My 99 Cousins

For the 2nd part of the interview, Devin reads Jenet's Bio from BYU's website. Jenet is a professor at BYU and teaches both a religion course as well as a course in the School of Family Life. The final segment of the interview is always on the topic the cousin chooses. Jenet has chosen to talk about her expertise, family science.

Jenet shares of her experiences teaching as a professor at BYU before Devin asks 5 important questions that have been on his mind lately.

Jenet's husband, Michael, also shares his own experience and love of being a father, and the importance of families.

Devin and Jenet discuss important topics such as the decreasing marriage and fertility rate throughout the world, how it's more difficult to find a partner to marry these days, the dangers of social media and smart phones for young teenagers, how to talk about physical intimacy with our children, being able to discuss difficult topics with our friends and family members, as well as a deeply personal question from Devin.

Jenet helps Devin navigate through all of those questions, and with the help of her husband, Michael, help Devin to begin to overcome a source of anxiety he's had nearly his entire life.

Devin, Sarah, and Tim visit the Ericksons for dinner before Devin and Sarah sit down with Jenet for her interview.

Jenet shares a few stories and memories of grandpa and grandma Andersen, about her own family, and Devin shares a a vision he had of the Andersen family being like an orchard.

Devin then shares all the memories and stories that he gathered from Jenets parents and siblings, as well as a personal memory of Jenet at the Jacob home when he was an older teenager. Jenet shares several memories of cousins from each of the 11 Andersen families as well as memories of 2nd cousins, and how the Andersen family was important for establishing a connection to her husband, Michael, who knew much of the Andersen family already, without realizing the connection with Jenet.

End of Part 1

Devin, Sarah, and Tim, visit the Kartchner home on the Andersen farm for dinner before Devin and Jordan sit down for the podcast.

Jordan talks about growing up in Idaho, shares memories of grandma and grandpa, cousins, and then tells us how he met his wife.

Devin shares memories that he collected from Jordan's siblings and father, Richard. Jordan talks about living with the Hutterites, and visiting the tarahumara people, and then Devin shares a personal memory of visiting the Kartchners when he was as teenager.

Devin asks Jordan about his favorite movies before sharing some of his own, and they discuss the importance of storytelling and stories in general. Devin shares why he loves stories and collecting stories from his cousins before the end of the episode.

Devin, Sarah, and Tim visit the Eyi's for dinner. Tim has fun making new friends with his 2nd cousins, while Luara, Devin, and Sarah sit down for the interview.

Devin tries out something new by reading a short bio of his cousin Laura's many achievements, as well as her husband, Will's. Laura then shares some memories of grandma and grandpa Andersen, before talking about her family and sharing memories of her childhood.

Devin then shares all of the memories he collected from Laura's siblings and parents, and then shares one humorous, if not traumatic, memory of Laura when they were both young.

Laura ends the podcast by discussing how her testimony in Jesus Christ has been strengthened through temple and family history work.

Devin, Sarah, and their son Tim visit cousin Ellen up in Holladay, Utah. After enjoying a wonderful dinner where Devin talked far too much about Ultimate Frisbee, Devin and Sarah sit down with Ellen, and her husband Chris.

Ellen talks about her parents and siblings, and where the Jacob family fits into the Andersen family, as well was what it was like being the middle of 11 children. Chris talks about how she and Ellen met before Devin shares several of the memories, stories, and impressions that he had gathered from Ellen's siblings and parents. Ellen shares stories of cousins, as well as a few stories of her miraculously being healed from paralysis and the Lord preserving her life.

Ellen then talks about removing the stigma to mental health and neurodiversity, and Chris and Ellen give advice on finding joy in the differences that our children and spouses may have.

Chris concludes the podcast by sharing the experience of visiting the Andersen family reunion and the incredible results of that visit.

Devin and Sarah visit cousin Sperry and his wife who is also named Sara. After a wonderful dinner, they set up the microphones at their dinner table and begin the podcast.

Devin learns about the significance of Sperry’s full name, and how passing that name on wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped. Sara talks about how she and Sperry first met and the sequence of events leading up to each of their children being born. Sperry also talks about some of his incredible experiences working in the army.

Devin shares memories that he’s collected from Sperry’s family before the last segment of the episode where Sperry talks about having a perspective of faith in all of our decisions including politics.

Cousin Gabe comes to town! Visiting from Virginia, he and his wife Amber come for dinner along with Gabe's older brother, Ben. Devin and Gabe sit down together at the kitchen table and share some funny and mischievous memories of growing up in Orem. Devin shares memories he collected from his siblings and friends. Gabe talks about his family and his parents before moving on to talk about his work in creating a community of environmental conservation.

Devin and Sarah visit Jacob and Ashley Miller. Jacob is one of Devin's closest cousins, and was the very first person to be interviewed. However, Devin didn't record the episode properly, so nearly the entire episode was lost. Jacob is the first Miller cousin to be interviewed, so Jacob and Ashley talk about Jacob's mom, and then Devin shares memories he's collected from Jacob's siblings. Jacob then shares memories of some cousins, and some crazy and funny stories of his younger days.

Jacob then talks about his job working for Pattern, and the benefits and pitfalls of AI, before finishing the episode by talking about the importance of marriage.

This episode was released on Devin's 40th birthday.

Devin visits Christine in Hurricane, Utah, while on his way home from St. George. Devin meets Christine's family for breakfast, before Christine and Devin sit down at her kitchen table for the interview.

Devin shares with Christine memories and stories that he collected from Christine's siblings and parents before Christine shares memories of living on the farm, staying with Devin's family as a teenager, almost dying as a 1 year old, and many memories of family, cousins, and grandparents.

The last segment, Christine talks about the grief and the loss of her son, Jared, several years ago. Listen to her story, and her advice on dealing with grief.

*For the outro of this episode, Devin decided to include the entire song, rather than just the short 15 seconds that you normally hear. If you listen carefully to the words, perhaps you'll understand why. Devin plays the piano while singing. The original song's lyrics are in Japanese. The song is called "Precious People" and was written by Akiko Saitouand composed by Yoko Fujita. The English translation was written by Devin Andersen.

Jeff continues sharing his experience at Havasupi, as well as another harrowing experience witnessing a car accident. Devin and Jeff continue sharing memories and funny stories until the final segment of the episode where they talk about what it means to be a member of the Andersen family. Jeff shares his gratitude for the Andersen name, and Devin shares his hopes for this podcast. He hopes that it can help to strengthen familial bonds, spark a renewed interest in our extended family, and help cousins with difficult life experiences feel loved and heard. Jeff then shares the story behind his parents being called as emergency replacement mission leaders for the Honolulu, Hawaii Mission.