I'm honoured today to be joined by best-selling author, novelist, educator and activist Rashid Darden. Rashid tells us his story, and his lived experiences growing up and living as an LGBTQI black man raised by a single mother, and how this influenced his writing and his activism. We explore together how pop culture and black & LGTQIA representation, past, present and future, and why it continues to be increasingly important. We also touch on examples from the MCU, Superman and even Doctor W...
Jan 24, 2022•41 min•Ep. 304
**TW: conversion therapy** Today I'm joined by writer, PhD candidate and lecturer Luke Wilson, to hear his story of deconstruction, as well as his experience with and escape from conversion therapy. Luke lays bare his lived experience of conversion therapy and how he broke free of this and how this impacted his own mental health, his spiritual journey and his work. He also tells us about the advocacy and writing he does now, against conversion therapy and other practices which hurt the LGBTQIA c...
Jan 17, 2022•43 min•Ep. 303
Special bonus episode today, with my friends Kevin Nye and Emma Morrison where they and I chat together about the award-winning show, Wandavision. We explore the themes of processing grief, certainty and how this show gives us an echo of the roots of fundamentalism and oppressive systems. We explore some of the deeper themes and story arcs and reflect on what the story means for us, and what we can learn from it. This is also a semi-preview of my second podcast, launching this coming week, "The ...
Jan 13, 2022•54 min•Ep. 302
Today author Holly Smale, author of the bestselling Geek Girl books, joins me to share her story and talk about the lived experience of being autistic. She talks about her writing career, and how creating geek girl actually helped her discover she was autistic and get a formal diagnosis. We discuss together our shared lived experiences of being autistic and the challenges autistic people face living in the world as it is - and the stigma and lack of understanding which still exists. We also talk...
Jan 10, 2022•44 min•Ep. 301
Today is the 300th episode of the Poema Podcast (despite some numbering issues with iTunes), and to celebrate, my friend Becky Castle Miller is acting as host, in a semi-fun ask me anything! Many listeners and friends sent in questions, and I had no idea what they were before recording. Questions on podcasts, how the podcast started, on my dreams, on creativity, spirituality, curiosity and a whole lot more. This episode was so much fun and a perfect way to end 2021 on the podcast. I'll be back i...
Dec 06, 2021•52 min•Ep. 300
Today I talk with fellow singleton Kristyn DeNooyer about the challenges of singleness and stigma around this, and the importance of hospitality to and by single people in order to have healthy support networks. Kristyn shares her own story and the challenges she's faced and how its impacted her mental health. She also discusses the stigma single people can often face in spiritual communities and even society and how it can affect us. And she gives us hope and insight into how we can make the wo...
Nov 29, 2021•39 min•Ep. 303
Today my friends Trace Bell & Tina Olsen join me to talk about everything spiral dynamics - and how we can apply the concept of spiral dynamics to our every day living and grow in awareness and consciousness. We talk about what spiral dynamics is, and Trace and Lisa unpack some very practical lessons they've learned about how we can use spiral dynamics as a tool. They explain how living the spiral can help us live more creative, healthy lives, as well as growing in our own level of conscious...
Nov 22, 2021•44 min•Ep. 298
My geek philosophy series continues today as writer Doug Humphries and I spend time reflecting on the season one of 'Loki' and the lead characters personal journey. We explore how Loki confronts his past, his actions, and his grief and goes through an incredible personal deconstruction & transformation, and how his journey is often reflected in our own. We also talk about the similarities between TVA and evangelicalism/capitalism, - a system we are part of and seems friendly, but has a sinis...
Nov 15, 2021•42 min•Ep. 297
Today my geek philosophy series continues, as my friend Drew Brown and I sit down to discuss the series 'Falcon and the Winter Soldier'. We explore the character arcs of the two central characters, their processing of grief and trauma from the events of Avengers Endgame and loss of Steve, and how this journey helps them discover themselves. We also explore the issues around systemic racism and white supremacy in the US and how these manifest themselves in the show, and the lessons they can teach...
Nov 08, 2021•51 min•Ep. 296
Today on the podcast, another in our occasional series of deconstruction / spiritual transformation journeys, this time blogger and author Deborah Brunt. Deborah shares with us her experiences of growing up in a toxic religious environment and the spiritual abuse she experienced, and how it impacted her faith & her mental/emotional health. She tells me how in order to follow what she believed to be a call to ministry and be free of this abuse and toxicity, she had to make tough choices, and ...
Nov 01, 2021•41 min•Ep. 295
Today my friend Marie joins me to tell her deconstruction story. She talks about how she and her husband found their way into evangelical culture as adults, and how she slowly began to feel trapped in toxic religion. She shares her experience of purity culture and how this impacted her marriage & her faith. Marie then tells us how she began her journey out of of toxic religion and purity culture, and found true liberation on the other side.
Oct 25, 2021•40 min•Ep. 294
**Trigger warning: Narcissistic abuse, spiritual abuse, emotional abuse** My friend Ana returns to the podcast today, to share her lived experience of narcissistic abuse within Christian fundamentalism. It's a powerful, discomforting story which shows us the depths of narcissism within evangelical Christianity and patriarchy, and how challenging it is to break free of it. Ana tells us how she found a way to freedom, her deconstruction, the challenges she faced along the way - and still does - an...
Oct 18, 2021•42 min•Ep. 293
Today I'm joined by John Howey, otherwise known as Bridge Livwat, who shares with us his personal, spiritual and creative journey. He talks about his faith deconstruction and the journey from aspiring worship leader into creating his own music, and his creative and spiritual journeys intertwined and interacted. We talk about our shared love of the work of Rob Bell, and how he's impacted each of our lives and journeys, including the principle of sabbath, and time. Ultimately, it's a story of how ...
Oct 11, 2021•46 min•Ep. 292
My friend Cat, tarot reader, joins me today. They tell their powerful, challenging story from evangelicalism through deconstruction into tarot and spellwork, and coming out. They also tell us about how they discovered the transformative power of tarot and spellwork, and the impact it's had on their life. It's a discomforting but honest story, of Cat's experiences within an evangelical cult, the struggles of leaving it behind and the freedom from discovering & embracing their true identity. *...
Oct 04, 2021•48 min•Ep. 291
Today I'm joined by podcaster, creator, artist and spiritual mentor April Kling Meyer. April tells us her own story and talks to us about the intersection between creativity and spiritual journey. She shares through her story and experience how our spiritual and personal journeys inform our creative journey. Finally, we discover how we can use the energy of grief and trauma to transform our lives, our spirituality and allow us create something fresh, new and life giving.
Sep 30, 2021•47 min•Ep. 290
I'm honoured to be joined again by my friends Jenna DeWitt & Holly Stallcup today, to explore healthy sexual ethics in the church and being sex positive. We explore topics like masturbation, sex toys and other things which rarely get discussed in church environments. We also go on to explore different sexual ethics, and how we should honour and respect each others sexual ethics, even if they're different. We discuss how harmful it can be to force one sexual ethic on everyone, and how sexuali...
Sep 27, 2021•45 min•Ep. 289
I'm honoured today to be joined by Suzanne and Declan DeWitt Hall, authors, activists and Christians. They tell us their story as a couple, and in particular the journey of Declan to embrace his gender identity. Declan talks about his own journey of coming to terms with his true gender identity, being honest about this with herself, before God and the world, and beginning the transitioning into that identity. It's a powerful, courageous story, which shows once again the divine loves and accepts ...
Sep 20, 2021•38 min•Ep. 288
My friend Trace Bell joins me for the first time today Trace has done a lot of work, some with his dad Rob Bell, on talking about spirituality, awareness, time and spiral dynamics. Today he shares his own spiritual journey, and in particular how his curiosity led him into an understanding of awareness. He shares how he began to see his own consciousness and awareness as separate from his body and even time itself, and how this impacted his understanding of spirituality, his work and his personal...
Sep 14, 2021•41 min•Ep. 287
I'm delighted to welcome back my friend, writer, author and coach Jim Woods to the show this week! Jim's just released his first novel 'Bite the Bullet', and today we talk about the creative process behind the novel, how long it took to write, and the experience of novel writing. Jim talks about the power of storytelling, why stories resonate with us why the best stories connect with us. He also tells me about the process of creating characters and writing their stories, and the interesting dyna...
Sep 10, 2021•39 min•Ep. 286
Today I'm joined by TED speaker and grief/loss facilitator Jennifer Mathews. Jennifer tells her own tragic, in some ways unique, and powerful story of loss...and how her response to the death of her life partner was not one she calls grief, and the lessons this experience taught her about dealing with loss. Jennifer explores how processing loss can lead to connection, and how she experienced this, and why it's so important for our healing and thriving that we confront our trauma and loss, rather...
Sep 06, 2021•45 min•Ep. 285
Today on the podcast I'm joined by author Kat Armas (MDiv and MAT), who shares her own story, and talks about the wisdom of women on the margins - mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters - and how & what it teaches us about spirituality and the divine. Kat shares her own experiences and lessons she's learned, as well as some other powerful stories, and we see how some of the great theologians of our time have been previously overlooked women.
Aug 30, 2021•42 min•Ep. 284
Today my occasional series on ADHD continues with therapist, mental health advocate and podcast host Robert Vore sharing his own story. Robert shares his own unique experience of growing up with ADHD and then becoming a therapist and advocate himself and encountering/working with others with ADHD and trauma. Robert gives us a valuable insight into the lived experience of ADHD and insight into working with others with the condition.
Aug 23, 2021•43 min•Ep. 283
Today my series on ADHD continues with the return of my friend Elle Rose, to share their lived experience of ADHD, and the challenges and stigma they have experienced growing up with ADHD and in getting a diagnosis. Elle shares honestly, and with great courage, about their day to day experience of ADHD, patterns of behaviour which can be linked with the condition, and the difference getting a diagnosis and medication can make. They also share words of solidarity, encouragement and wisdom for tho...
Aug 16, 2021•39 min•Ep. 282
Today I'm delighted to welcome my friend Sarah ('Sheologian' from Twitter) to the podcast for a new series of episodes focussing on ADHD. I myself have undiagnosed ADHD and there's a lot of stigma and misunderstanding about it. This series aims to raise awareness. Sarah shares her own story and experiences growing up with ADHD, in particularly in evangelical patriarchal culture, the day to day challenges she encounters, her own lived experience and lessons she's learned. She also talks about the...
Aug 02, 2021•40 min•Ep. 281
Today in the vlatest of my 'Geek Philosophy' series I'm joined by good friend Emma Morrison, and we talk about the world of Star Wars and its links to deconstruction and processing trauma. Emma tells her own story, sharing how Star Wars - and in particular the character of Leia Organa - influenced her growing up, how she inspired her and how as she went her own deconstruction journey she saw this reflected in the character development of Leia and others in the Star Wars canon. We also explore th...
Jul 26, 2021•53 min•Ep. 280
Today I'm joined by author and writer Kevin M Nye, contributing author of the book 'Theology of the Marvel Universe' to explore this subject in more depth. As the latest MCU movie 'Black Widow' hits theatres we explore some of the deeper themes behind several characters stories and different movies within the MCU. We talk about where we see metaphors for faith deconstruction, decolonialism, patriarchy and other massive issues/lived experiences which we see playing out in today's world and in the...
Jul 19, 2021•45 min•Ep. 279
In this new series, I explore with guests the philosophy, theology and mythology of geek world - superheroes, Star Wars, and more. This episode, I talk to Mario-Francisco Robles of 'Superman on Film', about the mythology and philosophy around Superman and the early Superman movies. We each share our own experiences of this character and what he's meant to each of us. We also talk about Superman's journey, his experiences - including those of grief and loss - as well his identity and values. We e...
Jul 12, 2021•51 min•Ep. 278
Today, historian and author Kristin Kobes Du Mez joins me to talk about her bestselling book "Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation". We talk about the forces in US evangelical culture which led to the rise and election of Donald Trump as President, dating back to the 70s and 80s and the Presidency of Ronald Reagan. We touch on the truths President Jimmy Carter confronted the US with...which they chose to ignore in favour of certainty. We discuss t...
Jul 05, 2021•54 min•Ep. 277
In today's episode, recorded early on in the pandemic, I'm joined by Daliana May, who lives in South East Asia doing anti-trafficking work and advocacy for social justice. Daliana tells us her story of being a missionary, and then how she moved into deconstructing her faith. She talks of the challenges she faced in her deconstructing her faith, leaving patriarchy behind and decolonising as a white woman with experience in missions, and how she discovered new meaning and purpose in anti-trafficki...
Jun 28, 2021•44 min•Ep. 276
Writer, speaker and podcaster Kate Boyd is my guest today. Together we explore and discuss how spiritual community has evolved and changed as more people deconstruct their faith, and how the pandemic will impact spiritual communities. Kate shares what she's learned through her own story and work, and the challenges she's faced and that spiritual communities need to confront as we move forward post-pandemic. We also talk about how churches can become safe spaces for those deconstructing, who've b...
Jun 14, 2021•42 min•Ep. 275
