Diane Summers, MS, RDN, CD is the founder of Hope Nutrition Therapy and a nationally registered and state certified dietitian. Diane has treated the full spectrum of eating disorders and concerns since 2004, has been supervising eating disorder dietitians since 2009, and works with clients and consultees around the world. She is also a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and a Narrative Focused Trauma Care practitioner. In my time with Diane, we talk about what diet culture is and how it impact...
Feb 26, 2024•52 min
In today’s episode, we consider how looking heavenward can breathe new life into the present. This consideration is not a practice of escapism, but an opportunity to take a step back to see the larger story of humanity, where we’ve been and where we’re headed. Thankfully, today’s guest is a gracious and thoughtful guide. Amy Baik Lee is the author of This Homeward Ache: How Our Yearning for the Life to Come Spurs on Our Life today , a literary member of the Anselm Society Arts Guild , and a cont...
Feb 12, 2024•48 min
Felicia Wu Song is a cultural sociologist, speaker, and author who studies how social media and digital devices alter the family, community, and organizational life. Felicia has studied History, Communication Studies and Sociology at Yale, Northwestern, and University of Virginia and her expertise has been sought by organizations such as BioLogos, The Vatican, Notre Dame University, and Fuller Theological Seminary. In my conversation with Felicia, we discuss her latest book, Restless Devices: Re...
Jan 29, 2024•56 min
Kimberly Wilkerson believes in the power of language; how it impacts us and those around us. Kimberly is a speech language pathologist, as well as the founder of Token Clothing Co. At Token Clothing Co., Kimberly has fused her passion for language with her interest in fashion, to give women an experience that helps them overcome limiting beliefs and negative self-talk. In our time together, Kimberly and I discuss the impact of our self-talk on our brains and bodies. Kimberly also shares about he...
Jan 15, 2024•56 min
With the start of the new year, we find ourselves in a season inundated with diet and fitness-related ads. We are being saturated with and sold the message that now is the time to change, reshape, or perfect our bodies or food intake. My hope is that today’s guest will help us all detox from the current flurry of diet culture messaging and be reminded of the goodness of food and of our bodies. Lisa Diers is a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified yoga teacher who specializes in support...
Jan 01, 2024•54 min
In 2007, Kristi McLelland went to Israel and realized that God is better than she ever knew. After studying in Egypt and Israel in 2007, Kristi’s life took a turn, and she began leading biblical studies trips to Israel in 2008. Kristi is an author, professor at Williamson College, and a biblical culturalist who teaches the Bible in its historical, cultural context. Kristi’s most recent book is entitled, Rediscovering Israel: A Fresh Look at God’s Story in its Historical and Cultural Contexts . K...
Dec 11, 2023•43 min
Registered dietitian and author, Dana Sturtevant, believes that society has ruptured our relationship with food, movement, and our bodies. Food has become something to restrict and our bodies a project to tweak and “perfect.” But Dana believes it doesn’t have to be this way. She has spent more than 15 years helping people let go of chronic patterns of dieting and disordered eating and move into a more authentic, sustainable way to occupy and nurture their bodies. Dana Sturtevant is the co-auth...
Nov 28, 2023•56 min
All too often these days, bread gets a bad rap. In many ways, diet culture has taught us to fear “carbs” in all forms. Today’s guest, however, helps us see bread in a new way. She not only invites us to see bread as a gift, but as a sacred reminder of God’s presence and provision. Kendall Vanderslice is a professionally trained baker, speaker, and author, including her most recent title, By Bread Alone: A Baker’s Reflections on Hunger, Longing, and the Goodness of God . Kendall is the founder of...
Nov 13, 2023•37 min
Deb Benfield has helped hundreds of women heal their relationship with food, eating, and their bodies in her 35-year career as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. In her own aging journey, she became frustrated by how difficult it was to find well-researched advice on aging with vitality that was not related to managing weight or youthful appearance. In her group and one-on-one coaching, Deb works with middle-aged women and beyond to help them feel vital and free of culture’s stifling diet and ...
Oct 30, 2023•53 min
Several months ago, The Atlantic reported that forty million Americans have stopped attending church in the past 25 years, representing the largest concentrated change in church attendance in American history. In today’s episode, I talk with pastor’s kid turned pastor, Natalie Runion, about the trend of diminishing church attendance. Natalie Runion is the author of Raised to Stay: Persevering in Ministry When You Have a Million Reasons to Walk Away , worship leader, and the former Pastor of Wome...
Oct 16, 2023•37 min
Donetta Floyd’s compassion and perspectives are so refreshing. When it comes to societal messages around food and our bodies, we can often be left with the feeling that we aren’t doing it right. In today’s episode, registered dietitian Donetta Floyd helps dispel unhelpful ideas and misconceptions regarding our relationship with food, our bodies, as well as Type 2 Diabetes. Donetta is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who works with clients to help them find freedom in their relationship with f...
Oct 03, 2023•44 min
Emmy Russell is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter who has been performing for the majority of her life. Touring on the road with her grandmother, country legend Loretta Lynn, Emmy started singing on stage at the age of two. Years later, Emmy sang with Willie Nelson’s son, Lukas, at her grandmother’s memorial. This special performance was nominated for Performance of the Year at the CMT Music Awards. Most recently, Emmy released the song, “Skinny” with The Song House, detailing her struggle wit...
Sep 18, 2023•30 min
Gaelynn Lea is a professional musician and sought-after public speaker. She has opened for numerous artists including the Decembrists, composed the music for Macbeth on Broadway , starring Daniel Craig, and her perspectives have been shared on outlets such as On Being With Krista Tippett and PBS NewsHour . Having been born with Osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, Gaelynn has had to navigate the world differently. Such life experiences have shaped her perspectives in important in me...
Sep 05, 2023•50 min
Societal notions of “beauty” and our relationship with our bodies and food have been deeply influenced by diet culture. Author and registered dietitian Christy Harrison defines diet culture as: “a system of beliefs that equates thinness, muscularity, and particular body shapes with health and moral virtue; promotes weight loss and body reshaping as a means of attaining higher status; demonizes certain foods and food groups while elevating others; and oppresses people who don’t match its supposed...
Aug 28, 2023•53 min
Grace Wabuke Klein has had her share of ups and downs. From fleeing Uganda under the reign of Idi Amin as a child to having her prayers to get married answered at the age of 42, Grace has had a full life. She has also learned, and now encourages others, that we can find purpose even in difficult days and seasons of waiting. In her new book Flourish: Finding Purpose in the Unknown and Unexpected Seasons of Life, Grace gives a fresh perspective on the winter seasons we all go through, as well as p...
Aug 21, 2023•42 min
Some of life’s greatest lessons come from unexpected teachers. For Lacy Finn Borgo, some of her greatest teachers have been children. In Lacy’s new book, Faith Like a Child: Embracing Our Lives as Children of God, Lacy invites us to consider what we might learn from children. Moreover, could welcoming our child selves draw us deeper into wholeness and our relationship with God? Lacy Finn Borgo teaches and provides spiritual direction through Renovaré, Mercy Center Burlingame, Companioning Center...
Jul 24, 2023•41 min
You never know where things will lead. For Grace Casper, a journal she began in elementary school has now become her new book, releasing this week entitled, Dear Parents: Notes from a Child of Divorce. Grace Casper is a writer, speaker, full-time elementary school librarian, and the host of the podcast, Divorce: What I Wish My Parents Knew . She graduated from Baylor University and now lives in Waco, Texas. In my time with Grace, we talk about how her journal entries became a book and the import...
Jun 19, 2023•46 min
In honor of the release of my new book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless , I have a special episode in store for you. I recently sat down to have a conversation with my literary agent, Don Pape. Don has been a champion of my book and its message for years now and I can’t thank him enough. In our time together we talk about how Don ended up working in the publishing business, how he then became a literary agent, and the unique features of his company, Pa...
Jun 06, 2023•38 min
When it comes to societal messages around beauty, we’ve all been swimming in toxic waters. On today’s episode, Christie Dondero Bettwy, helps us name some of the toxic beliefs and messages that we are being fed, so we might be freed from them. Christie is the Executive Director of Rock Recovery in Arlington, Virginia. Rock Recovery is a Christian eating disorder therapy nonprofit where clients can access low-cost therapy and support groups. In our time together, Christie talks about her own reco...
May 22, 2023•42 min
Catherine Claire Larson invites us to see beyond the surface of things; reminding us that each life is a miracle, and that parenting is actually soul formation. Catherine is an author and the mother of six boys. Her most recent book is called, Watching in Wonder: Growing in Faith During Your Baby's First Year. Catherine has her masters in biblical studies and spent seven years writing with Chuck Colson for BreakPoint radio, Christianity Today, and Newsweek online. These days she writes to encour...
May 15, 2023•46 min
“Whole,” “natural,” and “clean” are just some of wellness culture’s buzzwords. On the surface, wellness culture can be so enticing, perhaps seen as the pathway to optimal health and wellbeing. In today’s episode, however, Christy Harrison unpacks some of the dynamics and potential dangers of wellness culture; helping us see why we should think twice before investing in a product or plan that seems too good to be true. Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, CEDS is a journalist, registered dietitian, and cer...
May 01, 2023•57 min
Elena Rossini noticed a disturbing trend; she observed a cross-generation epidemic of body dissatisfaction. Not only was the trend across generations but it was manifested in similarly distressing ways across diverse cultures. Elena Rossini is an Italian film director, producer, editor and public speaker. Her work focuses on issues of social justice, media representation, and the empowerment of women and girls. Elena’s most notable film is the documentary The Illusionists, about the globalizatio...
Apr 24, 2023•51 min
Shame is that all-encompassing, embodied, sinking feeling that we are wrong or bad. It’s not just a sense of guilt over something we did, but the wrongness of who we are. And shame has all kinds of occasions to creep in; the perceived wrongness of our body, our relationships status, our parenting, our career, and the list goes on. In today’s episode, Jasmine Holmes invites us to consider the influence shame has on our lives. Jasmine Holmes is a teacher and author, committed to centering black st...
Apr 10, 2023•46 min
Cleere Cherry Reaves had an experience that changed how she viewed everything. When Cleere’s son was born three months prematurely, Cleere and her husband watched as their child fought for his life, developed, and began to thrive. In today’s episode, Cleere tells us the lessons she learned from that experience, how her faith was transformed, and why it inspired her to write the children’s book, The Miracle of You. Cleere Cherry Reaves is the owner and creator of Cleerely Stated, an online boutiq...
Mar 27, 2023•54 min
Amanda Held Opelt got a lesson in grief she never wanted. After a series of miscarriages, the loss of her grandma, and then her beloved sister, Amanda found solace in an unexpected place, in exploring ancient grief rituals in practices. In her first book, A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing , Amanda explores how such ancient grief rituals and practices can be a vessel for honest expression, communal connection, and even healing. Amanda is an author, speaker, and son...
Mar 20, 2023•47 min
In today’s episode, K.J. Ramsey reminds me that “We are held by this web of love,” the love of God and the love of others. Those words and others like it shifted something in me. Instead of having to nervously earn or find God’s love, it is a reality that always surrounds me. A reality I can rest in. A reality we can rest in. K.J. Ramsey is a trauma-informed licensed professional counselor and is the author of three books, including her latest title, The Book of Common Courage: Prayers and Poems...
Mar 13, 2023•54 min
The Sunday Herald calls today’s guest, Jessica DeFino, “the woman the beauty industry fears.” That’s because Jessica, a beauty reporter and beauty culture critic, has seen the inner workings of the beauty industry and didn’t like it. More than that, Jessica now spends her time dismantling beauty standards, debunking marketing myths, and exploring how beauty culture impacts people — physically, psychologically, and spiritually. Jessica has written for outlets such as The New York Times, Vogue, Te...
Feb 28, 2023•54 min
How do we live life fully alive? For Sandhya Oaks, living fully alive entails being courageous enough to go to places of brokenness and shame, so we might find healing. While trauma or hurt stunts our capacity for fullness of life, healing leads to an increased ability to love and live abundantly. Sandhya Oaks is a Ministry Leader, Spiritual Director, leads Kintsugi workshops, and does Story Work. Born in India and adopted as a Transracial Adoptee in the Midwest, Sandhya now walks with others th...
Feb 20, 2023•41 min
We are approaching Lent, a forty-day period of preparation for celebrating Jesus’ resurrection at Easter. It’s a time rich with spiritual significance. It also happens to be a time when the ideas of self-deprivation and fasting can get emphasized in faith-based circles. The tricky part is that both diet culture messages and faith-based messages at times explicitly and implicitly emphasize food restriction and/or self-deprivation. This Lent I have the privilege of being a part of a teaching serie...
Feb 13, 2023•49 min
In a world where beauty is so often equated with thinness and weight loss with health, willpower, and virtue, Intuitive Eating gives us a different framework-one that emphasizes the beauty of body diversity and makes food freedom possible. In today’s episode, I have the privilege of speaking with one of the co-creators of Intuitive Eating, Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDS-S. Elyse is a nutrition therapist in private practice in Beverly Hills, California, with forty years of experience, specializing in...
Jan 30, 2023•55 min
