 Brian Saint-Paul Brian Saint-Paul is the editor of InsideCatholic.com and Crisis Magazine. He has a BA in Philosophy and an MA in Religious Studies from the Catholic University of America, in Washington. D.C. In addition to various positions in journalism, he has served as the associate director of a health institute, a missionary, and a high school teacher.
He lives with his wife and fellow blogger, Zoe, in a historic Baltimore neighborhood, where he obsesses over Late Antiquity and collects Ostrogothic jewelry. What I'm Reading Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire, Jason Goodwin A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century, Barbara W. Tuchman Why Evolution is True, Jerry A. Coyne What I'm Watching The History Channel, though I'm getting sick of the ridiculous alien abduction/ice road trucking-style programs they've been shifting to lately. Unfortunately, the History Channel may not be on my list much longer.
Al Jazeera English, the best news outlet in the world. It has all the interview and documentary quality of the BBC without the anti-religion bias. Note: Al Jazeera English is a different channel from Al Jazeera Arabiya. The Office (the superior BBC version, thank you very much) The Wire (the greatest series in TV history, period) The Simpsons What I'm Listening To
What I'm Playing Empire: Total War (PC)
Fallout 3 (PC) Left 4 Dead (PC) AudioSurf (PC) What I'm Drinking
Resurrection Ale. A Baltimore thing. Sake. |
 Deal W. Hudson Deal W. Hudson is director of InsideCatholic.com and president of the Morley Publishing Group, a Catholic media apostolate in Washington, D.C. Formerly publisher and editor of crisis Magazine for ten years, his articles and comments have been published widely in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, and U.S. News and World Report. He has also appeared on TV and radio news shows such as the O'Reilly Factor, Hannity & Colmes, NBC News, and All Things Considered on National Public Radio.
Hudson worked with Karl Rove in coordinating then-Gov. George W. Bush's outreach to Catholic voters in 2000 and 2004. In October 2003, President Bush appointed him a member of the official delegation from the United States to attend the 25th anniversary celebration of John Paul II's papacy.
Hudson, a former professor of philosophy for 15 years, is the editor and author of eight books. He tells the story of his conversion from Southern Baptist to Catholic in An American Conversion (Crossroad, 2003), and his latest, Onward, Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States, was published in March 2008.
He is married to Theresa Carver Hudson, also a Baptist convert, and they have two children, Hannah, 20, and Cyprian, 12, who was adopted from Romania in 2001.
What I'm Reading Carl Hiassen, Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport William Trevor, A Bit on the Side (stories) Julian Green, Avarice House William Dalrymple, From the Holy Mountain Deborah Davis, Strapless: Madame X and the Scandal that Shocked Belle Epoque Paris What I'm Listening To
Pierre Boulez, cond., Mahler 2nd Symphony Leonard Bernstein, cond., Symphonic Dances from West Side Story Film music of Ennio Morricone Jimmy Webb singing his own songs ("By the Time I Get to Phoenix") Tony Bennett, Duets What I'm Playing Badmintion
What I'm Drinking
Sweet Southern iced tea (with lemon); hot green tea -- this never changes.
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 Eric Pavlat A lifelong Maryland Democrat, Eric Pavlat was raised in a pro-choice household, voted pro-choice, attended pro-choice demonstrations, and belonged to pro-choice organizations. He became pro-life after learning more about biology and human development. He also left his agnosticism and entered the Catholic Church in 1996, becoming a lay Dominican shortly thereafter. Eric has defended the pro-life position in radio and television interviews and participated in public debate on the topic of assisted suicide. He holds a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Secondary Education from the University of Maryland at College Park, as well as an M.A.T.L. in Curriculum and Instruction from Nova Southeastern University.
He teaches 10th grade English at a public school in Maryland, helps his wife homeschool their six children, and does far too much genealogical research for his own good.
What I'm reading:
Popeye vol. 2: Well, Blow Me Down! by E.C. Segar
"The Fix" (political blog on www.washingtonpost.com)
The Stranger, Albert Camus
Divine Mercy in My Soul, St. Faustina
What I'm watching:
The Tick (animated series) on DVD
PBS's Jane Austen movies
Anything by Iranian director Majid Majidi
Spiderwick Chronicles, Prince Caspian, and other fantasies as available.
What I'm listening to:
Jeff Deyo
Toby Mac
NPR
Children. Lots and lots of children.
What I'm playing:
Set (card game)
Gloom (card game)
Mastermind
Super Mario Galaxy on Wii
Wii Sports: boxing and (sigh) golf
What I'm drinking:
Red tea (Rooibos)
Mocha
Chicken broth with lemon and pepper, but only when I'm ill. |
 Irene Lagan
In addition to her work at the radio, Irene writes for several publications and is a student of theology and intercultural studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University. She holds a Masters degree in philosophy, and studied biology, psychology and art therapy during her undergraduate years and beyond.
She served as managing editor at the National Catholic Bioethics Center while in Boston, and has been published in Ethics & Medics, the National Catholic Register, Zenit, Franciscan Way, the Arlington Catholic Herald, and The Boston Globe. In addition, she has taught university students as an adjunct professor and has consulted in the area of communications and development for non-profit organizations.
Originally from New York and Boston, Irene has always had a love for meeting people on travel adventures, mostly of the missionary type. Her ventures have led her to disparate places, including France, the south Texas desert, Calcutta, and Bosnia. She also loves art and culture, history, the great outdoors, and has a keen interest in all things having to do with nutrition and health.
What I’m Reading
Almost finished with A Soldier of the Great War, by Mark Helprin
What I’m Watching
Just beginning a PBS documentary series on the Roman Empire
What I’m Listening To
Hem
What I’m Playing
Fetch, with my cat
What I’m Drinking
It’s hard to go wrong with wine here in Rome. A light Prosecco is nice, as well. And water, with gas.
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 Jason Negri Jason works for a biotech software company, and is growing a garden and a law practice in his spare time, as well as teaching as an adjunct for the graduate education program of a local university. Epitomizing the maxim “educated beyond the means of one’s intelligence”, he has a BA in History & French and an MS in Education Administration from Franciscan University of Steubenville in OH, and a JD from Ave Maria School of Law in Michigan. He has worked for the International Task Force on Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide and for various non-profit organizations. Jason has political aspirations and has run for local office twice, once in Ohio and once in Michigan. Both times, he lost by 17 votes, and both time he consoled himself by saying he was glad he didn’t win anyway.
He and his wife Samantha make their home in Michigan and have 4 great kids, who they nonetheless routinely threaten to sell for scientific experiments. The kids are all homeschooled.
What I'm Reading Tales of Deltora, Emily Rodda (really, it’s for the kids); The Closing of the American Mind, Alan Bloom;
(I'm looking for recommendations. Nothing Russian, please)
What I'm Watching Lost. That’s how I’m usually feeling, too.
What I'm Listening To
Spock’s Beard, Queen’s Greatest Hits, Nickel Creek, Anything 80’s,
What I'm Playing Battle for Middle Earth II
Starcraft
Civilization II
Cities & Knights of Catan (with the 3 older kids)
Disney Charades (with the 4-year old)
What I'm Drinking
Red wine & beer. Not at the same time. Usually. |
 Joseph Susanka Joseph Susanka has been doing development work for institutions of Catholic higher education since his graduation from Thomas Aquinas College in 1999. In early 2003, he decided to pursue his interest in film, attending classes in screenwriting, cinematography, and film history at Los Angeles City College. Fortified by just enough cinematic knowledge to be dangerous, he followed Greeley's advice to go West -- a move, oddly enough, that involved heading East to Wyoming. Accompanied by his wife and four (at the time) sons, he came to rest in the town of Lander, "where Stetsons meet Birkenstocks." He spends his time exploring the beautiful Wind River Mountains, keeping track of his (now) five sons, and thanking his lucky stars for Netflix. What I'm Reading What Are People For? by Wendell Berry
The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O'Connor In the Light of Christ: Writings in the Western Tradition by Lucy Beckett Something like an Autobiography by Akira Kurosawa
What I'm Watching Lars von Trier's Europa and Dancer in the Dark
Battle Star Galactica, Season 3
The Los Angeles Dodgers
What I'm Listening To
The Keyboard Concertos of J.S. Bach performed by Glenn Gould and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Northwest Journey by Morten Lauridsen
The Writer's Almanac
What I'm Playing X-Wing Collector's Edition
EyeMaze's Grow 3.0
What I'm Drinking
Glenfiddich, occasionally
Kool-Aid, as little as possible
Coffee, continuously |
 Laurance Alvarado Laurance Alvarado is a senior director with a Dubai-based investment and economic development firm and focuses on the Far East. In his free time, he works with the bishop of the Vicariate of Arabia to help bring attention and badly needed funds to the growing Church there. In addition, Laurance leads a chant choir and a Catholic social teaching Workshop in a parish in Doha, Qatar.
For fun, he race Porsches, bicycles, and competes in triathlons. He's a Texas Aggie who served his country in the Air Force. He loves history, strategy, competition, free enterprise, dogs, and -- most of all -- his wife of 14 years, Kathy.
What I’m Reading
The Great Upheaval, Jay Winik
Cities of Tomorrow: An Intellectual History of Urban Planning and Design in the Twentieth Century, Peter Hall World Cities Beyond the West: Globalization, Development and Inequality, Josef Gugler What I’m Watching Anything Formula 1; 30 Rock; Top Gear, the optimal racing line and the tach on my car; countryside during long bike rides
What I’m Listening To
Podcasts: Techtronic Sound, VeloNews, Autosport, F1 Weekly, K Street Catholic, Car Talk, Fresh Air, The FredCast, Chant Cast
What I’m Playing
Crysis, Call of Duty IV
What I’m Drinking
Maker’s Mark is a staple. Then, my own creation: Campari, Tito’s Vodka (the best vodka in the world), a splash of Cinzano, and orange juice (can also substitute grapefruit juice). Stir and pour over fresh ice cubes; garnish with a fruit slice or mint sprig.
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 Margaret Cabaniss Margaret Cabaniss is the managing editor of InsideCatholic.com. She joined crisis in 2002 after graduating from the University of the South with a degree in English and currently lives in Baltimore, MD. When not correcting her boss's grammar, she enjoys hiking, reading everything from cookbooks to the classics to popular history, buying more CDs than she can afford, and complaining about insipid young-adult masses.
What I’m Reading Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach What I'm Watching
Grey Gardens -- the original documentary and HBO's new movie
What I'm Listening To
Middle Cyclone, by Neko Case
What I'm Playing Second mandolin in the Mandoleers, an Arlington, VA-based mandolin orchestra (yes, such a thing actually exists)
What I'm Drinking
Campari and gin
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 Mark Stricherz Mark Stricherz is the author of Why the Democrats are Blue: How Secular Liberals Hijacked the People's Party. Encounter Books will release the book on October 25.
He was born in San Francisco in 1970 and raised in the Bay Area. He earned a B.A. in political science from Santa Clara University and an M.A. in the social sciences from the University of Chicago. In between, he worked, as part of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, for an inner city housing agency in Baton Rouge, La.; boiled crawdads and sold fish at a seafood market; and prayed and worked with Benedictine monks in Collegeville, Minn.
His articles have appeared in many national publications, including the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Weekly Standard, New Republic, Christianity Today, and National Catholic Register. He keeps a blog at www.newcatholicpolitics.com.
He lives in Capitol Hill with his wife, Angy, and their daughter, Grace.
What I'm Reading
If They Only Listened to Us: What Women Voters Want Politicians to Hear by Melinda Henneberger
Potomac Beach by Eron Shosteck
Psalms by You Know Who
What I'm Listening To
Bob Dylan: The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 [Rare & Unreleased] 1961-1991
"Ten at Ten" on San Francisco radio station KFOG
What I'm Watching
My daughter, once during the workweek and on Saturday mornings
The Office
Baseball Tonight
Notre Dame football games
San Francisco Giants and 49ers games, whenever they're on TV
What I'm Playing Hoops, baby What I'm Drinking Yuengling |
 Simcha Fisher Simcha Fisher irrationally started blogging for InsideCatholic three weeks before expecting to give birth.
She holds a BA in Literature from Thomas More College in Merrimack, New Hampshire, where she met her future husband, Damien, in the woods. He had the gin, and she had the tonic and lime. They will soon have eight children under the age of 11.
She sometimes freelances for Faith and Family magazine and online journals, but divides most of her time between homeschooling and hiding from the children. The Fishers live in Southern New Hampshire and are thinking of building an addition very, very soon. What I'm Reading Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, by John Le Carre The Loved One, by Evelyn Waugh The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon Perelandra, by C. S. Lewis Are You My Mother?, by P. D. Eastman What I'm Listening To Gnarls Barkley Amy Winehouse Brahms Mahler Schubert Bach Steely Dan
What I'm Playing peek-a-boo What I'm Watching Lost, season 3 NYPD Blue, season 4 The first half of lots of guy movies (explosions make me fall asleep) What I'm Drinking nettle tea (mmm, tastes like hot alfalfa sprouts) tincture of raspberry leaf one lousy cup of coffee per day deep draughts of self-pity eventually, g-and-t again |
 Steve Skojec Steve Skojec is a veteran blogger and new freelance writer who supports his addiction to the written word with a day job as an account executive for a crisis communications firm. A cradle Catholic who grew up with folk masses in a parish featuring shag carpet in the sanctuary, he fell in love with the Traditional Latin Mass in 2004 and hasn’t looked back. He has a BA in Communications and Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville where he graduated with honors in 2001.
Steve has worked as a consultant, art coordinator, administrative assistant, cemetery groundskeeper, assistant TV producer, religion teacher, Realtor®, missionary, desert Humvee tour guide, and pizza guy (not in that order). He lives with his wife Jamie and their three adorable but hyperactive children in Manassas, Virginia.
What I'm Reading
I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It, by Barbara Sher
So Help Me God: The Founding Fathers and the First Great Battle Over Church and State, by Forrest Church
An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World’s Problems, by Glenn Beck
The Internet. I feel like I’m reading about 75% of the Internet.
What I'm Watching
American Idol (Yeah, I know. Pipe down.)
Lost
House, M.D.
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
Ghost in The Shell: Stand Alone Complex
What I'm Listening To
Amy Winehouse; One Republic; U2; Everything But The Girl; Michael Buble; John Mayer; Mozart: The Violin Concertos; Glenn Beck Insider Podcasts
What I'm Playing Half Life 2: Episode One (PC)
Khet: The Laser Game (very cool board game - I recommend it!)
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
What I'm Drinking (Not All at Once)
Wine: Milton Park Shiraz 2006; Alamos Malbec 2006
Beer: Yvengling: Porter, Lager, and Black & Tan; Guinness
The Good Stuff: Elijah Craig Bourbon – 18 Year Old; Hennessy Cognac V.S.O.P.; Dirty Martinis (Gin)
Other: Rich, Chocolatey Ovaltine, Properly Made Coffee/Espresso Drinks |
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 Todd M. Aglialoro Todd M. Aglialoro once dreamed of a career in the Navy, but his intense dislike of boats, open water, wearing uniforms, and obeying authority ultimately dashed those hopes, and so he turned to his fallback dream: Catholic publishing.
Today he is the editor-in-chief for St. Benedict Press/TAN Books. A New York native, he lives in exile in Red Sox Nation with his wife and six children.
What I'm Reading
Manuscripts; apparently not my wife's mind. What I'm Listening To
The pitter-patter of little feet. Please make it stop.
What I'm Watching
Little League games
What I'm Playing
To about a 14. What I'm Drinking
Rangpur and tonic
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 Zoe Romanowsky
Zoë holds a Master's degree in counseling and has undergraduate degrees in psychology and public relations. She is trained through the Coaches Training Institute (CTI) and coaches clients in her private practice. She has worked with executives and teams and led nationwide retreats, conferences and workshops.
For the last six years, Zoë has consulted in the areas of communications, public relations, fundraising, event planning and non-profit development. In the past, she has worked as a professional stage actor, a radio producer and host, and most recently, an extra on HBO's The Wire.
A big fan of the Slow Food movement, Zoë is involved in local and regional efforts to preserve food culture, buy local and eat in season. She's interested in Catholic social teaching, health & wellness, urban regeneration and many issues in which she has no particular expertise. She loves viewing great art, solving the world's problems over food and wine, and reading any book by Ruth Reichl.
Originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, she has made her way around North America and currently lays claim to a historic row house in Baltimore with her husband, a certain fellow InsideCatholic.com blogger.
What I'm Reading
The Habit of Being: The Letters of Flannery O'Connor, edited by Sally Fitzgerald.
What I'm Watching
Who The *#$?! Is Jackson Pollak? (documentary film)
What I'm Listening To
Ryan Adams (no, not Bryan Adams); Dandy Warhols
What I'm Playing
Sudoku
What I'm Drinking
H2O
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