Kolbecast

296 Tips for Testing Success

AMDG. Standardized testing is a minefield for parents and students, but it does not have to be. Kolbe alum Colin and current Kolbe senior Tobias join the Kolbecast to share their firsthand experiences taking the ACT, SAT, CLT, and PSAT. The duo explains the differences between the tests, breaks down how scoring works, and shares the study strategies that helped them succeed. Whether you are a parent guiding your child through the testing process or a student preparing for your first exam, this episode is a must-listen.  
Links mentioned & relevant: 
Taking the Classic Learning Test (CLT) as a Kolbe student 
College Entrance & AP Exams article in Kolbe Academy Help Center 
Career Guidance & Discernment section of Kolbe Academy Help Center (including college planning) 
College Planning Timeline 
College Planning section of Kolbe Academy website 
Related Kolbecast episodes: 
265 Chosen to Be a Saint, Commencement 2025 speeches including from Colin Lengyel and Brendan Murphy 
163 Postcards from France 
193 STEM, State Schools, and Sibling Dynamics  
38 Substance Matters with Classic Learning Test founder Jeremy Tate 
Have questions or suggestions for future episodes or a story of your own experience that you’d like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Send your thoughts to podcast@kolbe.org and be a part of the Kolbecast odyssey.  
We’d be grateful for your feedback! Please share your thoughts with us via this Kolbecast survey! 
The Kolbecast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most podcast apps. By leaving a rating and review in your podcast app of choice, you can help the Kolbecast reach more listeners. The Kolbecast is also on Kolbe's YouTube channel (audio only with subtitles).  Using the filters on our website, you can sort through the episodes to find just what you're looking for. However you listen, spread the word about the Kolbecast! 

295 Office Hours with Clara Davison of Holy Heroes

AMDG. Kolbe Alumna and Holy Heroes brand manager Clara Davidson joins the Kolbecast to share how homeschooling served her both personally and professionally, her experience working in a family business, how to talk to children about complex topics, and what is next for Holy Heroes. Don’t miss this insider’s look into a beloved Catholic company!  
Links mentioned & relevant: 
Holy Heroes 
St. Kateri Tekakwitha Glory Story with Clara’s interview of Jake Finkbonner 
Very Young Catholic series 
Kolbecast episode 63 The Saints Speak for Themselves with Ken and Kerri Davison, the Holy Heroes parents 
Have questions or suggestions for future episodes or a story of your own experience that you’d like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Send your thoughts to podcast@kolbe.org and be a part of the Kolbecast odyssey.  
We’d be grateful for your feedback! Please share your thoughts with us via this Kolbecast survey! 
The Kolbecast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most podcast apps. By leaving a rating and review in your podcast app of choice, you can help the Kolbecast reach more listeners. The Kolbecast is also on Kolbe's YouTube channel (audio only with subtitles).  Using the filters on our website, you can sort through the episodes to find just what you're looking for. However you listen, spread the word about the Kolbecast! 

294 Physics and the Formed Mind

AMDG. Steven and Bonnie are joined by Kolbe’s Megan Lengyel and Leslie Spencer to discuss physics. Physics can be a course that many find intimidating in the high school years, yet it provides an amazing look into the modern natural sciences while exploring the theories behind everything from motion to electricity and light. In this episode, we discuss the place of physics in a classical curriculum, the challenges to including physics in a homeschooling program, and the benefits of undertaking the challenge.  
Links mentioned & relevant: 
Kolbe Academy Graduation Requirements and Awards 
College Planning information from Kolbe Academy 
Academics & Advising section of Help Center 
Related Kolbecast episodes: 
237 Unearthing a Broader Worldview with Mrs. Leslie Spencer 
114 Kolbe Past, Present, and Future with Kolbe Academy executive director Mary Rowles 
 263 Exploring God’s Cosmos: Astronomy for Everyday People 
278 Daniel Kuebler on the Compatibility of Catholicism and Evolution 
290 There Is No Neutral with Brett Salkeld 
Have questions or suggestions for future episodes or a story of your own experience that you’d like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Send your thoughts to podcast@kolbe.org and be a part of the Kolbecast odyssey.  
We’d be grateful for your feedback! Please share your thoughts with us via this Kolbecast survey! 
The Kolbecast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most podcast apps. By leaving a rating and review in your podcast app of choice, you can help the Kolbecast reach more listeners. The Kolbecast is also on Kolbe's YouTube channel (audio only with subtitles).  Using the filters on our website, you can sort through the episodes to find just what you're looking for. However you listen, spread the word about the Kolbecast! 

293 Joan Watson on the Pilgrimage of Daily Living

AMDG. Today, following this Jubilee Year of Hope, we welcome Joan Watson back to the Kolbecast. We’ve talked about pilgrimages in the past, but with the release of her new book Making a Pilgrimage, a Companion for Catholics, we’re able to focus a bit more on approaching life as a pilgrim. We also take the opportunity to live vicariously through Joan’s experiences on pilgrimages throughout the years.
Links mentioned & relevant: 
Making a Pilgrimage: A Companion for Catholics 
Follow @stpaulcenter @emmausroadpublishing and @joan.m.watson on Instagram 
Opening the Holy Door 
Joan’s website 
Pilgrimage to Poland and Lithuania with Joan Watson October 2026 
Related Kolbecast episodes: 
235 The Disposition of Pilgrimage and 251 A Year of the Lord’s Favor with Joan Watson 
183 Gratuitous Gifts: Charisms with Sherry Weddell 
Have questions or suggestions for future episodes or a story of your own experience that you’d like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Send your thoughts to podcast@kolbe.org and be a part of the Kolbecast odyssey.  
We’d be grateful for your feedback! Please share your thoughts with us via this Kolbecast survey! 
The Kolbecast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most podcast apps. By leaving a rating and review in your podcast app of choice, you can help the Kolbecast reach more listeners. The Kolbecast is also on Kolbe's YouTube channel (audio only with subtitles).  Using the filters on our website, you can sort through the episodes to find just what you're looking for. However you listen, spread the word about the Kolbecast! 

292 Dale Ahlquist on G.K. Chesterton, the Complete Thinker

Many people know Dale Ahlquist through his television show, his many writings, or through his work as the president of the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton. Today Steven, Bonnie, and Kolbe Academy marketing director Josh Beckman get to hear more about G.K. Chesterton, both as a man and about his writings. So whether you’re a longtime Chesterton fan or new to his work, you’re sure to enjoy this conversation about the Apostle of Common Sense.  
Links mentioned & relevant: 
I Also Had My Hour: An Alternative Autobiography of G.K. Chesterton by Dale Ahlquist 
Books about G.K. Chesterton by Dale Ahlquist in the Chesterton Society online store 
The Chestertons and the Golden Key by Nancy Brown 
Related Kolbecast episodes 
252 The Timeliness of Fulton Sheen with Cheryl Hughes 
49 Revealed through Story and 253 Classical Literature Appetizers with Joseph Pearce  
Have questions or suggestions for future episodes or a story of your own experience that you’d like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Send your thoughts to podcast@kolbe.org and be a part of the Kolbecast odyssey.  
We’d be grateful for your feedback! Please share your thoughts with us via this Kolbecast survey! 
The Kolbecast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most podcast apps. By leaving a rating and review in your podcast app of choice, you can help the Kolbecast reach more listeners. The Kolbecast is also on Kolbe's YouTube channel (audio only with subtitles).  Using the filters on our website, you can sort through the episodes to find just what you're looking for. However you listen, spread the word about the Kolbecast! 

291 Good Saint Joseph - Mystery Keeper with Fr. Serafino Lanzetta

AMDG. Any time is a good time to meditate on the life of St. Joseph.  Fr. Lanzetta gives us many insights into the life of this extremely important saint and how, through a devotion to St. Joseph, this wonderful saint will lead us to the Blessed Mother and Our Lord.  
Links mentioned & relevant: 
The Silent Witness of Nazareth by Serafino Lanzetta 
Radio Immaculata 
Marian Franciscans 
Kolbecast episode 280 St. Maximilian Kolbe and Marian Consecration with Dave VanVickle 
Have questions or suggestions for future episodes or a story of your own experience that you’d like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Send your thoughts to podcast@kolbe.org and be a part of the Kolbecast odyssey.  
We’d be grateful for your feedback! Please share your thoughts with us via this Kolbecast survey! 
The Kolbecast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most podcast apps. By leaving a rating and review in your podcast app of choice, you can help the Kolbecast reach more listeners. The Kolbecast is also on Kolbe's YouTube channel (audio only with subtitles).  Using the filters on our website, you can sort through the episodes to find just what you're looking for. However you listen, spread the word about the Kolbecast! 

290 There Is No Neutral with Brett Salkeld

AMDG. Theologian, podcaster, and author Dr. Brett Salkeld wants to make every class Catholic. Brett contends that faith and science are complementary. Though the two fields answer two fundamentally different questions, their conclusions are inseparably intertwined.  
In this lively episode, Brett discusses his experience as a homeschooling parent, his background as a diocesan theologian, and how he approaches complex topics with his own children. 
Links mentioned & relevant: 
Making Every Class Catholic has links to Dr. Salkeld’s various online offerings 
Thinking Faith podcast 
Dr. Salkeld’s Substack 
Educating for Eternity: A Teacher’s Companion for Making Every Class Catholic 
Dr. Daniel Kuebler on the Thinking Faith Podcast 
Related Kolbecast episodes 
222 Something No One Has Understood Before and 278 On Compatibility of Evolution and Catholicism with Dr. Daniel Kuebler 
52 Through a Catholic Lens with Kim Crawford 
Have questions or suggestions for future episodes or a story of your own experience that you’d like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Send your thoughts to podcast@kolbe.org and be a part of the Kolbecast odyssey.  
We’d be grateful for your feedback! Please share your thoughts with us via this Kolbecast survey! 
The Kolbecast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most podcast apps. By leaving a rating and review in your podcast app of choice, you can help the Kolbecast reach more listeners. The Kolbecast is also on Kolbe's YouTube channel (audio only with subtitles).  Using the filters on our website, you can sort through the episodes to find just what you're looking for. However you listen, spread the word about the Kolbecast! 

289 The Homeschool Compass Part 2

AMDG. Homeschooling parents often feel the pressure to do it all. But sometimes what they need most is a lighter load. In this continuation of our conversation with Curriculum Project Manager Erica Treat, we explore the range of additional support available to parents. Whether you want access to supplemental lectures from our skilled teaching staff or want to have a teacher on call for grading support and questions, Kolbe has something for you.  
Related Kolbecast episodes: 
288 The Homeschool Compass Part 1 
281 Beauty through Words: Classical Reflections on Poetry 
285 Joy, Light, Sorrow, and Glory – The Way of the Rosary with Shannon Wendt 
260 Flow & Connection through Learning and 261 Make It about Relationship with Lisa Popcak 
Visit kolbe.org/podcast and click the “liturgical living” tab for more episodes featuring discussion on liturgical living 
Have questions or suggestions for future episodes or a story of your own experience that you’d like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Send your thoughts to podcast@kolbe.org and be a part of the Kolbecast odyssey.  
We’d be grateful for your feedback! Please share your thoughts with us via this Kolbecast survey! 
The Kolbecast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most podcast apps. By leaving a rating and review in your podcast app of choice, you can help the Kolbecast reach more listeners. The Kolbecast is also on Kolbe's YouTube channel (audio only with subtitles).  Using the filters on our website, you can sort through the episodes to find just what you're looking for. However you listen, spread the word about the Kolbecast!