The Wayback with Ryan Sickler – Episode 105: Amy Miller

Release Date: January 1, 2026
Guest: Amy Miller

Episode Overview

In this memorable and candid installment of The Wayback, Ryan Sickler welcomes comedian Amy Miller for a trip through her childhood, adolescence, and the sometimes absurd, sometimes dark past that shaped her. True to the podcast’s ethos, the episode mixes Amy’s irreverent wit with wistful reflections on family, faith, trauma, and what it was like growing up as the youngest in a chaotic Bay Area household. Listeners are treated to stories both hilarious and harrowing—from church van rides and summer camp crushes to survival tactics in small-town high school and revelations about Amy’s family.

Major Discussion Points and Insights

1. Amy’s Early Family Life & The “Wayback” Seat

[06:02 – 11:32]

• Amy is the youngest of four siblings, with her mother having four kids by three different fathers. Her sisters share one father, the man Amy grew up with until his death.
  • “My mom had four kids by three dads… I’m the youngest.” (06:32, Amy)
• Childhood transportation stories: “Wayback” seat meant loose in the back of an open pickup or buried under camping gear in the family Suburban.
  • “Really, more of my way back seat would have been just loose in the back of an open pickup.” (07:30, Amy)
• Home in El Sobrante (pronounced Elsa Brownie by locals)—a mix of urban and rural, working-class, “leftovers” in Spanish.
  • “We say everything up. It means the leftovers in Spanish… that's where I lived as a little kid.” (08:38, Amy)

2. Childhood Neighborhood & Family Oddities

[09:56 – 11:10]

• Amy reminisces about the family home (corner of Olinda and Valley View): a house with a perpetually broken-down boat as childhood clubhouse, and a failed DIY houseboat project.
  • “That boat was there my whole childhood… We would play inside the boat. It was kind of a little clubhouse.” (10:25, Amy)
  • Her brother lived in a makeshift plywood houseboat for a time.

3. School Transitions & Moving to Redding

[11:32 – 12:22]

• Family moved to Redding, CA for her mother’s job when Amy was starting high school—major culture shock, but Amy returned to the East Bay every chance she got.
  • “I went to high school there, but I never claim it as from there and I hated it. It was huge culture shock.” (12:04, Amy)

4. Christian Schooling & Fire-and-Brimstone Faith

[12:25 – 19:18]

• Attended Sherwood Forest Free Will Baptist Church/school, a “very conservative, fire and brimstone kind of place.”
  • “Our history and science was the Bible… we didn’t really get a true education.” (13:44, Amy)
• Teachers weren’t credentialed; anyone from the congregation could lead a class.
  • “They’d just pluck anyone and be like, ‘Do you want to teach third grade?’” (13:45, Amy)
• Youth pastor and music teacher, Jeff Dallin, later convicted as a serial child molester—dark revelations, church’s refusal to acknowledge or support survivors.
  • “So, they brought in the pastor’s wife’s son to be our youth pastor… he molested a bunch of kids there and now he’s in prison for real.” (15:21, Amy)
  • “The church said, ‘The devil got to Pastor Jeff… but at least he didn’t end up like Greg, a regular gay man.’” (17:15, Amy)
• The trauma and denial echo themes of faith, survival, and the darkness lurking in nostalgic memories.

5. Diversity, Culture Shock & Academics

[19:27 – 21:04]

• El Sobrante’s diversity (Black, Asian, Latino, white) vs. overwhelmingly white Redding.
  • “I was just total fish out of water… Very culture shocky.” (19:56, Amy)
• Maintained Christian club activities in high school, participating in wider Christian youth events.

6. Christian Summer Camp: Faith Meets Flirtation

[21:08 – 32:36]

• Describes church summer camp dynamics in the Santa Cruz Mountains: daily Bible study, competitive “Bible drills,” nightly evangelical services where kids would get “saved”—often multiple times.
  • “My favorite was always Bible drills… I crushed at Bible drills. So fast. I know all the books.” (23:06 & 24:09, Amy)
  • “There were kids got saved every single night. I’ve been saved probably 30, 35 times.” (25:31, Amy)
• Camp's covert romantic/sexual undertones:
  • Top bunk as private space, her first masturbation (“grinding on the edge of that top bunk”) with a summer crush in mind.
    • “I definitely masturbated for the first time at camp… to the thought of… Skyler. I ended up bagging him. We held hands.” (31:02, Amy)
  • Summer camp rituals (“campfire date” as social hierarchy), competitive friendships and crushes, performing religious songs for attention.
    • “Campfire night… If you turn into an old [sic], you’re a loser. Kids would write me letters through the school year.” (29:39, Amy)
• Church van as a tool for recruiting “neglected” or “abandoned” kids for church events.

7. Church, Patriotism, and Public School Life

[34:04 – 36:37]

• “See You at the Pole”—national Christian student movement: public prayer around school flagpoles as outward display of faith and patriotism.
  • “You would go stand around the flagpole… so as all the other kids are showing up, then they know, oh, these are who the Christians are.” (35:00, Amy)
• The culture of Christian merchandise—T-shirts, music, and the marketing of faith.
  • “Christian bookstores were a massive thing… your God merch.” (36:28, Amy)

8. Blended Families, Secrets, and DNA Surprises

[36:49 – 37:49]

• Amy found out at age 30 that the man she believed to be her biological father wasn’t; her mother had kept the truth from her.
  • “When I was 30, I found out that my dad was not my real dad.” (37:41, Amy)
• Family photos spur dark humor about heritage and family “secrets.”

9. Choir, Singing, and the Pull of Performing

[38:14 – 39:29]

• Participation in high school and adult choirs; classical soprano training.
• Comedy career later makes choir commitments difficult, but Amy returns to singing as emotional self-care after a rough breakup.
  • “Comedy kind of ruined it… but after my breakup I joined the LA Community College Chorus.” (39:14, Amy)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Amy on the church’s response to abuse revelations:

“The church said, ‘The devil got to Pastor Jeff and he just succumbed to temptation. But at least he didn’t end up like Greg, a regular gay man.’ That’s how dark they are.”
(17:15, Amy)

Amy’s description of campfire culture at Christian camp:

“The whole goal is the last night of camp, there’s a campfire. You gotta get a date. You go turn into an old, you’re a loser… I’m trying to get one of the bad boys.”
(29:39, Amy)

First awakening at camp:

“I definitely masturbated for the first time at camp…to the thought of Skyler. I ended up bagging him. We held hands.”
(31:03, Amy)

Ryan, on Amy’s church upbringing:

“This story coupled with what the dude did is getting so…wait, the book’s laid open and you’ve got eight fingers just ready to octopus it or something?”
(24:33, Ryan)

Amy, about being recruited to church via van:

“The van would come around and pick up, you know, abandoned kids. That’s how we started to go—cuz we were just neglected. My dad was like, well, football’s on Sunday, so yeah, take my kids in your van, strange man.”
(26:13, Amy)

Amy, on diversity versus the move to Redding:

“Very mixed… and then in Redding I was just total fish out of water… so new school, no friends, just hated it.”
(21:04, Amy)

Amy, on family secrets:

“When I was 30, I found out that my dad was not my real dad…”
(37:41, Amy)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:17 – Amy’s introduction
• 06:02 – Sibling structure and family seating arrangements
• 08:38 – El Sobrante described
• 10:25 – The forever-dry boat and DIY houseboat stories
• 12:04 – The move to Redding and culture shock
• 13:44 – Sherwood Forest Free Will Baptist School details
• 15:21 – Scandal of youth pastor, church’s reaction
• 17:15 – Church’s preference for a molester over a gay member
• 19:56 – School diversity and transition to culture shock
• 23:06 – Competitive Bible drills (Bible verse speed contests)
• 25:31 – Nightly evangelical “salvation” rituals at camp
• 29:39 – The social importance of campfire night & relationships at camp
• 31:02 – Amy’s first sexual awakening (masturbation at camp)
• 34:04 – “See You at the Pole” Christian school event
• 36:28 – Christian merchandise and stores
• 37:41 – The family secret: learning of her biological father
• 39:14 – Returning to choir after a breakup

Final Notes

Amy Miller’s appearance on The Wayback is both poignantly funny and raw—an illuminating portrait not only of her individual survival and humor but also of the contradictory forces at play in American childhood: faith and trauma, nostalgia and revelation, wholesome traditions and their darker undercurrents. The episode is rich with anecdote, insight, warmth, and Amy’s signature sharp, self-aware comedy.

Promo Info:

• See Amy Miller live: tour dates at amymillercomedy.com
• Instagram: @amymillercomedy

(This summary covers the essential stories, themes, and character of the conversation, preserving the candid tone and memorable lines of the participants. Ads, announcements, and non-content have been omitted.)