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. 

The hosts dig into James Dobson's controversial influence, linking his purity culture to troubling patterns of child sexualization. They critique his role in the Meese Commission, highlighting the missed warnings about intrafamilial child predators. Dobson's political activism, including ties to anti-LGBTQ legislation and international efforts, is examined. The discussion also covers how Dobson's anti-pornography stance served as a façade for authoritarian family values, along with the disturbing implications of purity balls and conversion therapy.

Explore the unsettling origins of James Dobson's authoritarian influence on parenting. Discover his connections to eugenics and forced sterilization practices, revealing a troubling legacy. The hosts dive into Dobson's childhood and psychology training, contrasting his beliefs with child development research. Hear how his controversial disciplinary methods, rooted in control, shape perceptions of love. Finally, the episode challenges listeners to reclaim their autonomy and resist oppressive parenting paradigms.

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.