Circle This

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: circlethispod@gmail.com

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: circlethispod@gmail.com

In this episode Dre shares the ongoing integration of her recent death doula training — an experience that began with a surprising invitation: before learning how to support others at the end of life, she first had to face her own mortality. What started as curiosity quickly opened into something deeper. Dre and Em circle around grief, awe, ritual, and the ways our culture avoids talking about death — often making loss even harder when it inevitably arrives. Dre reflects on her father's passing, the unexpected healing that can happen in the dying process, and the truth she discovered through the training: the body knows how to die, just as it knows how to be born. They explore why we are such a death-phobic culture, what it means to "die well," and how learning to witness — rather than fix or control — may be one of the most sacred roles we can play for one another. This conversation moves through grief, laughter, fear, love, and even Dre's imagined memorial service. Because for Dre, death is not simply an ending — it's part of the same mystery that makes life so precious. If facing death can bring us more fully into the present moment, maybe learning how to die is actually one of the greatest invitations to live. -- Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace For sponsorship inquiries, email: circlethispod@gmail.com

In this episode, Dre sits down with Ashley Turner—licensed depth psychotherapist, yoga and meditation teacher, psychedelic therapist, and menopause advocate—to explore what's rising at the intersection of midlife transformation, mental health, sovereignty, and the psychedelic renaissance. Together, they unpack perimenopause vs. menopause, myth-bust the most common symptoms, and explore the link between libido, creativity, and inner fire. They dive into trauma resurfacing during midlife, hormone therapy, medical bias, and the staggering truth that women's bodies weren't required to be included in medical studies until 1993. The conversation also explores psychedelics and integration—how the default mode network quiets, how new neural pathways can form, and why connection—not isolation—is the medicine. At one point, Ashley drops an iconic truth straight from the heart: "There's nothing scarier than someone who doesn't need you." Now we see menopause as more than a health conversation— but possibly a cultural revolution. FOLLOW: @ashleyturner1, @haven_membership LEARN MORE AT: https://yoga-psychology.co/ -- Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace For sponsorship inquiries, email: circlethispod@gmail.com

Odette and Dave Annable return for Part 2 to take us deeper into the rupture, the repair of their partnership and their choice to begin again. They were on the brink of divorce, separate homes, papers nearly signed, when COVID forced them back under one roof with nowhere to escape. What followed became what they now call "our second marriage… it just happens to be with each other." But reconciliation didn't begin together. It began alone, through therapy, retreats, journaling, and the courageous work of facing their own patterns. As one therapist asked them, Are you both done hurting one another? Their answer changed everything. We talk about what brought them back into the same room and how understanding each other's brains softened blame and defensiveness. We explore why healing is a group sport, what happens when you give six months of your best with zero expectations, and how conflict can become a doorway to deeper intimacy instead of a reason to leave. FOLLOW: @OdetteAnnable & @dave_annable -- Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace For sponsorship inquiries, email: circlethispod@gmail.com

Actors and real-life married couple Odette Annable and Dave Annable join Dre for a candid conversation about what it actually takes to stay connected in modern marriage—through the peaks, the valleys, and the chapters you don't post. Odette and Dave share their near-miss origin story, the season when "this shouldn't be this hard" almost became the end, and how therapy helped them reframe conflict into something wildly more honest: Dave's core question is "Am I safe?" and Odette's is "Am I worthy?" Once you can name that, you can stop fighting the surface and start tending to the root. They open up about separation and recommitment, the loneliness that can exist even inside love, Odette's infertility journey, and Dave's experience of grief—plus a powerful reminder: your partner can't be your everything, and that's not a failure, it's a design feature. Community matters. Self-reflection matters. And love isn't "happily ever after"… it's choosing each other again and again, with eyes open. Follow: @odetteannable @dave_annable -- Stay connected: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace Sponsorship: circlethispod@gmail.com

We're back. And instead of rushing into "new year, new you" energy, Dre and Em open the season by honoring winter, integration, and the deep exhale that comes after a big creative year. With 55 episodes behind them (and a podcast ranked in the top 2% globally), they circle around what's sustaining them now: chosen family, learning to receive support, and expanding the places love is allowed to live. This episode is a love letter to the village—real village energy, not fantasy commune aesthetics. Dre and Em reflect on a recent desert celebration for their beloved mentor and friend Leigh Kilton Smith—a living example of community in action. Flash mobs, art-making, campfire circles, and collective participation become a case study in what happens when everyone gets to belong, be witnessed, and be held. They also dive into what love looks like in everyday life: the "small acts" that make someone feel deeply loved, the subtle ways people block care and celebration, and why letting others love you can be one of the most radical forms of self-love. Chosen family isn't built through networking. It's built through orientation. A state of mind. A way of being. And a choice. Wand Drops: "If you are willing to love yourself through your friends, it can heal the world." "Think like a circle: every part matters and we take care of the whole." -- Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace For sponsorship inquiries: circlethispod@gmail.com

In this year-end episode, Dre and Em record under the final full moon in Gemini and reflect on the year through their own version of the rose, thorn, and bud. Emily shares the joy of getting engaged and fully moving in with her fiancé, alongside the challenge of caretaking after a sudden injury. Dre reflects on the podcast as both her greatest joy and greatest stretch, a year shaped by learning, connection, and creative devotion. Together, they talk about love without fixing, receiving without minimizing, entering the holidays aligned instead of depleted, and honoring community as the foundation of every ritual and celebration. Merry everything. Thank you for being part of the circle. Let's keep rippling in 2026. -- Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace For sponsorship inquiries: circlethispod@gmail.com

In this enlightening conversation, Natalie Kuhn, a writer and embodiment leader, opens up about her journey through Al-Anon and seminary, revealing new insights on belonging and internal safety. She discusses the perils of spiritual overload and how breathwork can facilitate emotional release. Natalie contrasts loneliness with aloneness, emphasizing the power of sound for women's voices. She critiques spiritual consumerism and highlights the importance of grounding practices. The dialogue is rich with practical tools for emotional transformation and managing energy in collective spaces.

In this episode, beloved friend of the show, entrepreneur and founder, Nyakio "Kio" Grieco returns for a hard-won conversation about resilience, faith, and what adversity can reveal. After being named in a lawsuit nine months ago—and recently cleared with a full retraction—Kio shares publicly for the first time, what it was like to sit in the unknown, navigate loneliness, and how she managed to maintain her role as a leader throughout it all. Together they explore gangster gratitude, shadow work, and how gossip or cross-talk create toxic intimacy. They dive into projection, reputation, and the illusory nature of other people's perceptions. Kio shares substantial takeaways from this testing experience: how challenges reveal who your people are, how success doesn't require partnership with a man, and that spiritual leadership belongs in the boardroom. This conversation reminds us pain is universal, that witnessing is one of the most powerful forms of love, and that circling can accelerate healing in ways nothing else can. it's about becoming—even through adversity—the most self-aware, spiritually aligned, and unshakably grounded version of ourselves. Follow: @nyakio & @thirteenlune Learn More: www.thirteenlune.com -- Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace For sponsorship inquiries, email: circlethispod@gmail.com