You Can Be Both

Can you really change your sexual orientation? And why is same-sex attraction “unwanted” anyways? In this episode of You Can Be Both, Lauren takes a deeper look at the “ex-gay” movement and the idea of “unwanted same-sex attraction.” She explores the difference between sexual orientation, trauma, shame, self-destructive behavior, and healing—and asks whether the goal should be changing your sexual...

What happens when you’re gay, you love Jesus, and you’ve spent years believing those two things can’t coexist? In this episode of You Can Be Both, Lauren sits down with Brian Nietzel, LGBTQ+ advocate and co-founder of Renovus and the Making Things Right project, for an honest conversation about faith, sexuality, family, and finding peace with God. Brian shares his journey from conservative Christi...

What makes a healthy lesbian relationship work? How do you navigate communication, conflict, intimacy, and keeping the spark alive? In this episode of You Can Be Both, Lauren sits down with Dr. Lorri Sulpizio, a leadership psychologist, relationship coach, and director of the Conscious Leadership Academy at the University of San Diego, for an honest conversation about lesbian relationships—the goo...

What happens when two gay Christian men fall in love—but one of them is a pastor? In this deeply personal episode of You Can Be Both, Lauren sits down with Kade Rogers and Dr. Greg Neal, a married gay Christian couple whose journey brings together love, faith, coming out, church, and the struggle to live authentically. Greg is an ordained pastor and theologian who spent years wrestling with his se...

What happens when you're told you can't be gay AND have a relationship with God? In this episode of You Can Be Both, Lauren sits down with professional MMA and bare-knuckle fighter Miranda Barber for an honest conversation about being lesbian, Christian, family rejection, relationships, faith, and finding your purpose. Miranda shares her story of coming out as a teenager, leaving home at 1...

What happens when you grow up believing there is only one path to God… and then realize that path requires you to deny who you are? In this powerful episode of You Can Be Both, Lauren sits down with Dr. Sara Glass , a psychotherapist, author, and lesbian who was raised in an ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn. Sara shares what it was like growing up in a deeply religious community...

What happens when the voice you were taught to believe was God’s voice becomes the voice telling you that you’re going to hell? In this powerful episode of You Can Be Both, Lauren sits down with licensed psychotherapist SC Nealy, an LGBTQ+ affirming therapist specializing in religious trauma, LGBTQ+ issues, and relationship counseling, to unpack what happens when faith, identity, shame, fear, and...

Is street preaching actually biblical — or is it pushing people further away from Jesus? In this episode of You Can Be Both, Lauren Lanzaretta takes a deeper look at street preachers, aggressive evangelism, and the Christians who show up at Pride events with signs of condemnation. After several uncomfortable encounters with street evangelists herself, Lauren asks an important question: Is this rea...

What should Christian parents do when their child comes out as gay, transgender, or nonbinary? In this deeply personal episode of You Can Be Both, Lauren sits down with Shari Bruck—a mother of two LGBTQ+ children—to discuss faith deconstruction, religious fear, unconditional love, and what it truly means to support your child. Raised in a strict Catholic family, Shari grew up surrounded by religio...

If you've ever wondered whether you can be both LGBTQ+ and Christian, this conversation is for you. In this powerful episode of You Can Be Both , Lauren sits down with Mattie Mae Motl —a progressive Bible scholar, Master of Divinity graduate, and PhD candidate studying gender, sexuality, and the New Testament—to unpack some of Christianity's biggest questions. Together they discuss: ✨ Is being ga...

In this powerful conversation, Lauren Lanzaretta interviews Pastor Kristian Smith—a straight, fifth-generation Baptist preacher and fierce LGBTQ+ advocate—about his journey from embedded homophobia to becoming one of the most vocal allies in the Black church community. Kristian shares how a simple question asked in seminary—"Did you choose your sexuality?"—completely transformed his theology. He d...

Together, they discuss: 🇺🇸 What America's founding ideals actually promised ✝️ The rise of Christian nationalism and how it differs from Christianity 🌈 Why LGBTQ rights remain under attack 📜 The meaning behind "all men are created equal" ❤️ How Christians can resist fear and choose love instead 🙏 Why fighting for equality is one of the most American things we can do Rather than giving up on Ame...

Pride Month isn't about celebration. It's about survival. Lauren Lanzaretta breaks down the hard truth about why LGBTQ people need Pride Month in 2026. And why the criticism, the bills, the "Straight Pride Month" debate, and the political weaponization of trans people prove we need it now more than ever. THE FACTS: 10+ countries execute people for being gay 60+ countries criminalize same-sex relat...

Sara Cunningham, founder of Free Mom Hugs, shares the powerful story of how she went from rejecting her gay son to leading an international movement that has impacted hundreds of thousands. It wasn't easy. When Sara's youngest son came out to her at 21, she didn't take it well. She was frozen in fear — terrified he would be condemned to hell, convinced that accepting him would make her a sinner to...

For more than 20 years, Leah Rae Yawn (formerly Shafer) was a gospel worship leader at Saddleback Church. She sang for Women of Faith, worked with Michael W. Smith and Natalie Grant, recorded multiple albums, and sung the national anthem at NFL games. Her voice and faith were her livelihood, her heart, and her life. Then she came out as gay — and lost it all. In this powerful episode of You Can Be...

For nearly 2,000 years, the word "homosexual" did not appear in the Bible. So what changed in 1946? Kathy Baldock is a leading voice on LGBTQ+ issues within Christianity and the author of "Forging a Sacred Weapon" and "Walking the Bridgeless Canyon." She's also featured in the award-winning documentary "1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture." In 1946, Bible translators made a controversial...

Michael Passons was a founding member of Avalon, one of the biggest Christian music groups of all time. He wrote and performed "Testify to Love," a song that became an icon of Christian music. But when he came out as gay, he was forced out of the band and lost everything. Now, Michael is rewriting his story — and breaking records doing it. He just rereleased "Testify to Love" a...

Mike Maeshiro spent 5 years as an instructor at Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry — teaching, preaching, and living what he thought was his calling. But there was one problem: he was gay. From age 10, Mike knew he was different. He tried conversion therapy. He dated a woman to "fix" himself. He climbed the evangelical ladder at one of the most influential charismatic churches in the world — a...

I met a woman in Clearwater who was shocked that I'm a Christian and didn't judge her. That moment made me realize something: the church has created a culture of inauthenticity — and it's pushing people away from God. In this solo episode, I'm talking about why so many people (straight and LGBTQ) feel like they can't be themselves in church, why LGBTQ Christians have a unique gift to offer the wor...

Can you be LGBTQ and Christian? Pastor Brandon Robertson says absolutely — and he's spent years studying the theology to prove it. In this conversation, Brandon breaks down why the "clobber passages" Christians use against gay people are mistranslations, misinterpretations, and taken out of historical context. We talk about Leviticus, Sodom and Gomorrah, Romans 1, and what Jesus actu...

Can you be transgender AND Christian? I'm answering this question directly — and what I learned completely changed my heart. In this episode, I talk about Neeza Powers, a trans Christian woman who faced thousands of hateful comments for being her authentic self. I break down what the Bible actually says about gender, explore Deuteronomy 22:5 in context, and explain why Jesus' ministry was...

Here's why "ex-gay" stories are misleading — and why you don't need to change. I'm breaking down why it's impossible to be ex-gay and why these stories you see online are often rooted in trauma, bad behavior, or bisexuality/pansexuality— not actual sexual orientation change. What we're covering: Why trauma gets mistaken for sexual orientation How people confuse bad be...

"For years, I stood in the pulpit and preached that homosexuality was a sin. I believed the Bible was clear. I thought I was right. I was wrong."In this powerful episode of You Can Be Both, host Lauren Lanzaretta sits down with Pastor Joe Smith, a straight, cisgender pastor who spent years preaching traditional, non-affirming theology—until his understanding completely transformed. This isn't a st...

NBA player Jaden Ivey was recently suspended for making homophobic comments about Pride Night, calling it "unrighteous" and against his Christian beliefs. But when did being Christian become about being the moral police instead of loving people? In this episode, I break down why Jaden Ivey's comments are the opposite of what Jesus taught, why Pride Night matters for LGBTQ+ people who have been mar...

"I was a worship leader who sang about God's love every Sunday—while hiding who I really was. "In this powerful episode of You Can Be Both, host Lauren Lanzaretta sits down with Israel Isaac, a longtime megachurch worship leader who came out as gay four years ago and recently auditioned for America's Got Talent and appears on Bravo's Vanderpump Rules. For years, Israel led th...