For the last episode of the season, two guests from season one came back to check in. Melanie Mishler — manifestation coach, somatic healer, author of Women Who Want More, and host of the Manifest with Melanie podcast — is now living full-time in Belize, turning 50, and quietly considering a two-year Peace Corps assignment in Peru working with women entrepreneurs. And documentary filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer, Amy Toensing, whose 11-year project Inheritance found its educational distribution home through Bullfrog Films, is ‘landing the plane.’

Then it's just Piper and David. They talk about why the original show format didn't work. They get into what momentum actually looks like when you're running a creative project on the side of a full life and business. They unpack a conversation about community, connection, and what it costs to leave something you built.

They talk about friendship, the noise of living in the US, random egg cream soda full circle moments visiting another Season One guest in Baltimore.

Season two is coming. B-sides and bonus episodes will drop in between to email list subscribers — including field trips to see some of David and Piper’s favorite artists. If you know D&P now, you know they have a lot to say!

Get on the bonus content by subscribing here: https://absolutelysurenoidea.com

Connect with Absolutely Sure, No Idea:

Podcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/absolutelysurenoidea

Co-Host David Richardson: https://www.davomakes.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/davo_makes/

Co-Host Piper Watson: https://www.piperwatson.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/__piperwatson/

Season Two Coming - Subscribe wherever you listen

If you've ever kept the woo parts of yourself separate from the professional parts — or wondered whether those two things could ever actually live in the same room — this conversation is for you.

Kris Prochaska has spent over a decade building a practice at the exact intersection of clinical psychology and things most therapists won't touch, and she makes it look deceptively easy.

Today, Piper and David sit down with Kris Prochaska — licensed therapist, Human Design expert, TEDx speaker, and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy practitioner based in Oregon. Kris has been bridging science and soul since 2012, helping clients decode their human design, shift deep-seated patterns, and integrate psychedelic experiences through her trauma-informed, clairvoyant approach to transformation.

Kris came to Human Design the way a lot of us come to the things that change everything — not by looking for it, but by running out of road with the old map. She'd spent years getting very good at figuring out what was wrong with people, including herself, before realizing that if you keep looking for what's wrong, you'll always find something. This conversation is about what happens when you stop diagnosing and start mapping — and what it actually feels like to decondition from who you were told to be.

• What Human Design actually is — in under two minutes, for the skeptics
• Her seven-year deconditioning process, and what she found on the other side of it
• Why boxing yourself in — even with language you love — is where creative capacity goes to die

This one's for anyone who's been quietly living in two different worlds and wondering if they ever get to just be one person.

Kris Prochaska: www.krisprochaska.com

If this sparked something, our conversation with Terra Lopez — on burnout, identity, and the difference between who you are and who the industry wants you to be — is worth a listen. And DDM's episode gets into what it looks like to build something entirely on your own terms when your audience wants something else.

Connect with Absolutely Sure, No Idea:

Podcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/absolutelysurenoidea

Co-Host David Richardson: https://www.davomakes.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/davo_makes/

Co-Host Piper Watson: https://www.piperwatson.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/__piperwatson/

Season Two Coming - Subscribe wherever you listen

"God can't catch you if you don't jump." Krylon Superstar has been living by that principle since she left San Diego for New York in the nineties with no plan and a patchwork dress made of spray paint patches safety-pinned together. What followed was a life that looks like it couldn't possibly belong to one person.

Today, Piper and David sit down with Krylon Superstar — performer, artist, witch, model, fashion stylist, voodoo and ancestral magic practitioner, and one half of the Bay Area queer hip hop ballroom house duo Double Duchess. Krylon got her start as a performance artist and club kid in New York's East Village in the nineties, spent eight years in Berlin performing, modeling, and doing theater, and now lives in San Francisco.

From the Limelight to Berlin to Double Duchess, Krylon's creative life has never followed a map — it's followed a feeling. This conversation covers the decades in between: what it was like to be trans in New York in the nineties, what she had to set aside to survive it, and what she's learned about what art actually is and what it's for.

• Why she thinks the Wizard of Oz has the wrong title — and what it says about where the good stuff actually happens
• Going where your people are, and what happens when you actually do it
• A quote about the meaning of life that someone named Compost told her — and why she's never forgotten it
• Why perfection is just control in disguise — and what she does instead

Krylon Superstar: https://www.instagram.com/krylon_superstar/

Double Duchess: https://www.instagram.com/doubleduchess/

If this one moved you, our conversation with DDM — on building a creative life entirely on your own terms in a world that doesn't always make room for it — is worth your time. And Keenan Newman's episode asks a quieter version of the same question: what is art actually for, and when does it fall short?

Connect with Absolutely Sure, No Idea:

Podcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/absolutelysurenoidea

Co-Host David Richardson: https://www.davomakes.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/davo_makes/

Co-Host Piper Watson: https://www.piperwatson.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/__piperwatson/

Season Two Coming - Subscribe wherever you listen

Keenan Newman built a filmmaking career on the belief that stories have power. Then he stood in a Yup'ik village in Alaska filming people tear down their homes — and started to wonder about the limits of that belief.

Today, Piper and David sit down with Keenan Newman — documentary filmmaker and photographer based in Ventura, California, whose work has taken him from a Yup'ik village in Western Alaska to the West Bank to the Park Avenue Armory. His recent projects include NEWTOK, a film about the first climate refugees within US borders, and ASSEMBLY, which documents artist and activist Rashad Newsom's work toward Black queer liberation.

Keenan started in commercial work because he couldn't afford film school. Ten years later he was trying to figure out how to leave it. This conversation is about what gets clarified along the way — about what your role actually is, what art can and can't do, and what it looks like to build a creative life around something you believe in.

• The moment in Alaska that made him question what he was doing there with a camera
• Going from wanting his name on the marquee to seeing his role as service — and what changed that
• How his definition of success in filmmaking has shifted over the last five years
• The feast or famine reality of freelance filmmaking — and why he doesn't think it's going away

Keenan Newman: https://keenan.film

ASSEMBLY: https://assemblythefilm.com

NEWTOK: https://www.patagonia.com/stories/newtok/video-116909.html

If this one stayed with you, our conversation with Amy Toensing — National Geographic documentary photographer on keeping important work alive when the industry stops funding it — covers similar ground. And DDM's episode gets into what it looks like to make art entirely on your own terms when nobody's cutting the check.

Connect with Absolutely Sure, No Idea:

Podcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/absolutelysurenoidea

Co-Host David Richardson: https://www.davomakes.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/davo_makes/

Co-Host Piper Watson: https://www.piperwatson.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/__piperwatson/

Season Two Coming - Subscribe wherever you listen

The ache that something more is possible is easy to ignore — until it isn't. Manifestation coach and somatic teacher Melanie Mishler had a successful wedding photography business, a home in Belize, flexibility most people dream about. She was also quietly suppressing the work she actually felt called to do, and her body knew it before she did.

Today, Piper and David sit down with Melanie Mishler — manifestation teacher, trauma-informed somatic coach, creator of the Neuro-Somatic Manifesting™ method, host of Manifest with Melanie, and author of Women Who Want More. Melanie guides women over 40 to break free from the patterns keeping them stuck — through a blend of neuroscience, embodiment, and spiritual practice that she spent years hiding from her professional world before she finally stopped.

Melanie went from somatic therapist to wedding photographer to manifestation coach — not in a straight line, not with a plan, and not without a lot of sitting on the thing she really wanted to say. This conversation is about what finally made her stop waiting, and what happened when she did.

• Why the more successful you are, the harder it is to pivot — and what that actually costs you
• The fuck it moment — and what being messy has to do with clarity
• Her closing advice, which Piper immediately said should be on a t-shirt

Manifest with Melanie Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/manifest-with-melanie/id1733330696

Website: https://melaniemishler.com

Love the pod today? You’ll love our conversation with Kris Prochaska — licensed therapist and human design expert on identity, self-trust, and permission to be who you actually are. And Terra Lopez's episode gets into what it looks like when your body finally forces the conversation your mind has been avoiding.

Connect with Absolutely Sure, No Idea:

Podcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/absolutelysurenoidea

Co-Host David Richardson: https://www.davomakes.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/davo_makes/

Co-Host Piper Watson: https://www.piperwatson.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/__piperwatson/

Season Two Coming - Subscribe wherever you listen

Most people who love music stay fans. Jeff Bratton started reaching out to labels he loved while still working corporate PR — and just kept leaning into whatever door had give. That was the late 2000s. Cascine Records came out the other side of it.

Today, Piper and David sit down with Jeff Bratton — founder of independent record label Cascine and artist manager for Yeule, Casey MQ, and Com Truise. Cascine has become a genuine touchstone in indie, electronic, and experimental music, built without a major label, a blueprint, or any particular certainty about what came next.

Jeff grew up in Maryland, fell in love with music in the DC and Baltimore rave scene, and spent years working in corporate PR before reaching out to the labels he actually cared about and offering to help for free. This conversation is less about how he built Cascine and more about what he believes made it worth building — and what it actually takes to survive in a creative industry when there are no guarantees. Hear why community isn't optional when you're making something without a blueprint. And what he and David found in each other early on — and why wise friendships might be the whole thing

Cascine: https://www.cascine.us

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cascine

Gallerie: https://www.gallerie.us/

Listen to our conversation with DDM — on building a creative career entirely on your own terms — it covers similar territory. And Jinji Fraser's episode gets into what it looks like to stay inside something without a plan and trust where it leads.

Connect with Absolutely Sure, No Idea:

Podcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/absolutelysurenoidea

Co-Host David Richardson: https://www.davomakes.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/davo_makes/

Co-Host Piper Watson: https://www.piperwatson.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/__piperwatson/

Season Two Coming - Subscribe wherever you listen

Abstract painter Kim Manfredi ran one of Baltimore's most beloved yoga studios for 15 years. Before that, a decorative painting company for 15 years. She was just waiting for the moment to say yes to painting again.

This one's for anyone who's walked away from an opportunity because something else needed them more — and wondered for years whether that was the right call.

Today, Piper and David sit down with Kim Manfredi — abstract painter, founder of Charm City Yoga, and one of Piper's former teachers. Kim earned her MFA from MICA studying under Grace Hartigan and Joyce Kozloff, and her painting Sillmangreen was acquired by the Palm Springs Art Museum for its permanent collection. She has an upcoming solo exhibition and outdoor public commission at the Laguna Art Museum in 2026.

Kim was represented by C. Grimaldis Gallery in Baltimore and walked away from it to stay committed to the yoga community that had grown out of the carriage house where her decorative painting company worked. She went back to graduate school twenty years after her undergraduate degree. When the art path presented itself again, she recognized it. This conversation is about what it takes to keep choosing the same thing across a life that keeps changing shape around it.

• Walking away from a promising opportunity with the Grimaldis Gallery in her early career to run a business
• The "old lady role models" she found when she needed proof that being found later was still possible
• How she structures each body of work so she can find freedom
• What it actually looks like to sell enough to support a practice

Kim Manfredi: https://www.kimmanfredi.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimmanfredi/

If you liked this episode, our conversation with Melanie Mishler — on walking away from a successful creative business to follow what you were actually called to do — covers similar territory. And Amy Toensing's episode gets into what it looks like to keep a creative practice alive when the conditions keep changing around it.

Connect with Absolutely Sure, No Idea:

Podcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/absolutelysurenoidea

Co-Host David Richardson: https://www.davomakes.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/davo_makes/

Co-Host Piper Watson: https://www.piperwatson.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/__piperwatson/

Season Two Coming - Subscribe wherever you listen

DDM has been building a creative career in Baltimore — a city he'll be the first to tell you wasn't designed for it — for over two decades. He's done it mostly on his own terms, mostly with his own money, and with a clarity about the difference between art and fame that most people spend their whole career trying to figure out.

Today, Piper and David sit down with Dapper Dan Midas, a.k.a. DDM — Baltimore rapper, performer, culture commentator, and host of the Secretary of Shade YouTube channel, which has amassed over 23,000 subscribers through live book readings and sharp political and pop culture commentary. DDM currently stars in the short film F^¢k '€m R!ght B@¢k, which premiered at Sundance and is streaming on Paramount+ and Showtime.

DDM came up in the rap battle scene not to be a battle rapper, but because that's how you got noticed in Baltimore in 2005. In the following two decades of self-funded projects and a vision that was always bigger than the budget, DDM shares an honest reckoning with what the public actually wants from you versus what you want to make. This episode went places we didn't see coming and has more genius one-liners per minute than anything we've ever recorded!

The conversation goes from rap battles to wrestling to anxiety to his mom visiting mid-episode — and somehow it all connects

He's got a theory about art and fame that will make you rethink your creative decisions

And how to build a creative career from a city that doesn't manufacture fame

If you’ve ever been stuck between making art you want and making what sells, give this episode a listen.

Secretary of Shade: https://www.youtube.com/c/SecretaryOfShade

DDM on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dapperdanmidas/

If you liked this episode, our conversation with Terra Lopez — musician and activist on burnout, creative identity, and making art on your own terms — covers similar ground from a different angle. And Jinji Fraser's episode gets into what it looks like to build something without a roadmap and trust it anyway.

Connect with Absolutely Sure, No Idea:

Podcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/absolutelysurenoidea

Co-Host David Richardson: https://www.davomakes.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/davo_makes/

Co-Host Piper Watson: https://www.piperwatson.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/__piperwatson/

Season Two Coming - Subscribe wherever you listen

Jinji didn't go into this thinking she'd own a business. She arrived, looked around, and thought — how has this even happened? Thirteen years later she's still asking that question, just from a much deeper place. This conversation covers what it actually feels like to stay inside something without a plan, let it evolve, and trust that the next version of it will make sense when it gets here.

Today, Piper and David sit down with Jinji Fraser — award-winning craft chocolate maker, founder of Jinji Chocolate, and collaborator with Cacao Road Media, a documentary series amplifying stories of resilience across the cacao supply chain. Jinji has spent over a decade working alongside her father and best friend, advocating for women- and family-owned cacao farms, and building a business that keeps revealing new reasons to exist.

• We explore what it looks like when a business finds you instead of trying to plan it to a tee.
• The breakfast conversation with her dad that completely changed her personal mission behind the chocolate.
• Where the work is going next — and why it has nothing to do with chocolate bars

Jinji Chocolate: https://www.jinjichocolate.com

Cacao Road Documentary Series: https://www.instagram.com/cacaoroad

If this one resonated, our conversation with Terra Lopez — musician, activist, and someone who's rebuilt her relationship with her own creative work from the ground up — is worth your time. And Amy Toensing's episode gets into what it looks like to keep going inside a life you've built when the conditions around it keep changing.

Connect with Absolutely Sure, No Idea:

Podcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/absolutelysurenoidea

Co-Host David Richardson: https://www.davomakes.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/davo_makes/

Co-Host Piper Watson: https://www.piperwatson.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/__piperwatson/

Season Two Coming - Subscribe wherever you listen

When burnout finally catches up with you, it doesn't always arrive as exhaustion — sometimes it arrives as a blood transfusion and a doctor telling you your heart might stop. Musician and mental health advocate Terra Lopez has spent over a decade making music as Rituals of Mine, building a career in an industry she loves, and quietly burning out doing it.

Today, Piper and David sit down with Terra Lopez — Sacramento-born musician, activist, NPR podcast host, and Community Manager at Backline, the nonprofit connecting music industry professionals with free mental health resources. Terra fronts the electronic R&B project Rituals of Mine, has toured with Deftones, Alice in Chains, and The Mars Volta, and hosts This Is What It Feels Like, which won NPR's Best Interview Award in 2024.

Terra started making music because it was cheaper than therapy. What followed was a decade of wearing every hat — artist, publicist, activist, podcast host — until her body made the decision she wouldn't. This conversation is about what happens after that, and what it actually looks like to fall back in love with something you almost walked away from.

• Hear the story of the week Terra was ready to quit music entirely — and the unexpected guest the universe dropped in her lap in return
• Unpack how she found work to truly sustain her music, and the key thing to look for.
• Hear why momentum isn't just a ‘nice to have’ for her — but a prescription for mental wellbeing.

If this one hit close, our conversation with Amy Toensing — National Geographic documentary photographer on keeping a creative career alive when the industry keeps getting harder — covers similar ground from a different angle. And our episode with Kim Manfredi gets into what it looks like to rebuild your creative identity after you've let one version of it go.

Terra Lopez: https://www.instagram.com/terralopez

Rituals of Mine: https://www.instagram.com/ritualsofmine

This Is What It Feels Like / TIWILF Project: https://www.instagram.com/tiwiflproject

Connect with Absolutely Sure, No Idea:

Podcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/absolutelysurenoidea

Co-Host David Richardson: https://www.davomakes.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/davo_makes/

Co-Host Piper Watson: https://www.piperwatson.com/ on IG: https://www.instagram.com/__piperwatson/

Season Two Coming - Subscribe wherever you listen