I Hate James Dobson

It's a family affair on this episode of I Hate James Dobson, as Jake and Brooke are joined by Kevin - Jake's older brother, a rocket scientist*, and one cool guy. It's exciting! What's less exciting is that they are talking about creationism. Boo. A family that laughs about shared trauma together stays together?

References:

Answers in Genesis. (2014, February 4). Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham - HD (Official) [Video]. YouTube. https://...

This episode is a case study in going with the flow as both Jake and Brooke made last-minute pivots to cover the new season of Shiny Happy People. It's like a greatest hits of I Hate James Dobson - and Brooke learns the real reason for the season. Plus, the episode is just a vibe, really.

Works Cited:

Crist, O. et al. (Directors). (2025, July 23). Shiny Happy People Season 2: A Teenage Holy War. [Docuseries]. Amazon Prime Video. ...

Welcome back, readers! It's good to see you again! It's less good to get back to talking about the Duggars though. In this episode, Jake tells Brooke about the history of the Duggars as political figures, and weaves the story of their cult leader, Bill Gothard. They do not have particularly kind things to say about that man - or really anyone in power in these stories. Turns out staying under their umbrellas leads to destruction! (...

Hey readers, speeders, and pizza eaters! Today, Brooke is taking the lead to explore just who the heck the Duggars are and how the broader, secular world understands them. Next episode, Jake will be a usual nerd and talk about the theology, psychology, and politics related to the Duggars, so enjoy this nice break while you can. Also, Brooke was very very excited for this one :)

Citations:

Crist, O. & Nason, J. W. (Directors)....

Things sure are bleak out there, huh? Thankfully, Jake and Brooke are here to lighten it up by talking about furries, conspiracy theories, and cartoons. That's right, distinguished listeners, today we are going to be talking about the life and times of the one and only Jack Chick. Get ready to laugh at awful things.

Buy merch! ihatejamesdobson.printful.me or ihatejamesdobson.com

References:

Alberto Rivera. (2025, March 23). In...

Gay! For this year's Pride Month extravaganza, Jake and Brooke look at the stories of queer people who knew James Dobson. Since we aren't talking about Dobson directly, there's at least 50% less trauma attached to it.

Also: we have merch now! Check it out at ihatejamesdobson.printful.me :)

References:

Cantorna, A. (2017). Refocusing My Family: Coming Out, Being Cast Out, and Rediscovering the True Love of God. Fortress Press.

C...

As you can tell by this very normal episode length, today's episode is... a lot. Today, Jake goes through a Dobson Heavy-Hitter "Parenting Isn't For Cowards" with Corina and Brooke. This book takes us to places, well exactly where you'd expect honestly. And yet somehow it's still surprising and upsetting. Yay.

Listen to "Lessons from the Couch" wherever you get your podcasts!

References:

C. Jamie Mater “The Troubled Teen Indus...

Happy Monday, readers! Today, Jake and Brooke are joined by Corina (host of "Lessons from the Couch") to talk about love, intimacy, marriage - and how James Dobson gets it all wrong. Things get wild when 3 therapists talk shit about another clinician. You know us, famous for getting wild on this blog.

Listen to "Lessons from the Couch" wherever you get your podcasts!

Book referrals:

• "8 Dates: Essential Conversations for a ...

Public education was nice while we had it, too bad it's being lit on fire (like everything else). And yes, it is James Dobson's fault (also like everything else). Today, Jake and Brooke explore Dobson's influence in the homeschooling movement - and hear from the big D himself. So, you have that to look forward to in this episode I guess.

References:

Campbell, F. A., Pungello, E. P., Burchinal, M., Kainz, K., Pan, Y., Wasik...

If the name "James Dobson" sends a chill down your spine, or if you just like listening to two friends read horrible books, do we have the show for you! Welcome to I Hate James Dobson, a podcast where two therapists break down the works of clinical psychologist/child abuse advocate James Dobson. It's a good time about a terrible person. Thanks for listening to our show :)

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat....

James Dobson has like 4 topics he writes about, so let's talk about masculinity again! Jake and Brooke go through Dobson's book "Straight Talk to Men" published in the year of our Lord Y2K. Surprisingly, Dobson gets a bunch of stuff wrong. Let's find out together!

Benny Bingo and the Evangelikids: https://www.theannoyance.com/show/the-evangelikids

References:

DeAngelis, T. (2001, December 1). Are men emotional mummies?&...

Welcome back, here's what you missed on I Hate James Dobson: Jake was a closeted evangelical kid, which was like really cringe but also bad for them. Then they left the church and found stability but still had a bad horrible fashion sense. Brooke cried as Jake read Defying Gravity because two theater kids are just like that sometimes. And also they talked about the band Skillet (flop). And that's what you missed on I Hate James Dob...

Happy 1 year anniversary everyone! This episode, Jake and Brooke get personal and explore Jake's journey of deconstructing from Evangelical Christianity. Ever thought you'd have someone discuss Skillet and Wicked in the same hour? That's the kind of ground-breaking, high quality content you can expect from I Hate James Dobson.

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/mood-maze/trendsetter

License code: 9OT2MT...

Love is in the air - and crosshairs. Today, Brooke and Jake take a dive into the mailbag, and then discuss Dobson's hateful and unhinged 2004 book "Marriage Under Fire". It's bad, y'all. It is bigoted, dumb, and full of a surprising amount of WWII references for some reason. To quote Lana Ja'Rae, at this point all you can do is laugh.

References:

Canada Bill C-16 (2016): https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/c-16/royal...

It's back to the Dobson literature this episode and today we are talking about psychology and therapy! Jake and Brooke read through (an updated version of) Dobson's second-ever book. We see again how Dobson is not only a bad person, but he's also lazy and wrong as he takes us through his greatest "hits" of obviously-fake-stories. Wanna see Dobson 'in his lane'? That's what this book is.

References:

Coopersmith, S. (1967). The Ant...

Quick, go vacuum and make your bed - because today we have a guest! Jake is joined by Talia Lavin, author of "Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America". They talk about Talia's book, deconstructing from fundamentalist religions, surviving fascism, and sandwiches.

Links to find Talia's work!

Buy Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America

Buy Culture Warlords: My Journey into the Dark Web of White S...

Well today sucks! But you're not alone. Join Jake & Brooke as they read Talia Lavin's incredible book: "Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America" and discuss how we got here, what comes next, and what to do about it. It's a good time! Well, not good. It's a fun time! No, fun isn't exactly the right word either. It's a time! But I hope you enjoy it nevertheless :)

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

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We now return to our regularly scheduled sadness as Jake and Brooke examine 3 different adaptations of "Left Behind" to see what they tell us about Evangelicalism's evolving relationship to the end of the world.

Also, Nicholas Cage.

References:

Mendoza, Francisco G. III (2021) "The End of the World According to Q," PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas: Vol. 2: No. 1, Article 12. 

About LaHaye's lawsuit: https:...