Strangers You Know

Every week we pass by hundreds of people we don't know. Complete strangers. 

Some of them. We barely notice the guy at the ATM or the woman driving the BMW. Some we may see on a more regular basis. The clerk at the local convenience store, that one ref that shows up at every lacrosse game. Some people really catch our attention like that saxophone player in the park last Saturday. 

What would it take to turn a casual acquaintanc...

(Join the Conversation on our Facebook Community)

Originally intended to be only a test of sound equipment, my friend Neil got a jumpstart on the podcast by turning the tables and interviewing me. There will be a follow-up interview with Neil where I return the favor but I wanted to share this conversation with you as we discuss what it means to be vulnerable and the risk of belonging vs. the reward of being true to yourse...

(CW: SI) Leaving the LDS church can cost people many valuable relationships, including family. Today's guest was actually "excommunicated from her family," which then led to a faith crisis, deconstruction, and her leaving the church, all within a very short period of time. She prefers to remain anonymous but has bravely and beautifully shared her story with others on her Instagram account, Her.Truth.Be.Told and I enc...

Amanda joins our conversation from her new home in Argentina. Originally from a small town in Utah, she grew up driven to be the "perfect girl." Devout Mormon, straight A's, and a self-proclaimed tomboy. She tells how a single question changed her life forever, opening her eyes to a world of possibilities, and instilling a strong desire to live and work abroad. After a decade of working for  United Nations with UNICE...

How did you discover who you really are and who you really want to be? Or maybe the jury is still out and you are still exploring with an open mind. It's one thing to talk about one's journey from the perspective of the finish line - quite another to share your struggles, fears, and failures when you're still in the thick of things. Join my conversation with Keegan, a former hockey player as he talks about his experi...

Charlie is an accomplished actor with an impressive list of accomplishments. He currently plays the role of Roger Davies in "Tina" on Broadway and his previous credits include: The Bridges of Madison County (Original Broadway Cast), Parade (Lincoln Center). TV credits include Shades of Blue, The Loudest Voice. But I wanted to talk with him about the time he spent in his Broadway role in The Book of Mormon (Broadway).
...

(Join the Conversation on our Facebook Community Group)

Today, Strangers You Know goes International with my conversation with Santiago García. I spoke with him from the small city of Pergamino, Argentina, where he was raised (about two hours from Buenos Aires). Santiago attended a progressive Catholic school that, although not in favor of abortion rights, the main bishop still believed that “Abortion is a way of controlli...

DeLaney is a native Utahn who has spent the past eight years acting in NYC. (Check out the show notes for a summary of her accolades.) Our conversation covers topics from the personal to the philosophical to the mundane of composting in Manhatten. Each topic uncovers another wonderful, emotional, personal layer of our amazing guest.

Topics include: Orthodox Mormonism, composting in Manhattan, board games, babysitting, the...

Outside of our recorded conversations, I ask each of my guests to recommend someone who they think would be a good person to have on the show. Today's guest, Meg, comes from one of those blind referrals. Before recording today's conversation, I had only spent ten minutes with her on a phone call. Almost complete strangers, she and I recorded the longest conversation to date. I am thrilled with being able to get to know he...

Today's conversation with Aliyah is the Tenth Episode of the "Strangers You Know" podcast and I am so excited to share her story with you. In this episode, we talk about doubts, cognitive dissonance and deconstruction of her faith as well as the difficulty and cost of vocalizing her process and why that is so important for herself and others. Aliyah shares her concerns on parenting her daughter, managing mixed-faith ...

How tightly do we grip our core beliefs and values, and why do we provide any room for intellectual curiosity? How often do we seek to understand individuals and viewpoints that are radically different from our own? How did we come to our version of certain knowledge, and what does it really cost us to consider different perspectives and opinions? These questions make up the backbone of this podcast, and I hope today's convers...

In today's conversation, Jed and I talk about the painful, wonderful, lonely, scary journey of deconstruction. Jed was in his fourth of six years serving as bishop of his ward when his faith crisis began. Beginning with his deconstruction of God before he began deconstructing the church, both while serving as Bishop and without being able to talk with anyone about it, including his wife. For a period of time, Jed talks of his ...

First of two parts. 

It is impossible to summarize any of these amazing conversations into a few, simple paragraphs. My meeting with Meg ran so long that I had to break it into two episodes. And I still feel that we were just scratching the surface. Part two will air next week.

In the meantime, I could tell you that our topics included: butchering chickens, long-term illness, sexuality, trauma dumping, feminism, and trying to fit in....

Welcome back. In part two of my conversation with Meg, we dove a little deeper into her area of expertise, namely relationships, preventative care of relationships, and high-risk factors that challenge relationships. We also talk about awakening, especially to privilege as well as the importance of exploring self, including sexual identity. Other topics include self-care, intersectionality,  our relationship with anger, and how our...

Is life, the universe and everything calling out to you. And are you too anxious or too busy working on your daily to do list to hear it? How would you react if you had spent the last 15 years of your life meticulously achieving one goal after another until you finally reached the pinnacle of success? Then you heard the message You need to quit. This is no longer for you. Would you trust the inner voice you'd been cultivating ...

This episode is a testament to the human spirit. Today’s guest talks about overcoming darkness, rejection, and multiple traumatic events. Kauri bravely shares her experiences with racism, sexual abuse, incarceration of a loved one, and even death. At times, she felt very alone as she struggled to make sense of her world with little or no support. Sometimes not being believed by those around her. Sometimes the trauma being caused by...

Finally, today is part two of the conversation I had with Neal over three months ago. In this episode, we talk about waking up, putting off the pretender within each of us and the necessity and cost of advocating for others. We consider the importance of love as an overall part of health and fitness. Pulling no punches, we may even rattle a few emotions on today's episode of Strangers You Know. 

Other Topics: LGBTQ+, ...

What do you do when a traumatic brain injury takes away your health, your personality, and your sense of life's purpose?

I first met Pierre in Japan when we were both serving LDS missions. We were companions in the Mission Home for quite a while and we both thought we would be close friends forever. He came to my wedding shortly after he returned, and then we simply drifted apart with no interaction whatsoever. Life h...

This interview breaks one of my early, probably unnecessarily arbitrary rules. Keyan is an architect who works in New York City. He is an immersive hobbyist who loves motocross. A deep thinker who loves deep, meaningful conversations. He's also my son in law, and I've told myself I wouldn't interview family. 

So much for rules.

In our conversation, we talk about gripping things too tightly versus ju...