10 Essential Tips for Newly Divorced Dads — With Elena Locker-Torres

Is Christian Nationalism the biggest threat to America today? James Carville, political guru and strategist who got Bill Clinton elected president twice, thinks it’s "more dangerous than Al-Qaeda." Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has said the separation of church and state is a “misnomer.” Congresswoman Lauren Boebert thinks it’s “junk.” And the US Supreme Court itself is insidiously inching towards their premise.

With MAGA evangelicals more enthusiastic than ever about the Second Coming of Donald Trump, it’s time to talk about why 2024 could be one of the most defining years in America’s history.

In this episode of Unlicensed Therapist, we speak to constitutional attorney and widely acclaimed author Andrew Seidel — his books "The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American" and "American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom," are essential reading. We also have with us Seth Andrews, the famous podcaster, speaker, and author of several fantastic books, including the eye-opening “Confessions of a Former Fox News Christian.” We talk about the threat of Christian Nationalism, the future of American democracy, and what needs to be done to save it.

Please like and subscribe on YouTube, and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it will help us a great deal and we really appreciate your support.

Follow Andrew Seidel at @andrewlseidel everywhere.
Follow Seth Andrews by visiting https://www.sethandrews.com/

Get Andrew's "The Founding Myth" here.
Get Seth's "Confessions of a Former Fox News Christian" here.

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Unlicensed Therapist Theme Music: "Juggi's Gonna Kill It" written and performed by Ali A. Rizvi, Ali Noor, Zameer Rizvi, and Ali Hamza

The whole world is talking about Israel and Palestine — but what do people on the ground there really think?

In this episode, I speak with Corey Gil-Shuster, who joins me from Tel Aviv, Israel. Corey has spent more than a decade taking a camcorder (and translators as needed) into the cities and towns in the West Bank and in Israel, asking questions to ordinary people on the street sent to him from those on the other side. He records their answers and posts them unedited to his channel.

The results are often surprising and eye-opening. With over 300,000 subscribers, over a thousand videos, and over 130 million views, Corey’s “Ask an Israeli, Ask a Palestinian” project, or The Ask Project, has become one of the most compelling, riveting, and educational channels online today — and his perspective on the situation is unique and informed in a way that very few commentators today are.

Subscribe to Corey's "The Ask Project" YouTube channel here.

You can also follow Corey on Instagram @gilshuster

My 2014 HuffPost article on the conflict: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pickin...

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Unlicensed Therapist Theme Music: "Juggi's Gonna Kill It" written and performed by Ali A. Rizvi, Ali Noor, Zameer Rizvi, and Ali Hamza

It isn't just a Christmas book — it's a raucous, fun, biting statement on our world at the end of 2023. Christmas Mubarak!

Author Mookie Spitz (American Jew) and illustrator and artist Rusty Yunusoff (Russian Muslim) talk about their fantastic new book about Santa Claus (North Pole Christian).

But that's not all there is to it. Listen and find out.

Get Super Santa here: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Santa-Rise/dp/B0CH25G4DJ

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Unlicensed Therapist Theme Music: "Juggi's Gonna Kill It" written and performed by Ali A. Rizvi, Ali Noor, Zameer Rizvi, and Ali Hamza

After a killer first episode (thanks to all who watched/listened/shared), we’re on to Episode 2 of Unlicensed Therapist, featuring one of my favorite rising standup comedians, Noor Kidwai. You may have seen Noor in one of his viral Instagram sketches with fellow comics Andrew Oporto and Edworld Kim, all of who perform standup together on their Diversity Hires comedy tour — one of the funniest and most brilliant comedy shows in Toronto right now.

I speak to Noor about everything comedy, particularly his biting and hilarious take (as a person of color) on many of the inanities that permeate our discourse on diversity, equity, and inclusion. We will also talk about what it was like for Noor to open for Nick Offerman and perform alongside Sam Morril and other living comedy legends at the recent Great Outdoors Comedy Festival.

Noor Kidwai on Instagram: @noorkidwai

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Unlicensed Therapist Theme Music: "Juggi's Gonna Kill It" written and performed by Ali A. Rizvi, Ali Noor, Zameer Rizvi, and Ali Hamza

Mookie Spitz is the Jewish-American son of Hungarian Holocaust survivors.

I was born to a Pakistani Muslim family and grew up in Saudi Arabia.

In North America, we're friends. Elsewhere, we may not have been.

In the inaugural episode of Unlicensed Therapist, we'll do more than just talk to each other: we will listen.

Join us as we get into how our backgrounds shaped our views on the Israel-Palestine conflict, the current war between Netanyahu and Hamas, and whether peace can provide justice.

Further reading:
Mookie Spitz on Medium: A Message for American Jews from an American Jew about Israel & Hamas
Ali A. Rizvi's latest on Quillette: You Can Be Pro-Hamas or Pro-Palestinian. You Can't Be Both.
Ali A. Rizvi's seminal 2014 HuffPost Piece, 7 Things to Consider When Choosing Sides in the Middle East Conflict

Unlicensed Therapist Design and Branding: Pakkhee
Unlicensed Therapist Theme Music: "Juggi's Gonna Kill It" written and performed by Ali A. Rizvi, Ali Noor, Zameer Rizvi, and Ali Hamza

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Unlicensed Therapist Theme Music: "Juggi's Gonna Kill It" written and performed by Ali A. Rizvi, Ali Noor, Zameer Rizvi, and Ali Hamza

Kelly Carlin is the only daughter of legendary comedian George Carlin and author of "A Carlin Home Companion." Kelly is an inspirational public speaker, a writer of books and screenplays, radio host, podcaster, and a declared asker of big questions, with a graduate degree in Jungian psychology and a refreshingly unique perspective on life and living. In this episode, we talk about personal healing in these pandemic times, secular spirituality, the role of comedy in the age of wokeness, her life as the daughter of a complex comedic icon, and her powerful new coaching initiative, Women on the Verge, among other things. Check it out.

Check out Women on the Verge here: https://womenonthevergecoaching.com/

Kelly Carlin's website: https://thekellycarlinsite.com/ 

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Unlicensed Therapist Theme Music: "Juggi's Gonna Kill It" written and performed by Ali A. Rizvi, Ali Noor, Zameer Rizvi, and Ali Hamza

Going through a divorce is always difficult and complicated, no matter what your circumstances. And when there are children involved, it can be even more fraught and heartbreaking. If you are a divorced dad who is fortunate enough to have shared or full custody of your child(ren), you might be surprised at the lack of resources available to help you navigate your new life as a single father. My guest today is trying to help change that.

Elena Locker-Torres is a licensed master social worker and family counselor who works with divorced parents—especially fathers—and their children. She is also a clinical forensic specialist who works with children undergoing the most adverse of circumstances. She is the founder of Together Family Wellness, a counseling and support service for parents and families. Having grown up as an only child whose own parents divorced when she was little, she brings both her professional and personal insights to this important topic.

For more on Elena and her work, check out https://www.togetherfamilywellness.com/ and follow her on Instagram @togetherfamilywellness

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Unlicensed Therapist Theme Music: "Juggi's Gonna Kill It" written and performed by Ali A. Rizvi, Ali Noor, Zameer Rizvi, and Ali Hamza

Suicide is an occupational hazard for physicians. It is the only cause of death that occurs with more frequency in physicians than non-physicians, at double the rate of the general population. For perspective, 400 physicians take their own lives every year in the US — that's more than one doctor a day. And a survey by the Canadian Medical Association showed that 1 in 3 physicians screened positive for symptoms of depression last year and at least 8% thought about killing themselves during the same time. Recent data shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation. What is going on? Dr. Anwar Khokhar is an internist and hospitalist who is now training in nephrology. He's going to join me to talk about this urgent topic, sharing both his professional and personal experiences.

[If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline — https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ — for 24/7, free, confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.]

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Unlicensed Therapist Theme Music: "Juggi's Gonna Kill It" written and performed by Ali A. Rizvi, Ali Noor, Zameer Rizvi, and Ali Hamza

Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have banned the sitting President of the United States for directly inciting the unprecedented violent attack on the Capitol by his supporters on January 6. Filmmaker Jay Shapiro joined me to talk about censorship, free speech, the role of media in a post-Trump world, and a lot more — with a perspective you may not have heard before. This episode was recorded just before Trump was impeached, but as you'll see, we assumed it anyway.

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Unlicensed Therapist Theme Music: "Juggi's Gonna Kill It" written and performed by Ali A. Rizvi, Ali Noor, Zameer Rizvi, and Ali Hamza

Seth Andrews was a fundamentalist Christian radio host for ten years. Today he is a secular humanist and atheist activist based in Oklahoma. He is the author of the excellent book, "Confessions of a Former Fox News Christian" — more relevant than ever today — and joins me to talk about a lot of things that have been on both our minds: his first-hand insights into the mind of the Christian pro-Trump Fox News viewer; how to achieve unity and common purpose after the deep divisions, racism, and bigotry of the last four years; the future of secular liberalism as it stands today; and more.

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Unlicensed Therapist Design and Branding: Pakkhee
Unlicensed Therapist Theme Music: "Juggi's Gonna Kill It" written and performed by Ali A. Rizvi, Ali Noor, Zameer Rizvi, and Ali Hamza