Tethered

About Tethered

The things we're tied to really matter. Sometimes "success" and healing is a matter of being lassoed to the right people, the right places... and even the right dog.

Publisher

James Dickerson, Andy Jenkins

Category

education · health & fitness · science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

13 Jul 2026

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

14 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   12 Oct 2026

   13 | What We Hand Our Children to Carry (Generational Issues, 2 of 2)

   His health didn’t collapse all at once. It drifted. Weight gain. Diabetes. Smoking. Alcohol. Injuries. Prescriptions. One thing stacked on another until, at one point, James weighed more than 400 pounds and landed in the hospital with blood sugar over 500. ⚠️ In this episode of Tethered, James talks about the physical side of accumulated trauma—and how neglecting your body can sometimes be connected to something much deeper: Not caring whether you live. 🧐 Then comes another wake-up call. After years of pain medication following military injuries, James says he reached a point where he needed pills just to feel normal. But then his daughter Ashley asked him to attend a daddy-daughter dance. He was out of pills. So he bought some on the street just to make it through the evening. That was the moment something changed. 👇 But Ashley’s story reveals something else too. Trauma doesn’t stay neatly contained inside one person. Families carry it. Spouses carry it. Children can carry the effects of environments they never chose. ⭐️ This episode is about health, addiction, family, responsibility, and choosing what happens next. You can’t rewrite the past. But you can start stewarding what’s still within your control—and choose a healthier path forward. _______________ 📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james (http://www.GY6.online/james) ⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com (http://www.JamesForVets.com) 📓 Grab Andy’s book (or audiobook) “Soul & Spirit | Health + Healing” = www.GY6.online/SSHH (http://www.GY6.online/SSHH) 🎙️GY6 live events = www.GY6.online/events (http://www.GY6.online/events)

2. 

   5 Oct 2026

   12 | Blessings or Curses? (Generational Issues 1 of 2)

   He barely knew his biological father growing up. To him, the one the family called “Big Jim” was mostly a stranger. Then came one Christmas visit that James carried with him for decades— along with one worn-out orange bicycle he refused to ride but never threw away. 🚲 In this episode, James talks about fathers, sons, fractured families, and the strange ways resentment can become part of our identity. He also tells how, later in life, he and his dad finally became close. Really close. ❤️🩹 Then Big Jim went to prison. The charges were false, the plea deal went sideways, and the truth surfaced only after the sentence had already begun. 👇 Ironically, those prison years became part of what finally brought father and son together. James visited regularly, and the relationship that never fully formed in childhood began to take shape between two grown men. ⭐️ This episode is about, well… the stuff that keeps going forward through family lines… Patterns. Pain. Behavior. Legacy. Because families pass things down—good and bad. And at some point, every generation gets a choice: Repeat the pattern… … or become the place where it stops. _______________ 📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james (http://www.GY6.online/james) ⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com (http://www.JamesForVets.com) 📓 Grab Andy’s book (or audiobook) “Soul & Spirit | Health + Healing” = www.GY6.online/SSHH (http://www.GY6.online/SSHH) 🎙️GY6 live events = www.GY6.online/events (http://www.GY6.online/events)

3. 

   28 Sept 2026

   11 | The Man Who Chose Us (Grandpa Lloyd)

   Let’s meet the most influential man in James’ life— according to James himself… 👇 At 14 years old, Lloyd stole his older brother’s birth certificate from a San Antonio orphanage… …and joined the military. By 16, he was a prisoner of war in Korea. ⭐️ James met him when he was Grandpa Lloyd. But long before that, he was a teenage soldier. A POW. A man who came home blind, in a wheelchair, and carrying injuries that would affect him for the rest of his life. 💜 But this isn’t only a war story. ❤️🩹 It’s also a love story. Lloyd came home believing the girl who helped him survive captivity was still waiting for him. She wasn’t. Marianne was pregnant by another man who had disappeared. Lloyd’s response? He loved her anyway. He married her, raised her daughter as his own, and kept the truth private for decades. 🤫 Years later, one family secret finally surfaced—and revealed just how differently life might have turned out. This episode is about resilience, family, legacy, and a kind of love that chooses to stay. Because inheritance is what you physically leave behind— houses, cars, money, and other “stuff.” Legacy is what keeps living through the people you loved… … and the ripple effect that compounds in awesome ways. _______________ 📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james (http://www.GY6.online/james) ⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com (http://www.JamesForVets.com) 📓 Grab Andy’s book (or audiobook) “Soul & Spirit | Health + Healing” = www.GY6.online/SSHH (http://www.GY6.online/SSHH) 🎙️GY6 live events = www.GY6.online/events (http://www.GY6.online/events)

4. 

   21 Sept 2026

   10 | Trained to Go to War, but Never Trained to Come Home

   James Dickerson came from a long line of warriors. But growing up, he mostly heard the funny stories. The cold. The food. The strange things soldiers do. Not the horrors.  That changed when James went to Bosnia. In this episode of Tethered, he talks about what happens when the stories veterans carry are too heavy to casually hand to the people they love—and why some experiences demand the right time, place, and purpose before they’re shared. 🇺🇸 James takes us back to the Sava River, the devastation of Bosnia, and the realities of a war zone that had once hosted the Olympics. Along the way, we also meet Irina— his East German wife— whose own childhood behind the Iron Curtain carried trauma James didn’t fully understand at the time. 👇 And then the story comes home. Because surviving war is one thing. But re-entering family life is another. James describes coming home physically hurt, mentally exhausted, disconnected, and lacking the tools to be the husband and father he wanted to be. ⭐️ This episode is about war, family, identity, and reintegration. Because sometimes people are trained exceptionally well to go… …and almost not at all to come back. ___________________ 📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james (http://www.GY6.online/james) ⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com (http://www.JamesForVets.com) 📓 Grab Andy’s book (or audiobook) “Soul & Spirit | Health + Healing” = www.GY6.online/SSHH (http://www.GY6.online/SSHH) 📳 The Adverse Childhood Experiences Assessment = www.GY6.online/ACE (http://www.GY6.online/ACE) 🎙️GY6 live events = www.GY6.online/events (http://www.GY6.online/events)

5. 

   14 Sept 2026

   9 | Built from Broken Pieces

   James Dickerson had already been through chaos, rehab, crime, drugs, and more than his share of instability before he ever put on a uniform. Then the two Kathies gave him a choice: 1️⃣ Leave the house OR— 2️⃣ Go to Job Corps, get his GED, learn a trade, and get himself into the military. He chose the Army. 🪖 Strangely enough, basic training felt almost comfortable. The yelling. The structure. The pressure. The schedules. James had spent much of his life learning how to function inside chaos, so while others struggled, he thrived. 💥 But there was a problem: The Army gave direction to a man who was already carrying years of unresolved trauma WITHOUT ever addressing the unresolved trauma… 👇 Eventually James deployed to Bosnia, injured but unwilling to leave his team behind. And what he witnessed there introduced another kind of wound. Not simply fear. Not simply PTSD. But moral injury—the guilt, shame, and internal conflict that can come when the things you witness, do, or cannot prevent collide with your deepest beliefs about right and wrong. ⭐️ This episode explores the difference between wounds of the soul and wounds of the spirit. Because you cannot heal the right problem by treating the wrong wound. ___________________ 📓 Grab Andy’s book (or audiobook) “Soul & Spirit | Health + Healing” = www.GY6.online/SSHH (http://www.GY6.online/SSHH) 📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james (http://www.GY6.online/james) ⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com (http://www.JamesForVets.com) 📳 The Adverse Childhood Experiences Assessment = www.GY6.online/ACE (http://www.GY6.online/ACE) 📺 The short video describing the difference between PTSD and Moral Injury = www.GY6.online/blog/which (http://www.GY6.online/blog/which) 🎙️GY6 live events = www.GY6.online/events (http://www.GY6.online/events)

6. 

   7 Sept 2026

   8 | Wherever You Go, There You Are (The Two Kathies, part 1)

   A year-long “rehab tour” provided James with something he didn’t have when he left: An education in drugs, manipulation, and how the wrong crowd operates. And before long, he put some of it to use. In this episode of Tethered, James continues the story of The Two Kathies— his mother, Kathy, and the woman who became an important part of their family. 👇 By high school, James says and a group of friends had built what amounted to a teenage crime syndicate: burglaries, stolen vehicles, guns, a fence to move stolen property, and enough money to make them feel untouchable. The Two Kathies eventually realized something had to change. So they moved him out of San Antonio. But there was one problem: You can change locations without changing what’s happening inside you. ⭐️ Dallas brought a new school, a job in a rough pawn shop, different people… …and eventually the very drug use James had been falsely labeled for years earlier.  This episode is about environment, influence, labels, and the things that slowly become “normal.” Because when chaos is the water you’ve always lived in, sometimes you don’t recognize it as chaos at all. And healing begins when you finally see there may be another way. ___________________ 📓 Grab Andy’s book (or audiobook) “Soul & Spirit | Health + Healing” = www.GY6.online/SSHH (http://www.GY6.online/SSHH) 📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james (http://www.GY6.online/james) ⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com (http://www.JamesForVets.com) 📳 The Adverse Childhood Experiences Assessment = www.GY6.online/ACE (http://www.GY6.online/ACE) 🎙️GY6 live events = www.GY6.online/events (http://www.GY6.online/events)

7. 

   31 Aug 2026

   7 | Hell's Angels and Other Kinds of Rescue

   As a kid, James gets beaten up by another boy living in an apartment complex filled with Hell’s Angels. His four-foot-something redheaded mother finds out… … marches straight into the middle of the bikers… … pounds on the door… … and confronts the boy’s mother. 🐾 What follows is an unexpected lesson in courage, respect, protection, and the strange ways people can become connected. But that story opens the door to something much deeper. James talks about being placed in a group home, the abuse he experienced there, his mother’s own recovery from alcoholism, and the year of his teenage life spent moving through treatment centers for an addiction he says he never actually had. 👇 The more nobody believed him, the more James learned how to tell them exactly what they expected to hear. And along the way, he received an education he never needed. ⭐️ Sometimes the solution to one problem becomes the beginning of another. This episode explores what happens when we manage symptoms without ever reaching the root—and why real healing requires going deeper… ___________________ 📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james (http://www.GY6.online/james) ⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com (http://www.JamesForVets.com) 📓 Grab Andy’s book (or audiobook) “Soul & Spirit | Health + Healing” = www.GY6.online/SSHH (http://www.GY6.online/SSHH)

8. 

   24 Aug 2026

   6 | The past explains it (even though it doesn’t excuse it)

   The story of trauma and chaos and confusion didn’t begin with the military, service dogs, or the battlefield. It began much earlier. With a teenage mother… A broken marriage… An abusive stepfather… Constant military moves… And a childhood where chaos became normal. In this episode of Tethered, we go back to the beginning and meet Kathy—James’ mother—and Uncle Lloyd, two people carrying enormous amounts of trauma of their own. (Nope, their stories didn’t start with the *first moment of trauma either.) 👇 James recounts the violence inside his home, the years of alcoholism and abuse, and the way those experiences shaped his understanding of anger, survival, trust, and family. Then the story takes an even darker turn. After Kathy suffers a brutal attack, her life begins to unravel. James is temporarily placed outside the home, and Uncle Lloyd— a Coast Guard veteran carrying his own unresolved trauma— steps into the story in a way James would never forget. ⭐️ But this episode isn’t simply about what happened. It’s about why people become who they become. Disorder. Decision. Drive. Trauma. Environment. Responsibility. Survival. Sometimes the better question isn’t, “What’s wrong with you?” Sometimes it’s: “What happened to you… and what are you still carrying?” ❤️🩹 Or, to ask it another way… Do we have compounding chaos or do we have compounding order…? ___________________ 📓 Grab Andy’s book (or audiobook) “Soul & Spirit | Health + Healing” = www.GY6.online/SSHH (http://www.GY6.online/SSHH) 📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james (http://www.GY6.online/james) ⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com (http://www.JamesForVets.com) 📳 The Adverse Childhood Experiences Assessment = www.GY6.online/ACE (http://www.GY6.online/ACE) 🎙️GY6 live events = www.GY6.online/events (http://www.GY6.online/events)

9. 

   17 Aug 2026

   5 | Crashing Into Grace (The Wreck)

   Things break. Sometimes it’s people, other times it’s place, and in other moments it’s situations. The thing is, well… Restoration doesn’t always look like a “precise return” to what we once had. Many times, grace moves us forward to EVEN BETTER, but (and this is the tension) a move forward doesn’t always erase the pain of the past. 💔 James and Andy talk about the infamous time the mobile home became untethered from the semi that was pulling it AND THEN made it’s way down the interstate towards the Tundra + RV that were parked way off the side of the road… And, they dialogue about the chaos and confusion created in that moment, as well as what occurred afterwards. In fact, in a real sense, they— and YOU— are walking through the aftermath of that moment… 🛻 ___________________ 📓 Grab Andy’s book (or audiobook) “Soul & Spirit | Health + Healing” = www.GY6.online/SSHH (http://www.GY6.online/SSHH) 📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james (http://www.GY6.online/james) ⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com (http://www.JamesForVets.com) 📳 The Adverse Childhood Experiences Assessment = www.GY6.online/ACE (http://www.GY6.online/ACE) 📺 Watch Michelle Hoffman’s Emmy-award winning video about James = www.GY6.online/blog/james (http://www.GY6.online/blog/james) 📺 The short video describing the difference between PTSD and Moral Injury = www.GY6.online/blog/which (http://www.GY6.online/blog/which) 📺 The video about “restoration doesn’t always mean return” = www.GY6.online/blog/restoration (http://www.GY6.online/blog/restoration) 🎙️GY6 live events = www.GY6.online/events (http://www.GY6.online/events) 💻 Soul Wholeness Video course, on-demand = www.GY6.online/SWV (http://www.GY6.online/SWV)

10. 

    10 Aug 2026

    Bonus | The Waterfall of Grace

    We jump all the way ahead in the story and talk about Grace, James’ baby girl. At one point while doing the story capture for the upcoming book, he told me a story about Grace. ‼️ But then I wondered, “Is this REALLY our story to share here, OR is it something that we need to just set aside and let her share later— if she ever wants to…?” Well, providentially, James and Grace were rolling through town again— all the way from San Antonio to Atlanta, which led them straight through Birmingham. “Hey, I think Grace will talk to you on that microphone,” James said… By then, the first episode of the podcast had released. Grace knew there wouldn’t be any shenanigans or sucker-punches… just people telling stories about overcoming, and then making observations along the way to empower others to move forward… ⭐️ Grace not only filled in the gaps on the story James told (and gave us her blessing to share it), she ALSO talked more about family dynamics and what little girls want from their dads— especially military and first-responder type dads. But it probably applies to all of us. ❤️🩹 ___________________ 📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james (http://www.GY6.online/james) ‼️ Learn more about accumulated trauma = short video at https://www.gy6.online/blog/accumulated (https://www.gy6.online/blog/accumulated) Video explaining the difference in PTSD and Moral Injury = https://www.gy6.online/blog/which (https://www.gy6.online/blog/which) ⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com (http://www.JamesForVets.com) 📓 Grab Andy’s book (or audiobook) “Soul & Spirit | Health + Healing” = www.GY6.online/SSHH (http://www.GY6.online/SSHH)

11. 

    3 Aug 2026

    4 | Accumulated Trauma & Compounding Chaos (Billy Dayoc)

    Life sometimes hands us big knockout punches. The big blows that put you on that mat. Sometimes. Yes, a some of the trauma we encounter is like a TKO. It knocks the breathe out of you and places you on the ground, leaving you struggling to get back up… 🥊 But other trauma is the small stuff that accumulates… … if “big T” trauma is the equivalent of a single knockout punch, then this “little t” stuff is the equivalent of, well… stepping in poop as you walk through a Texas cow field on a hot summer day. It sticks to your shoes and you brush it off, until you don’t… … or until you can’t. … and each step in it makes walking forward more difficult… … and makes it MORE likely that you’ll step into even more… … and before long the small stuff accelerates and is so much larger than you imagined. … and, of course, everyone smells every everywhere you go— even LOONGG after you’ve left the field where you acquired the poo. 💩💩💩💩💩 And then there’s the layer of adverse childhood experiences, and all the things that CAN be picked up throughout life, things that just seem “normal” when there is no other grid for normal— expect for the compounding chaos that you just know as “life.”  People can only carry so much. We don’t come with an unlimited capacity to carry grief and stress and pain and pressure and the effects of guilt and shame and sin. We weren’t designed for it. We were created for paradise with a perfectly good God. But that’s NOT what we’re experiencing this side of heaven… 💥 And that leads us to the story of Billy Dayoc… .. and the observation that the military CAN BE a massively impactful chapter of someone’s life… … as can the other things experienced while serving / adjacent to serving / before serving / after serving / etc… … but it’s just one chapter. Not to minimize it, but… 🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖 There are so many other factors that happen in life that we need to address… ___________________ 📓 Grab Andy’s book (or audiobook) “Soul & Spirit | Health + Healing” = www.GY6.online/SSHH (http://www.GY6.online/SSHH) 📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james (http://www.GY6.online/james) ⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com (http://www.JamesForVets.com) 📳 The Adverse Childhood Experiences Assessment = www.GY6.online/ACE (http://www.GY6.online/ACE) 📺 Watch Michelle Hoffman’s Emmy-award winning video about James = www.GY6.online/blog/james (http://www.GY6.online/blog/james) 📺 The short video describing the difference between PTSD and Moral Injury = www.GY6.online/blog/which (http://www.GY6.online/blog/which) 📺 Video with all of the suicide stats Andy mentions in this episode = https://www.gy6.online/blog/suicide (https://www.gy6.online/blog/suicide) 📺The video on accumulated trauma = https://www.gy6.online/blog/accumulated (https://www.gy6.online/blog/accumulated) 🎙️GY6 live events = www.GY6.online/events (http://www.GY6.online/events)

12. 

    27 Jul 2026

    3 | Dogs (and People) Don’t Train Alone

    Look back at every pivotal moment in your life, and the transition probably has more to do with a relationship than a raw decision. This means that each time you “leveled up” and achieved something, there were probably other people you were connected to… … and each time you, well, took a plunge into a different direction, there were probably others involved there, too. 🔗 For sure, this doesn’t invalidate our victories nor does it diminish our responsibility for bad choices… but, it does highlight something central to the human condition: we are relational. We rarely succeed alone. We rarely “mess up” alone. And when it comes to trauma… well, people rarely heal alone. ❤️🩹 Again, most of the data suggests we need RELATIONSHIPS in order to full walk out of the pains of our past and into our truest, highest potential. Sometimes, those relationships begin with dogs… … because neither dogs NOR people reach peak performance on their own. 🐶 https://www.gy6.online/podcasts/tethered/episodes/2149234174 ___________________ 📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james (http://www.GY6.online/james) 📺 Watch Michelle Hoffman’s Emmy-award winning video about James = www.GY6.online/blog/james (http://www.GY6.online/blog/james) ⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com (http://www.JamesForVets.com) 📓 Grab Andy’s book (or audiobook) “Soul & Spirit | Health + Healing” = www.GY6.online/SSHH (http://www.GY6.online/SSHH)

13. 

    20 Jul 2026

    2 | Weak is the new strong (Angel and Alex, part 2)

    There’s something powerful about story… … especially stories we encounter in real time with actual people… 💥 … which is what James and Alex encountered along the way to pick pick up Angel… 🐾 Ancient rabbis believed that each time a story of redemption was told, the retelling of the story carried the exact same power and imparted the same possibilities to those who heard it as the person who lived the story actually experienced. In other words, you find yourself wrapped in that same power of the past again in the present. Perhaps you’ve experienced it— — You hear of a miraculous healing and sense faith rising — You hear of a restarted relationship and sense yours can mend — You hear of a financial breakthrough and sense hope for your situation — You hear of another person facing Post Traumatic Stress, Moral Injury, Suicide… and you sense you can push forward too… ⭐️ Again… There’s something STRONG about story. Especially the “overcoming” version that’s transparent about the obstacles and failures encountered along the way. Revelation 12 says that we overcome by two things— the blood of Jesus AND the power of your story (see Revelation 12:11). That is, we overcome by— — That past work that Jesus has already done 2,000 years ago, and — The ongoing work of declaring what He’s doing in our lives right now. When we share the stories— when you share your story of overcoming— people in midst of their valley sense there might be a way forward. 🛻 This is one of the reasons we find so many instructions throughout the Bible to talk about the stories of God’s past provision. For instance, — God told the Children of Israel to continually talk about how they were redeemed from slavery and walked through the Red Sea (see Exodus 12). — He reminded each generation to tell the next generation the stories of breakthrough and blessing, including all of those which happened during their lifetime as well as those leading up to it (see Psalm 145:4). — The Children of Israel even created monuments to elicit questions and conversations, so they could retell the stories (i.e., Joshua 4:21-22). Each time a story was told— and retold— of how God interrupted a catastrophe and ignited hope, the same power was unleashed again. 🛻 Our prayer is that this story is one of those moments for you. ___________________ 📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james (http://www.GY6.online/james) 💥 Learn more about the difference between PTSD and Moral Injury, 12-minute video = https://www.gy6.online/blog/which (https://www.gy6.online/blog/which) ⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com (http://www.JamesForVets.com)

14. 

    13 Jul 2026

    1 | I need a favor (Angel and Alex, part 1)

    Several years ago, James Dickerson decided to “go public” with all the service dog project he was doing… … and it happened ABOUT the same time that Eno, a combat veteran who had lost just about everything and was rebuilding, inquired about a dog. 🐾 His request wasn’t one James could generally fulfill, yet a twist of Providence entered the picture and the problem was solved. That led to a road trip to go get the dog… Which led to inviting Alex (another veteran who rarely left his house due to PTSD and other issues) to take the road trip with him… Which led to all kinds of interactions along the way. 🛻 En route, James entered a new chapter— something previously “tucked and locked” behind closed doors… … as did Alex… … as did a whole lot of others in the wake of it all. 👇 And that’s the subject of this talk, which all began with “I need a favor” stacked upon “I need a favor” heaped upon “I need a favor” pounced upon “I need a favor,” too. ⭐️ Buckle up, and ride along… ___________________ 📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james (http://www.GY6.online/james) 💥 Learn more about the difference between PTSD and Moral Injury, 12-minute video = https://www.gy6.online/blog/which (https://www.gy6.online/blog/which) 🐾 Rhea County Animal Shelter, mentioned in this episode = https://www.facebook.com/rheacountyanimalshelter/ (https://www.facebook.com/rheacountyanimalshelter/) ⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com (http://www.JamesForVets.com)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings