A Fiercer Delight with Matt Gordon
The world can feel heavy, full of pain that outpaces our joy. A Fiercer Delight is Matt Gordon’s search for something brighter - conversations with coworkers, business leaders, neighbors, and friends who are chasing goodness, truth, and wisdom in their real, messy lives.
Each episode explores the human experience - failures, turning points, small delights, and big transformations - to uncover how we might live with more light, more hope, and more joy. Starting with local voices and expanding nationally, A Fiercer Delight invites you to sit in on candid, thoughtful, sometimes funny talks that just might leave you inspired to find a fiercer delight of your own.
Episodes
22 episodes
Jess Vomund: Hummingbirds, Saying the Thing, and Everyday Wonder
What if the happiest people aren't the lucky ones, but the ones who choose it on purpose? Jess greets the hallway with hey, hi, hi while everyone else ducks eye contact, and she means it.She and her husband Eddie met over a Memorial Day ...
Rachel Douglas: Karaoke, Canoes, and More Is More
What happens when the extrovert who lights up every room realizes her battery is empty halfway through a service trip in Jamaica?Rachel Douglas grew up floating rivers in St. James, Missouri, and now trains people at Veterans United in C...
Levi Lenon: Saving Adin, Losing Dad, and Joyful Work
What do you do when you watch a 19-year-old die in a wreck, drive away thinking you failed, and learn months later he's alive?On Halloween 2025, Levi was taking his daughter to a soccer game when he came up on a vehicle ripped in half. H...
Sierra Michaelis: Marathons, Medals, and Finding Faith in the Quiet
What does it look like to chase joy when you're wired to compete, perform, and be the funniest person in the room? Sierra Michaelis joins Matt to talk about running marathons (with and without training), growing up on a cattle farm in Jackson, ...
Heather Cox: Memory Care, Bonus Kids, and the Windbreaker of Faith
What do you do when the wind picks up? Heather Cox joins the show in a literal windbreaker on a rainy day to talk about fighting for joy through memory care, bonus kids, and a faith that doesn't always break the wind but does something quieter ...
Brandon Hoops: Mentors, Golf, and the Wilderness Garden
Where do you go to remember who you are? Brandon Hoops joins the show to talk about mentors, mud-built memories, and a piece of family wisdom called the wilderness garden.We get into how Brandon picked up his nickname, why he flips garag...
Walt Walton: The Spinout, Ecclesiastes, and a Song for Mom
What does it take to break a generational chain? Walt Walton joins the show to talk about the spinout that almost killed him, the verses that turned him around, and the song he wrote for the mom he lost.We get into how Alex became Walt f...
Kelley Frink: Big Medicine, Lemonade Trucks, and Walking the Creek
What if joy is just a thing you have to walk to the creek for? Kelley Frink joins the show to talk about big medicine in the Wyoming wilderness, the lemonade truck that's worth pausing a meeting for, and the parents who named her Kelley because...
Larissa Wollard: A Middle Name Called Joy and Letting Laundry Wait
What does it look like to live up to your middle name? Larissa Wollard joins the show to talk about the dad who named her Joy, the unrealistic expectations she puts on herself, and the laundry she absolutely does not need to fold tonight.
Stephon Austin: Buc-ee's, Snack Wagers, and Letting the Weekend Come
What does it cost to slow down? Stephon Austin joins the show to talk about Buc-ee's pilgrimages, why his cousins are still his weekend plans at 37, and the dad wisdom he drops every Friday: just let the weekend come to you.We get into S...
Lauren Steinhoff: Find the Nerds at the Bottom of the Cup
Lauren Steinhoff joins Matt for a wide-ranging, funny conversation about chasing joy in everyday life, even when your palms are sweaty and the microphone is on.They get into what actually fills Lauren’s cup: deep friendships over shallow...
Brock Bondurant: Slow Down, Make Real Coffee, and Waste Time with People
In this episode of A Fiercer Delight, Damon sits down with Brock Bondurant to talk about chasing joy in real life and real coffee. From walking on at Mizzou as a quarterback to life as a husband and dad of two girls, this conversation ...
Hannah Mayse: A Life with Something to Look Forward To
Hannah Mayse is the kind of person who keeps joy on the calendar. In this episode, Matt and Hannah talk about why she needs something to look forward to, and how that “why not?” mindset has shaped the way she lives.They hit the fun stuff...
Zach Mast: People, Faith, and the Joy of Getting a Second Story
Matt runs into our old friend Zach Mast at a coffee shop and turns it into an unplanned episode. The result is a funny, surprisingly honest conversation about where joy actually comes from when you are wired for connection.Zach shares wh...
Craig Brumfield: Home, Rhythm, and the Joy of Daily Gratitude
In this episode of A Fiercer Delight, Matt sits down with Craig Brumfield for a wide-ranging conversation about the quiet, repeatable practices that keep joy and hope within reach. They talk about Craig’s deep love of home (a true Colu...
Kelly Wright: Finding Joy by the Water, in the Work, and with Your People
Licensed professional counselor Kelly Wright sits down to talk about what it means to carry other people’s pain without losing your own joy. From early days drowning in secondhand trauma to a pivotal moment at a Dan Allender conference, Kelly e...
Adam Canote: Family Bands, Harmony, and Small Joys
Matt sits down with Adam Canote for a spontaneous, joy-chasing hang that starts with a brand-new jingle and wanders into music, family, and everyday delight. Adam shares what growing up second of ten in a traveling bluegrass family
Damon Fontinel: WNBA Pilgrimages, Brakes, and Telling Stories
What's the difference between a foundational joy and a fun side joy? Damon Fontinel joins the show to talk about WNBA road trips, the year he got tired of paying somebody else to fix his brakes, and the night his wife paid 90 dollars t...
Drew Alexander: Joy, Sobriety & Starting Over
Matt sits down with storyteller and Civil War–reenactor Drew Alexander to trace a surprisingly hopeful arc, from small-town ’90s roots and church community, through drifting in college, to getting sober and finding his way back to faith,...
Madi Carey: Five Sisters, a Brain Injury, and the King and I
What if the worst chapter of your life is the one that teaches you how to memorize the next one? Madi Carey joins the show to talk about the freshman-year car accident that nearly kept her from college, the high school theater teacher who taugh...
Francie Green: Adult Daughters, Chronic Pain, and Choosing Joy
How do you hold on to delight when your days hurt and your kids are grown? Matt sits down with Francie Green to talk about the quiet contentment of watching her daughters, Taylor and Brooke, step into adult life, the “pull up a ...
Zach Nelson: Recovery, Redemption, and Finding Joy in Pickleball
On the first episode of A Fiercer Delight, Matt Gordon sits down with his friend and coworker Zach Nelson, whose story travels from a “good childhood” into addiction, treatment, and hard-won recovery. Zach shares the moment that...