**Jessica Nickson thought she was Italian and German her whole life. A 23andMe test said otherwise.**

In this episode, Jessica (Big Brother 19, The Amazing Race) opens up about the moment her aunt called with news that would unravel her understanding of her own identity—and why her mother still won't tell her the truth.

We also talk about:
– Going on Big Brother while grieving her father, and the version of herself she doesn't recognize anymore
– Meeting her husband Cody on day 5 (and not wanting a showmance)
– Raising 5 daughters and mourning the end of the baby stage
– How her faith shifted from showing up alone at church in LA to finding real community in Texas
– What growth looks like when the internet wants you to stay the same person you were on TV
– Letting God fight your battles instead of fighting back

Jessica's story is messy, honest, and still unfolding—exactly the kind of conversation this show is built for.

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Timestamps
00:32 Welcome to If You Can Hear Me
02:23 Meeting Cody on Big Brother
03:33 Mourning the baby stage
08:43 Grief, depression, and losing her dad
12:40 What Cody saw in her
15:35 Finding a church home in Texas
20:13 Responding to online critics
24:58 Tips for growth and breaking cycles
31:02 Building community and date nights
37:03 The 23andMe discovery
45:12 Processing her mother's silence
52:48 What she's asking God right now

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Grammy-winning artist DOE sits down with Ben to talk about what it means to be God's daughter, not His employee — and why that distinction changed everything about how she makes music.

In this conversation, DOE opens up about:
→ Growing up at the intersection of music and faith as a pastor's kid
→ The crushing weight of feeling responsible for "the anointing" in a room
→ Leaving Forever Jones and her family's legacy to find her own voice
→ Why she renamed herself D.O.E. and moved to Dallas with no plan
→ Her new album Shiloh, named after her son, and the theme of posterity
→ What she actually means when she says "God is good"
→ How her dad's 9 AM prayer times shaped a generation of worshipers

DOE also shares the honest wrestle behind her faith — the kind that doesn't pretend to have all the answers but keeps showing up in the ring anyway.

Her new album Shiloh is out now.

If this conversation meets you where you are, follow the show and leave a comment letting us know what landed.

Timestamps
00:33 Welcome to the show
01:35 Growing up where music and faith intersect
04:02 The crushing weight of being "the one"
06:12 Daughter, not employee
08:24 Why she stopped feeling like an employee
11:38 Wrestling as a spiritual discipline
14:34 Stepping out as Doe
17:09 Standing on her family's shoulders
19:16 Shiloh the album, Shiloh the son
22:22 How her dad made prayer stick
26:00 What she hopes Shiloh takes away
28:44 What "God is good" really means
31:24 Writing songs people will sing to each other
34:54 A picture of someone alone with the album

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Kevin Olusola was on track to be a doctor. Yale, pre-med, the whole plan his immigrant parents had sacrificed for. Then God knocked on his heart with something that scared him: music.

In this conversation, the 3-time Grammy winner and member of Pentatonix opens up about:
- Why he went into music "kicking and screaming"
- The power of "no" — getting dropped by a record label 30 days after winning The Sing-Off
- How Yo-Yo Ma and KRS-One helped him believe his weirdness was his gift
- Chasing accolades to prove he made the right choice — and realizing none of it made him happier
- Redefining success as a husband and father
- His new children's book, My Voice Is a Beat (out October 13)

Kevin's story is for anyone wrestling between the dream they were handed and the one tugging at their heart.

📚 My Voice Is a Beat — October 13
📖 Designed to Succeed — available now
🎵 Dawn of a Misfit — out now

If this resonated, follow the show and leave a comment letting us know what hit.

Timestamps
00:35 Welcome to the show
01:12 Meeting Kevin & intro
04:06 Success as an immigrant kid
05:22 The Nigerian "holy trinity"
09:41 Cello + beatboxing is born
13:06 The power of "no"
17:38 From Sing-Off win to Grammy
22:13 Divorcing the doctor dream
26:18 Redefining success for his kids
29:36 The Hollywood Bowl moment
32:28 My Voice Is a Beat
36:03 Balancing family and career
40:28 If God could hear you

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Paul Young wrote The Shack as a Christmas gift for his six kids. He photocopied 15 copies at Office Depot. It went on to sell 25+ million.
But the story behind the story is harder than the fairy tale suggests: a missionary kid raised by an abusive father, sexual abuse starting at age five, and a three-month affair that nearly ended his marriage. What followed was an 11-year rebuild — the ground The Shack was written from.

In this conversation, Paul opens up about:
– The real origin of The Shack (and how it accidentally became a global phenomenon)
– Why forgiveness doesn't require trust — and why that distinction matters
– His 9+ year friendship with men on death row, and what "proximity changes everything" really means
– Making peace with his father at 80, and the two photo albums we all keep inside
– Living in the present moment as the only real world
– Return to the Shack, releasing October 6

Paul's honesty about grief, healing, and what it means to be human is worth sitting with.

Follow the show and let us know what landed.

Timestamps
01:06 Meeting Paul Young
01:49 The affair that changed everything
04:37 Writing The Shack as a Christmas gift
09:02 From 15 copies to a phenomenon
16:30 Barnes & Noble comes knocking
20:29 Why forgiveness became his message
23:30 Releasing his father from expectations
28:48 Friendship with men on death row
36:47 "Proximity changes everything"
41:23 Being present as the only real world
47:20 What awestruck by Jesus looks like
55:15 Grief, healing, and not building identity on pain

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

40 years into his career, Michael W. Smith says he still hasn't arrived — and that's the point.

Ben sits down with the legendary singer, songwriter, and now executive producer of *Daniel and the Fiery Furnace* (in theaters September 18) for an honest conversation about faith, family, and staying grounded in an industry built on adoration.

In this episode:
- The story behind *Worship* (2001) and why it became a healing album for America
- Crying through an entire concert in Bahrain — and what shifted
- Working alongside his son Tyler, who composed the score for *Daniel*
- Why he thinks God only reveals certain things to "deep people"
- The rules he and his wife Deb set 40+ years ago to protect their marriage
- A missed flight, an Uber driver, and why the interruptions matter
- New music, a guitar solo from Dan Huff, and what's coming in 2026

Michael's mentors included Billy Graham and his own father. Now, at 68, he sees his role as fathering the next generation of artists.

Watch, listen, and share with someone who needs it.

Timestamps
00:32 40 years of God moments
02:40 Feeling the atmosphere shift
04:22 Crying through Bahrain concert
07:56 How Daniel movie came about
10:06 Watching his son Tyler compose
14:09 Why this Bible story hits different
17:41 We've got it too easy
24:22 Staying stirred and hungry for God
26:27 Missed flight, divine Uber ride
30:15 Surviving 45 years of marriage
33:28 Fathering the next generation
35:20 New music and a guitar solo
39:18 Teach me how to abide

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Granger Smith spent years thinking he was a Christian. Then he lost his son, and everything he believed got tested.

In this conversation, Granger opens up about walking away from a country music career at the height of it, becoming a lay pastor in Central Texas, and what he now calls the "toxic beliefs" that kept him from real faith for nearly four decades.

We get into:
- Why he left touring, and what "exalting yourself" on stage was actually costing him
- The night on his tour bus in Boise that changed his life
- What a "pastor's heart" is, and how he carries the weight of other people's pain
- The practical guardrails he uses to stay humble as a public figure
- The difference between empathy and sympathy in ministry
- Why suffering became the hinge point of his story

Granger's second book, Poison in the Well: Toxic Beliefs That Kept Me from the Living Water of Jesus, releases September 8.

If you've ever wondered whether you're actually following Jesus or just comfortable near him, this one's worth your time.

Grab Granger's book wherever books are sold.

Timestamps:
00:39 Welcome & show intro
01:43 Becoming a lay pastor
04:04 Discovering a pastor's heart
08:00 Carrying the emotional weight
11:22 The pull of self-exaltation
14:34 Guarding against pride offstage
17:53 Running on the right fuel
21:49 Saved out of nominal Christianity
26:19 Warning signs and toxic beliefs
32:14 No Christian community after loss
34:38 The night on the tour bus
37:38 John 14 and true conversion
41:31 Closing prayer: save me today

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What if the monster under the bed is more afraid of you than you are of him?

That's the question Kristin and Montell Jordan asked their son one night — and it became the seed for their new children's book, *Shiloh and the Not-So-Scary Girl Above His Bed*.

In this episode, Ben sits down with the Jordans to talk about:
• Why fear left unattended in childhood often becomes trauma in adulthood
• How 32 years of marriage, ministry, and music shaped their approach to raising brave kids
• Montell's journey as a two-time prostate cancer survivor — and what early detection made possible
• Kristin's role as caregiver, and how vulnerability protects intimacy
• Why humility is the doorway to inviting God into your hardest seasons
• The difference between spending time with your kids and investing in them

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. If you're a man over 40 — or you love one — this conversation matters.

Grab the book, share this with a friend who needs it, and subscribe for more honest conversations on faith, family, and doing hard things together.

Timestamps
00:57 Meet Montell and Kristin Jordan
01:33 The story behind Shiloh
04:57 Flipping fear into empathy
09:14 Why fear was the first lesson
13:02 Montell's cancer journey
15:46 Doing hard things together
17:34 Inviting God into the scariest moments
21:49 Faith woven into a good story
28:08 From heathen to marriage ministry
34:27 Investing time with the next generation
36:50 Prostate cancer: early detection saves lives
42:29 Final cries to God

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jay Pharoah — SNL alum, impressionist, and star of Fox's Quiz With Balls — sits down with Ben Higgins to talk about the moment he stopped running.

In 2023, surrounded by everything he thought he wanted, Jay heard a voice tell him to leave the room. What happened next changed his life.

In this conversation:
- Why fame and access left him emptier, not fuller
- The night he heard "meet me halfway, and I'll carry you the rest"
- The addictions he walked away from — and how his father unknowingly echoed the same message
- The blue Bible story: a prayer he never spoke out loud, answered by a stranger in Ohio
- Why he's cutting language from his stand-up and what he's building toward next
- Near-death experiences, the prodigal son, and the freedom of surrender

Jay is honest about the version of himself he used to be — and clear-eyed about who God is shaping him into now. If you've ever wondered whether transformation is real, this one's worth your time.

Subscribe for more conversations like this.

Timestamps
00:47 Why fame doesn't fulfill
02:44 Meeting Jay Pharoah
04:41 Growing up in church, road with Charlie Murphy
06:27 SNL and losing his way
08:00 The voice in the room: meet me halfway
11:30 Getting rid of the room, the Quiz with Balls offer
14:37 Why God forgives murderers and thieves
17:57 Using the platform as an example
22:09 What you have to give up
25:00 Cutting the swearing from his set
28:21 Freedom, not prison
29:23 The blue Bible story
37:58 The old version isn't wasted
39:12 Becoming a rebel for Christ
43:28 Stay in the fight

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.