Not so Christian Brothers

With Colm away on personal matters and Rebecca on holiday, Beatrice Caffrey steps into the hot seat opposite her husband, Justin. What begins with playful banter about jumpers quickly dives deep into the heart of modern relationships, gender roles, grief, and rediscovering purpose. Beatrice opens up about life as a business owner, mother, and woman navigating shifting household dynamics — while Justin reflects on masculinity, vulnerability, and how grief shaped their marriage after the death of their infant son. Together, they balance candid honesty with humour, from bin duties and DIY mishaps to raw conversations about resilience, parenting, and finding meaning beyond family roles. Justin mentions Flow Rope and the magic of Lawrence Van Lingen on the pod. Find out more at @lawrencevanlingen on Instagram. Find Beatrice Caffrey on Instragram @beatrice.caffrey_ 💡 This episode blends laughter with life lessons, giving listeners rare insight into how a couple balances tradition and progress, independence and togetherness, grief and growth. 👉 Perfect for fans of relationship podcasts, men’s mental health, resilience stories, and authentic marriage conversations. Chapter List 00:00 – Santa or Papa Smurf? Lighthearted opener: Beatrice’s jumper sparks Justin’s cheeky comparisons. 03:44 – Household Roles Under the Microscope A listener asks if Justin lives up to the “modern man” image or if life at home is more traditional. 07:04 – Acceptance, Not Annoyance Beatrice explains why she no longer sweats the small stuff — from bins to dishwashers. 10:27 – Masculinity and Money Justin recalls feeling the burden of being the breadwinner and the difficulty of admitting vulnerability. 17:18 – Mental Health is Like a Fart Justin’s blunt metaphor for why emotions are “better out than in.” 20:00 – Don’t Fix Me, Just Listen Beatrice on why women often just need to be heard — and Justin’s struggle to resist fixing. 22:58 – Losing Joshua Beatrice reflects on grief, nature walks, and how she processed the death of their infant son. 26:45 – No Timeline on Grief Her honest message: “There’s no finishing line. Grief is ongoing — let it happen.” 28:56 – Rediscovering Purpose Beyond Parenting Beatrice explains how building her business gave her meaning as Luca grew older. 32:08 – Teenagers, Relevance, and Letting Go The couple discuss the grief of not being “cool” to your kids anymore. 33:19 – Like, Subscribe, Follow Beatrice learns the all-important sign-off while Justin laughs at her panic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

But just when you think it’s all laughs, Rebecca shares a harrowing personal story from her holiday (Caution When Listening), witnessing a man collapse and die on the beach in front of his wife and children. The conversation turns raw, heartbreaking, and deeply human. This Aftershow is pure chaos — and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Justin, Colm, and Rebecca spiral from jokes about loose hyphens, perimenopause, and Japan’s luxury toilets into a heated debate on stingy friends, cutting people out of your life, and what sobriety really does to friendships. This is Not So Christian Brothers at its most unpredictable: equal parts comedy, confession, and confrontation with life’s fragility. If you’ve ever questioned your friendships, wrestled with cutting ties, or just needed a reminder that life can turn on a dime, this episode will hit you hard — and keep you laughing along the way. ⏱️ Chapter Timelines00:00 – Trigger Warning & Kickoff – Justin preps listeners for a tough ending00:18 – Bathroom Banter – Colm’s constant need to pee, loose hyphens & perimenopause jokes01:12 – Aftershow Madness – Names, producers, and the Gay Byrne mix-up story02:45 – Karen vs. Jessica – The evolution of cultural name-calling04:06 – Stingy Friends & Money Etiquette – When tightness tips friendships over the edge05:52 – Japan Toilet Tour – Heated passion for high-tech loos07:10 – Cutting People Out – Justin on “weeding your friendship garden”08:54 – Sobriety & Shifting Friendships – Who stays, who leaves, and why11:11 – The Judgment of Sobriety – Are sober friends secretly seen as superior?13:00 – Rebecca’s Holiday Trauma – Witnessing a sudden death on the beach17:58 – Echoes of the Past – Justin shares Beatrice’s childhood tragedy19:22 – Desensitization vs. Real Life – Why live trauma hits different than TV news20:26 – The Dark Beauty of Chaos – Reflections on fragility, privilege, and guilt21:06 – Closing Out – Gratitude, raw honesty, and a reminder to love fiercely Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when life throws you completely off script? In this week’s Not So Christian Brothers, Justin and Colm swap wild stories of unpredictability—from Justin’s son ending up in hospital after a terrifying health scare, to Colm’s wife rushing into treatment, to the unpredictable chaos of live radio where a prize giveaway went horribly wrong. Along the way, they reveal a surprising Chris Evans connection, debate whether friendships can survive “tight” mates who never pay their way, and laugh at how control is mostly an illusion. Expect raw honesty, real laughs, and plenty of chaos—because when life blindsides you, all you can do is ride the wave. Timestamps 00:00 When life blindsides you (and Rebecca’s mic dies) 02:10 Chris Evans at CarFest: fame, health, and reinvention 05:00 Justin’s hospital scare with Luca (what happened) 08:45 Colm on live radio chaos—when a giveaway goes wrong 14:50 Are your mates “tight”… or just oblivious? 21:30 How to call it out without blowing up the group 28:40 Why men need more friends (and how to make them at 40+) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Aftershow, Rebecca joins Colm and Justin on the sofa — and immediately throws down a challenge. Why do men shy away from joy? Are we meant to accept life as mostly struggle with the odd moment of happiness, or can optimism and denial actually keep us alive? What follows is raw, funny, and deeply human: Rebecca opens up about excitement, resilience, and living in denial as survival. Colm admits he no longer feels excited about anything, while Justin argues for finding meaning in small wins instead of chasing big highs. Together they wrestle with loneliness, love, and whether anyone is really there to “catch us” when we fall. It’s banter, honesty, and emotion in equal measure — a conversation that will resonate with anyone navigating middle age, change, and the search for connection. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not So Christian Brothers Podcast | Is AI Going to Destroy the World? (And Why Men Feel Invisible) In this episode of Not So Christian Brothers, Justin, Colm, and Rebecca go full throttle on the very real struggles of men who feel invisible in midlife. 🎙️ We kick things off with Denzel Washington fanboying, calculator “boobs,” and Justin’s confession that he talks to ChatGPT more than his wife. But beneath the laughs, we get serious: Is AI bigger than electricity? Will China and the US race for AI dominance change the world forever? What happens when your fridge, blood tests, and even medical scans get run through ChatGPT? And most importantly: should Bernadette from Finglas let AI plan her weekly shop? Then we tackle a powerful DM from a listener: a 53-year-old man who feels invisible at home, at work, and in his friendships. From teenage kids pushing boundaries to men losing purpose after midlife, we dive into what loneliness really looks like and why slowing down might be the hardest — and most important — thing to do. 💡 Expect laughter, sharp truths, and a few WTF moments. It’s messy, it’s real, and it’s what you come here for. 👉 If you’re new here, don’t forget to subscribe, like, and follow — it makes a huge difference to the show and helps us keep going. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.