Sounds Good with Branden Harvey

Award-winning writer Esmé Wang knows from personal experience how tough it is to be ambitious and deal with limitation. She is a woman who lives with chronic illness, including late-stage Lyme disease and schizoaffective disorder. She believes that just because one lives with limitations — whether they be caregiving responsibilities, disability, chronic illness, or any other life circumstance that cause you to feel fenced in, doesn’t mean a person can’t leave a legacy of creative resilience. Esmé Weijun Wang is a novelist and essayist. Her debut novel, The Border of Paradise, was called a Best Book of 2016 by NPR and one of the 25 Best Novels of 2016 by Electric Literature. She was named by Granta as one of the “Best of  Young American Novelists” in 2017, and is the recipient of the Graywolf Nonfiction Prize for her forthcoming essay collection, The Collected Schizophrenias. In her blog, The Unexpected Shape, she provides resources that assist ambitious people who live with limitations In this conversation, Branden and Esmé tackle the question of why people living with illness need both the practice and living-out of resilience in their daily lives — and how boundaries laid out in life’s game can make things more interesting. More: http://soundsgoodpodcast.com/esme

Becca Stevens is an author, speaker, social entrepreneur, founder and president of Thistle Farms. After experiencing the death of her father and subsequent child abuse when she was 5, Becca longed to open a sanctuary for survivors offering a loving community. In 1997, five women who had experienced trafficking, violence, and addiction were welcomed home. 20 years later, Thistle Farms continues to welcome women with free residence that provide housing, medical care, therapy and education for two years. Residents and graduates earn income through one of four social enterprises. Becca has been featured in the New York Times, on ABC World News and NPR, was recently named a 2016 CNN Hero and a White House “Champion of Change" in 2011. Her newest book, Love Heals, was published in 2017. In this conversation, Branden and Becca go deep into the shared humanity, peace and harmony that we all long for — and ultimately, how to create the time and space for healing to happen. More: http://soundsgoodpodcast.com/becca  

What if our deepest fears are shining guideposts, lighting the way to what we truly want in life? Instead of pushing them aside, what happens if we begin listening to our fears—and allow them to lead us bravely into the unknown? Author and illustrator Meera Lee Patel has taken the big, scary concept of fear and crafted a personal, yet universal love letter to it in her newest book My Friend Fear: Finding Magic in the Unknown. Using her own experience with anxiety, Patel help readers examines fear — where it comes from, how it can hold you back, and how it can be harnessed into a power for good. In this Sounds Good conversation, Branden and Meera go deep into the difference between leading lives that are driven by curiosity or security — and the power of changing the story that your fear tells you. More: http://soundsgoodpodcast.com/meera

We are so much more than our bodies or anyone’s opinion of it. We have too much to offer and too much important work to do to spend time worrying about catching up to society’s standards that all-too-often silence our self-assuredness. Dana Falsetti is an advocate for women who want to find the confidence to live life more fully. Originally known for her strength in yoga, Dana now uses her platform to inspire critical thinking, self-awareness, and confidence across multiple media including her podcast, public speaking engagements, writing, and brand partnerships — in addition to her international yoga workshops. She has been featured in print and online publications including but not limited to: Seventeen, People, Shape, Upworthy, Mantra, NY Magazine.. In addition, she was the 2017 Shorty Award winner in the Health and Wellness category. In this conversation, Branden and Dana dive deep into the need for us all to come home to ourselves — and eventually, showing up in the world exactly who we are and lifting the collective consciousness. More: http://soundsgoodpodcast.com/dana

Author, speaker, and life coach Natalie Norton’s life has been put through the ringer. She is no stranger to pain. Tragedy began with the unexpected death of her younger brother in 2007. After this event, her life slowly unraveled over the next few years with the death of her youngest son, a failed adoption of 3 beautiful children who had been living in Natalie’s home for 2 years when the state unexpectedly reunified them with their biological mother. Furthermore, a sudden ‘brain surge’/seizure left Natalie unable to communicate, remember her own name or identify her children as her own. Most recently, her 11 year old son was struck by a a compact SUV while crossing the street — leaving him no option but to spend a month in the ICU. Today, his recovery is still ongoing. This unbelievably painful sequence of events is a mapping of Natalie’s life that, miraculously, has lead her to conclude that it’s worth sticking around for the miracle. In this conversation, Branden and Natalie delve deep into the truth of why a personal commitment to passion and drive changes everything and the idea that our lives are meant to be so much more than the pain inside of it. More: http://soundsgoodpodcast.com/natalie

Today, there are good reasons to doubt the effectiveness of many elements of conventional activism—oftentimes marked by aggression, extreme extroversion and violence. Award-winning campaigner Sarah Corbett started looking for alternatives that appealed to the introvert, namely, craftivism. Sarah’s gentle protest approach to craftivism aims to change the world with deliberate, thoughtful actions that provoke reflection and respectful conversation instead of aggression and division. She’s a world-traveling storyteller, has given several TEDx Talks and wrote A Little Book of Craftivism which was published in 2013, and How To Be A Craftivist, published in 2017. Also notable to mention, Malala has attended one of her workshops. In this conversation, Branden and Sarah chat about how craftivism can be for everyone. From skilled crafters to burnt out activists, gentle protest can be for those people who want to challenge injustice in the world but don’t know what to do, where to start or how to prioritize their energies and time. More: http://soundsgoodpodcast.com/sarahcorbett

Our ability to empathize, belong and love rests on our willingness to be vulnerable. In order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen, really seen. Jenna Kutcher is passionate about showing something deeper than perfect online. She’s a small-town Wisconsin girl who has single-handedly built a six-figure income photography business, fostered a massive social media following and currently hosts and produces the podcast “The Goal Digger Podcast” where she uses her platform to share the deepest parts of herself with intention. In this conversation, Branden and Jenna go beneath the surface of her story — her journey of how she sees herself, her second miscarriage and the what no one told her about working for yourself. More: http://soundsgoodpodcast.com/jenna

Most of us become impatient in the process and loathe uncertainty. However, Liz Vice has reconciled this truth in a profound way by learning to soar despite roadblocks in her story. While battling with an autoimmune disease for 7 years, Liz felt she had to reconcile with the fact that she would have to forfeit her dreams — instead, her life took a turn for the spectacular. Raised in Portland, Oregon — Liz Vice is a gospel and R&B singer and currently the music director at Hope Brooklyn while balancing touring, playing venues and festivals around the country. She has worked on the background casting for commercial and feature films such as Portlandia, Green Room, the A-List and C.O.G as well as employed by Weiden+Kennedy — an independent advertising agency responsible for clients like Airbnb, Coca Cola, Nike and Old Spice. However, Vice’s path toward film and music was not a straight one, but, rather, shaped by the dreams others had for her. In this conversation, Branden and Liz discuss the power of calling amidst medical roadblocks and the importance of surrounding yourself by people who won’t let you quit. More: http://soundsgoodpodcast.com/lizvice

Meet Flynn Coleman, a modern-day wonder woman in the world of social justice and advocacy. She’s an international human rights lawyer, educator, author and CEO of Malena, a socially conscious fashion line that focuses on empowering women artisans around the world. She has worked with the United Nations, the United States federal government, and corporations and human rights organizations around the world. Flynn is a contributing writer for such publications as HuffPost, Global Citizen, and Darling Magazine. Flynn is also the founding fellow at the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship at NYU School of Law. Her passion is celebrating humanity’s diversity while constantly drawing attention to the truth that we’re all just one conversation, one smile, one laugh away from connecting with anybody else. In this conversation, Branden and Flynn get down to the nitty gritty and discuss the idea that no one can save everything. Flynn helps us discover that this knowledge frees us up to give our energy to do the things that matter to us — and to surround ourselves around the people and causes that make us feel alive. More: http://soundsgoodpodcast.com/flynn

Every single day, it feels like the media and politicians want us to think that we live in a dangerous world filled with monsters. Inside spaces like prisons, the news wants us to believe that there is nothing redemptive inside, only disappointment and violence, rather than looking at the people inside with compassion and commonality. Nigel Poor, is a social activist, artist and co-creator of the podcast Ear Hustle who has given her life to this idea. Nigel Poor is a visual artist whose work explores the various ways people make a mark and leave behind evidence of their existence. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. In 2011, Nigel got involved with San Quentin State Prison as a volunteer teacher for the Prison University Project. In 2013 she started working with a group of incarcerated men producing a radio project that eventually turned into Ear Hustle — the winner of Radiotopia's Podquest contest in 2016, chosen from more than 1500 international entries. In this conversation, Branden and Nigel chat about the important in rallying a belief that commonality and compassion might be some of the most powerful forces on Earth. More: http://soundsgoodpodcast.com/nigel