Best Blair Hodges Podcasts (2024)

1
Family Proclamations: “Women Without Children," with Peggy O'Donnell Heffington 1:28:39

8d ago1:28:39

1:28:39

“Family Proclamations” is the new podcast by Blair Hodges, host of Fireside. Enjoy this sample episode and be sure to subscribe directly to Family Proclamations now, because this episode will fall out of the Fireside feed next month!By Family Proclamations

1
Women Without Children (with Peggy O'Donnell Heffington) 1:28:39

3h ago1:28:39

1:28:39

History is full of women who never gave birth to children, whether because they couldn't or even didn't want to. Historian Peggy O'Donnell Heffington says her research about women without children made her feel more settled about her own choice not to have kids, but it also surprisingly made her feel greater solidarity with women who make the oppos…

1
The Emperor's Pain-Free Uterus (with Dr. Karen Tang) 1:11:45

4h ago1:11:45

1:11:45

Up to 90% of women and trans men experience menstrual abnormalities or pelvic issues at some point in their lives. Dr. Karen Tang says too many people are suffering in silence, and that's why she wrote a comprehensive guide called It's Not Hysteria: Everything You Need to Know About Your Reproductive Health (but Were Never Told). We're talking all …

1
Family Proclamations: “The Emperor’s Pain-Free Uterus,” with Karen Tang 1:34:25

4h ago1:34:25

1:34:25

“Family Proclamations” is the new podcast by Blair Hodges, host of Fireside. Enjoy this sample episode and be sure to subscribe directly to Family Proclamations now, because this episode will fall out of the Fireside feed next month!By Family Proclamations

1
One is a Whole Number (with Bella DePaulo) 1:14:29

28d ago1:14:29

1:14:29

Bella DePaulo has been single her entire life, but she doesn't want anyone's pity about that. This social psychologist loves being single, and she always has. In her latest book Single At Heart she highlights the lives of people who are thriving not in spite of being uncoupled, but because of it. She joins us to talk about what her research uncover…

1
The Only Child Mythbuster (with Lauren Sandler) 1:34:25

2M ago1:34:25

1:34:25

Lauren Sandler is an "only child" expert. She is one. She has one. And as an award-winning journalist, Lauren dug deep to answer some of the most pressing questions about singletons. Are they more lonely? Are they more selfish? Would they be better off with siblings? She answers these questions and more in her book, One and Only: The Freedom of Hav…

1
Out of the Hasidic Closet (with Sara Glass) 1:04:12

2M ago1:04:12

1:04:12

As an ultra-Orthodox Jew, Sara Glass was raised to believe her purpose in life was to marry a righteous man and bear children, all to the glory of God. On the outside, she was following that plan to perfection. But on the inside, something was pulling her in a very different direction. It was traumatic, and she would have to risk everything to find…

1
Roamin' Masculinity (with Mike Pope) 1:06:56

3M ago1:06:56

1:06:56

What does it mean to be a man? It depends on who you ask. And it depends on *when* you ask, because masculinity has always been a moving target. In this episode we travel back to ancient Rome, where manly men loved war, violence, and sexual conquest. Mike Pope says this history has powerful relevance for us today. We're talking about his book, Lucr…

1
Nonbinary Thinking (with Eris Young) 1:24:03

2M ago1:24:03

1:24:03

Eris Young is author of the go-to book on everything non-binary. They break down the basics of the gender binary, painting a more expansive, inclusive, and accurate picture of human identity. What is it like to be nonbinary? What challenges do people face? What about healthcare for nonbinary folks? All this and more, as we talk to Eris Young about …

1
Growing, Apart (with Maggie Smith) 47:03

3M ago47:03

47:03

Maggie Smith gives us an unflinching look at divorce today and what it means to live and write our own lives. Her best-selling memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful, is a story about a mother’s fierce and constant love for her children, and a woman’s love and regard for herself. Need some divorce catharsis? Want to hear what it's like to keep…

1
Child Protective Services is Broken (with Jessica Pryce) 1:01:29

4M ago1:01:29

1:01:29

Jessica Pryce believed a career at Child Protective Services would be a rewarding way to help keep kids safe. What she learned on the job completely changed her mind, as the system itself kept getting closer and closer to home. Now she's a scholar of the system and works as a public advocate to help change it for the better. About the Guest Dr. Jes…

1
The Red Suitcase (with Deborah J. Cohan) 1:16:06

4M ago1:16:06

1:16:06

Caregiving for aging and dying parents can be tough for anyone, but it's even tougher when it forces you to confront longtime family dynamics of abuse. Sociologist Deborah Cohan blurs the lines between academic research on family caregiving and violence, and her own personal story about a father she calls both adoring and abusive. Her memoir is cal…

1
Building LGBTQ Families (with Abbie E. Goldberg) 58:16

5M ago58:16

58:16

With the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015, queer families are more visible today than ever. But the path to becoming a parent is complicated for LGBTQ people. We talk about about the challenges and joys of queer family building with expert Abbie Goldberg, author of LGBTQ Family Building: A Guide for Prospective Parents. About the Guest Dr.…

1
Separation Revolution (with April White) 1:06:05

6M ago1:06:05

1:06:05

Divorce can be a difficult process today, but it's nothing compared to what it used to be. In the late 1800s, women from around the country had to fight for the right to separate from their husbands on their own terms. April White explains how their stories still impact us today. About the Guest April White is author of The Divorce Colony: How Wome…

1
Leaving the Ghost Kingdom (with Angela Tucker) 1:12:24

6M ago1:12:24

1:12:24

Angela Tucker is a Black woman who was adopted by white parents as a very young child. Angela says transracial adoptees like her grow up wrestling with complicated feelings of gratitude and love, but also rejection, loss, and confusion about their heritage. About the Guest Angela Tucker is author of “You Should Be Grateful:" Stories of Race, Identi…

1
All the Closets (with Jessi Hempel) 55:10

7M ago55:10

55:10

When Jessi Hempel came out of the closet she had no idea her whole church-going family had been hiding in there with her. And things got complicated fast when the closet door kept swinging open. About the Author Jessi Hempel is author of The Family Outing: A Memoir. She is also host of the award-winning podcast Hello Monday, and a senior editor-at-…

1
Won't Someone Think of the Children (with Adam Benforado) 1:20:49

7M ago1:20:49

1:20:49

One hundred years ago, a bright new age for children was dawning in America. Child labor laws were being passed, public education was spreading, and more. But Adam Benforado says America stopped short in its revolution of children's rights. Today, more than eleven million American children live in poverty. We deny young people any political power, …

1
Healing From Family Trauma (with Mariel Buqué) 1:21:57

8M ago1:21:57

1:21:57

Your family is...loving? Your family is...hurtful? Your family is...all this and more? If you feel overwhelmed when you think about your family, this episode will help you understand your anxiety and give you evidence-based tools to repair it. Dr. Mariel Buqué is a leading specialist in trauma psychology. She says our physical and mental health cha…

1
Meet the Eves (with Cat Bohannon) 1:33:36

8M ago1:33:36

1:33:36

Cat Bohannon says for far too long the story of human evolution has ignored the female body. Her new book offers a sweeping revision of human history. It's an urgent and necessary corrective that will forever change your understanding of birth and why it's more difficult for humans than virtually any other animal species on the planet. Her best-sel…

1
S’mores (Bonus Episode)—Tara Boyce on Hope 53:50

11M ago53:50

53:50

Tara Boyce joins us to reconsider Tom Whyman’s episode about “hope.” Is Tom too hopeful? Transcript at our website, firesidepod.org/episodes/boyce. Buy the book and other merch at firesidepod.org/store.By Fireside with Blair Hodges

1
Introducing Family Proclamations - Trailer 1:11

1y ago1:11

1:11

Dad, mom, two kids, a white picket fence, and everybody knows their role. It's the classic nuclear family. I grew up believing this was the one right way to be a family—until I started getting to know real people who didn’t fit that mold. Now we're watching this old nuclear family model explode in real time, but we don't need to hit the panic butto…

1
Joy, with Ross Gay 1:10:16

1+ y ago1:10:16

1:10:16

Ross Gay is a New York Times bestselling author of essays and poetry. His latest book is ‘Inciting Joy,’ which argues that “joy is something like what we feel like when we help each other carry our sorrows, what we feel like when we sort of realize we're practicing our entanglement, our belonging to one another.” Transcript at our website, fireside…

1
Invisible, with Meghan O’Rourke

1+ y ago

—

Meghan O'Rourke is a citizen of what she calls the invisible kingdom. Anyone can become a citizen. Even you. All you need is a debilitating chronic illness that doctors can't easily understand or treat—autoimmune diseases, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic Lyme, fibromyalgia, and a bunch of other conditions at the blurry edges of medical knowledge.…

1
Transitions, with Susan Stryker 1:35:22

1+ y ago1:35:22

1:35:22

When she was born, Susan Stryker’s parents thought they were welcoming a baby boy. She knew they were wrong by the time she was five years old, but it took decades to let them know who she really was. Being trans raised a lot of questions for Susan—practical questions of course, but also theological, philosophical, and historical questions. So she …

1
Mission, with Kathryn Gin Lum

1+ y ago

—

Race and religion have been intertwined throughout American history. Christians believed they could detect so-called “heathen” unbelief by the color of someone’s skin or the state of a foreign landscape. Over time, the word “heathen” dropped off, but historian Kathryn Gin Lum says the ideas behind it are alive and well in the United States today, e…

1
Shell Play, with Toni Jensen

1+ y ago

—

Toni Jensen grew up around guns. As a girl, she learned to shoot birds in rural Iowa with her father. As an adult, she’s had guns waved in her face near Standing Rock, felt their silent threat on the concealed-carry campus where she teaches. Toni is a Métis woman, with mixed European and Indigenous ancestry. She's no stranger to the violence enacte…

1
Hope, with Tom Whyman

1+ y ago

—

When Tom Whyman started thinking about becoming a father, he worried. Would he and his partner be able to make a living to support a child? What about political upheaval in the UK, or the increasing threat of climate change—not to mention all the little daily ways having a child could change his life. Then a global pandemic shook things up even mor…

1
The Fire, with Danté Stewart 1:29:37

1+ y ago1:29:37

1:29:37

Coming up out of the waters of baptism at a new white Christian church, Danté Stewart envisioned leaving his blackness behind, washing away his boyhood Black Pentecostal baptism, and rising to a colorblind world where all lives matter. But as time passed, as he witnessed more bodies of Black Americans being killed, he felt rage growing inside. An u…

1
Heritage, with Masha Rumer

2y ago

—

Masha Rumer immigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union when she was thirteen. At first, her nationality made her self-conscious; she wanted to blend in with her new American peers as fast as possible. But over time, Masha discovered her love for her homeland never really went away, and she wanted to share it with her own children.…

1
Monsters, with David Livingstone Smith 1:06:01

2y ago1:06:01

1:06:01

David Livingstone Smith has studied dehumanization for decades. He's spent a lot of time researching horrific genocides, lynching, massacres, and other brutalities. Real humans pull the trigger. Real humans administer the poisonous gasses and drop the bombs. People not entirely unlike me and you, although it's a lot more comforting to imagine they'…

1
Voices, with Jeff Chu 58:01

2y ago58:01

58:01

When Rachel Held Evans unexpectedly died in 2019, the thirty-seven-year-old Christian writer left behind a husband and two young children, as well as an unfinished book manuscript. Rachel's husband Dan knew she would want that book out in the world, so he enlisted their good friend Jeff Chu—a writer, reporter, and editor—to put all the pieces in pl…

1
Margins, with Fatimah Salleh and Margaret Olsen Hemming 58:38

2y ago58:38

58:38

It’s been said that, like the Bible, there are few women in the Book of Mormon. And that’s true, in one sense. But in another, women are everywhere there. Fatimah Salleh and Margaret Olsen Hemming are looking for them while they work on the first complete commentary on the Book of Mormon ever written by women. Transcript available: firesidepod.org/…

1
The Books, with Vanessa Zoltan 58:50

2y ago58:50

58:50

What happens if we approach some of our favorite books with a similar kind of devotion and attentive reading religious communities bring to their scripture? Vanessa Zoltan breathes new life into our engagement with our favorite books—even the ones that don't hold up well regarding sexism, racism, and more. Transcript at our website, firesidepod.org…

1
Civility, with Alex Zamalin 49:00

2y ago49:00

49:00

In his book Against Civility: The Hidden Racism in our Obsession with Civility, Alex Zamalin traces the history of civility from its deployment against African slaves, through Reconstruction and the Civil Rights movement, all the way to today’s Black Lives Matter protests. Transcript at our website, firesidepod.org/episodes/zamalin. Buy the book an…

1
Hidden, with Ayala Fader 1:31:00

2y ago1:31:00

1:31:00

Ultra-Orthodox Jews structure every aspect of their lives around their religion. But those who come to doubt their beliefs, or who question various practices and rituals, risk losing everything. Transcript at our website, firesidepod.org/episodes/fader. Buy the book and other merch at firesidepod.org/store.…

1
S’mores (Bonus Episode)—Let’s Talk, with Anna Sale 29:44

2+ y ago29:44

29:44

Anna Sale says a loss of faith in social institutions has left people seeking alternative ways of celebrating, mourning, and connecting. At a fractured and disconnected moment in time, she urges us to reconnect by having hard conversations that are too-often avoided. Anna Sale is the host of the award-winning podcast Death, Sex, and Money from WNYC…

1
Options, with Taylor Petrey 1:32:01

2+ y ago1:32:01

1:32:01

Is human gender and sexuality fixed and binary, or malleable and multi-various? Taylor Petrey discusses the fascinating twists and turns in Latter-day Saint thought on these questions. By looking at LDS beliefs as they evolve over time, we might get a clearer view of where we are now and what's up ahead. Transcript at our website, firesidepod.org/e…

1
Home, with Lauren Sandler 1:14:03

2+ y ago1:14:03

1:14:03

Lauren Sandler was a journalist covering homelessness in New York City when she met Camilla, a woman without a home who didn’t seem to fit the homeless stereotype at all. Sandler tells Camilla’s story in This Is All I Got: A New Mother’s Search For Home. It’s an up close and personal account of one woman who shares the fate of millions of Americans…

1
Slow Down, with John Swinton 59:52

2+ y ago59:52

59:52

John Swinton’s path-breaking book, Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefulness, and Gentle Discipleship takes us through a brief history of time, showing how western culture has changed its experience of time in big ways, and how those changes have impacted people with intellectual disabilities, brain trauma, and people with conditions like D…

1
Reckoning, with Anthea Butler 1:03:15

3y ago1:03:15

1:03:15

Anthea Butler is a top expert on religion, politics, and race in the United States. In her latest book White Evangelical Racism she tells the history of the rise of the Religious Right in America—Christians who are politically conservative, predominantly white, and Republican. As church attendance shrinks and public confidence and respect of religi…

1
No Compartments, with David Dark 1:05:24

3y ago1:05:24

1:05:24

David Dark seems hard to pin down. He's a professor of religion and the arts, he's a Christian, and also a self-identified agnostic. He engages readers all along the spectrum of belief by claiming that everyone believes in some sort of scripture, even if it's a sci-fi novel or a Radiohead album. Transcript at our website, firesidepod.org/episodes/d…

1
Lost and Found, with Elaine Pagels 1:09:25

3y ago1:09:25

1:09:25

Elaine Pagels is a ground-breaking scholar of Christianity. Back in the Sixties she was a student at Harvard when long-forgotten ancient texts re-emerged, secret gospels challenging old religious ideas. That research shook up Christian history, but for Pagels, it was also really personal. And unlike most scholars, she decided to take her intensely …

1
Revision, with Kiese Laymon 1:04:41

3y ago1:04:41

1:04:41

By Fireside with Blair Hodges

1
New Words, with Mary Rakow 1:18:54

3y ago1:18:54

1:18:54

Things were falling apart in Mary Rakow’s life. Her writing was stagnating, her marriage was falling apart, and she broke up with God. Then Mary picked up a pen and created one of the most religiously rich books I’ve ever read in my life. Transcript at firesidepod.org/episodes/rakow Buy the book at firesidepod.org/store…

1
End Times, with Adam Miller 58:50

3y ago58:50

58:50

If you ask philosopher Adam Miller what he thinks the end of the world will be like, he’d tell you it looks like the day his son turned fifteen years old. Not because anything remarkable that happened that day, but because it wasn’t remarkable at all. It was a day that came and went and then it was gone. And it’s never coming back. We face the end …

1
Belonging, with Nora Krug 59:09

3y ago59:09

59:09

Family history can be delightful, but it can also be heart-wrenching. Nora Krug was born in Germany decades after the fall of the Nazi regime, but the Second World War cast a long shadow over her childhood and youth. In her award-winning graphic memoir 'Belonging,' she struggles under the weight of catastrophic history and reflects on the responsib…

1
Introducing Fireside with Blair Hodges 1:14

3+ y ago1:14

1:14

Do you think of yourself as spiritual but not religious? Or maybe you feel more religious than spiritual. Or maybe you're not quite sure what labels fit you best because things go back and forth--like, it depends on the day, and you've felt all of it or none of it. But most of all you're really interested in thinking about religion, spirituality, a…

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