Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick

You were made for beauty and goodness. You feel that, even on the hardest days. What neuroscience is beginning to show us is that this longing isn't incidental. It's written into the architecture of how you were made. In this conversation, psychiatrist and author Curt Thompson opens up the world of interpersonal neurobiology and what it has to do with the soul, how the mind is not the br...

Most people picture narcissism as loud, obvious, and easy to spot. The research says otherwise — and so does the Enneagram. In this second conversation with Chuck DeGroat, Michael and Chuck work through all nine Enneagram types and the unique way narcissism hides inside each one: the nine's quiet, invisible anger; the two's helpfulness that quietly demands to be needed; the three's...

There are at least three wrong ways to write about heaven, and Brian Zahnd spent his new book carefully avoiding all of them — too sentimental, too sensational, too escapist to bother caring about the world right in front of us. In this conversation, Brian and Michael talk about why heaven isn't a far-off destination but a realm woven through the space between every atom of this one, and why...

For decades, the church's answer to struggling marriages has been clear: pray more, submit more, give him what he needs. Sheila Wray Gregoire's research asked a different question: What if the advice itself is the problem? Drawing on a survey of 20,000 women, the largest ever done on Christian women's marital and sexual satisfaction, Sheila lays out what the data actually shows: a s...

We can know we are loved and still not be able to let it in. The gap between believing something and feeling it in the body is not a faith problem — it's a physiological one. In this second conversation with Aundi Kolber, Michael and Julianne press deeper into what it actually takes to change: why being loved is not just a comfort but a biological prerequisite for growth, why asking someone t...

Most of us were taught, somewhere along the way, that the answer to pain is to push through it. Try harder. White-knuckle it. And for a long time, that worked — until it didn't. Aundi Kolber wrote Try Softer as a love letter to her younger self, and in this conversation with Michael and Julianne Cusick, she unpacks what it actually means to pay compassionate attention to your own experience —...

Most people who know the five love languages have tried speaking their partner's language — and wondered why it still isn't working. The problem usually isn't the language. It's something underneath it. Dr. Gary Chapman returns with new research showing how personality, empathy, and the subtle dialects within each love language determine whether love actually lands. In this con...

Shame doesn't only live in the dark corners of a broken life. It lives just as quietly in the person everyone else envies — the one who has achieved everything and still wakes up feeling like it isn't enough. Ken Shigematsu grew up moving between Japan, England, and Canada, carrying the weight of a shame-and-honor culture that most Western theology never addresses. In this conversation,...

Most people assume temptation is about weakness or willpower. But the wilderness story in Matthew 4 reveals something far older — evil moves first against the places where we have not been seen, soothed, safe, and secure. In this conversation, Michael and AJ Denson walk slowly through the baptism and temptation of Jesus, presenting them as a portrait of attachment under siege. They explore how the...

Most people assume their distance from God is a faith problem. It may be something older — a pattern in the nervous system, learned long before you had words for it, that quietly shapes how close you let God come. Dr. Geoff Holsclaw and his wife Cyd spent years watching people plateau spiritually and realized the stall wasn't theological — it was relational. This particular conversation with...

Dr. Liz Hall is a psychologist and professor at Biola who, at 45, was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer — and discovered that her training had barely prepared her for it. She joins Michael to talk about her book When the Journey Hurts , co-written with theologians Kelly Kapic and Jason McMartin, and what a decade of research and lived suffering taught her about meaning, faith, and staying hum...

Welcome back to the Restoring the Soul podcast with Michael John Cusick. In this episode, Michael sits down with licensed therapist, author, and researcher Jay Stringer for a deep and vulnerable conversation exploring the core desires that shape our lives. Together, they unpack themes from Jay Stringer’s latest book, Desire: The Longings Inside of Us and the New Science of How We Love, Heal, and G...

Welcome to another episode of "Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick." Today, Michael is joined by Brian Lee, founder and director of Broken to Beloved , a ministry dedicated to providing practical resources for recovery from and safeguarding against spiritual abuse.  In this heartfelt conversation, Brian shares his personal journey through repeated experiences of spiritual abuse a...

Welcome back to Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick . In this episode, Michael John Cusick and AJ Denson continue their exploration of the “four S’s” of attachment—seen, soothed, safe, and secure—focusing today on the final S: secure. Together, they dive into the meaning of secure attachment, both psychologically and spiritually, and how it’s reflected in our relationships with God and oth...

Welcome to the Restoring the Soul podcast with Michael John Cusick. In today's episode, Michael and A.J. Denson continue their deep dive into the four S's of attachment: Seen, Soothed, Safe, and Secure. Drawing from the work of Dr. Dan Siegel and integrating insights from neuroscience, psychology, and spiritual formation, they explore how our early relationships shape not only our emotio...

On this episode of Restoring the Soul, we’re joined by Ericka Anderson, author of Freely Sober: Rethinking Alcohol Through the Lens of Faith . Together, Michael and Ericka open up a thoughtful and grace-filled conversation about the complexities of alcohol use among Christians and the personal journey of overcoming dependence. Ericka Anderson shares candidly about her own struggles with alcohol, t...

Welcome to another episode of Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick. In this conversation, Michael sits down with Mark Batterson, the celebrated pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C., and multi-time New York Times bestselling author. Together, they dive deep into the inspiration and lessons behind Mark’s latest book, " Gradually Then Suddenly: How to Dream Bigger, Deci...

Welcome to another episode of Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick. Today, Michael is joined by author and therapist Jay Stringer for a deep and vulnerable conversation about his newest book, " Desire: The Longings Inside Us and the New Science of How We Love, Heal, and Grow ." Together, they explore the civil war of desire that shapes our lives—how our deepest longings birth both...

Welcome back to the Restoring the Soul podcast with Michael John Cusick. In this episode, Michael and AJ Denson dive deeper into the transformative concepts from Michael’s book, Sacred Attachment: Escaping Spiritual Exhaustion and Trusting Divine Love . Picking up where they left off, the conversation centers on the “Four S’s” of attachment—Seen, Soothed, Safe, and Secure—and explores how these el...

Welcome back to another episode of Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick. In today's conversation, Michael is joined by AJ Denson as they dive into the foundational building blocks of healthy relationships and spiritual well-being—the "Four S's" of attachment: seen, soothed, safe, and secure. Picking up from their previous conversation on Attachment Neuroscience and the T...

Welcome to another episode of Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick. Today’s conversation dives deep into the heart of spiritual growth, as AJ Denson returns to interview Michael about his award-winning book, Sacred Attachment, Escaping Spiritual Exhaustion and Trusting in Divine Love . The episode explores Chapter 3, focusing on attachment theory and its profound connection to both psycholo...

Welcome back to “Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick.” In today’s episode, Michael John Cusick and Julianne Cusick dive deep into the world of neurodiversity, focusing on the unique challenges faced by couples where one partner is neurodivergent, often navigating undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or related conditions. Drawing on both personal experience and extensive clinical wor...

Welcome back to the Restoring the Soul podcast with Michael John Cusick. In this episode, Michael sits down for a thoughtful and deeply personal conversation with his wife of nearly 35 years, Julianne Cusick. Together, they explore the emerging world of neurodiversity, focusing on neurodivergent individuals, neurodiverse couples, and the impact these differences can have on relationships. Drawing...

Welcome back to Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick. In today's episode, Michael sits down with Christine Wolf Hoover, a licensed professional counselor from Texas and author of " Soul Adventuring: Your Guide to Living with Bravery and Joy ." Together, they explore the idea that our faith journey is an invitation into risk, bravery, and joy, not just a checklist of spiritual...

Welcome back to the Restoring the Soul podcast with Michael John Cusick. In this episode, Michael is joined by two longtime friends and fellow journeyers, Justin and Aaron, who share their transformative experiences at the Restoring the Soul Men’s Intensive Weekend. Together, the trio dives into what makes this weekend so different from the average men’s retreat. From the healing power of anonymit...