StarQuest Podcasts

Fisk walks free. Matt goes to prison. Jeff Haecker, Patrick Mason, and Rob Leonardi break down the Born Again Season 2 finale: the courtroom reveal, the offer of grace, and what it all sets up for Season 3.

An Imperial Star Destroyer parks over police headquarters on Janix, and everything changes. Thomas Salerno, Kathryn Laffrey, and Jeff Haecker break down Inquisitor Marrok, Devon Izara's wavering faith, and Maul's fracturing crew in Chapter 5 of Maul: Shadow Lord.

A legend built on a lie. Or is it? Dom Bettinelli, Jimmy Akin, and Fr. Jason Tyler discuss DS9's first three-parter, Li Nalas's complicated myth, the rise of the Circle, and a father-son scene that carries more weight than it first appears.

A Catholic mission leader is walking 2,500 kilometers through the Australian outback to raise $1 million for homeless services, inspired by Pope John Paul II. Lindsay Sant, Caroline Knight, and Lino Saubolle interview Roby Curtis. Plus the science of Bruce the champion Kea.

The team walked into a room full of bodies. What Michael built from those deaths spans multiple worlds. Lisa Jones, Jeff Haecker, and Victor Lams confront the moral cost of the retrovirus.

Jesus' most misunderstood prophecy has sent readers down the wrong path for centuries. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli examine the Olivet Discourse: what did Jesus actually predict, and did it happen?

Your kitchen wall could replace the calendar, whiteboard, sticky notes, and family group text. Dom Bettinelli, Tom Grelinger, and Fr. Joseph Sund break down smart family display boards — and whether any are worth the price.

Karen Page stared down Wilson Fisk through prison bars. Patrick Mason, Jeff Haecker, and Rob Leonardi break down Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Ep. 7, covering Daniel Blake's arc, Matt's courtroom return, and Heather Glenn going dark.

Tolkien's women don't need the spotlight to hold the world together. That's the point. Alix Murray, Jeff Haecker, and Kathryn Laffrey trace the powerful, mysterious women of Middle-earth from the Valar to the Shire.

Power means nothing if you won't use it. That's Maul's creed. Thomas Salerno, Kathryn Laffrey, and Jon Koral break down Chapter 4 of Shadow Lord, where a duel with Devon and Daki becomes a clash of Jedi and Sith worldviews.

Loyalty tests and entrance exams collide when the abrasive Remmick investigates the Enterprise while Wesley competes for a Starfleet Academy spot. Dom Bettinelli, Jimmy Akin, and Fr. Jason Tyler on TNG's "Coming of Age."

For the first time since 1972, humans left low Earth orbit and headed to the moon. Caroline Knight, Lindsay Sant, and Lino Saubolle unpack the Artemis II mission: the crew, the records, and yes — the toilet.

Starting Wednesday, May 6th, Jimmy Akin is teaching Introduction to Parapsychology for the Rhine Education Center—8 weeks of live online classes (Wed, 7–9 PM ET, recordings available) covering the scientific evidence for psychic functioning and survival of bodily death. You'll look at telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, psychokinesis, near-death experiences, apparitions, mediumship, hauntings, poltergeists, reincarnation cases, and the major criticisms of the field—plus how it all fits with the Christian view of the human person. Audit it or take it for a grade. Tuition $225 ($200 for Rhine members). It's also the required first course for the Rhine's certificate programs. → RhineEdu.org

Ba'al implants a Goa'uld symbiote into Adria — and suddenly the penultimate episode of SG-1 finds its footing. Jeff Haecker, Lisa Jones, and Victor Lams on Vala's best scene, open endings by design, and the handoff to The Ark of Truth.

There are more mattress stores in the US than McDonald's. They're almost always empty. They cluster suspiciously close together. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli investigate the internet's wildest retail conspiracy theory.

Your Wi-Fi problems probably aren't your ISP's fault — they're your router's. Dom Bettinelli, Joanne Mercier, and Leo Devick break down how to choose the right one, plus AI Jesus, the FCC router ban, and a diocese's AI fundraiser.

Bowser almost chose good. Then his son arrived. Patrick Mason, Jeff Haecker, Rob Leonardi, and Thomas Salerno unpack the family drama, Yoshi's debut, and the Nintendo universe's next moves in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Kingpin walks out of Vanessa's funeral a changed man — and the season has no brakes left. Jeff Haecker, Patrick Mason, and Rob Leonardi break down episode 6 of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, "Requiem."

Darkness closes in on Devon Izara as Maul's tea ceremony becomes a calculated trap. Mike Creavey, Jeff Haecker, Kathryn Laffrey, and Thomas Salerno unpack Chapter 3 of Maul: Shadow Lord.

Spock is dying and the only cure is in the hands of Orion pirates willing to blow up an asteroid to protect their neutrality. Dom Bettinelli, Jimmy Akin, and Fr. Jason Tyler on the TAS episode written by a 19-year-old.

England's smallest cathedral holds one of its most layered stories. Alix Murray and Kathryn Laffrey walk through Shrewsbury Cathedral — its fraught Catholic origins, Margaret Rope's stained glass, and a restoration uncovering what whitewash hid.

"Nothing is lost by peace. Everything may be lost by war." Pope Leo XIV's Vigil for Peace, just war theory, and the Artemis II lunar mission — Lindsay Sant, Caroline Knight, and Lino Saubolle cover it all.

A ten-thousand-year-old Wraith Queen lurks at the bottom of the ocean — and she's been waiting. Victor Lams, Jeff Haecker, and Lisa Jones break down Stargate Atlantis's "Submersion" and its deep-sea haunted-house thrills.

Early Christians were no exception in ancient beliefs in ghosts. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli discuss reports of ghostly encounters in the ancient Church, what theologians thought of them, and how Jimmy would evaluate these cases today.

You don't need to know how to code to build something useful anymore. Dom Bettinelli, Jack Barruzini, and Thomas Sanjurjo break down AI-assisted coding — and why the real skill is describing the problem.

Mercy is Daredevil's North Star — but can it hold when you're saving the man who killed your best friend? Jeff Haecker, Patrick Mason, and Rob Leonardi unpack the emotion-packed "The Grand Design," episode 5 of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.

Music didn't just accompany the creation of Middle-earth — it *was* the creation. Jeff Haecker, Alix Murray, and Patrick Mason trace how song, horn, and verse shape everything from the Ainulindalë to the charge at Pelennor Fields.

Maul's shadows fall over Devon Izara as her master keeps abandoning her. Jeff Haecker, Kathryn Laffrey, and Thomas Salerno break down chapter 2 of Maul: Shadow Lord — the manipulation, the cell break-out, and whether Maul is still really a Sith.

A woman who hates her unborn child. A scheming Klingon. A Prime Directive that's barely an idea yet. Dom Bettinelli, Fr. Jason Tyler, and Jimmy Akin unpack D.C. Fontana's bold "Friday's Child."

Every apple, pomegranate, strawberry, and almond in sacred art carries theology — and most viewers walk right past it. For episode 50, Kathryn Laffrey and Alix Murray mark the milestone with a guided tasting of fruit hidden in the margins.

Freeze a brain, thaw it out, watch the neurons fire. Caroline Knight and Lindsay Sant break down the vitrification breakthrough that kept mouse hippocampus tissue functional after seven days at -150°C — and what it could mean for medicine.

Con man meets Stargate Command — and nearly wins. Lisa Jones, Jeff Haecker, and Victor Lams unpack Vala's complicated father-daughter story, Fred Willard's ad-libbed genius, and SG-1's sly farewell jabs at its own cancellation.

The story of the exorcism of "Anna Ecklund" in Earling, Iowa, in 1928 as Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli recounted last time was only the beginning. Because there was an account of the exorcism contained in a secret manuscript that was kept private... and Jimmy has a copy. What does it reveal about the real-life Anna Ecklund and about this remarkable case?

Want AI to actually help you — not confuse or mislead you? Dom Bettinelli and Pat Scott walk through everything a casual user needs: how to prompt well, what to keep private, and which chatbot to use for what.

A cursed pig, a golden age of flight, and a man still at war with himself. Victor Lams, Jeff Haecker, and Patrick Mason unpack Hayao Miyazaki's Porco Rosso — survivor's guilt, Ghibli planes, and what honor costs.

The gloves are truly off. Jeff Haecker, Rob Leonardi, and Patrick Mason dissect Daredevil: Born Again S2E4 — Bullseye's diner rampage, Matt's truncated St. Lucia prayer, Fisk's charity boxing match, and Vanessa's shocking fate.

Maul steps back into the light — and it's spectacular. Jeff Haecker, Kathryn Laffrey, and Mike Creavey unpack the stunning premiere of *Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord* and its surprisingly rich Catholic themes.

She erased the memory. The guilt came back anyway. T'Pol hunts a Vulcan fugitive on an icy moon — and relives a killing she'd had ritually purged from her mind. Dom Bettinelli and Jimmy Akin on memory, guilt, and trust.

God kneels before his creation — and then tells us to do the same. Lindsay Sant and Lino Saubolle unpack Pope Leo's Holy Thursday homily on servant love and the Eucharist. Plus: Caroline Knight on scientists who froze mouse brains and brought them back.

A mandatory day of rest on Atlantis turns into the worst day in the city's history. Victor Lams, Jeff Haecker, and Lisa Jones break down "Sunday," the network-mandated farewell to Carson Beckett, the *Elephant*-inspired structure, and a death that still divides fans.

In 1928, an exorcism unfolded in a tiny Iowa convent. It inspired a 2016 movie. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli examine the public account and a never-published secret manuscript of the Earling Exorcism. Part 1 of 2.

Trackers, smartwatches, rings, earbuds: fitness wearables have claimed every corner of the body. Dom Bettinelli, Tom Grelinger, and Fr. Joseph Sund break down every category from $30 clip-ons to $3,200 Garmins.

Jack Duquesne with rebar. Angela Del Toro in the White Tiger medallion. Karen with a gun. Jeff Haecker, Patrick Mason, and Rob Leonardi break down Daredevil: Born Again S2 Eps 2-3 — prison break, BB's double life, and Fisk's cracking inner circle.

Tolkien's "Leaf by Niggle" gets a full panel reading — purgatory, sub-creation, and the eternal weight of creative work. Thomas Salerno leads Kathryn Laffrey, Rob Leonardi, and Robert King through this haunting, personal story.

Tom Paris and Neelix crash on Planet Hell and are forced to care for a newly-hatched alien creature — and finally put their rivalry over Kes to rest. Dom Bettinelli, Jimmy Akin, and Fr. Jason Tyler break down the Voyager episode Parturition. Stranded together, Paris and Neelix must cooperate to care for a newly-hatched creature. The panel examines Neelix's controlling jealousy, Janeway's command style, plot logic holes, and the writers' deliberate choice to finally resolve the Paris-Neelix tension.

The tilma's stars play a song. Reflections in Our Lady's eyes show up to 12 figures. Kathryn Laffrey and Alix Murray unpack the hidden science and 3,000-year-old Mesoamerican prophecy woven into the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

CRISPR-engineered fungi that grow 88% faster and use 70% less land than chicken farming? Caroline Knight, Lindsay Sant, and Lino Saubolle break down the science of mycoprotein — and make the case for "Meat-shroom."

"Talion" sends Teal'c on a brutal revenge mission after a Jaffa summit is bombed. Jeff Haecker, Lisa Jones, and Victor Lams break down the tonal whiplash, Arkad's rushed villain arc, and Bray'tac's emotional farewell.

Ryland Grace wakes alone on an interstellar ship with no memory — and the fate of Earth on his shoulders. Dom Bettinelli, Jeff Haecker, and Patrick Mason unpack Project Hail Mary's themes of reluctant heroism, self-sacrifice, unexpected friendship, faith under pressure, and what it really means to find home.

Season 2 opens with Daredevil underground, Fisk running a city under martial law, and Bullseye rescuing the last person he should want to save. Jeff Haecker, Patrick Mason, and Rob Leonardi break down the Born Again premiere.