Detoxicity: By Men, About Men, For Everyone

DetoxPod 125 : Chad Dryden (Business Owner/Journalist)

In this episode, I'm talking to Chad Dryden, who is the co-owner of The Record Exchange, an independent record shop in Boise, ID. Our conversation covers quite a bit, from transitioning into ownership to the fact that Chad and his family actually moved to Ohio from Boise during the pandemic, which puts something of a challenge into owning a business. We also talk about taking care of your mind and body as you age, and what middle age means in 2022 vs. what it meant for our parents and grandparents. Chad is not only physically active in a way that currently puts me to shame, but he's been proactive about his mental health in a way that I would imagine is somewhat unusual for midwestern men in their forties. This is an illuminating conversation and I hope you all enjoy it. 
 
Follow The Record Exchange on Twitter @recordexchange and on IG at @therecordexchange
 
Find Chad on Instagram at @chaddryden or @thesuburbanabyss

DetoxPod 124 : Clay Fernald AKA Clay N Ferno (Marketer/Podcast Host)

This episode's guest, Clay Fernald (AKA Clay N Ferno), was voted the Most Popular Man in Boston back in 2005, thanks to MySpace (those were the days, huh?) In those days, Clay did marketing and promo for The Middle East, one of Boston's most legendary concert venues (I've maybe seen 100 shows there). These days, Clay does his own thing: he's an independent contractor, he hosts a podcast, has a Substack, and he talks about all of that during our conversation. It covers workaholism and grind culture, and knowing when to take a break! Clay also talks through his journey to sobriety, and how it's affected his relationships with family, with friends and with himself. 
Follow Clay at claynferno on Twitter and Instagram.
 

DetoxPod 123 : Roman Rimer

Roman Rimer is an actor, improv performer, radio host and activist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In this episode, Roman and I discuss activism and allyship in various communities. We discuss the gentrification of San Francisco and how he tries to stay true to the city's original spirit of being a place for those who often exist on the margins of society. Roman also charts his course as a transmasculine person, from coming to terms with this knowledge to handling the reactions of friends and family. I hope you enjoy this conversation!

DetoxPod 122 : Dan Wilson (Songwriter/Musician)

Dan Wilson is a Grammy-Award winning musician and songwriter who has scored hits as a member of the band Semisonic ("Closing Time"), as a solo artist (his EP Dancing on the Moon was released earlier this month), and as a collaborative songwriter with Taylor Swift, Chris Stapleton, John Legend and more.
 
Dan and I discuss his history of collaboration and dig deep into what makes him such a good partner and band member. We talk about his upbringing and what led him down a musical path, and we also discuss the themes of his new EP, which center around communication-an ongoing key topic of this show. I hope you enjoy the interview!

DetoxPod 121 : Cornell Verdeja-Woodson (DE&I Specialist) Round 2

I'm super stoked to be bringing Cornell Verdeja-Woodson back to the podcast. Cornell is the head of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at the meditation app "Headspace" (I've used it, it's great) and also runs Brave Trainings, LLC, an organization that provides a starting point for organizations to unpack sensitive diversity topics through authentic dialogue.
Cornell and I discuss his journey over the last year and a half, and his goals for the future. We talk the future of DE&I, the self-care that's involved with handling such weighty topics on a regular basis, parental relationships, coming out stories and much more. I hope you enjoy this conversation!
Follow Cornell on Instagram and Twitter!

DetoxPod Bonus: Bill Bodkin Returns!

Bill Bodkin originally appeared on Detox back on Episode 33. He is the founder and editor in chief of The Pop Break (a pop culture website) and hosts so many podcasts that even my workaholic ass had to take my hat off and bow in his honor. 
We revisit many of the themes from our original chat in this episode, including coping with COVID-19 as an immunocompromised person and struggling with self-doubt as a worker, a spouse and a parent. We also talk about the pitfalls of modern doctors, Bill discusses his newfound abstinence from alcohol.
Bill is one of my dearest friends. I'm very proud of him, and I know it takes a lot for him to be this vulnerable. I hope you enjoy the show!

DetoxPod 120 : Colby Smith (Writer/Comedian)

My guest for this episode of Detoxicity is comedian and writer Colby Smith. Colby and I began our acquaintance about six years ago while debuting our respective Radio Free Brooklyn shows. He has moved on to co hosting the podcast "Honey Baby Sweetie Love", which takes a humorous look at online dating. 
 
Our conversation touches on our radio experiences, but Colby also details the course that led him from semi-rural beginnings to New York City. He speaks poignantly on friendships and the frustration he’s often faced attempting to advocate for himself. On a lighter note, we also touch on Colby’s never ending niceness and Elton John fandom. 

DetoxPod 119 : Ty McKinnie (Singer/Musician)

Ty McKinnie grew up in suburban Atlanta and moved to NYC for grad school. He is a multi-faceted creative; singing, acting, doing theater and aspiring to produce and direct films. In our conversation, Ty shares the long road to self-acceptance as a gay Black man brought up in the American South in an environment that was not immediately supportive. He talks about the people who paved the way for his coming out, shares a meaningful conversation that he had with an ailing relative, and goes deep into his post-COVID agoraphobia. I hope you all enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it. Let me know what you think in the comments!