Your Friend - A Podcast About Connecting

Katie is a writer from the Seattle area, living near the town we both grew up in. Snohomish is a classic small town, the kind you see in movies, almost from a different era. We talked about writing, politics, religion, why we're passionate about the Black Lives Matter movement and what it's like to be from a, largely white, small town in the Pacific Northwest.

In part two of our discussion, Anne Marie narrowly avoids death and spends a month in the hospital then experiences a lot of very dark, very real, suicidal thoughts.

Anne Marie is an entrepreneur, single mother and organ transplant survivor who in still recovering from the worst year of her life. She opens up about the dark thoughts that come and the sacrifices she has made just to stay alive and what it feels like to hear your doctors speak about you in the past tense while you lay on a gurney thinking "I've got bills to pay and a date I can't miss".

Marwa is originally from Saudi Arabia, a huge television fan and a married mother to two young boys who also roots for the New England Patriots. This is our first conversation in years.

Meagan is a successful digital marketing expert who works for a major media company in Paris, France. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, she spent years in New York and Los Angeles acting before deciding to switch gears and move abroad. Her first novel was published in 2011 and she is currently working on her follow up. Her own podcast, about living in Paris, love, human connection and advice from her astrologist is set to debut later this year.

Dawna is a badass for so many reasons. She is a jiu jitsu instructor in Los Angeles who also hosts a weekly podcast called Mat Therapy where she discusses her favorite martial art. Dawna also is an accomplished actress and voiceover artist who you might have seen and heard already. Her website is dawnagonzales.com where you can learn all about her, see her headshot, listen to her voiceover reel, get details on her podcast and find out how you can take her women's self defense class.    

Shawna run a fitness class "All F'D Up" at LiveArts LA in Glassel Park.  "I package all my gifts in one class. I teach that a challenging, effective workout can be a joyful experience and doesn't need to be so serious." For More info - MizShawnaFit.com   Sheispowerful.org - SHE-IS is a Los Angeles based non-profit focused on providing a safe, empowered, and supportive environment where young survivors of sexual abuse and sex trafficking can strengthen their true worth through the power of dance.  SHE-IS combines the art of dance with the healing art of therapy to overcome trauma caused by sexual abuse.   Link to donations page -  http://www.sheispowerful.org/#!support-us/ctzx

Shawna is an LA-based fitness/dance instructor (MizShawnaFit.com) and comic who is one of the most transparent, authentic, goofy, warm, positive and joyful people you will come across. In this episode, Shawna talks about a conversation that changed her life and reveals details of her dark childhood and how she maintains a joyful presence in the face of so much awfulness.

Originally from the East Coast, Kyle embodies everything that is Los Angeles. His disposition is so sunny, it's hard to imagine him living anywhere the sun shines less than Southern California. He is one of those people who does a little of this and a little of that. A Millennial author and blogger who founded the lifestyle blog From the Hamptons to Hollywood and published his first novel, Uncharted Waters, in late 2015.   Dane and Kyle met several years ago with Kyle soon joining the writers group Dane runs - WritersGroupPodcast.com in this conversation they discuss death, fearlessness in meeting people and the adventures that life has to offer. You can follow Kyle's adventures on instagram at @hamptonstohollywood/@kyjolang   MENTIONS: www.HamptonstoHollywood.com        

When not traveling the world on a motorcycle Stacy and her husband Lucas live in Los Angeles with their fluffy cat, Rajah. You can see her photography work by visiting her website - StacyOsterman.com. On a rainy night in 2002, Dane met Stacy at a performance by musician Dave Matthews at a small club in Seattle. After many years and living in two major West Coast cities and attending a few concerts together, they still bond over the music of DMB and their shared fondness of all things Seattle. On this episode they talk about the one day Stacy dreads the most every year - Mother's Day. MENTIONS: DMB ALMANAC - Every show, every appearance and every song ever played by Dave Matthews Band and its members is tracked here in painstaking detail. DMBAlmanac.com THE CROCODILE CAFE - Famous Seattle music venue that's hosted some of the biggest bands in the world and all the biggest bands in the Pacific Northwest. thecrocodile.com

On the new podcast YOUR FRIEND, we encourage real conversations between social media friends. In the first episode, Stacy didn't disappoint. In this preview, Dane talks about the conversation after the fact and how he and Stacy met.  

YOUR FRIEND is a show about authentic connections in the age of social media. The premise is simple - two friends forgo emojis, likes and shares to have a one-on-one conversation where nothing is off limits. From rants, obsessions and fears to traumatic life experiences, regrets and goals, host Dane Reade phones a different friend each week to have an honest, thought provoking discussion that might just bring them closer. Technology has allowed humans to interact more than ever before but, to paraphrase Albert Einstein, have we lost our humanity along the way? Have our friendships suffered? YOUR FRIEND sets out to see what happens when someone reaches out, opens up and engages in an authentic way. We're all connected so we might as well talk. **Explicit Warning - we are friends having a conversation which means sometimes we use foul language.