Welcome to The Open Door! (November 17th) Today we discuss theology, bioethics, and evangelizing the culture. We’ll also explore how it can be necessary to challenge one’s academic alma mater. Our welcome guest is Samantha Stephenson. She holds three degrees from Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles). She has hosted the podcast Brave New Us: Bioethics in the Light of the Catholic Faith and blogs at Mama Prays. Her book, Reclaiming Motherhood: Faith and Bioethics in a Culture of Confusion is forthcoming from OSV Press. Stephenson is the mother of three young children. Describing herself as “a stay-at-home, write-from-home, coffee guzzling bookworm and a poor but devoted gardener,” she adds, “my training is in the boot camp of motherhood, and my heart is in praying and writing about all of it.” Among the questions we’ll ask are the following. Please feel free to suggest others.

1. Samantha, if we may, you recently moved from Southern California to Idaho. Have you experienced any culture shock?

2. Could you tell us about your podcast? You’ve had an initial first-rate season. Can we expect another?

3. At your blog Mama Prays you explore a wide range of topics. Is motherhood a vocation that opens one up to the world in a unique way?

4. We’re looking forward to the publication of your first book. How have you structured it and what have you learned in writing it?

5. You make reference to a “culture of confusion.” Does this confusion extend to the core question of what it is to be a human being?

6. Can a secularized society make any sense of the inescapable reality of suffering?

7. You recently challenged your alma mater, Loyola Marymount University, in a way that led to nationwide controversy. A student organization, Women in Politics, sponsored an on-campus fund raiser for Planned Parenthood, the abortion giant. Can you explain just what happened and why?

8. How has the University responded to your criticism?

9. Why is academic freedom important and why does it have limits?

10. Let’s look to the future: what new projects do you have in mind?