Episodes

This episode picks up right where Part 1 left off, as Jennifer continues her conversation with her friend and longtime travel companion Kirsten Dickerson in her home in London. Kirsten opens up about what came after Raven + Lily - the quiet grief of walking away from something she had built her identity around, and the winding season that followed: a global nonprofit, a string of retreat centers renovated by hand, a painting practice she never expected to fall back in love with, and a handful of...

Jennifer sits down with her friend and travel companion Kirsten Dickerson, founder of Artist & Nomad, in Kirsten's garden flat in London. Kirsten opens up about the moments that quietly rearranged her life: a family that lost nearly everything, a mother she wasn't sure she could hold onto, and a faith that kept nudging her toward the next unlikely yes - from the sorority halls of Baylor University to the bustling streets of Calcutta. What emerges is the origin story behind the life Kirsten has b...

⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of childhood physical and emotional abuse, suicidal ideation, institutionalization, and intergenerational trauma. Please proceed with care. What does it look like to rebuild a life that was broken before you were old enough to understand why? In this deeply moving episode, Jennifer sits down with Isabel — a young Panamanian woman raised in the countryside of Veráguas, who endured childhood abuse, entered Panama’s overburdened child welfare sy...

⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of suicide, grief, childhood trauma, and homelessness. Listener discretion is advised. What does it look like when a single act of kindness, a sandwich handed to a stranger outside Grand Central Station, becomes the seed of a national movement? In this episode, Jennifer sits down with Karen Olson, founder of Family Promise, in her home in Springfield, New Jersey, to trace the remarkable arc of a life shaped by early loss, quiet resilience, an...

⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of childhood sexual abuse, child loss, grief, and substance use. Please proceed with care. In this episode, Jennifer sits down with Barb Higgins — educator, CrossFit coach, author, podcaster, and mother — inside her home in Concord, New Hampshire, the very town where her story began. Barb’s life has been shaped by a series of extraordinary events: childhood sexual abuse, a 20-year teaching career that ended in a forced resignation, the devast...

⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of grief and loss of siblings. Please proceed with care. In this episode, Jennifer sits down with Marina Mendez, a 24-year-old Panamanian educator and woman of deep faith, in Panama City, Panama. Marina’s story begins in the shadow of unimaginable loss: by the time she was twelve years old, she had buried both of her brothers, and she didn’t pretend to be okay about it. What follows is a journey of grief, doubt, determination, and a faith tha...

⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of the loss of a child, grief, and traumatic death. Listener discretion is advised. In this episode, Jennifer sits down with Stephen Panus - author, speaker, and bereaved father - to hear the story of August 9, 2020: the day his 16-year-old son Jake was killed as a passenger in a reckless car crash that changed everything. Stephen shares, with extraordinary candor and vulnerability, what it means to lose a child suddenly and without warning, ...

⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of suicide, suicide loss, grief, and mental health. Please proceed with care. What happens when the story you've built your grief around turns out to be a different story entirely? In this deeply moving episode, Jennifer sits down with Lisa Sugarman, author, mental health advocate, crisis counselor, and suicide loss survivor, in Salem, Massachusetts, to talk about one of the most profound and disorienting experiences a person can face: learni...

What does it mean to carry a country inside you — one you were forced to leave before you were old enough to understand why? In this deeply moving episode, Jennifer sits down with Ana Flaster, Cuban-American author of Property of the Revolution, to explore the story that shaped her entire life: fleeing Cuba as a child in 1967, arriving in the snowy mill town of Nashua, New Hampshire with one suitcase and a family that refused to let loss have the last word. Ana recounts the visceral moment she s...

What happens when you stop looking for love and start finding yourself? In this episode, Jennifer sits down with author and New Hampshire transplant Abby Rosmarin in Concord, NH, to talk about the year that changed her life: 2023, the Year of Dating Herself. After a string of tumultuous relationships that left her gaslit, depleted, and sitting in a bathtub wondering how she got there, Abby made a radical decision — to spend an entire year intentionally single, intentionally present, and intentio...

What happens when the dream you've chased your entire life finally comes true—only to discover it's not actually what you wanted after all? In this conversation, host Jennifer Peterkin sits down with Cheryl Johnson, a woman who has moved 45 times across 8 states, visited all 50 states, and learned that life's greatest gifts often come disguised as detours. Cheryl's story begins at age 8 on an airplane, helping flight attendants pick up trash and dreaming of a glamorous life in the skies. For o...

Content Warning: This episode contains detailed discussions of childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, physical abuse, substance abuse, and suicide. Listener discretion is strongly advised. In this powerful episode of The Human Experience, host Jennifer Peterkin sits down with Ruth Carroll—a survivor whose story spans decades of unimaginable abuse, yet who now stands as a beacon of hope and resilience. Ruth's story begins in the innocence of childhood, with memories of happy Christmases and p...

For this milestone 100th episode, we're doing something special—host Jennifer Peterkin hands over the mic to her friend, Kesh Witmer, for an intimate conversation about the journey behind The Human Experience podcast. In this raw and reflective episode, Jennifer opens up about the three-year odyssey of creating this show, from publishing her first episode at 11:50 PM on January 31st, 2023 (cutting it close to her self-imposed deadline) to interviewing guests across the world. She shares the dee...

In this insightful podcast, host Jennifer Peterkin interviews Blair, an individual diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder, to shed light on this widely misunderstood condition. Blair shares personal experiences of being perceived as different from an early age and the internal struggles faced in social settings. The conversation highlights the significant impact of schizoid disorder on one's life, including potential links to homelessness and the difficulties in seeking help. Blair's story...

Show Notes: In this deeply reflective episode of The Human Experience, host Jennifer Peterkin visits lifelong New Yorker Tony Stewart, who shares an intimate story of love, creativity, and grief. Tony recounts meeting his wife, Lynn Kotula—an accomplished painter—and building a life together rooted in art, exploration, and storytelling. He opens up about Lynn’s cancer diagnosis, the emotional and practical realities of caregiving, and the profound ways illness reshapes relationships. Through h...

Show Notes: In this deeply moving episode of The Human Experience, host Jennifer Peterkin sits down with Rebecca (Becky) Faye Smith Galli in her Maryland home for a powerful conversation about loss, resilience, faith, and the courage to keep moving forward. Becky shares her life journey marked by profound hardship, including the death of her teenage brother, raising children with special needs, divorce, and sudden paralysis from transverse myelitis—a rare spinal cord inflammation that left her ...

Show Notes: In this powerful and deeply heartfelt episode of The Human Experience, host Jennifer Peterkin sits down with Minister Jalisa Hardy, also known as The Golden Child, for a courageous conversation about generational trauma, resilience, and healing. Jalisa shares her story beginning from her miraculous conception and birth — a pregnancy filled with medical challenges and a prognosis that doctors believed she would not survive. Through her mother’s unwavering faith and spiritual encounte...

In this heartfelt episode of The Human Experience, host Jennifer Peterkin welcomes Angela Harvey, who opens up about her profound journey through codependency, depression, and rediscovering her self-worth. Angela shares candid reflections on her lifelong search for validation, the pain of unmet expectations, and the transformative process of learning to nurture herself from within. Through honesty and vulnerability, she explores how grief, accountability, and creative expression have shaped her...

Show Notes: In this profound episode of The Human Experience, host Jennifer Peterkin and guest interviewer Linda explore the extraordinary story of a woman whose Hungarian refugee parents survived World War II and the Holocaust. The guest recounts the shocking discovery of her hidden Jewish heritage within a family that had long believed they were Catholic. Through years of research, recovered letters, and family documents, she uncovers her mother’s recognition as “Righteous Among the Nations” ...

In this deeply moving episode of The Human Experience, host Jennifer Peterkin welcomes Cheryl Wilder, who shares her remarkable journey of survival, accountability, and transformation following a tragic car accident at age 20 that changed the course of her life. Cheryl recounts the night of the crash that left her boyfriend severely injured and led to her being charged with manslaughter. She speaks with honesty about the trauma, shame, and legal challenges that followed—and how those painful exp...

Show Notes: In this thoughtful episode of The Human Experience, host Jennifer Peterkin visits John (Jonathan Heaslet) at his North Carolina home to reflect on a remarkable life of service, transformation, and storytelling. John shares his early years growing up near San Francisco, his studies in mathematics and economics, and his first career as a health economist before answering the call to ministry. He recounts candid experiences from serving as a pastor in rural Ohio—including supporting an...

In this moving episode of The Human Experience, host Jennifer Peterkin sits down with Linda, who shares her extraordinary journey of resilience and compassion. After the tragic murder of her best friend and her best friend’s mother, Linda made the life-altering decision to take in the five orphaned children left behind. What began as an act of love soon transformed into a lifelong mission. Linda opens up about the challenges of unexpected motherhood, the impact of domestic violence on families,...

Show Notes: In this heartfelt episode of The Human Experience, host Jennifer Peterkin sits down with Maria Teresa Pratico-Swanson, a shamanic healer, artist, and speaker whose life story is one of resilience, hope, and transformation. Maria opens up about her personal journey through trauma, addiction, and domestic violence, sharing how she overcame struggles with self-worth and found her path to healing. Through sobriety, holistic practices, and shamanic wisdom, Maria discovered the importance...

Show Notes: In this episode of The Human Experience, host Jennifer Peterkin welcomes Derek Newborn, who shares his raw and inspiring journey from abandonment, trauma, and self-destruction to transformation, healing, and purpose. Growing up in Fort Myers, Florida, Derek faced the pain of parental incarceration, single-parent struggles, and a deep sense of abandonment. Becoming a father at 16 and navigating hardships such as divorce, narcissism, and a suicide attempt, Derek reveals how he reached...