The Saint Kolbe Studios Podcast

Good Noise: How Isabella Orlando Is Bringing Catholic Wellness to the Internet

Isabella Orlando is the founder of Beloved Health Co., a faith-integrated nutrition and wellness coaching practice based in Manhattan. In this episode, Joe and Isabella talk about her six-year journey recovering from disordered eating, what the Catholic mental health conversation looks like online, and how she launched the Holy Girl Walk—a rosary walk for women that drew over 100 people to its first event and was featured in the Wall Street Journal. What We Cover: * Why faith-integrated mental health content remains underrepresented online, even in 2024, and why Isabella refuses to stop talking about it * How Isabella works with clients struggling with disordered eating—and why recovery almost always requires an interdisciplinary team of nutritionist, therapist, psychiatrist, and physician * The tension between proper discipline and scrupulosity, and where faith fits in the healing process without crowding out clinical care * What the Holy Girl Walk is, how a single Instagram post made it a Manhattan phenomenon, and why Isabella thinks the formula is scalable anywhere * The Gen Z Catholic revival—whether it’s God, a generational backlash, or something else entirely—and what actually seems to be drawing people back to Mass Chapters: * 00:00: Introduction * 01:45: Beloved Health Co. and faith-integrated wellness * 04:06: Mental health in the Catholic online space * 10:50: Social media, good noise, and knowing your limits * 17:02: Who comes to Isabella and why * 20:06: How recovery actually works * 23:25: Discipline, scrupulosity, and where faith fits * 26:43: The Holy Girl Walk * 29:00: The Gen Z Catholic revival * 35:27: How to build this in your own community Resources Mentioned: * Beloved Health Co. Website [https://belovedhealthco.my.canva.site/] * Beloved Health Co. on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/belovedhealthco/] Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios [https://saintkolbestudios.com/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saintkolbestudiospodcast.substack.com [https://saintkolbestudiospodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Yes in God’s Backyard: Eli Smith on the Faith-Based Housing Initiative

Joe Coleman sits down with Eli Smith, Director of the Faith-Based Housing Initiative, to talk about one of Joe’s favorite topics—and then some. Churches across America are sitting on acres of underutilized land, and FBHI is training congregations to see that land not as a liability but as a mission opportunity. What We Cover: * Why congregations have quietly accumulated land for decades—and why the housing crisis is finally prompting them to do something with it * How FBHI’s five-month cohort model walks churches through the development process, from site planning to investor-ready proposals * The “YIGBY” (Yes in God’s Backyard) movement and why faith-based housing legislation is passing in some states and stalling in others for reasons that have nothing to do with partisan logic * The most common objections churches raise when approached about development—and how design quality changes the conversation * How to get involved in the faith-based housing movement even without a background in urban planning, architecture, or finance Chapters: * 00:00: Introduction * 01:26: Meet Eli Smith and the Faith-Based Housing Initiative * 05:33: How FBHI Guides Congregations Through Development * 09:43: How Churches Connect with FBHI * 14:15: Urban, Suburban, and Rural Opportunities * 17:54: The Politics of YIMBY and YIGBY * 34:01: Common Obstacles for Congregations * 40:35: Legislative Wins Across the Country * 44:50: Getting Involved Without a Technical Background * 47:38: The Future of Faith-Based Housing Resources Mentioned: * Faith-Based Housing Initiative [https://www.faith-housing.org/] * FBHI Substack [https://fbhi.substack.com] * Strong Towns [https://www.strongtowns.org/] * Incremental Development Alliance [https://www.incrementaldevelopment.org/] Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios [https://saintkolbestudios.com/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saintkolbestudiospodcast.substack.com [https://saintkolbestudiospodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

How Should We Then LARP? John Mullen on Building a Catholic Culture for Young Men

Joe Coleman sits down with John Mullen, Chapter Leader for St. Paul’s Outreach in Columbus and founder of The Forum. John critiques theological approaches that feminize men, explains why servant leadership frameworks fail, and makes the case that real Catholic culture requires actual organizing—not endless posting online. What We Cover * Why theology of the body as commonly taught can reinforce a feminized framework for men * The problems with complementarianism and servant leadership models that emphasize sacrifice without authority * How to understand authority as a burden properly shouldered rather than potential tyranny * Why Catholic culture must be built through real-world organizing, not online posting * The dangers of both internet trad gnosticism and charismatic anti-sacramentalism Chapters * 00:00: Introduction and Opening Quote on TOB * 02:48: Why the Feminized Framework Fails Men * 06:09: Complementarianism and Servant Leadership * 07:50: Authority as a Properly Shouldered Burden * 13:00: Formation and St. Paul’s Outreach * 25:45: Building Community vs Conference Culture * 40:15: The Work of Local Organizations * 53:50: Don’t Wait for the Priest—Take Agency * 01:03:54: Building from the Bottom Up * 01:04:58: Consumerist Gnosticism and Internet LARP * 01:08:18: Where to Find John’s Work Resources Mentioned * The Forum Substack [https://johnawmullen.substack.com/] * St. Paul’s Outreach [https://www.spo.org/] * John Mullen on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-mullen-a9302776/] * Joe Coleman on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joecolemanpodcasts/] Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios [https://saintkolbestudios.com/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saintkolbestudiospodcast.substack.com [https://saintkolbestudiospodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

My Life Is Not My Own: Multi-Generational Living and the Duty to Stay Close w/ Lucas Wollschlager

Today, I sit down with Lucas Wollschlager—Catholic marketer, founder of Veritas Copy, and returning guest—to make the case that proximity to family isn’t something to be taken lightly. Lucas tells the story of a friend’s disappointing Easter visit to family, and that leads us into a wide-ranging conversation about the snowbird mentality, what everyone in a household has to believe for multi-generational living to actually work, and why the economic pressures of our moment may be forcing us back toward what human nature has always required. In This Episode, We Cover: * Why grandparents who relocate for retirement without regard for their children and grandchildren are neglecting a new phase of duty * The distinction between freedom for the good and freedom from obligation, and how modern American culture confuses the two * What everyone in a multi-generational household has to believe for the arrangement to work * Data on the quiet resurgence of multi-generational living in America—and why economic pressure is accelerating it * Why committing to a place, even when your family isn’t there, is the next best thing—and why you probably won’t live to see the fruit of it Chapters: * 00:00: Introduction * 01:12: The Easter Anecdote * 12:35: Should Grandparents Get to Enjoy Retirement? * 17:49: Who Has to Move? * 27:07: What Multi-Generational Living Requires * 34:01: Freedom For vs. Freedom From * 39:58: The Data on Multi-Generational Households * 47:02: Honoring Father and Mother * 1:07:20: St. Thérèse’s Family and Filial Duty * 1:10:44: Commit to Place and Play the Long Game Resources Mentioned: * Save Your Parish [https://saveyourparish.com/] by Patrick Neve * Lucas Wollschlager on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucaswollschlager/] Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios [https://saintkolbestudios.com/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saintkolbestudiospodcast.substack.com [https://saintkolbestudiospodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Discernment, Returning Home, and Committing to a Place w/ Jethro Higgins

Joe Coleman welcomes Jethro Higgins—founder of Social Catholic and host of the VirTrue podcast—for a conversation about rootedness, place, and what it means to live virtuously in the modern world. Drawing on Jethro’s experience leaving and returning to rural Oregon, the two explore how commitment to place, community, and a rule of life shapes authentic Catholic living. They push back on cultural shortcuts like religious enclaves, social media morning routines, and rash decision-making in favor of a slower, more embodied approach to human flourishing. Main Ideas * Returning home as a vocation — Jethro traces his journey back to rural Oregon, arguing that proximity to family, land, and community isn’t a retreat from ambition but an expression of it. * Committing to place takes time — You cannot meaningfully evaluate a place until you’ve been there at least four or five years. Mobility is one of the chief drivers of disengagement from local life. * The constructed vs. the organic community — The conversation wrestles honestly with the Benedict Option and places like Ave Maria. Are intentional Catholic communities an authentic expression of virtue, or do they risk becoming self-serving enclaves that trade suffering for comfort? * Discernment is not a checklist — Big decisions about where to live, how to work, and how to serve shouldn’t be driven by feeling or appetite. * Rule of life vs. the 4am CEO — Jethro contrasts the performative self-optimization of social media morning routines with a genuine rule of life: one that sets a standard higher than you can reach, admits failure openly, and keeps pointing you toward God rather than your own brand. Chapters * 00:00: Introduction * 09:37: Leaving Home—and Why He Came Back * 13:53: Family, Roots, and the Vision for Rural Life * 16:12: Digital Work vs. Living in God’s Creation * 22:05: Can You Practice Virtue in the City? * 36:26: Place and the Conditions for Virtue * 38:48: The Benedict Option and Catholic Enclaves * 43:13: Authenticity vs. the Constructed Community * 01:09:41: Rule of Life vs. the 4AM CEO * 01:15:35: Committing to Place Resources Mentioned * VirTrue Podcast [https://socialcatholic.substack.com/s/virtrue-grow-in-virtue] * The Social Catholic [https://www.thesocialcatholic.com/] * “The Epidemic of Wayward Trad Children” [https://theweltgeist.substack.com/p/the-epidemic-of-wayward-trad-children] Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios [https://saintkolbestudios.com/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saintkolbestudiospodcast.substack.com [https://saintkolbestudiospodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]