🇻🇦He named all four of his sons after Popes — Leo, Gregory, Nicholas, and John Paul — and he's a contractor who fixes toilets by day. Matt from The Popecast joins Liv in The LIVing Room for one of the most surprisingly moving conversations about papal history, faith, and what it actually feels like to "meet God on the way down." Matt opens up about his first marriage, a quick annulment, and how sitting in a Starbucks writing six and a half single-spaced pages finally gave him peace beyond understanding.
They also dig into the Pope who accidentally kicked off the Reformation with a pet elephant, why Pope Leo XIV's Lutheran best friends still call him "Bob," and what the loneliness epidemic looks like from the front seat of a contractor's truck. This one's for you if you've ever loved the Church but felt like the mess of your life didn't quite fit the story.
Guest Bio:

Matt is the creator of The Popecast, a podcast and Instagram account dedicated to papal history with a mission to remind people that the chaos of today is nothing new in the life of the Church. He launched the podcast in 2018 after writing a daily email series on the full history of the papacy, and his Instagram following has grown larger than his podcast audience — a fact he finds equal parts ironic and delightful. By day, Matt runs a small remodeling company in the Diocese of Spokane; by night, he digs into 2,000 years of Church history. He and his wife are expecting their fourth child, whose name — John Paul — was never really in question.

In This Episode:
00:00 Mystery Face Reveal: Matt Finally Shows Up on the Internet
01:20 What Is The Popecast? Papal History, Instagram, and One Man's Anxiety Cure
03:30 The Hiatus, Pope Francis Dying, and Getting Back in the Game
04:00 Father Rich from Duluth and the World's Largest Private Papal Collection
05:00 How Marilys and the Conclave Put Matt on Liv's Radar
06:00 "Aggressively Normal Catholicism" — Matt's Approach to Faith Online
07:30 Faith Journey: Growing Up Catholic in Montana, Carroll College, and FOCUS
09:00 The 2013 SEEK Conference That Changed Everything
09:45 "I Met God on the Way Up, Got to Know Him on the Way Down"
10:30 The First Marriage, the Divorce, and What Nobody Talks About at Mass
12:00 Pope Francis, the Annulment Process, and Why Matt Defends It
15:30 Starbucks, Six and a Half Pages, and Peace Beyond All Understanding
18:00 Contractor by Day, Pope Nerd by Night — What Self-Employment Actually Looks Like
20:00 Digital Life vs. Real Life: What the Loneliness Epidemic Looks Like from a Truck
22:00 The Widow with the Alzheimer's Husband and the Cup of Coffee That Matters
24:30 Historian of Real Life — Teaching Kids to Reverence Old People and Old Things
25:30 Meet the Kids: Leo, Gregory, Nicholas, and Baby John Paul
27:30 Pope Leo XIV, "Bob," and His Lutheran Best Friends Who Called It 46 Years Ago
31:30 The Wildest Pope Facts: A Pet Elephant and Death by Eel
35:00 The Pope Who Founded Western Civilization: Gregory the Great Explained
40:00 Five Popes at the Mac and Cheese Dinner Table
46:30 How Can We Pray for You? Matt's Request and Closing Prayer

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🎙️ She called it. In 2005, as a high schooler, Katie McGrady emailed her principal requesting they air the papal conclave on school TVs — and she correctly predicted Benedict XVI. Fast forward to 2026, and she was front row in Rome on a CNN panel when white smoke rose over the Sistine Chapel. No theology PhD required — just a lifelong obsession, a microphone, and a Cajun accent.

In this episode of The LIVing Room, Liv Harrison sits down with Katie to unpack the Catholic revival happening right now (those 139% conversion spikes aren't a fluke), why Gen Z is actually turning toward the Church, what it really means that we have an American Pope — and what parishes have to get right before this moment slips through their fingers. This one's for you if you love the Church and want to actually understand what's happening inside it right now.

Guest Bio:
Katie McGrady is a Catholic media personality and radio host based in Lake Charles, Louisiana, known for her work as a Vatican commentator and her on-air presence in Catholic broadcasting. She serves as a regular contributor for CNN and hosts a show on SiriusXM, where she has covered papal transitions including the elections of Benedict XVI and Leo XIV, the latter of which she reported on live from Rome. She and her husband Tommy co-host *Family Mass Prep* on the Hallow app and she recently launched a segment called *Call In the Converts* on The Katie McGrady Show. A lifelong Louisiana native, Katie has chosen to root her broadcasting career in her small hometown while maintaining connections to major media markets in New York and beyond.


In This Episode

00:00 Colors Done, Taxes Paid, and One Toilet Flush for NASA
02:20 The American Girl Book, an 8-Year-Old, and Impending Doom
05:15 Karma, Kids, and Bluey at Easter Mass
07:00 Two Catholic Kids and the NFP Judgment Olympics
09:30 Europe, Legoland, and the Grace of the Family of Four
11:45 Matt Maher, Spontaneous Concerts, and the Joy of a Small Family
13:30 Why Katie McGrady Has Not Left Lake Charles
16:00 Her Sister Entered the Convent — And She's It for Her Parents
18:20 Missing Ryan Gosling at SiriusXM (And Getting Andy Weir Instead)
20:00 "I've Been Vatican Influencing Since High School" — The Origin Story
22:30 Predicting Benedict XVI as a Teenager, and Getting the Call from CNN
24:45 Was She Surprised It Was an American Pope?
26:00 "He's Not Conflicting — He's Contrasting": Breaking Down Pope Leo XIV
28:30 The Catholic Revival Is Real — Here Are the Numbers
31:00 What Parishes Have to Do Before This Moment Slips Away
33:30 Hallow, Call In the Converts, and the Digital-to-Parish Pipeline
36:00 Bob from Chicago Is Still WhatsApp-ing People
38:30 AI, Human Wisdom, and the Moon Crater Named After Someone's Late Wife
42:30 Prayers for Big Transitions — and Sister LP Who Kept Her Initials
44:00 Big Cajun Hug Goodbye

⚡ Subscribe on YouTube!
⚡ Visit Liv on the web at: https://www.thelivharrison.com/
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⚡ Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and more!
⚡ Subscribe to Liv's newsletter: https://bit.ly/livnewsletter

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🥒 He got diagnosed with one of the rarest childhood liver cancers in the world — only 1 to 3 kids a year — and two months after his liver transplant, he's walking 1.5 miles a day and going viral for it.

Fitz (short for Fitzgerald, age 9) joins Liv Harrison in The LIVing Room for a conversation that will wreck you in the best way. They talk about what it's like to grow up in the hospital, how dark humor becomes a survival tool, and the miracle that happened on a runway when a better liver showed up right before the wrong one took off. If you're a parent, a caregiver, or anyone who's forgotten how to be brave — this one's for you.

Guest Bio:

Fitz (George Fitzgerald) is a 9-year-old content creator and positivity advocate from Houston, Texas. Diagnosed with a rare liver cancer affecting only 1–3 children per year, Fitz received a liver transplant and began documenting his journey online immediately after his diagnosis, quickly going viral. He now runs "Positive Pickle," a daily video series spreading encouragement and joy to viewers of all ages. His family and Liv's family are longtime best friends.

Chapter Markers

00:00 Green Donuts, Dr. Pepper, and the Guest Liv's Known Since the Womb

01:00 "My Name Is Fitz for Fitzgerald" — And Why That Became His Intro

02:00 The Hospital Is Basically His Second Home

03:00 Disney World, a Buffet, and Throwing Up Three Times Before the Characters Came

05:30 Dad Covered the Plate and Moved It — A Dad Move for the Ages

06:30 The ER, a Wrong Diagnosis, and Texas Children's Downtown

07:30 The Tumor Was Growing Like a Bomb — and They Had to Take the Whole Liver Out

08:30 Corn Dogs, Pink Throw Up, and Thinking He Just Had a Tummy Bug

09:30 McDonald's, Barely Three Chicken Nuggets, and a Stomach Like a Rock

11:00 Dark Humor as a Coping Strategy: "If You're Not Laughing, You're Crying"

12:00 Dr. Pepper With Aunt Liv and the Recap So Far

13:00 Yes or No on the Transplant — And the Miracle That Happened on a Runway

15:00 Two Months Post-Transplant, Walking 1.5 Miles a Day

16:30 How Fitz Stays Close to God Through All of This

18:00 Why He Started Making Videos — and What "Positive Pickle" Even Means

19:30 The Letter From a 20-Year Survivor and the Person Who Started Walking Again

21:00 Positive Tacos, Positive Potatoes, and the Future Career Plan

22:30 What to Say to a Kid Who Just Got a Cancer Diagnosis

23:30 It's Okay to Not Be Okay — "Ups and Downs Connect the Puzzle Pieces"

25:00 How to Pray for Fitz: Platelets, His Arm, and "Love the Liver"