Blaire Ostler talks with Dr. Jordan Roberts about the basics of COVID-19: how it may have originated, how it spreads, what families can do about containing it, and hopeful scenarios for the future. Listen to this episode here. 

Trigger Warning: This episode contains reference to self harm and suicidal ideation. In this episode, Blaire Ostler interviews Kris Irvin, a trans-masculine, asexual Mormon about their experience in the Church, coming out, and living their life in a heterosexual marriage. Listen to this episode here.

Join Firesides host Blaire Ostler as she and her husband Drew recount their experiences attending the last run of the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti, Utah. They discuss an overview of the experience, the doctrinal and cultural implications, and the history of the pageant itself. Listen to this episode here. Links mentioned in this episode: http://www.keepapitchinin.org/2010/11/18/moronis-purported-rambles/comment-page-1/ 

A Columbine shooting survivor, Kathy Carlston is a self-identified queer woman who was raised within Mormonism and became married to her wife Berta Marquez. In this podcast she discusses candidly and with raw honesty her battles with conversion therapy, depression, her own suicidality, and the death by suicide of her beautiful wife 'Bear'. Kathy shares thoughts of how we can better grieve as support people around those who are hurting, and her hopes and plans for the future. Content Warning: Reparative Therapy, School Shooting, Suicidal Ideation, Death By Suicide, PTSD Listen to this episode here.

Gay individuals who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and who wish to remain in good standing have two options as it relates to romance and marriage. Pursuing a same-sex relationship is considered a grievous sin and is contrary to as-of-yet revealed doctrine. Celibacy during this life is one option. The other is entering into a Mixed-Orientation Marriage. Although not officially encouraged for several years, MOMs for decades were the de-facto answer for gay and transgender people wanting to pursue a path that would lead them to Eternal Life from within Mormon theology. Kimberly Anderson and Laura Root have collected several varied stories of gay individuals who have reached outside their Mixed-Orientation Marriage for that comfort. They explore them here, with permission, in this podcast.   Listen to this episode here.

Firesides host Kalani Tonga interviews three mystic Mormon women about their current spiritual practices including tarot, Lotería and Kabbalah. Jennifer Gonzalez, Sara Katherine Staheli Hanks, and Kimberly Lewis each discuss their mystical practices and how it intersects with their collective Mormon upbringings. Listen to this episode here.

Sara Fisk interviews Fatmeh, a refugee who left Syria at the height of the war. Hear about her upbringing in Syria, her experience with the war, and what it was like to resettle in the U.S. Listen to this episode here.    

Lindsay Hansen Park interviews Representative Sara Burlingame of Wyoming Equality about the murder of Matthew Shepard by two Mormons and the impact two decades later. Listen to this episode here.

On this week’s episode, Cristina speaks with Quincy Newell about her upcoming book, Your Sister in the Gospel: The Life of Jane Manning James, a Nineteenth-Century Black Mormon. While many know brief parts about Jane’s life, Quincy offers a complex look at Jane’s life, faith, infamous sealing, and legacy. Her book seeks to understand Mormonism’s intersection with broader questions about American religion, and what contemporary scholars and Mormons can learn from Jane's faith and struggle. Quincy founded Women in Mormon Studies, an organization seeking further representation in the academic study of Mormonism.   Listen to this episode here.

Flourish Counseling Services is a pioneer in providing therapy especially tailored to the LGBTQ community in Utah. Though it has never been an easy road, it has always been a rewarding one. Blaire Ostler talks with Lisa Hansen and Laura Skaggs Dulin about their experiences. Listen to this episode here.

Trigger Warning: This episode focuses on ritual abuse, sexual abuse, and domestic violence. Lindsay Hansen Park interviews Amber Whitley and Teresa Edmunds on the topic of abuse and healing. Amber Whitley has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Utah. Her research focused on the healing process of sexual abuse survivors in the LDS Church. She is currently finishing her residency at the University of Utah. Teresa Edmunds is an abuse survivor who writes and advocated on topics surrounding abuse. Listen to this episode here.