Curiously with Ericka Graham

In this conversation, Dr. Kelly Edmiston describes how to practice, parent, and participate in an embodied faith, through the lens of spiritual sexuality. While many Christian communities have trouble navigating language about sex and sexual ethics, Dr. Edmiston offers a holistic approach that is both practical and deeply theological. More about Dr. Kelly Edmiston:Dr. Edmiston is the Lead Pastor at the Vineyard Church in the Sugar Land Stafford area of Texas, and she has spent more than 20 years in ministry in both domestic and international contexts. Her passion is to see the Church be the Church for the sake of the world. She holds a Master of Divinity from Abilene Christian University and a Doctorate of Ministry in Leadership and Spiritual Formation from Portland Seminary. Kelly also works as an Adjunct Bible Professor at both Abilene Christian University and Houston Christian University. Kelly's first book, Spiritual Sexuality, will be published in the summer of 2026 with NavPress Publishing.  Kelly enjoys Sugar Land “suburban life” with her husband, Ben, and their three children. Show Note Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kmedmiston?igsh=MTZqNm5sdHA0c2ZxZQ== Substack: https://kellyedmiston.substack.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelly.m.edmiston "Bodies Are Cool" by Tyler Feder: https://a.co/d/hlEAhsA We love to connect with our community and listeners! Email us at thecuriouslypodcast@gmail.com to share a story about the moment you first felt disembodied in your life.   

Welcome to Season 2 of Curiously with Ericka Graham! We are so glad you're here!

In this episode, Ericka Graham interviews KC Davis, author of "How to Keep House While Drowning," who shares her compassionate approach to managing household chores amidst mental health challenges and overwhelming life circumstances. Davis discusses her personal journey that inspired her to develop shame-free methods prioritizing function over form and self-compassion, and offers listeners a refreshing perspective on housekeeping that prioritizes mental health over perfection. More about KC Davis:  KC Davis is a licensed professional counselor, author, speaker, and the person behind the mental health platform Struggle Care.KC’s compassionate and practical approach to self and home care for those dealing with mental health, physical illness, and hard seasons of life has drawn over a million followers on social media in less than a year. Her book, “How to Keep House While Drowning'' has sold over 70,000 copies and is currently an Amazon bestseller.KC Davis began her therapy journey at 16 when she entered treatment for drug addiction and mental health issues. After getting sober she became a speaker and advocate for mental health and recovery. Professionally, KC has worked most of her career in the field of addiction in roles such a therapist, consultant, and executive director. She lives in Houston with her husband and two daughters.  Links: website: https://www.strugglecare.com/struggle-careIG:  https://www.instagram.com/strugglecare/Book: https://www.strugglecare.com/book

In this Episode, Ericka sits down with her good friend Judy Le to talk about her story as a Vietnamese refugee, and how that beginning has shaped her beliefs about building trust, leading with courage, and adapting for change today. In this episode, Judy and Ericka also explore questions about what it means to be human . . . as well as what it means to be at a Beyoncé concert. More about Judy:Judy Le has over 20 years of leadership development experience. As CEO of TakeRoot, Judy works with clients to create meaningful change in their work and communities. Before starting TakeRoot, she served as the director of Leadership Rice at Rice University. She is currently an instructor at Rice University where she teaches all the courses of the Glasscock leadership certificate. She also serves as a lead facilitator for the American Leadership Forum.Judy came to America as a Vietnamese refugee and saw firsthand how leadership is needed at all levels of communities and organizations. Her experiences have shaped her approach - to embrace uncertainty, get clarity around what matters most, and build trusting relationships. Having experienced massive changes in half a lifetime, Judy sees leadership as an activity that ignites moral courage and imagination in service of creating positive change.Judy started her career at Deloitte Consulting as a change leadership practitioner and then as program director for Leadership Houston. She serves on the boards of the National American Leadership Forum, EMERGE Fellowship, Post Oak School, and on the advisory boards of the Young Center and Asia Society. Judy is trained in adaptive leadership through Harvard Kennedy School of Government, completed the Social Justice Institute's training program, and is a Board Certified and Team Performance Certified coach. She earned her graduate degree at the University of Texas and her bachelor's degree at Rice University.Judy calls Houston, Texas home. She enjoys gathering people in her kitchen around food and conversation, embarrassing her three kids with really witty/bad puns, and cuddling with her very aloof yet charismatic dog. Links:https://gotakeroot.com – Judy’s Websitehttp://www.oriahmountaindreamer.com – The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/judy-le-68b9305/ LinkedInhttps://www.instagram.com/gotakeroot/?hl=en Instagram Ending song- 'Ties' by Dani SpotifyApple Music   

In this Episode, Ericka sits down with her friend fahad punjwani, to talk about the deepening questions that they often explore together within their friendship.  These questions include what Taylor Swift has taught them about themselves, and how some of life’s biggest questions come with so much contraction and tension. More about fahad punjwani (he/they)fahad is a strategist, designer, poet, and uncle. He was raised in Karachi, Pakistan and now proudly calls Houston home. His vision is to root change in beauty, liberation, and dialogue.As a management consultant and a design strategist, fahad has spent a decade working with Fortune 500 companies and non-profits on developing new visions, new products, and new teams. He has taught and spoken on design thinking at MIT, Rice University, and the University of Texas at Austin.fahad completed graduate work at MIT in product and human-centered design. There, he also spent a lot of time designing for belonging and inclusion. fahad completed his undergraduate studies at Rice University in Mathematical Economic Analysis. There, he also spent a lot of time taking classes in history and theater, and building culture at his residential college.You can find fahad enjoying poetry and coffee in one of the craft coffee shops in Houston, dancing in his living room, and spending time with his nephews. Links and mentions:Miyamoto Musashi said, “Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.” fahad’s Monthly Musings newsletter: https://theprocessissuch.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=bd9391e2c49cecd76016b7b31&id=e0a063d184 fahad’s Company, Suchee Studios:  https://www.theprocessissuch.com

In this interview, Ericka sits down with her friend Mia Mends, who was named “one of the Most Powerful Women in Corporate America” by Black Enterprise. The two discuss how Mia leads with courage, integrity, and radical hope—and not just in the office and board rooms—but at home too. More about Mia:Mia Mends is the Chief Executive Officer of C&W Services—a division of Cushman & Wakefield. She currently oversees operations across the US and Canada and Puerto Rico, with nearly 13,000 people serving clients across a variety of industries.Prior to joining C&W Services, Mia spent a decade in senior leadership roles at Sodexo, where she designed an integrated target operating model for the $10 billion business while leading the productivity and performance of 160,000 employees.Mia currently serves on the board of directors for the EMERGE Fellows program and on the Business Leadership Council at Wellesley College. She is also a corporate director at H&R Block and Limeade Inc.Mia holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wellesley College. She has been named by Black Enterprise as one of the Most Powerful Women in Corporate America.Mia is fluent in Spanish and conversant in Portuguese. Links for Mia:https://www.linkedin.com/in/miamends/

In this episode, Ericka Graham sits down with the professor that first introduced her to Biblical Studies at Rice University, Dr. Mattias Henze. The two discuss the power of asking questions, and what it means to hold onto a Christian faith while using other texts and religions to improve literacy.  About Dr. Henze:Matthias Henze was born and raised in Hanover, Germany. In 1992 he earned a Master of Divinity from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and moved to the United States to pursue a Ph.D. in Harvard’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. After completing his doctorate in 1997, Dr. Henze joined Rice’s department of religion, where he is now the Isla Carroll and Percy E. Turner Professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism.His areas of interest include the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Jewish literature and thought at the time of the Second Temple, apocalyptic literature, and the Qumran fragments. In particular, Dr. Henze focuses on those early texts that never became part of the Jewish Bible - often subsumed under the labels ‘Apocrypha’ and ‘Pseudepigrapha’ – and what we can learn when these texts are read side by side with the canonical writings.Dr. Henze has written and edited ten books. While at Rice he has won five teaching/mentoring Awards. He was also named a founding fellow of Rice’s Center for Teaching Excellence. In 2009 he founded Rice’s Program in Jewish Studies, of which he continues to serve as director. Book Links:Israel's Scriptures in Early Christian Writings: The Use of the Old Testament in the New Mind the Gap: How the Jewish Writings between the Old and New Testament Help Us Understand Jesus  

In this episode, Ericka Graham sits down with her friend Joshua Carney to talk about his time as a Pastor leading a church community, and his recent month-long manic episode that took his friends and family by surprise. This is a casual and conversational episode, as two friends exchange their honest lived experiences. More about Joshua Carney:Joshua served as the Pastor for the University Baptist Church in Waco for 15 years, and now he currently serves as the Chief of Staff for the Waco Family Medicine Foundation, a FQHC, that aims to bring high quality primary health care to Texas’s most vulnerable populations.  

In this episode, Ericka Graham sits down with Dr. Elizabeth McIngvale to discuss her own OCD diagnosis, and exchange stories about what it means to surrender and live a life of faith and recovery.  Dr. Elizabeth McIngvale, Ph.D. is the director of the OCD Institute of Texas and adjunct faculty at Baylor College of Medicine. Elizabeth founded the Peace of Mind foundation and OCDChallenge.org (a self-help website for OCD), both now within the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF). Elizabeth was the first-ever national spokesperson for the IOCDF where she now serves as a board member and national advocate. She was diagnosed with OCD at 12 and engaged in inpatient and outpatient therapy. Dr. McIngvale engages in clinical work, research and advocacy with the goal of improving access to care and treatment for those living with OCD. show links:  instagram: @drlizocdhttps://ocditexas.com/staff/elizabeth-mcingvale/https://peaceofmind.com/what-we-do/about-elizabeth/https://iocdf.org

In this interview, Ericka sits down with Denise Hamilton to discuss her life as not just a founder and thought-leader, but also as a visionary who leads companies and individuals through change. Denise encourages listeners to own their gifts and “superpowers,” so that we might one day live in a world that is more connected to ourselves and each other. About Denise:Denise is an author, speaker and consultant who focuses on the people side of change. Whether it’s remote work, AI or a diversifying workforce, today's leaders need new skills to navigate our rapidly changing world—and Denise guides organizations and companies through these changes.Denise is an irrationally optimistic believer in our ability to solve problems rather than just name them. Her super power is the ability to discuss challenging topics and come out on the other side with positive direction and solutions. She equips leaders to build and retain future-ready teams that thrive in dynamic environments. Denise is a columnist for MIT Sloan Management Review. Her thought leadership has also been featured on NPR, Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg, MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Newsweek and many others. Link to Pre-order book: https://www.amazon.com/Indivisible-Forge-Differences-Stronger-Future/dp/1682688380WatchHerWork: https://watchherwork.cominstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/officialdham/?hl=enLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamiltondenise/