180 with Julia Austin

In this episode I interview Kate Zasowski who grew up devoutly Catholic and believing that any relationship that wasn't between a man and a woman was a sin. Today, Kate is openly queer and has been in a happy relationship for nearly two years.

In this episode I interview Stephanie Clark who struggled with near life-threatening anorexia starting in high school and going into her college years. Today, Stephanie is fully recovered. I hope her story is inspiring to anyone struggling with an eating disorder.

In this episode my friend Morgan Jay talks about his decision to enter a non-monogamous relationship, what it means to be non-monogamous, how intimacy is defined for him and why this lifestyle works best for some (and maybe not for others). 

In this episode I interview Michelle March who was on the pro-life side of the abortion discussion into her young adult life, when she changed to the pro-choice side. As a gay woman beyond her child bearing years, Michelle was a very interesting person to interview since her perspective on the topic doesn't involve any self interest.

In this episode I interview Samuel Bilsky. Sam struggled with an addiction to drugs and alcohol in his 20s, which caused him to experience bouts of homelesness and a near loss of relationships with his family members. Today, Sam is five years sober.

At age 8, Nicole Blaine would worry every night that her parents would be murdered in their sleep. That would be the start of decades of crippling anxiety. She was always resistant to taking medication, until surprising events as a mother led her to reconsider her approach and go on Lexapro.

In this episode I interview Kelly Ryan who grew up very anti-gun until she had an experience in college that had her rethinking the entire way she viewed the function of guns in society.

In this episode I interview Veronica Brown who was very hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine at first and was eventually rushed into it for employment reasons. Her questioning and thought process around the vaccine was interesting to learn about and the ostracizing and hate happening in each direction of pro or anti-vaxers was important to discuss.

In this episode I interview Scott Shimamoto. Scott was a republican starting in the Reagan years up until the Trump years, when he changed to be an Independent. Learning about how he realized the Republican party no longer represented his beliefs was fascinating and informative.

In this episode I interview my good friend Brandon Scott Keller. Brandon was a devout Mormon into his early twenties until an experience he had on his mission made him question everything he knew. He quickly learned that nothing was quite as it seemed in his "perfect" Mormon family and he left the church. Today, Brandon drinks, swears, enjoys an edible from time to time and is engaged to be married to a non-Mormon.