My NPR interview on @Pope2UVatican and #Lent
This past weekend I was on NPR's "Interfaith Voices" radio show, discussing the Pope, Twitter, Lent, and Catholic social media.
Listen or download the below:
NPR Interview
Download the mp3 here (9 minutes)
Topics Discussed:
0:55 - Why is the Pope on Twitter?
1:21 - Is the Pope's social media use surprising?
2:10 - What kind of tweets does Pope Benedict send?
2:47 - The Church hierarchy and online egalitarianism
4:21 - Social media in the Diocese of Orlando (my diocese)
5:10 - When social media is most powerful
6:44 - Mormon social media
7:23 - Evangelical Protestant social media
I was a little worried when the host asked the curve-ball question about my own diocese (I didn't know that was coming). If you Google "Catholic social media", the very first hit is an article lamenting our diocesan social media policy.
Our strict policy is a well-known source of tension in the diocese and I've been petitioning to change it for a few years. So I hope I answered the question charitably without throwing my diocese under the bus.
What are your thoughts about the Pope tweeting during Lent?
How to be a better parent? Hang up the phone.
Following my article on hanging up your cell phone, I talked with Sean Herriott on Relevant Radio's "Morning Air". We exchanged a ton of tips and advice on how to free yourself from cell phone slavery. So if you want to be more present to your family in this digital age, listen in:
How to Be a Better Parent
02/08/2012 – "Morning Air" with Sean Herriott
Download the mp3 (23 minutes)
What I’ve Been Up To
Here's a brief update on some articles and interviews I've done in the last couple of months:
Christianity Today Article
Christianity Today, an evangelical magazine started by Billy Graham, has a regular roundtable discussion in each issue. For the month of December they focused on the impact of social media on church fellowship, and they collected some great insights from author Matthew Lee Anderson (MereOrthodoxy.com) and Doug Groothuis, professor of philosophy at Denver seminary.
To balance out those two geniuses, they also asked me to share a few thoughts. You can read the article below.
Also, don't miss the accompanying caricature--that's me in the middle. With my no-look texting, sophisticated suit, and oversized head (which of course suggests an oversized brain), this photo is definitely going on my business card.
FathersForGood.org Articles
For all of the great things the Knights of Colombus do, one of my favorites is FathersForGood.org. The site was designed to strengthen fatherhood and to build better men in general. During the month of January I'll be contributing five articles on fatherhood. Here's the first:
Radio Interviews
Finally, over the last couple months I've done a number of radio interviews. Here were three of my favorites:
Catholic Answers Live
12/08/2011 – “Catholic Answers Live” with Patrick Coffin
TOPIC: New media evangelization
Download the mp3 (10 minutes)
"Morning Air" on Relevant Radio
12/19/2011 – “Morning Air” with Sean Herriott
TOPIC: My favorite books of 2011
Download the mp3 (23 minutes)
Register Radio
11/25/2011 – “Register Radio” with Thom Price and Tim Drake
TOPIC: The Church and New Media book
Download the mp3 (13 minutes)
Catch my FoxNews Interview!
I don't think the full interview is available online, but they've posted the first half in their "Featured Video" section:
I wish they included the second half as we discussed the most common religious questions people are asking online, and then I attempted to explain what barriers people have to faith in the digital world. I'll keep trying to track down the full interview and will post it if I can.
