STRONGWILLED

Trigger warnings: religious trauma regarding purity culture throughout, allusions to pedophilia around 15:00, mention of sexual abuse around 49:00.We were so grateful to have a conversation with Erica Smith, sex educator and author of the incredibly helpful new bookThe Purity Culture Recovery Guide: The Shame-Free Sex Education You Deserve. You can also follow Erica on instagram.Krispin talked with Erica about dating after purity culture, feeling like an imposter in queer spaces when you come out late in life, lifelong impacts of being disconnected from your own sense of desire — as well as the top five things Erica found surprising (and disturbing) about purity culture as an outsider who learned about it as an adult.You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at⁠⁠⁠ strongwilled.substack.com⁠⁠⁠ or strongwilledproject.comYou can join⁠⁠ ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠ join our substack⁠⁠⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠. You can ⁠⁠⁠follow Krispin on Instagram here⁠⁠⁠.

Krispin and DL discuss the movie Spotlight, about the team of journalists who broke the story about abusive Catholic priests in Boston, and eventually, around the world. The powerful movie is about how systems protect abusers. We originally recorded and released the episode last summer for our paid subscribers, but felt that it was relevant to current times, following another Epstein Files dump, and as a society, we’re discussing how abusers operate — and how those around them enable. If you enjoyed this episode, you can join ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or become a paid subscriber on substack to get these extra episodes. We just released one yesterday titled Dobson in the Epstein Files, Boundaries with Parents & Evaluating the Doctrine of Forgiveness.You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at⁠⁠⁠ strongwilled.substack.com⁠⁠⁠ or strongwilledproject.comYou can join⁠⁠ ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠ join our substack⁠⁠⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILLED on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠. You can ⁠⁠⁠follow Krispin on Instagram here⁠⁠⁠.

TW: childhood sexual abuse, CSAMThis episode, DL gives an overview of their research on Dobson's knowledge and failure to use that knowledge to protect kids, and instead promoted ideas within purity culture that parallel and affirm childhood sexual abusers. It's a long one, and it's tough content, but we feel it's incredibly important. You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at⁠⁠⁠ strongwilled.substack.com⁠⁠⁠ or strongwilledproject.comYou can join⁠⁠ ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠ join our substack⁠⁠⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠. You can ⁠⁠⁠follow Krispin on Instagram here⁠⁠⁠.

Here's another Hopecore episode! DL talks about why the latest Knives Out Mystery gives them hope. We discussed the way it approaches different types of Christianity, as well as asking whether Christianity itself is helpful, as well as what happens to true believers when they become calcified in institutions. We appreciate your continued support and engagement. As always, this is a survivor-led and survivor-supported publication. If you appreciate our work (and our ad-free podcast!) please consider supporting us financially or sharing about the podcast on your social media channels.You can join⁠⁠ ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠ join our substack⁠⁠⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community.

TW: eugenics, racism, forced sterilization, gendered violence, child abuse, child sexual abuse materials, and homophobia/conversion therapy.This episode, DL talks about Dobson's political career (including helping Putin come to power in Russia), and how Dobson's purity culture is pedophile culture. You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at⁠⁠⁠ strongwilled.substack.com⁠⁠⁠ or strongwilledproject.comYou can join⁠⁠ ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠ join our substack⁠⁠⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠. You can ⁠⁠⁠follow Krispin on Instagram here⁠⁠⁠.

TW: eugenics, racism, forced sterilization, gendered violence, child abuse, child sexual abuse materials, and homophobia/conversion therapy.This episode, DL gives an overview of the beginning of Dobson’s career prior to founding Focus on the Family, including his eugensistic beginnings, his role on the Meese Commission and the ways he ushered in the religious authoritarianism we’re living under right now.You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at⁠⁠⁠ strongwilled.substack.com⁠⁠⁠ or strongwilledproject.comYou can join⁠⁠ ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠ join our substack⁠⁠⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠. You can ⁠⁠⁠follow Krispin on Instagram here⁠⁠⁠.

This is our second Hopecore episode! It's a special series where we take a break from talking explicitly about religious authoritarianism, and talk about something we like. DL talks about why Derry Girls gives them hope during such difficult times. We discussed why it feels like an important story, our favorite characters and why Krispin is a Derry girl. This fall, we’ll be releasing a substack series of writing and podcasts focused on Dobson and his impact on children in religious communities — so we also wanted to make room to talk about things that are life giving and more fun to focus on. Looking ahead, most of this content will for our patreon/subscriber community, but we wanted to share it with the broader community today. You can listen to the audio on the main podcast feed — just search STRONGWILLED wherever you find your podcasts. We appreciate your continued support and engagement. We know that much of our content take enormous emotional energy to process — we feel the same. So we’re very glad to switch it up this week and have a little fun!As always, this is a survivor-led and survivor-supported publication. If you appreciate our work (and our ad-free podcast!) please consider supporting us financially or sharing about the podcast on your social media channels.You can join⁠⁠ ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠ join our substack⁠⁠⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community.

We’re trying something new this week! Instead of talking about religion authoritarianism, we took some time for DL to talk about something they love and that is giving them some hope: The 2025 Superman movie that released this summer.This fall, we’ll be releasing a substack series of writing and podcasts focused on Dobson and his impact on children in religious communities — so we also wanted to make room to talk about things that are life giving and more fun to focus on. Looking ahead, most of this content will for our patreon/subscriber community, but we wanted to share it with the broader community today. You can listen to the audio on the main podcast feed — just search STRONGWILLED wherever you find your podcasts. We appreciate your continued support and engagement. We know that much of our content take enormous emotional energy to process — we feel the same. So we’re very glad to switch it up this week and have a little fun!As always, this is a survivor-led and survivor-supported publication. If you appreciate our work (and our ad-free podcast!) please consider supporting us financially or sharing about the podcast on your social media channels.You can join⁠⁠ ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠ join our substack⁠⁠⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠. You can ⁠⁠⁠follow Krispin on Instagram here⁠⁠⁠.

TW: childhood sexual abuse, child sexual abuse imagesThis episode, DL talks with RL Stollar about threats to children’s safety in child-centric organizations like churches or the Scouts, as well as what statistics say about which demographic are most likely to sexual abuse kids.RL is a child liberation theologian and an advocate for children and abuse survivors. The author of a book on child liberation theology, "The Kingdom of Children." Ryan has an M.H.S. in Child Protection from Nova Southeastern University. He has served on the board of and run numerous social media campaigns for child advocacy organizations, including the Child-Friendly Faith Project, the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, and Homeschool Alumni Reaching Out. He authored the first and only comprehensive curricula on child abuse awareness and suicide prevention specifically tailored to homeschooling families and communities. Co-founder of the viral website Homeschoolers Anonymous, his advocacy work on behalf of homeschooled children and alumni has been featured in national and international media. You can find out more about RL’s work and social media links at his website. This episode focuses on the risks of sexual abuse of children by adults, so please take care as you listen. If you find this triggering because of your own experiences, rainn.org is a good place to look for support. We recently released an episode discussing the 2015 film Spotlight, talking through how abusive systems protect abusers, and the religious themes that uphold those systems. Head over to patreon to join and listen.We’re hosting an IN-PERSON book club in Gresham, OR at Maggie Mae’s bookstore: September 28 @ 5:15pm. You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at⁠⁠⁠ strongwilled.substack.com⁠⁠⁠.You can join⁠⁠ ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠ join our substack⁠⁠⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠. You can ⁠⁠⁠follow Krispin on Instagram here⁠⁠⁠.

Krispin & DL recap and discuss the fourth movie of The Hunger Games, wrapping up the series and discussing picking up the pieces after trauma -- and a lot more. We’d love for you to take our survey examining the impacts of growing up in a religious authoritarian environment: click on this link to take it! So many thanks to all of you who have taken it so far, we’ve had over 500 responses! Plus, you all have left so many kind words in the open comment section and it’s been incredibly encouraging as we continue in this work!We just released an episode discussing the 2015 film Spotlight, talking through how abusive systems protect abusers, and the religious themes that uphold those systems. Head over to patreon to join and listen.We’re hosting an IN-PERSON book club in Gresham, OR at Maggie Mae’s bookstore: September 28 @ 5:15pm. You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at⁠⁠⁠ strongwilled.substack.com⁠⁠⁠.You can join⁠⁠ ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠ join our substack⁠⁠⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠. You can ⁠⁠⁠follow Krispin on Instagram here⁠⁠⁠.

Today, we’re re-playing an episode from early 2024 about the origins of Christian Zionism — with an updated introduction (actually, two updated intros). Krispin & DL discuss the origins of Christian Zionism and how Christian publishing has shaped the course of history, including US foreign policy. The series originally had three episodes, and you can go back and listen to the other two episodes: one episode withJosh P. Hill and one episode with Kelley Nikondeha.Also, you can hear DL’s story about growing up in the midst of this kind of prophecy in this episode titled DL’s StoryYou can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at⁠⁠⁠ strongwilled.substack.com⁠⁠⁠.You can join⁠⁠ ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠ join our substack⁠⁠⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠. You can ⁠⁠⁠follow Krispin on Instagram here⁠⁠⁠.

TW: Homophobia, corporal punishment / spanking, drug overdose.Krispin & DL recap and discuss the third movie of The Hunger Games and talk about the reality of devastating violence of authoritarian governments. You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at⁠⁠⁠ strongwilled.substack.com⁠⁠⁠.You can join⁠⁠ ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠ join our substack⁠⁠⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠. You can ⁠⁠⁠follow Krispin on Instagram here⁠⁠⁠.

TW: Homophobia, corporal punishment / spanking, drug overdose.Krispin & DL recap and discuss the third movie of The Hunger Games (which was a difficult watch).You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at⁠⁠⁠ strongwilled.substack.com⁠⁠⁠.You can join⁠⁠ ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠ join our substack⁠⁠⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠. You can ⁠⁠⁠follow Krispin on Instagram here⁠⁠⁠.

Krispin & DL recap and discuss the second book/movie of The Hunger Games and talk about strategies of authoritarian governments. If you want to hear Part 2 of this episode earlier than the regular schedule, you can ⁠become a patreon subscriber⁠ and listen to part 2 today!Krispin mentions researchers who see corporal punishment as a symbol of devotion to God; he's referencing Susan B. Ridgley's journal article, "⁠When pain becomes symbolic of commitment"⁠You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at⁠⁠⁠ strongwilled.substack.com⁠⁠⁠.You can join⁠⁠ ⁠our patreon community⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠ join our substack⁠⁠⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠. You can ⁠⁠⁠follow Krispin on Instagram here⁠⁠⁠.

Krispin & DL recap and discuss the first book/movie of The Hunger Games and talk about how James Dobson and President Snow use the same methods of control. Download Pranksters vs. Autocrats by Sophia McClennen and Srdja Popovic for free!You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at⁠ strongwilled.substack.com⁠.You can join⁠ our patreon community⁠ or⁠ join our substack⁠ to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED on ⁠Instagram⁠. You can ⁠follow Krispin on Instagram here⁠.

DL and Krispin discuss what it’s like when you start to notice your partner’s family is dysfunctional, as well as what it’s like when you’re the one in the enmeshed family — and your partner starts to point it out to you.You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at strongwilled.substack.com.You can join our patreon comamunity or join our substack to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED on Instagram. You can follow Krispin on Instagram here.

TW: child abuse, corporal punishmentDL interviewed Talia Lavin, author of the phenomenal book Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America. You can follow Talia on bluesky and buy her book here. You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at strongwilled.substack.com.You can join our patreon comamunity or join our substack to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED on Instagram. You can follow Krispin on Instagram here.

TW: Holocaust denial, homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny, religious traumaDL took some time during their estrangement story to do a deep dive into the intergenerational aftermath of Nazi Germany, and how younger generations talked with their parents about their support of Hitler -- plus, a run down of what seems to be driving estrangement in the US among adult children and their religious, conservative parents. You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at strongwilled.substack.com.You can join our patreon comamunity or join our substack to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED Instagram. You can follow Krispin on Instagram here.

TW/CW: denial of structural racism in the US, COVID denial / death, transphobia, homophobia, fatphobia. DL shares their story about going no contact with their parents, and in line with our recent post on substack, discusses how oppressive politics and ideology can do incredible harm in personal relationships. You can read about religious authoritarian parenting and also find the transcript for this podcast at strongwilled.substack.com.You can join our patreon comamunity or join our substack to support this podcast and join our discord community. You can follow STRONGWILED Instagram. You can follow Krispin on Instagram here.