Episode 266: Sebastian Mahfood, the Life and Times of a Peripatetic Producer (August 23, 2023)

In this episode of The Open Door , without special fuss, and certainly without making a scene, we’ll explore the life and times of the man behind the scenes. Our welcome guest is our producer and, indeed, the producer of the full range of WCAT Radio & Television programs. The President of En Route Books and Media, the peripatetic Sebastian Mahfood, OP, Ph.D., will join us! Though his heart is in East Texas, St. Louis is the launching pad of his projects and peregrinations. He lives there with his wife, Dr. Stephanie Mahfood, and their children, Alexander and Eva Ruth. Among the questions we’ll be asking are the following.

1. Dr. Mahfood, Sebastian, could you tell us about your roots and introduce us to your family?
   
2. How did you become a lay Dominican and what does it mean for you?
   
3. Back in the day, and our audience should hear it directly, you wrestled professionally. Were you, even then, a voice from the periphery?
   
4. Turning away from the distractions of youth, you left the ring for the groves of academe. Your tenure at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary and Holy Apostles College & Seminary was rich: teacher, administrator, and pioneer developer of on-line academic programs. Could you share with us the highlights of your career?
   
5. You’ve authored half a dozen books of special interest. To name a few: Catholic Realism, The Narrative Spirituality of Dante’s Divine Comedy and Missionary Priests in the Homeland: Our Call to Receive. Could you explain their themes to our audience?
   
6. The Open Door, we understand, is your longest running WCAT Radio program. How did it start? What is its future?
   
7. You are not one to let the grass grow under your feet. Could you tell us about your travels, especially in Africa and Europe?
   
8. Before your retirement, what was the nature of your work as a professor of interdisciplinary and intercultural studies?
   
9. How does the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology feature in your professional life?
   
10. What's next for your publishing house and radio station?
    

Some links:

https://www.enroutebooksandmedia.com
https://www.wcatradio.com
https://www.faithscience.org