From Conservative Christian Pop Singer to to LGBTQ+ Ally | The Education of Julianna Glasse

Getting Better with Jonathan Van Ness

Sony Music

Comedy, Society & Culture, Self-improvement, Education

4.9 • 21.6K Ratings

🗓️ 15 July 2026

⏱️ 69 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

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Summary

Can someone really change their mind? This week on Getting Better, Jonathan sits down with singer, author, speaker, and activist Julianna Glasse to look at what it means to question everything you’ve ever believed. Julianna opens up about growing up in an evangelical Christian community, singing at Trump’s 2017 National Prayer Breakfast, and the painful process of walking away from the beliefs, career, and identity that once defined her. She shares the pivotal moments that challenged her understanding of LGBTQ+ people, the books and philosophers that expanded her thinking, and why curiosity became more powerful than certainty. Julianna’s book: This Is What Happens When Women Read is out this fall. Wanna see JVN on stage? Get tix to the Hot & Healed Comedy Tour here. Full Video Episodes now available on YouTube. Follow Julianna Glasse on Instagram @juliannaglasse Follow us on Instagram @gettingbetterwithjvn Follow Jonathan on Instagram @jvn Executive Producer, Chris McClure Producer, Editor & Engineer is Nathanael McClure Production support from: Chad Hall Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Better Babes, it's Jonathan Van Ness, and welcome back to Getting Better.
0:03.1	Have we got a surprise in store for you today?
0:05.3	Everywhere we turn, we can see some, like, turning point, right-wing hellscape
0:10.0	that just stresses me out, and I probably stresses you out, too, if you're watching this video.
0:15.1	And I needed some examples of inspiration, change, and hope.
0:19.6	Enter the chat, Juliana Glass, who went from a Christian pop singer
0:23.8	who sang Trump's 2017 inauguration to an Oxford grad turned women's and LGBTQ rights activist.
0:31.6	She has an organization called This Is What Happens When Women Read. She wrote a book by the same
0:36.5	name that's coming out later this fall.
0:38.5	Her story is so incredible.
0:40.9	I'm going to tell you how we met at the beginning of our conversation.
0:44.2	If you feel like you need examples of people who have changed for the better,
0:47.8	are making ways in their community and also had to leave their identity behind
0:52.2	to find out who they really are.
0:55.0	This is for you.
0:56.0	This is a story of change, inspiration, transformation, and tenacity.
1:00.0	I am so excited to meet Juliana.
1:02.0	I'm so excited for you guys to hear more about her story.
1:05.0	I'm going to learn more about her story.
1:06.0	Honey, let's get into some transformation and change with Juliana Glass.
1:10.0	Juliana Glass.
1:13.5	Juliana, welcome to getting better. How are you?
	...

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