Every kid lies.

The bigger question is: What do we do when they do?

In this episode, Coebie and Derek continue their parenting series with a conversation about truth, trust, consequences, and why holding kids accountable to reality is an important part of helping them feel safe.

Drawing from their experiences as parents and former school administrators, they talk about watching children test boundaries, manipulate situations, hide mistakes, and sometimes tell adults exactly what they think those adults want to hear. They also explore why parents can become afraid to question their own children — and how avoiding the truth can ultimately damage trust rather than protect it.

The conversation gets personal, from a toddler insisting he doesn't need to use the potty, to a teenager quietly hoping nobody notices the tire tracks leading straight into a damaged fence.

But underneath those stories is a much bigger principle:

Teaching children to live in truth starts with the adults around them.

Coebie and Derek discuss how our reactions matter, why screaming and shame can make kids more likely to hide things, and why consequences don't have to come with anger. They also wrestle with the balance between truth and grace — because honesty without compassion can become cruelty, while compassion without truth can become enabling.

And, as has become a recurring theme in this parenting series, it all comes back to modeling.

Are we honest with our kids?

Are we honest with our spouses?

And maybe most importantly — are we honest with ourselves?

In this episode:

• Why every child will test the truth

• How lying can begin surprisingly early

• Why parents sometimes choose to believe obvious lies

• Creating safety without removing accountability

• The difference between healthy consequences and fear

• Why yelling can distract from the actual lesson

• How lying and manipulation affect future relationships

• Teaching kids to repair what they've damaged

• Balancing truth with grace and compassion

• Why raising honest kids starts with modeling honesty ourselves

Because the goal isn't to raise children who never make mistakes.

It's to raise children who know they can tell the truth when they do.

What happens when your kid is right… and you’re the one who needs to own it?

In this episode, Coebie and Derek continue their conversation about parenting by tackling something that can be incredibly difficult for parents: humility.

They share personal stories about losing patience, holding onto frustration, criticizing the people we love, and realizing that sometimes our kids are seeing our behavior more clearly than we are. From learning to say “I was wrong” to recognizing the difference between correction and criticism, the conversation comes back to one powerful idea: our kids are always watching what we model.

Humility doesn’t mean being passive, weak, or letting your kids get away with everything. It means being honest enough to recognize your own mistakes, listen when your children speak, apologize when necessary, and show them what growth actually looks like.

Because if we want to raise kids who are responsible, self-aware, respectful, and willing to admit when they’re wrong, they need to see us do it first.

In this episode:

• Why admitting you’re wrong matters to your kids

• Correcting behavior without destroying connection

• How unresolved frustration turns into explosions

• Modeling healthy conflict between spouses

• Teaching kids responsibility and contribution at home

• The difference between humility and weakness

• Why parenting may be less about what we tell our kids and more about what we show them

If this conversation hits home, we’d love to hear what humility has looked like in your own parenting journey.

Derek and Coebie continue their conversation on parenting by getting personal about one of the most powerful influences in a child’s life: the example set by the adults around them.

In this episode, they share some of their own worst—and best—parenting moments, from losing patience and using the wrong words to being overly critical, worrying too much, and recognizing their own behaviors reflected back through their children.

They also explore what healthy modeling can look like: telling the truth without creating fear, setting boundaries without losing dignity, apologizing when you get it wrong, building community, treating people with respect, and showing kids how to navigate conflict without turning every disagreement into a battle.

Parents won’t model perfectly. But our kids are watching how we respond, how we treat others, how we handle mistakes, and how we repair relationships afterward.

Every kid needs a model. The question is: what are we modeling?

Children are always watching, even when parents do not realize it.

In this episode of Unmuted, Coebie and Derek explore the first universal principle of parenting: modeling. They reflect honestly on their own parenting mistakes, emotional triggers, communication habits, and the behaviors they have unintentionally passed down to their children.

From handling dishonesty and frustration to interacting with teachers, cashiers, servers, and strangers, the way adults respond to everyday situations teaches children how to manage conflict, build relationships, and treat others.

Coebie and Derek also celebrate the positive qualities they see developing in their children, including kindness, confidence, honesty, community building, emotional control, and respect for others.

Parents will never model everything perfectly. The goal is to remain aware, take responsibility when things go wrong, and intentionally demonstrate the character and behavior they hope to see in their children.

House District 35 Republican candidate Christopher Driesang joins the Unmuted crew for a wide-ranging conversation about education, local control and the future of representation in Natrona County.

Drawing from his experience as an educator and Director of Student Support Services for Natrona County Schools, Christopher discusses how decisions made by the Wyoming Legislature affect teachers, students and local school districts. The conversation covers school funding recalibration, teacher raises, literacy mandates, charter schools and the challenges of applying statewide policies to communities with very different needs.

The discussion also explores:

• The balance between state authority and local control
• Property taxes and protecting longtime Wyoming homeowners
• Campaign spending and whether average citizens can still afford to run for office
• Government transparency and misinformation
• How elected officials should communicate with their constituents
• The role of nonprofits in supporting Wyoming youth
• Why young people may feel disconnected from the political process
• What being a Republican means to Christopher

Christopher also explains how he would approach disagreement, listen to both the majority and minority, and remain accessible to the people of House District 35.

Unmuted does not endorse candidates. These conversations are intended to give voters an opportunity to hear directly from the people seeking to represent them.

Representative Julie Jarvis joins Unmuted to talk about her re-election campaign, the realities of serving in Wyoming’s citizen legislature, and why transparency has become the cornerstone of her campaign.

From campaign misinformation and constituent surveys to water rights, AI data centers, education, and healthcare, this conversation dives into the issues facing Wyoming and why Julie believes voters deserve to see exactly how their elected officials vote.

We also discuss:
• House Bill 80 and helping seniors renew their REAL IDs
• Why she publishes her voting record
• The challenges of campaigning while working full-time
• The future of Wyoming politics

At the end of the episode, she receives a new campaign slogan from the Unmuted crew:
“Julie Jarvis – The Republican That Comes With Receipts.”

In this episode of Unmuted, Coebie and Derek begin a new conversation about the principles that shape healthy parenting. Drawing from nearly 50 years of combined experience in education, along with their own experiences as fathers, they explore how children learn far more from what adults model than from what adults say.

They discuss parental humility, emotional regulation, apologizing after mistakes, and recognizing when exhaustion, stress, or frustration is being projected onto children. They also examine the difference between supporting children through difficult emotions and trying to protect them from every disappointment, consequence, or uncomfortable experience.

No parent handles every moment perfectly. What matters is being willing to reflect, take responsibility, repair mistakes, and show children how to navigate difficult moments with honesty, calm, strength, and grace.

Unmuted is officially back.

In this special season two preview, Kobe, Derek, and Seth reconnect to share what they have been working on and what listeners can expect from the new season. Seth gives an emotional update on the grand opening of the Casper Youth Hub, a free creative space where young people ages 12 to 20 can explore art, gaming, media, technology, 3D printing, and other hands-on interests.

The group also previews a more focused format for season two, with shorter episodes centered on parenting, education, mental health, cancer survivor stories, politics, community leadership, and conversations with local guests.

Season two begins August 3, with Kobe and Derek opening the season through a series of honest conversations about parenting, raising teenagers, building character, and navigating family life without a manual.

In this episode, Coebie, Seth, and Derek sit down with longtime educator and author Grover Swick to talk about what it really means to inspire students, build learning communities, and help kids believe in their own growth. Grover shares stories from more than three decades in education, including the teachers, family members, and students who shaped his philosophy.

The conversation explores how athletics, reading, math, technology, Love and Logic, and creative problem-solving can all become tools for reaching kids where they are. Grover reflects on the difference between teaching and coaching, why “practice equals growth and growth equals success,” and how schools can lose sight of the natural curiosity children bring into the world.

Together, they discuss the dangers of top-down systems, the power of modeling instead of lecturing, and the need to rebuild education around trust, inspiration, freedom, and community. Grover also shares the heart behind his upcoming book, Practice Equals Growth and Growth Equals Success, and offers encouragement for teachers who feel burned out but still believe in the spark of learning.

A thoughtful and energizing conversation for educators, parents, and anyone who cares about helping kids grow.

In this episode, Coebie and Derek sit down with Alicia Bynum, owner of Sweetgrass Acupuncture in Casper, Wyoming, for a wide-ranging conversation about acupuncture, Chinese medicine, herbs, intuition, and whole-person wellness. Alicia shares her journey from graphic design and marketing into acupuncture, the personal experiences that led her toward holistic care, and how traditional Chinese medicine views the body through meridians, organs, emotions, seasons, and energy.

The conversation explores the difference between acupuncture and dry needling, how stress and environment affect the nervous system, why Wyoming wind might be wearing out your liver, and how food, herbs, and seasonal living can support health. They also dig into the tension between Western medicine and alternative care, the importance of asking better questions, and why healing often requires looking beyond symptoms to the whole person.

A thoughtful, funny, and curious conversation about what it means to care for the body, trust your intuition, and use every tool available on the path to wellness.