Beauty in the Break

Foster and Cesar dive deep into our screen habits, asking the vital question: what does a healthy relationship with your phone actually look like? They share their evolving perspectives on smartphones, screen time, and social media, especially as parents who are navigating the decision of when (and how) to introduce tech to their children. They examine not just the mental health data around screen use, but also the emotional undercurrents: dopamine addiction, numbing, comparison culture, and the aching loneliness that can exist in the age of hyper-connectivity.

This is a warm, non-judgmental conversation for anyone wrestling with digital burnout, setting phone boundaries, or seeking alternatives to screen-based connection. Drawing on their own family systems and creative lives, Foster and Cesar unpack screen time as the "new fast food," exploring how to treat smartphones as tools (not lifelines) and how real-life community and mindful connection are the true antidotes to digital overwhelm. A must-listen for anyone exploring digital wellness, conscious social media use, and building meaningful relationships in a tech-saturated world.

In this episode they explore: 

• Are we living in The McSmartphone Era?
• Parenting: when is the right time to give a kid a phone?
• Are we connecting—or just numbing?
• What actually makes a phone habit healthy?
• Why boundaries and intention matter more than just deleting apps
• Dopamine vs. oxytocin: the chemistry behind phone addiction
• Transforming your digital habits—without shame

Also mentioned: 

• The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
• Worry Over Social Media May Be Misplaced - Stanford study
• Foster’s eating disorder which is explored in The Eating Habits We Didn’t Choose
• Off the Grid with Amelia Hruby

You can also watch the episodes on YouTube!

If you enjoyed this episode, take a moment to follow Beauty in the Break on your favorite podcast app and leave a review—it really helps!

Reach out to the show—send an email or voice note to [email protected] and be sure to follow on Instagram. 

Cesar Cardona:

• Attend his upcoming speaking engagements
• Listen to music from Cesar + The Clew on Apple Music and Spotify
• Receive his monthly newsletter Insights That Matter

Foster Wilson:

• Buy her poetry book Afternoon Abundance
• Learn about her postpartum services
• Receive her monthly newsletter Foster’s Village

Created & Hosted by: Cesar Cardona and Foster Wilson

Executive Producer: Glenn Milley

This episode is brought to you by Arlene Thornton & Associates

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of Beauty in the Break, Foster and Cesar bring you 12 unforgettable therapy lessons that reshaped their lives. Drawing from years of individual therapy, couples therapy, Jungian analysis, and parts work, they share tangible wisdom that listeners can apply to their own healing and communication journeys. Whether you’re navigating family dynamics, learning to self-regulate, or trying to let go of old stories, this episode is full of relatable and transformative moments.

They also discuss powerful therapeutic tools like Internal Family Systems (IFS), the importance of repair in relationships, and how to show up truthfully without controlling the outcome. If you’re craving real talk about mental health, personal responsibility, emotional intelligence, and how to actually change, this episode is one to bookmark and revisit. 

In this episode they explore: 

• The parenting mindset shift that changes everything after a mistake
• What to do instead of chasing “balance” — and why it rarely works
• A surprising truth about how you judge others (and what it says about you)
• The communication formula that protects relationships from resentment
• The healing magic of writing — and the 5-day practice that builds confidence
• Why trying to “be right” might be making you miserable
• How to work with your inner child using IFS-style parts work

Cesar mentions his accident, which is detailed in Cesar’s Accident: The Scars of Rebirth.

If this episode spoke to you, you may enjoy The Eating Habits We Didn’t Choose, where we explore the truth of disordered eating and how to heal. You can also watch the episodes on YouTube.

If you enjoyed this episode, take a moment to follow Beauty in the Break on your favorite podcast app and leave a review—it really helps!

Reach out to the show—send an email or voice note to [email protected] and be sure to follow on Instagram. 

Cesar Cardona:

• Attend his upcoming speaking engagements
• Listen to music from Cesar + The Clew on Apple Music and Spotify
• Receive his monthly newsletter Insights That Matter

Foster Wilson:

• Buy her poetry book Afternoon Abundance
• Learn about her postpartum services
• Receive her monthly newsletter Foster’s Village

Created & Hosted by: Cesar Cardona and Foster Wilson

Executive Producer: Glenn Milley

Send us Fan Mail

Award-winning jazz vocalist Mel Collins joins Beauty in the Break for a powerful conversation about healing through music, reclaiming identity, and finding joy in your authentic voice. Mel opens up about her journey from musical theater to jazz after years of vocal nodules, depression, and identity loss. When the discovery of one Ella Fitzgerald CD changed everything, Mel rediscovered her joy—and her calling.

Mel talks about navigating two vocal surgeries, aging in entertainment, her identity as a Black American, and how jazz became the liberating art form she was always meant to sing. She shares wisdom for artists, singers, and anyone searching for their path: how to know what’s yours, how to honor your voice, and how grace and pride can carry you through breaking moments.

In this episode they explore: 

• The $1.99 CD that saved Mel’s voice and rewrote her future
• What two vocal surgeries taught her about healing, humility and reclaiming her voice
• Why Mel was expected to be someone else—before they even heard her sing
• The underestimated power of silent recovery and vocal rest
• Rejecting the label ‘African American’ in favor of something more rooted
• How artists can stop chasing youth and start owning their power 

Mel Collins:

• Follow her on Instagram
• Check out her music and hire her to sing! 

If this episode spoke to you, you will love Find Laughter in Life & Death with actress/producer Jennica Schwartzman. You can also watch the episodes on YouTube.

If you enjoyed this episode, take a moment to follow Beauty in the Break on your favorite podcast app and leave a review—it really helps!

Reach out to the show—send an email or voice note to [email protected] and be sure to follow on Instagram. 

Cesar Cardona:

• Attend his upcoming speaking engagements
• Listen to music from Cesar + The Clew on Apple Music and Spotify
• Receive his monthly newsletter Insights That Matter

Foster Wilson:

• Buy her poetry book Afternoon Abundance
• Learn about her postpartum services
• Receive her monthly newsletter Foster’s Village

Created & Hosted by: Cesar Cardona and Foster Wilson

Executive Producer: Glenn Milley

Special Guest: Mel Collins

Send us Fan Mail

What if your deepest fears about aging weren’t about wrinkles or retirement—but about forgetting your own name, or being forgotten by the people you love? In this soul-stirring episode of Beauty in the Break, Foster and Cesar return with their listener-favorite “Say More” series for a deeply personal, unscripted conversation on spiritual connection, parenting through imperfection, aging, grief, family patterns, and what might live on after death.

Through surprise prompts, they explore the aching beauty of the present moment, the possibility of spirit guides and past lives, and the emotional weight of watching loved ones change—or vanish—over time. From Cesar’s longing to understand the unseen world to Foster’s vision of village-style parenting in modern cities, this episode holds space for vulnerability, wonder, and real-time healing. Whether you're navigating big life transitions, contemplating spiritual beliefs, or simply looking for a reminder that you're not alone, this episode offers a poetic invitation to slow down, say more, and reconnect—with yourself, your people, and the mystery of life.

In this episode:

• How Foster figured out who her spirit guides are—and why it doesn’t matter if it’s “real”
• Can a psychic tell you who you are? The mystery of mediums, ancestral wisdom, and what lies beyond
• Cesar drops a wildly unpopular opinion about parenting—and you might secretly agree
• The "village" Foster dreams of building—and how it could change motherhood in cities
• The terrifying beauty of growing old: Why we fear aging more than death itself
• How falling in love sparked a creative renaissance—and birthed a poetry book, a podcast, and a whole new self
• Why pretending we have it all together is hurting us—and what happens when we admit we don’t

If this episode spoke to you, you will love Say More! Vol. 2 where we reject hustle culture and spill some secrets. You can also watch the episodes on YouTube.

If you enjoyed this episode, take a moment to follow Beauty in the Break on your favorite podcast app and leave a review—it really helps!

Reach out to the show—send an email or voice note to [email protected] and be sure to follow on Instagram. 

Cesar Cardona:

• Attend his upcoming speaking engagements
• Listen to music from Cesar + The Clew on Apple Music and Spotify
• Receive his monthly newsletter Insights That Matter

Foster Wilson:

• Buy her poetry book Afternoon Abundance
• Learn about her postpartum services
• Receive her monthly newsletter Foster’s Village

Created & Hosted by: Cesar Cardona and Foster Wilson

Executive Producer: Glenn Milley

This episode is brought to you by Arlene Thornton & Associates

Send us Fan Mail

This bonus episode of Beauty in the Break is an extended compilation of wisdom from Foster & Cesar’s joyfully sober friends—real people sharing powerful, funny, and vulnerable reflections on sobriety, addiction, and healing. You’ll hear from Chan Kinchla, Kate Anthony, Megan Stewart, Glenn Milley, Eve Sturges, Johanna Brown, and others. Whether you’re sober curious, reevaluating your relationship with alcohol, or already on the path, this episode offers candid truths and heartfelt encouragement from diverse voices who’ve walked that road. These sobriety stories offer insight, comfort, and inspiration for anyone seeking freedom, clarity, and a more grounded life.

In this episode:

• How one friend reframed sobriety as “a lazy woman’s spirituality dream”
• The unexpected thing that makes socializing easier after sobriety
• Why “getting your brain back” is the ultimate sober gift
• The surprising reason one friend calls sobriety “disappointing… in a good way”
• A reminder that the hottest thing on the planet is asking for help

If this bonus episode spoke to you, make sure you listen to The Secret of Joyful Sobriety where we explore the surprising joys of getting sober. You can also watch the episodes on YouTube.

If you enjoyed this episode, take a moment to follow Beauty in the Break on your favorite podcast app and leave a review—it really helps!

Reach out to the show—send an email or voice note to [email protected] and be sure to follow on Instagram. 

Cesar Cardona:

• Attend his upcoming speaking engagements
• Listen to music from Cesar + The Clew on Apple Music and Spotify
• Receive his monthly newsletter Insights That Matter

Foster Wilson:

• Buy her poetry book Afternoon Abundance
• Learn about her postpartum services
• Receive her monthly newsletter Foster’s Village

Created & Hosted by: Cesar Cardona and Foster Wilson

Executive Producer: Glenn Milley

Send us Fan Mail

Are you sober curious? What if sobriety wasn’t a loss—but a doorway to something richer, deeper, and more vibrant? In this episode of Beauty in the Break, Foster and Cesar explore the concept of joyful sobriety—a term that flips the narrative from shame and scarcity to celebration and self-connection. Whether you're newly sober or just beginning to explore what it means to be sober curious, they share how choosing to stop drinking (for vastly different reasons) opened up clarity, creativity, spiritual depth, and real emotional presence. 

From near-misses and cravings to sober parenting and creative breakthroughs, this conversation weaves together lived experience with gentle wisdom. This episode is an invitation into a world where sobriety isn’t about less—it’s about more. More vibrance, more presence, and more of your real self.

In this episode:

• Why joyful sobriety is a radical reframe of the narrative around addiction and alcohol
• Foster's reason for quitting drinking
• Cesar’s raw, honest account of waking up at the wheel
• The myth of being “less fun” without alcohol
• The process that helped Cesar heal from addiction
• Foster’s revelation about alcohol and creativity
• Cesar’s take on waking up clear – without having to check for his kidneys
• The question we should be asking ourselves about the role of alcohol in our lives
• Special feature: A beautiful chorus of voices from their joyfully sober friends: Chan Kinchla, Kate Anthony, Megan Stewart, Glenn Milley, Eve Sturges, Johanna Brown, and others.

Mention Beauty in the Break at Burden of Proof in Pasadena, and get 20% off your purchase!

If this episode spoke to you, you will love The Eating Habits We Didn’t Choose where Foster unpacks her diagnosis of an eating disorder. You can also watch the episodes on YouTube.

If you enjoyed this episode, take a moment to follow Beauty in the Break on your favorite podcast app and leave a review—it really helps!

Reach out to the show—send an email or voice note to [email protected] and be sure to follow on Instagram. 

Cesar Cardona:

• Attend his upcoming speaking engagements
• Listen to music from Cesar + The Clew on Apple Music and Spotify
• Receive his monthly newsletter Insights That Matter

Foster Wilson:

• Buy her poetry book Afternoon Abundance
• Learn about her postpartum services
• Receive her monthly newsletter Foster’s Village

Created & Hosted by: Cesar Cardona and Foster Wilson

Executive Producer: Glenn Milley

Editor: Bessie Fong

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of Beauty in the Break, Cesar and Foster dive into the vulnerable, often uncomfortable act of admitting when we’re wrong—and how that simple phrase can shift everything. They reflect on how our ego, upbringing, and societal norms all shape our relationship to being right, and how choosing honesty over defensiveness can lead to unexpected moments of intimacy, relief, and growth.

Through heartfelt personal stories, they offer the idea that saying “I was wrong” can build deeper connections with kids, partners, colleagues, and even ourselves. This episode is a love letter to imperfection and the courage it takes to be real.

In this episode they explore: 

• Why “I was wrong” might be the most powerful phrase you’re not using enough—and how it actually builds trust
• A real-life story about how a failed podcast booking turned into a personal breakthrough for Cesar
• What Foster learned about parenting solo and repairing ruptures with her children in real time
• How to give yourself the parenting you wished you had as a child 
• Foster’s career pivots and how letting go of “what could have been” has brought her more joy
• A forgiveness practice you can do even if the person who hurt you never says they’re sorry
• The Buddhist metaphor that will reframe your understanding of rigidity and growth forever

Cesar mentions Episode 5: Cesar’s Accident. 

You can also watch the episodes on YouTube.

If you enjoyed this episode, take a moment to follow Beauty in the Break on your favorite podcast app and leave a review—it really helps!

Reach out to the show—send an email or voice note to [email protected] and be sure to follow on Instagram. 

Cesar Cardona:

• Attend his upcoming speaking engagements
• Listen to music from Cesar + The Clew on Apple Music and Spotify
• Receive his monthly newsletter Insights That Matter

Foster Wilson:

• Buy her poetry book Afternoon Abundance
• Learn about her postpartum services
• Receive her monthly newsletter Foster’s Village

Created & Hosted by: Cesar Cardona and Foster Wilson

Executive Producer: Glenn Milley

Send us Fan Mail

After losing her father suddenly, actress, producer, and stand-up comic Jennica Schwartzman turned to comedy, storytelling, and creative community as a way to navigate grief and reclaim her identity. She joins Beauty in the Break for a powerful conversation about healing after loss, diving into stand-up comedy, and the ways her ministry upbringing shaped her voice as a storyteller. Jennica also shares how she continues to build inclusive creative spaces while parenting and producing meaningful art.

This is what it’s really like to handle the business of death—from managing legal documents and phone calls to emotionally processing a parent’s digital life. What does it mean to become the adult in your family? What do we inherit beyond objects? And how do we feel alive again?

If you've ever wondered how to prepare for a parent's death, how to grieve creatively, or what it means to reinvent yourself after life breaks you open—this is the honest conversation you need to hear.

In this episode:

• The secret ingredient behind Jennica’s wildly creative life
• Starting stand-up comedy in your 30s (and what it awakens)
• Why grieving might be the most adult thing you ever do
• What Jennica learned from inheriting 38 books on the Assassination of JFK
• The bittersweet beauty of wearing your father’s clothes
• How to become “dad” when no one else can
• How to prepare for a parent’s death (while they’re still alive)

Jennica Schwartzman:

• Follow her on Instagram
• Get her book Behind the Screens
• See her next stand-up show!

If this episode spoke to you, you will love Episode 3: Foster’s Loss where she tells the story of her late-term pregnancy loss and the beauty on the other side. You can also watch the episodes on YouTube.

If you enjoyed this episode, take a moment to follow Beauty in the Break on your favorite podcast app and leave a review—it really helps!

Reach out to the show—send an email or voice note to [email protected] and be sure to follow on Instagram. 

Cesar Cardona:

• Attend his upcoming speaking engagements
• Listen to music from Cesar + The Clew on Apple Music and Spotify
• Receive his monthly newsletter Insights That Matter

Foster Wilson:

• Buy her poetry book Afternoon Abundance
• Learn about her postpartum services
• Receive her monthly newsletter Foster’s Village

Created & Hosted by: Cesar Cardona and Foster Wilson

Executive Producer: Glenn Milley

Editor: Bessie Fong

Special Guest: Jennica Schwartzman

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome to the most playful episode yet! In Say More! Vol. 2, Foster and Cesar return with their recurring series where they pull unexpected questions from a deck and go wherever the stories lead. What follows is a ride through ice cream scooping traumas, pit bull heroism, skydiving metaphors, teenage gang life, and what happens when you're faced with a really, really bad boss. 

Amidst the play, they touch on fear, self-expression, and the transformation that comes from choosing a partner who helps you become more yourself. This episode is a reminder that some of the most beautiful breakthroughs happen when you're just having fun and saying more. 

In this episode: 

• A true story about a deaf man, his pit bull, and a life-saving act you won’t believe
• Foster’s very first job—and why it only lasted 2 months (hint: bad lighting + poor triceps)
• Cesar’s epic “I quit” moment after a 5 a.m. beer truck meltdown
• Why Foster is so glad hustle culture is in the rearview—and what she’s replaced it with
• Cesar’s high school transformation from gang life to Buddhist robes
• The interview that shook Foster’s confidence
• What Cesar would do if he were a woman for a day

Foster mentions Leaps of Faith which is in Episode 1: Breaking Open. 

If this episode spoke to you, you will love the first volume of this game Say More! Boomers, Benders and Bare Skin!

You can also watch the episodes on YouTube!

If you enjoyed this episode, take a moment to follow Beauty in the Break on your favorite podcast app and leave a review—it really helps.

Reach out to the show—send an email or voice note to [email protected] and be sure to follow on Instagram. 

Cesar Cardona:

• Attend his upcoming speaking engagements
• Listen to music from Cesar + The Clew on Apple Music and Spotify
• Receive his monthly newsletter Insights That Matter

Foster Wilson:

• Buy her poetry book Afternoon Abundance
• Learn about her postpartum services
• Receive her monthly newsletter Foster’s Village

Created & Hosted by: Cesar Cardona and Foster Wilson

Executive Producer: Glenn Milley

This episode is brought to you by Arlene Thornton & Associates

Send us Fan Mail

Foster and Cesar bravely share their radically different relationships with disordered eating, trauma, and healing. Foster opens up about living with an undiagnosed eating disorder for 22 years—marked by constant food obsession and internalized body shame—before receiving a diagnosis that finally brought relief and a path forward. Cesar shares his story of childhood hunger and neglect, and how that scarcity shaped his adult relationship with food. Together, they explore how trauma lives in the body and how healing requires listening within. 

If you’re sitting with a complex relationship to food or your body, whether it’s anorexia, bulimia, body dysmorphia, orthorexia, binge-eating, or a more nuanced disordered eating fed to you by diet culture, this episode is designed to be the first step in your healing process. You are not alone. 

In this episode: 

• Foster reveals her 22-year struggle with food and eating—and the diagnosis that set her free
• The shocking truth of what her inner voice sounds like
• Foster takes us inside the mind of someone with an eating disorder
• Cesar shares the lasting imprint of childhood hunger including scarcity and shame
• The foods Cesar gives himself full permission to indulge in
• The household phrase that still haunts Foster—and how she’s learning to reject diet culture
• What intuitive eating looks like in real life—and why Foster calls herself a toddler in recovery
• Cesar’s powerful reminder that eating—and healing—isn’t about rules

Also mentioned: 

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch

Our episode on How to Spot a Gatekeeper! 

You can also watch the episodes on YouTube.

If you enjoyed this episode, take a moment to follow Beauty in the Break on your favorite podcast app and leave a review—it really helps!

Reach out to the show—send an email or voice memo to [email protected] and be sure to follow on Instagram. 

Cesar Cardona:

• Attend his upcoming speaking engagements
• Listen to music from Cesar + The Clew on Apple Music and Spotify
• Receive his monthly newsletter Insights That Matter

Foster Wilson:

• Buy her poetry book Afternoon Abundance
• Learn about her postpartum services
• Receive her monthly newsletter Foster’s Village

Created & Hosted by: Cesar Cardona and Foster Wilson

Executive Producer: Glenn Milley

Editor: Bessie Fong

This episode is brought to you by Arlene Thornton & Associates

Send us Fan Mail