Shows
Queer & AHow to Know When a Project is FinishedIn this episode, we heard from artists Naledi Sunstrum and Charley Bouchard during their participation in Queer & A’s virtual artist residency, in which both artists were given the prompt to create art on the topic of queerness and spirituality -- whatever that meant to them and however they wanted to explore it. Naledi ended up writing two songs, one on Ruth and Naomi and one on David and Jonathan, and Charley focused on a play called Transgendent. We also heard a summary with Kaitlin Carlson about research on the topic of how to know when a work is fi...
2025-11-2635 min
Queer & ASharing Unfinished WorkThis episode’s podcast is all about sharing unfinished work. Kaitlin Carlson (she/her) and I start with a conversation about the research before hearing excerpts from the virtual artist residency in which Naledi Sunstrum (they/them), Charley Bouchard (they/them), and I chat through their two respective creative projects.Ok Naledi’s instrumental song track of the sound “Bones” is used with permission by Naledi — hear it in the intro and outro of this podcast.If you want to read more of the research covered in this episode, here are some great starting points!
2025-10-3130 min
Queer & ACollaborating with othersThis episode’s podcast is all about collaborating with others. Kaitlin Carlson (she/her) and I start with a conversation about the research on collaborating with others. We then hear excerpts from the virtual artist residency in which Naledi Sunstrum (they/them), Charley Bouchard (they/them), and I chat through their two respective creative projects.Ok Naledi’s instrumental song track of the sound “Bones” is used with permission by Naledi — hear it in the intro and outro of this podcast. If you want to read more of the research covered in this ep...
2025-10-1339 min
Queer & AThe Challenge of ChoicesWe’re back with to explore another theme that came up during Queer & A’s virtual artist residency, during which Charley and Naledi took 10 weeks to develop their respective art projects on the topic of queerness and spirituality. One of the themes that emerged in our meetings was the challenge of choices — how hard it is to choose a project at the beginning when you have many options to take.Listen to this podcast to hear some research about the challenge of choices, and then listen in to excerpts of Charley, Naledi, and I talk in one of our earlie...
2025-09-3031 min
Queer & ACreative Block and how to get through itIn this series, we’re diving deep into themes that emerged during our virtual artist residency — a beautiful, experimental 8-10 weeks where two incredible artists, Charley and Naledi, joined me as they each developed their own creative projects.If you’re just tuning in and wondering what this residency was all about, I highly recommend starting with Episode 1. There, I explain the structure of the residency and introduce you to both Charley — who was working on a play titled Transgendent — and Naledi, who was composing two songs inspired by the stories of Ruth & Naomi, and David & Jonathan.Each...
2025-06-1532 min
Queer & AQueer Artist Residency LaunchExcited to launch the second series of Queer & A podcast. Queer & A podcast is a community-oriented educational project aimed at bringing awareness about, and sharing resources to combat, religiously-motivated queerphobia and transphobia. In Series 1 I interviewed a combination of academics, activists, therapists, and individuals with personal experiences to share from, and we conversed widely about the history and present day experiences of homophobia and the role that religion plays in it. I loved those conversations. And yet, somewhere in the midst of talking about religion and queerness, I realized something: I didn't only want Queer...
2025-04-1430 min
Queer & AQueer & A Season 1 Wrap Up and RecapThere are a few points that became more clear or more profound for me throughout my time on this series, and I wanted to start by recapping them here, and then we'll return to some takeaways from our guests.This episode reviews 5 key points I’ve learned throughout this series, and then gives the mic back to our series one guests. We hear from each of our guests, hearing about what messages they would give to people who weaponize religious against queer individuals, and also to queer folx who have felt religion being weaponized against them.Here’s th...
2024-11-2838 min
Queer & AQueerness in Ancient Christianity: exploring concepts of gender transgression, sexuality vs purity, and heteronormativitySummary:A lot of the Queer & A podcast episodes have looked at queerness in the present day, sometimes looking closely at theological interpretations of biblical passages but still focusing on how these play out and affect people today.Here I'm excited to look back in time, trying to understand not the various strands of present day Christianity but looking back to early christianity, speaking with Lydia Schriemer and Phoebe Hancock.In our conversation we talk about gender transgression and how queerness was conceptualized differently in the ancient world than it is today. We...
2024-08-2156 min
Queer & AThe Queer Interfaith Coalition: Faith-based love and acceptance of 2SLGBTQIA+ folxIn this episode I speak with Rabbi Naj and Pam Rocker. Rabbi Naj is a second-generation Holocaust survivor, a rabbi, as well as a board certified interfaith chaplain and registered social worker and trained mediator. Pam Rocker is an atypical activist, consultant, and writer. From Pride to politics, she advocates for the full inclusion of 2SLGBTQ+ people in every area of society. The three of us talk about the Queer Interfaith Coalition and the ways it is reclaiming the religious voice from those who have sought to weaponize faith against 2SLGBTQIA+ folks.Permissions...
2024-06-0359 min
Queer & APsychedelic therapies, religion, and LGBTQ+ wisdomIn this episode I speak with psychedelic researcher and community organizer Amy Bartlett. Amy draws on her doctoral research at the University of Ottawa where she explores how psychedelics are used as part of people's healing journey, including for the healing of PTSD, treatment-resistant depression, and other experiences and states. One thing Amy brings to light is the fact that most clinical trials (USA/CAN-based) have not included participants from different identity groups, meaning that 2SLGBTQIA+ folks are notably absent from the clinical trial. If you're familiar with human-cenetered design principles, you know that this means that the needs...
2024-02-1559 min
Queer & ALGBTQIA+ Youth in Schools: | Mackenzie KoltonIn this episode I speak with Mackenzie Kolton, who is currently the Director of Learning of Egale Canada. Mackenzie is passionate about working in 2SLGBTQI advocacy and education and prior to Egale she was the Manager of Program Innovation at Big Brothers Big Sisters, co-developing Manitoba’s first Queer Lens Mental Health Training and overseeing their 2SLGBTQI department and staff. In this interview, we hear from some of the ways that Mackenzie's time with Big Brothers Big Sisters set her up to focus on concepts like joy and love and capability and inner strength when it comes to developing re...
2023-12-1453 min
Queer & ALGBTQIA+ Healing from the Church-Hurt | Charley BouchardIn this episode I speak with Charley Bouchard. Charley is an athlete, versatile artist, and passionate about volunteering for youth work in the community. Charley considers themself to be a mystic Christian, ready and open to questioning and discussing big ideas that affect our culture and shape our lives. As we talk about their story with queerness and Christianity, Charley shares openly and honestly about the pain they experienced in their mid 20s when they attended an evangelical Christian church. I'll let Charley share their story of pain and rejection because of their queerness, but al...
2023-11-301h 02
Queer & ALGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers | Stéfanie LacroixIn this episode I speak with Stéfanie Lacroix. Stef is a Staff Attorney in Immigration Equality’s Pro Bono Program. In this role, she represents immigrants seeking asylum and she provides mentorship for over 170 immigration cases placed with law firms nationwide through Immigration Equality’s pro bono program.In this episode you hear Stef and I speak about the hardships and realities that LGBTQIA+ people from all over the world face when they are seeking asylum in the United States. We hear about the shifting legal frameworks that have affected the rights of asylum seekers, and have a...
2023-11-0151 min
Queer & APurity Culture, Religious Trauma, and LGBTQ+ Healing | Sandra Noble, LPC, PhD, NCCIn this interview I speak with Dr. Sandra Noble (PhD, LPC, NCC), who holds a PhD in counsellor education and supervision and a masters in clinical mental health counselling. Sandra is a counselling professor at a grad school in Portland, Oregon and also a licensed professional counsellor in private practice. She’s certified as an eating disorder specialist and a clinical trauma professional, and in the show you’ll hear us talk about her research in embodiment, recovery, and spirituality, and especially how 2SLGBTQ+ individuals experience embodied reactions to the religious traumas of purity culture. In this episode we discu...
2023-10-1155 min
Queer & ALGBTQ+ Activism: Drag Queen and Eastern Orthodox Christian Theologian | Nik Jovčić-Sas.In this episode I speak with Nik Jovčić-Sas (he/they). Nik is a musician, LGBTQ+ activist, drag queen, and Eastern Orthodox Theologian. Nik grew up in rural Somerset, England within a Serbian family and attended King’s College London to study theology, with a particular focus on the intersection of LGBTQ+ relationships and Orthodox Christian Theology and Identity. Nik has published work on this topic, which you can find links to in the show notes. In the show, you’ll hear Nik talk about doing his activism work as both a committed Christian theologian and someone who identifi...
2023-09-2659 min
Queer & ASpiritual Community for Queer Christians? | Mike MaeshiroEPISODE SUMMARY:Mike Maeshiro (@mikemaeshiro) is Gay, Christian, and a Pastor. He hosts online communities for 2SLGBTQIA+ people looking for spiritual communities, and offers coaching to post-evangelical Christians in a journey of theological deconstruction.If you’re curious about the ways that evangelical conservative Christianity have systematically shaped the experiences of queer people weaponizing theology, or if you’ve endured this yourself and are looking for support and understanding, this is the episode for you. In this show, we hear about conservative Christian theology like “hate the sin love the sinner”, internalized homophobia, Mike’s own experie...
2023-09-0556 min
Queer & AIntroducing Queer & A, Season OneIntroduction Episode:- music: "BONES" by OK Naledi. All copyright belongs to OK Naledi and the instrumental version was used with permission. Check out the official music video for INtrlD BONES.- Pastor Zach Lambert’s tweet documents the rise in "anti-LGBTQ+ bills and hateful rhetoric" which have increased in the last few years.- Intersectional lenses are important when understanding individual identity — read more via Myeshia Price (she/they), as they speak about their identity as a Black non binary queer person, and how these three aspects of their identity shapes their experience. - In the 1980s and 1990s the...
2023-08-1126 min
New Books in Christian StudiesDaniel J. Soars and Nadya Pohran, "Hindu-Christian Dual Belonging" (Routledge, 2022)Daniel J. Soars and Nadya Pohran's book Hindu-Christian Dual Belonging (Routledge, 2022) focuses on dual belonging within Hindu-Christian contexts. Written by experts in a variety of fields, the chapters explore the theological, philosophical, and cultural anthropological debates relating to religious pluralism, religious language, and social identity while addressing the fact that both Hindu and Christian forms of self-understandings have been significantly moulded through their interactions in South Asia and across certain Euro-American horizons. The limits of the definition of dual belonging are tested via case studies, and contributors address the question of whether there is anything distinctive about dual belonging ac...
2023-07-0633 min
New Books in ReligionDaniel J. Soars and Nadya Pohran, "Hindu-Christian Dual Belonging" (Routledge, 2022)Daniel J. Soars and Nadya Pohran's book Hindu-Christian Dual Belonging (Routledge, 2022) focuses on dual belonging within Hindu-Christian contexts. Written by experts in a variety of fields, the chapters explore the theological, philosophical, and cultural anthropological debates relating to religious pluralism, religious language, and social identity while addressing the fact that both Hindu and Christian forms of self-understandings have been significantly moulded through their interactions in South Asia and across certain Euro-American horizons. The limits of the definition of dual belonging are tested via case studies, and contributors address the question of whether there is anything distinctive about dual belonging ac...
2023-07-0633 min
New Books in Indian ReligionsDaniel J. Soars and Nadya Pohran, "Hindu-Christian Dual Belonging" (Routledge, 2022)Daniel J. Soars and Nadya Pohran's book Hindu-Christian Dual Belonging (Routledge, 2022) focuses on dual belonging within Hindu-Christian contexts. Written by experts in a variety of fields, the chapters explore the theological, philosophical, and cultural anthropological debates relating to religious pluralism, religious language, and social identity while addressing the fact that both Hindu and Christian forms of self-understandings have been significantly moulded through their interactions in South Asia and across certain Euro-American horizons. The limits of the definition of dual belonging are tested via case studies, and contributors address the question of whether there is anything distinctive about dual belonging ac...
2023-07-0633 min
New Books in South Asian StudiesDaniel J. Soars and Nadya Pohran, "Hindu-Christian Dual Belonging" (Routledge, 2022)Daniel J. Soars and Nadya Pohran's book Hindu-Christian Dual Belonging (Routledge, 2022) focuses on dual belonging within Hindu-Christian contexts. Written by experts in a variety of fields, the chapters explore the theological, philosophical, and cultural anthropological debates relating to religious pluralism, religious language, and social identity while addressing the fact that both Hindu and Christian forms of self-understandings have been significantly moulded through their interactions in South Asia and across certain Euro-American horizons. The limits of the definition of dual belonging are tested via case studies, and contributors address the question of whether there is anything distinctive about dual belonging ac...
2023-07-0633 min
Faith at the FrontiersRefugees: Action and Contemplation in the Sermon on the MountThis is an unusual episode because Barney is not interviewing, but interviewed for a course on 'contemplative well-being' by Nadya Pohran. Nadya asks Barney lots of questions about the Sermon on the Mount and its relation to social action and contemplation. Only the first 30 minutes are about refugees, but the rest is there in case you find it interesting.
First we discuss refugees as those who "hunger and thirst for justice" (Mt 5:6) and as those who are persecuted (Mt 5:11).
Then we move on and ask: do you have to be a Christian in order to live by Jesus' t...
2021-11-011h 07