Poema Podcast

Poema S11 004 | Dr Amy Marschall PsyD on Autism and Justice Sensitivity

This week, as part of a new series, Dr Amy Maschall PsyD returns to the podcast to talk about people's lived experiences with autism and in particular the experience of justice sensitivity. 
Dr Amy is autistic herself, and works with autistic people on a regular basis, and a qualified expert, so has a lot of both lived experience and academic knowledge of autism. She shares this with us, and talks about how autistic people can be more sensitive about injusitces, big and small, and feel them more acutely, often seeing injustice and how to stop it in a binary way.
I myself share my experiences of this as an autistic person too, and we explore how autistic people can navigate the challenges this bring, and how it impacts our day to day lives. 
Dr Amy has so much knowledge and insight on this subject, this is well worth a listen.
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Find more of Dr Amy's work, including her many books on neurodiversity on her website here.

Poema S11 003 | Lucas Wilson on Surviving Conversion Therapy

**Trigger warning: Spiritual abuse, toxic evangelicalism, conversion therapy stories**
This week I'm joined by author and activist Lucas Wilson, to discuss stories of conversion therapy, the damage done by it, and the toxic evangelical culture which gave rise to it.
We talk about some of the stories shared by people in Lucas' new book  "Shame Sex Attraction", their grief, trauma and how they healed from those experiences.
We also discuss toxic evangelical culture, and the harm its done to the LGBTQIA community as a whole & how we can support people who've experienced spiritual abuse, and how many of them have healed and moved into healthier lives embracing & being accepted for who they really are.

Poema S11 002 | Jamie Lee Finch on Embodiment, Grief and Interconnectedness

Today my beloved friend, embodiment coach, writer and podcaster Jamie Lee Finch returns to the show.
We talk all sorts in this episode, from connectedness with our bodies, intuition and how this all connects to a wider spirituality, to grief and how we build healthy relationships with our bodies and build resilience. We also explore how the system we all rigged, in, is simply not built for the thriving of human bodies. 
We had such fun recording this, make sure you check it out. 

Poema S11 001 | Rob Bell on There's Only One Noon Yeah

The podcast returns for 2025 with a new interview with the ever inspiring author and speaker Rob Bell. 
Recorded just before the US election of 2024, Rob joins me to talk about his latest novel, "There's Only One Noon Yeah", the second in his new series of novels.
We talk about the themes and inspirations behind the novel, how it shows us the world we live in a fresh way, and delve into grief, transitions, transformation and awareness, as well as finding joy in the creative process. It was such a fun and interesting conversation. 
 

Poema S10 019 | Jenna DeWitt on Doctor Who & Grief

In this final episode of 2024, fellow Whovian Jenna DeWitt returns to the podcast to talk about a character we both love, The Doctor. 
In particular, we talk about a recurring theme in the show, and on this show, grief. The grief of losing companions, of people he is trying to save sometimes dying or sacrificing themselves, and above all, of him having to grieve his own death, every time he regrenerates.
Even if you don't know the show, there's a lot here which can relate to various experiences of grief we can have, death, loss of friends, loss of community, moving on from our past selves, and how all of this can relate to us in the deconstruction community, and personal growth generally. 

Poema S10 018 | Cat Dean on Mercury Retrogade & Astrological Energy

Today my dear friend Cat Dean joins me to talk about astrological energy, and in particular the phenomenon of mercury retrogade, the most recent of which (at time of release) began November 25th, 2024. 
Cat tells us exactly what mercury retrogade is, when it happens and why, and how it impact both us and our world. We both share our own experiences of mercury retrogade and Cat explains the power and influence of astrological energy itself. 

Poema S10 017 | Chris Morris's Lessons on Suicide & Depression from a Psych Ward

Trigger warning: Suicide, suicidal ideation, depression
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Today I'm joined by author and advocate Chris Morris. He shares his story about his experiences of depression, suicidal ideation.
He shares his powerful and raw story of his depression and various suicide attempts. He talks about his experience in a psych ward, and how he did the work of healing, and the battles he still has. He also talks about the challenges of talking about mental health in Christian circles.
Chris is a courageous, powerful advocate for mental health and his story is both discomforting and ultimately, inspiring.

Poema S10 016 | Amanda Held Opelt on Grief, World Wars & Queen Victoria

In this new episode, recorded pre-election 2024, Amanda Held Opelt joins me again, this time for a conversation about some major events in history & their impact on how our culture processes grief. 
We talk at length about the two World Wars, and how different outcomes for different nations impacted how their cultures responded to them, and how it changed their culture. We explore how one bad response from WWI may have led to WWII and how the outcomes of both may have contributed to where we are now. 
We also look at Queen Victoria, a monarch who experienced deep grief, which changed her life, her behaviour and relationships with others. 
This episode is a fascinating insight into how grief shapes us individually and culturally. 

Poema S10 015 | Virginia Spotts on Acting, Creativity and Trauma

This week Virginia Spotts returns to the podcast to talk about her acting and creative career, and her experiences of trauma. 
We talk about the various roles and different types of characters she's played, and how these have helped her process trauma and grief. She also shares the challenges of playing certain types of characters & how she tries to seperate herself from characters she plays. 
She also shares how her creative journey, which includes writing as well as acting, has helped her understand and process the trauma and grief she's experienced - and the power of art to help us heal.

Poema S10 014 | Jenna DeWitt on The Tortured Poets Department

Jenna DeWitt returns to the podcast this week to discuss Taylor Swift's latest album, the "Tortured Poets Department". 
We explore several of the tracks and how they relate to the deconstruction journey, living as an LGBTQI person and the experiences of grief and trauma. We look at them in the context of our own journeys and Taylor's own story, and what we can learn from them.
This again is such a fun episode, and another example of how great art can connect with our stories & help our healing.