Episode #262--"Hope Springs Eternal"--1:1 with Paul McCusker, Senior Director of Creative Content, Augustine Institute

Paul McCusker, a veteran writer and dramatist best known for *Adventures in Odyssey*, shares how his spiritual journey from Baptist roots to Anglicanism and finally to the Catholic Church reshaped his creative life. His conversion wasn't a sudden epiphany but a slow, intellectual and emotional reckoning sparked by the Episcopal Church's doctrinal fractures and a deep yearning for doctrinal authority. This led him to the Catholic Church in 2007, where he found a richer, more expansive 'Catholic imagination' that freed his storytelling. Now serving as Senior Director of Creative Content at the Augustine Institute, McCusker created *Welcome to Hope Springs*—a modern, audio drama series for kids aged 10–12 that explores Catholic faith through everyday wonders and eternal mysteries. Unlike didactic catechism, the show uses narrative to invite families into conversation, letting stories spark reflection rather than dictate answers. McCusker emphasizes that storytelling is both a spiritual discipline and a form of exploration, where he, too, is transformed by the themes he writes. He believes audio dramas are experiencing a resurgence because they engage the imagination in a way visuals cannot, offering a deeply personal, intimate listening experience that stretches the mind and heart. The series, now in its third season, is a culmination of over a decade of world-building, and McCusker invites listeners to engage with the stories and share their thoughts—because he believes the Church needs stories that make faith feel real, lived, and relatable.