PODCAST · society
Life Unwasted
by Caleb/Kyumin
A place to be seen. A place to be heard.A place to be yourself. A place to belong.Home.
Episodes
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Angelie
In a volcano camp, Angelie remembers grownups praying over her body while nobody asked what a scared middle schooler actually needed.
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Avery
Avery talks about growing up in Indonesia with New Tribes Mission, then returning to the United States with a car, a band, and a life that no longer fit the supporter version of who she was supposed to be. She remembers smoky open mics, private journals, family interrogations, and the fear that...
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Marjorie
In Cameroon, Marjorie sat with online strangers, missionary school rules, and a friend’s pain, wondering who would be harmed if she spoke.
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Josh
A boy on missionary ships keeps Star Wars and superheroes alive, until imagination becomes the door out.
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Steve
Steve remembers the damp leather seats, the climb into the Malaysian highlands, and the rule that good children did not cry. After losing his mother, gaining new siblings, and moving across continents again, he learned how to smile on command while feeling untethered inside. Years later, a small...
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Erin
Erin grew up moving between a Kalinga village, the mission center, Faith Academy dorm life, and later the United States, always trying to choose one place that could claim her. She remembers rice pounding, bamboo trips, lockers that felt almost unreal, and a body that froze when danger arrived....
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Alicia
Alicia grew up in Mexico inside a family that knew how to look composed in public while doors slammed at home. A fall from a backyard swing set, a scorpion filled hotel room, white pants in third grade, two cats left behind when the family did not return. Years later, therapy gives those scenes…
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Beth
She did everything right—faith, marriage, obedience—and still ended up in an abusive home. That’s when she realized: no one was coming to save her. Not even God.
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Jonathan
Jonathan was seven when his family moved to Madrid and settled in a neighborhood overwhelmed by heroin use. What began as his parents’ calling turned into a growing rehab community, and his childhood unfolded inside it. He built real relationships with people in recovery, many of whom later died...
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LIVE SHOW with Holly
This live conversation returns to Holly several years after her original Life Unwasted interview. In the time since, her book, The Missionary Kids: Unmasking the Myths of White Evangelicalism, has entered the world, and she has a different kind of clarity with her. She talks openly about…
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Terri
A phone line crackles, and Terri laughs through tears, remembering how goodbye always came before she was ready.
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0: Beginnings
This was our very first recording. It has been remastered with the help of our MK friend Justin and now it's ready for your listening pleasure.
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Mary
Mary recounts growing up in Kenya, Tanzania and the Philippines—where corporal punishment, neglect, and unsafe dorms shaped her childhood. She speaks about using her body as currency, discovering neurodivergence, and the slow, tenacious work of relearning trust and building a life in Virginia...
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Becky
Go live your life!
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Joy (Season 4 Finale)
We see you. Hope is a beautiful thing.
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Josh
Go live!
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Khup
Home is where our people are / home is where you make it
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Claire (feat. Hannah)
The Ruins. The in-between.
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Season 2 Finale
A big thank you to all of our guests. You make everything possible.
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On turning 40
Birthdays. Heartaches. Tears. Growth. Breakthrough.
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Rachel
You're enough. We love you just as you are.
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Anna
Life is complicated. Embrace the good, the dark, the bad, the hard, the joy. They all mean something. Life is worth living when you're living all of it.
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Adam
Life gets better; it really does.
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Season 1 Finale
You're all phenomenal individuals. Thank you to our guests and also our listeners who've all joined us in this fascinating journey. We will be back in a couple of months.
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Meg
High school crushes. 20 years later. Everything comes back full circle.
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Matt
Forgiveness is mine to give. The journey from 'hurt' to 'heal'. Trigger warning: This episode contains discussions related to sexual assault.
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Dan
adjusting. strategy. seeing life as-is. life is generally beautiful.
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Ben
A rebel at heart. Humanity breaking through. The perpetual outsider.
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Ian
authentic presence sharing traumas You're much better than you think you are. You're a good person.
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Jim
An MK childhood in the Philippines collides with a rough return to Texas. Dorm chaos, depression, and purity rules set the fuse. Years later, working as a bouncer, Jim realizes the anger that kept him safe is costing him peace. He turns toward honesty, community, and a kinder ethic. For MKs who...
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Clare
In this conversation, Caleb and Kyumin sit down with Clare, whose story stretches from Faith Academy in the Philippines to Lancaster, England, where she now serves as a priest and chaplain at a secular university. Clare grew up as a missionary kid in institutional settings where “normal” family...
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Micah
In this episode of Life Unwasted, Kyumin and Caleb talk with Micah, a Brazilian missionary kid who grew up between West Africa and South America, in dangerous neighborhoods and strict boarding schools. Micah shares what it meant to live between cultures, lose a close friend in high school, and...
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Josh
In Season 8, Episode 2 of Life Unwasted, Kyumin and Caleb talk with Josh about the long, messy work of making sense of your story when faith, family, and “calling” were all tangled together. Together, we explore what it’s like to carry experiences you were never given language for, how shame and...
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What We Pass On: An Interview with Ben Between Africa’s Ari Ali
Summary Caleb and Kyumin, both former missionary kids, sit down with filmmaker Ari Ali, creator of Ben Between Africa. Ari tells the story of trying to understand her mother’s MK experience and what that journey opened up inside their family. We talk about love, calling, silence, and what it…
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Rachel
This episode centers on Rachel’s deeply personal story of survival, recovery, and breaking generational cycles of abuse within a fundamentalist missionary family. Rachel recounts growing up in a controlling religious environment, being sexually abused by her brother, and later manipulated by her...
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Beka/Nicole (Season 7 Finale)
Go family!
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Joel
Durian!
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Ian
Toss salad!
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Karli
You're welcome here!
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Claire 2.0
Cool Nerds!
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Geoff
Go MKs!
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Amy
I'm free to be me!
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Sherilyn
The venture continues!
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Nadyia
I am proud
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Chloe
Cry more
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Tracey
Blaze
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Matt 2.0
We can grow Trigger Warning: Episode contains mention of sexual assault and suicide/self harm.
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Sofia
Sleeping on the library roof
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Sarah (Season 6 Finale)
Go Vanguards
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Joseph
Go be!
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Life Unwasted have?
Life Unwasted currently has 124 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Life Unwasted about?
A place to be seen. A place to be heard.A place to be yourself. A place to belong.Home.
How often does Life Unwasted release new episodes?
Life Unwasted publishes regularly with 124 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Life Unwasted?
You can listen to Life Unwasted on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Life Unwasted?
Life Unwasted is created and hosted by Caleb/Kyumin.
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