Fear, Faith and the Forest

Fear, Faith, and the Forest: A Podcast of Hope for the Unemployed If you're unemployed, you know the struggle. Hundreds of applications. Ghosting. Late-stage rejections. The 3 AM panic. The identity crisis. The endless negativity about how "the market is dead" and "AI is taking over." Fear, Faith, and the Forest is a weekly podcast for people walking through unemployment—created by someone still in the trenches with you. Moving forward. Driven by faith. About the Host Rich Zapata is an unemployed software engineering leader with 12+ years of experience. After 7 years at a fintech company, his position was eliminated in January 2025. Nine months later, he's still searching—and he's not waiting until he "makes it" to share what he's learned. This podcast isn't a victory lap. It's a real-time guide through the Forest.