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Religion & SpiritualitySpirituality

Circle This

Good Mess Media

CIRCLE THIS, The Anti-Small Talk Podcast.

Deep, playful, and intimate conversations shedding light on how to create magic and meaning in our everyday lives. Andrea Bendewald invites her circle of friends which include innovators, authors, entrepreneurs, healers, and artists, to share their stories and practices for building and nurturing authentic relationships. These discussions, like circles, are an antidote to the loneliness epidemic, providing tangible evidence of our shared humanity, and guidance for cultivating deeper connections.

Thank you for listening, sharing, and being a part of our expanding circle.

Circle This is executive produced by Andrea Bendewald, and Emily Kratter. Edited, produced and distributed by Tracey Thomas and Good Mess media
Photography by Cathrine White

Stay connected with our Circle This Team:

@andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace

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  • 25 episodes
  • fortnightly
  • Avg 1 hr 19 min
  • English

Episodes 25

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  • #58
    February 17 · 1 hr 41 min

    Unlocking the Truth About Love: Healing the Wound Beneath Conflict with Odette & Dave Annable (Part 1)

    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

  • S2 · E57
    February 10 · 41 min

    The Village Is a State of Mind: Welcome Back with Dre & Em

    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

  • #56
    Dec 16, 2025 · 23 min

    Thorns, Roses, and The Courage To Receive with Dre & Em

    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

  • #55
    Dec 9, 2025 · 1 hr 28 min

    Integrative Tools for Overwhelm: Breathwork, Embodiment, and the End of Spiritual Burnout with Natalie Kuhn

    Dre sits down with writer, teacher, and embodiment leader Natalie Kuhn, founder of Make the Sun and former Co-CEO of The Class. Natalie shares how her early experiences with conditional love shaped her sense of self, and how her current work in seminary and Al-Anon is revealing a different understanding of belonging and internal safety. They explore the pressures of spiritual overload, the tendency to turn healing into constant self-improvement, and the impact this has on the nervous system. Natalie breaks down how breath and sound support emotional release, why the body often holds the breath under stress, and what happens physiologically and energetically during breath work ceremonies. The conversation moves into the difference between loneliness and aloneness, the role of sound and voice for women who have been conditioned to stay quiet, and the relationship between energy, attention, and presence. Natalie also discusses the practice of listening beyond language and the effects of mirroring in group spaces, classrooms, and circles. Dre reflects on her own experience in one of Natalie's ceremonies and the lasting shifts it created, as well as the parallels she has found between Al-Anon, circling, and her own facilitation work. Follow: @thisisnatalie Learn more: https://youmakethesun.com/ Substack: https://youmakethesun.substack.com/ -- Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace For sponsorship inquiries: circlethispod@gmail.com

  • #54
    Dec 2, 2025 · 1 hr 34 min

    What Adversity Reveals: Nyakio Grieco on Projection, Self-Awareness & Spiritual Strength

    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

Showing 21–25 of 25 episodes