UPD Podcast

What happens inside your brain as you grow closer to God?Dr. Chuck Coker joins Andy and Jonny to explore the connection between neuroscience and spiritual formation, why following Jesus is a process rather than an instant transformation, how we learn to recognize God's voice, and why failure may actually play a role in spiritual maturity.They also discuss fear and anxiety, prayer, humility, discipleship, community, legalism, forgiveness, and what it looks like to develop a genuinely deeper relationship with Jesus.

What happens when you finally get the success, attention and recognition you thought you wanted… and it still feels empty?After hearing Shawn Ryan talk about stepping away from the noise, metrics and praise to hear God, Jonny and Andy wrestle with success, identity, distraction, smartphones, spiritual discipline and what it actually takes to become still before God.Can you hear God if you never get quiet enough to listen? And are the things you’re chasing actually producing joy, or just keeping you busy?

Jose Lopez spent years living a double life — building an alter ego named "Jeremith Raince" that pulled him deeper into occult rituals, necromancy, pornography addiction, and a satanic subculture he says nearly consumed him. In this raw conversation, Jose sits down with Jonny Hanson and Andy Lamb to unpack what a satanist actually is, how childhood trauma and an absent, angry father set him on this path, and the moment everything changed — a message from a stranger online that led to a dramatic encounter with Jesus in his own bedroom. This episode dives into identity, trauma, addiction, spiritual warfare, and radical redemption. If you or someone you love is caught up in a similar dark identity, this testimony is proof that transformation is possible.

We sit down with Jeremiah Cordovano (Fresh Start Ministries) to find out what it was like growing up alongside recovering addicts and alcoholics, his own path through the Army and into nonprofit board leadership, and how Fresh Start's year-long, faith-based program walks men through four phases: recovery, redemption, restoration, and reintegration. The conversation covers identity, purpose, military transition, family involvement in recovery, and the practical realities of long-term treatment, halfway housing, and life after addiction.Learn more or get involved at https://freshstartministries.com/This episode is part of UPD Podcast's Finding Freedom series, exploring addiction recovery through the lens of faith, community, and lived experience.#AddictionRecovery #FindingFreedom #FreshStartMinistries #ChristianRecovery #UPDPodcast #SoberLiving #FaithAndRecovery #MinistryLife #PurposeAfterAddiction #VeteranTransition

Neuroscientist Dr. Trish Leigh joins Jonny Hanson and Andy Lamb to break down the brain science behind pornography and sex addiction. Dr. Leigh explains how early exposure rewires the brain's reward pathways, why the average age of first exposure has dropped to 8 years old, and how a "supernormal stimulus" leads to dopamine desensitization, erectile dysfunction, and compulsive behavior. She introduces her concepts of strain brain and drain brain, walks through the brain's rewiring timeline, and shares practical strategies — including dopamine stacking, accountability, and emotional intelligence — for anyone seeking freedom from porn addiction. Dr. Leigh is the author of Mind Over Explicit Matter and founder of the Desire Rewire program.Learn more about Dr. Leigh's work at http://drtrishleigh.com/This episode is part of UPD Podcast's Finding Freedom series, exploring addiction recovery through the lens of neuroscience and Christian faith.

In this episode of the UPD Podcast, Jonny Hanson and Andy Lamb sit down with Mitch Benner and Cash Case from the Shattered Darkness Podcast ( @ShatteredDarknessPodcast ) to talk about their personal journeys through addiction, mental health struggles, and finding recovery through faith.Mitch and Cash open up about hitting rock bottom, going through rehab, and the long road to rebuilding their lives, marriages, and families. They talk honestly about anger, shame, and the mental health challenges that came with recovery — and how their faith became the foundation for lasting change.

Most people don't know the 12 steps of AA came straight out of a Bible study group in the 1930s. Two guys who lived through addiction break down the real, faith-rooted history of AA — and why "just stop drinking" never works.

Why are so many Christian men struggling to lead their families, churches, and lives? In this episode of UPD Podcast, Dr. Joe Rigney joins Jonny Hanson and Andy Lamb to discuss biblical manhood, soberminded-ness, leadership, emotional sabotage, spiritual warfare, responsibility, and the controversial ideas behind The Sin of Empathy. Together they unpack Adam and Eve, David and Bathsheba, biblical leadership, discipleship, Bible reading, and how men can stop reacting emotionally and begin leading with courage, conviction, and wisdom. Whether you're a Christian, skeptic, husband, father, pastor, or young man searching for purpose, this conversation offers practical and biblical insight into becoming the man God calls you to be.

What happens after someone gives their life to Christ? Why do so many people walk away from faith shortly after salvation? In this episode of UPD Podcast, Jonny Hanson and Andy Lamb discuss spiritual warfare, addiction recovery, shame, mentorship, discipleship, church community, and the reality of following Jesus. From personal stories of sobriety and brokenness to conversations about demons, spiritual attack, accountability, and the power of Christian mentorship, this episode offers practical wisdom for new believers, skeptics, and anyone searching for purpose, healing, and truth.

The desire never fully goes away. David knew it. Samson knew it. Solomon knew it — and they all fell anyway.So what do you do with it?