Download MP3 | 1:24:44

It’s our first podcast with Emily Albrecht, the co-president of St. Olaf Students for Life and our next speaker/writer/coach! Josh and Emily discuss the recent HBO film “Unpregnant” because there are themes taught in this movie that may influence some of your conversations with pro-choice people who have seen it.

***SPOILER ALERT*** 

If you would like to watch the film before listening to our commentary, we invite you to do that. We will discuss the entire plot in this episode.

Download MP3 | 1:16:26

Josh Brahm interviews Ali Rak, an incredibly effective community organizer and activist in Maryland, to explain the nuts and bolts of how she gets people involved in contacting their political representatives in order to accomplish pro-life goals.

Download MP3| 1:21:23

Josh interviews Family Therapist Julie Dodson to discuss the “Showing Understanding Skill” technique she’s been trained in. Pro-life advocates can use this skill to grow in their empathy and navigate conversations better, especially the ones that turn to particularly emotional aspects of the abortion debate.

The four steps are:
1: Listen in a way that shows strong interest.
2: Become the other person.
3: Name thoughts, feelings, concerns/meanings, and desires.
4: Accept and make corrections graciously.

Download MP3 | 1:27:33

Josh interviews Gary Freeman from Care Net. They talk about how Gary went from being a preacher’s kid to serving fathers in pregnancy centers, including the struggles of trying to figure out the best way to do that!

Download Audio MP3 | 00:44:19

Content warning: This conversation necessarily includes some thought experiments that relate to sexual abuse, as well as the real-world example of Jeffrey Epstein. As usual, the discussion isn’t graphic, but we want our listeners who are survivors of sexual assault to know that and make an informed decision of whether they want to listen to this episode or not.

It’s Rachel’s last episode! She and Josh discuss how pro-choice people are often inclined to believe that adult women should be prioritized over fetal humans because adults have thoughts, dreams, and relationships. They offer some talking points for pro-lifers including some thought experiments that might help the conversation become more productive. Josh also tells a story about a related dialogue he had with a philosophy professor about prison reform, and how pro-life advocates tend to be primarily motivated by different things, especially when they first become passionate about this issue.