Bitch Is A Bad Word: A Domestic Violence Podcast on Healing and Empowerment

This episode is produced in partnership with The National Domestic Violence Hotline. If you or someone you love is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit www.thehotline.org Besties, we’re going straight into one of the most overwhelming chapters after leaving abuse: family court. Because the truth is this. Abuse does not end wh...

Besties, we’re going straight to the heart of the chaos: co-parenting after domestic abuse. Because the truth is this. Abuse does not end when the relationship ends. It shifts. It morphs. And it often gets weaponized through communication, schedules, school issues, and family court. In this episode of Bitch Is A Bad Word, host Lindsay Abernathy sits down with Steven Nixon, CEO and Family Law Attor...

Pop star turned survivor advocate Tonya Mitchell is here, and Besties, this one hits every nerve. From getting signed to Motown at 15 and touring with *NSYNC to surviving covert domestic violence, smear campaigns, flying monkeys, and “kept woman” control, Tonya is turning every bruise you could not see into a battle cry. Her new song, “Nobody Loves Me Like You,” is a powerful domestic violence ant...

World renowned forensic psychiatrist and violence expert Dr. Bandy X. Lee joins Bitch is a Bad Word to pull back the curtain on what she calls “family court violence.” If you are a protective parent, in high conflict divorce, or walking into family court after abuse, this conversation is your survival guide. Dr. Lee explains how abusers weaponize mental health, how courts confuse calm with credibi...

Unfortunately, and fortunately for the Bestie Gang listening, we are going to teach you some things in this episode that I desperately wish I had known sooner. That is the whole point of this show and Amy’s work: you cannot understand their behavior because you would never do it. You keep asking, “What is the point? Why would you do this? Why can’t you just be decent?” and none of it makes sense b...

In this raw and powerful episode, Lindsay sits down with CEO and survivor Chelsea Husum for a conversation that will stay with you long after it ends. Chelsea opens up about escaping toxic relationships that dimmed her shine, surviving rape and being left for dead in a foreign country, and the long road to rebuilding her identity, confidence, and sense of safety. Today, she’s a powerhouse in a mal...

In this unforgettable Bitch Sesh, Lindsay sits down with Anna, as a young wife who found herself trapped inside her abusive husband’s family home in Dubai. She was isolated, monitored, and terrified to tell anyone what was happening behind closed doors. Reporting the abuse felt impossible. Leaving felt deadly. With nothing but blind faith, a stranger who became an angel, and strengt...

In this episode, Lindsay sits down with two unstoppable forces changing the way we talk about abuse before it ever happens: Burd Beauty founders Leah (17) and Misha (15) Burdeen, and Shear Haven founder and advocate Susanne Post. Together, they are redefining what it means to use beauty, education, and community as tools for real safety. We get into how Burd Beauty is turning a hair care brand int...

In this Texties From The Exties, Lindsay reads a message from a partner where he tells her she's Jerry Springer trash. Though he doesn't say "trash" - he uses other words. Send us your Texties From Your Exties - DM us on instagram at @bitchisabadwordpod or leave us a message at (331) BITCHES Email us at biabw@caliber-studio.com or IM us on instagram @bitchisabadwordpod with what you would have don...

In this episode, Lindsay welcomes back our BFF, Dr. Nadine Macaluso, psychologist, relational trauma expert, and survivor of one of the most infamous coercive control stories of our time. Dr. Nae breaks down trauma bonding in a way that finally makes sense, explains how narcissistic personalities pull you into their cycle, and shares the five non negotiable things you must know if you are dealing...

We all have our ways of asking for help from our partners in life, in this particular caae, a sandwich baggie. Some of us are more formal: "My love, when you have a brief moment, can you get me a ziploc from the kitchen?" Others are more casual: "Honey, can you grab me a baggie when you come up?" Yet others choose to drop the formalities altogether: "I need a plastic bag!" This doting partner take...

In this episode, Lindsay sits down with somatic healing expert and author Beatriz (Bea) Victoria Albina, NP, MPH, SEP for a conversation that will have you rethinking how you relate to yourself and everyone else. Bea breaks down her trademarked concept, “Outsourcing Your Emotions,” and explains how we chronically and habitually give our sense of safety, belonging, and worth to everyone and everyth...

In this new segment, Lindsay shares listeners' text messages from their ex's! All submissions are anonymous! Send your Exties' texties to biabw@caliber-studio.com ----- Support Our Sponsor: TALKINGPARENTS APP The #1 App For More Confident Co-Parenting Click to Learn More : https://talkingparents.com/biabw 💜 We’re teaming up with TalkingParentsApp to give the Bestie Gang one of the best tools for...

In Part 2 of Lindsay’s epic and unfiltered conversation with Richard Grannon, the trauma expert and philosopher who’s redefining recovery, the two dive head-first into what healing actually looks like after surviving narcissistic abuse. From learning to trust yourself again to understanding how to cut off the supply that keeps toxic people fed, this episode is a must-listen for anyone trying...

In this special episode of Bitch Is a Bad Word, Lindsay sits down inside the National Domestic Violence Hotline headquarters with Katie Ray-Jones, the organization’s badass CEO and lifelong advocate for survivors. Together, they pull back the curtain on what really happens when someone calls for help. From personal survivor stories to the Power and Control Wheel, tech abuse, and teen dating v...

“The only time you knew your worth as a child was when you were solving a tyrant’s problem.” Richard Grannon Meet Richard Grannon, trauma specialist, author of  A Cult of One , and the internet’s most brutally honest voice on narcissistic abuse and emotional recovery. In this episode of B!tch Is A Bad Word, Lindsay and Richard go deep on how narcissistic parents and partners shape our sense o...

Kalen’s story began when she was only 17. What she thought was the drama of love quickly became a cycle of emotional and physical abuse. For years, she was told she was crazy, too sensitive, too much. She believed it. Behind closed doors, she lived with an extreme personality who used manipulation, fear, and control to keep her questioning her own mind. In this episode of Bitch Sesh, Lindsay sits...

“What is life if not a series of fresh starts?” Olivia Howell Meet Olivia Howell, founder of The Fresh Starts Registry (as featured on the TODAY Show), who’s redefining what it means to begin again after divorce, separation, or abuse. Because when we leave, we need a fresh start registry. You might have spent years too afraid to speak up about how you wanted to decorate your home. Maybe you lost y...

In this episode of B!tch Is a Bad Word’s: B!tch Sesh, Lindsay sits down with Malou. Malou found B!tch Is a Bad Word the same way so many of us do, scrolling through social media late at night, trying to make sense of the question that changes everything: What the fck is this relationship I’m in?* Through the endless carousel of “relationship advice” and trauma content, she began piecing together w...

What if the first person you told about your abuse… wasn’t a person at all? In this episode of Bitch Is a Bad Word, Lindsay sits down with Anne Wintemute, the CEO and founder of Aimee Says, an AI-powered digital companion designed to support people experiencing domestic violence, coercive control, emotional abuse, and toxic relationships. Aimee isn’t a chatbot or a therapist. She’s something new:...

What if the story everyone thought they knew was only half the truth? In this episode of Bitch Is a Bad Word’s Bitch Sesh, Lindsay sits down with Sarma Melngailis the woman the world met as the “Bad Vegan” but who lived something far more complex behind closed doors. From the high of running New York’s hottest vegan restaurant to the collapse that followed, Sarma opens up about love, deception, pu...

CLICK HERE FOR JAFARI LAW'S FREE GUIDE TO USING PARENTING APPS Leaving your abusive marriage or relationship may be the hardest step but picking the right lawyer may be the most important. You don't need someone who just knows the law but also understands what you've been through and the manipulative tactics your abuser will employ with the judge and with you. You need someone who knows your court...

What if the man who vowed to protect and serve was the one you needed protection from? In this episode of Bitch Is a Bad Word's BItch Sesh, Lindsay sits down with Berkely a former police wife whose 15-year marriage began with fast love and ended in a high-stakes fight for freedom. From behind the thin blue line, Berkley takes us deep into a world where power, control, addiction, and silence r...

From Survivor to Lawyer to Family Court Judge - no one knows the ins and outs of the Family Court system than Michele Locke. Too often, survivors are told by their attorneys to keep quiet about the abuse they suffered and that it turns off the judge. And too often, survivors capitulate to manipulative maneuvers their abusers thrust on them, continuing the cycle of abuse in court. Michele - a forme...

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains conversations regarding self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and suicide. The Trauma Bond. It's hard to see the forest for the trees when you're in the middle of a constant emotional onslaught. That is Quinn's story, our guest on today's  Bitch Is A Bad Word: Bitch Sesh.  Like many of us, Quinn didn't know she was in an abusive marriage, being torn in...