The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Living Her Truth with Madison Prewett Troutt

Episode Date: September 17, 2025

You’ve seen the headlines, you’ve heard the clips, but now it’s time to hear from Madison Prewett Troutt in her own words. The runner-up from Peter Weber’s season sits down with Ben and Ashley for an update on her life, her world as a new mom, and her new book “Dare To Be True”. Madison holds nothing back when discussing her past with porn and masturbation addiction, and we get the real story on her headline making comments about spanking her daughter.  Plus, Madison tells us what it means to “stay true” when it comes to her faith. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? Answer, a new podcast called Wisecrack, where a comedian finds himself at the center of a chilling true crime story. Does anyone know what show they've come to see? It's a story. It's about the scariest night of my life. This is Wisecrack, available now.

Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On a cold January day in 1995, 18-year-old Krista Pike killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in the woods of Knoxville, Tennessee. Since her conviction, Krista has been sitting on death row. How does someone prove that they deserve to live? We are starting the recording now. Please state your first and last name. Krista Pike. Listen to Unrestorable Season 2, Proof of Life.

On the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, my name is Enya Umanzor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. and want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble.

Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. Do you want to hear the secrets of psychopaths, murderers, sex offenders? In this episode, I offer tips from them. I'm Dr. Leslie, forensic psychologist. This is a podcast where I cut through the noise with real talk.

When you were described to me as a forensic psychologist, I was like snooze. We ended up talking for hours, and I was like, this is. Girl is my best friend. Let's talk about safety and strategies to protect yourself and your loved ones. Listen to intentionally disturbing on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Lauren came in high. From standout speeches to the shows and stars making all of the history, my podcast, the latest with Lauren the Rosa, has your full Emmy's breakdown. The wins, the surprises, the cultural impact, and what it really means for us.

I'm the homegirl that knows a little bit about everything and everybody. Listen to the latest with Lauren the Rosa from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeartRadio app. You can get it at Apple Podcast or wherever you listen to your podcast. This is the Ben and Ashley I, Almost Famous Podcast with IHart Radio. Welcome to the Almost Famous Podcast. We are here today with author Madison Pruitt Trout to talk about Dare to to be true. Maddie, can we call you Maddie?

Absolutely. Do you go by Madison or Maddie now? Well, you know, like professionally, it's like Madison, you know, the name I was born with. But then I feel like all my friends and everyone just called me Maddie. And because my social media is Maddie, I feel like it's just, it's Maddie now. Okay, we're going to call you Maddie because I feel like Madison just wouldn't come off. I would just call you Maddie.

I think that's how I refer to you in my life. Maddie, this is what, is this your third book? Yeah. This is book number three. Yeah. Crazy. Like, when, it can have been that long ago. It feels like you're pumping out a book a year.

Is this the plan? This was not the plan. Honestly, I have had this message on my heart for a long time and kind of tried to run from it for a while and woke up in the middle of the night and felt like the Lord was like you need to write a book on truth. And I'm like, I don't know how to do that. And that feels scary and I don't even know where to start. And it was a really hard out of all three books that I've written, this was by far the hardest. And I tried to quit multiple times. But I really do believe that this message can truly change people's lives. And it's changed my life. So I'm

really excited. This is probably the most passionate and excited I've been about a project and a book that I've done your last book the demographic was kind of like for this single girl you said it really could apply to anyone but you know like really about those looking for love what is who should pick up this book honestly everybody I do feel like this is a message no matter where you're at on your faith journey and whether you're asking the question like what is truth and what is true about me and what is true about God and what's true about eternity and life and all of those things or whether you're just finding yourself in a place of believing lies in your own mind about yourself.

You don't know what to believe about why you're here and what you were put on this earth to do or whether you're feeling hopeless with all of the opinions and media outlet news things that are being spewed your way. And you're just confused by all the messages out there. And you're just like, I don't know what to believe. I don't know what's real with all the AI, with all the news outlets. it's like, I don't know what to believe. It can just feel super overwhelming and we can feel really, really bound in our minds,

not only by what's happening around us, but also what's happening in our own hearts and minds. And so I do. I think this book is really for everybody, no matter your age, no matter where you're at with your faith, I think this is a message you never really graduate from. I honestly wrote it from a super vulnerable place and I even have to go back to it and remind myself of the truth when I wake up on certain days. start believing lies. And so it's a message that even honestly, like, I have to live out every day. So we do get to talk about this amazing book. But we also are going to bring up some recent

headlines as we Google the name Madison Pruitt Trout that have come up. And I think it's only appropriate for the people that will be picking up this book. And I do agree that those who are wanting to live in truth and to learn from you, probably could get the opportunity to have an explanation and a little more insight into it. It's really what I wanted to do for an hour. I just want to talk to you about your life. You're doing a lot of good things, a lot of really cool things. And recently, you've made headlines. And goodness gracious, kid, I've learned a lot about you. Maddie, before he goes there, when you hear him introduce this, like, does your heart drop? Do you feel awkward? You're like, oh, here we go.

Are you like, hey, I put it out there. I am ready to talk. I think it's one of those things that it's so funny. I forget, and I don't know if this happens to you guys, but I like genuinely forget. Like, I just share what I'm going through, what's on my heart and talk in such a way that it just feels like it's such a safe space, you know?

And then things just get taken out of context or someone take something and runs with it. And then the next thing I know, I'm on People magazine, e-news, and us weekly, and I'm just like, oh, well, what, what happened? What I say? No, I wish I could be that free. I wish I could feel that free. We're here like, could that be interpreted like that? Should we cut that little part out?

No, I truly, I don't know. I think too, because my audience is so, like, faith world and I do so much ministry. And that really is so much of, like, my life now. I kind of, like, forget about, like, Bachelor World a little bit. And it's funny how sometimes I get just thrown right back in with just, you know, something, something random. So it is, it definitely triggers. Like I think there's moments where I get like re-triggered and, you know, I'm like, wow, it's really, really hard being misunderstood. Like, that is for sure the feeling.

And really, really sad by when people, you know, don't understand, I guess, your heart or like if I say something in a way that was just not the way in which I meant it. And then I feel really bad. And I'm like, wait, I want to explain. But then I don't want to seem like I'm like, so it triggers a lot of feelings for sure. There's a deep dive we could go into those moments of who do you lean on and how do you process it. When do you choose to speak out up or when do you just choose to let the noise die down? I think that's a very interesting thing for kind of us who live in that world to understand. And I don't know if the listeners always love to hear, you know, a bunch of people with a following and a platform talk about, you know, the issues with saying something publicly because I think we do have a responsibility here.

And I want you to have the opportunity to explain yourself or to elaborate on some of these. The big headline here recently is that you and Grant, and I really wanted to hear from Grant on this, too, talked about your intentions for kind of punishment or or how you're going to guide your daughter, who's beautiful, and about the same age as Wendy, by the way, in life. And it was talked about spanking. Spanking was a big thing here. I would love to understand the context for this, how you handled the pushback and criticism.

I also know you have such a huge heart for evangelism and for bringing people to a faith in Jesus. And so I imagine, and I'm not going to make assumptions here, you can tell me if I'm wrong, but I just know you well enough to know your heart that you want people from the outside who maybe don't have a similar faith system to you or a faith tradition to you to hear things from you and be guided into your world and maybe not be pushed away from it. And so I'm sure these were tough moments for you not only because of your heart but professionally. So we got a moment here.

I'd love to hear anything you want to share. Yeah. You know, I think before every podcast that I record, like Grant and I just take a moment and we just hit our knees and we pray and we're like, we don't want to do any of this to bring people to us. We want to do everything that we do and everything that we say to bring people to God. And I, you know, my book is called Dare to Be True. My podcast is called Stay True, like really wholeheartedly feeling, I feel, I feel. feel led to speak the truth. And sometimes that's the really hard truth and the things that I think a lot of people may shy away from or, you know, that causes rise in people or that people, you know, strongly

disagree with. And so there's been lots of little things here and there. Of course, in the last, like, probably a few months, there's been really big headliners, which is, it was like back to back weeks. I was like, you guys, I need a break. I just need a second to catch up. But I'm also, you know, I'm not surprised by it. I think in one case, there's situations where I take a stand for something that's true and something that's biblical and the Bible is clear that there will be persecution and pushback and people who don't understand. And I understand that I understand that aspect of it. And then I think that there's another side to things where there's moments where I learn. And I'm like, wow, I said that in a way or, you know, Grant said that in a way that wasn't how we intended for it to come.

across and that wasn't what we intended for it to feel like and you know in the context of that particular podcast we did a whole podcast on god's discipline and um just how you know biblically it talks about in scripture how god disciplines those that he loves and what is god's discipline and how do you know if you're being disciplined by god um you know this podcast was recorded like two or three months before it came out like and so then when it came out we were just like so surprised I think, and taken back about the response and reaction to it. And when we went back and watched the part that got taken, you know, I will say a little out of context of what went viral, we, I think we're just really,

really saddened and it was really hard. Like we've spent, I mean, still to this day, the last two months, we haven't spoken about it publicly. And just have spent the last couple of months just praying and bringing our community into it and really wrestling. and taking it before the Lord of just like, you know, how can we learn from this? How can we grow from this? And I think we have a desire to bring on, you know, a couple of professionals in this space

to just like talk about it openly and just learn. You know, we kind of spoke from a place of like, our daughter is seven months old. We have not even had to have this conversation yet about, you know, what we're going to do whenever she, you know, says no and yells in mommy's face. Like we haven't had to have this moment of like, what are we going to do? Like she hasn't even spoken her first word yet. And so I think we just were kind of speaking flippantly and really, yeah, walked away from that where we were like, wow, we need to be really careful with how things

come across and with how we say things. But yeah, just have been taken this time to really like process through it and pray through it. And, and then also learned like, yeah, wow, things can get taken out of context. And that was definitely not our heart behind it. Our heart is like you said, Ben, I mean, for everybody to come to say true podcast, they hear the gospel presentation, they hear the truth and they feel welcomed wherever they're at on their faith journey. And they're not feeling judged or they're not wanting to run from it or be resistant to it, but that they feel invited and like they can come and be a part of it. and hopefully grow from it. So we're learning just like everybody else. And like you said, you know, a lot of times we say things and it's like in a public way, you just like people make these comments all the time. But then when you do it in a public way and people take it out of context, it's just like,

okay, like wow, this is, I'm just learning. We're all learning and we're growing. And that's what Grant and I are just trying to do. Just ask God, like how can we learn and grow from this and how do you want to make good of all this? My name is Ed. Everyone say, hello Ed. I'm from a very rural background myself. My dad is a farmer, and my mom is a cousin.

So, like, it's not like... What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke, but that really was my reality nine years ago. I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. On stage stood a comedian with a story that, no one expected to hear. Well, 22nd of July 2015, a 23-year-old man had killed his family.

And then he came to my house. So what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? A new podcast called Wisecrack, where stand-up comedy and murder takes center stage. Available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is a tape-recorded statement. The person being interviewed is Krista Gail Pike. This is in regards to the death of a Colleen slimmer.

She started going off on me, and I hit her. I just hit her and hit her and hit her and hit her. On a cold January day in 1995, 18-year-old Krista Pike killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in the woods of Knoxville, Tennessee. Since her conviction, Krista has been sitting on death row. The state has asked for an execution date for Krista. We let people languish in prison for decades, raising questions about who we consider fundamentally unrestorable. How does someone prove that they deserve to live?

We are starting the recording now. Please state your first and last name. Krista Pike Listen to Unrestorable Season 2 Proof of Life on the IHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts Hi, my name is

Enya Yumanzoor And I'm Drew Phillips And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom If you're a crime junkie And you love crimes We're not the podcast for you But if you have unmedicated

ADHD, Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. Hello, Puzzlers.

Let's start with a quick puzzle. The answer is Ken Jennings' appearance on The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs. The question is, what is the most entertaining listening experience in podcast? land. Jeopardy truthers who say that you were given all the answers believe in... I guess they would be conspiracy theorists. That's right. Are there Jeopardy truthers? Are there people who say that it was rigged? Yeah, ever since I was first on, people are like, they gave you the answers, right? And then there's the other ones which are like, they gave you the answers and you still blew it.

Don't miss Jeopardy legend Ken Jennings on our special game show week of the Puzzler podcast. The puzzler is the best place to get your daily word puzzle fix. Listen on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Pretty Private with Ebeney, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free. I'm Ebeney and every Tuesday I'll be sharing all new anonymous stories that would challenge your perceptions and give you a new insight on the people around you. On Pretty Private, we'll explore the untold experiences of women of color who faced it all. Childhood trauma, addiction, abuse, incarceration, grief, mental health struggles, and more.

And found the shrimp to make it to the other side. My dad was shot and killed in his house. Yes, he was a drug dealer. Yes, he was a confidential informant, but he wasn't shot on a street corner. He wasn't shot in the middle of a drug deal. he was shot in his house unarmed. Pretty Private isn't just a podcast. It's your personal guide for turning storylines into lifelines.

Every Tuesday, make sure you listen to Pretty Private from the Black Effect Podcast Network. Tune in on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. This is going to come back to Dare to Be Touch. true. It's interesting. I was just at a Christian leadership conference in Chicago. It's a bunch of young people. It's an incredible little conference led by two people that I think you know. And one of the conversations that I found so interesting that came up, we did a bunch of

breakouts that I think is going to become a very influential topic within the Christian church is accountability because there's a reason we have a bazillion different denominations. There's a reason why there is a million people of faith all believing different things. You and I sit here as people who follow Jesus, Ashley as well, and we would not agree on some of the core elements that we find to be so vital to our faith. We wouldn't. And that's just the truth of the Christian tradition. It's never been unanimous.

And so one of the ways that we work through that is having brothers and sisters and people that we believe in, hold us accountable and allow us to bounce ideas off of. I think it is a way to come to truth, is to allow God to speak through others and allow us to be open to learning. And so as you wrote this book and as you've entered into marriage and parenthood, how has your relationship with truth change? and grown. And where do you lean on for truth? Because here's the truth, Maddie. I've been there. I've done it. You say something publicly that you feel so strongly about in 10 years. I've looked back on things and I put my head in the pillow. I'm like, why were you so dumb? Why were you so confident in that it isn't the way things work out? I look back on my middle school purity movement. I didn't work out the way I thought it was going to. And so there's just this process of learning and

changing that I think is so interesting. And I want to hear your perspective on it. Yeah, I mean, I think I'll take it first with truth and then kind of end with like accountability and people. But I think, you know, you look at, even in scripture in John chapter 18, you see this conversation between this Roman governor and Jesus. And he asked Jesus in John 18, he says, hey, what is truth? And I just see that question being asked in our generation today and so many people searching for the answer to that question of what is truth. And I know for my own life, like there's been a lot of different seasons where I've tried to place that in a lot of different things to search for the meaning of truth or to find my truth or a truth. And there's this kind of like this juxtaposition moment

in scripture in Proverbs and in John chapter 14 where there's this one verse in Proverbs where it says there's a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. And then Jesus says in John 146, I am the way, the truth and the life. And so there's a lot of truths. There are a lot of ways. But what I believe is that when Jesus says he is the truth that there is only one truth and there's only one truth that leads to life and life eternal, I think we live in a time where there's a lot of confusion around truth and what is truth and everyone has like their truth, which is why I really felt led to write this book. And I do, I think to what you're saying, And it's so important when, I mean, we were not made to go through this life, this life alone.

And so, I mean, wherever you're at in your faith journey, but especially as believers, like staying true and daring to be true, it requires having people who believe that around you to hold you accountable to that, to push you closer to that. And so that's a huge part of, I mean, a huge part of my life, a huge part of mine in Grant's life is having those people that aren't afraid to call us out, call us higher, lead us to the truth, remind us of the truth. encourage us with the truth, pray for us. And, I mean, even to what we were just talking about with the podcast stuff, I mean, there's been moments, even a couple weeks ago where we came to our community group and we just sat down together and we were like, hey, guys, this is what's going on. We love, we would love your wise counsel and your wisdom and your prayers. And we just talked about it. We cried together. We prayed together. We opened up the word of God together. And I think that when you build your life on truth about in Matthew 7, when you build your life on the rock of Jesus Christ, like even when storms come and you get knocked, you know, people try to knock you down or things happen that are out of your control or things are going on around you that feel hopeless and hard, when you have your life built on the rock, like you're not going to come crashing down.

And there's another, you know, example that it gives in Matthew 7 of the person who builds on the same. And, you know, that person is called the foolish builder because when you build your life on something that's as flimsy as, you know, my truth, that's up to my feelings and that's up to my, you know, experiences and not on something that's concrete and short and everlasting, that when it comes come and when I start getting attacked by people, when I start getting things going on around me or lies being fed to my mind, like I'm crashing down because now all of a sudden I'm questioning everything. And so for me, having like Jesus, as my anchor, my foundation, my truth, my security is truly everything. So that no matter what's going on, whether it's things in the world like shootings and stabbings and things that feel just so just depressing and hopeless and sad and scary or whether it's just my own mind and feeling intrusive thoughts or binding things in my own mind, like I've got to have a foundation of truth that I can rely on and lean on no matter what. And then having those friends, remind me of that and hold me accountable so that when I'm believing a lie, I'm like,

hey, can I tell you that I'm believing a lie right now? And can you just remind me of what's true? Because I'm honestly just, I'm confused. Maddie, when I'm watching the clip of you guys talking about spanking, I watch it and I see your point of view and I go, that is so like, it's whatever anybody, like that's how she wants to do it. This is how I want to do it. Totally respect either decision in parenting. I think, that what people mostly had an issue with was the way Grant seemed a little bit excited about it. How did you how did you guys navigate that together as a couple, that response? Totally. I mean, again, I think it goes back to what I was just saying of just, like, we've just

been prayerful and, you know, just repenting and also just like inviting people in to that conversation and we haven't you know publicly made any kind of I think we just live in such a culture where it's never enough like if you say something that's fine or not perfect like they demand a statement and we just don't like like like that I'm like no then I'm going to be making statements left and right like all the time we just we have such an offended culture that like if if if they don't agree with what you say or they don't like how you said it they're going to attack and demand an apology. And I just, I think for us, it's like, hey, before we make any kind of, you know, video or address any type of situation, like, we just want to make sure

it's filtered through, like, it's not emotional and it's not reactionary. It's, it's led by wisdom. And we're inviting community into it. And we're responding in a way that is glorifying to God. And, yeah, that's not doing it to play. please people, but that's doing it to please God. And we've just really felt as we've prayed about it to just like wait upon the Lord right now and, you know, just believing that there will be an opportunity for us to like fully address it all and for God to make good of this. But I do think that that was for sure, like the part of it that we just felt really saddened over was the way in which it was said. That's definitely not the way and how we feel. That's not at all. That's not at

all how grant feels um i think the reality is is like that is um like that's his little girl and he loves her so much and um there's no part of him that would yeah i think it just was a moment where it's like when you're at dinner with friends and you're just being silly and then you don't even realize like what you're saying and you're kind of like wait do i even mean what i just said like do wait did I even like I don't think I that came across the right way and I think it was just one of those moments where we were just we were just chatting and talking and kind of having a moment of being silly about a subject that we we weren't even fully like informed on and that we haven't even fully discussed together and and then it you know and then it came out and people have

a lot of opinions and we're brand new to this parenting world and so I didn't know that there was this many opinions about parenting world. And so, you know, we're just, we're brand new to all this. And I just always believe in learning and growing. I think there's always a part that you can own. And then I always think that there's, you know, there may be truth to some of the things that we were saying. And then there's also like some things we can own with it. And so it's just this like, Lord, how do we, how do we guide this? And we're just, we've been taking it to God and and to our friends. No, I totally understand

what you're saying about statement culture. It's like, you said this about this, but you didn't say something about this and it's like. Right.

Yeah, that made sense, Ashley. You guys know what I mean? You can't win. You can't win. Thank you. Yeah, and I'm the king of saying things

at a dinner table with friends that the next morning I wake up and be like, I shouldn't have said that. That was dumb. I'm sorry, Jessica. Is that going to get out in the mainstream?

Yeah, I continue to be the weird one in this relationship. Matt, before we really do the quick transition to strictly about dare to be true, you said that your hope, that grants hope, that your relational hope, that your entire hope is to point people to the truth, which is Jesus. And that is the solid rock and foundation. That's awesome. But I think in today's world, and this is my creative way of transitioning us to dare to be

true, with AI and noise and statement culture and things being said and things being said that maybe you have to backtrack on or explain a little more, I think our world is struggling with so much noise and so much information that sometimes it's hard to even answer the question who is Jesus. And what exactly are you telling me, Maddie? Because you say you're pointing me to this thing that's true. You're pointing me to this God that loves. You're pointing me to this God that saves. But I don't even really know what you're talking about because there's a thousand things below that that confuse me. And so when you say that, can you define a little clear of what exactly you're trying to point people to? Yeah. Yeah. Okay, well, we all want to know

truth and we all want to be free. And the two go hand in hand. Jesus says, I am the way the truth and the life. And then in John 832, Jesus says, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. And so the question is really not a matter of what is truth, but rather who is truth. And scripture is clear that that person is Jesus. And when we, you know, walk around with our truth and your truth, eventually our truth will be confronted with the truth. And the truth is the only truth that will lead to real life and real freedom. And you, just look at our world today. I mean, you just see an increase as, you know, the freedom of expression movements and that your truth, live your truth and all these different, you know,

opinions, AI, all these things that have increased. You see also an increase in, and suicide and murder and hopelessness, in depression, and anxiety and all of these different things. But if you, if we were to all, say like none of us believe in Jesus, like my encouragement would be to just start reading in the book of John and ask, pray, ask Jesus, hey, will you reveal yourself to me? If you really are who you say you are, show me, prove it. And I have seen every single time that prayer get answered. And I see a generation.

I mean, right now I've been a part of a ministry where we've been going across college campuses and we're experiencing and seeing thousands and thousands and thousands of college students who are so hungry and they're so desperate for something that's real, for something that lasts, for something that provides real peace and real hope and real joy. And what they're seeing is these things that the world promises of truth and freedom and where life is found just leaves them more empty. And so we're having these conversations with college students.

And I can even say that from my own personal experience in my past, of trying to find those things in a relationship, trying to find those things in a following, trying to find those things in materialism, trying to find those things in a friend, trying to, you name it, in money, whatever it may be. And you see these college students come forward and they're like, man, I've tried everything. I've tried to find it in drugs, alcohol, relationships, sex, social media. I mean, everything, you name it. And there's got to be more because I feel so empty. and so my at the same time as I'm saying we have a very real god and he is the truth and he is the way the reality is is that we also have a very real enemy and Satan is not this like silly cartoon villain in character he is an enemy who comes in to steal kill and destroy he lies he deceives he tempts

because he wants to see us bound he wants to see us hopeless and that's the reality is that there is good versus evil, that there is a good God that leads us to life and that wants to see us live in freedom. And there is an enemy who his ways lead to death and he wants to see us live in bondage. And so there is a wrestle and there is a struggle. And what I believe is like when we experience the truth of Jesus Christ and when we choose to believe the lie or when we choose to believe the truth. We defeat the liar and we defeat those lies that have been binding us. And so, yeah, that's what I would say is Jesus has changed my life and he can change yours too. And when we choose to just say, hey, Jesus, reveal yourself to me, I want to follow you,

I want to know you. All of the questions that we have are all the things that are so confusing or like, wow, the Bible is so intense. And I'm just, I have so many questions and I have so many feelings. It just starts little by little. Like you don't just have this overnight, like, moment where you understand everything about everything. I still have questions. I still have things that I'm learning and growing in. And Jesus doesn't ask you to do all the right things and have it all figured out and get cleaned up to come to him. Jesus did all the right things for you, took all of his uncleanliness upon himself. And he came to us. And that is what makes Christianity different than every other religion and why I choose to follow Jesus as.

the truth because he is God who came to me instead of all the other religions that say you got to be good enough to get to God. And that's what I love about our Jesus. I'm glad you said that you still have questions because I think curiosity is my spiritual gift. I don't know in my many, many years of following Jesus if I will ever have all the answers. But my, with reading this book, dare to be true, and say somebody does come face to face with the divine. What is your hope from there? Because this world is noisy. And I don't want to, I don't want to disregard that or say, hey, everything does make sense. Or the 50 different Christian movements that are all saying different things and standing for different things, all will become clear to you. And so,

What is your hope by somebody reading this and having a confrontation with the divine and hoping that this book maybe allows them some path forward to helping them understand this whole thing? What do you say to those people? Well, Jesus makes a very bold and clear claim that he is the only way to eternal life. And so my hope and prayer is that every single person who reads this book chooses to follow Jesus. And because of that, they have eternal life. it talks about in scripture that the road to life is narrow and few find it. And there is a very

broad and wide path that leads to destruction. And we live in a culture that says, hey, all paths lead to heaven. You can be a good person. You can be good enough and work your way there. And Jesus says that's not true. Good works, religion, moral living. It can't save you. Your political party, your church attendance, your upbringing, the family you were raised in, owning a Bible, having a cross necklace, having a Bible verse in your Instagram bio, those things don't save you. Those things don't make you a Christian. Only his grace and faith in him and choosing to follow him makes you a follower of Jesus. And John 146, he says, I'm the way the truth in the life. No one comes to the father except through me. And so any teaching that says otherwise,

any other religion, any other person that speaks otherwise, it may sound loving and inclusive in the moment, but it's ultimately unloving because it leads to eternal separation from God. And so I pray that every person who reads Dare to Be True has an encounter, like you said, with the divine, they have an encounter with this Jesus who, yes, makes a very exclusive claim of he is the only way to eternal life, but it's also the most inclusive invitation. It is addressed to everybody. Every single person can make a decision to follow Jesus. And so I pray that all of the questions and confusions maybe get answered or maybe. Maybe they don't. And you just start this journey with Jesus and you continue to ask for wisdom and you continue to study the Bible and bring in godly community and get plugged into a local church. And you figure those questions out. There's certain things we won't understand. There's certain things about this world that we live in because it's so broken and because it's sinful that are confusing and that are frustrating and the division, the hatred, the violence, the injustice, you name it. but what we know as Christians and as believers is that heaven is our home. And so this life on earth is going to be full of a lot of brokenness. But I also know that I'm living for a much better life. And that's my prayer for every person that reads this book is that they get saved,

they find Jesus, and that we get to spend eternity together. My name is Ed. Everyone say hello Ed. From a very rural background myself, my dad is a farmer and my mom is a cousin, so like it's not like... What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke, but that really was my reality nine years ago.

I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. On stage stood a comedian. with a story that no one expected to hear. Well, 22nd of July 2015, a 23-year-old man had killed his family. And then he came to my house. So what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? A new podcast called Wisecrack,

where stand-up comedy and murder takes center stage. Available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is a tape recorder statement. The person being interviewed is Krista Gail Pike, which is in regards to the death of a Colleen slimmer. She started going off on me, and I hit her. I just hit her and hit her and hit her. On a cold January day in 1995, 18-year-old Krista Pike killed 19.

19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, in the woods of Knoxville, Tennessee. Since her conviction, Krista has been sitting on death row. The state has asked for an execution date for Krista. We let people languish in prison for decades, raising questions about who we consider fundamentally unrestorable. How does someone prove that they deserve to live? We are starting the recording now. Please state your first and last name.

Krista Pike. Listen to Unrestorable Season 2, Proof of Life, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, my name is Enya Yumanzoor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect.

And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. Hello, Puzzlers. Let's start with a quick puzzle. The answer is Ken Jennings' appearance on The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs.

The question is, what is the most entertaining listening experience in podcast land? Jeopardy truthers who say that you were given all the answers believe in... I guess they would be conspiracy theorists. That's right. Are there Jeopardy truthers? Are there people who say that it was rigged? Yeah, ever since I was first on, people are like, they gave you the answers, right? And then there's the other ones which are like, they gave you the answers and you still blew it.

Don't miss Jeopardy legend Ken Jennings on our special game show week of the Puzzler podcast. the puzzler is the best place to get your daily word puzzle fix listen on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts imagine that you're on an airplane and all of a sudden you hear this attention passengers the pilot is having an emergency and we need someone anyone to land this plane think you could do it it turns out that nearly 50% of men think that they could land the plane with the help of air traffic control. And they're saying like, okay, pull this, until this.

Pull that. Turn this. It's just... I can do my eyescloth. I'm Manny. I'm Noah. This is Devin. And on our new show, no such thing. We get to the bottom of questions like these. Join us as we talk to the leading expert on overconfidence. Those who lack expertise lack the expertise they need to recognize that they lack expertise. And then as we try the whole thing out for real. Wait, what? Oh, that's the run right.

I'm looking at this thing. Listen to no such thing on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You mentioned AI in this book and the confusing elements of AI. It's not going anywhere.

It's one of the topics that I'm most curious about right now, and we have a ton, really in the last two years, tons of debate on transhumanism and the idea that humans were created in God's image and can continue to become like God if we live longer. All these things are very interesting debates. And you have people well-intentioned that I cannot say who are or are not followers of Jesus. That's not my place, making great arguments on both sides. So as you consider AI and as you consider the advancements in technology and also

what AI is doing to confuse us with fake things in this world, I guess like as you wrote this and as you processed all these things, kind of where was your mind at? How did it spit you out? And then what do you hope people learn about it? Yeah. I mean, I do. I think it's so, it's such a good question to be like what we all feel like what is real what can I trust because there's so many things out there that you're like I don't know if that's real or if that's AI like I don't know if that actually happened or someone created this on some crazy software system so I I now am feeling what's wild is actually started writing this book before AI I feel like really became like popular I feel like when I first started writing this book it was kind of more people who were just like super super

into that kind of stuff knew about it and now you know like chat GPT everybody's on it like 24-7 all the time. So it's different now my book coming out versus when I wrote it, which is crazy because it feels more relevant. This message feels more relevant even now than when I first started writing it. But I do. I think that that question is a very fair question of what's real and what can I trust. And that's what I do. I see a generation asking that question of they just want to know what they can trust. They just want to know what's real. And I think at the same time, you can use something like AI as a tool. I don't think it ever should be used to replace, you know, your ability to be curious on your own and to search and to research and to create and to be creative.

I think where it can get dangerous is it can rob us of hard work, of creativity, of, you know, having to like, yeah, put in the work to do a lot of research. And so that's where I think we have to be careful. And I think at the same time, it can be a tool if it's to. did well. For me, I'm never going to use AI to replace like my time with Jesus. I'm not going to like treat it as Jesus where I'm asking chat, GBT, like questions that I would just ask Jesus. However, um, I do use it sometimes to be like, hey, can you explain this verse a little bit more? Can you give me some like backup context? Like what, who, who wrote this verse in the vibe? Like, and then I also like to ask it lots of questions about, um, even like, you know, okay,

Hosanna is coming up on nine months. Like, is there anything I need to know, chat? Like, what do I need to know? What do I need to read? And so I think that it can be used as a tool. I just think it gets dangerous when it robs us of our ability to work hard and be creative. And so I think, yeah, you just, you kind of wrestle with that and just ask, like, am I using this as a crutch?

Am I allowing this to replace, like, everything, like community? I mean, people use it even as just like their place to, like, vent and to, and to open up. But I think that can get dangerous too because you've got to have community in your life. You got to have people around you that know what's going on and know how to be there for you and know how to love you and pray for you. And so, yeah, I think it's just a balance the same way a lot of things are. And you just see it as a tool, but not like a replacement of good things that God created. Yeah. Sometimes I get freaked out when like a friend's like, oh, but my chat should we tease my best friend and i'm like please no please know i know you're kind of joking there but you

know um mattie as ben said earlier in the podcast there have been headlines and there's been one that we would just people would be like how did you not ask her about that so the one a couple months ago about your previous addiction to porn and masturbation um when you said that on the podcast and it made headlines was that another moment where you're just like oh, whoops. I was just free, free, just talking too freely right there. Or are you really glad that that message got out there to your audience? No, I'm really glad that that message got out there. I talk about it a lot in my book. I have a whole chapter on it. I think what's so interesting is that, you know, the enemy often wants to identify us by our scars, but Jesus says, no, no, no, I identify you by

my scars. And so the very thing that used to keep me bound, like now I get to boast in it and be like, yeah, that used to keep me stuck. Like, that used to be my struggle. That used to be an addiction in high school. And, uh, and of course, like, you know, the headlines make it want to seem like it was like last year. But, um, you know, this was, this was something that I struggled with in high school. And for so long, it kept me bound and it kept me from living, um, a life of freedom and purpose and confidence and just the life that Jesus died to give me. And, um, and so I want to, I want to talk about it. There's so many girls. I mean, you, you talk about not even in just like the space of people who don't know Jesus. You talk about in churches, you talk about at Christian camps,

you talk about in the most faith spaces. This is a really big struggle for a lot of girls. And so I will always be the first to, I think vulnerability breeds vulnerability. And I think it creates an opportunity for others to follow and say, yeah, I've actually struggled with this too. And I actually had multiple people message me and just be like, hey, I've never told anyone this struggle. And after listening to your podcast, it gave me the courage and the confidence to share this with some friends. And I think that we have done a really big disservice in the church and in the world when we talk about purity. I think it sparks very strong reactions. I mean, I learned that even when I went on The Bachelor and talked about, you know, saving myself for

marriage and fantasy suites and all of that stuff. I mean, it sparked a lot of strong reactions. And I think there's a lot of distorted teachings out there. But my heart behind purity is yes, to address, and God's heart, really, behind purity is yes, to address, you know, what we do with our body. But it's way beyond that. It says in Matthew 5, 8, blessed are the pure and heart for they will see God. It's so much more about our heart, our thoughts, our motives, our desires. And what I want to see is this generation, I want to see this generation free.

And I think there's a lot of people that are bound in this. area when it comes to sexual sin and sexual sin addictions, a lot of people that you wouldn't even expect. And a lot of people who have just been hiding it for so long, but I believe that purity is a blessing God wants to give us, not something he wants to withhold from us or take from us. Purity is truly the path to God's presence. It's the path to freedom. And it's an invitation for every one of us to experience his experience his very best for our lives. Maddie, how do you find the strength to come out and say something like this publicly? Obviously, you know, you and I both grew up in the church.

We both probably were familiar with the purity movement dances and conferences and rings that came across the stages. And we made some commitment to our parents at a very young age to never have sex with anybody, which looking back was probably super awkward for everybody involved in that. There is a better way. Goodness gracious, I went to college for, two years of my life to teach sex ed in churches. There's just not a market for it, shockingly. So this is a big topic and obviously one that affects so many.

So you come out and publicly say something like this that is very vulnerable, but then also you have the desire to be a good parent and to walk Hosanna through this process. I guess just elaborate, if you can, on where you find the strength and then what's your hopes for your daughter? Yeah, for so long, I, too, to what you were just. talking about and referencing, I thought that purity meant I just had to have a really good reputation. I needed to be perfect. God was going to punish me if I had sex with someone. My parents were going to be so mad at me if I had sex with someone. And it was just like it was all

about sex. It was all about what people thought. It was all about what I looked like on the outside. It was all about reputation. And it was all about me. And so for so long, it created, like there wasn't even freedom in me making that decision or even a desire to make that decision. It was more, I feel like I have to make this decision or I'm going to be punished. And so I, my heart is that people understand that purity really is it's a gift and it leads to the life that Jesus wants us to have. And I hope that when I communicate that to my daughter,

or I share with her, you know, mommy's worst mistakes and also the lies that mommy believed about purity for so long and where I went wrong and then also presenting her with what scripture says and with what truth says and why it's following that truth that leads to freedom and that leads to life. I think about it like for the longest time I thought purity was like, you know, when your parents would come up and be like, I need you to clean your room. And so you just like shove everything under your bed and you're like I'm good you know and they come in and they're like I don't see mess so great job and the reality is is that we just moved the mess to another place and I think that's what happened so often when we think about purity it's like oh I just have to

hide it I just have to cover it up I just have to make sure I look good on the outside and that nobody else sees this mess or this struggle or this sin whereas God when you read throughout scripture you see like God cares so much more about our heart and you can can look really clean on the outside, but if your heart is full of impurity or, um, you know, jealousy or hatred or whatever the sin may be, um, that is an impure, unclean heart. And so that's really what I want people to, um, to take from this book, what I would want my daughter to know. And, um, that it has when I, when I fell for the lie of living in impurity, it led to bondage and shame and disappointment and self-hatred and so many other things. Um, but when I,

I chose to follow what Jesus's truth was on the path to life, which is living a life of holiness and purity, it truly did lead to freedom. Like, it led to joy. It led to peace. It led to purpose and confidence. I mean, to even what you're talking about, Ben, of like, how do you have the strength or the confidence to talk about these things? I mean, one, I know that my life is not my own. And one day, I'm going to be face to face with my creator. And I'm going to have to give an account for my life. And I don't want to hear, you know, like, why didn't you speak about these things? Why didn't you stand firm on these things? And my response, be well, I was so worried about what other people were going to think about me. I've always been someone that I'm like,

I don't care what anybody thinks. Like, this is what I know is true. And this is what I know has led me to freedom. And I want everybody to experience this freedom. And so that's really my heart is like, I want to please God. And I want other people to experience this freedom that I get to live and experience every day. Final question for you. Dare to be true. Fords written by Jonathan, J.P. Cluda. The subtitle is defeat the lies that bind you and live out the truth that sets you

free. Maddie, for the reader, what is your hope that they get from this book? What is your hope that they close the book, feeling, learning, experiencing? Why would somebody read it? give us like your minute long sales pitch. Wow. Well, my hope is that you find Jesus and that there is a realization of the seriousness of sin and that you no longer have to carry shame or be bound by the lies that the enemy wants

you to believe that there is a better way, that there is a way that leads to light and love and hope and peace, that there is a way that leads to you experiencing and living out your true God-given purpose and your true God-given identity and living a life that impacts and blesses other people. And so if you're feeling like there's got to be something more, I'm so bound and I don't even know why. I don't know why I feel so like something is just sucking the life out of me. My encouragement is read this book. You're going to find that there is so much more for you. And Jesus has a better way for you. And I'm excited for you to start that adventure. all right guys well dare to be true is out september 23rd and it is available for pre-order right now

thank you guys this is so fun and thank you winnie thank you mattie yeah when he was here guest hosting for free she doesn't get paid for this it's awesome oh good thanks mattie we'll see thanks mattie good luck with a book it's gonna do great i'm sure bye so much so fun bye guys bye famous podcasts on iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? Answer, a new podcast called Wisecrack, where a comedian finds himself at the center of a chilling true crime story.

Does anyone know what show they've come to see? It's a story. It's about the scariest night of my life. This is Wisecrack, available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On a cold January day in 1995, 18-year-old Krista Pike killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in the woods of Knoxville, Tennessee. Since her conviction, Krista has been sitting on death row. How does someone prove that they deserve to live?

We are starting the recording now. Please state your first and last name. Krista Pike. Listen to Unrestorable Season 2, Proof of Life, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, my name is Enya Yumanzoor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you.

But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. Do you want to hear the secrets of psychopaths, murderers, sex offenders?

In this episode, I offer tips from them. I'm Dr. Leslie, forensic psychologist. This is a podcast where I cut through the noise with real talk. When you were described to me as a forensic psychologist, I was like snooze. We ended up talking for hours, and I was like, like, Like, this girl is my best friend. Let's talk about safety and strategies to protect yourself and your loved ones. Listen to intentionally disturbing on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Lauren came in hot. From standout speeches to the shows and stars making all of the history, my podcast, the latest with Lauren the Rosa, has your full Emmy's breakdown. The wins, the surprises, the cultural impact, and what it really means for us. I'm a homegirl that knows a little bit about everything and everybody. Listen to the latest with Lauren the Rosa from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeartRadio app. You can get it at Apple Podcast or wherever you listen to your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast.