Poema Podcast

My beloved friend Brandan Robertson returns to the podcast today to talk about his latest book, "Queer & Christian: Reclaiming the Bible, Our Faith, and Our Place at the Table".  We talk about how Brandan revisited the scriptures and discovered there are several Queer saints within it, more than you'd expect. He also explored the usual "clobber" verses used against LGBTQIA community and unpacked their true contextual meaning.  He shares his vision of a Biblically supported, fully inclusive, loving joyful Christian faith, and its very compelling. 

This week Jenna DeWitt is back on the podcast, this time we discuss the MCU movie "The Marvels", the sequel to Captain Marvel, the MCU's leading female superhero currently.  Jenna shares how this movie and the journey of the lead characters in it, have been really impact for her as a queer, asexual woman. She also talks about how the movie covers themes of grief and loss, something often found in these type of movies, and identity.  This was such a fun conversation, hope you enjoy it. ***** You can find more of Jenna's work at invisiblecakesociety.com

This week my dear friend MJ joins us to share the story of her autism diagnosis, how she first realised she may be autistic, the process of getting her diagnosis, and how her life has changed since.  This is a powerful, challenging and encouraging story. 

Today I'm joined by author and speaker Alice Hewson to discuss autism in the work place. Alice talks about the challenges of being neurodivergent in the world we live in, which isn't set up for neurodivergent people, and how this can often translate into the work place.  She shares her own experiences and also offers some practical ideas for both employers and neurodivergent people themselves, for how neurodivergent people can feel safe and protected in the work place. She also shares some thoughts and examples of how neurodivergent people can build structures and processes which will help them thrive in the work place rather than be overwhelmed, and to avoid potential meltdowns You can read more about this in her book "Neurodiversity in the Workplace" which is available wherever books are sold. 

This week, as part of a new series, Dr Amy Maschall PsyD returns to the podcast to talk about people's lived experiences with autism and in particular the experience of justice sensitivity.  Dr Amy is autistic herself, and works with autistic people on a regular basis, and a qualified expert, so has a lot of both lived experience and academic knowledge of autism. She shares this with us, and talks about how autistic people can be more sensitive about injusitces, big and small, and feel them more acutely, often seeing injustice and how to stop it in a binary way. I myself share my experiences of this as an autistic person too, and we explore how autistic people can navigate the challenges this bring, and how it impacts our day to day lives.  Dr Amy has so much knowledge and insight on this subject, this is well worth a listen. ____ Find more of Dr Amy's work, including her many books on neurodiversity on her website here.

**Trigger warning: Spiritual abuse, toxic evangelicalism, conversion therapy stories** This week I'm joined by author and activist Lucas Wilson, to discuss stories of conversion therapy, the damage done by it, and the toxic evangelical culture which gave rise to it. We talk about some of the stories shared by people in Lucas' new book  "Shame Sex Attraction", their grief, trauma and how they healed from those experiences. We also discuss toxic evangelical culture, and the harm its done to the LGBTQIA community as a whole & how we can support people who've experienced spiritual abuse, and how many of them have healed and moved into healthier lives embracing & being accepted for who they really are.

Today my beloved friend, embodiment coach, writer and podcaster Jamie Lee Finch returns to the show. We talk all sorts in this episode, from connectedness with our bodies, intuition and how this all connects to a wider spirituality, to grief and how we build healthy relationships with our bodies and build resilience. We also explore how the system we all rigged, in, is simply not built for the thriving of human bodies.  We had such fun recording this, make sure you check it out. 

The podcast returns for 2025 with a new interview with the ever inspiring author and speaker Rob Bell.  Recorded just before the US election of 2024, Rob joins me to talk about his latest novel, "There's Only One Noon Yeah", the second in his new series of novels. We talk about the themes and inspirations behind the novel, how it shows us the world we live in a fresh way, and delve into grief, transitions, transformation and awareness, as well as finding joy in the creative process. It was such a fun and interesting conversation.   

In this final episode of 2024, fellow Whovian Jenna DeWitt returns to the podcast to talk about a character we both love, The Doctor.  In particular, we talk about a recurring theme in the show, and on this show, grief. The grief of losing companions, of people he is trying to save sometimes dying or sacrificing themselves, and above all, of him having to grieve his own death, every time he regrenerates. Even if you don't know the show, there's a lot here which can relate to various experiences of grief we can have, death, loss of friends, loss of community, moving on from our past selves, and how all of this can relate to us in the deconstruction community, and personal growth generally. 

Today my dear friend Cat Dean joins me to talk about astrological energy, and in particular the phenomenon of mercury retrogade, the most recent of which (at time of release) began November 25th, 2024.  Cat tells us exactly what mercury retrogade is, when it happens and why, and how it impact both us and our world. We both share our own experiences of mercury retrogade and Cat explains the power and influence of astrological energy itself. 

Trigger warning: Suicide, suicidal ideation, depression ______ Today I'm joined by author and advocate Chris Morris. He shares his story about his experiences of depression, suicidal ideation. He shares his powerful and raw story of his depression and various suicide attempts. He talks about his experience in a psych ward, and how he did the work of healing, and the battles he still has. He also talks about the challenges of talking about mental health in Christian circles. Chris is a courageous, powerful advocate for mental health and his story is both discomforting and ultimately, inspiring.

In this new episode, recorded pre-election 2024, Amanda Held Opelt joins me again, this time for a conversation about some major events in history & their impact on how our culture processes grief.  We talk at length about the two World Wars, and how different outcomes for different nations impacted how their cultures responded to them, and how it changed their culture. We explore how one bad response from WWI may have led to WWII and how the outcomes of both may have contributed to where we are now.  We also look at Queen Victoria, a monarch who experienced deep grief, which changed her life, her behaviour and relationships with others.  This episode is a fascinating insight into how grief shapes us individually and culturally. 

This week Virginia Spotts returns to the podcast to talk about her acting and creative career, and her experiences of trauma.  We talk about the various roles and different types of characters she's played, and how these have helped her process trauma and grief. She also shares the challenges of playing certain types of characters & how she tries to seperate herself from characters she plays.  She also shares how her creative journey, which includes writing as well as acting, has helped her understand and process the trauma and grief she's experienced - and the power of art to help us heal.

Jenna DeWitt returns to the podcast this week to discuss Taylor Swift's latest album, the "Tortured Poets Department".  We explore several of the tracks and how they relate to the deconstruction journey, living as an LGBTQI person and the experiences of grief and trauma. We look at them in the context of our own journeys and Taylor's own story, and what we can learn from them. This again is such a fun episode, and another example of how great art can connect with our stories & help our healing.

This week I welcome back my friend, poet and author Marla Taviano, to talk about her latest collection of poems, "Whole". "Whole" is the third in a series of 3 compliations of poetry exploring Marla's own deconstruction journey, and all the grief, doubt conflict, challenges and healing of this journey. We talk about the creative process both behind "Whole" and the series of poetry books about her journey, and how this shaped Marla herself. We also explore how creativity has helped Marla in other ways, including some other creative projects she's been involved in, making new things out of old. And we talk about how creativity as a whole is a healing process which liberates us from the past and brings something new and hopeful into the world.

Today, my friend, qualified IFS practitioner Becky Castle Miller, joins me to discuss and explore Internal Family Systems therapy, how it works, and how it can benefit us.  Becky and I both shares our own experiences with this kind of therapy and we also discuss internal managers, exiles and firefighters. We explore who they are, why they exist and how they were formed - and how we can work with them to help heal our truama wounds.  Becky and I also do a small demonstration of how this therapy works, in real time. This episode is a great insight into a powerful form of therapy. _______ *Please do not attempt IFS for the first time without a licensed practitioner.

My friend Trace Bell returns to the podcast this week to have a discussion about the mysterious power of music.  Together we explore how music can tap in to both our consciousness, our subsoncious and our bodies and help us somehow connect with the wider energy of the universe. We explore the mystery of how it unlocks emotions, energy and even desire, and helps us become more in tune with our bodies and our truest selves.  We also talk about how certain songs or pieces of music can take on new meaning when related to certain moments, events or people. In so doing they can help us heal, and grieve well.  This was a fascinating and interesting discussion, come join us!

Today I talk to creators and filmmakers Ien Chi and Jon Bregel about Jon's recent documentary, the short film "I Do" which tells the grief story of a married man, from diagnosis, through loss, to grieve and finding life after death. Ien and Jon share their own experiences with creating and producing the movie, and how this exploration of grief in a creative format impacted their own perspective on grief. The both share the way their perspectives on life and death, and spirituality, and their personal journeys, were impacted with this encounter with grief, and together we discuss how powerful grief can be, and how it's power can be used for great good and healing, but can also abused and manipulated.  _______ You can find out more information about the short fulm "I Do" and how to watch it here. 

Friend of the podcast Rob Bell returns today to discuss his new latest work, a novel, "Where'd You Park Your Spaceship? An Interplanetary Tale of Love, Loss and Bread: Book One, Welcome to Firdus." (Yes this is the title).  It's an incredible novel, which explores grief, identity, toxic systems, all from the perspective of someone outside of earth learning it for the first time. Rob tells me his creative process in writing the novel, how the experience changed him, and how he discovered joy and fun in the creative process, and we talk about a WHOLE lot more too. What we hear from Rob here is truly inspirational, and speaks a lot to those going through healing, awakening, embodiment and finding freedom in their creative, personal and spiritual lives.   

This week my friend MJ joins me to discuss Dan Levy's movie director debut, 'Good Grief', which is available on Netflix.  The movie is about a person who loses their mother and husband in the space of the year, and their grieving process which reveals a lot of secrets and surprises, and how it impacts his life.  MJ and I, who both have lived experience of grief, watched it together and in this episode we share our own reflections, insights and lived experiences. We talk about the ways the movie covers and explores grief so well and tenderly, and what we learned. 

This week my friend Jenna DeWitt returns to discuss Taylor Swift's "1989 - Taylor's Version" which released earlier this year.  Jenna shares her own experience with the album - both the new version, and the original - and what these meant for her as she explored her own identity. Then together we explore various tracks on the album and the stories behind them. We discuss how these songs and their stories, and art in general, can help us as we process issues of grief, transformation and identity.  As we do so, we see more of how the creative process can heal and transform us.

My guest today is Virginia Spotts. She is a writer, actor, fiction podcaster, and aspiring death doula. In this episode she shares her experiences of grief and how they impacted her. As a writer, actor and fiction broadcaster, she shares unique experiences of how witnessing death and going through the grieving impacted the creative aspects of her life and identity.  Virginia also shares her experience of training as a death doula, helping people prepare for death. Its' a fascinating and unique insight into death and grief.

Today we begin another series exploring grief on the podcast, with Andrea De Ward talking about her experiences of doing pastoral work with the dying, as chaplain of a care home. Andrea talks about how this impacted her perspectives on death and grief, as she then herself had experiences of grief and loss. She tells us how these impacted her life, her relationships and her personal/spiritual journey. Andrea's story gives us a very unique perspective on death and  grief, and can help us understand these experiences much better. 

Today I'm joined by writer, advocate and podcast host Shari A Smith. She talks to us about her advocacy works with trauma victims and survivors, and the importance of sharing our stories.  Shari shares her experiences of sharing and bearing witness to trauma and grief stories, and how its' impacted her and the people sharing those stories. She tells us how sharing stories can provide solidarity to those hearing, and a voice to those who share them, and help us in the road to healing. 

Today I'm joined by therapist Heidi Dennis, MS LPC, to discuss her new book, "Hello Anxiety", and explore a new approach to dealing with anxiety.  Heidi shares how we can learn to say "hello" to our anxiety. Heidi shares what anxiety is, why it's there and how to respond to it instead of distracting from it. She tells us how listen to our anxious feelings and work with them instead of against them, and find our way towards peace. 

This week I'm joined by activist and writer Justin Ancheta. In this episode they share their own story of discovering they were a biromantic demisexual & the prejudice they faced as a Filipino-Canadian, queer man with a stutter. They also talk about the connections between asexuality and tarot, and how discovering tarot helped them feel more at peace with their own identity, and discovering that liminal space of acceptance and belonging.    

In our first episode of 2024, my friend Cat Dean joins me for a fun conversation about being human in the changing seasons of life.  We discuss how the changes in the movement of the earth can impact our lives so directly, how we process change and the grief involved, and how it can impact our connection to our own humanity, and our creative lives.  We also explore how growth and healing increase connection to our bodies, and awaken us to the falseness of the systems we live in, connecting us more to our humanity, and to the earth.  This was such a fun, relaxed and often spontaneous conversation between friends, with great insights. Enjoy!

For Grief Awareness week this week, I'm joined by Vicky McQuarrie, who works for AtaLoss Charity, a non-profit organization that signposts bereaved people to support. TW: Suicide, grief, loss of spouse _ Vicky courageously shares her stories of loss and grief, both being widowed and losing her sister in the space of a year. She shares the impact this had on her life, the rituals and practices she discovered to help her grieve well. She also discusses how her first experience of processing grief impacted her second, and the biggest lessons she's learned, as well as the work of the bereavement charity AtaLoss. __ Find out more about Vicky's work at Ataloss.org

A new Poema podcast special episode with myself and Douglas Humphries - recorded during the strike specifically for a post-strike release.  In this episode we discuss Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer". We explore the various themes of the movie, how the movie impacted both of us, and the biggest lessons we can learn from the movie. We also talk about the storytelling in the movie, and the creative/storytelling lessons we can learn from Chris Nolan. 

I'm honoured today to be joined by author and speaker Daniel Finklestein. Daniel tells us the story about his parents and grandparents, Jewish families caught up in the growing anti-semitism of the 1920's & 1930's, ultimately leading to their imprisonment in concentration camps by the Nazi's.  But the story doesn't end there, they survived these camps and eventually moved to England where they raised a family. And of course there are shades of the shift to the hard right we've seen in the US & UK recently. It's a story of struggle, grief, courage and hope, and Daniel shares it beautifully. 

This week my friend Jenna DeWitt returns to the podcast to discuss two songs - "You're Losing Me" by Taylor Swift and "Faith" by Selmer - and exploring them in detail, in relation to their respective messages about queer liberation and owning your gender and identity. We breakdown the lyrics of each song and discuss them in depth, and Jenna gives great insight into the deeper meaning of these songs, how they've impacted her, and how they can speak to us too. We also touch on how despite one piece of art being labelled 'secular' and one more overtly, 'Christian', both can impart equally powerful messages about these issues.

This week my guest is my friend and colleague Maria French, author, speaker and theological coach. In this episode we discuss her new book, "Reconfiguring " A Collection of Post-Christian Thoughts and Theologies", and in particular two essays from this book. Firstly we explore the power of nostalgia, and how our yearning for some idealistic past which never existed can hinder our thriving and living now. We discuss this from both an individual and cultural perspective, looking at the impact of nostalgia on the political trajectory of both the US and UK in recent years. We then naturally move into a conversation about grief, death, and loss, and how sitting in our grief and allowing it to work on us, and doing healing work, can actually lead us become more fully alive. We explore how when we embrace the reality of death and grief, it can move us to be more fully present, and create a thriving life of purpose. *** You can buy Maria's new book "Reconfiguring " A Collection of Post-Christian Thoughts and Theologies" on Amazon here and find more of her work on her website here.

Today I'm joined by my friend Ali Smith, who shares their story of how they slowly discovered they were autistic, and ultimately had ADHD. They share common patterns of behaviour they experienced which they realised can be giveaways for these diagnoses, and the process of them obtaining a diagnosis.  Ali also talks about the challenges of coming to terms with their diagnoses and how they learned to acknowledge and accept who they are and thrive in their autistic and ADHD identities - and how we can too.

This week I'm joined by my friend Amber Kay to discuss living with epilepsy, how they discovered they were autistic and how this changed their life. They also share the story of discovering their bisexuality and embracing their true identity, and how this tied in with their autistic discovery. This episode is Amber sharing their journey of acknowledging and living fully into who they really are, and how we can do the same. 

This week I'm joined by author Lyndsey Medford, who tells us the story of when an autoimmune condition opened her eyes fully to the limitation of being in our bodies within the systems we live in.  Lyndsey talks about how learning to be comfortable in her body with its limitations impacted how she sees and interacts with the world. She also shares how it showed her how to heal and be free from the limitations of the systems we live in, and find a healthy, sustainable life for herself.

In this episode, my friend, ace advocate and writer Elle Rose, joins me to hear me tell my story of how I discovered I'm demisexual and on the asexual spectrum. Firstly, I talk about how I discovered what demisexaulity is and began to resonate with this label. I then discuss how once I acknowledged my demisexuality, and looked back at my life and my relationship to my sexuality, how it explained a lot of my experiences, lack of sexual attraction and why I was so different from my peers - and how what I thought was 'usual' wasn't the experience of others. Then I move to explain how this discovery has changed my life, helped my relationships, plutonic and romantic, and helped me find peace with myself. 

I'm honoured to welcome back my friend, author Marla Taviano today. In this episode we talk about her recent book of poetry, 'Jaded'. We talk about the messiness of deconstruction, the parts of the journey where we need to get things of our chest, release the grief, anger and trauma we carry, and learn to speak truth to ourselves and of ourselves.  Marla shares her own journey and how this is reflected in the poems and how writing the book helped that process. She talks about her experience of the anger and grief of discovering oppressive systems we've been a part of and damage we could have done, coming to terms with that, and the healing process. 

This week my friend Amanda Held Opelt returns, and we discuss grief rituals, why they were popular in the reign of Queen Victoria, and the impact of the first world war on our cultural grief rituals and how we process grief & loss. We also explore how the trauma and grief culturally felt and experienced in the first World War, had an impact on the allied nations initial response to Hitler's tyranny and how this could have inadvertently contributed to WWII.  We then discuss how defeat and having to face up to their actions as a nation, and do the work of healing and transformation, impacted Germany and their culture, and how victory contributed indirectly too many of the problems we now see in the UK and Germany.

This week my friend Douglas Humphreys returns to the show, and we discuss the show 'Obi Wan Kenobi', and the dynamic of the relationship between him and Anakin Skywalker (AKA Darth Vader) in the context of their respective journeys of grief and trauma. We discuss their experiences of grief, including in their own relationship, and the circumstances which contributed to the stories and outcomes of their lives. We talk about how unresolved grief and anger can consume and control us, and harm both ourselves and others - and how this story shows the contrast between this and healthy ways of processing grief, and how it transforms us.

This week Amanda Held Opelt returns to continue our exploration of grief and transformation in pop culture. Today we talk about the contrasting experiences of Loki, brother of Thor and Wanda Maximoff, and how we see this ultimately play out in their respective MCU shows.  We explore how Loki's confrontation with his own trauma, grief, and his actions, ultimately transforms and heals him. In contrast we discuss how Wanda's unhealthy response to trauma and grief causes harm to others, and herself. We then touch on what lessons we can learn from their respective journeys. 

I'm honoured to be joined today on my podcast by anti-racist activist, educator and speaker Tori Williams Douglass.  Tori runs 'White Homework', a resource educating people on anti-racism and whiteness. Today Tori tells us a bit of her story and journey into activism. She then discusses the concept of whiteness, where it originated, where we see it, and the harm it does, individually and societally. Tori also explores where we can see whiteness in ourselves and in the system we live in, and how we can begin to unlearn it and create a more equal, just world.

TW: Stories of acephobia Today Marshall Blount (@AceGentle on twitter) joins me today to share his story of discovering his identity as an asexaul (ace) and his journey into ace & LGBTQI activism.  We talk about the challenges he faced in discovering going public about his ace-ness and how others reacted, how it impacted his mental health, as well as his experiences of acephobia.  We also talk in depth about the activism he's been involved in, including how he obtained a proclamation for Ace Week 2020 from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the difference his work is making to ace awareness and equality - as well as words of encouragement for those still exploring their aceness. 

This week, in our 350th episode, Amanda Held Opelt joins me again for the second part of our series on superheroes, grief and modern mythology.  This week we explore the character and story of Superman, in particularly the one we see in the Christopher Reeve movies. He's a character who loses his adoptive father as a teenager, an event which drives him into a life trying to save people, never expressing his emotions, until another event finally unlocks his buried grief. We explore how Superman is a more hopeful character, and how his processing of grief doesn't dilute this, but rather makes him more hopeful, more kind, and more inspirational. We explore what lessons we can learn from his processing of grief, and his character, and why the world needs more people of sincerity and hope.

This week I begin a new series with my friend Amanda Held Opelt to discuss how grief is explored in superhero stories, and how they have become our modern mythology.  Today we focus mainly on Batman, exploring his story sand how his grief transforms and initially controls him, with Batman an expression of his raw grief. We discuss some of the stories in prominent Batman movies, as Bruce Wayne processes his grief and eventually Batman becomes a symbol of hope.  This episode explores how grief can control us if we let it, but if we allow ourselves to process it, it can transform us. 

This week Jenna DeWitt returns to the show for a conversation about Taylor Swift's recent album "Midnights" and the enneagram. Jenna briefly introduces the enneagram and we talk a bit about Taylor's likely enneagram numbers 9 (3w4). Then we explore how this relates to the recent fallout with Ticketmaster regarding her tour. Then we talk about how the album is reflective of Taylor's own personal and creative journey, her lived experiences and how she's often been perceived and treated by the media and those who aren't fans.  We also discuss how many of the challenges she can face are typical of her enneagram number, and end by exploring how all of us, whatever our enneagram number can embrace our identities and move into growth and transformation. 

TW: Spiritual abuse, evangelicalism, toxic religion   Today I'm joined by Carissa (@carissaexplainsnothing) who courageously shares her story, including her deconstruction and experience of toxic religion. She talks about her upbringing with evangelicalism, and a path she began to see as already pre-determined and inevitable. Carissa shares some of the spiritual abuse she experienced, and the grief she experienced leaving evangelicalism behind, and at the end of her marriage. And then she tells us about her experience of deconstruction, the risks and the joys of creating a new life, and discovering who she's always been. 

This week I'm honoured to be joined by Candice Czubernat. She is a therapist (known as @lesbiantherapist on IG), and founder of The Christian Closet, an LGBTQ affirming counseling, coaching and spiritual direction organization. She is also the founder of Gloriously Queer a conference for LGBTQ people of faith developed by LGBTQ people of faith. Today Candice shares her own story, talks about her work and her experiences as a therapist, particuarly focussing on grief. We discuss our various experiences of grief, different types of grief - including loss of loved ones, relationships ending, and the grief of deconstruction - and how we can learn to respond to grief and process grief in healthy ways.

Today I'm joined by returning guests Trace Bell and Tina Olsen to discuss grief and the spirituality of dogs.  Tina shares her experience of grief, and both her and Trace share their experiences with dogs, and learning and understanding their consciousness and building relationship with them, and how this can improve our mental health. They discuss how dogs can be extra intuitive and aware of our emotions and needs almost before we are, and what this can teach us about learning to listen to our own intuition and our relationship with the earth.

In this week's episode author Amanda Held Opelt joins me to discuss the cultural and historical impact of the Black Death during the 1300's.  We discuss the collective grief and trauma experienced by the countries impacted by the Black Death, and the longer term consequences for the church, culture and ultimately the history of western culture. We explore the consequences of collective cultural grief and trauma, and talk about what the potential long term impact of COVID has and potentially will be for the world and our culture as a whole. 

In today's episode we return to our irregular pop culture series, with author Marla Taviano joining me to discuss the popular show - and one of our favourites - Schitts Creek.  We talk about the various character arcs, and how these explore personal deconstruction and transformation after a major life change. We also explore the culture of the show which normalised LGBTQ inclusion and was such an inspiration to the LGBTQ community. This was such a fun episode to record, any fan of the show will enjoy it (and even those who don't know the show). 

I'm honoured to be joined today by my friend, colleague Maria Francesca French today. Maria is a professor, theologian, author and coach, exploring all things Christian and post-Christian.  Today she shares her personal journey, and talks about her first book, Safer than the Known Way, and we discuss together the root of the term deconstruction. We explore the concept of event, and how event begins an unravelling which takes us on a journey into what is called deconstruction, which goes way beyond the boundaries of religion and belief, and helps us explore, question and understand our very identity. This was such a great conversation, Maria has such knowledge, wisdom and lived experience in this area.  **** I highly recommend checking out Maria's book 'Safer than the Known Way', available at all online booksellers now.