Latest / The Catholic Morning Show
Faith, Family Secrets, and Iowa's Irish-German Catholic Divide - Deacon Tom Bradley - 09/28/2026
Deacon Tom Bradley — permanent deacon of the Diocese of Des Moines, retired U.S. Army colonel, and author — talks with Bo Bonner about his new novel, Dancing Without Applause: The Land Remembers. The book follows Lawrence and Irene, born around 1915 into a German Catholic family and an Irish Catholic family in central Iowa, as they grow up, fall in love, and marry despite the tension between their two communities.
Deacon Tom explains the history behind that tension: Irish immigrants often arrived first but with fewer resources, while German immigrants later bought up farmland more quickly…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.