All Shall Be Well: Conversations With Women In The Academy And Beyond

“Even though it looks like other people are better prepared, God has gifted this to you. He is with you and you have an amazing opportunity. Don’t miss it because you’re concerned about how you might not be prepared or that you feel like you’re in over your head. Just take what you can from that situation and appreciate it.” — Erin Devers Social psychologist and professor Erin Devers joins us on the podcast to discuss ways to identify our hidden biases and pursue accuracy instead. What is cognitive bias, and how does it affect our work, relationships, and spiritual lives? Author and social psychologist Erin Devers joins us on the podcast to discuss her recent book The Unbiased Self: The Psychology of Overcoming Cognitive Bias. Erin explains exactly what cognitive bias is and how it affects every facet of our lives, even those of us who consider ourselves very self-aware. But instead of leaving us feeling hopeless to change, Erin suggests strategies for training our minds and altering our environments to help

“Do not put off rest or relaxation. Learn how to weave it in throughout your day. Schedule it as if it was another class or lecture you had to attend.”  — Tracie Braylock Holistic nurse educator Tracie Braylock joins us on the podcast to discuss stress, faith, and how to care for your whole body. What would change for each of us if we started the school year from a place of rest and relaxation? Author and holistic health educator Tracie Braylock joins us on the podcast to discuss her recent book Radical Relaxation: Releasing the Stress You Were Never Meant to Carry. Tracie helps us to understand the ways stress and relaxation affect our bodies and lives, and she offers practical suggestions for creating habits that bring some breathing room into a busy life. We talk about the way one’s sense of agency can help us care for our bodies and the role that faith can play in the process. In addition — I’m pleased to tell you that InterVarsity Press is offering a discount on Radical Relaxation for listeners of this p

“Focusing on truth, goodness, and beauty first takes us outside of ourselves...but also it also changes who we are and how we are and how we do what we do.“ — Karen Swallow Prior Reader, writer, and erstwhile professor Karen Swallow Prior joins us on the podcast to discuss vocation, literature, and spiritual formation. What does it mean to have a calling and how does one begin to discover it? Karen Swallow Prior joins us on the podcast to discuss her recent book You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful. Karen unpacks our understanding of vocation and brings new insight into the breadth of one’s callings and how they can change throughout the span of a life. Her skillful use of literature helps to illustrate and amplify her prose, and the pairing brings fresh understanding and new questions to the process of uncovering one’s calling. Karen offers thoughtful insights about this time in history, and if you listen to the end of the credits you’ll hear an excerpt from our conversa

"I start off with trying to make sure the student knows someone is looking forward to seeing them." — Jana Young How do you prepare to successfully kick off a new school year? Listen in on our first in a series of episodes where we answer some of your Dear Mentor questions. Hello, dear listeners! To start us off this August, we’re offering a re-broadcast of one of our favorite episodes to kick off the new school year. So listen in on our back to school special, complete with all the original introductory content (including a note referencing our 2022 name change), and we’ll see you next week with a fresh new episode.  ..... Let me invite you into a special episode, our first in a series of episodes where we answer some of your Dear Mentor questions. First up: back to school rhythms. How do you get geared up for the semester? What habits get you in the mindset for an energizing start to the school year? Karen Hice Guzmán, director of Women Scholars and Professionals, sat down with three women faculty members

“I think this would be a perfect time to choose to trust God with your future and with your present and just spend some time with him in nature, with other colleagues in prayer, in the word, etc.“ — Dr. Denise-Margaret Thompson Four esteemed guests join us on the podcast to discuss how we can reflect on this school year and enter into summer from a place of spiritual vitality. What does it look like to enter into summer from the position of this current cultural moment? We’ve invited four guests to participate in a roundtable discussion for this special episode as we wrap up our podcast season for this academic year. You’ll get to hear from four women with expertise in university culture, spiritual formation, and faith-work integration as we talk about the uniqueness of the days we’re living through. In this conversation, we’ll talk about the challenges we are seeing on campus these days and the opportunities we have to respond faithfully. We also talk about how to wrap up the school year and enter into summe

“Doing your PhD is ... there's a lot of pressure for sure, but you never get that kind of space and time [again] to focus on a single project. As soon as you leave ... there are so many other demands in your time. The privilege of getting to sit with a topic for years and have so many people invest in the work that you're doing and speak into it and help you to improve it — it's so wonderful. I would do PhDs for the rest of my life.“ — Jennifer Powell McNutt Professor and author Dr. Jennifer Powell McNutt joins us on the podcast to discuss the place of Mary Magdalene in the biblical story and what she can teach us about walking with Jesus.  Who was Mary Magdalene and what does her story offer to Christians in the 21st century? Dr. Jennifer Powell McNutt joins us on the podcast to discuss her recent book The Mary We Forgot: What the Apostle to the Apostles Teaches the Church Today, which recently received the honor of being a 2025 ECPA Christian Book Award Finalist. Jennifer helps us to understand the unique p

“Show up as your authentic self. Please don’t mold yourself into what you think you ought to be or how you think you ought to be received. Just be who God has called you to be, because when you do that, you give other women permission to be themselves, and I want my daughters to have that.”  — Nicole Massie Martin Executive leader and author Rev. Dr. Nicole Massie Martin joins us on the podcast to discuss principles of sacrificial leadership and how Christians can follow Jesus in their own roles.  How do leadership principles look different for those who wish to integrate their Christian faith into their roles? Rev. Dr. Nicole Massie Martin joins us on the podcast to discuss her recent book Nailing It: Why Successful Leadership Demands Suffering and Surrender. Nicole describes the contrast between common leadership practices and the kind of sacrificial leadership that Jesus modeled for us. We discuss unique challenges for women leaders within this framework, and Nicole talks the ways our current cultural mome

“The pastor’s wife, in many ways, embodies the history of the Protestant church….Refocusing on her and putting her at the center helps us to understand the bigger picture of the role women play in church history and how women are overshadowed by these patriarchal structures.”  — Beth Allison Barr Historian and professor Beth Allison Barr joins us on the podcast to discuss women’s leadership in the historical church and the cultural cost of forgetting our roots. What happens when historical evidence for women’s leadership in church is buried and even forgotten? Historian and professor Beth Allison Barr joins us on the podcast to discuss her recent book Becoming the Pastor’s Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman’s Path to Ministry. Beth traces the way centuries of women’s leadership were swept aside as female ordination declined and the role of the pastor’s wife was elevated in the white evangelical church. We talk about Beth’s scholarship, including some of her practices regarding teaching and coll

“One of the practices I use a lot in clinical supervision with burned out and stressed therapist or academics is asking people to remember why we got into this work in the first place, remembering back about the original hope and intention for my life with this work. What was God’s call on my life?”  — Terri S. Watson Psychologist and professor Terri S. Watson joins us on the podcast to discuss therapy, human flourishing, and the practicalities of healing your mental health.   When someone decides that they are ready to go to therapy, how do you even begin the process? Psychologist and professor Terri S. Watson joins us on the podcast to discuss her recent book The Client’s Guide to Therapy: How to Get the Most out of Your Counseling Experience. Terri talks about the sacredness of therapy as a tool to promote human flourishing, and we hear her practical suggestions for getting started yourself or helping a loved one. We talk about the unique psychological stresses on academics today, and Terri shares a few st

“I managed to divide myself in half. We can let our lives run on parallel tracks, and that is one way people deal with things. But it’s not healthy because the trains will collide.”  — Ruth Bancewicz Science and faith professional Ruth Bancewicz joins us on the podcast to discuss the integration of faith and science and the way churches can help. How does a scientist find space to express their faith within their research and teaching? Ruth Bancewicz joins us on the podcast in an interview with guest host and Women Scholars and Professionals Director Karen Guzman. Ruth and Karen sit down together to discuss Ruth’s work as a science and faith professional, serving as a thoughtful catalyst for integration at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at Cambridge University in England. Ruth describes her journey into this unique position and offers encouragement to women who are working toward more fully integrating their faith with their work life — and encountering struggles along the way. And if you list

“I like to think of bread-baking more in terms of liturgy than in terms of recipe.” — Kendall Vanderslice Author, baker, and theologian Kendall Vanderslice joins us on the podcast to discuss the way baking bread offers a gateway to prayer, theology, and community. Have you ever tried the spiritual practice of liturgical bread baking? Author, baker, and theologian Kendall Vanderslice joins us on the podcast to discuss her recent book Bake & Pray: Liturgies & Recipes for Baking Bread as a Spiritual Practice. Whether you’ve never baked before or you’ve baked dozens of loaves in your lifetime, Kendall offers a framework for baking a simple loaf and a series of thoughtful prayers to go along with the creative process. Kendall shares her thoughts about the way Scripture informs our baking in a unique way, and she talks about the way she views bread-baking as a political act. And if you listen to the end of the credits, you’ll hear an excerpt from our podcast where Kendall offers some thoughts on baking for

“If we were all created in the image of God, all of us who look so different...there is so much more to learn about God. So, I get one step closer to knowing God from exposing myself to different people...” — Khristi Lauren Adams Author and youth advocate Khristi Lauren Adams joins us on the podcast to discuss the theological insights we can learn from experiences of Black girlhood and how these truths can shape us all. Many of us are familiar with theological concepts that have been passed down through years of tradition in seminaries. But what can we learn about theology from the everyday experience of Black girls? Author, minister, and youth advocate Khristi Lauren Adams joins us on the podcast to discuss her recent book Womanish Theology: Discovering God through the Lens of Black Girlhood. Khristi and I talk about young people today and their unique perspectives on suffering, community, and spiritual practices. Khristi shares her experiences of learning from students with an attitude of humility and respe

“What does success mean to you? What does that look like? What is yours to do? What isn't yours to do?” — Tracey Gee Author and consultant Tracey Gee joins us on the podcast to discuss the value of knowing our own desires and the barriers that get in the way of this knowledge. How do you respond when a friend asks, “What do you want?” Whether it is a simple question of choosing a restaurant for dinner or a deeper inquiry into your professional calling, few of us possess the level of clarity we’d hope to have. But can that kind of clarity be uncovered and cultivated? Author and leadership coach Tracey Gee joins us on the podcast to discuss her recent book The Magic of Knowing What You Want: A Practical Guide to Unearthing the Wisdom of Your Desires. Tracey and I discuss the gifts that come from knowing our desires and the barriers that get in the way, especially for women. Tracey introduces us to some of the questions and processes she has crafted to help in uncovering desire, and we talk about the way spiritu

“Find your Elizabeth. Find the person who sees the gifts in you and names them. That’s really significant.”  — Jerusha Matsen Neal Author and professor Jerusha Matsen Neal joins us on the podcast to discuss the importance of place as we consider the spiritual implications of climate change around the world. In our world today, the effects of climate change have become more and more inescapable. But how can our own sense of place enlarge our understanding of the intricate links between us and those across the earth? Author and professor Jerusha Matsen Neal joins us on the podcast to explore a theology of place and the ways we can look at the presence of climate catastrophe with clear eyes and a faithful response. In her book Holy Ground: Climate Change, Preaching, and the Apocalypse of Place, Jerusha helps us learn from the sermons of displaced Indigenous communities in the South Pacific, exploring the effects of colonialism and inviting us into a space of learning and reflection. Jerusha and I also discuss he

“Do what you do with love. Whether you’re gonna teach physics coming out of Cambridge and Harvard or whether you’re gonna go teach first-year English at your local community college — do it your best and do what you do with love..”  — Julie Lane-Gay Author and horticulturist Julie Lane-Gay joins us on the podcast to discuss the ways the Book of Common Prayer has transformed her spiritual life. As we look into a new calendar year, we’re exploring the hopes and dreams we have for 2025. Many of us might be hoping to continue or refresh our practices of prayer and worship, so we’re delighted to offer a conversation that can help with that aim. Author and horticulturist Julie Lane-Gay joins us on the podcast to discuss her recent book The Riches of Your Grace: Living in the Book of Common Prayer. Julie shares her journey of companionship with the Book of Common Prayer and describes ways that its prayers have infused her life with meaning. We talk about a few practical ways we can get started in utilizing this hist

“Do what you and your family need. Let go of the cultural and even the church expectations. Just take time to behold — to behold the wondrous mystery of Christ among us and Christ in us and Christ born for us.”  — Leslie Leyland Fields Author and writing teacher Leslie Leyland Fields joins us on the podcast to discuss the beautiful messiness of Advent and the joys of writing one’s own story. As we look toward the start of Advent on December 1, some of us might be frantically crafting our to-do lists and dreading a busy month of deadlines. But what if it could be different? Author and writing teacher Leslie Leyland Fields joins us on the podcast to discuss the Advent book she recently edited entitled A Radiant Birth: Advent Readings for a Bright Season. Leslie talks with us about her own complicated history with Advent and Christmas, then offers actionable suggestions for making choices that can shape a more manageable holiday season. We discuss her work as a writing teacher, and Leslie makes a convincing case

"We need to be cautious about hyperbole, about dramatizing things before they are reality. One of the major issues we are facing in politics for a decade or more now is the erosion of truth, the erosion of fact based information and that comes in lots of different forms and lots of different directions, but the misrepresentation of one another and the ways that fear is evoked in people is extremely powerful and can be dangerous." — Miranda Zapor Cruz Listen in on our fall book club interview as Women Scholars and Professionals book club host Jasmine Obeyesekere conducts an online discussion with author and professor Miranda Zapor Cruz where they talk about our primary citizenship in the Kingdom of God and how that relates to the important task of political engagement. In this finale of our Fall Book Club, we engage in conversation with Miranda Zapor Cruz about her book Faithful Politics: Ten Approaches to Christian Citizenship and Why It Matters. You'll enjoy this rich conversation even if you weren't able to

“I love the relational dimension of teaching, where you get to meet someone at the point of their curiosity or openness, right at their learning edge, and help them into a place of seeing something more complexly or shifting a perspective in such a way that it changes something, for them and for me. It feels magical to me. It still does, after so many years. I think teaching is a pastoral ministry.”  — Marilyn McEntyre Spiritual writer and speaker Marilyn McEntyre joins us on the podcast to talk about leaning into the darkness of winter and uncovering our creative gifts in that quiet space.  It’s November, and winter is just around the corner. What might you do to embrace the quiet and depth of this season? Spiritual writer and professor Marilyn McEntyre joins us on the podcast to discuss her book Midwinter Light: Meditations for the Long Season. In our conversation, Marilyn shares her thoughts on creativity, slowing down, and hope as we discuss life in academia and the challenges of our world. Marilyn offers

“The core message for leaders is that before you do anything, that relationship with the Lord is the central piece.... The Lord loves you independently of anything you do.”  — Sheila Wise Rowe & Nicholas Rowe Authors Sheila Wise Rowe and Nicholas Rowe join us on the podcast to talk about the inner work required to lead as a secure and healing-centered person.  What does it take to invest in our own healing and growth so that our leadership reflects our most centered and secure selves? Authors Sheila Wise Rowe and Nicholas Rowe join us on the podcast to discuss their book Healing Leadership Trauma: Finding Emotional Health and Helping Others Flourish.  In our conversation, Sheila and Nicholas share stories from their 30 years of marriage, ministry, and service, pointing us toward a vision for leadership that is secure and healing-centered. Together, they explain why even our most personal and private wounds can profoundly impact our leadership skills, and they offer some practical thoughts particularly for

“The biggest thing is to affirm ourselves and not wait for anyone or any room or anyone with any degree or any letters behind their name to affirm our voice and to say that our voice matters. We need to say it to ourselves and for ourselves.”  — Pricelis Perreaux-Dominguez  Author Pricelis Perreaux-Dominguez joins us on the podcast to talk about cultivating communities that offer a sense of safety, belonging, and sacredness to each person.  What does it mean to pursue truth, compassion, and dignity in our church communities? Author Pricelis Perreaux-Dominguez joins us on the podcast to discuss her book Being a Sanctuary: The Radical Way for the Body of Christ to Be Sacred, Soft, and Safe.  In our conversation, Pricelis offers a clear-eyed critique of some of the areas where our churches have failed in communicating compassion, then gently offers thoughtful suggestions for ways that we can reform and repair our own hearts and our beloved communities. Pricelis combines spiritual formation practices and an invit