On today’s episode, we have Brandan Robertson (he/him). Brandan is known on the internet as the “TikTok Pastor,” with lots of folks tuning into his inclusive theological digital content across social media. I was curious to have Brandan come on to add to the conversation we’ve been having about queerness - I’ve gotten to speak with lots of folks whom as part of their healing have created distance between themselves and religion and God, but I’ve also heard from folks who are seeking ways to integrate their queerness with a faith as an adult. Brandan is a great resource here because he author of the forthcoming book “Queer & Christian: Reclaiming the Bible, Our Faith, and Our Place at the Table." The book and todays conversation are really about how queer folks can do just that - reclaim their faith. Even if you’re not seeking this for yourself, I found this conversation to be interesting and informative.

Pre-order Queer & Christian HERE

About the guest:

Rev. Brandan Robertson is a noted author, activist, and public theologian, dedicated to exploring the intersections of spirituality, sexuality, and social justice. He serves as the Pastor of Sunnyside Reformed Church in New York City and is the founder and Executive Director of The Devout Foundation. Known as the "TikTok Pastor," Robertson's inclusive theological content reaches over 250,000 followers and has garnered 6 million views. He has authored 23 books, including the INDIES Book of the Year finalist True Inclusion. His work has been featured in TIME Magazine, CNN, and The Washington Post. Robertson is a sought-after speaker who regularly presents at prestigious platforms like The White House and Oxford University, continuing to inspire and challenge audiences around the world. Robertson acquired a Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies from Moody Bible Institute, an Master of Theological Study from Iliff School of Theology, and an Master of Arts in Political Science and Public Administration from Eastern Illinois University. He's presently pursuing a PhD in Biblical Studies at Drew University. He currently resides in New York City.

Connect with Brandan on TikTok & Instagram

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com and @secondadolescencepod.

Our guest on today’s episode is a man we’re going to call "David" - David is not his real name, he’s using a pseudonym.

We recorded this conversation about a year into his uncovering his bisexuality in his early 60s, something he started doing alongside grieving the passing of his wife of over 40 years. Prior to passing, his wife encouraged him to live a happy life when she's gone. Though she may not have been anticipating this turn, he is in a current chapter of stepping into his full self for the first time.

To ease the fear he held in pursuing gay experiences, David sought the support of male escorts as a way to ease into this world. The result has proven to be very powerful and healing, with escorts having acted as safe supports guiding him in unlocking his queerness and stepping into his Second Adolescence.

There’s definitely a nuanced conversation we all could and should have about sex work and the experience of sex workers, and that is so important, but this conversation is really about highlighting one man’s meaningful healing journey that has been aided by their support, and I am so grateful to David for offering this story to this collective work and am so honored to get to invite you all into it.

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com and @secondadolescencepod (IG).

This week’s guest is Valerie Baker (she/they). In this episode, Valerie shares with us about her experience coming into her queerness in her 30s after growing up within a culture of religious fundamentalism. They share with us about childhood, and how due to the level of conservativeness within the fundamentalist religion she grew up within, she felt like she missed out on her first adolescence for multiple reasons. After getting married to a man and beginning to find their adult self, Valerie eventually felt the pull to pursue her interest in women and so much followed. This was such a lovely conversation, I feel SO grateful to Valerie for inviting us all into their story.

About the guest:

Valerie Baker (she/they) is a writer and creative based in North Carolina. On her Substack, Breadcrumbs, Valerie writes about being a late blooming queer woman, coming out of fundamentalist religion, and their experience finding hope and healing along that journey. You can find Valerie's Substack at valeriehart.substack.com and follow on IG @writerwithadayjob.

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com and @secondadolescencepod (IG).

This week's guest is Lucas Wilson (he/him). Lucas is the editor of Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivors' Stories of Conversion Therapy, which features personal essays written by survivors about their experience in Conversion Therapy (CT). Lucas is also a survivor of CT and this is the focus of our conversation today - his own personal journey as a survivor of conversion therapy, and his experience studying and knowing the experiences of other survivors. This conversation includes discussion of conversion therapy, religious trauma and mentions of sexual abuse. We also talk about what it means to heal and liberate after these experiences.

About the guest:
Lucas Wilson is a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Toronto Mississauga and was formerly the Justice, Equity, and Transformation Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Calgary. He is the editor of Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivors’ Stories of Conversion Therapy (out January 21st!), and he is the author of At Home with the Holocaust: Postmemory, Domestic Space, and Second-Generation Holocaust Literature, which received the Jordan Schnitzer First Book Publication Award. His public-facing writing has appeared in The Advocate, Queerty, LGBTQ Nation, and Religion Dispatches, among other venues. He is currently working on two interrelated monograph projects that examine evangelical homophobia and transphobia in the U.S.

Pre-order Shame-Sex Attraction HERE.

Instagram: @lukeslamdunkwilson
Threads: @lukeslamdunkwilson
Bluesky: @lukeslamdunkwilson.bsky.social
Twitter/X: @wilson_fw
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucas-wilson-2a0753b1/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luke.wilson.96

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com and @secondadolescencepod (IG).

September is Bisexuality Visibility Month, and I’m excited to kick it off with this week’s guest, Steve Spencer (he/him). Steve is award-winning bi+ and HIV advocate, researcher, and consultant. Steve is a bi, HIV positive man who is doing so much work to advocate for bi+ visibility and action against HIV stigma, and I was eager to have him on to give voice to all of this.

In this episode, we hear Steve’s personal story of discovering his biness at age 13 but then being told by a well-intentioned but uninformed therapist that he was gay and did not need to pretend he was bi. He went on to spend the next 13 years repressing his biness. Steve shares with us what coming into his biness has been like for him, his experience as a person with positive HIV status, and guides us through wider conversations about biness, HIV, and so much more. I so loved getting time with Steve and think what he’s doing is so important, and I’m just so excited to be able to invite you all in to the conversation.

About the guest:
Steve Spencer is an award-winning bi+ and HIV advocate, researcher, and consultant based on Gadigal Land, Sydney, Australia, and he is a proud ambassador of Qtopia Sydney and the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation.

Steve sits on the board of Australia's national peak HIV body, NAPWHA, and is a leading advisor, researcher, and university lecturer in bisexual health and HIV, working with The Kirby Institute, UNSW, and Johns Hopkins University. Steve also uses his large social media following - perfecting the art of discussing serious messages with a sprinkling of thirst traps - to advocate for bi-visibility and action against HIV stigma.

Self-acceptance, community, courage, and empathy are at the core of Steve’s advocacy and you can follow his work on Instagram @ssstorven.

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com and @secondadolescencepod.

This week’s guest is Tyler Tetreault, MD (he/him). In this conversation, Tyler shares with us about his journey as a transgender man who transitioned during his residency, and how his personal experience has lit a fire to create more space for LGBTQ+ folks within orthopedic medicine. I was so touched by Tyler and his story and the work he’s doing now, and am excited to invite you all into the conversation.

About the guest:
Tyler (he/him) is a pediatric spine surgeon based in Los Angeles, CA. Orthopedics is one of the least diverse specialties in medicine - as a transgender man who transitioned during residency, he learned first-hand how important community and representation can be. Now as a practicing attending, he serves as a Board member for PrideOrtho, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving LGBTQ+ representation in orthopedics and mentoring future LGBTQ+ identified individuals into orthopedic surgery. Outside of work, he can be found running and spending time with his wife and dogs.

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com and @secondadolescencepod.

This week’s guest is Morgan Henry Kerr (she/her). Morgan joined us to talk about all things ups and downs of being a queer person trying to conceive. Morgan shares her own personal journey creating her family, and shares about the work she's doing to support other queer people through the Trying to Conceive (TTC) process. This conversation is particularly helpful for those of you with birthing bodies, interested in navigating this path to parenthood, but I also found this chat to be super helpful for all queer people interested in pursuing parenthood through this process.

About the guest:
I'm Morgan Henry Kerr aka MAMO. I'm a creative, community builder and proud queer mom from the pacific northwest in perimenopause and preschool era, ha! I'm also a 14x unsuccessful IUI (intrauterine insemination) turned non-bio mom who along with my wife has experienced the infuriating and beautiful ups and downs of the fertility world and TTC (trying to conceive) process. The becoming parent phase is layered, complex, A LOT. It can also be an opportunity to deeply heal and make it the most empowering time of your life. This is why I created a container that helps queer couples make their TTC journey more efficient, more celebrated, more connected, more fun. Connect and learn more at @iam_mamomhk, and you can download your FREE Queer TTC E-Book here.

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com and @secondadolescencepod

This week’s guest is Archie Arnold (he/him). Archie has a powerful story of being someone who just recently in his early fifties came to full understanding of his identity as a gay trans man. Archie lets us into his own story of uncovering his true self during the COVID pandemic and what his process has been like to deconstruct and reconstruct his experience of identity. We talk about the complicated dialectic of holding both envy and joy for other LGBTQ+ folks who have experiences we didn’t or don’t, the healing work of reconnecting with our child self, and so so much more. His story is one that illustrates the power of exploring who your most true and free self is at any age. I feel so grateful to Archie for coming on and am excited to invite you into the conversation.

About the guest:
Archie has spent his life working in the nonprofit and public sectors in a variety of areas: affordable housing, workforce development, behavioral health, and higher education. As a grant writer, he's secured approximately $30 million in funding for these various causes. Outside of work, he is a dad and a husband and his greatest joy is his little nuclear family. @genuinely_archie

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com or @secondadolescencepod.