About The Forge
“Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact”
I’m T.J. Haines - I launched The Forge as a space to write commentary and analysis that stands out from the noise and “mistruths” of the web and social media. I serve the Truth, not the reader metrics. Bold, clear, unapologetic—clarity with charity
Articles and opinion pieces with passion, fire, and clarity.
Catholic and Secular news, culture, occasional spirituality pieces
Faith formed, faith guided, in fidelity to the Church and her magisterium. Steeped in Catholic thought, not political party lines or group-think.
Balanced opinion that doesn’t pretend to be neutral
Home of the Fire Branded podcast - Faith and fire, without the fluff
Fire Branded is the flagship podcast of The Forge. It’s a podcast built for the times—direct, plainspoken, and opinionated, without hedging.
Want to learn more about me? I saved that for last. Let me take another swing at getting you to subscribe 👇
Free Your Mind from the Tangled Web
Don’t trust algorithms to deliver the Truth. It’s not in their interests. Subscribe to The Forge for free and get the Truth delivered to you.
When you subscribe you’ll get two to three emails per week.
One major piece
The latest podcast episode
Sometimes the podcast episode is accompanied by a supplemental article, so even if you’re not a podcast fan, there may be something there you’ll value
A rundown of other articles published that week
I sometimes condense these to two emails
About Me
I’m not a journalist. I’m a career communicator (Catholic and secular media) and I’ve been a “worker in the field” of evangelization for most of my life.
I didn’t start The Forge to run my mouth. I started it because because:
Truth matters to me at a moral level, not just an intellectual one.
Many in media (even some in independent Catholic media) are not serving the Truth, they’re serving a narrative.
I believe most people aren’t being empowered to discern Truth — they’re being trained to react.
I want to enable and empower people, not just inform them.
I don’t want them to merely be more knowledgable, I want them to be empowered to discern Truth, and to identify mistruth/lies even when they’re very well disguised as the truth.
And I’m convinced Catholic faith isn’t an accessory to analysis — it’s the right foundation for it.
Fire Branded is a podcast built for the times—direct, plainspoken, and opinionated. Faith and fire, without fluff.
Find Fire Branded everywhere podcasts are carried.
The Forge applies that formation to public questions, writing where clarity and precision are required, not optional.
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