Liberty Lost Podcast: Unveiling Liberty Univ.’s Secret Home

Award‑winning audio journalist T.J. Raphael turns his lens inward in Liberty Lost, a six‑episode investigative podcast from Wondery, exposing practices at Liberty University’s long‑running maternity home for unwed teens: the Liberty Godparent Home.

Podcast cover art for Liberty Lost

Released June 9 2025 on Wondery+ (and across all platforms from June 23), this podcast arrives near the third anniversary of the nationwide overturning of Roe v. Wade. It digs deep into the home’s origins, operations, and its powerful place in shaping post‑Roe pro‑life strategies.


Table of Contents

1. A hidden ministry with a powerful mission 🍼

  • Founded in 1982 by Dr. Jerry Falwell Sr.—Liberty University’s founder—the Godparent Home offers housing and support for up to six pregnant teens under 21 per stay .
  • The ministry’s mission: “to save one life while changing another,” offering counseling, maternity-care classes, and adoption or parenting paths .
  • It evolved, adding a “Mommy & Me” wing in 2015 to support teen mothers who chose to parent. Staff report a recent uptick in young women opting to raise their babies instead of placing them for adoption .

2. Episodes at the forefront: Six stories using firsthand accounts

T.J. Raphael’s narrative structure:

  1. Origins of secrecy – How the Godparent Home operates quietly inside Liberty University’s grounds.
  2. Voices from within – Features four women with lived experience from 1991–2008.
  3. Regime under scrutiny – Personal stories depict emotional pressure, surveillance, and punishment tied to moral codes and sexual activity.
  4. Scholarship carrot, adoption stick – Scholarship incentives encouraged compliance—with adoption decisions often made under significant stress.
  5. Post‑Roe implications – Analysis connects the home’s tactics to broader pro‑life organizing and legal trends after Roe was overturned.
  6. Modern echoes – The home still functions—raising questions about consent, coercion, and institutional power.

3. Testimonies that shock and haunt

From the podcast:

These voices offer vital insight into a secretive culture cloaked by good intentions.


4. An institution under pressure

Liberty University, meanwhile, has faced extensive controversy:

Liberty Lost implicitly sits at the crossroads of moral mission and institutional power.


5. The moral and political implications


6. Why it matters—today

  1. Timing: Launching in June 2025, near the anniversary of the Dobbs decision that ended federal abortion protections.
  2. Public interest: Society is grappling with how pregnancy care, forced compliance, and altruism intersect.
  3. Freedom of choice: As legal restrictions tighten, narratives like these shed light on chilling alternatives and unintended outcomes.
  4. Institutional accountability: The podcast joins multiple exposes scrutinizing Liberty University’s internal culture and policies.

7. What critics and defenders say


8. Deeper connections: Liberty, Falwell legacy, and reproductive politics


9. Impact, reach, and future reporting

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