang member at the time. On February 28th, Chris had to take the life of another person. That decision would haunt him for decades and put him on a path that would ultimately lead to him losing everything.Chris eventually landed in Broomfield, Colorado where he was serving as a motorcycle officer and accident reconstructionist for the Broomfield Police Department. He met the women of his dreams, who would become his wife and mother of his two daughters. Together they had it all; big house, nice cars, exotic vacations, but their perfect life came crashing down when in 2008, Chris was nearly killed on his police motorcycle after being hit by a semi-truck. That night in the hospital, when his wife came to visit him, he realized his marriage was over and everything he had was about the be stripped from him. He describes it as hitting the red button that detonates the bomb, and that's exactly what happened… a bomb went off and blew his world up. He had hit bottom and had nothing left but faith. A few years later, Chris would step foot on a boat during a dive trip that would forever change him as a person. Call it fate, call it divine intervention, or maybe just dumb luck, but that three-day diving trip put him on a course where he found love, faith, compassion, and forgiveness in his past and the pain that he had caused so many including himself. But his story may have had a very different outcome had he never stepped foot on that boat. #trustinchrist #flatironschurch #losingitall #faithingod #getintheboat #8seconds

Welcome to another episode of The Action and Ambition Podcast! Joining us today is Chris Hickey, CEO of MicroLumix, a company dedicated to preventing the spread of infectious diseases caused by constantly contaminated public touchpoints. They unveiled GermPass, the world's fastest automatic germ-killing system, on 2.22.22 at the Harvard Club of New York in midtown Manhattan. Their chemical-free solution kills the covid-19 virus in one second, and 99.9% of infectious disease-causing germs in less than 5 seconds. Tune in to learn more!

Season 1, titled “The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual,” threads together a reporter's cherished past—1980s, Los Angeles—and his mentally ill millennial son's determination to claim his own season in the sun. Jeffrey Leviton is a fading romantic, twice divorced, with visions of literary grandeur. Beginning in the 1980s, a golden age of magazine journalism and a period of unmatched freedom in Los Angeles, and continuing through the convulsions of the 2010s, Leviton grows through a harrowing crucible of circumstances—romantic chaos, alcoholic recovery, homelessness, and cultural transition—all while attempting to anchor his son Philip's precarious security. Part father-son drama, part roman a clef of a changing LA, the eight linked stories—bittersweet, sometimes funny, deliciously messy—stumble toward redemption through themes both So Cal and global: the ache of cultural drift, the alienation of the awkward and the uncelebrated in the 21st Century, and the timelessness of young dreams.Debuts February 2022.CREDITS:Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Find out more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Special thanks to Ben Rifkin, Sarah Fleming, Chip Rice, John Gould, Gary Commins, Sheila Finch, and Brandon Cook.Representation:  Chip Rice   c.rice@wordlink.us

An all-new novel-in-stories each season, along with exceptional West Coast fiction, both new and old, from the shifting borders of the American Dream.Debuts February 2022.Find us on Apple Podcasts.CREDITS:Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Find out more about him at www.alanrifkin.com.Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms.Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker.Special thanks to Ben Rifkin, Sarah Fleming, Chip Rice, John Gould, Gary Commins, Sheila Finch, and Brandon Cook.Representation: Chip Rice  c.rice@wordlink.us

AYOTF - Rd 19 Tips 22 July - With guest tipper, Chris Hickey In this episode, I dig into my tips for Rd. 19. I'm joined by friend of the show, Chris Hickey.   Don't forget to check out the new podcast website:  ayankonthefooty.com.    I'd also like to invite you to take a moment or two to fill out the listener survey that I released recently. This is a tool that I'll be using to help make the show better.   https://forms.gle/Js4HzCqgC5gdGSvV8 Want to help out the podcast? New podcast website (You can leave a voice mail or message on the new website.  You can also leave a review for the show, along with signing up for the mailing list.) Buy me a coffee, Podcast fundraiser - If you'd like to help out the podcast. Podcast "merch" storefront A link to my Youtube Page.  Here is where you can also find my podcasts. If you've got a footy sticker for your favorite, or local club that you'd like to share with the podcast host, the mailing address is 1124 McKinley St. Sandusky Ohio 44870 USA For crisis support, please contact: Lifeline http://lifeline.org.au 13 11 14  Beyond Blue http://beyondblue.org.au 1300 22 4636 In the U.S. contact: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ 1-800-273-8255 I humbly thank you for taking the time to listen to my show.  I truly appreciate it.  Don't forget that you can reach me on Twitter @Yank_on or at ayankonthefooty@gmail.com.  You can also find me at A Yank on the Footy on Instagram and Facebook.   I ask that you consider sharing this episode, and this podcast with your family and friends.

AYOTF - Live Episode, 13 April 2021 - Rd 4 AFL/AFLW Grand Final Preview + Tips for Rd 5   In this live episode, I talk with chat with Chris Hickey and Tony Davis.  We talk about which 1-3 club can still push for finals, and what to make of Damo's Player Loan scheme. Don't forget to check out the new podcast website:  ayankonthefooty.com.    I hope that you'll check it out, bookmark it, and share it with your footy friends.   Want to help out the podcast? New podcast website (You can leave a voice mail or message on the new website.) Buy me a coffee, Podcast fundraiser Podcast "merch" storefront A link to my new Youtube Page.  Here is where you can also find my podcasts. Who wants to borrow a ruckman? Dimma backs player loan system MAILING LIST signup:  Email form for creating email list - I hope you'll consider signing up for the mailing list, so you'll be the first to have the new episode dropped off right into your inbox. For crisis support, please contact: Lifeline http://lifeline.org.au 13 11 14  Beyond Blue http://beyondblue.org.au 1300 22 4636 In the U.S. contact: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ 1-800-273-8255 I humbly thank you for taking the time to listen to my show.  I truly appreciate it.  Don't forget that you can reach me on Twitter @Yank_on or at ayankonthefooty@gmail.com.  You can also find me at A Yank on the Footy on Instagram and Facebook.   I ask that you consider sharing this episode, and this podcast with your family and friends. You can find my podcast at:  ayankonthefooty.com, https://feed.podbean.com/ayankonthefooty/feed.xml, as well as on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher or by looking for “A Yank on the Footy” in your favorite search engine. 

In this episode, we are joined by Chris Hickey. Chris is a current Board Member with us at Momentous and was previously the CEO at IsoPure and the CMO at Exos. We switched things up and had Chris interview Matt.The two discussed Matt's childhood, his eating habits, and his daily routine. The two also talked about pastimes, some of Matt's role models, and what it was like starting Momentous.Find Momentous:LiveMomentousInstagramFacebookTwitterYoutube

Kevin and Jay talk about their spiritual journeys, discuss the religious influence of their parents and families, and share how they try to pass on the Catholic faith to those in their lives. Altar serving, daily Mass, Catholic education, and even Fr. Chris Hickey are all mentioned in this episode!

Chris Hickey is one of two directors for Manchester based recruitment firm, Mercury Hampton who specialise in executive appointments but they are a recruitment company who focus on 21st Century technology to aid their efforts - with an impressive 96% retention rate after one year, they are doing something right. In this episode we talk about how Chris stepped away from his last job to start Mercury Hampton and how he planned for the step away, his top 3 tips to young sales leaders who want to push up the ladder and of course, we talk about Coronavirus and the impact on the recruitment industry.  Chris also answers the SalesChange 5 questions!

Chris Hickey (procrassthenation.com) writer, father, facilitator of The Malden Writer's Collaborative and all around swell guy sit down and chat about storytelling and writing.

Episode 5 - A Yank on the Footy In this episode, (Part 2 of a 2 part interview) I conclude my first interview of the show as I am joined by long-time Cats fan, Chris Hickey from Mackay Queensland.  Chris is the 2nd cousin of Cats legend, Reg Hickey. Chris continues telling some great stories about the legendary Reg Hickey, and discusses the state of coaching in the AFL, and how he would revamp the Tribunal.  He also discusses who he believes just might be the Cats break out player for 2020. If you like the show, consider helping me out at Buy Me a Coffee . Also, if you are interested in any podcast gear, you can find it on my Redbubble page.  A big shout out to https://josephmcdade.com/music for the use of some of his music.   You can reach me at ayankonthefooty@gmail.com Twitter:  @Yank_on Podcast links:   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-yank-on-the-footy/id1493103757 https://open.spotify.com/show/6YpQlU4W1OTNNWOpGj3NDh http://tun.in/pjGzQ https://pandora.app.link/XVtLV1LQz3 https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-a-yank-on-the-footy-55241447/?embed=true https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/a-yank-on-the-footy https://feed.podbean.com/ayankonthefooty/feed.xml https://castbox.fm/vc/2532220  

Episode 3 - A Yank on the Footy In this episode, (Part 1 of a 2 part interview) I conduct my first interview of the show as I am joined by long-time Cats fan, Chris Hickey, born in Geelong and raised in Purnim, Victoria, now resides in Mackay Queensland.  Chris is the 2nd cousin of Cats legend, Reg Hickey. Chris shares his insight on the game of footy, while telling some great stories about his legendary family member. This episode is dedicated to my friend, Travis Milestone.  Travis, I'm so sorry about what you're having to deal with right now, but you have to know that the entire footy world is pulling for you during this tough time. If you like the show, consider helping me out at Buy Me a Coffee . Also, if you are interested in any podcast gear, you can find it on my Redbubble page.  A big shout out to https://josephmcdade.com/music for the use of some of his music. You can reach me at: ayankonthefooty@gmail.com and on Twitter @Yank_on Podcast links:   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-yank-on-the-footy/id1493103757 https://open.spotify.com/show/6YpQlU4W1OTNNWOpGj3NDh http://tun.in/pjGzQ https://pandora.app.link/XVtLV1LQz3 https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-a-yank-on-the-footy-55241447/?embed=true https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/a-yank-on-the-footy https://feed.podbean.com/ayankonthefooty/feed.xml https://castbox.fm/vc/2532220    

Veteran musician Randell Kirsch is our guest on this week's Catching A Wave!  We discuss early influences, early group The Pranks (with Jeff Foskett), playing with multiple bands (Jan & Dean, The Beach Boys, Papa Doo Run Run, Al Jardine & Friends, Bamboo Trading Company, etc.), playing in Show Of Hands with his wife LuAnn and friend Chris Hickey, writing songs for Full House, playing with Christian Love and so much more!   Intro music bed:  The Beach Boys- "Catch A Wave"   Papa Doo Run Run- "Summertime Summer Nights" Randell Kirsch segment 1 The Pranks- "What's The Point" Segment 2 Jan & Dean- "Sidewalk Surfin'" Jane Wiedlin- "Blue Kiss" Segment 3 Show Of Hands- "Try Too Hard" Segment 4 Snippet of John Stamos- "Michelle's Smiling" Segment 5 Papa Doo Run Run- "I'll Meet You On The Sand" Randell Kirsch- "Gimme A Hug" Segment 6 Randell Kirsch- "God Only Knows" Segment 7 Randell Kirsch & Christian Love- "Big Electricity" Al Jardine & Friends- "Surfin' USA" Segment 8 The Bamboo Trading Company- "Don't Say It's Over" Segment 9 Randell Kirsch- "True Love Again" Jan & Dean- "I Get Around" Outro music bed:  Papa Doo Run Run- "The Giant Dipper"

Chris Hickey (procrassthenation.com) writer, father, facilitator of The Malden Writer's Collaborative and all around swell guy sit down and chat about storytelling and writing. 

For Show Notes and Coach McKeefery's Website - http://www.RonMcKeefery.com Now Available on iTunes http://bit.ly/1bPlMei Pick up your copy of Coach McKeefery's #1 Amazon International Bestseller "CEO Strength Coach" - http://www.CEOStrengthCoach.com Please “Thank” our sponsor who bring this show to you for free:PLAE - http://plae.us/Train Heroic - http://trainheroic.com/ Matt Wan is the Founder and CEO at Momentous, a sports nutrition startup on a mission to change the supplement industry. Momentous is the first and only brand of its kind to collaborate directly with dietitians and strength coaches from all four Major Leagues and NCAA. After launching their first product line last year, they already have more than 40 professional sports teams as customers. While still a very young company, they’ve raised money from an impressive variety of individuals and institutions. The Board of Directors at the company includes the former CMO of Exos and CEO of Isopure, Chris Hickey, Academy Award-winning filmmaker and world-renowned mountaineer Jimmy Chin, and mega-entrepreneur and media personality, Rob Dyrdek. Matt currently lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. His passion for nutrition and training started at an extremely young age when then 49ers strength coach Dave Scholz took Matt under his wing in the 6th grade. Dave, now an advisor to Momentous and the Head Strength and Conditioning coach at Texas Tech, systematically introduced Matt to the world of performance training and nutrition and Matt’s obsession grew from there. Matt founded Momentous and dropped out of Harvard the next year to pursue the business full time. In This Episode We Discuss:The Momentous story. Biggest mistake he has made and how he learned from it. Problems in the supplement market. Taking risks and betting on yourself. Leadership and management of clients and employees. Best piece of coaching advice he has ever received. His favorite quote, Book/App/Website recommendation.

For Show Notes and Coach McKeefery's Website - http://www.RonMcKeefery.com Now Available on iTunes http://bit.ly/1bPlMei Pick up your copy of Coach McKeefery's #1 Amazon International Bestseller "CEO Strength Coach" - http://www.CEOStrengthCoach.com Please “Thank” our sponsor who bring this show to you for free:PLAE - http://plae.us/Train Heroic - http://trainheroic.com/ Matt Wan is the Founder and CEO at Momentous, a sports nutrition startup on a mission to change the supplement industry. Momentous is the first and only brand of its kind to collaborate directly with dietitians and strength coaches from all four Major Leagues and NCAA. After launching their first product line last year, they already have more than 40 professional sports teams as customers. While still a very young company, they’ve raised money from an impressive variety of individuals and institutions. The Board of Directors at the company includes the former CMO of Exos and CEO of Isopure, Chris Hickey, Academy Award-winning filmmaker and world-renowned mountaineer Jimmy Chin, and mega-entrepreneur and media personality, Rob Dyrdek. Matt currently lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. His passion for nutrition and training started at an extremely young age when then 49ers strength coach Dave Scholz took Matt under his wing in the 6th grade. Dave, now an advisor to Momentous and the Head Strength and Conditioning coach at Texas Tech, systematically introduced Matt to the world of performance training and nutrition and Matt’s obsession grew from there. Matt founded Momentous and dropped out of Harvard the next year to pursue the business full time. In This Episode We Discuss:The Momentous story. Biggest mistake he has made and how he learned from it. Problems in the supplement market. Taking risks and betting on yourself. Leadership and management of clients and employees. Best piece of coaching advice he has ever received. His favorite quote, Book/App/Website recommendation.

There's a lot to know with horses, but we're lucky to be in a time when we can learn from a lot of people we may not have the chance to meet in person. Jumper trainer Chris Hickey comes on this week to talk to Jess and Alyssa about what he thinks are the top five things all young riders need to know.

Ep.2 A conversation with writer Chris Hickey

Carol broadcasts from the Marketo Marketing Nation Summit in San Francisco. She is joined by Sarah Kennedy, CMO at Marketo, to discuss acquiring Bizible, the top provider of marketing performance management software. Stephen Yeo, European Marketing Director at Panasonic, explains how the impact of data privacy is impacting marketing. Kristen Wendel, Director of Marketing at Plainvew, talks about using technology to create personalized experiences for buyers. Chris Hickey, CEO at Ringlead, talks about the business of scrubbing data. Matt Zilli, Chief Custom Officer at Marketo, and Lisa Peterson, SVP of Global Marketing & Digital Strategy at Gogo, explain the uses of AI in marketing. Steve Lucas, CEO at Marketo, furthers the conversation on artificial intelligence for marketing. Peter Bell, Senior Director Marketing Europe at Marketo, on talks about why GDPR is good news for marketers.

Carol broadcasts from the Marketo Marketing Nation Summit in San Francisco. She is joined by Sarah Kennedy, CMO at Marketo, to discuss acquiring Bizible, the top provider of marketing performance management software. Stephen Yeo, European Marketing Director at Panasonic, explains how the impact of data privacy is impacting marketing. Kristen Wendel, Director of Marketing at Plainvew, talks about using technology to create personalized experiences for buyers. Chris Hickey, CEO at Ringlead, talks about the business of scrubbing data. Matt Zilli, Chief Custom Officer at Marketo, and Lisa Peterson, SVP of Global Marketing & Digital Strategy at Gogo, explain the uses of AI in marketing. Steve Lucas, CEO at Marketo, furthers the conversation on artificial intelligence for marketing. Peter Bell, Senior Director Marketing Europe at Marketo, on talks about why GDPR is good news for marketers. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Flatirons Men's Pastor Dan Foote talks with Chris Hickey about his journey that led him to a row in a Flatirons service and the eventual life-change that God did in his life in a circle of safe, strong men.

Flatirons Men's Pastor Dan Foote talks with Chris Hickey about his journey that led him to a row in a Flatirons service and the eventual life-change that God did in his life in a circle of safe, strong men.

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to go to The People of Change Awards in Los Angeles, California and interview guests and honorees. The evening celebrated those who inpsire, motivate, and create change in society including awardees: Angela Davis, Dr. Michael Bate, Dr. Chris Hickey, and community organization, Best Start South LA. Interviews: Cassie Betts, District2.Co, MISLA Keitha Johnson, Videographer Dr. Perry Crouch, Watts Gang Task Force Blanca Gonzalez, Best Start Patrice, People of Change Lettie Martinez, Best Start Santiago Marquez, Two Time HIP Through Science Fair Winner James Smith, ARC Mid-Cities Devaughn Ishmael and son Follow The People of Change on Facebook and Instagram Check out Rhian’s Hope online: rhianshope.com  facebook.com/rhianshope  instagram.com/rhianshope  twitter.com/rhianshope   Music from Jukedeck – create your own at http://jukedeck.com  

Greg is joined by Jessica Nickel, the CEO and founder of the Addiction Policy Forum. Listen to Jennifer’s podcast interviews with Greg here and here. Together, they interview Chris Hickey, an EMS Officer from the Manchester Fire Department in New Hampshire. Chris is the creator of the Safe Stations program, a service that’s transforming New Hampshire fire stations into non-judgmental locations where people struggling with substance abuse can get connected to help.

Chris Hickey and Karen Tricot Steward take a deep-dive into some of the top stories in Arkansas this week, including angry constituents at town hall meetings and a Supreme Court decision to strike down a local anti-discrimination law.

Chris Hickey and Karen Tricot Steward take a deep-dive into some of the top stories in Arkansas this week, including angry constituents at town hall meetings and a Supreme Court decision to strike down a local anti-discrimination law. Plus: Why KUAR interim general manager Nathan Vandiver, once champion of a beard-growing contest, has reservations about entering again.

Reflection Deacon Roger Vierra Fr. Chris Hickey, Pastor Archdiocese of Boston St. Mary of the Sacred Heart Hanover, MA St. Helen /Holy Mothers Collaborative 10.18.15 Music: "How Great Is Our God" "Lord I Lift Your Name Up High" Holy Mothers Collaborative Festival Choir

Series 2: Episode 3. Story by C. Brian Hickey: Story by C. Brian Hickey: www.weaponizer.co.uk/oneauthor.php?id=24 .. Read by Magnus Sinding: magnulus.com and magnus-sinding.con … Music by Candace Bilyk: www.candacebilyk.com . For more information: tellingoftales.wordpress.com

Summary of today's show: The Year of Faith will begin on October 11 and in declaring that time for a special consideration of the New Evangelization, Pope Benedict issued a special explanatory letter called “Porta Fidei” (The Door of Faith). Scot Landry, Fr. Chris O'Connor, and Michael Lavigne consider the Pope's letter and examine just what he means by the New Evangelization, what Catholics are called to do for the Year of Faith, and how faith leads us to abandon ourselves to a love grows constantly because it has its origins in God. Listen to the show: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor Today's guest(s): Michael Lavigne Links from today's show: Today's topics: Pope Benedict's Letter for the Year of Faith “Porta Fidei” 1st segment: Scot welcomed everyone to the show in which we'll discuss the upcoming Year of Faith. He said Fr. Chris O'Connor had a busy couple of days, including a concert on Saturday and on Sunday the official installation of Msgr. James Moroney as rector of St. John Seminary. There were many distinguished guests including several bishops and the families of seminarians. They also talked about the annual golf tournament for the seminary that was held recently. It was held at Woodlawn golf course and many of the golfers were pleased to be able to play there. Fr. Chris said the tournament directly impacts the live of seminarians. It funds a discretionary fund for seminarians who might otherwise not have the means to be in seminary. He noted that Fr. Chris Hickey of St. Mary's in Hanover conducted the live auction and told participants that the fund allows seminarians to give their full-time attention to their studies and formation. Seminarians don't get paid and don't have time to have part-time jobs so the fund is their financial assistance throughout the year. Fr. Chris said he has recently spoken before the Women in God's Spirit group at St. Mary, Holliston, about the Year of Faith. He said they are a group of 40-50 women who bring in speakers to learn more about their faith and the Church. 2nd segment: Scot suggested the listeners can now watch The Good Catholic Life live during the show at BostonCatholicLive.com. He welcomed Michael Lavigne to the show. Michael said the Year of Faith is Pope Benedict XVI asking to stop and consider the gift of our faith. We can have a tendency to think about our faith in terms of ourselves, rather than as a gift. We should spotlight on the basics of who we are as Catholics. Scot said the Year of Faith is 13 months beginning on October 11. That day marks the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Fr. Chris said both are instrumental in our life. When the Holy Father put out his letter on the new evangelization, he highlighted the Catechism of the Catholic Church as one of the main instruments for teaching and growing in our faith. It is essential that we come to know Jesus Christ and through the Catechism we come to know that. The two great mysteries of life are the incarnation of Christ and the passion of Christ. Scot said in simple terms there is the turning of the heart toward Jesus, a decision to respond to His love, and then there's what we know about our faith. The more you want to love Jesus, the more you want to know about the essentials of the faith he gave us. Michael said he grew up in the 80s and 90s and there was an absence of knowledge of our faith in his religious education. However, there were a lot of good programs to help him encounter Christ. But when he went to college, he hit a wall that challenged his faith and he didn't have the knowledge of his faith to stand on. He turned his heart to Christ at about 19 years old when he read Pope John Paul's “Crossing the Threshold of Hope.” Fr. Chris said the greatest of the virtues above faith and hope is love. When you love, you want to know more about the object of your love. The more we love Christ, the more we want to know more about him. Scot said we have to respond generously to Christ's invitation to us. Scot said the Year of Faith is not a Year of the Church or a Year of Catechesis, although we need to know about the Church and we need catechesis. Scot said secularism is trying to de-evangelize us and and crowding out our faith from our life. Pope Benedict wants us to focus on the big questions in our lives. Michael said we are so distracted or afraid that we don't want to answer them. We run to other temporary solutions. He said we need to stop and be aware of what is around us. We need more silence in our lives to reflect on God in our lives. Scot said the Year would not be successful if we didn't first focus on our personal growth. Fr. Chris said faith isn't a country club, where we sign up and we're done. It requires very hard work. It's what Pope Benedict means when he says we grow in our faith. We should take a few moments each day to consider what God wants for our lives. We need to chip away at everything in our lives that aren't Christ. Scot quoted from the document: The “door of faith” (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace. To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. It begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4), through which we can address God as Father, and it ends with the passage through death to eternal life, fruit of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, to draw those who believe in him into his own glory (cf. Jn 17:22). To profess faith in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is to believe in one God who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8): the Father, who in the fullness of time sent his Son for our salvation; Jesus Christ, who in the mystery of his death and resurrection redeemed the world; the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church across the centuries as we await the Lord's glorious return. Scot said right off the bat the pope talks about faith in the trinity. He said one of the best activities we can engage in to make the sign of the cross with even more devotion. We can pray with awareness that God is present in our lives. Michael said too often we turn our back on that door of faith and walk in the other direction. He gave the context of the Scripture from which Pope Benedict took the term the “door of faith” in which the Holy Spirit opened the door of faith the Gentiles. The “door of faith” (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace. To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. It begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4), through which we can address God as Father, and it ends with the passage through death to eternal life, fruit of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, to draw those who believe in him into his own glory (cf. Jn 17:22). To profess faith in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is to believe in one God who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8): the Father, who in the fullness of time sent his Son for our salvation; Jesus Christ, who in the mystery of his death and resurrection redeemed the world; the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church across the centuries as we await the Lord's glorious return. Scot said membership in the Church by baptism can't be taken for granted anymore. We can't take the cultural context for granted either. Fr. Chris said we're all called to share and acknowledge that Christ is Lord and Savior. This crisis of faith has been a primary subject of Pope Benedict's ministry. Michael notes how easy to read Pope Benedict is. He says we have lost our way as human beings. Catholics used to be marinated in their faith, surrounded by everything Catholic, and that is no longer the case. We cannot accept that salt should become tasteless or the light be kept hidden (cf. Mt 5:13-16). The people of today can still experience the need to go to the well, like the Samaritan woman, in order to hear Jesus, who invites us to believe in him and to draw upon the source of living water welling up within him (cf. Jn 4:14). We must rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the word of God, faithfully handed down by the Church, and on the bread of life, offered as sustenance for his disciples (cf. Jn 6:51). Indeed, the teaching of Jesus still resounds in our day with the same power: “Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life” (Jn 6:27). The question posed by his listeners is the same that we ask today: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (Jn 6:28). We know Jesus' reply: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (Jn 6:29). Belief in Jesus Christ, then, is the way to arrive definitively at salvation. Scot said this goes to our purpose in life. In contrast to being marinated in our faith, we have lost our flavor. Poe Benedict is calling us as Catholic Christians to be flavorful people, not bland. Fr. Chris said if we know Christ, even in our darkest moments we will have the spiritual gift of joy. He said Christians should go to bed exhausted every night from a life spent in service to their neighbor. Scot said if you feel like you're not living your faith with enough joy, pray to ask for the Lord to increase your faith and your joy. Michael talked about the story of a Catholic couple in Arizona who showed joy even in spite of the wife's diagnosis of Stage IV cancer. Fr. Chris said joy and thanksgiving go hand in hand. We need to count the ways God is blessing us in our children, in our spouse, in the beauty of the day. The word Eucharist means thanksgiving and so we come to Mass every week to give thanks to God for the ways God blesses us. Scot considered the question posed by Pope Benedict: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” He answers that the work of God is that we believe in Jesus who has been sent. This is an active belief, not passive. We make a public profession of faith. We need to believe publicly in order to help others come to know Christ. Michael said later Pope Benedict says growing in knowledge means we grow in love and charity. We stand up for truth with love, joy, and charity and patience. We need to be careful about moralism because we need to be patient with those who don't know Christ. Fr. Chris said an essential element is that object of faith is not a something, but a someone: Jesus Christ. We believe that there is a God capable of speech and human beings are able to receive what God has to say, which is Revelation. It comes to us through faith and revelation. Who better to tell us about God than God himself. We learn about God's love for us and that he has a plan, Scot said we believe because we trust the messenger. Fr. Chris said God is either the author of truth or the author of deceit and if he is a deceiver he is no longer God. Prayer is us communicating to God but when we open Scriptures it is God speaking to us. 3rd segment: Scot said the next section is his favorite: “Caritas Christi urget nos” (2 Cor 5:14): it is the love of Christ that fills our hearts and impels us to evangelize. Today as in the past, he sends us through the highways of the world to proclaim his Gospel to all the peoples of the earth (cf. Mt 28:19). Through his love, Jesus Christ attracts to himself the people of every generation: in every age he convokes the Church, entrusting her with the proclamation of the Gospel by a mandate that is ever new. Today too, there is a need for stronger ecclesial commitment to new evangelization in order to rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith. In rediscovering his love day by day, the missionary commitment of believers attains force and vigour that can never fade away. Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy. It makes us fruitful, because it expands our hearts in hope and enables us to bear life-giving witness: indeed, it opens the hearts and minds of those who listen to respond to the Lord's invitation to adhere to his word and become his disciples. Believers, so Saint Augustine tells us, “strengthen themselves by believing”.[12] The saintly Bishop of Hippo had good reason to express himself in this way. As we know, his life was a continual search for the beauty of the faith until such time as his heart would find rest in God.[13] His extensive writings, in which he explains the importance of believing and the truth of the faith, continue even now to form a heritage of incomparable riches, and they still help many people in search of God to find the right path towards the “door of faith”. Only through believing, then, does faith grow and become stronger; there is no other possibility for possessing certitude with regard to one's life apart from self-abandonment, in a continuous crescendo, into the hands of a love that seems to grow constantly because it has its origin in God. Scot said the language chosen here is powerful and beautiful. Michael said it is inspiring to read as a reminder of who we need to be based on the gift has given us. Fr. Chris said he loves the line that believers strengthen themselves by believing. He said many people see faith as a personal injury insurance and when something bad happens they lose their faith. Faith is an anchor or rock that we cling to in times of need, that we know Christ is with us in the midst of our suffering. Scot loves the image of the crescendo. What is the meaning of my life? there is another possibility for certitude unless we abandon ourselves in God. If we want to grow in love of God and others, we want to abandon ourselves to him who will grow love in us. Michael said a married couple's love will grow if they daily abandon themselves and sacrifice themselves for the other. It's that lifelong journey in which love grows. As they have more kids, their love grows exponentially, it isn't divided. A lot of the Church's work toward the New Evangelization isn't about techniques. It's about changing our hearts. Fr. Chris said Evangelization is about Good News. It's inherent in us that we desire to spread good news with other people. We desire to share God's infinite love because we know it, trust it, and believe it.

Summary of today's show: Scot Landry, Susan Abbott, and Gregory Tracy discussed the news headlines of the week, including the final proposal of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Planning Commission to Cardinal Seán; CatholicTV's new show “Aging Gracefully”; The lack of realization among Catholics that assisted suicide is on the ballot in November; How Marian devotion got downplayed at Vatican II; and the dedication of a Liberty Flagpole at one parish. Listen to the show: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today's guest(s): Gregory Tracy, managing editor of the Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston Links from today's show: Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot's and The Anchor's websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. Today's topics: Pastoral Planning proposal; Aging Gracefully; Assisted suicide; Mary at Vatican II; Liberty Flagpole 1st segment: Scot Landry and Susan Abbott talked about busy everyone at the Pastoral Center is with the end of summer. Susan noted that the start of religious education programs on Catechetical Sunday this Sunday is keeping her office busy. Susan said today at Mass she heard St. John Chrysostom's phrase “invincible patience” and that's been on her mind all day. Scot asked Gregory Tracy about the front page story in the Pilot which is about the final proposal to Cardinal Sean from the Archdiocesan Pastoral Planning Commission. Scot said it was delivered to Cardinal Sean a couple of weeks ago. Scot said the Cardinal is now reviewing it and consulting with other bodies before making a final decision. So far, he's met with the Presbyteral Council, which unanimously recommended he accept the proposal. Last week, Scot said the Cardinal's cabinet also unanimously recommended it as well. The final decision is expected in mid to late December. Susan said she was pleased to see in the article in the Pilot that all along that this was emphasized as a proposal. Many people thought this was a rubber stamp process and a done deal. Scot said part of that is because this is the third or fourth attempt by a group to come up with a recommendation. But for this process the participation of everyone was taken. Susan said some of the original elements of this proposal were modified after feedback from the consultations throughout the archdiocese. Scot noted that the consultation over the last 10 months included 40 archdiocesan meetings with 5,000 people as well as 200 independent parish meetings representing 20,000 people. They received more than 8,000 single-spaced pages of feedback. They consulted 16 times with the Presbyteral council and the Commission itself met 31 times. Fr. Paul Soper, the interim pastoral planning director, said this is an historic consultation. Greg concurred that he'd never seen or heard of such an extensive consultation with as much give and take and feedback. He added that it is clear that changes were made based on the feedback, including the biggest item concerning how pastors for the proposed collaboratives would be chosen as well as phasing in the changes versus making a massive change in a short time. He noted that there will be an initial voluntary first phase. Scot said the proposal is available for anyone to read on the link above. He said it's a thorough document and anyone who cares about the Church should read it. He noted that it is also written very clearly. Susan said that damage is done when people argue based on what they've heard, rather than reading the primary sources first. She encouraged everyone to read it with an open mind. Greg agreed and said he's heard people talking and sharing information that was incorrect and he attempted to correct them. He said that's one of the reasons why they wrote a story that was so long. Scot said tomorrow's show will be dedicated to looking at the proposal in depth. He provided a summary. The first part of the document is focused on strengthening parishes and the second is on strengthening parishes for the work of the New Evangelization. He listed some of the highlights, including the 288 parishes of the Archdiocese will be grouped in approximately 135 Parish Collaboratives, usually consisting of two or three parishes. They will be phased in over a period of five years. The collaboratives will be assigned one single Pastor. Scot noted that most pastors have said this is where the archdiocese needs to go, but they need training on how to accomplish the goals of the pastoral plan. Each collaborative will be asked to come up with a local pastoral plan within 12 months of implementation of the collaborative. The recommendation also includes pastoral training for priests and lay pastoral staff by the Office of the Episcopal Vicar for the New Evangelization, the Catholic Leadership Institute, and the Office of Pastoral Planning. There are also separate recommendations from the Religious Education Task Force and the Committee to Study Lay Formation Programs which the APPC recommends be implemented in their entirety. Greg said this is a monumental undertaking. The focus of the discussions he's heard so far has focused on administration and organization, but the training is really worth noting. He was taken aback by the massive undertaking of all the training that they plan. If it all comes to fruition, we will have one of the best formed dioceses in the US. He thinks a lot of the controversies we see, it comes from confusion about what the Catholic faith is, and this training plan helps deal with that lack of understanding. Scot said Cardinal Sean is serious that this plan is about the New Evangelization and giving significant training so we can be effective at evangelization. Susan said certification of catechists comes through the Archdiocese and her office, and this planning process has given them the impetus to get everything properly set up and improve how they standardize and certify everyone. 2nd segment: Scot said “Aging Gracefully” is a new series on CatholicTV, and the host is Fr. Michael Sheehan, SJ,the provincial of the local Jesuit province who also happens to be a medical doctor. Greg said while the show never says they're motivated by the assisted suicide debate, they do say that this is a moment to talk about the elderly and how they can live their life well. Greg said it deals with the many aspects of living a full life. There are five episodes that talk about spirituality, how to talk to your physician, thinking about and preparing for death, and more. Scot said it's all very practical. The elderly need to be able to advocate for themselves with their doctors. Susan said Fr. Sheehan is amazing and heard him speak at a presentation at the Pastoral Center and saw him on Fr. Chris Hickey's TV show “Going My Way.” Also in the Pilot this week is a story about St. Augustine Parish in Andover dedicated a Liberty Flagpole in honor of September 11. They dedicated the pole a day earlier so that those they invited would also be able to attend 9/11 celebrations. It was prompted by a parishioner asking why there wasn't a flagpole in the sanctuary. Greg said there are no regulations concerning the practice, but it began during World War II. Later on the US Bishops recommended that symbols apart from the worship of Christ should be outside the sanctuary. Fr. Peter Gori, the pastor, explained all this in his bulletin, and then said tongue-in-cheek that if anyone wanted to dedicate a flagpole to the church, he would welcome it. One parishioner immediately donated the flagpole and another couple donated the flags. Fr. Gori said it honors every citizen who has strived to be both a good American and a good Catholic. The flagpole was dedicated to the men and women of St. Augustine Parish who served in the U.S. Armed Forces throughout the years. “My greatest passion has always been to serve God and my country,” [Claude] Gallant [the donor of the flags] said. In The Anchor this week was a story about the efforts to oppose Question 2 on the ballot in November about the legalization of assisted suicide. There was discussion that an issue like this should be debated in public in the Legislature so that the voters can be informed and heard before a vote. A ballot question avoids all that and many of the people the Anchor talked to were shocked to learn that this is on the ballot. Scot said if people like the listeners of TGCL or who go to church on a regular basis or read The Pilot and The Anchor don't take up the baton and engage others on Question Two, then we face an uphill battle to oppose it. Greg said those of us who work in the Church and especially in the media, we can think we're overdoing coverage of this issue, but he knows that you have to keep hammering it home because you never know which article someone will pick up and get informed. Scot said it's important to know that arguments put forward by the broad-based coalition opposing the ballot initiative are not faith-based arguments, of which there are plenty. There are also arguments that are very practical and can be apprehended by anyone, whatever their faith background. Susan noted that there will be a series of workshops taking place throughout the Archdiocese that start next week. The list of workshops is . Scot said yesterday's show was a great discussion with Dr. Ken Stevens, an oncologist from Oregon where assisted suicide has been the law for more than a decade. He said DR. Stevens brought up a great point that a state can't on the one hand say assisted suicide is okay, while also saying that other kinds of suicide is bad. Scot said tonight, Cardinal Seán will be on EWTN's The World Over with Raymond Arroyo at 8pm. It can be heard on WQOM or on TV. Also, on October 3 at 8pm, Cardinal Sean will be hosting a live virtual town hall on CatholicTV, simulcast on WQOM, at 8pm. Starting that evening, Cardinal Seán is asking all Catholic families to pray a daily rosary to defeat this ballot question. The Cardinal has recorded special episodes of the Rosary to air on CatholicTV for this purpose. This will air five or six times per day until November 6. 3rd segment: This week's benefactor card raffle winner is Joseph Montuori from Newton Upper Falls, MA He wins A CD from the Envoy Institute: “An Antidote to Atheism” by Msgr. Stuart Swetland, and the booklet “Catholics in the Public Square” by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix. If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit . For a one-time $30 donation, you'll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM's weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We'll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program. 4th segment: Scot noted that there was a big conference at the Vatican on Marian devotion. Fr. James Phalan of the Mariological Society told the academic conference that a misreading of Vatican II led to a collapse in Marian devotion. He said people interpreted some of the debates on where to include devotion to Mary in the documents as being a downgrading of devotion. He also said that was connected to a collapse in devotion to the Holy Spirit. He described it as overly rational. At the same time, Pope Benedict XVI during an audience remembered that debate over where to include a document on Mary. There wassome talk about having a separate document, but they ultimately decided to include it as part of Lumen Gentium. The Pope recalled the vote of Oct. 23, 1963, in which it was decided to include a chapter on Mary in Lumen Gentium. In this chapter, he said, “the figure of Mary – reinterpreted and reproposed in the context of the Word of God, the texts of the patristic and liturgical traditions, as well as a broad theological and spiritual reflection – appears in all of its beauty and singularity, well inserted in the fundamental mysteries of the Christian faith.” The Holy Father said there were good reasons to make this part of the Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium). He then reflected on how popular piety is nourished by biblical and patristic references. “The singular figure of the Mother of God must be developed and studied from diverse and complimentary perspectives: while the ‘via veritas' (way of truth) is always valid, we must not forsake the ‘via pulchritudinis' (way of beauty) and the ‘via amoris' (way of love) to discover and contemplate still more profoundly Mary's crystalline and solid faith, her love for God, her indestructible hope.”

Summary of today's show: From his school days at the Archdiocesan Choir School as a child, Fr. Bill Kelly has heard the Lord calling him to the priesthood. He just never thought it would take such interesting turns. In his 20+ years as a priest, Fr. Bill has studied in Rome, received a doctorate in theology, taught at the seminary, led the ongoing formation and support of priests, been a pastor, and co-hosted a movie review show on CatholicTV. Fr. Bill joins Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor to talk about his vocation and his priesthood. Listen to the show: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor Today's guest(s): Fr. Bill Kelly Links from today's show: Today's topics: Pastor Profile: Fr. Bill Kelly 1st segment: Scot and Fr. Chris talked about the busy seminary schedule interviewing prospective seminarians for next year. Fr. Chris said this could be the largest class in years, with close to 25 new men applying. He said he's going on vacation next week so he's hoping to wrap up the process this week. Scot noted that early in Cardinal Seán's tenure there was a total of 25 men at the seminary and there was talking about closing it. Now it's filled to capacity with 79 men in residence. Fr. Chris said it's the wisdom of the Church that men are brought together to be formed together. Today's guest is Fr. Bill Kelly, who has served in the archdiocese as head of the office that deals with ongoing clergy formation, as well as teaching at the seminary. Now he's pastor at St. Mary Parish in Dedham. 2nd segment: Scot and Fr. Chris welcome Fr. Bill Kelly. Fr. Chris recalled that Fr. Bill taught him how to drink wine in Rome. Fr. Bill said Fr. Chris didn't have a lot of experience with wine. On the other hand, Fr. Bill was introduced to gin and tonic by Fr. Chris and his family. Fr. Bill grew up in Sacred Heart in North Quincy. He said his parents still live there. The pastor who was there for most of his life exuded the life of the priest. Sadly, he died suddenly in 1996 and a book of essays about this priest by his brother priests was produced and Fr. Bill uses that as an example of the life of the diocesan priest. He was a gentle soul and a tremendous preacher. At his funeral, there were 250 priests and 15 bishops. Six thousand people came to his wake. Out of Sacred Heart, they've had 7 or 8 men who've gone on to priesthood. Fr. Bill said he is the oldest of six, two brothers and three sisters. They are a very musical family. His dad is a drummer and his mother sings. His grandmother had a radio show on which she played piano. They grew up singing around the piano. Fr. Bill attended the Archdiocesan Choir School in Cambridge which elevated his natural interest in music and was the seedbed of his vocation. Fr. Chris said Seiji Ozawa once threw Fr. Bill out of Symphony Hall. Fr. Bill said he was a sixth grader in the choir in a rehearsal and was chitchatting a bit with a friend. Ozawa lost his temper and threw him out. Scot asked why the school was the seedbed of his vocation. Fr. Bill said the first time he thought of the priesthood was in the fourth grade and remembered the priest going to the tabernacle and being in awe of that. Later at the choir school, Ted Marier, the founder and original headmaster was not just a great musician, but Fr. Bill also believes he authentically a saint. The faith of the headmaster and his wife was expressed in the work they did. The choir sang at Mass every day and on Sunday. It was by his devotion to the Church that came pouring out of him through his musical genius. He remembers that the entire school was confirmed every four years, all the kids in the school and the Mariers were the sponsors of all the boys. It was during the singing of one hymn that the ides of a vocation came to him most clearly. Fr. Bill attended Boston College High School. While some of the Jesuits encouraged him to consider the order, he was very interested in diocesan priesthood. He went right into the college seminary, which he loved, not least because they didn't have take any math courses. From there he went to the North American College in Rome for five years. When he left home, his youngest sister was in seventh grade and when came she was a senior in high school. He was home for three years and then returned for doctoral studies. His first assignment was Sacred Heart in East Boston for just three or four months. Then he went to St. Paul's in Hingham. He went to Rome for a doctoral degree in dogma with the plan that he would come back to be spiritual director at the seminary. He was there from 1995 to 2005. Every seminarian has to have a spiritual director. They would meet every two weeks to help him grow in sensitivity and understanding to how God was at work in their lives. It always comes back to how it fits in with how it helps him discern whether God is asking him to be a priest. At the seminary, he had 15 to 25 directees. He also directed a number of religious sisters and laypeople. He also helped design the spiritual life component of the Masters of Arts in Ministry program. All told, he was seeing about 40 people per year in spiritual direction. Scot asked what it's like to see many of the men he directed as priests now. Fr. Bill said it's great to see them later. Fr. Chris was one of the seminarians at the time. He recalls finding Fr. Chris doing an impression of Fr. Bill giving a lecture. Fr. Bill said his priesthood was transformed by the students, seeing their love for the Lord and their priesthood. Fr. Bill said his closest friends in the presbyterate are men who were students when he was there. After St. John's, he was put in charge of ongoing formation for priests. Fr. Bill said it was a natural transition in some ways. He did have to help priests of varying experiences from newly ordained to ordained for decades. It was just a few years after the abuse crisis began so there was a lot of need for providing support for the priests, including just having men come together. Fr. Bill said he is convinced the conversion of the priesthood will come through intellectual formation. Scot said one of the programs Fr. Bill brought to the archdiocese was Good Leaders, GoodShepherds from Catholic LEadership Institute. Fr. Bill said it's a program that helps priests look at leadership skills, especially for priests feeling burdened by administrative tasks. It's not just a time management course, but it truly was centered in the Church's teachings. It weds the best practices of leadership in the corporate world with Church teaching. More than 100 priests in Boston have gone through the program. Scot asked what it was like to travel a lot around the country, speaking and giving retreats for priests. Fr. Bill said he enjoyed speaking to varied groups. He loved to bring communities together in a different way. He's been fortunate in his life. He once lived with the great spiritual writer Henri Nouwen. He met Mother Teresa a number of times. He met Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger. He's been able to bring those experiences to his various talks. 3rd segment: Fr. Bill has been at St. Mary's in Dedham for two years. He was a priest for 20 year before becoming a pastor. He'd been living at Holy Family in Rockland for 15 years, helping out on the weekends. He was happy to get the new assignment. It was a significant change. It's phenomenal parish with wonderful leadership. Fr. Matt Williams and Fr. Bill Lohan were there as parochial vicars. Bishop Dooher was pastor there before becoming a bishop. Fr. Bill said their active youth group has a bunch of them in Nicaragua this week. Those who couldn't go have committed to going to the 7am daily Mass to pray for those who went. Fr. Chris asked what makes St. Mary's unique. Fr. Bill said it has a long and beautiful devotional tradition of care for the Blessed Sacrament. They have all-day/all-night adoration on Fridays. They have active prayer groups. The Mass is well attended and they have long and well-established music program. He remembers his first weekend singing with the choir. More recently, Life Teen is perhaps it's most well-known program. Fr. Chris Hickey created this program from almost nothing. Five men with connections to St. Mary's in the seminary with three more going next year. That's the fruit of LifeTeen and of the prayer of the parish for vocations. They also have wonderful participation in the Sacrament of Confession. Fr. Bill said they renovated the confessional and made it very beautiful. It's now a very large space with a great stained glass window. All the ancient traditional symbols of reconciliation have been incorporated into the confessional. They're hoping to increase the amount of time devoted to confession and he said you can't walk across the parking lot without being asked to hear a confession. It's a spirit-filled parish. Fr. Bill said LIft Ministries was founded by two parishioners. Scot said he first heard about St. Mary's because of the LifeTeen program. Scot said you don't see many parishes that have all the generations so active in parish life. Fr. Bill said a priest friend visited last summer and on a Thursday night it was so busy that his friend asked him if he realized how lucky he is. Fr. Bill said at least six groups meet regularly on Thursday nights. Scot asked what the root causes of this active parish are in addition to good priests and prayer. Fr. Bill said it's both the town of Dedham, which is the kind of place where people put down roots and always come home. It's also the families. Because they don't have a school, there is a little bit of a struggle to bring in young families, but they are seeing young families grow again and they are starting to see a growth of ethnic families in the area. Fr. Chris said each priest preaches one basic homily with variations. He asked what it is for Fr. Bill. He said because of his years as a spiritual director he thinks he's mostly attuned to people's friendship with Christ and their relationship with God. Then how does that get lived out. How is it that the Church is the surest way to grow in our relationship with Christ? The Church is the most abundant way that one's spiritual life is able to grow. He said he thinks he needs to ramp up on some of the issues of the day in his preaching. Scot said Fr. Bill also co-hosts a show on CatholicTV called Spotlight along with Fr. Chip Hines. Fr. Bill said he and Fr. Chip were at some gathering for priests and got into a conversation about movies. They got into such an intense discussion that somebody told them they should have their own show. Somehow Fr. Bob Reed heard about it and asked them to do the show. They just finished their third year and have reviewed over 300 movies. They approach it from the point of view of whether it's a good movie on a technical level, but also on what themes can be drawn from it on the basis of our Catholic faith. They will be upfront with people about the content if it's morally objectionable. He said they often hear from cloistered nuns who watch movies based on their reviews. They take a currently running movie and build a theme on it, whether topic or theme or the like. He said the funny thing is when people come up to him at a wedding in the Communion line and look at him with recognition. For the summer, he recommends the quirky movie Moonrise Kingdom. He did just see the Spiderman movie and thought it was terrific. He does agree with critics who said the action scenes are not as exciting as in the other Spiderman movies. He's very interested in seeing Woody Allen's To Rome With Love. The biggest movie of the summer will be The Dark Knight Rises. He thinks the previous installment in the Batman series is one of the best movies ever. He said he knows some seminary professors use it in their moral theology classes. At the top of his list would be the Lord of the Rings trilogy; the Wizard of Oz; Ordinary People because he loves family dramas and because it's when he fell in love with the movies. Scot asked Fr. Bill where he would recommend people look for family-appropriate movies. He said the Boston Globe has a family-friendly guide or search online. Fr. Bill said the old DIsney movies are great for kids. For children's movies, don't take them to the dumbed down movies. There are good movies with good messages and substantial messages. He recommended The Secret World of Arrietty.

Summary of today's show: The Sacrament of Confession liberates us from sin and is where God's desire to heal our relationship with Him meets our desire to be healed. Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor talk with Fr. Wayne Belschner about confession and they discuss the Pastoral Letter and manual for confession written by Archbishop Robert Carlson when he was bishop of Saginaw, Michigan (available at thelightisonforyou.org). Listen to the show: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor Today's guest(s): Fr. Wayne Belschner, Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in East Boston Links from today's show: Today's topics: The Sacrament of Confession & The Light Is On For You 1st segment: Scot welcomed Fr. Chris back to the show after being away. On his spring break from the seminary, he went on pilgrimage to Povence, France, especially to Avignon, where a number of popes lived in the Middle Ages. Fr. Chris explained how the popes ended up in Avignon between 1309-1376 in the reigns of 7 popes.They were all French and we haven't had a French pope since, Fr. Chris said. He also noted that it was St. Catherine of Siena who finally convinced the pope to return to Rome. Scot said after Pope Gregory IX moved back to Rome, there were also three other bishops who claimed to be pope and are called anti-popes. They welcomed Fr. Wayne Belschner to the show and asked him to give him his expert information. He said eventually when there were three popes, there was a council that deposed all three and elected one new one. Fr. Wayne recounted all the intrigue and murder and violence involved in the end of the Avignon papacy. Fr. Chris changed subjects to celebrating Life Teen Mass at St. Mary in Hanover and how great it was. He discussed his admiration for Fr. Chris Hickey, the pastor there. 2nd segment: Fr. Wayne talked about The Light Is On For You and how wonderful it is going. He said in the past Saturday afternoon before the anticipatory Mass is not the most opportune time for the penitents or for the priests. In his parish, they offer Mass during Holy Hours and before daily Mass. He's hearing from other priests that The Light IS On For You is going very well. They discussed the progress of pastoral planning in East Boston. Fr. Wayne said they had a meeting of the parishes in the vicariate on Sunday. The people attending were shocked when they were told that in the 1960s and 70s, 70% of Catholics in Boston went to Mass and today only 15.8% go to Mass. As a church historian, Fr. Wayne said it's amazing. It wasn't just the upheaval of the 60s that caused it. Certainly parish closings can be a cause as well as the abuse crisis. Scot looks at it from the viewpoint of whether general religious practice across the US is down from that period of time. Fr. Chris said we have to be aware that there is a constant stream of secularization in society. We're no longer cognizant of what's in our faith and what's important. Fr. Chris said we also have to be aware of our religious education programs. He had a priest tell him to look in a textbook and find one thing worth dying for. Fr. Wayne said at that meeting on Sunday, a young lady got up and pointed out that the people coming to all the programs like Arise and Why Catholic are those who go to church every Sunday and even they don't know their faith. Scot said his theory is that there was a sense that many families outsourced religious upbringing of their kids an hour per week and the central role of the parent in forming faith was lost. He said he sees a lot of parents drop of their kids at religious education but never bring them to Mass. Twenty hours per year isn't enough. Fr. Chris said even just going to Mass isn't enough. Boiled down to the essence, that about 8 hours per year of religious instruction. Measure that against the hours of television and other influences kids receive. On the power of the Sacrament of Confession, Scot said Pope Benedict said during his trip to the US: “The liberating power of this sacrament, in which our honest confession of sin is met by God's merciful words of pardon and peace, needs to be re-discovered and re-appropriated by every Catholic. To a great extent, the renewal of the church in America, and throughout the world, depends on the renewal of the practice of penance and the growth in holiness which the sacrament both inspires and accomplishes.” Fr. Wayne said he waits every week to hear that most important phrase: “I absolve you of your sins” because of its power. Scot said it's not just that our sins are forgiveness, but we also receive grace to be at peace. Fr. Chris said in the opening prayer at Mass this past week, it said our consciences bring us down, but God's mercy brings us up. He recalled his doctor telling him to carry 10 pounds of bricks in a backpack a day and then taking them to imagine what losing 10 pounds would be like. This is the same sense of liberation from sin. Fr. Wayne said when you go to your confessor, you let down the boulder down first and then drop the pebbles. When you go to confession, confess the big sins first and once those are gone, you feel the weight lifted and then confessing the venial sins is easy. Scot said his experience of confessing the smaller sins first shows how hard it is to finally confess the big one. Fr. Chris said he sometimes encounters people who say they haven't been in years and don't know what to confess. He tells them to think of what weighs on them most heavily and what separates them most from God's love and love of neighbor. Fr. Wayne said those who are away from the sacrament, they put a lot of weight on what they don't know how to do. He said people can just tell the priest they need help and they will love to do so. Scot moved on to the Pastoral Letter by then-Bishop Robert Carlson of Saginaw (now in St. Louis). One of the major purposes of the letter is the attempt to move us away from a guilt-centered notion of sin and the sacrament: sin means that we feel guilty, that God is angry, and the sacrament of Penance is about softening our guilt and God's an ger. I want to move us toward a different notion of sin: sin means that something is deeply wounded in us, that we have weakened or ruptured our relationship with God, and the sacrament of Penance is where God's desire to heal our relationship meets our desire to be healed. Scot said we need to focus on God's desire for us to be healed, rather than our just punishment. Fr. Wayne said Jesus' ministry was one of healing the person from the inside out. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a moving forward. Where are we moving too? Fr. Chris said Pope BEnedict said the sacraments provide for us what we can't provide for ourselves. Scot said Bishops Carlson is like many midwesterners in being very practical. He uses three analogies for confession: Every 3,000 miles or so, we change the oil in our car. There may not be any major problem with our engine. But slowly, over time, minor impurities have been build- ing up. If we leave those impurities unattended, they will eventually result in major (and costly) problems for our car. Every once in a while, we move the furniture and vacuum behind our couch. If we don't get to it one week, it's no big deal. If we don't get to it the next week, it's no big deal. If we fail to move the couch and vacuum behind it for six months, it will be filthy. The sacrament of penance is like an oil change for the soul. It's like moving the furniture of your soul and getting to the places that escape everyday cleaning. … Let me add one more analogy: brushing your teeth. If you forget to brush your teeth tonight, it's no big deal. If you forget to brush your teeth tomorrow morning, it's no big deal. If you forget to brush your teeth for three months – or 10 or 15 years – there are going to be big problems! One person's analogies may help or hinder another person's understanding. So I want to encourage each of you to come up with your own analogies. What is an image that might help you to understand the sacrament of penance more deeply, and take advantage of its graces more frequently in your spiritual journey? Fr. Chris recounted how much work it is for his sister's four boys to get their teeth brushed. They have a sign in the bathroom that says only brush the teeth you want to keep. Our soul is going to bring us to heaven and we want to keep it clean and holy and we do that by going to confession. Fr. Wayne said he watched the show “Hoarders”. Some of these people can't even walk in their homes because they're so cluttered. When we neglect confession, we become hoarders. We can't unpack what we've gathered. Like the hoarders, we need help to get rid of what is cluttering up inside. Fr. Chris said regular confession is a wonderful thing. The saints have a keen insight that the more they went to confession, the more they would find ways to grow and to grow closer to the Lord. He said people often say that God hasn't forgiven them, but God always forgives. It's our own ability not to forgive ourselves. Scot said we can project our own lack of mercy toward ourselves for the sins we commit. Fr. Wayne said in confession we have to be sincere and authentic and have a desire to do that penance. Once we confess our sins, there has to be a change of life as well. Fr. Chris said sins are like cancer. They corrode the body. No one prays to get cancer in order to get chemotherapy and get healed. We don't want to use confession in order to be able to sin again. Fr. Wayne said the more a priest goes to confession, the better confessor he becomes. Fr. Chris said we learn by example and it's important to have examples of priests going to confession. Likewise, we can't tell people confession is so important and then give them a small window for confession. We have to show confession is so important that every church and chapel will be open for confession on Wednesdays in Lent and Advent, 6:30-8. Fr. Wayne said it shows that this is important and serious. Fr. Wayne said he tries to assure the people in his parish who don't want him to hear their confession that he won't look at them any differently after hearing their confessions. Scot said Bishop Carlson talks about the root causes of sins: “What we tend to do when we go to confession is confess our sins – but not the root of the sin. So our sins are forgiven, but what caused us to sin has not been healed. We think that the sin is what the problem is. But it's not. The problem is what's been build- ing up in us in terms of our attitudes, our habits, our weakness, our human condition, that needs regular infusions of God's grace. We need to look deeper, asking the Holy Spirit, ‘Come in. Probe my heart. Reveal to me what the real problems are. What are the things that lead to sin? What are the attitudes? Where do I need mercy most? Where do I need healing? What are the things in me at a deep level that need to be healed?'” At the root is often the seven deadly sins—pride, greed, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, sloth— and he says: What am I struggling with? What are the actions? What's underneath the actions – what attitudes or habits? What do I need to aim for? (Notice the opposites are basically fruits of the Spirit.) What do I want help becoming? Fr. Chris said the bishop also lists the corresponding virtues: humility, generosity, charity, meekness, chastity, moderation, and zeal. The bishop is showing that the Christian life isn't just a list of don't, but it is a list of do's, showing us what will make us happy. Fr. Chris said he loves the quote from Christ who says a man who can be trusted in the little things, then he can be trusted in the big things. If we're virtuous in little acts, then when the opportunity presents itself we will be virtuous in big things. Fr. Wayne said the sin is the exterior manifestation of what is inside us. What is driving that sin? We need to get at that root cause of the sin. Scot said pride is listed here first. Fr. Chris said pride was the first sin, that of Adam and Eve and sin starts with pride. Fr. Wayne said it's the deadliest of the sins. Pride is the foundation of all the other deadly sins. Fr. Chris said lust is the most powerful of the sins, especially in today's culture. We can combat the devil in the other sins, but we are too often powerless before lust. Fr. Wayne said when we are tempted by lust, we should pray to Mary to only have eyes for her and a heart for her Son. Scot read from the pastoral letter: Through the sacrament of reconciliation Jesus' voice echoes down through the ages saying “Call them to me.” In his sacramental presence through the priest Jesus repeats his question to us: “What do you want me to do for you?” When we have unburdened our hearts we will hear him speak again, saying to us “Go in peace, your faith has made you well.” Scort said his favorite parable is that of the prodigal son, but we should focus on the father of the son, who loves him so much. Fr. Wayne said we all have been in all of the shoes of the people in that parable: the father, the son, and the brother. Bishop Carlson ends by telling people not to be afraid to go back to confession. Be humble. Every priest wants to help. Fr. Wayne said we can't be afraid to go to confession.

Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams Today's guest(s): Bonnie Rodgers, Director of Public Relations, Marketing and Programming, and Helen Lee, Manager of Social Media and VoD, of CatholicTV Links from today's show: Today's topics: Christmas at CatholicTV and new programs in the new year Summary of today's show: Every year, CatholicTV becomes ChristmasTV for three days starting Christmas Eve. Bonnie Rodgers and Helen Lee from CatholicTV join Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams to talk about all the great programming on tap for the holiday as well as the new shows on tap for the new year, including The Gist, a new talk show for women. They also discuss CatholicTV's ubiquitous presence in new media and how they're using every possible medium to spread the message. Plus all their favorite CatholicTV shows. What's your favorite? 1st segment: Scot explained why The Good Catholic Life did not air live on 1060AM yesterday because of difficulties at the network in Buffalo, but listeners can listen to it online on our site and it will air again next Tuesday, December 27. Fr. Matt said he loves the Christmas season, including driving around and seeing all the lights decorating homes. He will celebrating Masses at St. Joseph in Holbrook, where he lives. For his family, their celebration will center around liturgies. His family gets together on the day after Christmas for a memorial Mass for all the deceased members of his family. His grandmother died many years ago on December 26 and it's become a tradition ever since. Scot mentioned that tonight is the night for , when every church and chapel in the archdiocese will be open 6:30-8pm for confessions. If you're looking for a parish, go to . Fr. Matt talked about why we need to go to confession especially before Christmas as we prepare to welcome Christ. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed Bonnie Rodgers and Helen Lee. He asked Bonnie what brought her to CatholicTV. She's been there for 4 years. She met General Manager Jay Fadden in the Masters of Arts in Ministry program at St. John Seminary. She was working for Verizon at the time, then got early retirement from her job. Jay hired her first as part-time in marketing and now she's been there four years full-time overseeing public relations, marketing and programming. She said those three aspects really connect together. Helen started at CatholicTV about 4 months ago. She oversees all social media: Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and manages video-on-demand resources. Scot said CatholicTV is trying to reach people in their 20s like her. Helen majored in college in new media communications and theology, so she was looking to do something like this when she graduated. Twenty-somethings are in those media and that's where they are. She's in the Facebook newsfeeds of many of her Catholic friends from Fordham University now. Scot asked Bonnie all the ways people can get CatholicTV, in addition to cable TV. Bonnie said they want to be wherever people are consuming media. They want to be on every platform, but they want to design for the particular platform. They're on Twitter, articulating the faith in 140 characters or less. There is YouTube, where they tailor their work for the format. They include both soundbites and segments as well as full programs. They're on Facebook as well. They are now available throughout the country on cable and Sky Angel IPTV. Scot said you can watch the content at CatholicTV.com. And a small widget can be placed on any website or blog so people can watch the programming on other websites. Bonnie said a diocese in Ohio was using content from CatholicTV for faith formation via DVDs on cable access television. But they adapted it for CatholicTVjr and the whole diocese started using it. They introduced it to the bishops at the US bishops meeting and they're having dioceses ask them to tailor it to their purposes. Scot asked how many people watch the programs on other platforms other than TV. Bonnie said it's hard to quantify how many are there, but she loves the stories. She encountered a man in New Jersey once who stopped her and knew her from the daily Mass. He'd watched every day from Afghanistan on his iPod and remembered seeing her do the readings. They are now in a little more than 11 million homes via cable. They do see a big spike in viewership on Sunday for the Mass from the University of Notre Dame and the Mass from the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Scot said “Going My Way” is a funny program that interviews priests and makes them sing songs and do other bits. Bonnie said the premise is to show priests are normal people and having a good time. When she first started at CatholicTV, she thought the show was pretty hokey, but they get so many calls for the show that love it. One man called who had been in RCIA and was getting discouraged at the “Church of No”, but he saw the priests on Going My Way and how much fun they were having and he decided he wanted to be part of a church like that. It's a sing-a-long show with priests from anywhere in the world they can get them. Fr. Matt said he was on the show in 2008, just before July 4 and just before World Youth Day Sydney. He remembers saying he didn't know what to sing, because he's not much of a singer. He sang patriotic songs and so now it airs every year before July 4. Scot asked if Going My Way is the most popular show. Bonnie said absolutely. The show has a great following from young to old. She said Stephen Colbert's Comedy Central show “The Colbert Report” once featured it and called Fr. Chris Hickey, the host, the modern Merv Griffin. Bonnie said there are just about 30 people now working at CatholicTV, so everybody pitches in to carry off all the programming. Scot said he notices that people spend their whole careers at CatholicTV, there's a lot of loyalty among the employees. Bonnie said there's a great ability to attract people, especially those in technical fields. Part of the attraction is that with such a small crew, people can try their hand at many disciplines. 3rd segment: Scot said Christmas is a big deal at CatholicTV because of all the special programming. Bonnie said they turn into ChristmasTV starting with Christmas with midnight Mass from the Vatican. Many of the shows do special Christmas editions. Fr. Reed and Jay also do special reflections. There are also many programs of music including choirs from the Vatican. They have some movies and cartoons about St. Nicholas. It goes for three days. Scot said people love to watch the homily of the Holy Father on TV. Bonnie said the midnight Mass is so beautiful, as well as Masses from the Basilica of the Saxcred Heart at Notre Dame, and the National Shrine. Scot said there are 61,000 fans of CatholicTV on Facebook. Helen said online they plan to post many different video reflections and soundbites on YouTube and Facebook. They also had a musical group last week. Fr. Matt asked how many follow them on Twitter. She said about 12,000. He said he's amazed how many young people are moving from Facebook to Twitter. Helen said the Twitter users are very active, retweeting their content. He asked how to use Facebook and Twitter to evangelize. Helen said she's lucky at CatholicTV to have the daily Mass to pull from the homilies and other good messages from shows. She also uses her theology background to create messages to reconnect people to the faith as they go through their day. She said when there are big events that CatholicTV covers during the work day, she tries to tweet excerpts for those who are at work and can't watch. Helen noted that many of the followers on Facebook and Twitter aren't even from this country and communicate in other messages. Scot said that Facebook and Twitter users skew young, but aren't only young. Helen said there are many followers on Facebook who are 35-50 who are vocal and a lot of younger followers who are pretty quiet. Bonnie said at the National Catholic Youth Congress they had over 700 kids like them on Facebook and told them that while they don't post much there, they do read it. 4th segment: Scot said it seems like CatholicTV is always launching new programs. He asked about the new program launching in January called The Gist. Bonnie said the hosts are Danielle Bean, editor of Catholic Digest, Rachell Balducci, author of How Do You Tuck in A Superhero, and Carolee McGrath from Springfield. They will talk about anything and everything of their faith. They've recorded their first six episodes already. They drive home that our faith is a lived one. Scot asked if it's a Catholic version of the View. Bonnie said it's like that where talk about current events, issues of life, and anything else through a Catholic lens. They talk about managing their families and raising kids, for example. It launches January 3. It will have five or six air times. One of the toughest things about coming up with a new show is the new show title. They were excited that Helen was able to grab the name on Facebook and other social media. Danielle and Rachel are very into social media while Carolee is just into media. Scot said Rachel was on one of our early shows and it was a very funny episode. Her blog is chronicling raising her six boys and one daughter. Helen said user-generated content will be important for the Gist. They started weeks ago on Facebook and Twitter with polls and questions to get real-world feedback from women to feed the discussion on the show. Scot said on Thanksgiving they launched “Mass Confusion”, the first Catholic sitcom. Bonnie said there's been a lot of great feedback. It was created by Greg and Jennifer Willits from Georgia. She noted that Georgia has the fastest growing Catholic population. She said they've created other great content that CatholicTV has used in the past. Scot said the Willitses co-host a daily radio show on SiriusXM's The Catholic Channel. It was big departure for them to do completely scripted TV. It's also a very expensive show to produce because of the number of people involved. But the appreciation and response was so great that they are looking at how to make it work if they can. Fr. Matt asked about the premise of the show. It features two Catholic families, the other played by Mac and Katherine Barron, and the first show is about a birthday party for Jennifer and some confusion over a pregnancy. Scot said it's about real life and family. He said he saw it at the Catholic New Media Celebration in October and the crowd of 200 people laughed boisterously. He said it's family friendly. There's nothing you'd be unhappy about your kids watching, even though the quality is as good or better than what you see on network TV. Scot said entertainment is part of CatholicTV's mission. We're Catholics that love to laugh, to express joy, to take our faith seriously, but not to take ourselves seriously. Bonnie spoke of another show called House+Home where Fr. Reed goes into a home to meet a family and they take over the house for the day. With Mass Confusion, they took over the Willitses house for several days. Helen said people can watch it on YouTube, on Verizon on Demand, or on the CatholicTV website. 5th segment: Scot asked about programming that comes from other Catholic dioceses. While they are part of the Archdiocese of Boston, they are also America's Catholic TV Network. Diocese of Trenton produces a youth program called , which has won Emmy Awards and Gabriel Awards. Diocese of Springfield, Diocese of Rockville Centre, and Diocese of Brooklyn produce shows too. Diocese of Worcester does a show with Bishop McManus. Scot asked Helen about her favorite program. She said she likes Mysteries of the Church and Seventh Street Theater. It's not a Catholic TV show, but it's a theater troupe that put on faith-inspired shows. Scot said one of his favorites is Catholic Destinations with Kevin Nelson. They have gone to many cathedrals and shrines around the country and in some other nations. He's also enjoyed House+Home, including seeing how families integrate the faith into their lives. Bonnie said Mysteries of the Church is from the Diocese of Brooklyn and it's as good as any Discovery Channel show. Scot asked about Way of Beauty. It was shot on Thomas More College and it has high-production values. It looks at how art expresses our faith. Helen said ClearVoice is a Catholic magazine show that helps people be informed about what's going on in the Church all around the world. Scot said Wow: The CatholicTV Challenge is now going into its 10th or 11th season. It's a game show for kids which quizzes them on their faith. Bonnie said people call from all over about how great it is. Catechists tell them that they use the show to teach their classes. Scot said his kids love the competition aspect, but it also leads to discussion about the faith. We've Got To Talk with Fr. Dan O'Connell has been on the air for over 20 years. Bonnie said he brings energy and love to that show. It's the longest-running program, outside of the Mass. He gets into all kinds of situations with the show and brings the same energy. The Spotlight features Fr. Chip Hines and Fr. Bill Kelly doing movie reviews. Scot said it's a wonderful program that takes movies seriously. It's time to announce this week's winner of the WQOM Benefactor Raffle. Our prizes this week are “Let Us Adore Him”, a music CD of traditional Christmas hymns by the Dady Brothers and Friends; by Fr. Dave Pivonka, and , also by Fr. Pivonka. This week's benefactor card raffle winner is Richard Grande from Concord, MA. Congratulation, Richard! If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit . For a one-time $30 donation, you'll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM's weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We'll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program.

Associate Professor Chris Hickey and also the Deputy Head in the School of Education at Deakin University has recently co authored together with other researchers a new book called Smashed. The book is based on research regarding the issues of drunken behaviour in our society.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor **Today's guest(s):** Fr. Robert Reed, president of the CatholicTV network * [CatholicTV](http://www.catholictv.com) * [CatholicTVjr](http://www.catholictvjr.com) * [iCatholic](http://icatholic.catholictv.com) * [Catholic TV Everywhere](http://www.catholictveverywhere.com) * [Carry Your Faith: CatholicTV iPhone app](http://www.carryyourfaith.com) * [CatholicTV Magazine](http://www.catholictv.com/catholic-magazine.aspx) * [VisitThePope.com](http://www.VisitThePope.com) **Today's topics:** CatholicTV, America's Catholic Broadband Network, and Fr. Robert Reed **A summary of today's show:** Fr. Robert Reed shares with Scot and Fr. Chris the roots of his call to the priesthood and how he came to be President of the CatholicTV network. Also, the history of CatholicTV, its dynamic and far-reaching present, and the bright future ahead. **1st segment:** Scot welcomes Fr. Chris O'Connor to the show. The Ordination Mass this past weekend was the high point of the year. Six men from St. John Seminary were ordained at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross by Cardinal Sean. Fr. Chris was at a diaconate ordination for one of his seminarians down in the Diocese of Providence. Scot was able to watch the Mass on CatholicTV, because he couldn't be present himself. Scot's 7-year-old daughter commented on how many hugs the new priests receive. All the priests in attendance give a holy embrace to each of the ordinandi during the ceremony and many of the priests in the Archdiocese were in attendance. When Cardinal Seán celebrates an ordination, you know an ordination has taken place after 3 hours! Cardinal Seán charges a "fee" to the new priests by requesting their first priestly blessing at the end of the Mass. Then he kissed their hands to show that these are priestly hands consecrated to the work of Christ. You can watch the ordination at CatholicTV.com. Click on "cathedral events." Fr. Chris said the only thing as special as the ordination Mass are the first Masses celebrated by the priests on Sunday. **2nd segment:** Scot and Fr. Chris welcome Fr. Bob Reed. Fr. Bob notes that Scot is prepared for heading out to coach his kids' baseball and soccer team this afternoon, and Scot said he thinks it's good for kids to see him and his wife outside the house helping them in other activities. Scot asked Fr. Reed how his vocation came about and what his influences led him to respond to the call. He was born in Boston and grew up in Swampscott. His parish was St. John the Evangelist, right there on the ocean. His vocation began in tragedy. He lost his dad in a tragic car accident when he was 7, just months before his First Communion. It caused him to think deeply about his Catholic faith and discover there was a lot there in his faith. His mother re-married a number of years later to a friend of his father. He also has 3 brothers and a sister. He also had marvelous priests in his parish and the Sisters of St. Joseph in the parochial school. It all developed this call that came from God. Scot asked when he knew he wanted to enter the seminary. Fr. Bob said he was always thinking of the priesthood. Even though he was encouraged to look at other options, he remained sure. He was accepted to other colleges, but he decided to go to St. John's and never regretted it. Fr. Chris asked which priests were most role models. Fr. John Carroll and Fr. Dick Little were in his parish and the greatest influences. Fr. Little was once the chancellor for the Archdiocese. Fr. Little brought a crucifix to Fr. Reed's home after his father's funeral and Fr. Bob thought to himself, "Those are the hands of a priest!" In 1985, at his ordination, as he emerged from the cathedral, a man fell to his knees in front of Fr. Bob and kissed his hands too. Fr. Reed studied at St. John's Seminary College and then at the North American College in Rome. Studying at the NAC gives a man a great experience of situating him at the center of the Church to experience the universality of the Church and meet men from the Church throughout the United States. Fr. Chris asked if he had a pivotal moment in Rome. Fr. Bob said the first few months were difficult because he'd never been away from home, realizing he couldn't come home for two years. On Pentecost Sunday in 1985, he was the deacon for Pope Bl. John Paul II and chant the Gospel in Latin at the Mass in St. Peter's Square. After ordination, he served in parishes in Malden, Norwood, Haverhill, and Whitman. At the time, Immaculate Conception, Malden, was the largest parish in the archdiocese and it was an experience of the Church in a bygone era. In Norwood at St. Catherine's was similar. In Boston at St. Matthew's was a different experience. All along the way, there have been great people he's met and he remains in contact with them to this day and they have taught him a wonderful lesson about what the priesthood is. Priests give, but they also receive so much. Scot said that he hears good things about Holy Ghost in Whitman and it all seems to stem from the Perpetual Adoration launched by Fr. Bob there and that continues to this day. Fr. Bob said he'd never been to Whitman before he was named pastor and he said the people there love that it's a small town off the beaten path. When he came to the parish, he wanted to find a way to keep the church open at all times to allow people a place to come and pray, to bring their struggles and fears before Jesus in the Eucharist. And that happened thanks to the generosity of some 200 people.  * [Holy Ghost, Whitman](http://www.holyghostwhitman.org/) Fr. Chris said that many parishes that have Perpetual Adoration are those that are producing vocations and it's both the prayers and the Eucharistic mindset of the parish. **3rd segment:** CatholicTV is the oldest Catholic network in the country founded on January 1, 1955 with a New Year's Day Mass with Cardinal Cushing. From that time, Sunday Mass has been celebrated on television. It started on Granby Street in Boston, right next to Boston University's Catholic center. After a fire, it moved to Newton and then Watertown. The Granby Street studio was on the second floor of a building originally owned by Cardinal O'Connell. While the technology was different, it was remarkably similar to today's setup. The then-Boston Catholic Television moved to a former Raytheon building in Newton. The vision had always been for CatholicTV to have its own home and not be constantly renting. So they purchased a former convent from St. Patrick, Watertown, and built the building out with all the new studios. He gives credit to General Manager Jay Fadden and Chief Engineer Mark Quella for converting a convent to a television studio. They managed to keep the convent chapel and it is now used to celebrate the daily Mass on Boston's channel 68 and on cable. Fr. Bob said it's also great to have a place to pray during the day with the Blessed Sacrament reserved there. Fr. Chris said it's a great place to celebrate Mass even with the cameras on you. Fr. Bob said St. Therese of Lisieux has always been a personal favorite of his and when he came to CatholicTV he promoted her as their patron. She is the patron saint of missionaries and he considers what they do to be missionary. Scot asked him how it's different to be a priest on television rather than in a parish. Fr. Bob said that Msgr. Frank McFarland called it the Parish of the Airwaves. Fr. Bob said he misses the intimacy with people in a community you come to live and come to know people's lives. He still helps out in a couple of parishes on the weekends. But the intimacy he experiences now is unique because when you're in front of a camera it's you and one other person, multiplied by thousands. For the person on the other end of the TV, they are listening to you.  Fr. Chris asked about CatholicTV's reach. Fr. Bob said it reaches beyond the Archdiocese of Boston to most of New England, on Comcast, Verizon, Charter, Sky Angel, RCN and a number of smaller cable outlets. Norwood Light and Braintree Light have cable systems for just those towns, for example. They also have unlimited video on demand on Verizon FIOS. They reach 10 million households. It's a responsibility to be creative and faithful. Scot said there's also lots of content available beyond the television, including CatholicTV.com, an iPhone app, and CatholicTVjr. CatholicTVjr is a widget that anyone can place on their own website or blog so that all of CatholicTV's videos and shows can be watched on those sites. Not only does it help people to learn about their faith, it also drives traffic to their own sites. Fr. Bob said Sean Ward is the guy at CatholicTV responsible for the website and CatholicTV magazine. **4th segment:** Scot said the Daily Mass and the Daily Rosary at the signature programs for CatholicTV because it appeals to many shut-ins and homebound. Fr. Bob said many priests and Eucharistic ministers tell him that the homebound they visit are watching the Daily Mass every day and they leave CatholicTV on all day as a constant companion. Scot asked how it works to schedule priests for every day for the Mass and they bring parishioners with them. Fr. Bob said it's becoming more and more difficult to get priests who are often alone in a parish and have funerals and the like, so he always says how grateful he is for the priests who come in. The Sunday Mass is celebrated at the studios of Channel 7 at 7 am. The more people the priests can bring with them, the more it seems like a real parish experience, which is important to Fr. Bob. Fr. Bob said he likes that the studios are at a parish in a neighborhood and wants to bring that feeling to their broadcast. Fr. Chris said Fr. Reed follows three great priests who led CatholicTV. Msgr. Walter Flaherty started it all after attending a symposium on the new technology of television. From the beginning, CatholicTV has been completely supported by its viewers, which was Msgr. Flaherty's vision. Msgr. Frank McFarland was beloved by staff and viewers alike and gave 27 years of his priesthood to Catholic television. He had a way, a gift to stand in front of a camera and make a connection one-on-one with people, particularly his deep love for the Blessed Mother and the Rosary. The Daily Rosary was the brainchild of Msgr. MacFarland. This summer will mark the 10th anniversary of his death. Msgr. Paul McInerny came in during a difficult time in the history of the Archdiocese and left the network in a good way when Fr. Reed came in six years ago.  Fr. Reed said he's always had a fascination with media in general. They've just completed an incredible upgrade to high definition at CatholicTV, which isn't just new cameras, but every bit of technology, which sets them up to bring their media to every platform and every device available and yet to be built. He hopes to leave the place set for the future so they can continue to bring the Gospel message of Jesus Christ in a difficult time in our society when the Gospel is not always welcome. Scot said other programs on CatholicTV include the Daily Rosary, which is recorded in many different places in the US and the world. Fr. Bob said whenever they go anywhere they take the occasion to record one or two rosaries. This past week they were in Washington DC with the St. Paul's Choir from Cambridge and they prayed the rosary with the boys singing some beautiful motets. Fr. Reed said when he prays the rosary, either personally or for the TV, he thinks of how blessed we are to have the Blessed Mother. He has a beautiful pair of rosary beads that he brought back from Medjugorje in 1990 and gave to his mother. They were used every day by his mother until she went into a surgery from which she didn't recover. Before the surgery she gave him the rosary beads and told him to pray them every day until she got better and as she did not, he is still praying them to this day. **5th segment:** Scot said there are 110 different programs at CatholicTV. Fr. Bob said Catholic Destinations premiered a new episode. Kevin Nelson takes us to various sacred places and shrines and churches all over the US, Canada, and Europe. This latest edition focused on [Bl. John XXIII National Seminary](http://www.blessedjohnxxiii.edu/). He's been to many pilgrimage sites. One of Scot's favorite kinds of episodes is when Kevin visits new cathedrals that are built and he liked the episode on the new cathedral in Los Angeles. Scot asked him about Wow, a Catholic quiz show for kids, mainly 3rd graders. Fr. Bob said our photographer George Martell took some great pictures of the shows recently and they are on our Flickr page. He said the kids are prepared ahead of time with the questions and answers. He tells the kids that they are teaching the audience about whatever the theme of the show is for the day. There is a large audience of 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. There are other programs that highlight archdiocesan priests. Fr. Bill Kelly and Fr. Chip Hines review movies from a Catholic perspective on the show Spotlight. Going My Way with Fr. Chris Hickey and Fr. Paul Rouse sing songs and are interviewed by Fr. Hickey. Fr. Reed hosts House + Home, going into the homes of local Catholic families to see how they make their houses into homes. Fr. Bob said it comes out of his deep respect for families as the domestic church and put the focus on great Catholic families living out the challenge of making a home; to show the beauty and power of family life. They had a special episode about the Pope's home in the Apostolic Palace in Rome. The episode is at [VisitThePope.com](http://www.VisitThePope.com). Scot said people often ask what it's like to work with Cardinal Seán and how he lives and he thinks people are similarly curious about the Pope. Fr. Reed said for the future, CatholicTV is going to all high definition on July 1.