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Impossible Beauty

Impossible Beauty

By: Melissa Louise Johnson
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 The brand of beauty we are so often sold is way too small. It divides and dis-integrates us. Melissa Louise Johnson is on a mission to re-discover authentic beauty. Not the counterfeit kind reserved for the toned and airbrushed, but a lasting kind of beauty. Eternal and sacred. Living and moving all around us. Join Melissa as she interviews men and women who exude internal and eternal beauty in order to reshape cultural scripts. It's time we re-discover what beauty truly is.Copyright Melissa Louise Johnson Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Episode 185: Dr. Chinwe Williams-Building Emotional and Body Image Resilience in Kids and Teens

    Episode 185: Dr. Chinwe Williams-Building Emotional and Body Image Resilience in Kids and Teens
    Feb 4 2026
    Kids and teens these days face all kinds of stressors, including pressures around beauty and body image. In today’s episode I talk with Dr. Chinwé Williams all about the power of connection in building both emotional resilience and body image resilience in kids and teen.

    Dr. Chinwé Williams is a speaker, best-selling author, and Licensed and Board-Certified therapist whose expertise includes child and adolescent development, women’s wellness, & anxiety and trauma management. In today’s conversation, we discuss Dr. Williams' most recent book, entitled Calm, Courageous, and Connected: A Parent's Guide to Raising Emotionally Resilient Kids. Specifically, she discusses how and why building emotional resilience is a relational posture, how she sees beauty and body image pressures impacting kids and teens, and the emotional impact of young people getting the message that their value comes from their appearance.

    Dr. Williams' insights are both wise and encouraging. May you leave this conversation feeling empowered to see and connect more deeply with the young people in your life.

    Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.
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    53 mins
  • Episode 184: Oona Hanson-Raising Girls Who Are Always On Show

    Episode 184: Oona Hanson-Raising Girls Who Are Always On Show
    Jan 21 2026
    On this week’s episode, we talk about current societal trends impacting women and girls, leading them to believe that they are always on show and that the way they look is the most important thing about them. Thankfully, we have a trusted companion to do so in Oona Hanson.

    Oona Hanson is an educator and parenting coach. Through her writing, workshops, and private consultations, she supports families in raising kids who have a healthy relationship with food and their body. She has been featured in television programs, like Good Morning America, and her work has been featured in various publications, including People, USA Today, US News & World Report, Today, CNN, and The Washington Post.

    In our time together, we unpack a recent article Oona wrote on her Substack, entitled, The Life of a Girl Who’s Always on Show: Help Your Daughter Navigate a World That’s Constantly Judging Her Looks. Specifically, we talk about the showgirl imagery in Taylor Swift’s latest album, how we might interact with the next generation around the prevalence of weight loss ads, and the recent TikTok, now banned hashtag, #skinnytoc.

    Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.
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    50 mins
  • Episode 183: David Taylor-God’s Spirit in Beauty and the Arts

    Episode 183: David Taylor-God’s Spirit in Beauty and the Arts
    Jan 6 2026
    On this podcast, I am committed to helping listeners (and myself) understand beauty in its truest, most life-giving sense. And that is why I am so excited to start the new year with David Taylor as today’s guest.

    David Taylor is a theologian, author, speaker, priest, and director of initiatives in art and faith. As Associate Professor of Theology & Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, he has lectured widely on the arts, from Thailand to South Africa. He has also written for The Washington Post, Image Journal, Theology Today, Worship, Religion News Service, and Christianity Today, among others. Additionally, in 2016 he produced a short film with Bono and Eugene Peterson, entitled Bono and Eugene Peterson: THE PSALMS.

    In today’s episode, David not only gives us a behind-the-scenes look at his class on beauty at Fuller Seminary, but also shares his own biblically grounded understanding of what true beauty is. David also uncovers lies about beauty he sees at work in Western society, discusses how we might navigate aging in a broken world, and helps us see how we can know God in and through the arts. My hope is that this conversation will leave you feeling deeply encouraged, as you are reminded that true beauty is alive and at work in the world.

    David's latest book: Naming the Spirit: Pneumatology Through the Arts

    Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.
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    1 hr and 1 min
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