About – Doubletake

About Doubletake

Doubletake tells true stories. We tell stories that are funny, or heartbreaking, or thought-provoking. That stick with you long after it’s over. That make you think again about the world God made and our place in it. You don’t find those stories by looking in a mirror—you have to look out the window. So that’s what we do. We interview people for hours, and then we tell their stories faithfully and creatively in about 45 minutes. Each episode weaves together voices, music, archival audio, and original reporting.

Based out of a small Virginian studio, we’re a team of producers, marketers, and one Canadian hand at the wheel. We seek to find and produce stories that help people see each other face-to-face. We’d love to bring you in on that journey. Scroll below to meet the team and to find out how you can get involved.

Stories change lives. So come on up to the window. Let’s take another look.

Meet Your Host

Les Sillars

I was raised in a central Alberta town where you could see the Rockies on a clear day. I became a reporter in 1993, joined World News Group in 1999, and have taught at Patrick Henry College since 2002. At age 46, I abandoned my childhood dream of playing in the NBA. I really do believe that stories change lives; they changed mine. Favorite C.S. Lewis quote: the idea that journalists can be saved is a doctrine “if not contrary to, then certainly above, reason!”

Meet the Doubletake Team

Hover over each team member's picture to read their bio

I was born in Wisconsin but my heart’s home is in the wilderness of Northern Manitoba—specifically, my family’s fishing lodge. I spent my summers among the biggest sky, the brightest stars, mesmerizing northern lights, and wolves that sing at night. Growing up there made me obsessed with finding beauty and adventure. I saw the unchanging nature of God within the wilderness and I see those same truths in stories. I once heard someone say that where a person is from says more about who they are than most anything else. So as I thought about how to describe myself, I settled on the place that made me who I am.

Grace Torgerson

- Marketing Director -

If it’s possible to be a coffee enthusiast without being a coffee snob, I’ll gladly walk the line. I love all kinds of coffee except burnt, and you can always find me writing with mug in hand. I love making stories come alive on a page. I’m a Virginia-based email marketer at my college and a freelance writer with two publications back home in Florida where I grew up. I love beautiful things and dub all things art that capture beauty: the cello’s rumble, an old sailboat at the pier, the Bible open to the book of Ephesians, the restless sea, a trail of ink on a blank page, and of course, the smell of coffee.

Beth Whitehead

- Partnerships & Advertising Director -

I hate writing bios. But I love writing in general. In fact, that is how I found myself working for this podcast: I love people, I love stories, and I love telling people’s stories beautifully. On that note, I love beauty, whether it’s the jewel-toned mountain ranges of my home in NC or well-loved books or large orchestras or little animals or quiet time with Jesus. I love the quote by T.S. Eliot: “At the still point, there the dance is.” I am seeking to pursue that still point in a busy world and the dance within.

Allyn Sims

- Film Director -

I grew up in the deserts of southern California and among the mountains of northern Idaho. I have always wanted to be a writer, and journalism allows me to be part of stories that are bigger than myself. I was the editor-in-chief of my college publication and once interviewed Matt Walsh entirely by accident. I also had the honor of publishing an article in a Montana magazine about the power of equine therapy in the big sky country. When I’m not hunched over my laptop typing away, I love to fling weights around in the gym or try my hand at new recipes on the stovetop.

Emma Perley

- Producer -

I grew up in California and moved to Texas when I was 14. Virginia is home now, but there's nothing quite like the Texas sky. I love journalism because it lets me listen firsthand to stories that have me very literally hopping up and down while I retell them at warp speed to my friends. Telling other people's stories is a big responsibility, but there's just something addicting about realizing a story is changing you as you immerse yourself in it.

Abi Churchill

- Producer -

I was born and raised in the least Texan place in Texas: Austin. I’ve studied journalism at Patrick Henry College since 2018 and interned at World News Group since fall 2020. I hope I never take for granted the privilege of stepping into someone else’s story. When I’m not writing, I can often be found painting, singing, or taking far too many pictures of sunsets.

Elizabeth Russell

- Producer -

I grew up a military child (read: “vagabond and nomad”). I’ve worked at WORLD for the past several months—going on about a year by the time you finally hear my voice on DBLTKE. I’m almost as funny as I think I am. I’ve contemplated getting an octopus tattoo. Being a journalist scares me to death. (It feels like playing Russian Roulette every day.) I get paid for it, though. I (sometimes) wish I could just be a novelist, but I can’t write to save my life, I need money to survive, and I go insane when I’m bored. Cheers.

Josh Schumacher

- Producer -

Hi! I’m from a small town in the middle of a cornfield in Indiana. I studied journalism at Patrick Henry College and I’ve been working with WORLD and my hometown paper, The Rushville Recorder. If I’m not writing, I’m probably water skiing or sitting on the floor with my dogs. I’m a big fan of dad jokes, so if you hear a pun in one of our podcasts, it’s probably either because I wrote it or because I helped edit it and laughed so hard they kept it in. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Mary Muncy

- Producer -

I'm from upstate New York, which yes, means anywhere outside NYC, but for me means Rochester and Lake Ontario. I love film and conveying ideas through beautiful and compelling visuals, even down to the nerdy equipment and aesthetic level. I’ve been creating visual content since high school, which started with my family and friends, and I have always been intrigued by a good story. My life’s goal is to be able to tell stories that renew a sense of wonder of what T.S. Eliot called “the permanent things.” Enjoy!

Caleb Symons

- Film Producer -

Hear our ideas come to life

Experience thought-provoking stories without reading a single word. Doubletake podcast episodes are perfect to take on the go.

Doubletake Moments

Doubletake: The moment your story intersects with theirs.

Do you have an interesting story that connects in some way to one of our stories? Share your Doubletake moment with the team for a chance to be featured on an episode or social media post!