Turning to happier memories of the Catholic past — actually, the Christian past — today’s Between the Covers podcast is with Philip Freeman, author of an excellent biography of St. Patrick.

On BTC, I’ve tried to highlight brand-new books. We typically record the interviews ahead of official publication dates. Freeman’s book, however, came out several years ago. I read it at the time and really enjoyed it, and figured it would be topical today. Indeed, Freeman gives a good interview. We talk about who St. Patrick really was (he wasn’t a son of Eire), why he’s more popular in America than Ireland, and those stories about the snakes and the shamrocks.