Welcome to Is This Democracy, the podcast where we discuss the ongoing conflict over how much democracy, and for whom, there should be in America. Hosted by Lilliana Mason and Thomas Zimmer
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Thomas Zimmer Podcasts
Welcome to the Felicity Rewind Podcast, a podcast dedicated to the show Felicity which aired on The WB from 1998-2002. Join our hosts as we review every episode!
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We want to see people everywhere supporting the foster care community and experiencing Jesus together. So, in this podcast, we are sharing the stories of the foster care community to bring awareness that leads to action!
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Cahoots! is an Arts and Culture outlet with lots of exciting content from showcasing local arts and culture to our own Cahootscast! where you can spend some time with us to discuss the things we are most interested in.
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Episode 278: Looking Back at Our Trauma to Move Forward (w/ Byron Kehler)
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“When trauma is our teacher, we are ill-equipped to live healthy lives in healthy environments. What we learn, we live.” We know that trauma often accompanies children when they enter the child welfare system. Usually, we talk about the effects of trauma and how caregivers can respond with support. Today, we’re looking at trauma through the lens of…
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Episode 277: Pursuing Reckless Faith (w/ Beth Guckenberger)
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Whether it’s across the world or in all four corners of her home, my guest today has over two decades of experience in the foster care and adoptive community. Beth Guckenberger lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, Todd. Together, they serve as the Co-Executive Directors of Back2Back Ministries, a nonprofit dedicated to providing comprehensiv…
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Episode 276: More Than How Your Story Began (w/ Hope Watts)
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Adoption and foster care are often depicted in dramatic ways in the media. Whether it’s an adult suddenly discovering the truth that they were adopted or a depiction of constant conflict between a child involved in the foster care system and their caregivers, media can easily give us a skewed perspective of what life is actually like for the real p…
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Episode 275: Finding Your Role in the Foster Care Community (w/ Thomas Dent)
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If you’re listening to this, chances are it was passion that first pulled you into your role in the foster care community—whether you’re a professional, a caregiver, an advocate, or a faithful supporter. But here’s something you might not have realized yet: just because you started in one role doesn’t mean that’s where you’ll stay. As we grow and g…
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Episode 274: Everything’s in His Hands (w/ David and Julie Zimmer)
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“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” – James 1:27 (ESV) You’ve probably heard this verse if you’ve ever been to an adoption or foster care training, attended a conference that discussed child welfare, or even just sat throu…
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Episode 273: Finding Hope While Healing from a Painful Past (w/ Destini McAlister)
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Content / Trigger Warning: This episode does contain mentions and descriptions of abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse. If any of this may be triggering for you, we recommend you either listen carefully, listen with someone else, or you may even consider skipping this episode. Unfortunately, so many children who enter foster care have experienced some …
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Episode 272: Striving for Racial Equity in the Child Welfare System (w/ Shanelle Dupree)
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The child welfare system can be confusing and complex. Families are often expected to navigate administrative systems, the criminal justice system, the legal system, and the social system—all at the same time and with no prior instruction. Our guest today knows the child welfare system inside and out—and she’s passionate about helping families navi…
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Episode 271: Foster Fathers (w/ Chris Easley & Kyle Seick)
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Note: In this episode, Jami talks about her pregnancy—but don’t worry, you didn’t miss another baby announcement! If you’re part of our TFI family, you know her sweet little one has already arrived. This episode was recorded back in January! Sometimes, it can feel like the conversation within the foster care community is predominantly shaped by fem…
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44. Is Trump Winning or Losing – or Should We Ask a Different Question?
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Where does American democracy stand as we are headed into the summer? About a month ago, around the 100-day mark, the idea that Trump was losing, that maybe we were already experiencing the beginning of the end of MAGA’s attempt to erect authoritarian rule, started gaining currency among prominent commentators. We look at the main arguments present…
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Episode 270: Recovering from Addiction to Achieve Reunification (w/ Jacob Jackson)
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There are many requirements that a biological parent must meet in order to reunify with their children. While these requirements are necessary to ensure that children are being reunited with parents who can provide a safe and stable environment, many parents struggle to overcome the circumstances that led to their children being placed in foster ca…
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Episode 269: Opening Your Heart and Home to Those in Need (w/ Sarah Hott)
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Foster care is both rewarding and challenging. It’s happy at times and sad at others; it brings hard days as well as beautiful moments. If you are in the foster care community, you’ve likely seen (or experienced) this firsthand. But what do we do when we come to the end of ourselves? How do we respond when we feel called to open our homes again to …
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Episode 268: Building Compassion for Those Struggling with Addiction (w/ Christina Dent)
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Substance use is a major factor in foster care cases; in 2017 alone, more than half of the children who entered care under age 5 did so because of parental drug use. Addiction is an issue that runs parallel to the foster care community, and it’s a struggle that agency workers and foster parents often witness firsthand in the lives of the families t…
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43. Mass “Deportation” Is the End of Constitutional Government
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Since early March, the Trumpist assault on the rule of law and the constitutional order has been most visible in the radicalizing attempt to purge the nation from anyone this regime deems unwelcome or “undesirable.” Foreign students who are labeled a threat to American foreign policy, Venezuelan migrants who are declared foreign “invaders,” innocen…
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Episode 267: Beauty Woven in the Brokenness (w/ Austin Ludwig)
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Trigger Warning: We want to let our listeners know that this episode includes mentions of physical abuse. If you are sensitive to this topic, we recommend you listen with caution. Trauma is one of the hardest challenges to navigate in life. Whether it’s impacting you or someone you love, it can be easy to wish that trauma could be erased in an inst…
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42. Stupidity, Ideology, and Tariffs (plus: why protests matter a great deal)
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Are you feeling “liberated”? The long-dreaded “Liberation Day” saw America declare a trade war on the rest of the world. We discuss why Trump loves tariffs and what to make of the different rationales emerging from the regime. Most importantly, we unpack the politics of the tariff madness, what it can tell us about how this government operates, and…
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Episode 266: Advocating for Whole Family Care (w/ Esther Sherrard)
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The child welfare system is not perfect. Not only is it subject to the types of challenges all government programs can face—such as a lack of funding, policy gaps, and inefficiencies—it’s also very overloaded. As a result, many biological parents don’t receive the best resources to help them navigate their circumstances, and often, they are confuse…
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Over the past two weeks, the Trumpists have significantly escalated their assault on the rule of law as well as on both individuals and institutions they regard as the “enemy within.” We focus on two dimensions of this truly dangerous escalation: We start with the Trump government ramping up its attempt to purge the nation from what they now offici…
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Episode 265: Walking Through the Heartache of "Blocked Care" (w/ Eric & Diana Powell)
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Like so many families, Eric and Diana Powell entered into adoption with the best intentions. After their first international adoption from Thailand, they quickly started the paperwork for their second, knowing that the process is often long and fraught with delays. What they couldn’t know is that the next few years of their adoption journey would i…
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40. The Precarious State of the Union
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A little over six weeks since Trump returned to the White House – and the assault on democratic self-government and the modern state is not slowing down. We start with Trump’s speech before a joint session of Congress. On the one hand, he didn’t say anything he hasn’t said many times before. But on the other, the whole spectacle revealed so much ab…
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Episode 264: The Reality of a Caseworker’s Role (w/ Brittni Hodges)
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Foster care caseworkers often feel forgotten, isolated, and alone. From managing stressful workloads to coping with secondary trauma and sometimes facing frustration from families in crisis, it’s not hard to understand why caseworker turnover is so high. But here at The Forgotten Initiative, we believe well-supported caseworkers will more effective…
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Exactly one month into the Trumpist regime, we reflect on what has happened since Trump returned to the presidency, what might be coming next, and what we have learned about America along the way. We start by discussing Trump’s declaration that the law doesn’t apply to him because he is chosen to “save his nation” (and because he seems to believe h…
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Episode 263: Learning How to Serve the Foster Care Community (w/ April Hobbs)
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How much do you know about the foster care community where you live? Many people—both individuals and organizations like churches—want to support their vulnerable neighbors. But few are aware of the many practical ways they can help the children, biological families, foster families, and agency workers who make up their local foster care communitie…
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38. Is the Constitution Still in Effect?
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We take stock of our rapidly escalating constitutional crisis and how our interpretation has evolved over the first few weeks of the Trump regime. We talk about the role of Elon Musk, the political project the feudal tech barons are pursuing, and how Musk’s side coup relates to what the other MAGA factions have been up to: the Project 2025 crew, th…
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Episode 262: Hope for Healing from Adverse Childhood Experiences (w/ Angela Paganelli)
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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can affect children from any background, but those in foster care are especially vulnerable. There are ten main types of ACEs that have been identified—ranging from abuse to neglect to household dysfunction. All of them have the potential to negatively impact future outcomes for a child. Our latest guest, Angela…
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Is This Democracy is back! And what a time to be discussing the conflict over how much democracy, and for whom, there should be in America. We reflect on the Inauguration and the first 72 hours of the Trump regime: What stood out from the transfer of power on Monday and Trump’s speech(es)? Most importantly: What have we learned from the onslaught o…
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Episode 261: Helping Children Develop Positive Relationships with Food (w/ Madison Tyler)
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According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 13.5% of U.S. households were food insecure at some time during 2023. Unfortunately, food-related trauma is a common challenge for many children who have entered the foster care system. Whether it’s an aversion to a particular type of food, fear that there won’t be enough food, or a tendency to overe…
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Episode 260: Transforming Despair Into Hope (w/ Keristein Fox)
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For our very first episode of 2025, we’re bringing you another great conversation that sheds light on the real people of the foster care community. In this episode, we are talking to Keristein Fox. Today, she’s a happily married stay-at-home mom who loves watching her three children grow and thrive. But Keristein’s story wasn’t always this joyful. …
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Episode 259: Born into Foster Care (w/ Lucy Baker)
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Trigger Warning: We want to let our listeners know that this episode includes mentions of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and thoughts of suicide. If you are sensitive to any of these topics, we recommend you listen with caution. From the day she entered the world, Lucy Baker felt as though she didn’t have a home. Born inside of a jail to a mother in…
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Episode 258: Learning How to Care for a Child’s Hair (w/ Authrine T.K. Singleton)
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When a child enters our home, there are many factors we consider to ensure their comfort and safety. However, one important aspect of a child’s well-being can often be overlooked—their hair care. This is especially true if the child comes from a different racial background, where hair care needs may differ significantly. Hair is an important part o…
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