Camp Wild Heart

Mackenzie Dunham
  • 4.9 (83)
  • SELF-IMPROVEMENT
  • SEMIMONTHLY SERIES
Camp Wild Heart

No one plans for having a transgender kid. Camp Wild Heart is your guide for raising a transgender or non-binary child and nurturing an affirming family. We help you ease your fear and navigate your confusion. Mackenzie Dunham, clinical social worker and co-founder of Wild Heart Society, talks with parents, experts, and transgender adults about the ins and outs of coping with internalized transphobia, fostering shame resilience, exploring medical transition for youth, understanding identity development, knowing what language to use when, and more. Camp Wild Heart is full of people just like you who are lost and searching, brave and afraid, and trying best to do right by their children. You’ll cry--but never alone… and you’ll also laugh, really hard. Welcome.

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  1. EPISODE 1

    01. Return to Camp: Embracing the Magic of the Messy Middle

    Hello, friends. Have you missed me? After a longer than originally intended break from this podcast, I am back and I am ready. The world is scary right now and I want to show up here to support the Wild Heart community. I'm always thrilled to get to be a part of your journey in whatever way I have been. We have a great season coming up for you. You're going to hear from some old and new friends of the podcast, some listeners, and lots of families. I heard you loud and clear that what is often most helpful to you all is hearing from each other, and I think that is beautiful. We need each other more than ever. I'm so glad to be back and I'm so glad you're here. Find out more about Mackenzie Dunham: Wildheartsociety.orgwildheartsociety.org/downloadsWild Heart Society on FacebookWild Heart Society on Instagram

    14 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    02. The Courage to be Curious: Parent Mitch Shares His Story

    We’re back! To kick off this new season, I invited back the last person I had on the show before my break. Mitch joins me again to share what the last couple of years have been like as his family adjusted to their move to Washington from Texas in support of their trans daughter.  We talked about the difficult transition they experienced, having left behind a strong community ties because he feared for his daughter’s safety, and we talked about what it’s been like to be an advocate for his daughter and trans youth in both Texas and now here in Washington. We also talked about the beauty of curiosity, ways we can show up for our kids, and how he’s grown as a parent and as a person through this experience. Check out the full episode to hear about: How Mitch and his family have decompressed and settled into their new livesWhy inspiring curiosity is the first step in encouraging critical thinkingWhy we all need to learn to sit with the discomfort of boredomWhy it’s so important for parents of trans kids to tell their stories, in small and large ways Find out more about Mackenzie Dunham: Wildheartsociety.orgwildheartsociety.org/downloadsWild Heart Society on FacebookWild Heart Society on Instagram Resources: Register for Camp Wild Heart 2025Season 04 Ep 12: Joyful Resistance: One Dad's Call to ActionAre Killer Whales Misunderstood? with Dr. Deborah Giles - Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

    52 min

  3. EPISODE 3

    03. Radical Curiosity: Living Authentically in Challenging Times with Flint Del Sol

    Today, we're catching up with my friend, and friend of the podcast, Flint Del Sol. Last time Flint was here, his life looked very different than it does today. He was mid-transition, using they/them pronouns, had just started testosterone, and was still teaching. Since then, he's come out, transitioned in public on his social media profiles, survived doxxings, and received bomb threats at the school where he taught. It's been a lot. He chose to leave teaching and move to the desert with his husband for a while, and they've just recently sold their belongings and moved into an airstream with a plan to travel around the country to meet other trans people and gather stories and information to capture the trans experience in the US at this especially challenging and frightening time.  And somehow in all of that, Flint also wrote a book called Teach Like an Ally that comes out on July 29, 2025. This book was written for educators who are struggling in environments where they can't openly state their allyship, can't fly rainbow flags, or can't teach or even have queer books in their classrooms. Even if you're not a teacher, this book will help you be a better ally to the queer kids in your life. Every time I talk to Flint, the conversation tends to go off in a million different directions, but it always ends up someplace super nerdy, and someplace deeply emotional. This one is no different. I hope you leave feeling as inspired and ready to do better work as I did. Check out the full episode to hear about: How having survived blowing up his own life before has shaped Flint’s relationship to changeHow genuine curiosity and judgment get confused in ourselves and othersWhy it’s totally normal to be at reduced capacity right now, and some ideas to help sustain youWhy even in an unfair, unjust world, it’s worth continuing to fight for justiceHow deadlines, outlines, and leaning into his unique voice got Flint to the final draftWhy kids need access to an understanding of queer existence that is not fueled by negativity and hateHow making art is an essential part of how Flint processes events and feelings Find out more about Flint Del Sol: Instagram: @justflintisfineTikTok: @justflintisfineTeach Like an Ally: An Educator's Guide to Nurturing LGBTQ+ Students Find out more about Mackenzie Dunham: Wildheartsociety.orgwildheartsociety.org/downloadsWild Heart Society on FacebookWild Heart Society on Instagram Resources: Register for CampDonate to the Queer Community NetworkWild Heart Society MerchSeason 04 Ep 03: Fear vs. Curiosity: Being Alive and Trans with Flint, Just Flint Part 1Season 04 Ep 04: Fear vs. Curiosity: Being Alive and Trans with Flint, Just Flint Part 2"Untitled" (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), Félix González-TorresThe Smithsonian's queer erasure of an AIDS artwork should alarm us allGood Bones, Maggie Smith

    1h 23m

  4. EPISODE 4

    04. Beyond Pride: How Conservative Parents Became Fierce Allies

    There is so much misinformation about trans people out there, and a lot of the kids and families I work with have people in their lives who simply do not understand what these kids are going through. But I don't think anyone is a lost cause. Almost everyone is capable of learning and growing. I reached out to today's guests because I wanted to discuss the experience of having a transgender kid while being in a conservative family.  I met Amanda and Tom, and their daughter Ella, in 2021 when Amanda contacted me after listening to the podcast. They are upper-class, white, and live in conservative rural Oregon. They have wholeheartedly committed to educating themselves and supporting their daughter through her transition, strengthening their family in the process. They circled the wagons and did the work so that their kid could thrive.  Content note: brief, non-detailed mention of suicidal ideation. Check out the full episode to hear about: How Amanda and Tom realized they were at a point where they needed to learn and evolve to support EllaHow Tom’s relationship with Ella got a new beginning as a result of her transitionHow Amanda and Tom drew a hard line in the sand on family acceptanceHow having a trans child has impacted their politicsWhy it’s so important to show up visibly and publicly supporting trans people Find out more about Mackenzie Dunham: Wildheartsociety.orgwildheartsociety.org/downloadsWild Heart Society on FacebookWild Heart Society on Instagram Resources: Register for CampDonate to the Queer Community NetworkDisclosure

    57 min

  5. EPISODE 5

    05. Autism, Gender, and Breaking Free from Social Programming with Sol Smith

    You may be aware that there is a significant overlap between neurodivergence and transness. So today, I’m talking with a guest who is both an expert in neurodivergence–and he’s autistic himself–and a parent of queer and trans children. Sol Smith is a social media creator and author of the book The Autistic's Guide to Self-Discovery: Flourishing as a Neurodivergent Adult. Much of his work focuses on neurodivergent adults who may have received a diagnosis or self-realized later in life and helping them figure out what it means to be neurodivergent and understand why their lives may have been a lot different than what they were told they should be. Today we’ll be chatting about the overlap of neurodivergence and transness in our kids, and also how–because neurodivergence is genetic–when I tell a parent that I think their kid might be neurodivergent, I might also be telling them, hey, you might be too.  So if you’ve got a trans kid and you’ve ever had an inkling that maybe you don’t experience the world the way other people do, this episode might be for you. Check out the full episode to hear about: How pandemic shutdowns created space for Sol and his family to make big realizations about their identitiesWhy unpacking his history through an autistic lens helped make sense of his past, but not without griefHow the social environment impacts individual expressions of autism and who gets diagnosed in childhood versus adulthoodHow strong family inheritance of autistic traits can lead to denial and second-guessingHow neurodivergence, transness, and strength of socialization overlapBreaking down some key ways that autistic people differ from their neurotypical peers Find out more about Sol Smith: Neurospicy CommunityInstagram: @theprofessorsolTikTok: @better_solThe Autistic's Guide to Self-Discovery: Flourishing as a Neurodivergent Adult Find out more about Mackenzie Dunham: Wildheartsociety.orgwildheartsociety.org/downloadsWild Heart Society on FacebookWild Heart Society on Instagram Resources: Register for CampDonate to the Queer Community Network

    54 min

  6. EPISODE 6

    06. Camp Stories: Kristin Key on Growing Up, Coming Out, and Moving Forward

    Recently, a friend invited me to a comedy show and as we watched the set, I was delighted to find that the performer and I had a bunch of similarities. Camp-themed show? Check. Preacher’s kid? Check. Raising money for queer youth? Check. We even look kind of similar, if you don’t count that she’s a foot taller than I am. I had to take a shot at the merch table. Lucky for me, along with being tremendously funny, she’s also incredibly supportive and generous and agreed to come on the show. So today, I’m talking with the one and only Kristin Key. And while Kristin isn’t trans or nonbinary, she does share the all-too-common experience of religious trauma in the queer community and she shares how her family’s faith impacted her coming out and her relationship with them. We also chat about neurodivergent quirks, swap some of our favorite camp memories, and the wild connection between me, Kristin, and Brandi Carlisle. Check out the full episode to hear about: How being turned away from church camp and her community there compounded Kristin’s traumatic coming outHow being around visibly queer adults helped Kristin see what might be possible in her futureWhy every kid deserves to experience the magic of camp where they get to be their whole selfWhat Kristin would want her younger self to know about coming out and survivingKristin’s advice for parents of queer kids  Find out more about Kristin Key: WebsiteInstagram: @thekristinkeyTikTok: @kristinkeycomedyFacebook: @kristinkeycomedyYouTube: @kristinkeycomedyKristin Knows Blank Podcast Find out more about Mackenzie Dunham: Wildheartsociety.orgwildheartsociety.org/downloadsWild Heart Society on FacebookWild Heart Society on InstagramMack on TikTok Resources: Register for CampDonate to the Queer Community NetworkWild Heart Society MerchThe Brain Candy Podcast

    1 hr

  7. EPISODE 7

    07. What Keeps Me Hopeful: Being Active for Trans Kids with Jessica Lahey

    So many of us are trying so hard to protect our kids from failure of any kind. Getting it wrong and having regrets is scary! Of course we want to protect our kids from that. But really, when we hover over their homework or swoop in with a plan to fix it when they're struggling, we're protecting ourselves from our anxieties about being a good enough parent. There's kind of no better time to fail than when you're a kid. The stakes are still pretty low. When kids learn how to struggle and get it wrong and fail, it strengthens their ability to move through hard things and builds resilience. To talk more about how we can support our kids through failure, I reached out to Jessica Lahey, who wrote a book that I often refer to in my work called The Gift of Failure. Her book has really shaped the way I view failure and how I encourage others to view failure and Jessica also happens to be the parent of a trans kid, so we'll talk about that experience as well.  Check out the full episode to hear about: Why we need to allow kids to get frustrated with tasksWhy adults need to model trying new things and making mistakesHow to give kids opportunities to learn life skills, even when it would be easier for you to just do itHow Jessica’s natural openness has been challenged around her much more private daughter’s transitionHow Jessica and her family are leaning on their supports and doing work that matters to them in the face of our current climateHow Jessica weighs sharing her pride of her daughter with concerns for her privacy and safety Find out more about Jessica Lahey: WebsiteNewsletterThe Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed Find out more about Mackenzie Dunham: Wildheartsociety.orgwildheartsociety.org/downloadsWild Heart Society on FacebookWild Heart Society on Instagram Resources: Register for CampDonate to the Queer Community NetworkDifferently Wired: A Parent's Guide to Raising an Atypical Child with Confidence and Hope, Deborah ReberThe Trevor ProjectBe My EyesStand In Pride

    1h 3m
See All Season 5 (7)

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4.9
out of 5
83 Ratings

About

No one plans for having a transgender kid. Camp Wild Heart is your guide for raising a transgender or non-binary child and nurturing an affirming family. We help you ease your fear and navigate your confusion. Mackenzie Dunham, clinical social worker and co-founder of Wild Heart Society, talks with parents, experts, and transgender adults about the ins and outs of coping with internalized transphobia, fostering shame resilience, exploring medical transition for youth, understanding identity development, knowing what language to use when, and more. Camp Wild Heart is full of people just like you who are lost and searching, brave and afraid, and trying best to do right by their children. You’ll cry--but never alone… and you’ll also laugh, really hard. Welcome.

Information

  • Creator
    Mackenzie Dunham
  • Episodes
    50
  • Seasons
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Camp Wild Heart
  • Show Website
    Camp Wild Heart

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