Catching Foxes

By Luke and GomerTV & Film Religion & Spirituality Christianity

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Typical duration
73 min
per episode

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Catching Foxes episodes

September 15David Goggins is Gomer's Therapist
"I'm like wildly obese, right?" Gomer says about eight minutes in, somewhere between defending his protein shake and bringing up David Goggins. He's down thirty pounds. Luke's question, which takes him forty-five minutes to ask outright, is why a guy who'll do all this won't call a therapist.
In This Episode:
Gomer's actual answer for why he hasn't gone to therapy — he wants the story to be that he white-knuckled it and everything was fine. He calls that a tool of the devil.
A listener with an eating disorder background once wrote in to say that picking a diet can just be the disorder wearing different clothes. Gomer calls it a brilliant way of looking at it and then applies it to himself.
Why Gomer does mobility work now. His dad's cartilage wore down to bone on bone, walking got hard so he walked less, and the hip replacement in March was followed by death in June.
75 Hard, laid out rule by rule: two forty-five-minute workouts three hours apart with one outdoors in whatever the weather is, ten pages of a nonfiction book, a gallon of water, daily progress photos, no snacks or dessert or alcohol, and back to day one if you miss anything.
The book Luke handed him fifteen years ago, which argues that a man who doesn't brush his teeth isn't making a statement about conformity. He's hurting himself on purpose.
Chapters:
00:00: Intro
00:25: His father's ashes, and the song he tried to write with AI
05:11: Three kinds of protein in one glass, and whether that counts as extreme
10:30: Neglect as a form of self-hatred
13:56: What a fall after sixty-five actually means
16:42: Dante's circles, and how small things become big ones
21:24: ADHD, water, and why extremes come easier than habits
24:24: 75 Hard, explained in full
31:53: Mobility work, and his father's hip
38:01: Finding the parts of it you actually like
45:54: Why he still hasn't gone to therapy
51:49: The box downstairs he cannot make himself open
Resources Mentioned:
Catching Foxes on Substack: https://catchingfoxes.substack.com/
No More Mr. Nice Guy by Dr. Robert Glover: https://nomoremrniceguy.com/
75 Hard: https://andyfrisella.com/pages/75hard-info
Exodus 90: https://exodus90.com/
Pray More Retreat: https://praymoreretreat.org/
Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios https://saintkolbestudios.com/
Support Catching Foxes
59 min
September 01Rethinking How We Apply the Church's Teaching on Birth Control
Luke brings up a topic he has been nervous to raise: does the way American Catholics apply the Church's teaching on birth control account for what happens to a person's freedom under real constraint? It's a good conversation. It's not heterodox (we promise). No need to send that email.
Gomer walks through his own family's case and then through what the Church actually says about grave matter, full knowledge, and consent of the will. The conversation runs long enough that the fellas decide to finish it next episode.
In This Episode:
Luke's caveats before the topic: not arguing the Church's teaching, not arguing Humanae Vitae, only asking what full consent looks like when someone's freedom is genuinely constrained
Gomer's own case—three miscarriages, an ectopic pregnancy that almost killed Shannon, the doctor's warning that another pregnancy could kill her, and the principle of totality that had to be satisfied before a hysterectomy could be recommended
The three conditions for mortal sin, and what pornography, hypersexualization, and monetary inflation do to knowledge and consent
Having a lot of kids as a measure of Catholic seriousness, the people who feel judged for three or four, and the practical questions about the pill, IUDs, and abstinence
Occasions of sin and why this became a two-part conversation
Resources Mentioned:
Catching Foxes Website
Pope Francis Generation
Humanae Vitae by Pope St. Paul VI
Love and Responsibility by Karol Wojtyła
Catching Foxes on Substack
Chapters:
00:00: Intro
02:15: Rethinking the American Catholic approach to birth control
04:59: Humanae Vitae, and what is not up for debate here
07:53: Full consent, the unitive good, and when NFP does not work
10:16: Gomer's story—miscarriages, an ectopic pregnancy, and the principle of totality
16:49: What mortal sin requires, and growing up in a culture of death
23:48: Settled teaching and where the Church is still exploring
31:38: The pill, IUDs, and abstinence that wounds the marriage
35:10: Psychological impairment, cultural conditioning, and mitigated guilt
50:25: The alcoholic, the crack addict, and near occasions of sin
01:01:09: IVF, the heroically moral choice, and postpartum realities
01:07:40: Unitive and procreative—von Hildebrand, Wojtyła, and splitting the conversation
Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios
Support Catching Foxes
1 hr 16 min
August 18Luke Takes Out his Anger on Dave VanVickle (Sorta)
Luke opens with a confession—he got fuming mad at a Catholic content creator online, posted about it on Instagram, and deleted it in the middle of the night—which turns the show into a long conversation about what men are supposed to do with rage.
Dave VanVickle walks through lifting, prayer, and the confessional as outlets. He gets into Taekwondo's golden age, cage matches in Buffalo, and the night he took a knife in the back and still loaded the two men he knocked out into his truck bed and drove them to the emergency room.
In This Episode:
Luke's temper flare at a Catholic content creator who used a photo of the Pope to score a point about liturgy, the Instagram post he tagged him in, and the middle-of-the-night regret that made him delete it
Dave's outlets for rage plus his read that watching the news right now should make a normal man angry
Gomer on anger as a blanket over your life, why a lot of anger at the world is really anger at yourself, and giving up the news in 2019
The rad trad and Vatican II debate, Peter Kreeft's question about whether any of those posts are well processed, and Dave building a middle school philosophy course
The study claiming the average American man thinks he's 400% more effective in a fight than he actually is
Resources Mentioned:
Philosophy 101 by Socrates by Peter Kreeft
Forming Intentional Disciples by Sherry Weddell
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Evangelii Nuntiandi by Pope St. Paul VI
Catching Foxes on Substack
Support Dave VanVickle on Patreon
Chapters:
00:00: Welcome and Dave's New Middle Name
01:58: Luke's Anger Problem and the Influencer Who Set It Off
08:39: Lifting, Running, and Prayer as Outlets
10:57: The Manosphere and Men Who Stopped Reading
14:42: Gomer on Turning the Anger Dial Down
21:08: Rad Trads, Vatican II, and Peter Kreeft's Question
25:45: Infinite Jest and the Parasocial Prophecy
27:56: Teaching Plato to Seventh Graders
33:25: Dave's Complete Fighting Résumé
42:16: The Knife in the Back at Shenanigans
50:20: It's Not Like the Movies and the 400% Study
1:08:00: Closing Question—Combat Sports and the NFL
Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios
Support Catching Foxes
1 hr 12 min
July 21Requiescat in Pace, Donald Gormley
Luke and Gomer talk about the passing of Gomer's father, but the episode isn't all doom and gloom (just the appropriate amount). Also included this week: an attempted murder, gray-market drugs, and a review of The Odyssey.
In This Episode:
Luke and Gomer compare notes on sleep, snoring, and inheriting their dads' blood pressure meds
The legend of Dave Van Vickel: grocery deliveries, a mid-street knife fight, and a jury summons
A review of The Odyssey movie, mythology demythologized, and Elliot Page's casting
Gomer reflects on his father's death, anticipatory grief, the Sirach 38 reading, and the funeral
Don Gormley's Shell/Texaco career stories, plus Luke's deep dive into nasal breathing, buzz breathing, nitric oxide, and gray-market Redatrutide
Chapters:
00:00: Intro — Sleep Problems and a New YouTube Rabbit Hole
06:09: Blood Pressure Meds, Family History, and Following in Dad's Footsteps
08:21: The Legend of Dave Van Vickel (Knife Fights and Groceries)
16:53: Sponsor — Faith Mosier, Dallas Healing House
18:37: The Odyssey Movie Review
24:41: Back to Dad — Carrying His Ashes and the Sirach 38 Reading
32:11: Anticipatory Grief, Hard Conversations, and the Funeral
1:00:47: Don Gormley's Career — From Skelly Oil to the Shell Tanker Standoff
1:10:04: Sponsor — Cloister Ignatian Prayer App
1:14:16: Welcome to the Dead Dads Club
1:16:34: Nasal Breathing, Buzz Breathing, and Nitric Oxide
1:32:02: Redatrutide, GLP-1s, and Wrapping Up
Resources Mentioned:
Dallas Healing House
Cloister Ignatian Prayer
ParishSOFT
Catching Foxes Substack
Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios
Sponsored By:
Cloisters Ignatian Prayer
ParishSOFT: ParishSOFT provides comprehensive church management software and innovative tools built by Catholics for Catholics to help parishes and dioceses deepen faith.
Support Catching Foxes
1 hr 44 min
May 26The Do-Over Myth: What Getting Older Really Costs You
Gomer's dad is out of the hospital and in a care home and this episode starts there, in the territory of walking a parent toward the end of his life. Luke and Gomer work through the lessons Gomer has picked up in the trenches: what hospitals won't tell you, how to have the DNR conversation, and why AI has become an unlikely companion through all of it.
In This Episode:
Why hospitals won't spell out what's actually happening with your loved one and how Gomer used AI to decode his dad's medical charts and communicate clearly with family
Lesson one from the hospital: no one will tell you what's going on unless you make them, and the only people who will are in palliative care
The do-over myth and why middle age is when you realize the world stopped giving them to you—you don't go back, you live with the scar tissue
The DNR conversation: what it actually means, why outside-of-hospital DNR requires a signed document on the door, and why you should have it sooner than you think
When specialists miss the whole person: how productivity-driven, siloed medicine can leave no one reading the full picture
Chapters:
00:00: Welcome Back
00:46: Gomer's Dad and the Care Home
02:08: Lesson One—Hospitals Won't Tell You Anything
07:25: Luke's Dad and Losing People Too Soon
20:00: The Gradual Decline You Can't See Coming
24:00: Reality, Do-Overs, and the Things That Can't Be Undone
29:38: When Specialists Miss the Whole Person
37:54: The DNR Conversation
41:47: Big Fish and What We Learn from Our Parents' Stories
48:21: What Parents Say When They Think It's Time
53:23: AI, Claude, and the Bot That Said It Was Praying for You
Resources Mentioned:
Rebuilding Mum and Dad (YouTube)
Catching Foxes on Substack
Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios
Support Catching Foxes
1 hr 6 min
May 12Not Dead! Family Crises, AI Converts, and Things Worth Being Angry About
After a two-month hiatus, Luke and Gomer are back. This episode opens with a conversation about Gomer's father Don's ongoing health decline, the emotional and logistical chaos of elder care, and the conversations no one prepares you to have. From there, the fellas pivot to AI, the World Cup, Hollywood Botox, and the slow enshitification of everything.
In This Episode:
The full story of Gomer's dad Don's hip replacement, repeated ER visits, and the family's difficult reckoning with permanent skilled nursing care
What no one tells you about Medicaid's "look back" provisions, the true cost of elder care, and why planning ahead matters far more than most families realize
Gomer's complete 180 on AI and how tools like Claude and ChatGPT have become indispensable for managing his father's medical records, medications, and care in real time
Euthanasia, modern medicine's ability to keep people alive without keeping them well, and what it means to age with dignity
What they're angry, excited, and concerned about: home construction costs, the Fox Sports World Cup AI ad, The Iliad film, and Hollywood's Botox problem
Chapters:
00:00: Welcome Back
02:07: Gomer's Dad's Health Crisis
10:06: End-of-Life Conversations
18:54: Navigating Elder Care and Medicaid
31:39: Euthanasia, Modern Medicine, and Keeping People Alive
42:43: From AI Skeptic to AI Convert
51:29: AI in Practice: Research and Healthcare
01:06:37: What Are You Angry, Excited, and Concerned About?
01:10:09: The Enshitification of Everything
Resources Mentioned:
Catching Foxes on Patreon
Catching Foxes on Substack
Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios
Support Catching Foxes
1 hr 18 min
March 03Gomer Believes in Giants Now
This is a nephilim-heavy episode. Strap in!
Also, please pray for Gomer's son, Noah. You'll hear all about it in the episode.
Enjoy!
Sponsored By:
Cloisters Ignatian Prayer
ParishSOFT: ParishSOFT provides comprehensive church management software and innovative tools built by Catholics for Catholics to help parishes and dioceses deepen faith.
Support Catching Foxes
Links:
Faith Mosher
Saint Kolbe Studios
— Thank you to Saint Kolbe Studios for producing this episode!
1 hr 25 min
February 24Weep with those who Weep, Mourn with those who Mourn
The fellas talk about the fragility of life. Also, Luke may or may not have taken a lover (in a tasteful way).
Want to know for sure?
You'll have to listen!
Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios
Support Catching Foxes
Links:
Faith Mosher
Cloisters Ignatian Prayer
ParishSOFT
1 hr 11 min
January 14 The One Where Luke Does Impromptu Charismatic Prayer
Luke and Gomer discuss a variety of topics; some light, some heavy. The two recount their experiences at (different) SEEK conferences and offer their thoughts on the heaviness and difficulty that seems to be moving through the lives of many public-facing Catholics, most recently Paul J. Kim.
If you're tired of hearing AI critiques and why AI is killing you (it is), you'll love the first 60 minutes or so. You may want to bow out before the end, if you're a big fan of AI or of Morlocks.
Enjoy!
Thanks to Saint Kolbe Studios for producing this podcast!
Support Catching Foxes
1 hr 19 min
December 24, 2025Into the Darkness has Come a Great Light
This is a heavy one. Heavy in a good way, but heavy all the same. Lots of unpacking trauma, both from childhood and Gomer's recent bathroom renovation.
There's some talk of childhood wounds, betrayal, and other sad topics. If that's not something you've got the energy for around the holidays, no worries. Maybe come back to this one after the new year.
Merry Christmas, and hope you enjoy!
Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios
Support Catching Foxes
Links:
Faith Mosher at Dallas Healing House
ParishSOFT
1 hr 28 min

About Catching Foxes

From the publisher's feed

Luke and Gomer became friends Freshman year at the Franciscan University of Steubenville and 14 years later they started a podcast. The show oscillates between a conversation between just the two of…