Leaving My Echo Chamber

In Part 2 of my conversation with Kaci, we pick up where Part 1 left off: Kaci has just discovered she's pregnant after the worst night of her life. Together, we walk through the impossible decisions and conversations that followed. Kaci shares what it was like telling her parents she was pregnant, wrestling with whether to place her baby for adoption, and navigating a future she never could h...

I sit down with my friend Kaci to talk about her life growing up in a small town in South Carolina, her Southern Baptist upbringing, and the experiences that shaped her faith. We talk about what it was like being the daughter of a pastor, the painful church conflict that led to her father suddenly losing his job, and how that season changed the way she viewed faith and church. We also dive into Ka...

In this episode, I sit down with Dahron, a chaplain who has spent years walking with people through grief, hospice care, and some of life’s most tender moments. Dahron trained at the VA, served in bereavement and hospice spaces, and comes to this conversation with a deep understanding of what it means to sit with people in their hardest seasons. We talk about Dahron’s life growing up in the United...

Jon Michael grew up in the Church of Christ in Dixon, Tennessee, where his dad was a preacher and church was his entire world. He shares what it was like growing up in that environment, the beauty of it, and also the pressure that came with not having space to openly wrestle with struggles or questions. We talk about divorce in the church, free will, suffering, and how he thinks about God in a wor...

This was my first time meeting Tausha and hearing her whole story. She grew up in Oregon in a single mom household, experiencing homelessness and instability at a young age, and feeling like she had to protect her brother. She shares what it was like navigating church while life at home felt chaotic, and how by middle school she was already drinking and smoking weed as a way send this to cope and...

I sat down with Lauren Pinkston, an independent candidate for governor of Tennessee, and found her so refreshing! Raised in Tennessee (like me!) with a strong sense of who she is and what she believes, Lauren shares how her upbringing, faith, and curiosity about others have shaped the way she sees the world today. From living in Laos and Uganda to earning a PhD in International Family and Communit...

Growing up in Los Angeles with very little, Ed learned early what it meant to work hard, stay grounded, and not take opportunity for granted. As a Mexican American whose parents came to the United States to build a better life, his story is shaped by sacrifice, resilience, and a deep sense of gratitude. But his early experience with the church was complicated. Raised Catholic but only attending sp...

In this conversation, Sara dives deeper into her journey after the accident that changed her life at 19. She reflects on the four phases of trauma—denial, anger, depression, and acceptance—and how allowing herself to feel the pain was necessary to begin truly healing. There is also an important life update for Sara regarding her relationship with her dad that happened after Part 1 was filmed! Don&...

During her freshman year of college, Sara was in a devastating car crash that changed everything. The accident left her with multiple broken bones, a punctured lung, and a stroke. In this conversation, Sara shares what it looked like to rebuild her life after trauma and spend years finding a new sense of normal. We also talk about how experiences like this can reshape faith and perspective, and wh...

Strapped to a bed in a Russian orphanage, Connor learned before kindergarten that crying doesn’t always bring help. From collecting dead bumblebees as “pets” to praying for the day he’d finally be adopted, his childhood was marked by survival, silence, and an aching hope for family. In this raw conversation, he shares how gratitude—not victimhood—reshaped his story, transformed his faith, and rede...

I sat down with my dear friend Jaz—now a Black Christian attorney—and our conversation honestly stretched my mind in the best way. He explained what Critical Race Theory actually is (not the internet version), and why he calls race a “fiction” that the American legal system has helped keep alive. We talked faith, justice, and the moments that shifted his perspective—from law school to the intensit...

I sat down with my dear friend Jaz—now a Black Christian attorney—and our conversation honestly stretched my mind in the best way. He explained what Critical Race Theory actually is (not the internet version), and why he calls race a “fiction” that the American legal system has helped keep alive. We talked faith, justice, and the moments that shifted his perspective—from law school to the intensit...

In Episode 1 of Leaving My Echo Chamber, I sit down with Alex, a trans man whose story of faith, identity, and survival will stay with you long after the credits roll. What starts as an honest conversation turns into a jaw-dropping reckoning when Alex recounts the day a church mob showed up at his job, threw Bibles at him, and his life publicly unraveled in real time. But the deepest truth hits ev...