Advertise on podcast: Circle This

We're bringing The WECAN Podcast to Circle This to share a special conversation with our friend Stephanie Ferrario—this time, with Dre and Em  on the other side of the microphone.       Dre and Stephanie Ferrario met in Dre's online circles during the pandemic. Around that time, Stephanie launched SHECAN, which has since grown into WECAN, a platform sharing stories, mentorship and the wisdom of people leading by example. Their connection and their communities have continued to grow and deepen.       Now the microphones are turned around. Stephanie welcomes Dre and Em onto The WECAN Podcast to talk about how Circle This began, why honest stories help us feel less alone, and the friendship that makes the show possible.       They get personal about chosen family, working with someone you love, navigating conflict and learning to receive love when it's offered. They also dream about bringing the connection they experience through podcasting into shared spaces in real life.       We're grateful to Stephanie for opening this conversation and delighted to share it with our circle.       Follow @wecan.shecan and learn more at wecan.world.  Subscribe to their youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Wecan.Shecan     --       Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia  For sponsorship inquiries [email protected]

What changes when we stop trying to be the most impressive person in the room and start taking care of the room itself?       Broadway director, educator, and producer Marc Tumminelli joins Dre and Em for a deeply moving conversation about creativity, collaboration, grief, leadership, and the courage to open ourselves to possibility.       Marc shares how theater helped save his life, why the most powerful creative spaces are built on connection, and what sitting in circle taught him about listening, restraint, and receiving love. He opens up about the sudden loss of his mother, the signs and rituals that have accompanied his grief, and the spiritual awakening that has changed how he moves through the world.       From rehearsal rooms and Broadway dreams to manifestation, self-consciousness, and the unforgettable lesson he learned from Cynthia Erivo, this conversation reminds us that great leadership begins with care—and that anything can happen when we allow ourselves to celebrate the dream while it is happening.       Marc Tumminelli is the founder of Broadway Workshop and Broadway Events and an award-winning theatrical director whose work spans Broadway, film, cabaret, and arts education.       Follow: @marctumminelli @broadwayworkshop @bwayevents Learn More At: www.marctumminelli.com     --       Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia  For sponsorship inquiries [email protected]

After taking August off, Dre and Em are back and ready for the newness of a new cycle of the school year to begin.        In this welcome-back episode, they catch up on wedding-planning chaos, experiments in intentional living, and the practices that helped them get out of autopilot and come back to connection.       They share about a 30-day meditation challenge, unexpected lessons in accountability, community, and the power of deciding how you want to feel before the day even begins. Em shares the Rockefeller Center moment that changed her relationship with her phone—and made her realize just how much of the actual world she was missing while looking at a screen.       Dre introduces a meditation she's been exploring in circles, "remembering the future" and considers what if we could look at a future vision the same way choose to look back on a memory, and use the feeling of that future self to guide the choices we're making right now?       Dre leads Em (and all of us!) through a meditation traveling between past, present, and future to uncover the through-line of our own stories—and perhaps find a little more peace in the present moment.        Welcome back to Circle This.      --       Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia        For sponsorship inquiries [email protected]       If you loved this conversation, listen next to our episode with Tal Rabinowitz, "Trust the Signs: Transition Your Career and Powerfully Manifest." It is beautifully aligned with everything explored here.

What if the experiences that shaped you—even the painful ones—weren't detours at all, but preparation for the life you're here to live? This episode will leave you thinking differently about your past, your purpose, and the healing power of genuine human connection.       In this episode, Dre sits down with educator, speaker, and Kid Grit co-founder Julia Gabor for a deeply honest conversation about childhood loneliness, resilience, emotional intelligence, and the surprising ways our greatest struggles can become our greatest contribution.       Dre and Julia grew up in New York City, and their circles have remained connected through the years, bringing  a love, history, and genuine chemistry to this conversation.       Julia shares the remarkable story of growing up far too fast, raising herself through family dysfunction, addiction, and instability before dedicating her life to helping children, teachers, and communities build emotional resilience through authentic human connection. Together, she and Dre explore why loneliness has become one of our greatest modern epidemics, why emotional intelligence may be the most important skill we'll ever teach, and how storytelling can transform shame into purpose.       This conversation is about much more than education. It's about learning to stop asking, "Why did this happen to me?" and beginning to ask, "How did this prepare me for the life I'm here to live?" If you've ever wondered whether your past still defines you—or whether it might actually be pointing you toward your purpose—this episode is for you.       Follow: @julesfrmnyc Learn More At: https://kid-grit.com/     --       Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace For sponsorship inquiries, email: [email protected]

In this episode,  actress, author, therapist, and addiction specialist Rosa Blasi joins Dre for an honest conversation about intuition, reinvention, accountability, grief, and the courage to trust yourself.        Together they explore why so many of us ignore our instincts, how feelings of "not enough" quietly shape our lives, and what it actually takes to break old patterns instead of simply understanding them.       They dive into the connection between the healing arts and the creative arts, the courage to tell the truth about your life, and why building self-trust often begins with keeping the smallest promises to yourself.       This is a conversation about owning your voice, following your inner knowing, and remembering that your next chapter doesn't begin when life changes, it begins the moment you decide to trust yourself.       Follow: @therosablasi Learn More At: www.rosablasitherapy.com     --     Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace For sponsorship inquiries, email: [email protected]

Davide De Pierro has become one of the internet's most thoughtful voices on love, heartbreak, and modern relationships as he willing asks questions many of us quietly carry.       In this conversation, we circle around modern masculinity, loneliness, dating, and the stories we tell ourselves about love. Along the way, an even bigger question emerges: What are we really searching for? Is it permanence...or presence?       Together we explore why chemistry isn't the same as emotional capacity, why endings aren't always failures, and how our desire to matter shapes the way we love, choose partners, and imagine our future.       Thoughtful, funny, and unexpectedly moving, this conversation reminds us that perhaps a life well lived isn't measured by how long something lasts, but by how fully we show up while it's here.       Follow: @davi87dp on IG, and see bio to purchase audio book and tickets for his tour!      --       Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia  For sponsorship inquiries [email protected]

In this episode, Dre sits down with transformational coach, hypnotist, and author Jim Curtis to explore how our subconscious stories shape the lives we create. Jim shares his own journey through chronic illness, heartbreak, isolation, and reinvention, revealing how some of life's most difficult moments became catalysts for profound transformation.       Together, they explore how childhood experiences, inherited patterns, and unconscious beliefs influence everything from relationships and self-worth to connection, purpose, and possibility. They dive into the difference between meditation and hypnosis, the power of identity language, and why lasting change begins beneath the surface.       The conversation touches on modern loneliness, particularly among men, the courage required to create community, and the role vulnerability plays in building meaningful connection.       One theme keeps emerging: possibility. Not as wishful thinking, but as a practice. A willingness to loosen our grip on old identities, expand what we believe is available to us, and step into a new relationship with ourselves and our lives.       Jim closes the episode with a BONUS guided hypnotic meditation designed to help listeners reconnect with calm, clarity, alignment, and the deeper truth beneath fear and conditioning.       Jim's upcoming book, The Book of Possibility, arrives in September 2026 and offers readers an immersive journey into subconscious transformation, combining practical exercises, guided hypnosis, and the tools Jim uses in his one-on-one coaching work.       Follow: @jimcurtis1 PreOrder The Book Of Possibility:  https://www.bookofpossibility.com/ Learn More At:  https://www.jimcurtiscoaching.com/     --       Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia  For sponsorship inquiries [email protected]

In this episode, Dre sits down with former LAPD officer Lyndon Barber for a conversation about policing, loneliness, vulnerability, nervous systems, and what happens when people trained to suppress emotion are finally given permission to speak honestly. They explore how council-based practices (think circle) are transforming law enforcement from the inside out.       A 16-year veteran of the LAPD, including years in gang enforcement, Lyndon opens up about the hidden emotional toll of law enforcement, the "hero complex" inside police culture, surviving thyroid cancer in isolation, and the moment a council circle cracked something open in him.       Lyndon now helps lead the POWER Program through Beyond Us & Them,  bringing emotional regulation, mindfulness, and human connection into police units, prisons, and communities across the country.       What started as a training he thought looked "cultish" became a practice that transformed the way he leads, listens, regulates stress, and relates to both his fellow officers and the communities he serves.       Together, Dre and Lyndon explore:
how circles dissolve labels and uniforms…
why so many officers are silently struggling…
how mindfulness can de-escalate violence in real time…
and what becomes possible when people stop talking at each other and start listening human to human.     Join Dre and Lyndon for an in person / CoEd Community Connection Circle at the Den Meditation Center in Los Angeles. Sunday June 14th, 9:45am. Sign up via link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soulful-sundays-the-london-weho-los-angeles-community-connection-circle-tickets-1987745089070   Follow: @beyondusandthem 
Learn more: Beyond Us & Them     --     Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace For sponsorship inquiries, email: [email protected]

In this episode, Dre sits down with death midwife, interfaith minister, mystic, and founder of Sacred Crossings, Olivia Bareham, for a conversation about death, grief, presence, and what it truly means to care for one another.       What began for Olivia during the AIDS crisis eventually became a lifelong devotion to helping people move through death with honesty, tenderness, dignity, and love. Together, they explore what our death-phobic culture avoids and what becomes possible when we stop looking away and remember we know how to be with death.       They talk about being present at the bedside of the dying, home funerals, conscious grieving, staying connected to loved ones who have passed, and why death may be one of our greatest teachers.       This conversation is open, grounding, unexpectedly life-affirming, and filled with wisdom about how to live with more presence now rather than with regrets at the end.       Dre also shares her own experience currently training with Olivia in death doula work — and how this path is changing the way she understands grief, community, and the sacredness of being human.       If you've ever lost someone, feared loss, avoided grief, or wondered how to better show up for the people you love… this episode will offer you much to contemplate.        Follow: @sacred_crossings Learn More At: https://sacredcrossings.com/     --     Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace
 For sponsorship inquiries, email: [email protected]

In this episode, Dre sits down with powerhouse actress/producer Constance Zimmer and filmmaker Abby Epstein, the collaborators behind The Midlife Monologues, for a conversation that goes straight to what's rarely said out loud and what needs to be heard.        They talk about the reality of midlife as it actually lands: identity shifts, grief, hormonal changes, loneliness, and the disorientation of becoming someone new without a roadmap. And then, the flip side, how powerful women in midlife actually are and are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to representation.       What began as one shared truth has grown into a body of work that invites women to speak without performance or pretense. From Dressing Room Confessions to their expanding projects, they're creating spaces where honesty breaks the silence—and real information is shared.        This conversation moves through what happens when we stop editing ourselves…
how shame dissolves when it's spoken…
and why even one person saying "I see you" can change everything.       It's not just about midlife.
It's about owning your voice, sharing your truth and what opens when we do it together.        Follow:  @constancezimmer, @abbyepsteinxoxo, @midlifemonologues, @mlifecollective, @talkfiftytome       Learn More:  https://themidlifecollective.co/     --       Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace   For sponsorship inquiries, email: [email protected]

In this episode, Dre sits down with journalist and News Not Noise founder Jessica Yellin for a conversation about how to stay informed without losing yourself in the process.       From her time as Chief White House Correspondent at CNN to now speaking directly to millions from her living room, Jessica shares the real story behind her evolution and the isolation, pressure, and purpose that came with it.  They get into the real impact of the 24/7 news cycle on the body, the mind, and the nervous system and why so many of us feel overwhelmed, disconnected, or unsure what's even true anymore.       Jessica shares her concept of a "news diet," how algorithms are shaping our reality, and why uncertainty isn't failure, it's part of being awake in a complex world.       Together, they unpack:   -why "heart-centered news" is a radical shift   -how to build a news diet that supports your nervous system   -why local connection—not more information—may be the real antidote to the loneliness epidemic       Jessica offers a powerful reminder: you don't need to know everything in real time—but you do get to choose how you engage.       Follow: @JessicaYellin Substack: https://newsnotnoisejessicayellin.substack.com/ Learn More At:  https://newsnotnoise.com/     --       Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @talkwithtrace @goodmessmedia 
 For sponsorship inquiries, email: [email protected]

In this episode, Dre and Em follow the thread of signs, synchronicities, and the moments that feel too precise to be random.       From a spontaneous "Sing with Emily" exchange echoed  by a billboard, to ladybugs showing up at pivotal life and creative moments, to standing on the exact New York corner described in a voice note as it plays—they track the patterns that blur the line between coincidence and connection.       They break down the difference between signs and synchronicity (a term coined by Carl Jung), and explore insights from Laura Lynne Jackson on where these messages may come from—whether universal energy, spirit guides, or loved ones who have crossed.       Regardless of where the signs originate, they have a playful conversation about the meaning and the magic of it all.     --       Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace For sponsorship inquiries: [email protected]

In this episode Monica Corcoran Harel, screenwriter, bestselling author and founder of PRETTY RIPE and author of the viral essay "The Women Quietly Quitting Their Husbands" joins for a conversation that goes straight to the truth many women have been living but not naming.       What happens when the life you've built no longer fits?       Monica shares how her popular essays tap into a larger cultural shift—where women are questioning endurance, redefining marriage, and choosing agency over performance. The conversation moves into parenting and the practice of letting go, the pull between external transformation and internal acceptance, and the desire to feel fully alive in your own life.       Together they circle around noticing where you've gone quiet… and what it might take to come back to your partnership and ultimately yourself.       Follow Monica: @prettyripe Learn More At: www.prettyripe.com         --         Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace For sponsorship inquiries, email: [email protected]

In this episode of Circle This, Dre sits down with Jared Seide, Executive Director of Beyond Us & Them, a groundbreaking nonprofit bringing compassion, connection, and real tools for transformation into some of the most unlikely places—prisons, law enforcement agencies, healthcare systems, and policy spaces.       Through circle and council practices, along with mindfulness-based techniques, Jared and his team train individuals within these systems to develop self-awareness, emotional regulation, and authentic connection.       These programs go beyond "let's all get along" energy, this is deep, embodied work that is actively shifting how humans relate to themselves and each other inside systems that are rooted in separation and "othering."       Together, they explore what happens when we interrupt the "us versus them" narrative and create spaces where people are truly seen, heard, and humanized. From incarcerated individuals experiencing profound connection to themselves and one another, to police officers learning resilience and relational intelligence, to communities finding their way back to belonging—this conversation reveals what becomes possible when there is an invitation to see beyond the mask and connect on the soul level.       Jared shares the science behind circling and council, including measurable physiological changes that occur when we practice real listening and authentic expression. They unpack why social connection is as vital as food and water, and what it takes to bring this work into environments built on survival, hierarchy, and division.       This is a conversation about re-humanization, choosing connection over contraction and remembering that we were never meant to do this alone.       This conversation is filled with evidence of hope, that real change is possible through practical tools of connection and it all starts with sitting in a circle.        Learn more and support the work at beyondusandthem.org Use code CIRCLE20 for 20% off their merchandise and help spread the message.       Explore Jared's book Where Compassion Begins for deeper practice.       Sign up for the Beyond Us & Them newsletter and follow them on social media @beyondusandthem     --       Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace 
For sponsorship inquiries, email: [email protected]

Award-winning filmmaker, writer, actor, and creative force Jenna Laurenzo joins Dre and Emily for a conversation about storytelling, representation, and the courage to create the stories we long to see.       When Jenna entered the film industry, she quickly realized that the stories reflecting her own experience as a queer woman were largely missing. Instead of waiting for them to appear, she began creating them herself. Her award-winning film Lez Bomb and the viral Girl Night Stand series opened doors for representation, humor, and deeply human storytelling to take center stage.       In this episode, they circle the idea that representation itself can be a remedy, when we see ourselves reflected in story, something inside connects and we realize we are not alone.     Together they explore how writing can help us metabolize emotion, why humor often lives alongside grief, and how shared experiences of art, laughing, crying, and witnessing stories can reconnect us to our own humanity.       Jenna also shares her reflections on creative resistance, building safe and collaborative spaces on set, the loneliness that can exist even within community, and the deeper pursuit of our soul's expression.     To follow Jenna or find out more about her work: @jennalaurenzo  www.jennalaurenzo.com     --       Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace For sponsorship inquiries, email: [email protected]