Conversation Balloons

Counselor and former p*rn addict Crystal Day is here in a very honest and practical chat about dating and finding the right spouse. Additional resources: Websites: ⁠livingonpurposekc.com⁠ ⁠sherecovery.com⁠ thefreedomfight.org Podcast: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sherecovery-podcast-with-crystal-renaud-day/id1562758962⁠ Books: 90 Days to Wholeness Dirty Girls Come Clean Dating Done Right...

Crystal Renaud Day was exposed to porn as a little girl, leading to a dark path of addiction.  She reveals ways of escape from the isolation and dependence created by pornography, and how she helps other women who struggle in similar ways.  Parents--be aware there is frank (though not explicit) discussion of troubling issues in this interview. Additional resources: Websites: livingonpurposekc.com...

Allyson Schrier's husband was descending into dementia.  Here's how she grew into caregiving, eventually founding Zinnia TV, programming for those living with dementia and other challenges.  Allyson is an award-winning leader in the field of technological and human support for those with cognitive deficits and speaks to us with expertise, yet candidly from the heart as she tells her story....

C.S. Lewis expert Jerry Root explains the mysterious place that Christmas holds in the beloved children's classic  The Chronicles of Narnia .  Why is Lewis called a grinch by some?  What does Santa Claus have to do with Jesus, and the White Witch with Herod?  And where might you meet Mr. Tumnus the Faun on Thursdays at 4:00?  It's all here.  Merry Christmas! Additional resources: By C.S. L...

An advocate for true gender equity, Bettina Arndt is an Aussie sex therapist who became a popular media personality and sex expert.  Then her years of hearing men confiding their experience in bed, police custody, courtroom, and campus changed her viewpoint.  This one's touching, amusing, and truth-filled, but probably not for little ones to hear.  Additional resources: Books by Bettina Arndt...

Aging-care mavens Kim and Mike Barnes partake in an informative and heartwarming discussion about how to help our parents in the last stages of their lives.   Additional resources: --ParentingAgingParents.com --The Caregiver's Key

Linda Shrewsbury--Harvard graduate, entrepreneur, educator, and dear friend of Leah--explains why handwriting is important, and recounts her breakthrough in how to teach cursive to a special-needs adult who wanted to be able to sign his name.  Linda's discovery, Cursive Logic, has become a popular series endorsed by educators and parents alike.   Additional resources: --Cursivelogic.com --Camp...

A father describes the hardship of raising kids in a region where his religion is harshly persecuted.  His teenage daughter speaks up about how she handles bullying.  Leah says she has thought about this conversation more than any other episode afterwards, and she is attempting to help the family.  Names and location are being concealed because of the danger these brave people are facing, even as...

Parenting coach and communication expert Julie King gets specific and practical on effective talking with squirming, distracted, disgruntled young children.  Leah has questions on apologizing, getting kids out the door in the morning, moral vocabulary, and socks that can talk.  Additional resources: JulieKing.org Book: How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen by Julie King and Joanna Faber App: How...

What's it like to raise kids in a persecuting culture?  We interview a charming and courageous couple in North Africa and then reap keen insights from Shelli Alaniz of Ananias House about her organization's new release, Through the Eyes of a Child. If you have trouble understanding the couple, a transcript will be available on YouTube.  We bleeped out names and locations that might endange...

Physician Julia Mason describes the medical steps of gender transition for children, explaining to your astonished host why she opposes each one.  Puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex change surgery all have unintended consequences yet are steamrolling through American society without empirical basis, even while being second-guessed in most European nations.   Additional resources:  SEGM....

A day (and evening) in the life of a school principal and insights into how to relate to your child's principal. Teachers too will benefit from this freewheeling chat about "rubrics," "emotional snacks," and getting sued.  William D. Parker is an award-winning school administrator and just finished 6 years as executive director of our state Association of Secondary Principa...

Jeremy Tate of the Classic Learning Test expounds upon the virtues of classical education and the new college entrance exam that is shouldering out the SAT and ACT.  He parries questions about bullying, Cinderella, and why Latin grammar is good character education. Additional resources: www.cltexam.com

When you get a young philosopher on your show to talk about education, you just might discuss Rousseau, TV advertising, the panopticon effect, Nazis, Aristotle, and tech lash.   Additional resources:  Heartsoverhexagons.com

Equine therapy for kids is having a moment, and Katie Rogers of Boston Mountain Youth Ranch is especially clear on how and why she facilitates these amazing connections. Additional resources: Bostonmountainyouthranch.org

Our kids and grandkids will be shaped by urban plans. What will their cities and neighborhoods look like?  Who will decide?  Are 15-minute cities and smart cities brilliant and humane, or the latest form of corporate cronyism? Where do churches fit in? Julianne Romanello, philosopher, and consultant on city planning, discusses people who think locally and act globally.   Additional resources:  hea...

Leah talks heart-to-heart with speech and language pathologist Brian Farish in this chat about nurturing the elderly and those recovering from brain injury.  Brian's a highly skilled therapist with disarming honesty, humility, and spiritual vitality.  We don't say that just because he's the host's kid.

Anxiety in children and teens: Here's a compassionate and practical dialogue about it with Beth Mishkind Roth, a mother and expert in child and adolescent mental health.  Mindfulness and imagination, SPACE and monster spray are among the techniques Leah talks about with this sprightly and smart guest. Additional resources: Beth Roth can be found at clevelandint.com

Lauren Williams, a certified professional organizer, sorts it all out for Leah: how hoarding relates to OCD, depression, and dementia, how it begins, and how declutterers help hoarders and their families.  She even leaves space for hope and humor! Additional resources: Casualuncluttering.com NAPO.net Childrenofhoarders.com Digging Out  by Michael Tompkins and Tamra Hart Buried in Treasures  by Dav...

13 is the new 30 (years old) in Juvie. Hear a juvenile detention nurse depict the emotional and physical needs of her city's toughest kids over the past 20 years, and how those needs have changed. This interview ranges from touching to traumatic; it'll stick in your mind like a shank in your pocket.

It's time we discuss how boys are stigmatized, ignored, and villainized in schools and workplaces. Michael Gurian heads the Gurian Institute, writes best-selling books, and consults and counsels as an expert on the brain science and behavior of males and females. We caught up with him for this interview which is so stimulating, you'll probably want to listen twice. Additional resources: Gu...

Parenting coach and author Ruchi Koval expounds on fostering character in youngsters, while Leah eggs her on.  They discuss the deep principles of ancient Jewish wisdom as applied to kids having tantrums, saying "sorry," and discovering silence. Additional resources: Podcast: The Book of Life: Weekly Wisdom with Ruchi Koval https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-book-of-life-weekly-wi...

Help for women facing unwanted pregnancy is a hot political topic; some nonprofits combating abortion have been the focus of criticism and controversy.  Colin LeCroy, co-founder of Life on Belay, has mobilized his legal acumen and advocacy experience to help address the root causes of the abortion choice in smarter ways.  No matter your take on abortion, Colin's critique of nonprofi...

Tim Elmore, expert on Millennials and Gen Z, founder and CEO of Growing Leaders, who has appeared in media such as CNN, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Fox and Friends, and Psychology Today, returns to discuss parenting teens today.  In this candid interview, you can't see the tears in his eyes, but you hear them in his voice at one point.  Always a font of practical informati...

One of the nation's foremost experts, Dr. David Gozal, describes sleep, and common challenges to a good night's rest, in all stages of adulthood.  Leah asks incisive questions of this eminent scholar such as, "Do we need to completely darken the room, or is that what eyelids are for?" Additional resources: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0238083 https://journ...