The Open Door

The Open Door

Please join us at The Open Door! We discuss everything from art to politics, from foreign policy to technology - all in light of the Church's doctrine and intellectual tradition. The Open Door aims to be an intellectual and spiritual feast for Catholics and others who are looking for thoughtful discussion about our world and all of reality.

Episodes

June 25, 2025 65 mins
In this episode of The Open Door, Thomas Storck, Andrew Sorokowski, and Christopher Zehnder interview Matthew Tsakanikas on his book A Catechesis on Deification, Transfiguration & the Luminous Mysteries.

This book is a catechetical exploration of Christian deification, deeply rooted in the theological insights of Saint Athanasius and other Church Fathers. The work connects the mysteries of the Rosary with the transformative grac...
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In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck, Christopher Zehnder, and Andrew Sorokowski interview Carlo Lancellotti, author of Touchstone article entitled "America vs. Europe: Two Roads to Totalitarianism" (June 4, 2025)

Questions asked:

1. In your article you argue that although Europe was ahead of the US in terms of "overt" secularization, American "cultural de-Christianization" actually preceded Europe's. Could you e...
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In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck, Andrew Sorokowski, and Christopher Zehnder discuss religion in the United States. (May 14, 2025)
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In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck, Andrew Sorokowski, and Christopher Zehnder interview Christopher Reilly on his book AI and Sin: How Today’s Technology Motivates Evil. (April 2, 2025)

Artificial intelligence technology (AI) motivates persons’ engagement in sin. With this startling argument drawn from Catholic theology and technological insight, Christopher M. Reilly, Th.D. takes on both critics and proponen...
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In this episode of The Open Door, Thomas Storck, Christopher Zehnder, and Andrew Sorokowski Discuss Politics (March 12, 2025)
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In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck, Andrew Sorokowski, and Christopher Zehnder interview Hyrum Lewis on the Left/Right Binary.
  1.  Can you explain the thesis of your book? Why do you speak of the Left and Right as being a myth?
  2. How did you come to see through the Left/Right binary?
  3.  Given some of the obvious counter-examples to the prevailing narrative, why is it so established and powerful? Intellectual lazine...
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In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck, Andrew Sorokowski, and Christopher Zehnder speak with Gideon Lazar, the Coordinator of the St. Basil Institute.

They ask the following questions: 
  1. You are the coordinator of the St Basil Institute which your website describes as "A think tank dedicated to the renewal of theological discourse on the doctrine of creation within the Catholic Church." Could you comment on bot...
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In this episode of The Open Door, Thomas Storck and Christopher Zehnder interview Vicente Hargous, attorney, Professor of Constitutional Law in the Universidad Finis Terrae, Santiago, Chile, and editor of the online review, Suroeste. https://revistasuroeste.cl/

1. On your website you write regarding Hispanic America that, "It is not difficult to find our land on maps, where we are, but to understand what we are and what we are calle...
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In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck, Andrew Sorokowski, and Christopher Zehnder interview Christopher Villiers on his book Versing the Mystery: Poems (December 11, 2024)

This collection of poems verses the mystery of God and Creation. Exploring the stories and characters of Scripture, Classical history and myth, the reader confronts the glory of God and is plunged into the depths of the human condition. This wo...
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In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck and Andrew Sorokowski interview JonMarc Grodi of the Coming Home Network. 

Some of the questions asked include the following:
  1.  What is the Coming Home Network and how did it begin?
  2. How successful has it been? Do you have statistics on home many non-Catholics you've helped bring into the Church?
  3. What are the chief obstacles in your experience that prevent Protestants, and per...
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In this episode, the panelists of The Open Door talk with Matthew Tsakanikas on Christian Zionism and its Theological Distortions (October 30, 2024)

1. What is Zionism, and what specifically, is religious or Christian Zionism? 
2.  Why is it a theological error? How does it misread the Bible, particularly passages such as Romans 11:29?

3.  What are its origins?

4. Does it have much presence outside the U.S.? If not, why do you think so...
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In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Valerie Niemeyer, and Christopher Zehnder discuss the multi-faceted issue of immigration. How can we better understand the new waves of immigrants, whether in the United States or Europe? What does the Church teach about the ethical issues that come into play? How can we assess the politics of immigration? What role should our parishes play and how might we best respond at a p...
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This week on The Open Door (August 7th) we will explore the thought of Servant of God Romano Guardini, a widely influential theologian whom both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis deeply admired. So did Flannery O’Connor! Guardini is often thought of as a unifying figure in the Church. Our welcome guest is Christine Myers Miller. She is a graduate of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies in Marriage and Family in Washin...
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On this episode of The Open Door (July 24), panelists Jim Hanink, Valerie Niemeyer, and Christopher Zehnder discuss the Catholic traditionalist movement. Our special focus will be “independent” traditionalists. How do they differ from other traditionalists? What leads them to “LeFebvreism”? What can we learn from the ongoing debate about the movement’s role in the Church? Our welcome guest is Andrew Mioni. He is a graduate of Kansa...
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In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Valerie Niemeyer, and Christopher Zehnder discuss Catholic social thought and economics. That means taking a long, hard look at capitalism in practice and the dominance of corporations. We’ll explore the nature of usury and what’s at issue in a fair wage. We’ll consider the State as a political community and the family as the cornerstone of social justice. We’ll talk about per...
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In this episode of The Open Door (June 26),  panelists Jim Hanink, Christopher Zehnder, and Valerie Niemeyer discuss the role of spiritual direction. Just what is it? What is the ministry of the spiritual director? Our special and welcome guest is Msgr. Patrick Gaalaas. He is a priest of the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma. Msgr. Gaalaas retired from parish work in 2022 at the age of 75. But “retirement” has led to “redirecti...
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This week on The Open Door (June 12) we complete our series on education. Our focus is developing Catholic textbooks that give history its deepest perspective. Our welcome guest is Christopher Zehnder, M.A. He is the General Editor for the Catholic Textbook Project. A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College, he has worked as a graphic artist, journalist, school headmaster, and teacher of history, literature, theology, and mathematics. M...
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In this episode of The Open Door (May 29, 2024), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer talk about the work of State Catholic Conference Directors. Our focus will be on the role that they can play in developing Catholic education. Our welcome guest is Tom Venzor. He has served as the Executive Director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference since 2016. Prior to this, he served as the Associate Director for Pro-L...
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In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer continue our discussion of education. We’ll focus on preparing, and supporting, Catholic school teachers. Our welcome guest is Deacon Omar Gutiérrez, the President and Executive Director of the Evangelium Institute. An expert on Catholic Social Teaching, he has been published in many print and online periodicals, has authored several boo...
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Here at The Open Door, we are turning our attention to education for the next few episodes. This week (May 1) we will consider the growing trend of homeschooling. Our special guest is Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur. She is a lifelong Catholic who has been homeschooling her three children, two of whom are grown, for 17 years. In a welcome effort to provide both information and inspiration for homeschool families, she has managed, for ove...
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