Parenting Beyond Belief
Hosted by Parenting Beyond Belief
A live call-in show offering peer support and expert guidance for secular parents navigating a religious world.
This show is a public support system for parents attempting to raise children outside of religious dogma. It functions as a live, on-air strategy session where a panel of empathetic experts helps callers navigate specific, often high-stakes, family and social challenges. The hosts deconstruct complex issues like religious trauma and mixed-faith partnerships, offering practical, evidence-based alternatives to faith-based parenting.
“The live call-in format is its most distinctive feature, allowing for real-time, unscripted problem-solving with callers. Unlike interview shows, it combines a panel of recurring, credentialed experts with the raw, personal stories of everyday parents, creating a dynamic and practical resource.”
Who hosts this show
Parenting Beyond Belief is a live call-in show and podcast providing guidance for non-religious parents. Produced by the Atheist Community of Austin, the show features a panel of hosts, including author Dale McGowan and journalist Janet Heimlich, who address listener calls about mixed-faith families, recovering from religious upbringings, and raising children with a secular, critical-thinking mindset. The format is a mix of expert discussion and real-time advice for callers.
Credentials & credits
- Dale McGowan, Ph.D. in Music Composition, author of 'Parenting Beyond Belief'
- Janet Heimlich, B.A. in Communications from Stanford, journalist and author of 'Breaking Their Will'
- Clare Wuellner, former board member of the Atheist Community of Austin (ACA) and Foundation Beyond Belief
Other ventures
- Dale McGowan: Author ('Raising Freethinkers', 'Atheism For Dummies'), Founder of Foundation Beyond Belief, host of 'Raising Freethinkers' podcast.
- Janet Heimlich: Founder of the Child-Friendly Faith Project, award-winning freelance reporter for NPR.
- Atheist Community of Austin: Parent organization that produces other shows like 'The Atheist Experience' and 'Talk Heathen'.
What kind of podcast
- Country
- United States
- Region
- usa
When new episodes drop
- 01
- 02
- 03Game - What Would You Do | Parenting Beyond Belief 01.00.05Jan 9, 2020 · 29 min
- 04International Day of Girl Child | Parenting Beyond Belief 01.00.05Jan 8, 2020 · 15 min
- 05Is Spanking Okay? | Parenting Beyond Belief 01.04Jan 1, 2020 · 16 min
- 06
- 07Parenting Beyond Belief 01.00.06 with Clare Wuellner, Dale McGowan, & Jan HeimlichDec 31, 2019 · 1h 34m
- 08
Notable episodes
- 01Trauma of Spanking & Somatic Memory
A powerful episode featuring a call from a woman who experienced corporal punishment from infancy, leading to a deep discussion on somatic memory and the long-term effects of religious authoritarianism.
- 02How to Deal with a Mix-Faith Family
Exemplifies the show's core mission, as the hosts help a caller navigate the specific challenges of being an ex-Mormon married to a believing spouse, offering practical strategies and resources.
- 03Game - What Would You Do
Showcases the panel's dynamic and a unique format segment where they analyze and deconstruct religious parenting memes, contrasting them with secular principles.
What you'll be asked on this show
The show's format is not a traditional long-form interview. Instead, the hosts conduct short, diagnostic interviews with live callers to quickly understand their problem. They typically open by asking the caller to explain their situation, probe for essential context (e.g., "What are your and your wife's worldviews?"), and then pivot to offering advice, often drawing on their own lives and professional expertise as examples. The primary goal is collaborative problem-solving and resource-sharing, not a biographical deep-dive.
This is a panel/call-in show, not a traditional interview podcast. A rotating panel of hosts fields live calls from parents, offering advice, sharing personal experiences, and recommending specific resources like books and support groups. Some episodes feature structured segments, such as a game-like deconstruction of religious memes shared online.
Questions Parenting Beyond Belief keeps coming back to
6 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when Parenting Beyond Belief reaches for it.
advice
1- Q.01
“In a mixed-faith family, what battles are worth fighting and which should be left alone?”
This question is often used to frame a discussion about compromise and strategy in a mixed-faith relationship.
personal
2- Q.01
“What are your and your partner's worldviews?”
The hosts ask this early to get the specific religious and secular context needed to give tailored advice to a caller.
- Q.02
“Can you tell us about your life now and where your focus might be?”
A closing question for callers who have shared a difficult past, aimed at focusing on their current well-being and healing.
backstory
1- Q.01
“How did your transition out of religion go?”
This is used to elicit a caller's backstory, establish context, and build rapport.
relationships
1- Q.01
“What is your relationship with your parents like now?”
Asked to callers who have left a religious background to understand the long-term impact on family dynamics.
technique
1- Q.01
“Have you ever admitted to your kids that you screwed up?”
The hosts ask this of themselves and each other to model the secular parenting practice of parental accountability.
Signature segments
- · Live call-ins from listeners
- · My Take (meme deconstruction segment)
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are primarily parents who call into the show seeking advice for specific, personal challenges related to raising children in a secular or mixed-faith household.
- Bethany from Oakland, CAon Trauma of Spanking & Somatic Memory | Bethany - Oakland, CA | Parenting Beyond Belief 01.04
- Bryan from Fort Worth, TXon How to Deal with a Mix-Faith Family | Bryan - Fort Worth, TX | Parenting Beyond Belief 01.00.05
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
The show is a non-profit production of the Atheist Community of Austin and solicits direct support through Patreon. Any potential sponsors would likely be mission-aligned, such as secular organizations, publishers of related books, or educational resources.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
Pitch Parenting Beyond Belief
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People also ask
- Who are the hosts of Parenting Beyond Belief?
- The show features a rotating panel of hosts, primarily including author Dale McGowan, journalist Janet Heimlich, and former ACA board member Clare Wuellner.
- Is the podcast still running?
- The YouTube channel has not been updated since early 2020, and Dale McGowan's 'Raising Freethinkers' podcast also ended in 2020. The show appears to be on an extended hiatus or has ended.
- What is the show's format?
- It is a live call-in show where a panel of experts provides peer support and guidance to secular parents who call in with specific questions or problems.
- Who is this show for?
- It's designed for secular, atheist, and agnostic parents, especially those in mixed-faith families or those dealing with the after-effects of a religious upbringing.
- Where can I listen to the podcast?
- Past episodes are available on the 'Parenting Beyond Belief' YouTube channel and on podcast platforms like Spreaker.
- Who produces the show?
- The show is a production of the Atheist Community of Austin (ACA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]Parenting Beyond Belief YouTube Channelyoutube.com
- [02]Atheist Community of Austinatheist-community.org
- [03]Dale McGowan's Official Biographydalemcgowan.com
- [04]Janet Heimlich Bio - Child-Friendly Faith Projectchildfriendlyfaith.org
- [05]Dale McGowan - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [06]Janet Heimlich (Author of Breaking Their Will) - Goodreadsgoodreads.com
- [07]Episode Description Mentioning Hostsyoutube.com
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