500 episodes listed below
Catholic clarity for a disordered public square.
Ave Maria in the Afternoon Segments treats theology, politics, Scripture, and culture as connected moral questions. Its segments move between solo commentary and guest conversation, with Catholic teaching used as the central frame for judging public life.
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Ave Maria in the Afternoon Segments presents Catholic talk as a sequence of focused arguments, interviews, and scriptural reflections. It is not casual chat. The show prefers a question, a distinction, and then a patient effort to put the matter in right order. Marcus Peter is heard across the segments introducing guests, framing books, and pressing cultural claims against Catholic doctrine. Faith and reason are treated as partners, not rivals. In one conversation, Dr. Christopher Kayser connects classroom experience with arguments from Augustine, Aquinas, and other thinkers, answering the common assumption that belief requires intellectual surrender. Political episodes carry the same structure into public life. A segment on being American and Catholic uses Augustine’s City of God to argue that patriotism becomes spiritually dangerous when it is elevated to the altar. The show does not hide its judgments. It can sound indignant when public spectacle, nationalism, or civic self-worship is presented as normal adult discourse. Its moral commentary also takes on sexual liberation, especially through Nathaniel Blake’s argument that promised freedom has left people lonelier, less fulfilled, and more alienated. Yet the show’s aim is not outrage for its own sake. Even when the language is sharp, the preferred endpoint is a Catholic account of reality: ordered loves, holiness, charity, Eucharist, Scripture, and Christ’s lordship over every lesser loyalty. Recurring Scripture segments with Rob Corzine of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology draw readings into questions of reverence, Easter faith, and daily engagement with the Bible. Current-events conversations with Dr. Matthew Bunsen place papal news, conflict, Africa, and public criticism of the Holy Father inside the wider mission of proclaiming the gospel. Other episodes turn to Pope Benedict XVI, the Declaration of Independence, and the intellectual habits behind American liberty. The format is explanatory and rhythmic, with recaps after breaks and repeated summaries that keep the thread intact. It suits listeners who want Catholic formation in the middle of noisy public life. It also suits those who prefer conviction over neutrality, so long as the conviction is argued rather than merely announced.
Made for: Best for Catholics and serious Christian listeners who want doctrine, Scripture, and moral commentary applied to politics, culture, books, and Church news. It also fits curious listeners who appreciate structured religious argument more than casual banter.
What sets it apart: The show joins catechesis and current-affairs commentary with a segment cadence that keeps complex theology spoken and accessible. It is unusually explicit about ordering public loyalties under Catholic faith.
Listen to individual segments of Ave Maria in the Afternoon, with detailed information about the guests and additional links for futher reading. avemariapm.substack.com
Based on 4 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Marcus Peter turns Catholic doctrine into clear interviews about belief, public conflict, and the practical consequences of theological distinctions.
Marcus Peter builds each segment around a direct question and a guest equipped to answer it, moving from church news into doctrine, moral philosophy, or public argument.
This is where guardian angels lose their greeting-card wings and you get the theology.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A Catholic news conversation that treats papal speech, conflict, and peace as one moral argument.
This episode is strongest when it keeps the focus on church teaching rather than letting the discussion drift into political noise. The move from Pope Benedict XVI's birthday to papal speech, peace, and public criticism gives the conversation a clear center, and Marcus Peter and…
A clear Catholic guide to angels that cuts through common spiritual confusion.
This episode offers a careful Catholic lesson on angels, beginning with the needed correction that people do not become angels after death. Father Mike Driscoll is at his best when he separates human beings from purely spiritual creatures, explains guardian angels, and draws a…
Aquinas, truth, and the restoration at the heart of divine mercy.
Divine Mercy Sunday frames the episode around a question that can unsettle even committed believers: how can God be all-merciful and perfectly just at once? Marcus Peter brings that tension to Dr.
A pointed conversation on critical theory, coercive remedies, and the Christian meaning of love.
Marcus Peter's conversation with Michael Terrien looks at critical theory as a promise to end injustice by tearing down hierarchies and social structures of dependency.
Two Bible translators unpack Scripture's hardest passages, from Revelation's 666 to the Witch of Endor.
Live sermons with Easter-shaped urgency.
Host Marcus Peter interviews Dr.
This episode explores the Jewish roots of the Eucharist, focusing on the Old Testament figure Melchizedek and his offering of bread and wine to Abraham as a precursor to the Christian sacrament.
This episode explores the theological and personal significance of Good Friday, death, and living a Christian life through a discussion with Dr.
This episode offers a Good Friday meditation on Mary's sorrow during Jesus' crucifixion, exploring themes of suffering, love, and redemption through Scripture and the Stabat Mater hymn.
This episode features an interview with Fr.
Host Marcus Peter interviews Michael Terrien about critical theory's pervasive influence in modern society.
Marcus Vita interviews Luma Sims, an Ethics and Public Policy Center fellow, about her essay “Re-Americanizing America” and the recovery of an American identity rooted in creed and covenant.
Marcus Peter interviews Gregory Grimes, Associate Instructor in Fundamental and Systematic Theology at Villanova University, about Pope Leo XIV's first year and the Augustinian themes in his sermons and new encyclical.
Marcus Peter and Dr.
This episode explores how the sexual revolution has led to increased loneliness and dissatisfaction in relationships, featuring an interview with author Nathaniel Blake who argues that rejecting natural law and Christian teachings has harmed societal well-being.
This episode explores the compatibility of faith and reason through an interview with Dr.
This episode discusses the biblical readings for the week, focusing on the Road to Emmaus Gospel and Peter's Pentecost sermon, exploring their theological significance in the context of Easter.
This episode explores St.
This episode analyzes a week of bizarre public and media events, including religious misstatements, political feuds, and cultural insanity, questioning whether society has lost its collective mind.
Marcus Peter opens with Dr.
This episode features an interview with Matthew Spaulding about his book on the intellectual framework and historical significance of the Declaration of Independence, particularly in the context of its 250th anniversary.
Marcus Peter opens by noting the rumors that often surround angels in a society where Christian and biblical teaching is less familiar.