The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

Fr. Mike Schmitz has done something that sounds impossible on paper: he's made reading the entire Bible feel manageable, even enjoyable. Produced by Ascension Press, this podcast walks you through all 73 books of the Catholic Bible in 365 daily episodes, each running about 20 to 25 minutes. Fr. Mike reads two or three Scripture passages aloud, then spends eight to ten minutes reflecting on what you just heard and closes with a guided prayer. The reading plan follows Jeff Cavins' Great Adventure Bible Timeline, which means you're not just plowing straight through Genesis to Revelation. Instead, the episodes weave together narrative, wisdom, and prophetic books in a sequence that actually makes the storyline of salvation history click. Cavins himself drops in for special episodes at key turning points to add historical and theological context. The numbers speak for themselves. Since launching in January 2021, the podcast has approached one billion downloads worldwide and hit number one on the overall Apple Podcasts charts — not just religion, but all podcasts. It's reached listeners in over 150 countries. The show resets each January so new listeners can jump in fresh, though the format works fine if you start mid-year too. Fr. Mike's delivery is the real draw here. He's a Catholic priest and popular speaker based in Duluth, Minnesota, and he brings genuine warmth and clarity to passages that can feel dense or confusing. He doesn't shy away from difficult texts, and his commentary strikes a balance between scholarly and pastoral. If you've ever tried to read the Bible cover to cover and stalled out in Leviticus, this podcast was basically made for you.