My guest today is Valerie Hamaker, a licensed mental health professional and co-host of the popular Latter Day Struggles podcast—a show focused on helping individuals, especially members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, navigate the emotional and spiritual challenges that arise from complex church history and theology.

Recently, Valerie and her husband Nathan were summoned to appear before a membership disciplinary council—a process that often results in excommunication. Instead of participating, they chose to resign their membership.

The way they’ve been treated by their local leaders—what I’d call a clear attempt at silencing—feels not only confusing and unsettling, but also symptomatic of deeper cracks within the structure and institution of the LDS Church.

CONTACT VALERIE Instagram -https://shorturl.at/RSFs6 Facebook - https://shorturl.at/QXSXb Website - https://valeriehamaker.com/ Email - admin@latterdaystruggles.com

#TheMormonChurch #MissouriMormons #LDSFaithCrisis #Mormon #LDSChurch #FaithCrisis #TruthCrisis #ExMo #Scrupulocity #Patriarchy #CantUnsee #LatterDayStruggles #DoAllTheThings #FaithTransition #NuancedMormon #FollowTheProphet #AtLastSheSaidIt

Ladies and gentlemen and whomever else is listening. Whether you're a longtime listener or tuning in for the first time, I truly appreciate your support. Your time and attention mean the world to me, and I don’t take it for granted.

If this show has added value to your life, please take a moment to like, share, subscribe, and leave a review—it helps more than you know!

Today, my guests are the hosts of the popular Mormon podcast called At Last She Said It. Women of faith talking about complicated things. Please welcome Susan Hinckley and Cynthia Winward.

After saying it in conversation a thousand times to each other, they decided it was time to finally say some of what they needed to hear out loud. They hope these podcast conversations can help women feel connected to one another. So often thoughts, feelings, and experiences—some particular to the complex lives of LDS women—remain unspoken or unacknowledged at church. Through conversations with each other and selected guests, they seek to amplify and explore a variety of voices, stories, ideas and experiences of women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Follow them today! Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/atlastshesaidit/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/atlastshesaidit Website -https://atlastshesaidit.org Email - atlastshesaidit@gmail.com Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-last-she-said-it/id1506045350

#AtLastSheSaidIt #PatriarchalStructures #MormonPatriarchy #ComplicatedThings

Ladies and gentlemen and whomever else is listening. Whether you're a longtime listener or tuning in for the first time, I truly appreciate your support. Your time and attention mean the world to me, and I don’t take it for granted.

If this show has added value to your life, please take a moment to like, share, subscribe, and leave a review—it helps more than you know!

Today, we’re diving into a conversation that’s both eye-opening and essential: the deeply rooted system of patriarchy. To help us unravel its history and impact, I’m honored to welcome Amy McPhie Allebest—the brilliant mind behind the acclaimed podcast and YouTube series Breaking Down Patriarchy. Through her work, Amy explores the long-standing power imbalances that have shaped societies for millennia.

But this isn’t just a history lesson—it’s a call to action. What can we do to challenge these structures and create a more equitable world? Listen in for a fascinating discussion filled with historical insights, practical strategies, and actionable takeaways to spark change in your own life and community.

Follow her work today! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bdownpatriarchy/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@breakingdownpatriarchy Website - https://breakingdownpatriarchy.com/

#BreakingDownPatriarchy #Feminism #Feminazi #PatriarchalStructures

My guest today is Amanda Frutos, owner of Lottie, the famous Weimaraner, blood tracker. She shares the history of this amazing breed of tracker animal and the process and need for tracking big game in the Rocky Mountain West. It's a bit like CSI.

SOURCES

www.unitedbloodtrackers.org www.rockymountainbiggamerecovery.com www.akc.org/dog-breeds/weimaraner/

Welcome back to the show, my beautiful listeners.

I’m so excited to share today’s conversation with you. My guest is Phelosha Collaros, the visionary founder of DepolarWise.com, a powerful community platform built with one purpose in mind: to bridge the ever-growing political and ideological divides that threaten to tear us apart—not just here in America, but across the globe. Phelosha’s mission is about making connections, one person at a time, to foster understanding, compassion, and common ground where we so desperately need it.

Phelosha's passion for this work comes from a deeply personal place. Her mother, born in Colombia, witnessed firsthand the devastating consequences of a polarized society. During the violent period known as La Violencia, her own community turned on each other with such brutal fervor that they were willing to kill Phelosha’s grandfather simply because of his political beliefs. Over the course of nearly a decade, that civil war claimed more than 200,000 lives, leaving deep scars on the Colombian nation.

While the example I just shared is extreme—and thank goodness, we’re not there yet—it’s a stark reminder of the dangers when division turns into dehumanization. And make no mistake, we are seeing alarming signs of that same toxic divide here in the U.S. over the past decade or so. If we’re not careful, we could follow that same path. But here’s the thing: we don’t have to. The power is in our hands.

To heal, to shift the narrative, and to stop the cycle of hate that we’re trapped in, we need to get uncomfortable. We need to step outside our echo chambers and face the discomfort of truly learning about each other—especially about those who see the world differently than we do. It’s a process, but it’s a process that can begin today.

So, I encourage you to listen closely, because this conversation offers hope and practical ways we can be part of the solution. The miracle of unity isn’t as far off as it might seem—it just requires us to take the first step.

Let’s dive in.

COMMUNICATION, BOOKS and REFERENCES

DepolarWise.com - http://depolarwise.com/ Email - info@depolarwise.com Phelosha's TED Talk - https://shorturl.at/JgHMa La Violencia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Violencia Braver Angels - https://braverangels.org/ I Never Thought of It That Way - Uncomfy Podcast - https://www.byuradio.org/uncomfy

Our guest today is Thiefane (pronounced TFN) Magré, founder and CEO of Prouduct. They help entrepreneurs and businesses with product global sourcing. We've asked him on the show again to try and make sense of the tariffs Donald Trump has been hammering for the past election cycle.

He does a simple dive into what it means for all of us. Hint. Tariffs may not mean what you think they mean.

#Prouduct #MadeInChina #TrumpTariffs #Tariffs #Trump #China #UkraineWar #FollowTheMoney #GlobalSourcing #ChangeBehavior #ProtectEconomy

My guests today are Laney and Bridgette Casey. Last year I interviewed their parents, Matt and Celeste. Over three years ago Matt was diagnosed with an extremely rare illness called Neuroendocrine cancer. It almost took his life and so often so much of the attention, although well deserved, goes to the person suffering. Often times the family can sometimes get overlooked even as they are suffering along side the sick or injured one.

This is Matt's story through THEIR eyes. The eyes of the children. Have your tissues handy. Listen to Matt and Celeste's original story here https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/parrish-the-thought/id1348128086?i=1000636743479

#NeuroendocrineCancer #CancerSucks #FamilyFirst #NetCancer #ZebraStrong #CancerCard #CaseyFamily

My guest today is 20 year veteran radio journalist Julie Rose, host of two insightful podcasts on BYU Radio; Top of Mind and the Uncomfy podcast.

Several weeks ago I was invited to be guest on her Uncomfy podcast sharing a profound pivot in my own life that has helped change my perspectives on so many things. (Here is that episode - https://youtu.be/Q5RZVtV3ijk?si=DWxNIFyftUfWh-F5)

Julie is such a great interviewer, having done more than 10,000 interviews, she was such a joy to talk to that I decided to have her on my show to share her story of how she got into this world of storytelling. She is a wise thinker and so easy to talk to about so many things.

Find Her Shows

Top of Mind - https://www.youtube.com/@topofmindpod Uncomfy - https://www.youtube.com/@uncomfy.podcast BYU Radio - https://www.byuradio.org/

You can also find these shows on your favorite podcast platforms in addition to YouTube

#BYURadio #NPR #WaitWaitDontTellMe #RadioJournalism #JulieRose #UncomfyPodcast #TopOfMindPodcast #AllThingsConsidered #MorningAddition #Allsides