Held Together

In this episode, Xander lays down with Lyric for a conversation about friendship, interdependence, chosen family, and the ways we nourish each other when neither of us feels like we have much left to give. What begins as a reflection on song and mutual support unfolds into a deeper exploration of community, divorce, parenting, grief, and the magic that emerges when people allow themselves to be held.

Together, they explore:

• frie...

In this episode, Xander lays down with Anusuya in her living room bed for a conversation about conflict, energy, altered states, and what it means to stay present inside a body that has limits.

What began as a reflection on being “the bridge” in conflict opens into a deeper inquiry about capacity, chronic illness, and the cost of holding others.

Together, they explore:

• conflict as intimacy
• the nervous system cost of be...

In this episode, Xander sits down with their acupuncturist, Tom Kirby, for a conversation about unlikely healing, addiction, and what it means to truly be met.

What began as resistance to another white man in medicine became an unexpected relationship rooted in listening, presence, and shared humanity. 

Together, they explore 

• chronic pain

• cannabis as both lifeline and challenge

• sobriety 

• vulnerability

• the living loop o...

In this conversation, Xander sits down with my friend Raven Hinojosa to trace the threads of our connection—how ritual, magic, and care weave through our friendship. We talk about:

• How our relationship shifted when Raven joined me in disability and illness

• Following ease and pleasure, even in pain

• Evolving and unfurling without needing to “fix” ourselves

• The role of ritual and creativity in deepening love and inte...

In this tender conversation, Xander Peer Keller and their longtime friend Amy reflect on 20 years of friendship shaped by disability, queerness, sickness, and unchosen paths. Together they explore:

• Unchosen paths — navigating childlessness and incurable illness

• Interdependence in practice — what it means to build and sustain a care web

• Friendship through rupture and repair — lessons from 20 years of showing up

• Inv...

In the first full-length episode of Held Together, host Xander Peer Keller opens the door (and the bed) to a conversation about disability, care, and interdependence. Joined by longtime friend and collaborator Beth, they share stories of building a care web—a network of support rooted in friendship, reciprocity, and queer community.

This episode explores:

• Finding voice and healing through song, storytelling, and community

• Ho...

In this short behind-the-scenes episode, you’ll meet the people who are holding and shaping Held Together. Xander introduces Beth, Nora, and Lunie (their dog) as the team weaving sound, structure, and support into this experiment in care webs and conversation.

Together, we share how this podcast was born out of friendship, courage, and the simple but radical act of showing up for one another. From building nests and leaning ba...

Welcome to Held Together, a podcast about care webs, disabled life, and the everyday magic of interdependence. From my bed, I, Xander Peer Keller, invite you into conversations that are intimate, messy, and beautiful. We explore how pain can become a portal, how queerness and disability carry their own magic, and how being held together is more powerful than holding it all alone.

This trailer is a glimpse into the world we’re ...