Bare Marriage
Tired of Christian pat answers about marriage? The podcast that goes in-depth into marriage, parenting, and even sex--to see how we can live the passionate life we were meant for. Paired with Bare Marriage--the blog!
Episodes
358 episodes
Episode 341: What’s the Dignity Line? Feat. Dawn from The Minimal Mom
In this episode, we sit down with Dawn from The Minimal Mom to talk about the “dignity line,” a simple framework for recognizing if our relationships are characterized by respect, accountability, trust, and safety - and why patterns matter more...
Episode 340: Live, Laugh, Love with Kristin Du Mez
What if many of the ideas we’ve been taught about “biblical womanhood” have a much stranger history than we realized? We sit down with historian & author Kristin Du Mez to unpack the fascinating—and sometimes surprising—story behind Christi...
Episode 339: Look Like a Lady--the 5 Visual Tropes of Womanhood that Keep Us Small
What if some of the messages we've absorbed about “what it means to be a woman” have less to do with the Bible and more to do with centuries of art, culture, and storytelling? Today we have a fascinating conversation with art historian Elissa Y...
Episode 338: What if God is Like a Mother Too? (Love Like a Mother)
What if the Bible has been giving us maternal pictures of God all along—and we've simply been overlooking them? Today we talk with Elizabeth Berget, author of “Love Like a Mother,” about God's compassion, childbirth, motherhood, grief, protecti...
Episode 337: Why Do Evangelicals Ask Women to Do Such Risky Things if They Say They Protect Women?
What happens when “protecting women” actually leaves them with fewer choices, less financial security, and nowhere to go when a marriage becomes unsafe? Today we unpack the hidden risks behind certain conservative Christian teachings about gend...
Episode 336: The Problems with The Empowered Wife by Laura Doyle
Bethany Jantzi and Dr. Merry Lin join us in taking a very close—and occasionally incredulous—look at Laura Doyle’s The Empowered Wife, unpacking its promises, “six intimacy skills,” and insistence that women can transform their marriag...
Episode 335: If Men Are Leaders...Why Do They Need Women to Fix Them?
What happens when “Christlike manhood” starts sounding suspiciously like Victorian gender roles, male entitlement, and a whole lot of covert nudging? This rage-read of Eric Ludy’s “Warrior Poet Manhood” article unpacks the deeper assumptions be...
Episode 334: What Should Accountability for Purity Culture Authors Look Like?
Buckle up for the final episode of our 3-part series on purity culture! In this episode we dig into what genuine accountability actually looks like when influential Christian leaders (namely Dannah Gresh) recognize the harm their teachings have...
Episode 333: Good Fruit - Are We Measuring It Right When It Comes to Christian Marriage Teaching?
What does Jesus actually mean when he tells us to judge a tree by its fruit - and what happens when we apply that idea to marriage and Christian teaching? Today Joanna, our resident statistician, joins us as we dig into the biblical meaning of ...
Episode 332: When Purity Culture Supporters Try to Rewrite History (Dannah Gresh Case Study)
And….we’re BACK with a fresh new season of the Bare Marriage podcast! We’re kicking things off with a lively deep dive into the debate over purity culture, asking what happens when influential Christian voices revise their past teachings, redef...
Episode 331: Keith & Sheila Respond to Crazy Clips (Is it That Jezebel Spirit Again?)
In this season finale we take a dive into social media, examining the messages behind viral clips from popular marriage and church influencers, and challenge fear-based teachings about marriage, parenting, gender, and authority. Through our tho...
Episode 330: Men of Virtue with Zachary Wagner
What does it actually mean to be a “good man” in today’s world—and does Christianity offer something deeper than dominance, leadership clichés, or internet manosphere culture? In this thoughtful and surprisingly hopeful conversation, Zachary Wa...
Episode 329: Parenting With Confidence Without Messing Up Your Kids with Wendy Snyder
What happens when you know the old “because I said so” parenting style isn’t healthy…but you also don’t want to raise entitled little tyrants? In this episode, parenting coach Wendy Snyder joins us for a deeply practical, heartfelt, (and hilari...
Episode 328: The Billy Graham Rule and What It Does to Men Too
What if the “Billy Graham rule” (or the evangelical distortion of it) says more about fear than integrity? In this episode, Danielle Strickland helps us unpack the assumptions behind the idea that men and women can’t be alone together—and ask w...
Episode 327: For Men Only by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn Talks Lust and Sex
Welcome to Part 2 of our breakdown of For Men Only! This episode dives headfirst into the sex chapter — and quickly exposes how shaky stats and selective storytelling create misleading narratives about libido and desire. We examine why women’s ...
Episode 326: The Problems with For Men Only by Jeff & Shaunti Feldhahn
In this episode, we dive into For Men Only, by Shaunti & Jeff Feldhahn, and let’s just say…we have many thoughts! We unpack some of its core claims about gender dynamics, communication, and emotional needs. Rebecca shares how this ...
Episode 325: I Belong to Me with Tia Levings
Tia Levings is back, and this time she's brought the book so many of you have been waiting for — I Belong to Me, a survivor's guide to recovery and hope after religious trauma, and the follow-up to her memoir A Well-Trained Wife
Episode 324: Who Bears the Emotional Labor and Mental Load for Sex?
Who's carrying the mental and emotional load when it comes to sex? Today Keith and I are breaking down all the ways evangelical marriage culture places that burden almost entirely on women: from appearance standards and contraception to perform...
Episode 323: A Step-By-Step Guide to Vetting a Church's Website to See if They're Heathy!
Finding a healthy church after being hurt is hard — especially when toxic churches have learned to hide what they really believe. This week, Rebecca and I walk you through our evidence-based, step-by-step method for evaluating a church's websit...
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Episode 322: Why Is Every Man's Battle So Creepy? A Harrowing Example
A close look at how Every Man’s Battle ignores the impact of predation on women and girls–and is just plain creepy! Plus a new study on hostile/benevolent sexism when it comes to tradwife content. It’s our podcast and Friday RoundUp in one!...
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Episode 321: New Research into Modesty Messaging, Sexual Harassment in Church, Plus We Answer Your Questions!
Keith and Rebecca are taking over the podcast this week and are answering your questions — from how to find a healthy church community to whether complementarianism is a dealbreaker. They're refreshingly honest and a little funny about it. Then...
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Episode 320: Let’s Talk Adult ADHD and GENDER ROLES!
What does it mean to have realistic expectations of a spouse with ADHD? How does gender play into how ADHD impacts a relationship? And what do accommodations actually look like—versus what do they not look like in a healthy marriage?
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Episode 319: Did Purity Culture Cause Developmental Trauma--and Kill Libido?
What if the reason so many women struggle with desire, arousal, and orgasm has nothing to do with their bodies—and everything to do with what they were taught before they even wanted to be sexual? In this episode, Rebecca and I pull together re...
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Episode 318: You're Allowed to Want Stuff! Talking Desire with Jay Stringer
Jay Stringer, licensed therapist and author of Unwanted, is back to talk about his brand new book Desire: The Longings Inside Us and the New Science of How We Love, Heal, and Grow. Together, we unpack why so many of us — espec...
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Episode 317: Famished--How Purity Culture Taught Women to Shrink with Anna Rollins
Anna Rollins grew up as the kind of girl who took her faith seriously — and that's exactly why it hurt her so much. In this conversation, Anna and I dig into her memoir Famished: On Food, Sex, and Growing Up as a Good Girl, where she t...
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