The Speakeasy

Happy New Year and welcome to the very first Speak Easy episode of 2026. To kick off the year, Blake dives into a topic that impacts every family—even if we avoid talking about it: healthcare. In this episode, Blake sits down with Andy Schoonover, CEO of CrowdHealth, to unpack why so many people feel trapped in traditional health insurance, how the system actually profits, and what alternatives exist for families who want more agency, transparency, and community-driven care. Andy shares his personal breaking point with insurance denial, how cash-pay medicine exposed the cracks in the system, and why CrowdHealth was built to give people a real exit ramp. Together, they explore rising deductibles, denied claims, negotiated medical bills, prescription costs, and why "healthcare" often feels more like "sick care." This conversation goes beyond policy—it's about autonomy, informed choices, and breaking out of systems that no longer serve us. If you've ever asked, "What am I even paying for?" or wondered if there's another way, this episode may open a door you didn't know existed. CrowdHealth is a healthcare alternative that lets members crowdfund medical expenses, negotiate bills, and access care without insurance networks or massive deductibles. ✨ Try it out for $99 for your first 3 months with code SPEAKEASY at joincrowdhealth.com/speakeasy. (CrowdHealth is not insurance.) Sometimes opting out is the first step toward freedom.

Welcome back to the Speakeasy Podcast—and to the very last episode of the year. To close out this season, Blake sits down with Erin Wilkins, a friend and voice she deeply trusts, to talk about something countercultural but necessary: slowing down. Erin has walked this road just a little ahead—moving from seasons of intense advocacy, visibility, and urgency into a quieter, more intentional life rooted in peace, obedience, and presence. Together, they reflect on what it costs to stay in the fight too long, how good assignments can still have an expiration date, and why obedience doesn't always look brave to the world—but often is. This honest, friend-to-friend conversation explores burnout, identity, motherhood, boundaries with technology, and learning to be informed without being consumed. They talk about passing the torch, protecting family rhythms, resisting urgency culture, and embracing winter as a God-designed season of rest. If you're feeling stretched thin, conflicted about slowing down, or wondering how to end this year in a way that actually prepares you for the next, this episode is for you. Sometimes the strongest finish isn't louder or faster—it's slower, quieter, and more faithful. "Be still, and know that I am God." – Psalm 46:10 Sponsor: PreBorn A woman is twice as likely to choose life when she sees an ultrasound. $28 provides one free ultrasound and gives a mom the chance to choose life. Give today at preborn.com/speakeasy.

Merry (belated) Christmas and welcome to "dead week"—that weird, quiet stretch between Christmas and New Year when nobody knows what day it is… and honestly, it's kind of wonderful. This is the final Friday of the year, which means we're wrapping up the Ending Well series—seven weeks of looking back at 2025, redeeming the hard parts, and hunting down the goodness God planted along the way. Today's episode is where everything comes together. Not as separate lessons—hearing God, going a different way, pruning, embracing the ordinary, releasing usefulness, becoming the wife and woman I want to be—but as integration: when revelation becomes rhythm. When what God taught you doesn't just live in a journal… it starts living in your nervous system, your choices, your peace, and your presence. We talk about what it means to become the same person everywhere—at home, at work, in conflict, in rest. Not the performing self, people-pleasing self, or defensive self—but the authentic self God created. The shift from constantly feeling "split" to finally feeling rooted. From Romans 7 ("why do I keep doing what I hate?") to Psalm 1—steady, nourished, bearing fruit in season. This episode is a testimony: God is big enough to change you. To grow self-control. To cultivate peace. To help you stop showing up to every battle you're invited to—and still keep your courage when it's time to stand firm. The fire of 2025 didn't leave me untouched, but it refined me. And the fruit is showing up: steadier peace, clearer discernment, deeper roots, anchored hope, and—maybe for the first time—actually liking who I'm becoming. If you feel stuck, scattered, or like you'll never change… come with me. The water's a little scary, but it's good. Sponsor: PreBorn A woman considering abortion is twice as likely to choose life if she can see an ultrasound or hear the heartbeat. PreBorn provides free ultrasounds and continues supporting moms with resources, classes, and aid—up to two years after birth. 💛 It's $28 to fund one ultrasound. Give at preborn.com/speakeasy and help give the gift of life.

Every year of my life, my dad Earl has read the classic book the Cajun Night Before Christmas. I'm thrilled this year to bring it to the podcast so that it can not only live forever for myself and my family, but so that the culture we love can live on as well. Gather up your kids for a quick reading of my favorite Christmas book!   Sponsor: PreBorn A free ultrasound can double a woman's chance of choosing life. PreBorn provides ultrasounds and ongoing support for moms in crisis. 💛 $28 sponsors one ultrasound. Give at preborn.com/speakeasy and help save a life.

  As the year comes to a close and Christmas draws near, this episode is an invitation to slow down and rethink what actually makes a year meaningful. If you're ending the year feeling like you didn't do enough, didn't accomplish enough, or didn't have any big, flashy "banner moments," this conversation is for you. What if the ordinary years—the quiet, unseen, seemingly mundane ones—are actually where God does His deepest and most transformative work? In this episode, Blake reflects on a lifetime of big dreams, ambition, and achievement, and how this year gently (and sometimes painfully) reshaped her understanding of purpose. From dreams of being a lawyer and living a "big" life, to seasons of stay-at-home motherhood, to years in podcasting and political commentary, God has repeatedly drawn her close enough to the spotlight to ask the question: Do you still want this? This year, the answer surprised her. God invited her into a slower, simpler, more ordinary rhythm—one that prioritized home, children, marriage, nervous-system healing, and time in Scripture. What felt at first like a downgrade or a pulling back revealed itself as protection, formation, and deep peace. Scripture itself is filled with ordinary faithfulness: farming, shepherding, raising children, waiting, wandering, and quiet obedience. The big miracles were never the whole story. Blake shares how stepping away from constant digital noise, limiting headlines, embracing small rituals, practicing audacious gratitude, and finding beauty in everyday moments has reshaped her identity. Faithfulness, not flashiness, is what God values. Bigger burdens don't always mean bigger blessings—and sometimes the most impactful work is the work no one sees. If your life feels small, overlooked, or slower than you hoped, be encouraged: nothing surrendered to God is wasted. The ordinary is holy ground, and God meets us there. "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." – 1 Samuel 16:7 Sponsor: CrowdHealth Health insurance shouldn't feel impossible. CrowdHealth is a healthcare alternative that puts power back in your hands. Pay a monthly fee, get bill negotiation, lower-cost prescriptions and labs, and community coverage after the first $500. ✨ Get started for $99 for your first three months with code SPEAKEASY at joincrowdhealth.com/speakeasy. (CrowdHealth is not insurance.) Sponsor: PreBorn A free ultrasound can double a woman's chance of choosing life. PreBorn provides ultrasounds and ongoing support for moms in crisis. 💛 $28 sponsors one ultrasound. Give at preborn.com/speakeasy and help save a life.