Not Your Enemy

Please note: This episode contains explicit descriptions of crimes, including against children, and is for adults only. To skip the crime accounts, jump from 13:45 to 24:30.

How guilty is too guilty for a defense? When push comes to shove, it's easier for most people to stand by what feels right than to uphold the system that keeps things right. But being committed to a system's integrity is challenging when it plays out in real life.

In this episode, Bob Martin, a former trial lawyer and licensed clinical social worker, explains why he defended people who even he believed to be guilty, including members of the mob. We explore where we land on the scale of justice, and what integrity means when you're upholding the law.

You can find more commentary from Bob on politics, culture, society, and what it means to be human at The Flow: theflowmedia.com.

If there’s something you want to say on the pod, reach out to [email protected] or visit https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1781191227546958800007682⁠.

I lost my faith when I could not longer fulfill the contract of my religion. For a long time, I lived with the confusion of losing a god I loved due to an obligation I could not meet. I was caught between my attachment and my integrity. Many people identify as agnostic, not because they don't want to experience the divine, but because they can't agree to the entrance fee.

Psychoanalyst, author, and scholar Dr. Jamey Hecht explores impediments to faith in his book INTO THEISM: Overcoming Obstacles to Belief in God. In this episode, I invite him to take me on as an unofficial subject of analysis. We explore my initial loss and resistance to god and expand to a discussion of faith in general, the value of religion, and of living without it. We consider if claiming to know the way of the divine is the very thing that keeps one from finding it.

INTO THEISM: Overcoming Obstacles to Belief in God will be available for pre-order in early 2027.

You can find excerpts from the book and other writings from Dr. Hecht at intotheism.com.

Visit his psychotherapy website at www.drjameyhecht.com.

If there’s something you want to say on the pod, reach out to [email protected] or visit https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1781191227546958800007682⁠.

When people pass away, or we lose them to a breakup, there are the obvious feelings, and then there are the ones that take us by surprise. Sometimes our experience of grief is blended with feelings of frustration, or we feel haunted by things left unsaid or unresolved. But we are not entirely powerless in this experience -- we are the ones who choose how to remember and what to forgive, be it ourselves or the other person.

In this episode, Joseph Lenard, writer and podcast host, talks with Rebecca about two different experiences of the complicated coin of grief, through the lens of the main character in Joseph's latest book Roller Coasters: The Life Kind and the lens of personal experiences.

If you need some help processing your own loss, the grief coach Rebecca mentioned is Denise Horn and you can reach her at [email protected].

You can find Roller Coasters: The Life Kind at: https://www.amazon.com/Roller-Coasters-The-Life-Kind/dp/B0GZT9WMRG/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0

Check out links to Joseph's books, podcast, and more at: https://linktr.ee/JLenardDetroit

If there’s something you want to say on the pod, reach out to [email protected] or visit https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1781191227546958800007682⁠.

The U.S. prides itself on its reputation for providing a unique level of opportunity that allows individuals to pursue personal ambitions and build a life for themselves. But fewer Americans are cashing in on that promise, especially when it comes to owning a home. Is it because our priorities are changing, or is it because we’re getting pushed out?

In this episode, David Rand, President and CEO of the Land Liberty Movement, addresses the systemic factors behind the decline of home ownership and current efforts to change it. Together we explore what the American Dream really means now, especially for younger generations.

To learn more check out ⁠buildtheamericandream.org⁠

Build the Dream is David’s free Substack, where he’s gathering a community of people who want to unblock and rebuild the American Dream. Listeners can sign up for free weekly educational articles, videos, interviews, and policy insights.

If there’s something you want to say on the pod, reach out to ⁠[email protected]⁠ or visit ⁠https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1781191227546958800007682⁠⁠.

The U.S. prides itself on its reputation for providing a unique level of opportunity that allows individuals to pursue personal ambitions and build a life for themselves. But fewer Americans are cashing in on that promise, especially when it comes to owning a home. Is it because our priorities are changing, or is it because we’re getting pushed out?

In this episode, David Rand, President and CEO of the Land Liberty Movement, addresses the systemic factors behind the decline of home ownership and current efforts to change it. Together we explore what the American Dream really means now, especially for younger generations.

To learn more check out https://buildtheamericandream.org

Build the Dream is David’s free Substack, where he’s gathering a community of people who want to unblock and rebuild the American Dream. Listeners can sign up for free weekly educational articles, videos, interviews, and policy insights.

If there’s something you want to say on the pod, reach out to [email protected] or visit https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1781191227546958800007682⁠.

It's known that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can follow people into adulthood, manifesting in maladaptive approaches to life. But what is the relationship between ACEs and extremism, and what other psychological and social factors play into political radicalization? In this episode, Bob Martin — a licensed clinical social worker and former trial lawyer — talks about how individual and collective trauma can create a dangerous political cocktail, and if there's anything we can do about it.You can find more commentary from Bob on politics, culture, society, and what it means to be human at The Flow.theflowmedia.comPodcast: podcastbobm.podbean.comSubstack: iambobmartin.substack.com

If there’s something you want to say on the pod, reach out to [email protected] or visit https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1781191227546958800007682⁠.

For many people in the disabled community, placing faith in able-bodied people is not easy. People with disabilities are often overlooked and under-served, and their needs are regularly misunderstood. Elisa Neven-Pugh, a member of the community, firmly holds that minorities are missing out on connection and support if they push the majority away. In this episode, we talk about how challenging it is to relate to those who have a lighter load to carry and how each of our interactions with those who are more able reap their own results.

You can find Elisa on Instagram @elisanp2025 and at positivelyadaptive.com.

If there’s something you want to say on the pod, reach out to [email protected] or visit https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1781191227546958800007682⁠.

Clifford Brown helped manage USAID efforts across coups, revolutions, and the falls of multiple administrations across the world. He has seen firsthand the forces that lead to a nation’s collapse and its fallout. In this episode, we discuss the link between social consensus and national stability and consider how fragile the U.S. actually is, and what can be done about it now. 

You can read more about Clifford’s eyewitness accounts and get context on USAID in his book Inside USAID: An Odyssey of Foreign Assistance. 

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Clifford Brown last served as USAID Mission Director to Guinea and Sierra Leone, as the USAID Representative to Kyrgyzstan, as Deputy Mission Director in Colombia and as Democracy Office Chief in Nicaragua.  Prior to that he was a regional legal advisor in Africa and Central America, with a birds-eye view of the thorniest management issues that arose in a host of missions.  His book Inside USAID: An Odyssey of Foreign Assistance, often critical, is a mix of policy commentary, travelogue and humorous memoir of his life and the dangers he lived through in eight different countries from 1987 through 2016. 

Order the book: 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/inside-usaid-clifford-brown/1148399558?ean=9781967458912

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=inside+usaid+clifford+brown&ref=nb_sb_noss#:~:text=Inside%20USAID%3A%20An%20Odyssey%20of%20Foreign%20Assistance

Visit cliffordHbrown.com for more and connect here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/clifford-brown-2608428/

https://cliffordbrown.substack.com

https://x.com/bliffordcrown

If there’s something you want to say on the pod, reach out to [email protected] or visit https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1781191227546958800007682⁠.

Tegan Miller founded Spectra, an all women’s choir, on the premise that choral music should be available to all voices, especially those who have not felt empowered to be vocal. The choral and classic music world — as with many high-brow art communities — is plagued with elitism and run by (typically male) dictatorial characters. Tegan runs her choir with a more loving and encouraging ethos, while still maintaining a standard of excellence.

In this episode, Rebecca and Tegan talk about how singing is the right of all people, and that with a focused mindset and certain training, anyone can be part of a chorus. We also discuss how patriarchy shows itself in the choral and classical music culture at large, even among female directors and in female dynamics. We explore what happens when women gather together to embody their voice, free of cattiness and competition, led by a director who refuses to gatekeep.

Check out the Spectra Choir, based in Savannah, GA, at www.spectrachoir.com.

If there’s something you want to say on the pod, reach out to [email protected].

Trey and Rebecca both entered college as conservative Christians, but almost 20 years apart. In 2007, Rebecca faced a wildly different political landscape and culture of Christianity than Trey experiences in 2026. And for many reasons, their outcomes were different. Rebecca walked away from the church while Trey continues on.Conservatism is a growing trend among GenZ, but universities remain largely liberal. That means that conservative young people (despite strengthening in numbers) are facing an education and environment that does not align with their values and worldview. In this episode of The Minefield, Trey explains what that's like and the impact that has or has not had on his faith.

The Minefield is an episode format that is focused on conversations with people across the aisle, politically or otherwise.If there’s something you want to say on the pod, reach out to [email protected].