Dr. Brad Blanton is the author of the self-help classic Radical Honesty. His daughter, Carsie Blanton, is among the finest pop singer-songwriters of her generation.

You might remember Brad from Episode 2 of this podcast, and Carsie from Episode 4.

Brad and I connected via email and social media in the aftermath of Anthony Bourdain’s suicide, and today’s conversation followed from that.

It’s been around 48 hours and I’m still no closer to processing the loss of @anthonybourdain. How does a man with possibly the most coveted job/life in the world decide to check out? But more than that, I’m surprised by how much it feels like I lost a close friend. It keeps hitting me, over and over. Like, “I’m never going to get to hang out with this person again,” even though we never met. A profound sadness, and gratitude for the man who did so much to inspire me, and a million other weirdos like me, out here on the road. God damn, we miss you, Anthony. You were the real deal, brother. #anthonybourdain #ripanthonybourdain

A post shared by Zachary Stockill (@zfstockill) on Jun 10, 2018 at 7:21am PDT

Last night I connected with Brad and Carsie on Skype to talk about mourning Bourdain, suicide, depression, our deep-rooted need for human touch and connection, radical honesty, the orange fella in the White House, the specter of fascism, and more.

I feel grateful for this conversation, and to have Dr. Blanton and Carsie on today’s show as my first repeat guests.

Mentioned in this episode:

* Anthony Bourdain, the late author and TV presenter

* Radical Honesty by Dr. Brad Blanton (Amazon)

* Radical Parenting by Dr. Brad Blanton (Amazon)

* “Fish and Whistle” by the great John Prine

* Episode 2 of Humans in Love: “Jealousy, Relationships, and How to Get Over Shit and Be Happy with Dr. Brad Blanton”

* Episode 4 of Humans in Love: “Songwriting, Open Marriages, ‘Hooks, Humour, Sex, and Soul’ with Carsie Blanton”

Connect with Brad on:

* His ‘Radical Honesty’ website

* Twitter

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