Touchy Subjects Podcast

Send us Fan Mail While many victims of intimate partner violence often face barriers like isolation and lack of access to services, for those in rural communities those barriers can be amplified. How do we aid these victims? How do we reduce these barriers? How can we improve conditions to better support victims in rural communities? These are the questions we answer today with our friend Kim Koep...

Send us Fan Mail Providing services for victims and survivors is such important work. But, when the way a community is set up fights against access to those services, what is a victim or survivor to do? How can we change our communities systems to better support victims and survivors and what systems can we change to prevent having victims in the first place? We sat down with out friends Angie Hat...

Send us Fan Mail Abuse isn't just something that happens and then it's over. The effect from abuse ripple out and impact communities in various different ways. The victims and survivors still have to navigate their lives, now having experienced a trauma. The institutions the abusers worked for have to face the consequences and figure out how to do better in the future. The people who loo...

Send us Fan Mail Sports is one of the most consumed forms of entertainment in the United States, yet many of these sports rely on and, some, even celebrate violence. This isn't anything new, but when the consumption of violence is so wide spread, we learn to overlook violence in our lives. Further, because these athletes are often idols to many, when they perpetrate violence, it is often igno...

Send us Fan Mail We are surrounded by and consume media all the time. That means media is an excellent tool to help us create the change we want to see in the world. Join us this week as we sit down with our friend Laura Swanson to discuss how to do just that!  For more information about Lauran and the Midwest Broken Mirror Project, head to www.creativeembersnonprofit.org ! Stay up to date with ou...

Send us Fan Mail When we discuss disclosing sexual assault, we often focus on what someone may say to tip you off but we often overlook what someone may do that can also clue you in, especially in kids! That is what we discuss this week with our guest Hazel Katherine Larkin!  To learn more about Hazel, you can find her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/halarkin , Bluesky at @hazelklarkin.bsky.social...

Send us Fan Mail One of our favorite shows, Hazbin Hotel, just wrapped it's second season so join us as we discuss the season, it's themes, and what lessons it can teach us!  Stay up to date with our episodes and happenings by following us on Facebook , Threads , Instagram , and LinkedIn and please email any questions or feedback to TouchySubjectsPodcast@gmail.com or head to our website...

Send us Fan Mail Media coverage of domestic and sexual violence isn't always done the best. But what if it could be improved? How would this change how society views domestic and sexual violence? These are the questions we answer this week with our special guest Natasha Senjanovic! To learn more about Natasha, you can find her on Instagram at @natashama and on LinkedIn at Natasha Senjanovic ....

Send us Fan Mail In our lives we will eventually have to deal with conflicts. How do we handle that conflict? How do we maintain relationships when that conflict is with people we care about? How do we return back to safety after conflict? These are all questions we answer this week as we are joined again by our friend Aubrey Aust!  To learn more about Aubrey, check out her website aubreyaust.com...

Send us Fan Mail True Crime is an incredibly popular genre, but often the stories that are being told are not done in a way that is respectful to the victims and their families. How can true crime be not only told in an ethical way, but also become a tool for gaining empathy? These are questions we answer today with our special guest, Ashley of the F**k That Podcast!  For more about Ashley and the...

Send us Fan Mail Societal norms for women often push them to believing their life's goal is to get married and have kids. While that may be the goal for some women, that isn't the goal for all. So how did we get here? How are women taught to put nurturing and caring for others before themselves? How can we help women see they have more than one option? These are the questions we discuss...

Send us Fan Mail We always "communication is key" in relationships, but how do we know if our communication is healthy? How we do improve our communication skills and how do we know if communication is going well? Well we cover all of that and more this week with our special guest Raffi Bilek!  For more about Raffi check out thecommunicationbook.com . To follow Raffi's find him on I...

Send us Fan Mail Men, especially black men, are often lacking spaces to talk with other men about themselves and their experiences with victimization and harm. This gap was identified by this weeks guest Martin Henson in response to the #MeToo and he created BMEN with the idea of exploring healthy ways to respond to sexual harm, and expanded to a holistic focus on building spaces for black men to...

Send us Fan Mail Film and art have a way of allowing us to build empathy for others and explore experiences we may never have. Dawn Dusk is a great example of that. Join us as we chat with directors Jason and Blue about their recently released documentary, Dawn Dusk, which explores the story of Chelli Look, a leather bag designer whose sister was murdered and who found her artistic voice through f...

Send us Fan Mail When relationships end, we will often grieve that loss even in abusive relationships. So what does that grief look like? How do we start that process? And how do we put ourselves back out there after we heal?  Well this week we are joined by our friend, Jessi Lestelle, to answer those questions and more!  To follow Jessi and listen to her podcast, check out her website, Goodgriefj...

Send us Fan Mail Cultural scripts are internalized patterns of behavior and thought that guide how we behave, interpret actions, and react in social contexts. These "scripts" aren't rules but rather expectations on how we are supposed to act and behave. But what if we didn't have to? What if there was a way we could "rewrite" these scripts to live more authentically?...

Send us Fan Mail Men are the most common perpetrator of domestic violence but what if that is due to, in part, how society raises men to desire power and control? Many men struggle with feeling cut off from a part of themselves and that lack of authenticity creates some problems for them. Join us as we chat with out friend Chloe Mascord of @thehoneyed.official on how we can better support men as a...

Send us Fan Mail When we experience trauma and don't heal from it, we often can remain functional but we aren't whole. In comes the practice of emotional healing. Join us today as we chat with our friend Rebeccah as she goes through how we can begin to heal our trauma and get back to feeling like ourselves again.  For more about Rebeccah, find her on Instagram @RebeccahSilence , on Faceb...

Send us Fan Mail Prevention work around domestic and sexual violence can be difficult. It is a subject many people don't want to talk about and preventing these crimes requires large cultural shifts. When the language we can use is then censored, it makes that job all the more difficult. Join as we discuss censorship and how it impacts prevention with special guest Leah Spasova!  For more abo...

Send us Fan Mail When discussions of abuse happen, they are often framed to discuss abuse of women by men. So what happens when a man is abused? How are men set up to experience abuse? We answer these questions and more with our friend Heather Claus!  For more about Heather, find her on Instagram @ curiouser.life , on Facebook at CuriouserLife , and on her website my.curiouser.life . Stay up to da...

Send us Fan Mail Navigating dating after a long term relationship can be difficult, especially for those entering the dating scene after getting out of an abusive relationship. Join us as we chat with Charity Sinclair about the good, the bad, and the funny of dating after abuse!  For more about Charity, find her on Instagram @ werealldatingthesameguy , on TikTok at @charitysinclair and on her webs...

Send us Fan Mail What we experience in childhood plays an integral role in our adult lives. Those experiences, when they are neglect, abuse, and degradation, can set us up for having unhealthy or abusive relationships in the future. Join as our friend Dana chats with us about her experiences and how they made her vulnerable to the abuse she later experienced.   For more about Dana, find her on Ins...

Send us Fan Mail The holidays can be a time full of joy and excitement. But holidays also bring a unique time where our boundaries are often compromised or are broken. Join us as we discuss boundaries, how they work during the holidays, and some tips to set boundaries during the holidays! Stay up to date with our episodes and happenings by following us on Facebook , Threads , Instagram , and Linke...

Send us Fan Mail Do you ever feel like you and your partner are stuck in a boring loop of mundane task after mundane task? What if we could take those tasks, like cooking and grocery shopping, and turn them into opportunities to be more intentional in our relationships? That is what our conversation with relationship chef Krista Melanson covers this week! For more about Krista, find her on Instagr...

Send us Fan Mail While everyone's relationships are different, abusive people often use very similar tactics. Recognizing those signs, especially early, can help someone either get out of the relationship early or they can learn to not do those behaviors anymore. Join us as we chat with Heather Claus about what signs abuse might be, through the lens of her experiences with abuse!  For more ab...