The Awakening Podcast

Join our Hosts, Heather and Tamara as they feature guests that have survived 'Religious Trauma' and the stories about that trauma and how they survived.

The Awakening Podcast is a education podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 0 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts The Awakening Podcast, a education show with 0 episodes published.

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  Episode #46

  Flamy Grant - Shame Belongs In The Closet

  Aug 19, 202639 minS1

  ⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of religious upbringing, LGBTQIA+ religious harm, deconstruction, and finding identity beyond the church. This week on The Awakening, Tamara and I sit down with the one and only Flamy Grant — trailblazing artist, blistering vocalist, shame-slaying drag queen from Asheville, North Carolina (share) — and honestly, we are still not over it. Flamy's 2022 debut record Bible Belt Baby reached the #1 spot on the iTunes Christian Charts, making her the first drag queen to ever top the Christian charts. (LGBTQ Religious Archives Network) She didn't do it by accident. She started doing drag during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, eventually giving a sermon in drag at her affirming church — and woke up the next morning to a viral video and thousands of people saying "this makes me feel seen." (TODAY.com) That moment crystallized everything. But before the stilettos and the headlines, there was a kid in a pew. Flamy grew up inside the Christian faith, served as a worship leader for years, and lived inside the walls of a world that had no room for who she actually was. This conversation traces that whole arc — from religious upbringing to worship leader to the other side of those walls, where she found herself, her art, and her people. Her sophomore record CHURCH hit #8 on the iTunes Country charts and earned a 2026 International Folk Music Award nomination for Best Album. (share) And a third album is on the way. This is a conversation about shame, liberation, and what happens when you finally let yourself take up space. In This Episode, We Discuss: • Flamy's religious upbringing and years leading worship • The journey from inside the church to life on the other side • How drag became a vehicle for healing and truth-telling • Topping the iTunes Christian charts as a drag queen — and what that moment meant • Bible Belt Baby, CHURCH, and what's coming next • Making space for LGBTQIA+ people who are still in the pews Connect with Flamy Grant: Website: https://www.flamygrant.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flamygrant TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flamygrant ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbgBGjEcEXcLa074iQsBNig Facebook: http://facebook.com/flamygrant Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/flamy-grant/1613002844 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/flamygrant Connect with Your Hosts: Heather: https://linktr.ee/Happyheathersmiles Tamara: TikTok @feralatheistjezebel321 | Instagram @tamarajo321 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAwakeningPodcast-w6s Be a guest: theawakeningpod@gmail.com If you grew up being told there was no place for you — in the church, in the kingdom, in the family of God — Flamy's story is proof that you were never the problem. The walls were the problem. And some of us are out here kicking them down in stilettos. You belong here. If you like what you here, check out other great pods on the BIG Media LLC Podcast Network! Barrett and Zac host The All About Nothing: Podcast , discussing everything from news and politics to entertainment and sports! All About Nothing, but All About Something too! Zac  and  Barrett  host  What The Pod Was That  with  Cari Simmons , available everywhere you listen to podcasts. Take a deep dive down the rabbit hole with  Amii  on the pod  Welcome to Wonder Land . Check out  Black White and Blue In the South , With Dr. Jumelle Brooks and Bill Kimler! Politically Speaking with Erica Sampson, Kirsten Pruitt, and Emily Mayer is a sharp, engaging podcast breaking down politics with insight, wit, and a fresh perspective. The Preach Jacobs Podcast is hosted by Columbia South Carolina's very own Ambassador, Hiphop Artist, Columnist and Owner of SoulHAUS Art Gallery, Preach Jacobs! All of these fantastic podcasts can be found on the BIG Media LLC Podcast Network! FAIR USE COPYRIGHT NOTICE The Copyright Laws of the United States recognize a "fair use" of copyrighted content. Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act states: NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SECTIONS 106 AND 106A, THE FAIR USE OF A COPYRIGHTED WORK, INCLUDING SUCH USE BY REPRODUCTION IN COPIES OR PHONO RECORDS OR BY ANY OTHER MEANS SPECIFIED BY THAT SECTION, FOR PURPOSES SUCH AS CRITICISM, COMMENT, NEWS REPORTING, TEACHING (INCLUDING MULTIPLE COPIES FOR CLASSROOM USE), SCHOLARSHIP, OR RESEARCH, IS NOT AN INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT. This Video/Audio in general may contain certain copyrighted works that were not specifically authorized to be used by the copyright holder(s), but which we believe in good faith are protected by federal law and the fair use doctrine for one or more of the reasons noted above. If you have any specific concerns about this usage, or our position on the Fair Use Defense, please contact us at preachjacobs@gmail.com so we can discuss amicably. Thank you. Mentioned in this episode: BIG Media LLC Copyright 2026 BIG Media

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #45

  Poetry, Deconstruction, and the Art of Coming Undone - With Marla Taviano

  Aug 12, 202655 minS1

  ⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of religious deconstruction, white evangelical indoctrination, purity culture, and spiritual harm. This episode is part of our ongoing James Dobson series. This week on The Awakening, Tamara and I continue our James Dobson series with a guest whose work puts language to exactly what that world does to people — author, poet, and artist Marla Taviano. Marla grew up in Middle America, all-in on evangelical faith — it was the center, the focus, the whole of life. (Gracefulatheist) She moved across the globe and back searching for God's will, and somewhere along the way she started asking the questions that wouldn't let her go. What followed was a deconstruction that touched everything — her theology, her politics, her understanding of race and gender and belonging — and she wrote every bit of it down in poetry. Her trilogy — unbelieve, jaded, and whole — traces her courageous journey through faith deconstruction, grief, healing, and wholeness. (Substack) Unbelieve feels like a reckoning with an evangelical past, the dismantling of racism, sexism, and homophobia in the church. (Tearsofeden) Jaded sits in the work left to do — saying the soft part loud, offering language for those in the wilderness trying to make sense of their faith. (Lake Drive Books) And whole celebrates rebuilding — looking back to move forward, new thoughts on God, embodied living, and the freedom to be your true self. (Amazon) Marla also creates stunning word art — her poems hand-crafted onto original illustrated pages — because some truths need to be beautiful as well as honest. This conversation is warm, funny, and deeply human. We loved every minute of it. In This Episode, We Discuss: • Marla's upbringing inside white evangelical Christianity • Her deconstruction journey — faith, politics, race, and identity • How the James Dobson era shaped evangelical culture and families • Writing and art as tools for healing and truth-telling • Her poetry trilogy and what each book holds • Word art — making truth something you can put on your wall Marla's Books: unbelieve: poems on the journey to becoming a heretic: https://a.co/d/0iykmSKo jaded: a poetic reckoning with white evangelical christian indoctrination: https://a.co/d/03jtEV27 whole: poems on reclaiming the pieces of ourselves and creating something new: https://a.co/d/09UE4PLS Connect with Marla Taviano: Website: https://marlataviano.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marlataviano Threads: https://www.threads.com/@marlataviano ✍️ Substack: https://marlataviano.substack.com Connect with Your Hosts: Heather: https://linktr.ee/Happyheathersmiles Tamara: TikTok @feralatheistjezebel321 | Instagram @tamarajo321 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAwakeningPodcast-w6s Be a guest: theawakeningpod@gmail.com If you've spent years inside a system that told you who to be — and you're only now starting to find out who you actually are — Marla's work will meet you right there. You are allowed to fall apart. You are allowed to rebuild. And you are allowed to make it beautiful. You belong here. If you like what you here, check out other great pods on the BIG Media LLC Podcast Network! Barrett and Zac host The All About Nothing: Podcast , discussing everything from news and politics to entertainment and sports! All About Nothing, but All About Something too! Zac  and  Barrett  host  What The Pod Was That  with  Cari Simmons , available everywhere you listen to podcasts. Take a deep dive down the rabbit hole with  Amii  on the pod  Welcome to Wonder Land . Check out  Black White and Blue In the South , With Dr. Jumelle Brooks and Bill Kimler! Politically Speaking with Erica Sampson, Kirsten Pruitt, and Emily Mayer is a sharp, engaging podcast breaking down politics with insight, wit, and a fresh perspective. The Preach Jacobs Podcast is hosted by Columbia South Carolina's very own Ambassador, Hiphop Artist, Columnist and Owner of SoulHAUS Art Gallery, Preach Jacobs! All of these fantastic podcasts can be found on the BIG Media LLC Podcast Network! FAIR USE COPYRIGHT NOTICE The Copyright Laws of the United States recognize a "fair use" of copyrighted content. Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act states: NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SECTIONS 106 AND 106A, THE FAIR USE OF A COPYRIGHTED WORK, INCLUDING SUCH USE BY REPRODUCTION IN COPIES OR PHONO RECORDS OR BY ANY OTHER MEANS SPECIFIED BY THAT SECTION, FOR PURPOSES SUCH AS CRITICISM, COMMENT, NEWS REPORTING, TEACHING (INCLUDING MULTIPLE COPIES FOR CLASSROOM USE), SCHOLARSHIP, OR RESEARCH, IS NOT AN INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT. This Video/Audio in general may contain certain copyrighted works that were not specifically authorized to be used by the copyright holder(s), but which we believe in good faith are protected by federal law and the fair use doctrine for one or more of the reasons noted above. If you have any specific concerns about this usage, or our position on the Fair Use Defense, please contact us at preachjacobs@gmail.com so we can discuss amicably. Thank you. Mentioned in this episode: BIG Media LLC Copyright 2026 BIG Media

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #43

  Recovering From Religion With Darrel Ray

  Jul 22, 20261h 3mS1

  ⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of religious deconstruction, religious trauma, and leaving fundamentalist faith. This week on The Awakening, Tamara and I sit down with Dr. Darrel Ray — organizational psychologist, author, atheist activist, and founder of one of the most important organizations in the deconstruction and post-religion space: Recovering from Religion. Darrel grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home in Wichita, Kansas, and spent decades inside faith before leaving religion in his thirties. But leaving wasn't enough — he kept asking a question that wouldn't let him go: how does religion actually work on the human mind? That question eventually led to his book The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture, and to founding Recovering from Religion in 2009 out of a single monthly meeting that has since grown into an international 501(c)(3) with around 470 volunteers covering virtually every time zone on the planet. Today Recovering from Religion operates a helpline, a chat line, online support groups, and a global network of volunteers serving people at every stage of leaving faith. Dr. Ray also launched the Secular Therapy Project in 2012, connecting clients with secular, evidence-based mental health professionals. This is a conversation about what it takes to build infrastructure for people who have nowhere else to turn — and why that work matters more now than ever. In This Episode, We Discuss: • Darrel's personal journey out of fundamentalist Christianity • How religion works on the mind — and why leaving is harder than it looks • The founding of Recovering from Religion and how it has grown • The resources RfR offers to people at every stage of deconstruction • The Secular Therapy Project and why secular mental health care matters • What the post-religion landscape looks like today Resources from This Episode: Recovering from Religion: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org RfR Helpline & Chat Line: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/hotline Secular Therapy Project: https://www.seculartherapy.org Darrel's Talk — mentioned in the episode: https://youtu.be/LnTtpnZfYfk The God Virus by Darrel Ray: available wherever books are sold Sex and God: How Religion Distorts Sexuality by Darrel Ray: available wherever books are sold Connect with Your Hosts: Heather: https://linktr.ee/Happyheathersmiles Tamara: TikTok @feralatheistjezebel321 | Instagram @tamarajo321 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAwakeningPodcast-w6s Be a guest: theawakeningpod@gmail.com If you're in the middle of it right now — the doubt, the grief, the disorientation of leaving — you don't have to white-knuckle it alone. There are people who have been exactly where you are and built something specifically for this moment. You are allowed to reach out. You belong here. If you like what you here, check out other great pods on the BIG Media LLC Podcast Network! Barrett and Zac host The All About Nothing: Podcast , discussing everything from news and politics to entertainment and sports! All About Nothing, but All About Something too! Zac  and  Barrett  host  What The Pod Was That  with  Cari Simmons , available everywhere you listen to podcasts. Take a deep dive down the rabbit hole with  Amii  on the pod  Welcome to Wonder Land . Check out  Black White and Blue In the South , With Dr. Jumelle Brooks and Bill Kimler! Politically Speaking with Erica Sampson, Kirsten Pruitt, and Emily Mayer is a sharp, engaging podcast breaking down politics with insight, wit, and a fresh perspective. The Preach Jacobs Podcast is hosted by Columbia South Carolina's very own Ambassador, Hiphop Artist, Columnist and Owner of SoulHAUS Art Gallery, Preach Jacobs! All of these fantastic podcasts can be found on the BIG Media LLC Podcast Network! FAIR USE COPYRIGHT NOTICE The Copyright Laws of the United States recognize a "fair use" of copyrighted content. Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act states: NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SECTIONS 106 AND 106A, THE FAIR USE OF A COPYRIGHTED WORK, INCLUDING SUCH USE BY REPRODUCTION IN COPIES OR PHONO RECORDS OR BY ANY OTHER MEANS SPECIFIED BY THAT SECTION, FOR PURPOSES SUCH AS CRITICISM, COMMENT, NEWS REPORTING, TEACHING (INCLUDING MULTIPLE COPIES FOR CLASSROOM USE), SCHOLARSHIP, OR RESEARCH, IS NOT AN INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT. This Video/Audio in general may contain certain copyrighted works that were not specifically authorized to be used by the copyright holder(s), but which we believe in good faith are protected by federal law and the fair use doctrine for one or more of the reasons noted above. If you have any specific concerns about this usage, or our position on the Fair Use Defense, please contact us at preachjacobs@gmail.com so we can discuss amicably. Thank you. Mentioned in this episode: BIG Media LLC Copyright 2026 BIG Media

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  Episode #42

  Current Events and Recent Church Scandals With Tamara and Heather

  Jul 14, 20261h 4mS1

  ⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of religious trauma, church abuse, child abuse, physical violence, and disturbing content involving children in religious settings. This week on The Awakening, Tamara and I are doing something a little different. No guest this week — just the two of us, taking stock of where we've been and what we've seen. We reflect on the guests who have sat across from us this season, the stories that have stayed with us, and the cumulative weight of bearing witness to so much harm done in the name of God. We get honest about what this work does to us — and why we keep doing it. We also dig into the news, because the church never stops giving us material. Steven Anderson — pastor of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, a man already banned from more than 34 countries for his anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and calls for the execution of gay people — is now facing abuse allegations from his own children. Four of his adult kids have gone public, describing closed-fist beatings, whippings with electrical cords, starvation as punishment, and years of psychological harm. Anderson's response from the pulpit? He called his children "evil wicked brats," prayed for God to destroy them, and threatened to quit pastoring if they didn't publicly repent. The institution protected him. His own children had to take it to YouTube to be heard. Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Central, Louisiana — who you may remember from his COVID-era defiance of public health orders — was arrested on June 23rd for second-degree battery after allegedly running across a four-lane highway to attack his 20-year-old neighbor. He bonded out and went straight to the pulpit, where he told his congregation he had "fulfilled the scripture" by "laying hands on the sick." Body camera footage later showed him using homophobic slurs and threatening the neighbor's father. A protective order has since been issued against him. His congregation applauded. And then there's Pastor Dewayne Walker of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, who apparently decided the best way to teach Vacation Bible School is to have men in camouflage carry air rifles into the sanctuary, simulate shooting someone in front of small children, and lead the kids in chanting "Take him out! Blow him up!" — all while calling it "killing the devil." The video went viral. Walker defended it. He called it a 32-year tradition. Multiple people came forward to say this has been happening since the 1990s, including one person who said they were removed from VBS as a child because they were crying too hard to calm down. This is what accountability looks like in the church. Which is to say — it doesn't. In This Episode, We Discuss: • Reflecting on our guests this season and the impact their stories have had on us • Why their stories keep us out of religious spaces for good • The pattern of unchecked power and zero accountability in institutional religion • Steven Anderson — abuse allegations from his own children and his response from the pulpit • Tony Spell — arrested for battery, went straight to church, called it scripture • The Mt. Olivet Baptist VBS gun skit — and what it tells us about how violence gets normalized in church culture Connect with Your Hosts: Heather: https://linktr.ee/Happyheathersmiles Tamara: TikTok @feralatheistjezebel321 | Instagram @tamarajo321 🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAwakeningPodcast-w6s 📩 Be a guest: theawakeningpod@gmail.com If you're listening and wondering why you ever trusted these institutions — that's not cynicism. That's clarity. You were not wrong to question. You were not wrong to leave. And you are not alone in your anger. We see it too. You belong here. If you like what you here, check out other great pods on the BIG Media LLC Podcast Network! Barrett and Zac host The All About Nothing: Podcast , discussing everything from news and politics to entertainment and sports! All About Nothing, but All About Something too! Zac  and  Barrett  host  What The Pod Was That  with  Cari Simmons , available everywhere you listen to podcasts. Take a deep dive down the rabbit hole with  Amii  on the pod  Welcome to Wonder Land . Check out  Black White and Blue In the South , With Dr. Jumelle Brooks and Bill Kimler! Politically Speaking with Erica Sampson, Kirsten Pruitt, and Emily Mayer is a sharp, engaging podcast breaking down politics with insight, wit, and a fresh perspective. The Preach Jacobs Podcast is hosted by Columbia South Carolina's very own Ambassador, Hiphop Artist, Columnist and Owner of SoulHAUS Art Gallery, Preach Jacobs! All of these fantastic podcasts can be found on the BIG Media LLC Podcast Network! FAIR USE COPYRIGHT NOTICE The Copyright Laws of the United States recognize a "fair use" of copyrighted content. Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act states: NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SECTIONS 106 AND 106A, THE FAIR USE OF A COPYRIGHTED WORK, INCLUDING SUCH USE BY REPRODUCTION IN COPIES OR PHONO RECORDS OR BY ANY OTHER MEANS SPECIFIED BY THAT SECTION, FOR PURPOSES SUCH AS CRITICISM, COMMENT, NEWS REPORTING, TEACHING (INCLUDING MULTIPLE COPIES FOR CLASSROOM USE), SCHOLARSHIP, OR RESEARCH, IS NOT AN INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT. This Video/Audio in general may contain certain copyrighted works that were not specifically authorized to be used by the copyright holder(s), but which we believe in good faith are protected by federal law and the fair use doctrine for one or more of the reasons noted above. If you have any specific concerns about this usage, or our position on the Fair Use Defense, please contact us at preachjacobs@gmail.com so we can discuss amicably. Thank you. Mentioned in this episode: BIG Media LLC Copyright 2026 BIG Media

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  Episode #41

  From Morning Star To Freedom - With Tyler Fulton

  Jul 8, 20261h 10mS1

  ⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of high-control religious environments, spiritual manipulation, and unaccredited religious education. This week on The Awakening, Tamara and I sit down with Tyler Fulton — agnostic social worker, former charismatic, and a man who got the full MorningStar experience and lived to tell about it. Tyler's journey into the charismatic movement eventually landed him at MorningStar University in Fort Mill, South Carolina — the school founded by Rick Joyner, founder and executive director of MorningStar Ministries and a prominent figure in the Charismatic and New Apostolic Reformation movements, known for his emphasis on prophetic revelation, supernatural experiences, and apostolic authority. (AU) Tyler spills all of it — what campus life was actually like, how the institution operates, the fact that MorningStar University is not an accredited institution, and yes — he tells the story of how he came to know Rick Joyner's favorite whiskey. We are not going to spoil it. You just have to listen. Today Tyler is out of the charismatic world entirely and working as a social worker helping people in his local community. His story is equal parts eye-opening, absurd, and deeply human — and we loved every minute of this conversation. In This Episode, We Discuss: • How Tyler got pulled into the charismatic movement • What life was like as a student at MorningStar University • Why MorningStar University is not an accredited institution — and what that means for students • Rick Joyner, MorningStar Ministries, and the culture they've built • The moment Tyler knew it was time to leave • Life as an agnostic social worker on the other side of it all • And yes — Rick Joyner's favorite whiskey Connect with Your Hosts: Heather: https://linktr.ee/Happyheathersmiles Tamara: TikTok @feralatheistjezebel321 | Instagram @tamarajo321 🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAwakeningPodcast-w6s 📩 Be a guest: theawakeningpod@gmail.com If you've ever been drawn into a movement that promised something transcendent and delivered something else entirely — you're not alone. The charismatic world is seductive, and leaving it can feel like losing everything. Tyler's story is a reminder that there is a full, meaningful life waiting on the other side. You belong here. If you like what you here, check out other great pods on the BIG Media LLC Podcast Network! Barrett and Zac host The All About Nothing: Podcast , discussing everything from news and politics to entertainment and sports! All About Nothing, but All About Something too! Zac  and  Barrett  host  What The Pod Was That  with  Cari Simmons , available everywhere you listen to podcasts. Take a deep dive down the rabbit hole with  Amii  on the pod  Welcome to Wonder Land . Check out  Black White and Blue In the South , With Dr. Jumelle Brooks and Bill Kimler! Politically Speaking with Erica Sampson, Kirsten Pruitt, and Emily Mayer is a sharp, engaging podcast breaking down politics with insight, wit, and a fresh perspective. The Preach Jacobs Podcast is hosted by Columbia South Carolina's very own Ambassador, Hiphop Artist, Columnist and Owner of SoulHAUS Art Gallery, Preach Jacobs! All of these fantastic podcasts can be found on the BIG Media LLC Podcast Network! FAIR USE COPYRIGHT NOTICE The Copyright Laws of the United States recognize a "fair use" of copyrighted content. Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act states: NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SECTIONS 106 AND 106A, THE FAIR USE OF A COPYRIGHTED WORK, INCLUDING SUCH USE BY REPRODUCTION IN COPIES OR PHONO RECORDS OR BY ANY OTHER MEANS SPECIFIED BY THAT SECTION, FOR PURPOSES SUCH AS CRITICISM, COMMENT, NEWS REPORTING, TEACHING (INCLUDING MULTIPLE COPIES FOR CLASSROOM USE), SCHOLARSHIP, OR RESEARCH, IS NOT AN INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT. This Video/Audio in general may contain certain copyrighted works that were not specifically authorized to be used by the copyright holder(s), but which we believe in good faith are protected by federal law and the fair use doctrine for one or more of the reasons noted above. If you have any specific concerns about this usage, or our position on the Fair Use Defense, please contact us at preachjacobs@gmail.com so we can discuss amicably. Thank you. Mentioned in this episode: BIG Media LLC Copyright 2026 BIG Media

  ListenShow Notes

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