169. The State vs. the Midwife: Obeying God, Defying Caesar with Brenda "Granny" Smith

The letter said cease and desist.

Brenda Smith got upset for about five minutes. Then she got angry. Then she did something that tells you a lot about the rest of this story:

She wadded it up and threw it in the trash.

Brenda, “Granny” to plenty of people who are not technically her grandchildren, has spent more than 30 years attending births. She believes that work is something God called her to do.

So when the State of Arkansas told her to stop, the question in her mind was not simply whether she might get in trouble.

It was much bigger:

Who gets the final word when the government tells you to stop doing something you believe God told you to do?

That question carries this conversation from home birth and midwifery into Christian anarchy, consent, fear, obedience, and ultimately hope. Because Brenda has seen enough of the state to distrust it. She has also seen enough of God to refuse to fear it.

Before Politics, There Were Babies

Brenda’s story begins far from political theory.

She grew up on a farm where faith was woven into everyday life. Her mother gathered five children around for family devotions. Brenda ran barefoot outside, watched life happen all around her, and learned early not to be afraid of everything that might go wrong.

Birth became personal before it became a calling.

Her first son was born breech in a hospital. Brenda remembers the doctor arriving too late for a C-section and a room filling with people who wanted to witness a vaginal breech birth they had rarely seen.

Years later, a neighbor from the Netherlands asked Brenda to attend her home birth. Brenda went.

Something clicked.

Over time, attending births became more than an interest. It became part of how Brenda understood service.

She does not argue that everybody should make the same birth choices. Early in the episode, she tells parents to learn, ask questions, interview caregivers, understand their own values, and make informed decisions.

Her point is not that she should choose for a mother. It is almost the opposite. The mother should be allowed to choose, but to do they need to know all their options. Including those that don't center on hospitals.

When “You Can’t” Meets “I’m Called”

Years into Brenda’s work, a friend called her crying.

According to Brenda, rules surrounding her friend’s pregnancy meant the midwife she had expected to use could no longer attend her home birth. Brenda believed her friend needed someone beside her.

So she stepped in.

She did not charge her.

Later came questions from the state. Years after that, Brenda received the cease-and-desist letter telling her to stop attending births.

“I’m gonna do what the Lord calls me to do.” — Brenda Smith (15:30–16:00)

That sounds bold if we put it on a T-shirt. But it sounds different when the next envelope might contain something that can put you in jail.

Brenda kept attending births.

Eventually, after a stillbirth, she says Arkansas authorities pursued a case against her even though the parents did not blame her. She learned there was a warrant for her arrest through someone who saw her posted online.

Then came the discovery process. Brenda says the government had collected years of screenshots from her Facebook activity.

“They had eight years of Facebook screenshots on me.” — Brenda Smith (17:15–18:00)

According to Brenda, the case was eventually dismissed.

But “dismissed” does not give back the year she spent wondering what might happen. It does not give back the sleep, and it does not answer the larger question: what happens when two adults voluntarily agree to something the state says they are not allowed to do?

The Birth She Refused to Miss

One of the wildest stories in the episode begins with flashing lights behind Brenda’s car. A mother was already pushing.

Brenda didn't stop driving.

She reached the house, jumped out, told the officer she was a midwife, and started toward the door.

The officer caught her.

Brenda describes being bent over with her arm behind her back while the mother inside was trying to have a baby. Outside the state wanted compliance.

A woman is in labor. The midwife had somewhere to be. The officer did not know what a midwife was.

Brenda eventually makes it inside, leaving her ID and registration for the officer to find himself. The officer followed, asking to speak to her, now by the name on on ID. Then the mother roars through another contraction. The woman's mother tells him: that's not happening right now.

Birth wins the argument.

Brenda ends up in court months later over the traffic stop, but the real question is already sitting there in the delivery room. 

What is the law for? Is it meant to protect people? And what happens when enforcing it gets in the way of people voluntarily caring for one another?

Consent Changes the Meaning of Anarchy

Brenda did not grow up calling herself an anarchist.

She says she did not even realize the word described her until around 2012, when a friend explained it differently than she had heard before.

Not riots. Not burning cars. Not chaos.

Consent and non-aggression.

“If somebody doesn’t want to do something, you don’t get to make them do it.” — Brenda Smith (38:40)

Suddenly, pieces of her life started fitting together. Midwifery was built around the choices of mothers. Her faith was built around voluntary obedience to God. And her growing distrust of government came from watching institutions use force where she believed persuasion, relationship, and consent should have been enough. She did not become a Christian anarchist and then decide how to apply the philosophy to birth. She looked backward and realized she had already been living many of its principles.

What Does Faith Cost?

Brenda imagines a situation where staying out of jail requires disobeying what she believes God told her to do.

What kind of faith would that be?

“If your faith doesn’t require something difficult of you, why are you even doing it?” — Brenda Smith (40:15)

That does not mean every act of civil disobedience is holy. It does not mean our personal desires automatically become commands from God. It means Christians have to wrestle seriously with allegiance.

Craig connects Brenda’s story with Acts 5, where Peter and the apostles answer earthly rulers with a dangerous sentence:

“We must obey God rather than human beings.”

That verse is easy to admire when we imagine ancient Rome. It gets harder when obedience costs money, reputation, comfort, or freedom.

Brenda asks it even more plainly:

“Who is your master?” — Brenda Smith (41:15)

That question belongs far beyond midwifery.

We Don’t Need a Perpetual Parent

Brenda was an obedient child. Very obedient. She remembers talking back to her mother once and being more shaken by the disappointment on her mother’s face than by the punishment.

That story leads somewhere unexpected. Children need parents. They need guidance, protection, correction, and people who know more than they do.

But children grow up.

At some point, Brenda says, we learn who we are. We make decisions. We accept responsibility. We no longer need someone standing over us to make every choice.

Then she offers one of the episode’s best descriptions of government:

“You don’t need a perpetual parent, and that’s exactly what government is.” — Brenda Smith (47:45)

You may disagree. But the image is worth thinking about. How much of state power depends on convincing adults that somebody else always needs to be in charge of them?

And how much Christian political thinking has quietly accepted the same assumption?

Jesus did not tell His disciples to become better rulers over everyone else. He told them that rulers “lord it over” people and then said: Not so with you.

Anarchy Without Losing Jesus

Brenda has also met anarchists who think her Christianity does not belong.

“No gods, no masters” can become its own test of belonging. Her answer is simple. She is not giving up Jesus to make somebody else comfortable with her politics. And she has no desire to use force to make an unbeliever accept her faith. That is where she finds common ground even with secular anarchists.

Faith cannot be forced. Neither can love.

Craig points out that many anarchists he has met once belonged to churches and later walked away, sometimes because of "church hurt" or because the Christianity they were given looked more like authority and control than Jesus.

That should bother us. 

If someone rejects Christ because we have shown them Caesar wearing a Christian costume, what exactly did they reject?

Brenda even left a church she loved because the American flag remained in the sanctuary. She could no longer make peace with national symbols sharing sacred space. For her, the issue was allegiance. No King but Christ cannot just mean “Christ is my favorite king.” It means He does not share the throne.

When the Enemy Becomes a Person

Late in the episode, Brenda tells a story from the film Gandhi.

A man has committed a terrible act of revenge after losing his own son. Gandhi gives him a strange path forward: find a child like the one he killed, raise him as his own, and raise him in the religion of the people he had learned to hate.

Brenda hears Jesus in that story: Love your enemies.

Not tolerate them from a safe distance. Not defeat them and then feel merciful afterward. Love them until “enemy” stops being the most important thing you know about them.

That is where Christian anarchy reaches beyond government. If we reject coercion but remain full of hatred, we have not made it very far. Jesus does not simply free us from rulers. He frees us to love.

Become an Apocaloptimist

Then comes a word Craig can barely pronounce: Apocaloptimist.

Someone who knows things look like they are falling apart and still believes they will turn out okay.

Brenda laughs because the word fits. Christian anarchy can sound angry if all we talk about is corruption, laws, police, taxes, surveillance, and state power. But Brenda insists we land somewhere else: hope.

“Our heart is elsewhere. Our home is elsewhere.” — Brenda Smith (1:01:00)

That is why she says she can keep doing “forbidden” and noncompliant things without being ruled by fear. Governments can threaten. Bodies can get sick. Systems can fail. The world can look like it is coming apart. But Caesar does not get the last word. Jesus does.

Maybe that is the difference between simple rebellion and Christian anarchy. One is defined by what it refuses. The other is defined by whom it follows.

🤝Connect with Brenda “Granny” Smith🤝

• Catching Freedom: Facebook Page**, **Brenda’s birth-and-liberty page

• Catching Freedom: The Connection of Childbirth and Liberty: Brenda’s 2025 People’s Reset presentation is available as an audio episode. Listen to Brenda’s Catching Freedom presentation

Highlights & Takeaways

• Brenda’s path to Christian anarchy grew from lived experience before she ever adopted the label

• Consent matters because people are not property of institutions, experts, or governments

• Calling something “legal” does not automatically answer whether it is right

• Faith becomes real when obedience costs something

• “Obey God rather than men” is more difficult when the consequences are personal

• Government can function like a perpetual parent if adults surrender responsibility for their own choices

• Christian anarchy loses its Christian center if it becomes hatred of rulers rather than love of neighbor

• Hope keeps noncompliance from turning into despair

Listen

When Brenda moves from her arrest story into the question, “Who is your master?” Notice how quickly a discussion about midwifery becomes a discussion about allegiance.

Reflect

Where do you obey mainly because you are afraid of consequences? How would you tell the difference between faithful obedience to Christ and simply doing whatever you want?

Read

Acts 5:27–32, Mark 10:42–45, and Matthew 5:43–48. Hold them together: obedience to God, Jesus’ rejection of “lording it over” others, and enemy-love.

For a separate current story about state prosecution of home-birth midwives, PBS’s 2026 documentary Arrest the Midwife follows Amish and Mennonite families confronting similar questions about birth choice and government regulation. Watch or learn about Arrest the Midwife on PBS

Practice

Pick one area of your life where fear makes your decisions for you. Do not start by breaking a law. Start by asking what faithfulness, responsibility, consent, and love require, and whether you have handed your conscience to someone else simply because they have authority.

Episode Timestamps

(00:00) Meet Brenda “Granny” Smith

• childhood faith and farm life

• motherhood, grandmotherhood, and birth

• more than three decades attending births

(06:20) Home Birth, Choice & Informed Decisions

• hospitals, midwives, and personal fit

• researching birth options

• trust, prayer, and informed choice

(12:10) When Arkansas Comes for a Midwife

• friend needing birth support

• choosing service over licensure

• cease-and-desist letter

(17:00) Arrest Warrant & Eight Years of Screenshots

• stillbirth and state investigation

• warrant discovered through a friend

• Facebook evidence and legal costs

(22:10) Obey God Rather Than Men

• state authority versus calling

• Acts 5 and Christian obedience

• regulation, power, and birth choice

(28:00) The Cop, the Midwife & the Baby Coming Now

• refusing to stop on the way to a birth

• police confrontation outside the house

• courtroom aftermath

(34:10) Bringing Babies Into a Fearful World

• children growing up after COVID

• perpetual war as normal life

• peaceful beginnings and hope

(38:00) Why Christian Anarchy Made Sense

• consent and non-aggression

• discovering the label around 2012

• faith already pointing beyond the state

(43:30) Fear, Obedience & the Perpetual Parent

• childhood compliance

• authority that deserves obedience

• government as permanent parent

(51:10) Christians Among Secular Anarchists

• “no gods, no masters”

• church hurt and unbelief

• American flags inside churches

(58:40) Love Your Enemies & Apocaloptimism

• Gandhi story and enemy-love

• hope while systems fall apart

• Christ beyond fear and despair

(1:03:00) Catching Freedom

• Brenda’s Facebook page

• birth and liberty content

• closing invitation

Keep the Conversation Going

For more Bad Roman conversations on Christian anarchy, revisit Episode 51, Jesus the Anarchist, with Alexandre Christoyannopoulos and Nicholas Harrelson. Episode 51: Jesus the Anarchist

You can also hear Craig’s conversation with Larken Rose in Episode 83, The Cult of Statism, including their discussion of religion, voluntary relationships, and why belief in God and anarchism are not automatically at odds. Episode 83: The Cult of Statism

Support The Bad Roman Project, share the episode with somebody who will wrestle with it honestly, and keep asking the question underneath all of this:

Who is your master?

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149. Is Your Christianity Just Patriotism? Learning to Love Beyond the Flag with Misty Hubbard

There’s a version of Christianity that never really meets Jesus.
It memorizes the pledge, knows all the right political buzzwords, and can quote more politicians than church fathers. It says “Christ is King” on Sunday and “vote harder” on Monday, as if Caesar just needs a better campaign manager.

That was the air Craig and Misty both breathed for years.

They organized rallies, cheered on “good candidates,” defended the Constitution like it had been handed down on Sinai. It felt righteous. It felt Christian. It felt like fighting the good fight, until Jesus started messing with their loyalties.

This episode is the story of waking up from that spell.

Not into apathy or cynicism, but into something weirder and older: a Kingdom where the Sermon on the Mount is more binding than the Bill of Rights, and where the question isn’t “How do we save America?” but “How do we love our enemies like Christ?”

When the Flag Becomes Your Faith

Misty didn’t stumble into politics by accident. She’s a wife, mom, grandma, and restaurant manager in Arkansas, the kind of person who knows everyone at the grocery store and cares deeply about her town. For years, that care took the shape of activism: gun-rights events, local organizing, being “all in” for Team Red.

Craig remembers meeting her back then, at a Chris Ann Hall convention in Clarksville. Both of them were learning about the Constitution, the Founders, the history they never got in school. It was exciting. It felt like discovering hidden truth. And over time, that civics education started to feel a lot like discipleship.

The problem? The more energy went into “saving the country,” the less energy was left for the actual living out of the things Jesus says about enemies, violence, and power. It’s not that patriotism and faith can’t coexist, but if you’re honest, one usually ends up calling the shots.

The Class That Broke the Spell

The turning point for Misty wasn’t a Bible study. It was a civics class.

She signed up as a die-hard constitutional conservative ready to nod along. Instead, the teacher, friend of the project, Mike Gaddy, started pulling at threads: the myths about the founding, the sanitized hero stories, the idea that United States was uniquely holy.

Misty left that first session furious. She went home with a notebook full of quotes, determined to disprove him. She cracked open books, dug into history, chased footnotes… and found out the uncomfortable thing: he wasn’t lying. The founding was messier than the church bumper stickers made it sound.

One question stuck in her ribs: “When have you ever voted yourself more free?”

She thought about politicians she’d worked for who sold out the second they got in office. She thought about all the cheering for “freedom” while bombs fell on people who’d never heard of her. Slowly, painfully, she realized her “Christian” activism had quietly become devotion to the state.

When Compassion Outgrows Your Patriotism

Craig went through his own version of that. Looking back at his old voting record, neoconservative almost every time, he feels a weight. Not because voting is the worst sin ever, but because those choices empowered real people to wage real wars on real families. Once Jesus taught him to see beyond the labels, he couldn’t shrug it off as “just politics” anymore.

That’s the strange side effect of taking “No King but Christ” seriously: your compassion gets bigger than your borders. Suddenly you can’t hear about drone strikes, refugee camps, or kids in cages without thinking, Those are my neighbors too.

Misty admits she used to be the one cheering for the war, as long as the “bad guys” were far away. Now she sees faces instead of flags. The same Jesus who told her to love her literal neighbor is also Lord over the moms and dads in countries she’ll never visit. Once that sinks in, a certain kind of patriotic chest-thumping starts to feel… off.

Rage-Posting in Jesus’ Name

Then there’s the internet.

If you’ve spent any time on Facebook, you’ve met this guy: profile full of Bible verses and worship songs… and also full of posts calling people “demon-crats,” fantasizing about political dynasties, and mocking “woke queer trash” or whatever today’s latest slur is.

Misty watches one of these men in her feed whiplash between “I love Jesus so much” and “if you don’t like it, delete me, you idiots.” She finally comments, not to dunk on him, but to say: “You’re not just pushing people away from your politics. You’re pushing them away from Christianity.”

And that’s the heartbreak. People like her coworker, who told Misty, “I just wish all Christians were like you,” aren’t rejecting the real Jesus. They’re rejecting a Jesus-shaped mask worn over cruelty, contempt, and tribal rage.

Craig points out the obvious but rarely-said thing: if someone only knows Christians like that, of course they want nothing to do with our faith. Why would they? The fruit is rotten.

Taking It Offline

One of the most practical parts of this conversation is embarrassingly simple: take it offline.

If you’re going to challenge someone you know, about their politics, their rhetoric, their discipleship, do it face to face if you can.

Tone is different when you’re sitting across from a human you share a town and a table with. You can see their expression, hear their hesitation, notice when they’re actually trying to be loving but clumsy. On Facebook, all you see is words and your own projection of malice.

Misty and Craig have both seen it over and over: online, people are ready to torch each other. In person, they’re softer, more open, more aware that the other person has a story too. If “No King but Christ” is going to mean anything in our politics, it’ll show up in those small, awkward, holy in-person conversations.

Little Kingdom Cells in Arkansas

Out of all this wrestling, Misty has quietly started something small in Russellville, a little circle of younger folks trying to figure out what it means to follow Jesus instead of party platforms. Just a group of people who gather to read Scripture, wrestle with current events, and ask, “Would Jesus really be okay with this?”

They practice disagreeing without dehumanizing. They experiment with actually blessing enemies instead of owning them.

It doesn’t look like much. But neither did twelve confused disciples in Galilee.

Kingdom seeds are being scattered.

Listen & Reflect

• Listen: Pay close attention when Misty talks about the class that made her angry. What would you have done with that information?

• Ask: Where has your “Christian” identity quietly fused with your national or political identity?

• Confess: Is there anyone you’ve treated like trash in Jesus’ name that you need to repent to?

• Practice: Pick one person you strongly disagree with and invite them to coffee. Ask more questions than you make statements.

🤝Connect with MISTY hubbard:

• Facebook

Episode Timestamps:

(00:00) From statism to “No King but Jesus”

• Craig welcomes Misty and sets the theme: deeper faith, deeper compassion.

(00:05) Meet Misty: Arkansas, restaurant, and kindness over hate

• Misty introduces herself as an Arkansas restaurant manager, wife, mom, and grandma.

• She jokes about “Go Hogs” and the pain of that as a sports fan.

• She explains that her goal is to spread the message through kindness, not hate.

• Craig riffs on how Facebook trains people to act the opposite of Jesus online.

(01:22) The Chris Ann Hall rally and early constitutional days

• Craig and Misty remember meeting at a “Second Amendment” rally in Clarksville.

• They were both learning new things about the founding and the Constitution.

• Craig notes that the teacher helped him understand civics but stayed deeply statist.

• Misty mentions organizing that event as part of a local gun group and later politicians.

(12:29) “Good candidates” and the lost cause of electoral politics

• Craig and Misty talk about candidates who stop caring once they’re in office.

• Misty calls trying to get “good people” elected a lost cause.

• Craig pushes back on the idea that not voting means “doing nothing.”

• They argue that handing more authority to rulers isn’t the same as loving neighbors.

(14:24) Owning neocon votes and paid patriotism

• Craig admits he voted for neoconservatives almost every time and feels responsibility for what those politicians did.

• Misty describes “paid patriotism:” the millions spent to keep people flag-waving.

• They call out propaganda around the anthem, sports, and outrage over who stands or kneels.

• The conversation exposes how manipulated our sense of “duty” often is.

(15:31) “Vote harder” and the salsa break

• Misty notes how division is stirred up so we’ll “vote harder” for our team.

• Craig jokes about needing to hold your mouth just right in the voting booth.

• The Bad Roman salsa jingle kicks in, inviting listeners to support the show instead of the state.

• They come back from the break still poking at the myth that voting is the highest form of action.

(16:25) The class that wrecked Misty’s civic religion

• Craig walks Misty through how, after her event organizing, she met Mike Gaddy.

• Her first class with him made her furious as a constitutional conservative.

• She went home, took notes, and researched to try to prove him wrong.

• Instead she confirmed that the founding was ugly and we’d been sold a myth.

(18:00) When have you ever voted yourself more free?

• Misty recalls Gaddy’’s question about whether we’ve ever “voted ourselves more free.”

• They wrestle with the claim that soldiers are “over there fighting for our freedom.”

• Craig and Misty ask what our “freedom” was doing in Somalia while bombs fell on children.

• They connect this to a broader realization that empire and Kingdom serve different masters.

(39:29) None of us were born anarchists

• Craig notes that most anarchists he knows started out statist, just like him and Misty.

• They mention friends like Gaddy whose stories include serious regret.

• Misty laughs about her Facebook memories reminding her how statist she used to be.

• Craig jokes about “accidentally” losing access to his old account and starting fresh.

(47:40) Compassion that outgrows the flag

• Craig says that taking “No King but Jesus” seriously changed how he views war and cages at the border.

• Misty admits she used to cheer for war and “get the bad guys at all costs.”

• Now she sees people in other nations as God’s children too, not faceless enemies.

(52:16) A daily Jesus lesson at work

• Misty talks about a coworker who didn’t believe at all but loved their daily conversations.

• The coworker told her, “I just wish all Christians were like you.”

• Misty compares fake Christians to people wearing a Lakers jersey without playing for the Lakers.

• She says Jesus teaches and shows you to treat people with kindness, not contempt.

(55:48) “Founded on Christian values?” vs cursing your enemies

• Craig reads a meme fantasizing about a decades-long MAGA dynasty and calling opponents vile names.

• He asks how anyone can say “we’re founded on Christian values” while talking like that.

• Misty says this kind of faking pushes people like her unbelieving friend away.

(57:04) You’re pushing people away from Christianity (not just politics)

• Misty shares another post where the same guy curses “demon-crats” and tells him to delete him.

• Someone tells him he’s pushing people away from Christian conservative Republicans.

• Misty comments that he’s pushing people away from Christianity, period.

• They both highlight how the same feed includes sweet Jesus posts right after hateful rants.

(58:00) Take it offline: Face-to-face hits different

• Craig asks if Misty knows the guy personally and encourages her to talk with him in person.

• He notes that tone is completely different face to face than on Facebook.

• Misty says if you perceive a comment as snarky online, it’s snarky, whether it was meant that way or not.

• Seeing someone’s face makes it clear when they’re trying to be loving, not hateful.

(59:10) The solution: Be more like Jesus

• Craig directly asks Misty what the solution is to Christians entangled with the state.

• She says it plainly: be more like Jesus as best we can.

• Treat people the way Jesus would, especially those you disagree with.

• They agree that this is how you actually win people over and introduce them to Christ.

(1:04:12) Misty’s local Russellville group

• Misty describes a small, unofficial local group she’s started with younger folks.

• They share Jesus’ teachings and plug them into current events like the Charlie Kirk story.

• She pushes members to ask if they’re taking verses out of context or truly following Jesus.

(1:08:08) Stepping back from social media and cat memes

• Craig talks about unplugging from social media after some heavy events like the Kurt murder.

• He reminds folks that what they heard is a snapshot of his and Misty’s usual conversations.

• Misty jokes about posting cat memes with Craig’s face, and Craig embraces being the “crazy cat lady.”

Highlights & Takeaways

• The more seriously Craig and Misty take Jesus, the more compassion they feel for people their teams used to call enemies.

• “When have you ever voted yourself more free?” became a crucial question in leaving statism.

• Paid patriotism and propaganda keep people outraged, divided, and committed to “voting harder.”

• Social media rants about “demon rats” and “woke” enemies push people away from Christianity, not toward it.

• Face-to-face conversations reveal tone and care in ways Facebook never can.

• Ordinary kindness at work—a daily Jesus lesson—can open hearts more than any argument.

• Local, informal groups like Misty’s in Russellville help people work out what “Christ is King” really means in practice.

• 100% of donations beyond production costs go to Memphis-area charities, keeping the project rooted in real-world love of neighbor.

Calls to Action

If this episode helped disentangle your faith from the state and grow your compassion, share it with someone still stuck in “vote harder” mode.

If you want to help keep the message of No King but Christ in people’s feeds, visit Spotfund and search “No King but Christ.” Even five or ten bucks a month helps keep the show going and supports local Memphis charities beyond production costs.

If you’re near Russellville, Arkansas and want to dive into these conversations in person, find Misty Hubbard via the Bad Roman Facebook page and ask about her group.

Love y’all.

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125. Social Media Overload: Digital Detox & True Community with Blaklee Ramsey

About this Episode

Are you ready to dive down the digital rabbit hole? Buckle up, because this episode takes you on a wild ride through the world of social media, podcasting, and personal growth.

Blaklee Ramsey, the mastermind behind the "Elevated Edict Podcast," joins host Craig Harguess for a no-holds-barred conversation that'll make you rethink your scrolling habits. But first, let's rewind:

Remember those college days when your biggest worry was how many wings you could sling during game day? Craig and Blaklee do. They kick things off with a nostalgic trip down memory lane, reminiscing about their time at Foghorns Wings near the University of Arkansas. It's all laughs and "remember whens" until...

BAM! We're thrust into the present, where TikTok reigns supreme and dopamine hits come faster than you can say "swipe up." Blaklee drops some truth bombs about social media addiction that'll have you side-eyeing your phone. But don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom.

Did you know social media can actually be... good for you? (Gasp!) Our dynamic duo explores the brighter side of the digital world, from networking opportunities to spreading positivity. It's like finding a unicorn in a sea of cat videos.

But wait, there's more! Blaklee pulls back the curtain on her journey on being called to podcasting and here quick success. Spoiler alert: it's not all glamour and perfectly edited sound bites. She gets real about the self-doubt, the late-night editing sessions, and the unexpected connections that make it all worthwhile.

And for all you aspiring podcasters out there? Craig and Blaklee serve up a heaping helping of real talk about the challenges and triumphs of growing a show. It's like a masterclass in audio entrepreneurship, minus the hefty price tag.

So, are you ready to laugh, learn, and maybe rethink your relationship with that little device in your pocket? Tune in to this episode of the Bad Roman Podcast. Who knows? You might just find the inspiration to start your own digital revolution.

Connect with Blaklee Ramsey:

• Website

• Stan Store

• Elevated Edit Podcast: Apple Podcast, Instagram,

• Personal Instagram

• Tik Tok

• Patreon

• Threads

Episode Timestamps:

(0:55) Reconnecting and Reminiscing

• Craig introduces Blaklee Ramsey, fellow podcaster and longtime friend

• Craig and Blaklee reflect on their past work experiences at Foghorns Wings in Fayetteville, Arkansas

• Realities of working in Fayetteville during game days

(4:06) Blaklee's Background

• Born and raised in Arkansas

• Started working in restaurants at age 12

• Transition to sales and real estate, highlighting her strong work ethic

• Burnout in Real Estate

• Blaklee's journey to overcome burnout and set boundaries

• The Birth of the Elevated Edit Podcast

• Focus on self-improvement, work-life balance, and feminine energy

(11:32) The Dark Side of Social Media

• Social Media Overconsumption

• Discussion on the addictive nature of social media platforms

• Craig's recent experience with social media during a difficult time

• Blaklee's experience with social media addiction during the 2020 lockdown

• Realization of time wasted on social media

(20:43) Positive Aspects of Social Media

• Social media as a powerful connector

• Blaklee's use of social media to grow her brand and podcast

• Blaklee's strategies for setting boundaries and curating a positive online environment

(28:22) The Science Behind Social Media Addiction

• Companies' strategies to keep users engaged

• Importance of setting boundaries and being mindful of social media use

(34:39) The Elevated Edit Podcast

• Blaklee's journey to starting her podcast

• Focus on vulnerability, authenticity, and positive messaging

(40:27) Advice for Aspiring Podcasters

• Importance of pushing through initial challenges

• The value of authentic, unscripted content

(58:52) Final Thoughts

• Importance of diverse perspectives in podcasting

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17. Kerry Baldwin - Asking Better Questions

In this episode, Kerry Baldwin is back to talk about her new courses designed to help people of all ages become critical, reflective, thinkers and why this lost skill is becoming more and more crucial. Craig and Kerry begin their conversation by taking a look at how both the public’s and the government's responses to COVID-19 have shifted since April.

They next dive into Kerry’s course where we are invited to reconsider how we think about thinking, learning, and what actually is wisdom? This episode is not about answers, rather it is a beacon to the importance of crafting the question to precede any answer.

Timestamps and resources to start learning more:

1:17 Who is Kerry Baldwin

• Kerry’s Facebook page

• Coronavirus New Mexico

• Governor of New Mexico - Michelle Lujan Grisham

5:51 Shifts in public attitudes toward COVID-19

• Bad Roman Episode #2 with Kerry Baldwin

• Friedrich Hayek quote about  the fatal conceit

• Oedipal mother 

11:16 Are coronavirus measures removing our humanity?

• The immune system

• Coronavirus mortality rate

• Crime against humanity?

13:35 Kerry’s Socratic Seminars

• What is it, who is it for?

• A brief history of the Socratic method

• Socrates

  • His death 

• Ignorance as a starting point for learning 

  • Ignorance vs. stupidity

• Intellectual humility

21:36 Materials Kerry uses in her course and why

•   Middle schoolers

  • The Tuttle Twins Series

  • Kerry’s created lessons

• High schoolers

  • Lessons for the Young Economist, Robert Murphy

  • Out of Frame Series. The Foundation for an Economic Education

• Adults

  • Murray Rothbard’s For New Liberty

  • Lessons & discussions on education, faulty reasoning, manipulation and more!

• Weekly Zoom discussions to practice the Socratic Method - learning how to ask good questions 

26:53 Social media contrasted with the Socratic method

28:41 Importance of participation in the Socratic method...aka why you can’t skip the Zoom call

• Benefits of a coach in facilitating an open learning environment

• Starting with asking questions and feeling safe asking them

• Answering questions you weren't’ prepared for

33:58 How does this method teach critical thinking?

• Different skill levels in thinking - 6 Stages

  • Unreflective thinker

  • Reflective thinker

• Socrates definition of wisdom - the more knowledge you have about the world the more you realize how much you don’t know 

• Those with less knowledge believe they know more than actually do - Dunning-Kruger Effect 

• Socratic method as a way to learn about the world and self

• How can these skills help us with social media?

40:09 Understanding how true statistics can be framed to manipulate us

• Correlation vs. causation 

43:04 Kerry’s Socratic seminars vs. lecture-style classes  

• What does learning look like to you?

• Permission to fail and be wrong

• Teacher pouring knowledge into student vs. engaged learning

•  Forced vs. voluntary engagement/participation

50:00 Why we need more people involved in asking good questions and productive methods of conversation

• It’s ok not to agree, in fact, we don’t want everyone to agree with us

• It’s not about “putting someone in their place”

• Social media and the desire to be right, even without understanding why you may be right (or wrong)

53:16 Learning more from being right than being wrong

• The “gut punch” of being wrong

• Getting comfortable with not knowing

• Bruised egos

55:37 What skills do students develop?

• Compare and contrast, clarifying issues conclusions and beliefs, understanding the difference between over-simplification and generalization

• “Feelings care about facts”

• Intellectual humility, courage, and integrity

• Independent thinking, self-awareness, fair-mindedness

• Perseverance, confidence, and reason

• And more!

57: 41 Feedback: What people have said of Kerry’s Socratic Seminars 

• Don’t underestimate kids!

• Giving kids a safe environment to make mistakes and what they will reveal they know

1:01:00 What we can learn from younger generations

• Why “old people” may be stuck in their ways - what’s going on in a child’s brain?

• Neuroplasticity

1:04:25 Kerry’s plugs

• Website: courses.meereliberty.com

• Facebook group

• Sign up for a course!