Sunstone Firesides Podcast

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: …

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 …

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. …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

Join Shirlee as she interviews Vicki Darger, a fundamentalist Mormon and practicing polygamist. In this interview, Shirlee and Vicki offer an inside look at the legal and social implications of living the practice and how these implications affect fundamentalist communities.   Listen to this episode here.

In this episode, Cristina interviews Jana Riess, author of Millenial Mormons: How Millennials are changing the LDS Church. Jana discusses some of the particularities of Millenials who leave the LDS Church and how this generation is different than the ones that came before. Listen to this episode here. 

Trigger Warning: This episode contains descriptions of abuse and severe neglect. The foster care system is something we might hear a lot about, but seldom understand the details. In this episode, Malia interviews Ashley, a CPS worker, and Belinda, a woman who was raised in the foster care system to offer an inside look at …

Join Lindsay Hansen Park as she interviews three incredible Mormon women, Christina Atwood, Sara Bybee Fisk, and Nicole Earl about the work they do helping refugees and asylum seekers in the United States. Listen to this episode here.

On this week’e episode of the Sunstone Firesides Podcast, Kimberly Anderson and Shirlee Draper discuss each other’s lives and current projects. Kimberly Anderson shares about her experience as a transgender woman in Mormonism and her current work in counseling psychology. Shirlee Draper was raised FLDS and currently directs Cherish Families, a non-profit that offers services …

On this episode, co-host, Cristina Rosetti, sits down with Dr. Colleen McDannell to talk about her new book, Sister Saints: Mormon Women Since the End of Polygamy. Dr. McDannell is the Sterling M. McMurrin Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Utah. Her research covers topics such as the history of Heaven, Vatican II, …