It Has to Be Said.

Jonathan Tepper on Grief, Addiction, Empathy, and Growing Up Missionary

In this episode, host Frank Schaefer talks with Jonathan Tepper—chief investment officer at Prevac Capital and author of the memoir *Shooting Up*—about his unconventional upbringing in a Spanish missionary family that ran a heroin‑addiction rehab, the profound losses he endured, and how those experiences shaped his views on suffering, empathy, and faith. Tepper reflects that suffering itself has no inherent meaning; it is our response that can either harden us or deepen our compassion for others. He also discusses the broader cultural contradictions he sees in Christianity, where literal interpretations of creation coexist with a lax approach to moral teachings, and how his parents modeled a lived love that informed his own path. The conversation weaves together personal tragedy, the challenges of growing up in a missionary context, and the insights he brings from both his memoir and his work in finance.