Finding Something Real Podcast
 

Finding Something Real Podcast

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Maybe you’ve grown up as a Christian going to church or maybe you’re not interested in religion at all. But when you’re scrolling, hanging out with friends, trying to sleep, or overwhelmed with your day-to-day, do big existential questions ever pop in- you know- things like, “Why am I here? How did all this get here? What happens after I die?” “Is there a God and is there really meaning to all this?” ”What’s so special about Jesus Christ?”

We’ve all experienced deep longing for something this world can’t seem to satisfy.

Even someone as wildly successful as Taylor Swift knows that to be true. “I had won album of the year at the Grammys for a second time...” She said, “and I remember thinking afterwards, ’Oh my god, that was all you wanted!... That was all you focused on. You get to the mountaintop and look around and you’re like... what now?”

If you’re tired and feeling overwhelmed with all the different voices yelling for your affections- telling you what to go after- whether it be success, beauty, the perfect partner, social media followers, money, or power… only to leave you let down and unsatisfied, searching for more… Maybe like my friends and me, you’re after finding something REAL.

Every week, join me (Janell Wood), special co-hosts and guests as we ask questions, look for answers, and search for the source of something REAL: Restoration, Eternity, Authenticity, and Love. I believe those things can ultimately be found in relationship with Jesus Christ, but don’t take my word for it. Listen to our conversations for yourself and go on a journey with us: Is Jesus the REAL thing?

Episodes

Can I Be Questioning as a Christian? - Sarah's Story

3 hours ago

3 hours ago

Happy Wednesday!

 

 

We are thrilled to be sharing Sarah’s story this week.

 

Sarah reached out to Janell around this time last year. She was wrestling with questions and had doubts about Christianity. She shared her story and let Janell know she would love to be part of the podcast. Fast forward to now, she's played a crucial part of Finding Something Real. 

 

Sarah has been a rockstar for Season 8. She is one of the most devoted co-hosts we've had. Sarah's been to most podcast recordings and always comes with incredible questions and wisdom. She shows great humility and grace as she walks through making her faith her own. 

 

Even in just this short year, her faith has blossomed into something beautiful. We are so proud of her and grateful she gets to be part of this ministry. Watching her faith grow this season has been an honor to watch. 

 

We hope you enjoy listening to her story. 

 

 

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Does My Suffering Have Any Meaning? with Allen Crostic

Wednesday Mar 11, 2026

Wednesday Mar 11, 2026

Happy Wednesday!

 

This week we are joined by Allen Crostic. Allen has been on the podcast before and we are thrilled to have him back on the podcast. Three of our co-host are joining us as well - Ana, Sarah, and Jeanine. 

 

Suffering has been a topic our co-hosts this season are really interested in getting more answers on. Two of our co-host deal with chronic pain and other co-hosts that have someone in their life dealing with chronic suffering or someone who didn't get healed. 

 

Allen has a powerful testimony! He shares his story of getting miraculously healed. He had an encounter with God that he could not deny that he was healed. However, within the last couple years, he started having health issues again. 

 

Now, he’s left wrestling with those hard questions. “Did I actually get healed?” and “Does my suffering have any meaning?” 

 

We are so grateful for his insight on suffering and choosing to honor God even when it’s painful. 

 

This is one of our favorite episodes! We hope you enjoy listening. 

 

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How Can I Defend Being a Christian? with Ryan Pauly

 

I Was Running Away From God with Travis Monen

 

How to Navigate Relationships in a Godly Way

 

Can Christian's Struggle with Mental Health? - Christie's Story

 

I Need Jesus to Show Me More with Alycia Wood

 

Do the Things in the Bible Still Happen? with Alycia Wood

 

Did the Resurrection Actually Happen? with Andy Bannister

 

 

 

 

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How Can I Defend Being a Christian? with Ryan Pauly

Wednesday Mar 04, 2026

Wednesday Mar 04, 2026

Happy Wednesday! 

 

We are excited for our conversation this week. We are joined with guest, Ryan Pauly. And our returning co-host, Sarah.

 

Ryan has been a believer his whole life but grew a love for apologetics when he realize the people around him couldn't give a defense for their faith. He realized he couldn't give a defense for his faith either and started digging. Now, he dedicates his life to equip individuals and church body to defend Christianity. His goal is to shift the narrative on how we approach people with different beliefs - meeting them with solid evidence and sincere love. 

 

About Ryan:

Ryan Pauly is the Founder and President of Think Well, the Director of Immersive Experiences at MAVEN, and an Adjunct Professor of Theology and Apologetics at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. For over a decade, he has worked with junior high, high school, and college students as a missionary, educator, speaker, and apologist.

 

We hope you enjoy this week's episode!

 

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LINKS

Think-Well

 

Maven

 

I Was Running Away From God with Travis Monen

 

How to Navigate Relationships in a Godly Way

 

Can Christian's Struggle with Mental Health? - Christie's Story

 

I Need Jesus to Show Me More with Alycia Wood

 

Do the Things in the Bible Still Happen? with Alycia Wood

 

Did the Resurrection Actually Happen? with Andy Bannister

 

 

 

 

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I Was Running Away From God with Travis Monen

Thursday Feb 26, 2026

Thursday Feb 26, 2026

Happy Wednesday!

 

We are back with another episode! This week we are joined with guest, Travis Monen. We are also joined with our co-host, Ana. 

 

Travis is a friend of Janell's and shares the same love for apologetics as she does. He shares his testimony in this episode. He gave his life to Christ when he was 14 but completely left his faith when he got to college. He ran away from God for years until he fully surrendered his life back to God and came to the end of himself.

 

When he stopped running and surrendered the heaviness he felt from running all those years, he was met with God’s love and mercy.

 

He emphasizes the importance of repentance. Repentance is a gift God offers. It simply means turning from the direction you were going and running towards God instead. 

 

If you’re tired of running away from God, all you have to do is turn. He is waiting to meet you with open arms.

 

We hope you enjoy this week’s episode!

 

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LINKS

 

How to Navigate Relationships in a Godly Way

 

Can Christian's Struggle with Mental Health? - Christie's Story

 

I Need Jesus to Show Me More with Alycia Wood

 

Do the Things in the Bible Still Happen? with Alycia Wood

 

Did the Resurrection Actually Happen? with Andy Bannister

 

 

 

 

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How to Navigate Relationships in a Godly Way with Tripp and Megan Almon

Wednesday Feb 18, 2026

Wednesday Feb 18, 2026

Happy Wednesday!

 

This week, are joined with our friends from Stand to Reason, Tripp and Megan Almon. As well as our returning co-host, Sarah.

 

Fitting after Valentine's Day, we are talking about relationships. Tripp and Megan are married and have a huge heart for apologetics. They share their individual stories of coming to faith and how they met. Tripp and Megan talk about some of the challenges of navigating relationships in a Godly way. As well as some of the myths in Christian dating, such as, "Are they the one?" and "God said they were my spouse?"

 

About Tripp:

Tripp Almon serves as the Outpost Coordinator and a speaker with Stand to Reason. He is from Newnan, Georgia (just south of Atlanta) and now lives in Colorado with his wife, Megan, and their kids. Tripp’s passion for educating students of all ages in the areas of Christian theology, worldview, and apologetics is driven in large part from growing up in a Christian home and then struggling profoundly with the tidal wave of cultural ideas that engulfed him as he entered a secular university. Thankfully, his experience taught him that Christianity not only stands in the marketplace of ideas — it soars.

 

Before joining Stand to Reason in 2025, Tripp, a former elite gymnast, coached gymnastics for more than two decades. He served as a pastor for 10 years and was the Director of the Summit Ministries Gap Year program for seven years. Tripp loves when he and his wife, Megan, get to speak and serve at events together.

 

About Megan:

Megan Almon, a former University of Georgia gymnast, worked as an award-winning journalist until 2008, when she decided to pursue a career speaking and teaching about Christian apologetics — especially in the areas of pro-life apologetics, bioethics and aesthetics. She joined Life Training Institute in 2009 and was awarded an M.A. in Christian apologetics from Biola University in 2011. She worked with Scott Klusendorf at Life Training Institute until 2024 when she began working with the speaking team at Apologetics, Inc. In 2025, she started an exciting new chapter as a Stand to Reason speaker.

 

Megan and her husband, Tripp—Stand to Reason’s Outpost Coordinator—have been married since 2003 and have two children. Though she was born and raised in Georgia, she and Tripp family spent seven years in Manitou Springs, CO where Tripp ran the Summit Ministries Gap Year program. Megan enjoys spending time with her family on the road (when she and Tripp have opportunities to speak together) and at home in Colorado, and is still known to practice handstands in her living room. She has spoken at high school and college assemblies and classrooms, conferences, youth organizations, women’s groups, pregnancy care centers, congregations, and to legislators both nationally and internationally.

 

 

We hope you enjoy this episode!

 

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LINKS

 

Stand to Reason

 

Can Christian's Struggle with Mental Health? - Christie's Story

 

I Need Jesus to Show Me More with Alycia Wood

 

Do the Things in the Bible Still Happen? with Alycia Wood

 

Did the Resurrection Actually Happen? with Andy Bannister

 

 

 

 

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Can Christian's Struggle with Mental Health? - Christie's Story

Wednesday Feb 11, 2026

Wednesday Feb 11, 2026

Happy Wednesday!

 

We are thrilled to introduce our next co-host, Christie!

 

Janell and Christie met earlier last year, and have become good friends since then. We are excited to dive into her story. 

 

Christie attended Wheaton College in Chicago and has traveled abroad to Italy and Ireland. She's been a Christian her entire life. Although, it hasn't been an easy road - there is nowhere else she would rather be.

 

Christie opens up about coming to a spiritual crisis. She struggles with mental health and has experienced chronic illness pretty intensely. Everything she's gone through has ultimately led her to wrestle with the faith she proclaims. 

 

We can't wait for you to hear the rest of her story!

 

We hope you love her as much as we do!

 

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I Need Jesus to Show Me More with Alycia Wood

Wednesday Feb 04, 2026

Wednesday Feb 04, 2026

Happy Wednesday!

 

We are back with our guest, Alycia Wood! We had a great conversation with her last week and thrilled to have her back with our returning co-hosts, Sarah and Katelyn. 

 

We discuss the evidence of Christianity. There's not necessarily a lack of evidence - there is plenty of reliable evidence out there. The problem is, it will never be enough. 

 

The more we know, the more questions we have, and the more skeptical we become towards it all.

 

Katelyn shares some of the reasons why she would not put her faith in Christianity. Sarah, although she is a Christian, struggles with the thought of believing in the wrong thing. 

 

About Alycia


As a child growing up in the church, Alycia always had questions. She wanted to dig deeper into the Christian faith beyond the Sunday morning sermon. That fueled an independent search which led to her digging into the larger questions of life. While studying for a degree in Criminal Justice and Sociology at Robert Wesleyan College, Alycia discovered Apologetics. It changed the course of her life. Her quest for a deeper understanding of her Christianity had a name.

 

She went on to get her Master’s in Social Justice from Marygrove College to further her passion for serving those in need in the developing world. This led to various volunteering opportunities at orphanages, prisons, and shelters for the homeless in various countries including Haiti, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. A few years after her travels were completed, she was able to spend a year studying Apologetics in England.

 

Alycia spent many years as a teacher’s aide and substitute teacher for multiple grade levels. Following, she has spent over nine years doing full-time apologetics ministry where she travels and speaks on various topics relevant to our culture. She is currently with the C. S. Lewis Society in Tampa.

 

We hope you enjoy this conversation!

 

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LINKS

Do the Things in the Bible Still Happen? with Alycia Wood

 

Those Big Faith Questions with Alycia Wood

 

What's So Special about Christianity? with Alycia Wood

 

Reasons to Look Into Christianity with Alycia Wood

 

Did the Resurrection Actually Happen? with Andy Bannister

 

AI Proves God's Existence with Abdu Murray

 

Are Generational Curses are Real? - Ana's Story

 

Naturalism Doesn't Make Sense with Jon Noyes

 

 

 

 

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Do the Things in the Bible Still Happen? with Alycia Wood

Thursday Jan 29, 2026

Thursday Jan 29, 2026

Happy Wednesday!

 

Today, we are joined with our guest, Alycia Wood. We are also joined with co-hosts, Sarah and Katelyn. 

 

Alycia shares how she came to faith. She has always been a curious person and her questions ultimately led her to start looking at the most inevitable question - Does God exist?

 

Does God still do the miracles He did in the Bible? Why did he stop doing big miracles like parting the Red Sea?

 

About Alycia


As a child growing up in the church, Alycia always had questions. She wanted to dig deeper into the Christian faith beyond the Sunday morning sermon. That fueled an independent search which led to her digging into the larger questions of life. While studying for a degree in Criminal Justice and Sociology at Robert Wesleyan College, Alycia discovered Apologetics. It changed the course of her life. Her quest for a deeper understanding of her Christianity had a name.

 

She went on to get her Master’s in Social Justice from Marygrove College to further her passion for serving those in need in the developing world. This led to various volunteering opportunities at orphanages, prisons, and shelters for the homeless in various countries including Haiti, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. A few years after her travels were completed, she was able to spend a year studying Apologetics in England.

 

Alycia spent many years as a teacher’s aide and substitute teacher for multiple grade levels. Following, she has spent over nine years doing full-time apologetics ministry where she travels and speaks on various topics relevant to our culture. She is currently with the C. S. Lewis Society in Tampa.

 

In her spare time, she is an avid sports fan, musician and grower of all things edible in her garden.

 

We hope you enjoy this week's conversation!

 

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LINKS

 

Those Big Faith Questions with Alycia Wood

 

What's So Special about Christianity? with Alycia Wood

 

Reasons to Look Into Christianity with Alycia Wood

 

Did the Resurrection Actually Happen? with Andy Bannister

 

AI Proves God's Existence with Abdu Murray

 

Are Generational Curses are Real? - Ana's Story

 

Naturalism Doesn't Make Sense with Jon Noyes

 

 

 

 

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