Podcast
The BeatiDudes
Hosted by The BeatiDudes · EN
A religiously funny podcast for Christian men seeking authentic fraternity. Each week, The BeatiDudes explore life from the perspective of men seeking to follow God's will while they grow closer together in holiness and humor. TheBeatiDudes.com
39episodes
Episodes
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Planning My Funeral | Silas Mahner | Episode #324
1w ago00:23:45Tap to summarizeSilas Mahner returns to the Tiny Table with the BeatiDudes for a lively Friday conversation full of big laughs, surprisingly deep questions, and a few strong breakfast-food opinions. Silas joins Paul Kolker, Nick Bezner, and Jeff Schiefelbein as they trade updates on what they are excited about right now, from family milestones and comedy work with the Texas Rangers to Jeff’s upcoming trip to the Fearless Congress in Guadalajara. Silas also shares the joyful news that he and his wife are expecting their second child, which naturally leads the table into jokes about family size, “family buffering,” and the dangers of looking up obscure pregnancy facts. The conversation takes a meaningful turn when Jeff asks everyone to name two specific things they hope people say at their funeral. The answers reveal the heart behind the humor: a desire to be remembered for great faith, loving God with everything, being pro-life for all of life, bringing others closer to God, and leaving nothing in reserve. From there, the group reflects on defining life moments, including apparent failures, unexpected providence, consequences that became graces, and the mysterious way God prepares the future long before we can see it. Silas shares how a chain of unlikely events led from Wisconsin to New York City, then to meeting and marrying his wife from Uganda, giving him a deeper trust that God is always arranging what we cannot yet understand. The episode wraps with a lighter round on favorite breakfast foods, including biscuits and gravy, breakfast burritos, chocolate croissants, crispy bacon, over-medium eggs, and hash browns. Somewhere between funeral virtues and breakfast tacos, the BeatiDudes find the sweet spot of this Friday format: friendship, faith, absurdity, and the reminder that God is at work in both the major pivots and the small, hilarious details of life. SUPPORT THE BEATIDUDES https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheBeatiDudes Our Partners: His Way At Work Sock Religious (10% Discount) Solidarity HealthShare Aquinas Wealth Advisors Lucid Private Office Divine Comedy Undivided Life Follow The BeatiDudes: BeatiDudes Website LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Jeff Schiefelbein on LinkedIn BeatiDudes Theme Song and Music By The Pencil Bureau Dave Moore Music
Transcribe →Catholic Founders, Holy Risks | Silas Mahner | Episode #323
2w ago00:55:50Tap to summarizeSilas Mahner joins the BeatiDudes for a conversation about Catholic entrepreneurship, vocation, risk, surrender, and what it means to build as a co-creator with God. Silas is the founder of Earth Search, a recruitment consultancy serving clean technology companies, and the creator of Catholic Founders, a podcast and Substack exploring how faith shapes the work of founders and builders. Alongside Paul Kolker, Nick Bezner, and Jeff Schiefelbein, Silas reflects on the deeper purpose of business, the danger of chasing success for its own sake, and the invitation to discern the specific track God has laid out for each person. Silas shares how growing up in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin, as the oldest of eight in a large Catholic family, shaped his view of work, freedom, and entrepreneurship. Inspired by his father’s cabinet shop, his family’s maple syrup operation, and the rhythms of Catholic life, Silas began to see business as something far more meaningful than profit. For him, entrepreneurship is not only about starting companies. It is about learning to cooperate with God’s creative work, steward resources well, serve others, and stay open to the Holy Spirit’s direction. The BeatiDudes dig into the tension between planning and surrender, ambition and prudence, and risk and responsibility. Silas talks about the challenge of discerning when God is calling a founder to take a leap and when the more faithful move is to remain steady for the sake of family and responsibility. The conversation also explores failure, resilience, founder dinners, the Catholic community, and how hard moments become mile markers of growth. As usual, the Tiny Table keeps things lively with maple-syrup memories, personality-test chaos, Catholic-business reflections, and just enough nonsense to prove that the Holy Spirit can work through almost anything. SUPPORT THE BEATIDUDES https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheBeatiDudes Our Partners: His Way At Work Sock Religious (10% Discount) Solidarity HealthShare Aquinas Wealth Advisors Lucid Private Office Divine Comedy Undivided Life Follow The BeatiDudes: BeatiDudes Website LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Jeff Schiefelbein on LinkedIn BeatiDudes Theme Song and Music By The Pencil Bureau Dave Moore Music
Transcribe →Running Toward the Storm | Joe Masek | Episode #322
2w ago00:37:05Tap to summarizeJoe Masek is back with the BeatiDudes for a powerful and deeply personal conversation about suffering, fatherhood, faith, and the mystery of learning to accept what cannot be controlled. Joe shares the story of his son Isaiah’s brain tumor diagnosis, the surgeries, hospital stays, radiation, chemotherapy, and the emotional aftermath of walking through a traumatic season as a husband and father. What begins with humor, including the unexpected origin story of “DJ Lemon Head,” quickly becomes a moving testimony about how suffering can become a place of communion, surrender, and transformation. Joe reflects on how the tools he had developed through his own healing work became essential when his family faced Isaiah’s illness. Rather than simply wanting to survive the experience, Joe describes his desire to truly live it, to be present to his son, his wife, and the reality God had allowed. He shares how holding Isaiah during painful needle sticks changed the way he imagines the Agony in the Garden, seeing the Father not as distant from Christ’s suffering, but as embracing Him through it. The conversation also explores the image of the buffalo, which runs toward the storm because the fastest way out is through. The BeatiDudes, Paul Kolker, Nick Bezner, and Jeff Schiefelbein, join Joe in reflecting on the strange emotional terrain that follows great suffering, especially when the crisis has passed, but the body and soul are still processing what happened. Jeff connects Joe’s story to his own family’s journey through childhood illness, and together they speak to the importance of community, brotherhood, prayer, and refusing to suffer alone. This episode is a profound reminder that holiness is not found by escaping hardship but by receiving the grace to endure it with love, trust, and communion. Follow the Freedom Group SUPPORT THE BEATIDUDES https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheBeatiDudes Our Partners: His Way At Work Sock Religious (10% Discount) Solidarity HealthShare Aquinas Wealth Advisors Lucid Private Office Divine Comedy Undivided Life Follow The BeatiDudes: BeatiDudes Website LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Jeff Schiefelbein on LinkedIn BeatiDudes Theme Song and Music By The Pencil Bureau Dave Moore Music
Transcribe →Freedom From Pornography Is Possible | Joe Masek | Episode #321
3w ago00:59:36Tap to summarizeJoe Masek joins the BeatiDudes for a raw, funny, and surprisingly practical conversation about one of the most common and least honestly discussed struggles in men’s lives. Joe shares the story behind The Freedom Group, the ministry he launched after years of personal battle and a breakthrough that came when he began applying neuroscience, habit formation, and real accompaniment to the problem of pornography. What follows is not a surface-level conversation about “doing better,” but a much deeper look at how men actually change, how the brain gets hijacked, and why freedom requires more than guilt, isolation, or willpower. Along the way, Joe explains why so many men are not simply chasing pleasure but searching for safety. He talks about welcoming cravings instead of merely fleeing them, paying attention to negative thought patterns, using breath as a God-given tool for regulation, and building the kind of self-awareness that makes real self-mastery possible. The conversation gets even more powerful when Joe reflects on how the tools he learned in recovery became essential during his son’s cancer journey, revealing that this battle is not just about quitting one behavior, but about becoming the kind of man who can suffer well, stay present, and choose communion over escape. With plenty of classic BeatiDudes banter mixed in, this episode gives listeners both hope and a framework. Joe brings serious conviction without shame, practical wisdom without jargon, and a message many men need to hear: freedom is real, healing is possible, and no one is meant to fight alone. Guest Joe Masek joins Paul Kolker, Nick Bezner, and Jeff Schiefelbein for an episode that is equal parts hilarious, vulnerable, and deeply helpful. Follow the Freedom Group SUPPORT THE BEATIDUDES https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheBeatiDudes Our Partners: His Way At Work Sock Religious (10% Discount) Solidarity HealthShare Aquinas Wealth Advisors Lucid Private Office Divine Comedy Undivided Life Follow The BeatiDudes: BeatiDudes Website LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Jeff Schiefelbein on LinkedIn BeatiDudes Theme Song and Music By The Pencil Bureau Dave Moore Music
Transcribe →Prayer is GREATER than Pain | Luca Zocche | Episode #320
3w ago00:15:47Tap to summarizeLuca Zocche is back with the BeatiDudes for a more personal and vulnerable conversation about suffering, bullying, identity, and the quiet way God can work through prayer and unexpected intervention. Joined by Paul Kolker, Nick Bezner, and Jeff Schiefelbein, Luca shares the painful story of struggling in school, enduring years of bullying, and reaching a point where his future felt uncertain. Then, through his father’s prayers and a providential connection, everything changed when he transferred to a new school and began to flourish. What makes this episode stand out is the honesty around how deeply environment shapes a young person’s sense of self. Luca’s story is not just about improving grades. It is about the emotional weight of repeated wounds, the lies a child can begin to believe, and the healing that can begin when a person is finally seen, supported, and given a fresh start. The BeatiDudes also reflect on their own experiences with bullying, being bullied, and learning how complicated those dynamics can be. At the center of it all is a hopeful reminder that God is not limited by the lowest point in a person’s life. This episode points to the power of prayer, the importance of healthy environments, and the reality that grace can reopen a future that once looked closed. Luca’s story is a strong witness to the fact that what feels permanent in one season may be exactly where God begins the turnaround. Follow Fides Entrepreneurship SUPPORT THE BEATIDUDES https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheBeatiDudes Our Partners: His Way At Work Sock Religious (10% Discount) Solidarity HealthShare Aquinas Wealth Advisors Lucid Private Office Divine Comedy Undivided Life Follow The BeatiDudes: BeatiDudes Website LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Jeff Schiefelbein on LinkedIn BeatiDudes Theme Song and Music By The Pencil Bureau Dave Moore Music
Transcribe →Fides entrepreneurship and Fish Eggs | Luca Zocche | Episode #319
4w ago00:45:22Tap to summarizeLuca Zocche is with the BeatiDudes for a funny, fast-moving, and surprisingly rich conversation about faith, entrepreneurship, failure, and purpose. Alongside Paul Kolker, Nick Bezner, and Jeff Schiefelbein, Luca shares how his New York-based Catholic entrepreneurship series, Fides Entrepreneurship, grew from small gatherings in his apartment into sold-out events that bring together young professionals hungry for deeper meaning in their work and lives. The episode moves from hilarious stories about Luca’s subway injury, startup swings, and aviation journalism background to something much deeper: what happens when young people stop chasing status alone and start seeking vocation, sacrifice, and holiness. Luca reflects on the inspiration behind Fides, the Catholic leaders and entrepreneurs who have shaped him, and the kind of witness that can truly move souls in a city like New York. The BeatiDudes pull out themes of failure, perseverance, family, and the difference between appearing successful and living a meaningful life. At its heart, this episode is a call to integration. Work is not supposed to be disconnected from faith, and business excellence is not counter to vocation. Luca’s vision for Catholic entrepreneurship is not just about building businesses but about forming men and women who seek God first, serve others well, and create something worth giving their lives to. Also, fish eggs are expensive SUPPORT THE BEATIDUDES https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheBeatiDudes Our Partners: His Way At Work Sock Religious (10% Discount) Solidarity HealthShare Aquinas Wealth Advisors Lucid Private Office Divine Comedy Undivided Life Follow The BeatiDudes: BeatiDudes Website LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Jeff Schiefelbein on LinkedIn BeatiDudes Theme Song and Music By The Pencil Bureau Dave Moore Music
Transcribe →Adoption, Faith, and Catholic Puppets | Dr. Gregory Popcak | Episode #318
4w ago00:23:22Tap to summarizeDr. Gregory Popcak is back with the BeatiDudes for a conversation that is equal parts heartfelt, surprising, and hilarious. As he shares stories from nearly 37 years of marriage, raising a faithful family, and building a life of ministry alongside his wife, Dr. Popcak opens up about family prayer, discernment, adoption, and the beauty of pursuing God’s plan together. Along the way, Paul Kolker, Nick Bezner, and Jeff Schiefelbein help uncover a story full of depth, joy, and more unexpected twists than anyone could have seen coming. This episode moves from the deeply moving story of adopting their daughter from China to the practical witness of keeping family at the center of ministry and travel. Dr. Popcak also shares about his daughter’s unique faith-filled college formation, his background in music, and the now-legendary reveal that puppetry has been part of his life for years. What starts as a conversation about the domestic church turns into a memorable look at vocation, family mission, and the kind of joyful Catholic life that makes holiness feel both real and attractive. SUPPORT THE BEATIDUDES https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheBeatiDudes Our Partners: His Way At Work Sock Religious (10% Discount) Solidarity HealthShare Aquinas Wealth Advisors Lucid Private Office Divine Comedy Undivided Life Follow The BeatiDudes: BeatiDudes Website LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Jeff Schiefelbein on LinkedIn BeatiDudes Theme Song and Music By The Pencil Bureau Dave Moore Music
Transcribe →Parenting with Grace | Dr. Gregory Popcak | Episode #317
Apr 1300:53:30Tap to summarizeDr. Gregory Popcak joins the BeatiDudes for a rich, practical conversation on marriage, parenting, counseling, and the call to bring the Catholic faith to life in the home. Along the way, Dr. Popcak shares how decades of radio, counseling, and writing with his wife, Lisa, have helped families apply the theology of the body to everyday life, especially in parenting, relationships, and emotional health. He also reflects on how Catholic parenting must be about more than producing well-behaved kids. It must help children encounter love, virtue, and the warmth of faith inside the home itself. Dr. Popcak and the BeatiDudes, Paul Kolker, Nick Bezner, and Jeff Schiefelbein also dive into some of the deeper tensions facing families right now, including reactive boundary-setting, adult children cutting off their parents, and the struggle to bring Eucharistic grace beyond Sunday Mass and into daily family life. The conversation is funny, thoughtful, and deeply grounded, offering a vision of the domestic church that is both spiritually serious and beautifully practical. Connect with Dr. Greg and Lisa Popcak SUPPORT THE BEATIDUDES https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheBeatiDudes Our Partners: His Way At Work Sock Religious (10% Discount) Solidarity HealthShare Aquinas Wealth Advisors Lucid Private Office Divine Comedy Undivided Life Follow The BeatiDudes: BeatiDudes Website LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Jeff Schiefelbein on LinkedIn BeatiDudes Theme Song and Music By The Pencil Bureau Dave Moore Music
Transcribe →Do Incarnate Things | Fr. Luke Rawicki | Episode #316
Apr 1000:29:29Tap to summarizeFr. Luke Rawicki is back with The BeatiDudes for a funny, thoughtful, and surprisingly hopeful conversation about working with young people in today’s world. Along the way, Paul Kolker, Nick Bezner, and Jeff Schiefelbein explore what Fr. Luke has learned from serving high school students, why so many teens are more open to faith than adults assume, and how real human connection still breaks through in a distracted culture. The conversation centers on the challenge and opportunity of ministering to the next generation. Fr. Luke shares how students often respond deeply when they are given authentic attention, meaningful conversation, and space away from their phones. From phone-free retreats to hallway interactions to lunchtime faith discussions, this episode highlights a powerful truth: young people are hungry for truth, relationships, and spiritual depth. In one of the strongest moments of the episode, Fr. Luke repeats advice he once received from a student that now shapes the whole discussion: “Don’t be afraid of us.” The result is a classic bonus episode filled with laughter, honest insight, and practical encouragement for parents, mentors, teachers, and anyone who wants to understand better the world young people are navigating. This one is a reminder that small talk can lead to big talk, that presence matters, and that incarnational living still changes lives. SUPPORT THE BEATIDUDES https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheBeatiDudes Our Partners: His Way At Work Sock Religious (10% Discount) Solidarity HealthShare Aquinas Wealth Advisors Lucid Private Office Divine Comedy Undivided Life Follow The BeatiDudes: BeatiDudes Website LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Jeff Schiefelbein on LinkedIn BeatiDudes Theme Song and Music By The Pencil Bureau Dave Moore Music
Transcribe →Called By Name | Fr. Luke Rawicki | Episode #315
Apr 600:57:35Tap to summarizeGuest Fr. Luke Rawicki joins the BeatiDudes for a lively and deeply encouraging conversation about vocation, family, discernment, and the surprising ways God moves through ordinary moments. Along the way, Fr. Luke shares stories from his tight-knit family, his path through Texas A&M, and the joy of now serving young people as a priest. Paul Kolker, Nick Bezner, and Jeff Schiefelbein bring the usual energy, humor, and heart as they explore how God often uses relationships, community, and even unexpected conversations to redirect a life. At the center of the episode is Fr. Luke’s powerful story of discernment. What began as a season of doubt, drifting, and uncertainty while studying architecture turned into a life-changing encounter with mercy on Divine Mercy Sunday. From there, God kept opening doors through a simple invitation, a timely conversation, and a series of confirmations that made the call to the priesthood impossible to ignore. The episode also touches on the Legionaries of Christ, the beauty of spiritual renewal, and the mission of forming apostles who can transform culture. This is a fun, faith-filled episode that reminds listeners that discernment is rarely about having every answer upfront. More often than not, it is about taking the next faithful step, staying open to grace, and trusting that God knows how to get our attention. Fr. Luke makes the priesthood feel both deeply human and deeply supernatural, and the whole conversation is a strong reminder that the Lord still calls, still pursues, and still transforms lives. SUPPORT THE BEATIDUDES https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheBeatiDudes Our Partners: His Way At Work Sock Religious (10% Discount) Solidarity HealthShare Aquinas Wealth Advisors Lucid Private Office Divine Comedy Undivided Life Follow The BeatiDudes: BeatiDudes Website LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Jeff Schiefelbein on LinkedIn BeatiDudes Theme Song and Music By The Pencil Bureau Dave Moore Music
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