Listen & Speaking
Conversations about faith, doubt, and the stories we resist telling
Jodi is a frequent podcast guest on faith, memoir, cross-cultural life, adoption, and independent publishing. Start with one of the conversations below — or scroll down for speaking topics and booking.
“Jodi Cowles spent years carrying a one-dimensional ‘flannel graph’ version of Jesus that couldn’t survive grief, doubt or hard questions.”
— Bleeding Daylight
Bleeding Daylight
Jodi Cowles — Then Came Joy
with Rodney Olsen
Why someone who prefers writing fiction ended up publishing her own memoir — and the difference between the God she learned about growing up and the God she came to know after her lowest point.
Listen →The FAFO Podcast
Faith, Writing, Publishing, and Living Abroad
July 2026 · 63 min
The longest conversation on this list: writing a memoir at five in the morning for a year, choosing comedy in the middle of a stalled adoption, and why fiction can say the things we struggle to say plainly.
Listen →Beyond the Draft
Then Came Joy: Adoption, Faith, and Finding Yourself
with Immaculate Chinecherem
What seven countries taught her about belonging and identity — and the grief that arrived before the joy did.
Listen →Listen here
- Page of Our LivesAuthor Jodi Cowles on Writing & Living AbroadMay 2022 · 37 minOn Some Wandered in the Desert, expat life, and the near-kidnapping in North Africa that became a novel.
Topics
For podcasts, conferences, churches, book clubs, writers’ groups, and cross-cultural or adoption-focused gatherings. Each of these can be shaped for a thirty-minute interview or a full session.
Faith, Doubt & the Honest Life
What does it look like to hold faith and doubt in the same hand — and keep walking?
Memoir: The Courage to Tell Your Story
Why the stories we most resist telling are often the ones most worth writing.
Expat Life & Cross-Cultural Connection
Eight years in Istanbul, seven countries, and what the world taught her about being human.
Adoption, Resilience & the Fierce Fight for Joy
The story behind Then Came Joy — corruption, chaos, and the love that wouldn't quit.
Independent Publishing & the Author-Founder Path
Twenty-five years of writing and marketing, co-founding multiple companies, and what she's learned.
Brand Strategy & PR for Authors
How to build visibility, tell your story strategically, and get noticed — from the COO of WellTold Studio.
Bilingual Parenting & Raising Globally-Minded Children
Practical wisdom for families navigating language, identity, and belonging.
Heard Jodi on a podcast?
Leave your email and she’ll send you something to read — plus the occasional note about new writing.