💍 David Fischer was three years into seminary when a friend rolled down a car window and said, "Hey, Laura." She leaned into David's side of the car instead, and he literally lost his breath. Twenty-three years and nine kids later (number ten is due in February), David works with filmmakers at Angel Studios, where guild members vote on which films get made.

On The LIVing Room, Liv Harrison talks with David about what seminary taught him about insecurity and identity, and about the marriage ministry he and Laura built for 200 couples. He also explains why the secret to a good marriage is losing yourself. This one's for you if God has ever rewritten your plans halfway through.


Guest Bio
David Fisher works with filmmakers at Angel Studios, negotiating contracts and bringing independent films into the studio's ecosystem. A former NET Ministries missionary and college seminarian at St. John Vianney, he studied Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas and began his career as an attorney. He and his wife, Laura, lead Fidelity, a marriage ministry at their parish. They live outside St. Paul, Minnesota, with their nine children.

Chapter Markers

00:00 College Seminary vs. Minor Seminary: "Like Being a D1 Athlete"

02:00 Playing Priest at Seven (and Never Letting His Brother Preach)

03:15 The Girl Who Crossed the Street

06:30 "Listen to Your Heart": Advice From His Spiritual Director

07:45 23 Years, Nine Kids, and Baby #10 on the Way

09:30 Destructive Boys and "Varsity Babysitter" Girls

10:45 Why Minnesota? Relationships Over Everything

13:00 Angel Studios and Life in the Delta Sky Club

15:00 Horse-Drawn Carriages and White Wigs: The Young Washington Premiere

16:30 How the Angel Guild Votes on Which Films Get Made

19:00 What Seminary Taught Him About Insecurity and Identity

22:30 Father Figures: Mark Berchem, Gordy DeMarais, and Ed & Leslie Gross

24:30 Fidelity and Foundations: A Marriage Ministry for 200 Couples

27:00 JCPenney's "Doghouse" Ad and the ThighMaster Mistake

28:30 A Royal Blue JCPenney Shirt and Life on the Rock With Jeff Cavins

31:00 Broadway Mom, Theater Kid, and Singing With His Brothers

33:30 Advice for Young Husbands: The Law of the Gift

37:00 Praying for Angel Studios and Independent Filmmakers

🤝 What if the most countercultural thing a Catholic can do right now is stay friends with people he or she disagrees with? Jonathan Lewis leads The Communion Project, a brand-new initiative from the Paulist Fathers (the first Catholic men's religious order founded in America) that names toxic polarization for what it is: a sin. He sits down with Liv Harrison in Napa to talk about why difference isn't the enemy, and why an unlikely friendship between Tim Busch and Fr. James Martin had people writing in like they'd finally caught their breath.

We also get into the Thanksgiving-table test, why "it's okay" is not the same as "I forgive you," and what swipe culture is doing to how we treat each other. This one's for you if you've ever muted the family group chat, and for anyone who wants to find their way back to each other in The LIVing Room.

Guest Bio:

Jonathan Lewis leads The Communion Project, a new initiative founded by the Paulist Fathers to address toxic polarization in the Catholic Church. He previously spent about five years as a director of religious education for two parishes. He is currently building out The Communion Project's podcast, resources, and a first-ever invite-only retreat for Catholic media leaders. He lives just outside Washington, D.C., with his wife and their three young children.

In This Episode

00:00 First Time in Napa + What Is The Communion Project?

01:00 The Paulist Fathers: America's First Catholic Men's Order

02:00 Fr. Isaac Hecker, Hecker Flour, and America's OG Seeker

03:00 Rebranding "Toxic Polarization" (Because Nobody Wants to Talk About It)

05:00 Polarization Is a Sin, but Difference Isn't

06:00 Tim Busch, Fr. James Martin, and Friendships Nobody Expected

08:00 The Oxygen-Mask Response (and the Pushback)

09:00 The 10-Year Dream: Your Trump-Voting Uncle at Thanksgiving

11:00 Check What Comes In: Truffle Fries, Fox, CNN, and a Media Fast

13:00 Capitol Hill Mass: Both Parties in the Same Pews

14:00 Jonathan's Family: 10 Years Married, Three Kids

16:00 Why "It's Okay" Isn't Enough: Teaching Kids "I Forgive You"

17:00 Accountability, Real Apologies, and PR Apologies

20:00 Dr. Becky's Good Inside and The Anxious Generation

22:00 Swipe Culture, Ghosting, and How Tech Forms Us

24:00 Inside the Invite-Only Catholic Media Retreat

26:00 Mary, Mother of Communion, and Meeting Mary as a New Dad

28:00 A Vatican II Prayer and Galatians 5 on a Wedding Band

30:00 How We Can Pray for Jonathan

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🎬 Sr. Nancy, a Daughter of St. Paul and Hollywood film reviewer, once watched Harrison Ford walk into a room of journalists and head straight for the sisters. When she told him her whole community prays for him, he bowed his head and said it meant more than she knew. In this episode, she and Liv Harrison talk about red carpets, religious life, and how a teenager who prayed "as long as it's not religious life" ended up entering the convent right out of high school.
They cover George Clooney's altar-boy Latin, a camera operator with a bottle of holy water on a dark set, and how to examine your conscience about your online life. This one's for you if you've ever told God, "Anything but that."

Guest Bio:
Sr. Nancy Usselmann is a Daughter of St. Paul and director of the Pauline Media Studies center in Los Angeles, where she reviews film and TV from a faith perspective. She previously served as CFO of her province and holds a master's in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary and a doctorate in ministry from The Catholic University of America. She teaches Media Mindfulness nationwide and helped form Catholics in Entertainment, a Hollywood community for faith-filled creatives.

In This Episode
00:00 Harrison Ford Heads Straight for the Nuns
01:00 Classic Movies, Elvis, and Ginger Rogers
03:00 Growing Up Catholic in the "Rome of the West"
06:00 Meeting the Daughters of St. Paul
08:00 The Prayer Card: "As Long As It's Not a Nun"
11:00 From the Convent to CFO During the 2008 Crash
12:00 Theology, Pop Culture, and Media Mindfulness
17:00 Blessed James Alberione and Nuns Driving Cars in 1915
22:00 Red Carpet Stories: Harrison Ford and George Clooney
28:00 Seeing Movies With Sacramental Eyes
34:00 Holy Water on a Dark Set: Faith in Hollywood
39:00 An Examination of Conscience for Your Online Life

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

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