The Smoke Break

Hey pals! On this week's episode of "The Smoke Break", we had the best time with iconic queer comedian Gabe Holmes. We kicked it off talking about dependability—are we dependable? Who are the dependable people in our lives? Why is it important? How does it make our lives easier? Then we followed that up with the concept of wasting time…. Time is always passing and it's the most finite of resources, so how do you decide what your priorities are? What counts as wasting time or not, and who gets to decide? We wrapped it up by getting into the idea of "play"—it's easy to take ourselves pretty seriously, and letting ourselves play is such an important part of balancing everything out, but it's tough to allow ourselves to do it sometimes. How do y'all engage in play in your lives? Episodes drop Saturdays on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

Hey pals! On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we had the pleasure of hanging out with Ryan Knudtson aka Mob Rule.We started things off talking about some shared diagnosis, and how folks have gotten through some really tough years with the help of supportive people, grit, and new skills.Then we talked about being in a hospital for mental health reasons and that while they can be useful because it’s the only option you have, they’re often dehumanizing and scary too.Then we closed it out talking about music! Where folks find inspiration, what equipment they use, and how art is sustaining during a truly wild time to be alive.Episodes drop Saturdays on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.Link in comments…

Oh hey, we’re back! On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we got to know Eli Gray (they/them) - Founding Director of WERQ TOGETHER.We got things going talking about trans joy, and the non-profit Eli started to help operationalize the support that they’d already been offering to the community for a while—including a dope event coming up on March 29th called Trans Town PDX!We kept things going talking about the importance of community, and how it can be difficult to try and rebuild it after being burnt by folks, or moving to a new area.We ended with a bit of a shift to discuss balancing how hard we work as social workers for a client vs how hard the client needs to work, and the nuance of why someone might be perceived as not working as hard as you or not.Episodes drop Saturdays on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we got to hang out with storyteller, producer, and owner of Coffee Beer, the very silly Phillip Stewart.We began with the commodification of mental health in this day and age—the way capitalism impacts our choices and well-being, and how we are trying to take it back.Then we moved to the idea of “knowing vs doing”—like just because you GO to therapy, is that really enough? Or is that bar a little low, like maybe there should also be an expectation that you actually apply what you’re learning there?Lastly, we talked about mortality—sure, it’s a bit morbid, but knowing how short life can be can also be motivating to spend your time well in the meantime…Episodes drop every Friday on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we finally got to hang out with the our old pal comedian Mike Lindsey.We kicked things off by talking about the idea of desperation—how it can sometimes be motivating, or can sometimes be the reason people act outside their values.Then we bounced back by discussing connection—where we’ve found it, what happens when people are deprived of it, and how you can create it if you’re feeling like you don’t have enough of it.Lastly, we tried to figure out some energy management. In a world where we have a million responsibilities, how do you decide how much of your energy to spend on each thing? What do you keep for yourself vs what you spend on someone else?Episodes drop every Friday on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we finally got to hang out with the lovely comedian, storyteller, and vigilante Jenna Britann. We kicked things off by talking about pain—physical or emotional, how it can shape us, and how our relationship has changed to it over the years. Then we tackled priorities—how do you make them? How are you supposed to know what should be at the top of the list? What if the things most important to you aren’t the things that make money or are healthy? And then we wrapped things up talking about preparedness—how do we prepare for changes in our lives, or things not going as planned—or so you just wing it and see what happens? Episodes drop every Friday on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we were lucky enough to get to spend a little time with horror author Keith Rosson. We started with—you guessed it—fear, because what else do you do when you’ve got an expert around—how it can be paralyzing, motivating, or just plain fun. Then we went the next logical place…writer’s block. We’re all victims to it, we’ve all managed to escape it, we don’t really know how…. And then we ended with expectations…The ones we set for ourselves, or society creates for us, and how easily disappointment pops up. Episodes drop every Friday on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we had a delightful time with comedian, darling, and silly goose Joe John Sanchez the III. We started off talking about standing up for ourselves—times we’ve done it, times we wished we had done it, and how to get better at it, since none of us seemed to be experts on this one…. Then we got into some delusions—the sort of magical headspace you have to get into to make being an artist of any kind worth it—comedy, writing, anything—and how that also helps us create the world we want to live in, a little bit at a time. Lastly, we talked about embracing irrelevance and chaos—because whatever, it’s all a simulation, life is short, and we’re just doing our best. You’ll just have to listen to understand this one. Basically, we had a great time. Episodes drop every Friday on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we were so excited to have a conversation with the extremely talented and dynamic Kingsley. We began by talking about the concept of “Breath-play” (versus “breath-work”) and how something as simple as breathing that we do all the time can be really powerful when we start paying more attention to it. Then we discussed the idea of creation being the opposite of depression—and how we tap into our creativity even when it’s hard or we aren’t in the mood. We ended by talking about culture shock—living abroad, and moving from a small town to a big city. Episodes drop every Monday on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we had a real good time with Iris. We got things going talking about an awfully big topic—love….how we find it, how we accept and reject it, how we offer it to others, and how our approach to it and experience of it have changed as we personally change and grow. Then we moved on to the idea of their being a “Golden Age” in your life—and how we almost always assume that our golden age is in the past, with a little help from our friend nostalgia, which tends to be an awfully beautiful liar—because what if your golden age is right now and you’re missing it by pining for the past? And we finished up the episode exploring the idea of visualizing our alter egos as a way to give ourselves the confidence, strength, and wit to get through things where we might not be feeling so strong or may have imposter syndrome….. you know, like most things…. Episodes drop every Monday on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening. Link in comments…

Episode 129: “ ft. Jasmine Nothing and Telltale PresentsOn this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we are excited to officially announce our new collaboration with Telltale Presents, a production company running various shows and events over the last nine years. We are proud to welcome to the show our new co-host Jasmine Nothing. We started things off discussing collaboration—how it can be effective or disastrous, and what we’ve learned from each. We also cover the history of The Smoke Break and Telltale and how we came to start working together. Secondly, we talked about our relationship with the idea of predictability—do we feel like predictable people? Where does our desire for predictability show up in our lives? And we ended the episode talking about self reflection, especially how it can be useful or troublesome, depending on how we’re using it… Episodes drop every Monday on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening. Link in comments…

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we spent the afternoon with the delightful Hannah Schrom. We kicked things off talking about complicated family relationships where things are reversed, like a child caretaking for a grandparent, or having to be the adult to their own parents.Next up we dove into the idea of attachment styles, and all immediately saw which one felt like it hit close to home, whether we liked the answer we discovered or not….And we wrapped up the conversation with talking about our relationship to the idea of pride, and how complicated that can be.Episodes drop every Monday on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we really got to know artist, musician, and storyteller Aaron Fairchild. We started out our time together talking about bravery—how each of us have had to be brave through tough things, where we got our bravery from, and how Aaron approaches it in his beautiful middle-grade graphic novel he’s finishing up, coming out later this year! (Don’t worry, we’ll remind you when it comes out so you can buy all buy it.) Next up we finally got around to talking about procrastination… how it’s gotten in our way, but more importantly, how we’ve managed to trick our brains to getting the important things done anyway. Lastly, we ended the day talking about the concept of “never being late to the party”—whether that means starting a new career, picking up a new skill, or changing our mind about something—we all get to things when we get to them, and have to offer some grace to the people who took a little longer. Episodes drop every Monday @ 6pm on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening. Link in comments…

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we had the honor of hanging out with Portland clown and all around sweetheart Arthur “Lucky” O’Brien. We started by tackling the assumption that using humor to handle tough stuff is an “unhealthy” way of coping, which—get this—it’s not. Next up we explored the idea of “fixed mindsets”—how people often view themselves as being inherently good or bad at something, like being funny or not, and how actually….people can change. Lastly, we talked about finding your identity through performance and entertainment—how we came to do things we do, and how much of our identity is wrapped up in it, which can be complicated! Episodes drop every Monday @ 6pm on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we had the honor of hanging out with the iconic Portland comic Ally J Ward. We kicked it off by talking about imposter syndrome, which is apparently basically a universal experience, and what we do to try and counteract it. Next up we got into the idea of Self-Preservation as a more realistic version of “self-care” that isn’t co-opted by capitalism, and what each of us are focusing on to make sure that we aren’t burning out in these very tough times. Lastly, we talked about Humanization. In a world that likes to dehumanize folks all the time, it was awfully nice to think about how to further humanize the people around us. Episodes drop every Monday @ 6pm on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we had a great time talking to Georgia GA, an amazing local comedian. We kicked it off by talking about learning styles, how it feels to try and learn new things as adults, and self-education.Then we moved on to discussing starting over—whether it might be a new diagnosis, starting over in a new town, or with a new group of friends—and how to bring positive energy to those changes.Lastly, we talked about the general idea of “the woke agenda” and how the term “woke” has been co-opted and warped to represent something very different from the original intent.Episodes drop every Monday @ 6pm on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we finally got to spend time with Khalil, who runs the artist collective Immutable Pdx as well as doing amazing and impactful work with homeless youth. We started out talking about the importance of relaxation and how challenging it is to allow ourselves to check out and take care of ourselves when we’re so used to having to grind all the time and be productive to have self worth. Then we moved on to discussing the importance of culturally specific services, and how folks miss out on opportunities when supports aren’t put in place that are intentionally meant to make them feel seen, included, and important. We close out the episode by talking about the idea of legacy—what do we want to leave behind, how temporary everything is, and how much control do we have over it in the end. Episodes drop every Monday @ 6pm on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening. Link in comments…

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we hung out with Portland comedian and librarian Lori Van Deman.We started out with perfectionism, and how we can convince ourselves to try new things even when it’s scary. Then we moved on to hopelessness—and most importantly, the ways we’ve found to pull ourselves out of it, primarily by connecting with others.Lastly, we tackled conflict resolution…. what's worked, what hasn’t, and how rupture and repair in a relationship can strengthen it if you’re able to get through the tough parts.Episodes drop every Monday @ 6pm on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening. Link in comments…