Explore every episode of the podcast Being Known Podcast
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| You Don’t Become Alone (S12 E2) | 30 Sep 2026 | 00:52:18 | |
Who are you becoming—and with whom are you becoming?
We only become by belonging. And this isn't merely a psychological principle. It is woven into the very nature of God, creation, and what it means to be human.
Join Curt and Pepper as they explore what Genesis tells us about belonging and becoming, why we are created unfinished and in need of one another, and what it means to belong to Jesus—not simply as an idea or belief, but as a real Person. What happens when belonging is disrupted? And how might belonging to Jesus reshape the way we belong to one another?
* * * * * Thank you for our season 12 exclusive sponsor, Tabor College Master of Education in Neuroscience and Trauma.
Join us in October for the Center for Being Known annual Connections Conference. As a BKP listener, you can receive $50 off any ticket when you enter promo code CBK.BKPL.26
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| Can You Become Without Belonging? (S12 E1) | 23 Sep 2026 | 00:53:18 | |
What if becoming who we were made to be is inseparable from belonging?
In season 11 (if you can remember that far back), we explored rupture and repair—the ways our relationships shape us, and how repair allows us to experience secure attachment. This season, we’re taking the next step: belonging to become.
Join Curt and Pepper as they explore what it means to belong, why belonging is essential to becoming, and what happens to us when we experience the absence of belonging or when belonging itself includes ruptures that are inadequately repaired. As we begin this season, we’ll consider the possibility that I can only become to the degree to which I belong—and what that means for the relationships and communities that are shaping who we are becoming.
* * * * * Thank you for our season 12 exclusive sponsor, Tabor College Master of Education in Neuroscience and Trauma.
Join us in October for the Center for Being Known annual Connections Conference. As a BKP listener, you can receive $50 off any ticket when you enter promo code CBK.BKPL.26
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| BONUS: The Way of Wisdom for Becoming, Not Just Knowing | 21 Sep 2026 | 00:47:46 | |
We live in an age overflowing with information. Answers are always within reach, and with a few taps, we can know almost anything. But does having more information actually make us wiser?
In this special bonus episode, Curt, Pepper, and Amy explore the difference between acquiring knowledge and becoming people of wisdom. They consider how wisdom is formed slowly: in our bodies, in relationships, and even through the mistakes and ruptures we experience along the way.
Wisdom isn't something we acquire. It's something we become, and we become it together. Join us at this year's Connections Conference as we dive even deeper into the theme of The Way of Wisdom.
* * * * Join us in October for the Center for Being Known annual Connections Conference. As a BKP listener, you can receive $50 off any ticket when you enter promo code CBK.BKPL.26
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| That's a Wrap... Your Questions, Answered (S1E9 Encore) | 09 Sep 2026 | 00:54:21 | |
What does it mean to become more fully human—and why can’t we do it alone? In this Season 1 encore, we return to some of the foundational ideas of Being Known: Christian spiritual formation, the stories we tell about ourselves, the embodied and relational nature of the mind, and the hard—and beautiful—work of becoming people who create beauty and goodness in the world. Join Curt and Pepper as they look back on the season and explore why being known requires our active participation, how our stories are transformed in relationship with others, and why even suffering can become a place where beauty emerges when we refuse to go through it alone.
Join us as we begin, again, the journey of becoming more fully known, loved, and alive.
This season 1 encore episode is sponsored by Tabor College Master of Education in Neuroscience and Trauma.
Joins us in October for the Center for Being Known annual Connections Conference. As a BKP listener, you can receive $50 off any ticket when you enter promo code CBK.BKPL.26
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| Can You Change? (S1E8 Encore) | 02 Sep 2026 | 01:08:36 | |
We long for transformation and renewal, but how do we get it? The good news is that our brains are not fixed, but continue to be shaped by experience. Learn how new patterns of thinking, feeling, and relating can form when we encounter grace and truth in connection with others.
Join us as we begin, again, the journey of becoming more fully known, loved, and alive.
This season 1 encore episode is sponsored by Tabor College Master of Education in Neuroscience and Trauma.
Joins us in October for the Center for Being Known annual Connections Conference. As a BKP listener, you can receive $50 off any ticket when you enter promo code CBK.BKPL.26
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| What Do You Feel? (S1E7 Encore) | 26 Aug 2026 | 01:00:31 | |
Emotions are not distractions to overcome, but meaningful signals that help us understand what we need, value, and long for in relationships. Our emotional awareness is formed—and often disrupted—through our early relationships and experiences of shame. How, then, do we begin to understand and regulate our emotions, all while becoming more integrated, connected, and fully alive in Christ?
Join us as we begin, again, the journey of becoming more fully known, loved, and alive.
This season 1 encore episode is sponsored by Tabor College Master of Education in Neuroscience and Trauma.
Joins us in October for the Center for Being Known annual Connections Conference. As a BKP listener, you can receive $50 off any ticket when you enter promo code CBK.BKPL.26
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| How Do We Flourish? (S1E6 Encore) | 19 Aug 2026 | 00:42:02 | |
What is the mind, and how do we begin to understand something that is constantly shaping how we see ourselves, God, and the world around us? In this episode, we explore what it means to think about the mind not just as a place of thoughts, but as a living, relational space formed by memory, attention, imagination, and desire. From there, we ask what a flourishing mind looks like—not one that is merely efficient or informed, but one that is integrated, open, and capable of love. If that is the goal, then what does it mean to love God with all of our mind? This conversation invites us to consider discipleship not just as behavior or belief, but as the ongoing transformation of how we perceive, interpret, and attend to reality itself.
Join us as we begin, again, the journey of becoming more fully known, loved, and alive.
This season 1 encore episode is sponsored by Tabor College Master of Education in Neuroscience and Trauma.
Joins us in October for the Center for Being Known annual Connections Conference. As a BKP listener, you can receive $50 off any ticket when you enter promo code CBK.BKPL.26
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| Who Are You? (S1E5 Encore) | 12 Aug 2026 | 00:44:55 | |
We’re all telling stories in the context of a bigger story that surrounds us. Often we’re not aware of that story, we just accept it as how things are. But what is that story? And how is it forming our identity?
Join us as we begin, again, the journey of becoming more fully known, loved, and alive.
This season 1 encore episode is sponsored by Tabor College Master of Education in Neuroscience and Trauma.
Joins us in October for the Center for Being Known annual Connections Conference. As a BKP listener, you can receive $50 off any ticket when you enter promo code CBK.BKPL.26
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| What is Your Story? (S1E4 Encore) | 05 Aug 2026 | 00:42:04 | |
We are inherently storytellers, constantly organizing our experiences into narratives that shape identity, perception, and meaning. In fact, we are such storytellers that those stories in which we believe we are living profoundly influence how we interpret joy, suffering, relationships, and even ourselves. If we want to heal, then, it’s time we look at those stories and learn how to see our lives through a larger story of grace, redemption, and belonging rather than failure or rejection.
Join us as we begin, again, the journey of becoming more fully known, loved, and alive.
This season 1 encore episode is sponsored by Tabor College Master of Education in Neuroscience and Trauma.
Joins us in October for the Center for Being Known annual Connections Conference. As a BKP listener, you can receive $50 off any ticket when you enter promo code CBK.BKPL.26
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| What Are You Hiding? (S1E3 Encore) | 29 Jul 2026 | 00:52:28 | |
Vulnerability isn't a weakness; it's part of what it means to be human. If we want to open the door to deeper connection, healing, and transformation with God and others, we must embrace our vulnerability. Learn how courage, safe relationships, and the example of Jesus invite us to step out of hiding and into a life of being fully known.
Join us as we begin, again, the journey of becoming more fully known, loved, and alive.
This season 1 encore episode is sponsored by Tabor College Master of Education in Neuroscience and Trauma.
Joins us in October for the Center for Being Known annual Connections Conference. As a BKP listener, you can receive $50 off any ticket when you enter promo code CBK.BKPL.26
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| What Do You Desire? (S1E2 Encore) | 22 Jul 2026 | 00:45:36 | |
What if your deepest longings are pointing you toward God rather than away from Him? In this episode, Curt and Pepper explore how beauty awakens our souls, stirs hope, and reminds us of the goodness we were created to experience. They remind us that our desire is not something to suppress, but a gift that draws us into deeper relationship with God, others, and the world around us.
Join us as we begin, again, the journey of becoming more fully known, loved, and alive.
This season 1 encore episode is sponsored by Tabor College Master of Education in Neuroscience and Trauma.
Joins us in October for the Center for Being Known annual Connections Conference. As a BKP listener, you can receive $50 off any ticket when you enter promo code CBK.BKPL.26
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| Being Known (S1E1 Encore) | 15 Jul 2026 | 00:40:49 | |
What does it truly mean to be known?
In this opening episode of the Being Known Podcast, Curt introduces the foundational idea that we are created for deep connection with God and one another, and that genuine healing happens in safe, loving relationships. Blending neuroscience with Christian faith, he explores how shame keeps us hidden while vulnerability opens the door to transformation.
Join us as we begin, again, the journey of becoming more fully known, loved, and alive.
This season 1 encore episode is sponsored by Tabor College Master of Education in Neuroscience and Trauma.
Joins us in October for the Center for Being Known annual Connections Conference. As a BKP listener, you can receive $50 off any ticket when you enter promo code CBK.BKPL.26
. . . . . Stay connected:
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| S11E18: When Things Fall Apart: Finding Our Way Back Through Repair | 21 May 2025 | 00:32:32 | |
In this Q&A style season finale of The Being Known Podcast, Curt, Amy, and Pepper reflect on the central theme of rupture and repair in our relationships with God, others, and ourselves. They explore the importance of grieving unrepaired wounds, modeling healthy repair for children, and approaching political differences with empathy and courage. This heartfelt conversation draws together the emotional and spiritual growth the season has cultivated, reminding us that conflict can be a catalyst for deeper connection.
Episode Links and References
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| S11E17: The Limits of Repair: Discernment, Boundaries, and Hope | 14 May 2025 | 00:42:30 | |
Repairing relationships is sacred work—but it isn’t always easy and straightforward. This episode delves into the nuanced process of navigating ruptures that may not resolve. With an emphasis on discernment, the conversation addresses how to identify what is truly wanted in a relationship, when to risk re-engagement, and when to honor the wisdom of stepping back. It explores how cultural tendencies toward polarization and disconnection can interfere with genuine repair and highlights the significance of setting healthy, even painful, limits as a means of protecting integrity and fostering personal growth.
The episode also touches on the insidious role shame can play in keeping people stuck and disconnected. It calls listeners to consider the deeper work of awareness—of self, systems, and others—and points to the role that healthy, connected communities can play in offering hope and healing, even when full reconciliation isn't possible.
Episode Links and References
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| S11E16: Resilience: Repairing Rupture as Preparation for Wholeness | 07 May 2025 | 00:28:44 | |
In this powerful episode of our Rupture and Repair series, we explore how resilience is formed—not by avoiding conflict or stress—but through our intentional engagement with rupture and our commitment to healing. Moreover, what if the work of repairing relational ruptures is not just for now—but actually preparing us for the kind of life we’ll live in the new heaven and new earth?
We consider how repair, though often difficult and humbling, is a sacred act that reshapes us—personally, relationally, and spiritually. Drawing from biblical imagination, clinical wisdom, and interpersonal neurobiology, we look at how returning to one another with truth and care builds the kind of resilience that can carry us through suffering and into deeper connection. Whether you’re navigating conflict in your closest relationships or reflecting on the brokenness of the world, this conversation invites you to see repair as a courageous, hopeful practice that forms us for wholeness.
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| S11E15: Forgive Seventy Times Seven: Practicing the Impossible | 30 Apr 2025 | 00:40:15 | |
What does it really mean to forgive “seventy times seven”? It’s a command that sounds both beautiful and impossible—until we begin to understand what forgiveness actually is.
Forgiveness isn’t a moment—it’s a movement of the heart over time. Forgiveness often feels like giving something to the person who hurt us—but what if it’s actually something we do to set ourselves free? In this episode, we unpack the liberating nature of forgiveness: how it can release us from the cycle of resentment, even when the offender hasn’t apologized or changed. With insights from Scripture, therapy, and neuroscience, we’ll explore the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation, the myths of “just getting over it,” and the internal shifts that make healing possible. Forgiveness isn’t about pretending the hurt didn’t happen—it’s about choosing to live untangled from its power. Through a story of personal forgiveness and repair, we’ll see how letting go can be the beginning of becoming whole again.
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| S11E14: Tears in the Fabric: Jesus, Social Rupture, and the Call to Repair | 23 Apr 2025 | 00:24:44 | |
What happens when the fabric of our shared life begins to unravel — not just politically or culturally, but spiritually and relationally? In this episode, we explore the quiet violence of our age: the kind that doesn’t wield weapons but erodes connection through shame, contempt, and indifference. From echo chambers to avoidance, we examine how disconnection shapes our communities, our faith, and even our inner lives. Drawing from both Scripture and neuroscience, we unpack the psychological comfort of sameness — and how it ultimately deepens our fear and fragmentation. We reflect on how Jesus calls us into a radically different way of being: one rooted in reconciliation, presence, and courageous vulnerability. This isn’t a conversation about agreement. It’s about relationship. Not about tolerance, but about intimacy — the kind that invites us to engage across divides with humility and curiosity.
Through honest stories, biblical insight, and compassionate reflection, we consider what it means to show up — truly show up — with those who see the world differently. And we name the cost of that kind of presence: the risk, the grief, the courage it takes to hold tension and move toward fracture lines rather than away from them.
If you’re longing for connection but feeling the ache of division, this episode is an invitation — to pick up a needle and thread, to mend what’s been torn, and to begin again with a risky conversation, a porch sit, and the commitment to see the person in front of you as more than just the opinion they hold.
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| S11E13: Unseen Structures: Caste, Power, and Healing the Fractures Beneath Our Feet | 16 Apr 2025 | 00:35:43 | |
We often shy away from conversations about race, caste, and power because of discomfort or fear of making mistakes—but this episode is an invitation to get in the game. Join us as we step into the complex and often unseen world of caste systems--which are more than race alone--as they manifest within American culture, exploring how deeply entrenched social structures and inherited hierarchies shape our interactions, identities, and sense of belonging.
Building on themes from our previous conversation about church wounding, we draw from poignant personal experience, historical context, and biblical reflection to invite listeners into a posture of curiosity and compassion. Rather than offering easy solutions, this conversation encourages each of us to examine where we are in the social power gradient and what it means to steward that position with intentionality and humility. It’s the beginning of the slow, sacred work of repair—relationally and structurally—so we can become the kind of people, and the kind of community, who create beauty and goodness together.
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| S11E12: From Eden to the Church: Healing Rupture in Faith Communities | 09 Apr 2025 | 00:41:59 | |
In this episode, we trace the journey of repair from the biblical story of Eden to the present-day church. We begin by looking at the rupture in Eden, the first human failure, which sets the stage for the entire narrative of repair in the Bible. The church, we argue, serves as the modern-day extension of God's original plan for renewal, where heaven and earth collide, and where God's work of restoration continues. Yet, this place of healing is also where significant ruptures can occur, often leaving members hurt and disillusioned.
The conversation highlights the delicate balance between idealism and realism when it comes to the church's role in repairing relational fractures. The church, like any human system, is not immune to dysfunction, but it is also the place where God's mission of restoration is most powerfully present. We discuss how leaders in the church must navigate the complexities of repair, creating spaces of safety and vulnerability while also confronting their own wounds. This episode offers listeners a deeper understanding of how spiritual growth and relational healing are inextricably linked, both for individuals and the community as a whole.
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Artistic Offerings to Reflect On
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| S11E11: Created for Connection: The Communal Nature of Healing | 02 Apr 2025 | 00:38:38 | |
What does it mean to be human in a world where disconnection is not only common, but often woven into the very systems we live in? This episode opens the first of two episodes on rupture and repair in community, drawing deeply from Christian theology, neuroscience, and lived pastoral experience.
Grounded in the biblical assertion that we are made in the image of a communal God, the conversation reframes human identity as inherently relational—our sense of self does not exist in isolation but is shaped through connection with others. Through the lens of Genesis and the teachings of Jesus, brokenness is not treated as an individual shortcoming but as a shared human condition, one that requires collective healing and compassionate presence.
As the episode unfolds, it becomes clear that rupture—whether it shows up as conflict, trauma, or disconnection—is rarely contained to one moment or one relationship. Instead, it reverberates across families, institutions, and even digital spaces, often echoing through generations. With vivid stories from clinical settings and systemic reflections on cultural and organizational life, the conversation exposes how unresolved pain becomes embedded in the structures around us.
The episode also introduces a powerful theological and scientific counterpoint: healing, like trauma, is not confined. Drawing on the idea of "quantum relationality," the discussion explores how repair—when undertaken with intention, humility, and community—can ripple outward to transform entire environments. Whether in a parent-child bond, a broken workplace culture, or a fragmented congregation, the episode illustrates how repair work, especially when modeled on the loving, non-anxious presence of the Trinity, has the potential to restore what was lost. This episode sets the stage for episode 12, which will dive deeper into the Church’s unique role in this sacred, systemic work of repair.
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| S11E10: Mastering the Art of Repair: Harnessing Timing, Tempo, and Time (Part 2) | 26 Mar 2025 | 00:38:24 | |
This week is part 2 of our series on Timing, Tempo, and Time where we step into the nuanced terrain of what it actually takes to begin the work of repair. Whether we're the ones who caused harm, were impacted by it, or are caught in a mutual fracture, repair requires initiative—and initiative often requires courage.
We explore how clarity about our role, our responsibility, and our relational context shapes how we move first (or why we hesitate to). But repair isn’t just about the decision to start—it’s also about the pace we keep. Some fractures can begin mending in a single moment; others need months of faithful return.
This episode invites us to consider the rhythm of healing, the emotional resistance that can surface, and why repair is not a performance to rush but a process to honor. When we learn to initiate repair at a sustainable tempo, we become people who actively resist disintegration—and participate in the restoration of what’s been broken.
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| S11E9: Mastering the Art of Repair: Harnessing Timing, Tempo, and Time (Part 1) | 19 Mar 2025 | 00:38:43 | |
In this episode, Curt and Pepper dive deep into the crucial first steps of becoming effective repairers in times of relational rupture. We begin with Genesis 3:15 and explore how we can anticipate, prepare, and engage in repair work before the storm hits. It's not about reacting to conflict—it's about preparing in advance to become proactive, mindful, and compassionate repairers of relationships. Through this reflective practice, we explore the timing, tempo, and deep awareness required to anticipate future ruptures with empathy and intention. This preemptive work is necessary to avoid reactive responses and instead cultivate intentional repair.
In the first of this two-part series, the team shares insights into how spiritual practices, like meditation and prayer, can center us before a rupture occurs. They focus on the importance of anticipating moments of tension, embracing vulnerability, and reflecting on how our internal and external worlds influence our approach to conflict. With both empathy and practical tools for co-regulation, they guide us on how we can actively prepare to heal relational ruptures when they inevitably arise. Tune in and take the first step toward mastering the art of preemptive repair.
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| S11E8: Lost in Translation: When the Medium Distorts the Message | 12 Mar 2025 | 00:41:40 | |
Healing is not just about what happens to us, but also about how we choose to communicate our experiences, both to ourselves and to others. The stories we tell ourselves—about past pain, trauma, or failures—are powerful, and they shape our reality. But have you ever considered how the way we communicate these stories to ourselves can affect our ability to heal? When we rely on certain mediums, like self-talk or journaling, the way we present the message to ourselves can either block or facilitate healing. By shifting our internal communication methods, we can alter the message and, consequently, the way we process our emotions and experiences.
In this episode, we explore the profound connection between the medium of communication and personal healing. Whether it’s through art, writing, meditation, or conversations with loved ones, the medium we use can impact how we perceive and internalize the messages we’re telling ourselves. How do we shift our narrative from one of pain and defeat to one of empowerment and resilience? By considering the ways different mediums influence the healing process, we can find new tools to transform the messages that hold us back. Tune in as we discuss how changing the medium can help rewrite the message of healing in our lives.
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| S11E7: From Creation to Collapse: Healing Toxic Ruptures Before They Devour You | 05 Mar 2025 | 00:40:27 | |
Toxic ruptures don’t just happen in a single moment of conflict—they are built over time through miscommunication, emotional wounds, and the silent grip of shame. Whether it’s an argument that lingers long after words have been spoken, a past hurt that keeps replaying in our minds, or a pattern of avoidance that slowly erodes trust, these ruptures are reinforced by both our interactions and our inner world.
In this episode, we dive deep into how toxic ruptures are created, not just between people, but within our own brains. We’ll explore the neuroscience behind why conflict feels overwhelming, how our nervous system’s response can make repair more difficult, and why shame keeps us stuck in cycles of blame, avoidance, or emotional withdrawal. You’ll learn how unprocessed shame distorts our perception of others, fuels resentment, and makes us more likely to repeat the same destructive patterns in relationships.
Most importantly, we’ll uncover practical strategies to stop toxic ruptures before they spiral out of control. From rewiring our emotional responses and breaking free from rumination to approaching difficult conversations with presence and repair, this episode will help you shift from unconscious creation to intentional healing. If you’ve ever felt trapped in recurring conflict or emotional disconnection, this is your guide to understanding the deeper layers of toxic ruptures—and finally learning how to heal them.
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| S11E6: The Power of “No”: Brain Science, the Biblical Narrative, and Limit-Setting Ruptures | 26 Feb 2025 | 00:29:20 | |
Saying "no" can feel uncomfortable, but it is a crucial part of growth, both for ourselves and in our relationships. In this episode, we explore the concept of limit-setting ruptures—those moments where boundaries create tension, discomfort, and even distance, but ultimately lead to maturity and deeper connection. Drawing from psychology, neuroscience, and biblical narratives, we discuss how setting limits helps shape our character, why it's necessary for personal and spiritual development, and how it teaches us emotional regulation. Whether you're a parent setting boundaries for your child, someone navigating addiction recovery, or simply trying to manage your daily commitments, this episode will provide insights into how embracing limits can lead to greater freedom and fulfillment.
We discuss how the brain undergoes "pruning" to refine skills, how children develop emotional regulation through parental boundaries, and how even Jesus modeled the power of necessary separations. We’ll also tackle the emotional impact of limit-setting, from the pain of telling a parent they can no longer drive to the discomfort of quitting unhealthy behaviors. If you want to learn how to set limits in a way that fosters growth, self-control, and deeper relationships, this episode is for you.
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| S11E5: The Foundation of Resilience: How Small Disruptions Build Stronger Connections | 19 Feb 2025 | 00:26:45 | |
Human connection is at the core of our well-being, but what happens in our brains when we bond, experience conflict, or work to repair a relationship? In this episode, Curt and Pepper unpack the fascinating neuroscience behind our need for connection, explaining how our brains are wired for relationships and why moments of rupture—whether small misunderstandings or significant emotional breaks—can feel so distressing.
By exploring the science of attachment, listeners will learn how early childhood experiences shape our ability to trust, communicate, and reconnect after conflict. Dr. Thompson dives into how relationships influence brain development, how unresolved ruptures can lead to long-term emotional patterns, and why the process of repair is essential for strengthening bonds. Whether in romantic relationships, friendships, or family dynamics, understanding this rhythm of disconnection and reconnection can help us navigate conflict with greater confidence, foster deeper emotional intimacy, and build lasting resilience.
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| S11E4: Ruptures and Repairs: The Neurobiology of Resilience and Relational Growth | 12 Feb 2025 | 00:43:35 | |
Growth is often born from disruption, and in this episode, we explore how ruptures—whether in relationships, routines, or neural pathways—create opportunities for expansion and integration. We examine the physiological parallels of growth, from bone density to neuroplasticity, and dive deep into the critical role of repair in relationships.
Drawing on longitudinal studies of shy children and the biblical perspective on stress, we illustrate how intentional engagement and attunement pave the way for personal and communal transformation. Curt and Pepper offer person examples to illustrate how the stress of transition, from toddler tantrums to adolescent resistance, can be a gateway to deeper resilience and connection.
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| S11E3: Unrepaired Ruptures: Trauma, Memory, and the Call to Restoration | 05 Feb 2025 | 00:37:55 | |
Trauma is more than a single event—it is the accumulation of unrepaired ruptures that we carry in our bodies and souls. In this episode, we explore how these ruptures—whether from minor conflicts or deeply wounding experiences—shape our lives and relationships.
Drawing from biblical stories and contemporary examples, we discuss the ways our unresolved pain influences our decisions, interactions, and sense of self. From the silent grief of barrenness in the lives of the matriarchs to modern challenges like road rage and smartphone dependency, we examine the pervasive impact of ruptures.
With thoughtful insights, we point to the hope of repair and the courage it takes to face the cost of healing. This week, Curt and Pepper invite you to reflect on your own journey and consider how God's redemptive work transforms even the most broken parts of our stories.
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| S11E2: Navigating Fragility: Reimagining Connection Amidst Social Divides | 29 Jan 2025 | 00:40:49 | |
In this episode of The Being Known Podcast, Curt Thompson, MD and Pepper Sweeney explore the increasing societal fragility and its impact on our ability to repair relational ruptures. They discuss how diminished resilience and imagination hinder our capacity to connect, drawing insights from biblical narratives and interpersonal neurobiology.
This conversation addresses the challenges posed by social divisions, the concept of "othering," and the importance of community in fostering healing and restoration.
They invite you, the listener, to reflect on your own experiences of rupture and repair, considering the role of faith and community in navigating these challenges.
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| S11E1: Rupture and Repair: Rediscovering Connection and Hope | 22 Jan 2025 | 00:48:01 | |
In this powerful live episode of the Being Known Podcast, Dr. Curt Thompson, Amy Cella, and Pepper Sweeney dive into the theme of "rupture and repair." This entire season we are exploring how brokenness impacts our relationships, imagination, and sense of self. Through stories, neuroscience, and biblical reflections, we'll discuss how repairing even small ruptures can lead to greater resilience, beauty, and connection. Join the conversation on naming our longings, addressing unresolved pain, and embracing the transformative work of healing in community. This episode kicks off a season dedicated to helping us imagine—and incarnate—a future of hope and wholeness.
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| S10E9: Summer Spotlight - Just Faith | 04 Sep 2024 | 00:34:41 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are looking at season 9 - The Deepest Place. If you pick up a book on suffering, you might hope it will tell you how you can learn to suffer less, or even not at all. That’s not what we’re doing here. Instead, we will discover that before we even get to suffering, we must, as Christians, begin long before that, just as Paul does in Romans 5. Who knew that to talk about suffering, it is first really important for us to get a handle on how our attachment to Jesus—through our attachment to the members of his Body and the Spirit?
In this episode you are invited to imagine how Paul’s words of faith and justification reflect our real-life attachment processes, and how that lays the foundation for our forming hope in the presence of suffering.
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| S10E8: Summer Spotlight - It's Time for Beauty | 28 Aug 2024 | 00:37:01 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are focusing on season 8 - In the Path of Oncoming Beauty. There’s nothing quite like an encounter with beauty to remind us that we are temporal—and, temporary—creatures. Who hasn’t wanted the gorgeous sunset to just go on and on and on? Who has listened to Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, and not desired it to go on indefinitely?
Beauty is like that. It transports us into states of timelessness that remind us that we were made, not for this world—but for the world that is coming.
Join us as we look back at this last episode season 8 and be reminded of what it means that God has placed eternity in our hearts, and that putting ourselves in the path of oncoming beauty is the beginning of the time for which there will be no end.
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| S10E7: Summer Spotlight - Forming Outposts of Beauty and Goodness | 21 Aug 2024 | 00:29:38 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are focusing on season 7 - Confessional Communities. We have shared a great deal about confessional communities over the last several seasons on Being Known Podcast. We thought we would take this opportunity to dive in and take a closer look at their purpose and how they operate. Although the best way to discover these things is to actually participate in a confessional community, however, we hope this season gets you a little closer to what it means—and what it takes—to be part of one.
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| S10E6: Summer Spotlight - Right and Wrong: Being and Knowing... and Being | 14 Aug 2024 | 00:43:37 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are focusing on season 6 - The Beauty of Wisdom. We often assume that wisdom is to be equated with knowing things. And indeed, knowing things is important. But only to the degree that it enables us to create beauty and goodness in the world, not least that of flourishing relationships.
Our challenge is that so often we are interested in acquiring knowledge because we are more concerned with being right than we are about being loving.
The horizontal domain of integration—that of the relationship between the right and left hemispheres of the brain—is the setting in which we learn that wisdom is so much more than knowing: it’s about being known. In this episode, Curt and Pepper will connect with their right and left brains—and with you—as we continue on this marvelous journey of becoming people of wisdom.
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| S10E5: Summer Spotlight - Our Problem with Shame | 07 Aug 2024 | 00:46:01 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are focusing on season 5 - The Soul of Shame. It’s not enough to know what shame IS. We also have to know how and where it works. Our problem with shame is not just a sensation in which we feel bad. It’s about all the ways that it hijacks our mind, relationships, and mostly, the story in which we believe we’re living. Join us as we open up the hood and begin to look at the engine of this thing we call shame. You may be surprised to find that it’s so much more than a feeling.
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| S10E4: Summer Spotlight - Family and Generational Trauma | 31 Jul 2024 | 00:49:32 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are focusing on season 4 - Trauma. Despite our fierce commitment to individualism, trauma is far more likely to follow the way the mind has actually been made, rather than the way we have for the last several hundred years tried to pretend that it works. We would like to think that the trauma that we experience or perpetrate will only have effects on us or the ones upon whom we inflict it.
But that would not be true to the way the brain works. As we will discover, what happens in one generation doesn’t necessarily stay in that generation. Rather, it can have the tendency to travel down ancestral lines, leaving others to pay the price for events that occurred long before they were even born.
Join Pepper and Curt as we discover the steam that the train of trauma can gather over the course of generations—and what we can begin to do to stop it in its tracks.
Links and References
Scripture References
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| S10E3: Summer Spotlight - Trauma and Shame: People of Grief | 24 Jul 2024 | 00:48:21 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are focusing on season 3 - The Soul of Desire. It takes very little to see that if longing and beauty go hand in hand, then trauma and shame are more than willing to make sure that none of that ever lasts, and in some cases makes sure no handshake ever happens. For truly, as sure as we are people of desire, we are people of grief. From our brains to the rest of our bodies, from our inner lives to our relational realities, our grief so fills our minds that we hardly notice that so much of life’s work consists of managing our grief, looking for trouble so we can head it off before it finds us. Given the brokenness and pain that seem so ubiquitous, no wonder we mostly see ourselves as problems to solve rather than beauty waiting to be revealed. Join Pepper and Curt as we unflinchingly name our grief—without forgetting that we were made for so much more.
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| S10E2: Summer Spotlight - What's Your Story? | 17 Jul 2024 | 01:04:11 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
This week we are focusing on season 2 - The Domains of the Brain. Storytellers. That’s what we are, and we can’t get away from it. But just how truly do we tell them? It turns out that, just as important as the story you tell, is how you tell it. And that makes all the difference. Join us as we explore the narrative domain of integration, and discover the interpersonal neurobiology of attachment. We can assure you: After you’ve listened in, you’ll have quite a story to tell.
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| S10E1: Summer Spotlight - Being Known | 10 Jul 2024 | 00:38:23 | |
Welcome to season 10 of Being Known Podcast. This season we are taking a look back at where we have come over the last couple of years, to determine where we are headed in the future, and as a way to continue bringing you the best content for how to live a life being fully known.
Each week we are spotlighting one episode from a previous season (the best of the best, so to speak). This is just a sample of what that entire season was all about. We hope you have, or will, take the time to listen to all the episodes again.
Let’s start at the very beginning. Join host Pepper Sweeney and psychiatrist Curt Thompson as, together, we awaken to the journey of being fully known.
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| S9E11: End of Season Q&A | 05 Jun 2024 | 00:34:23 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
Today we are addressing your questions about suffering and the formation of hope. We hope you have enjoyed this season.
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| S9E10: Full Circle | 29 May 2024 | 00:39:57 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
We started this season on suffering with what necessarily must precede it if hope is what we want. And now that we are near the season’s conclusion, we find ourselves where we started.
Come hang out with us to discover how what we first thought would only be painful—our suffering—ultimately, because of Jesus and the way our brains and relationships are made to operate, leads to the joy that enables us to fearless encounter our suffering wherever it will emerge in our lives over the course of them. We can’t wait for you to be with us, and join us in all that God has in store.
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| S9E9: Hope | 22 May 2024 | 00:29:41 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
Hope is one thing. Durable hope—that’s something different altogether. What is hope, after all? Is it something that merely happens to fall in our laps? Something that we can only hope to have?
The world of interpersonal neurobiology has some things to say about hope that are, well, very, very hopeful. And at the same time, shed light on where Paul is going, as he has come all the way from suffering, through perseverance and character to bring us to where we are.
Join the conversation this week as we walk together into the hope that is more than just a word. More than what we merely hope we will have. And we’re far more than hopeful that you will agree with us when you do.
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| S9E8: Character | 15 May 2024 | 00:46:01 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
We deeply long to be persons of character; we would much rather not, however, have to persevere through suffering to get there. But it turns out that that is exactly how character is formed. Moreover, the formation of character is the necessary prerequisite for hope that lasts, not the flimsy kind that so much or our lives are used to. And therein lies the good news. The resilience of character, something that others see in us but that we often do not see in ourselves, brings us ever closer to the hope we long to form and maintain.
Listen in to these two characters (Pepper and Curt, that is. Well, maybe just Pepper) as we learn what we can do to develop the character that we so long to have.
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| S9E7: Perseverance | 08 May 2024 | 00:38:06 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
Who hasn’t felt like giving up when the going got, not only tough, but tough for a really long time. We love the idea of what perseverance can ultimately lead to; we would often rather arrive at what we want without having to persevere. Because to be sure: perseverance is not easy. But as we have said on this podcast before, the brain can do a lot of really hard things for a long time, as long as it doesn’t have to do it by itself.
Tune in to hear Pepper persevere in having to be in conversation with Curt yet one more time, and discover again what it means to SNAG the brain while we form durable hope in the process.
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| S9E6: Suffering: The Story of the Present Age | 01 May 2024 | 00:31:06 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
Finally, we’re here. We’ve reached the topic that this series is about. It’s just that, now that we’ve arrived, we don’t want to be here. Nobody wants to suffer. We want less of it, or none of it at all, not just some tired old story of how to grin and bear it.
The good news is that, there are some things we can learn about suffering from what we know of the brain and relationships, things that, once we are aware of them, begin to shed even brighter light on the hope that we are durably forming on our journey through this part of Paul’s letter.
This week we talk about why we suffer, and how we can begin to reframe it in our first steps toward suffering differently.
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| S9E5: Glory | 24 Apr 2024 | 00:30:21 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
Who would ever imagine that glory and suffering would have anything to do with each other? As it turns out, a great deal. So much so, in fact, that when we consider a particular aspect of God’s glory (one that we rarely do), we see how, when we take it seriously, it utterly transforms and prepares us for the suffering we will inevitably encounter. But we can’t encounter it alone. It requires community.
This week you are invited to draw close to God’s glory, even as we draw close to our suffering.
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| S9E4: A Wide Place to Stand | 17 Apr 2024 | 00:42:25 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
For Jesus followers, as we approach the topic of suffering, we can’t bypass the body. Fortunately, neither does Paul in Romans 5, or what we know from neuroscience. For indeed, the more we pay attention to how the body works, the more the texts of scripture make sense in our world, a world which has somehow over many centuries found a way to separate the body from the spirit in ways that they simply are not.
Come along this week as we learn how “grace in which we now stand” is no mere metaphor—and shapes our response to suffering in ways we might never imagine.
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| S9E3: Declaration of War - and Peace | 10 Apr 2024 | 00:43:41 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
Although the bible doesn’t begin with violence, it gets there pretty quickly, beginning with a snake, then a brother killing his brother, and on and on it goes. And as it turns out, as much as we are at war in so many ways with so many others, we are more at war with God than anyone, and more at war with him than we know. Not that he’s at war with us. We just think he is.
It’s no surprise, then, to discover that our suffering is grounded more than we are aware of in the parts of us that still believe, like Adam before us, that God is out to kill us. This week we address the necessary task of identifying the parts of us that still believe we are at war with God—so that in making peace, we can begin to change the story we tell about our suffering.
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| S9E2: Just Faith | 03 Apr 2024 | 00:33:10 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
If you pick up a book on suffering, you might hope it will tell you how you can learn to suffer less, or even not at all. That’s not what we’re doing here. Instead, we will discover that before we even get to suffering, we must, as Christians, begin long before that, just as Paul does in Romans 5. Who knew that to talk about suffering, it is first really important for us to get a handle on how our attachment to Jesus—through our attachment to the members of his Body and the Spirit?
In this episode you are invited to imagine how Paul’s words of faith and justification reflect our real-life attachment processes, and how that lays the foundation for our forming hope in the presence of suffering.
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| S9E1: Into the Deepest Place | 27 Mar 2024 | 00:37:16 | |
Welcome to Being Known Podcast. This season we are discussing Curt's latest book, The Deepest Place as we carefully cover each chapter to deepen your understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.
To be human is to suffer. To be transformed does not deliver us from it. In fact, a great deal of what we do in life is dedicated to avoiding so much of the suffering that inhabits our stories. I only want to read a book that tells me how I can suffer less, or even not at all. But that’s not how life works.
This week we begin to explore The Deepest Place, using Romans 5:1-5 and what we are learning from interpersonal neurobiology, and discover how the gospel helps us form durable hope, not by being fully delivered from suffering, but in and because of its very presence.
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