On this episode, Dre welcomes comedian and creator Manon Mathews to circle around the wild ride of new motherhood and the courage it takes to keep creating through it all.

Together they unpack the loneliness that comparison creates, the surprising freedom in radical honesty, and the way pain can be our teacher. Manon reflects on her creative process — embracing spontaneity, catching inspiration before it dissipates and committing to share from wherever she is.

This is a conversation about creative freedom, the power of laughter, and the connection between healing and humor.

--

Follow: @manonmathews

Learn More At: http://www.manonmathews.com/

Check out Manon's podcast: ManonFestation

Order Manon's Book: FUNNY HOW IT WORKS OUT: Personal Stories & Lessons On How I Got My SH*T Together

--

Circle This is proudly sponsored by Sow to Speak for the month of September. Listeners receive 20% off when you sign up with the code CIRCLE.

Learn more here: UNmuted Program Details Highlighting UNmuted—a powerful resource designed to support high-achieving female leaders, especially moms in senior-level roles. UNmuted helps women navigate difficult conversations with confidence, courage, and grace. Or visit sowtospeak.com for more information on all their offerings and programs.

--

Stay connected with the Circle This team:

@andreabendewald @circlethispodcast

@emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace

For sponsorship inquiries, email: [email protected]

In this episode, Dre circles with teacher and facilitator Bex Urban on the mind-body connection and the practice of staying soft when life gets loud.

Together they explore how our quirks can be our superpowers, why shadow work is a doorway to deeper self-acceptance, and how the most intimate relationship we'll ever have is with ourselves. From meeting old patterns in new ways, to updating our inner "operating system," to regulating the nervous system with the simple mantra Peace Begins With Me—this conversation is a reminder that we can change our minds, soften our hearts, and anchor in truth.

Whether you're navigating shifting seasons, a changing body, or the noise of a distracted world, Bex offers grounded tools and timeless wisdom to help you return to center and live wholeheartedly—right here, right now.

Follow: @BexUrban Learn more: bexurban.com & youtube.com/c/bexurban

Circle This is proudly sponsored by Sow to Speak for the month of September. Listeners receive 20% off when you sign up with the code CIRCLE.

Learn more here: UNmuted Program Details Highlighting UNmuted—a powerful resource designed to support high-achieving female leaders, especially moms in senior-level roles. UNmuted helps women navigate difficult conversations with confidence, courage, and grace. Or visit sowtospeak.com for more information on all their offerings and programs.

--

Follow: @alldondre

Learn More At: https://www.dondrewhitfield.com/

Stay connected with the Circle This team:

@andreabendewald @circlethispodcast

@emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace

For sponsorship inquiries, email: [email protected]

On this episode, Dre sits down with actor, author, conscious leader and soul brother, Dondre Whitfield to circle around listening as an act of love, the dance between divine feminine and masculine energies, and the distinction between male vs. man.

Despite their opposing appearances and backgrounds, Dre and Dondre first recognized each other as "tribe" when they met at the High School of Performing Arts. It was here where empathy was learned and forged through listening to one another's struggles, discovering the universality of pain. They reflect on how those lessons in emotional intelligence still guide them today.

Together, they explore why affirmation is one of the most activating gifts we can give to each other, and how we need to feel seen and heard to survive. Dondre shares insights on partnership, parenting, and the importance of being a model for what we wish others to mirror.

From redefining what it means to be a man of service, to embracing both divine feminine and masculine energies, this conversation invites us to consider what true balance looks like—not perfection, but enough to create alignment with our divine assignment.

Dondre shares the way he walks through the world, seeing everyone as necessary to our shared ecosystem, and remembering that when we listen with love, we have the power to change the world.

--

Circle This is proudly sponsored by Sow to Speak for the month of September. Listeners receive 20% off when you sign up with the code CIRCLE.

Learn more here: UNmuted Program Details Highlighting UNmuted—a powerful resource designed to support high-achieving female leaders, especially moms in senior-level roles. UNmuted helps women navigate difficult conversations with confidence, courage, and grace. Or visit sowtospeak.com for more information on all their offerings and programs.

--

Follow: @alldondre

Learn More At: https://www.dondrewhitfield.com/

Stay connected with the Circle This team:

@andreabendewald @circlethispodcast

@emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace

For sponsorship inquiries, email: [email protected]

We're back! After a brief sacred summer pause, Dre and Em return with fresh energy, big gratitude, and a reminder that the ripple effect is very real. In this conversation, they celebrate an unexpected milestone — Circle This was named the #1 podcast in the category of Spirituality on GoodPods for the month of August. Because the charts are based not just on listens, but on engagement, comments, and shares, this honor feels especially meaningful — it reflects the heart of the Circle This community.

Together, Dre and Em reflect on the passing of Summer, the anticipation of fall, and the power of creating what you seek. They explore synchronicities, intuition versus fear, and what it means to listen for whispers — realizing that often we are the very signs someone else is waiting for. They also circle around the pressure of "making the right choice" and offer a reframe: there's no wrong way forward, only the practice of choosing what's in alignment.

--

Circle This is proudly sponsored by Sow to Speak for the month of September. Listeners receive 20% off when you sign up with the code CIRCLE.

Learn more here: UNmuted Program Details Highlighting UNmuted—a powerful resource designed to support high-achieving female leaders, especially moms in senior-level roles. UNmuted helps women navigate difficult conversations with confidence, courage, and grace. Or visit sowtospeak.com for more information on all their offerings and programs.

--

This episode is a celebration of growth, flow, and the reminders that guide us back to ourselves.

Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace

To sponsor Circle This, email: [email protected]

In this special episode we have curated a compilation of standout conversations from our first 38 episodes. Featuring wand drop moments from some of our many guests, from producer/screenwriter, Kristin Hahn, to astrologer/psychologist, Debra Silverman, to journalist Brooke Baldwin and many more. Stories that inspire us, lessons that stayed with us and voices that lit up the circle. Whether you're new here or have been circling with us from the start, this is a great place to explore, reflect and experience the power of connection.

--

Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @tracenthomas

To sponsor Circle This, email: [email protected]

In this episode of Circle This, Dre sits down with meditation teacher and author Megan Monahan to explore the question Do I want to be liked, or do I want to be loved? A layered conversation about the places where spirituality meets humanity and where our practices are tested not on the meditation cushion, but in the messy moments of real life.

Megan and Dre share about the patterns of codependency, the subtle addiction to being liked, and the uncomfortable but necessary shift toward true self-connection and interdependence. They talk about emotional bandwidth, spiritual bypassing, and how to stop outsourcing your worth to others. This episode invites you to notice your triggers, to hold yourself in discomfort, and to honor the sacred practice of being, rather than constantly doing.

They discuss what it means to embody the divine feminine, how to walk through resistance with integrity, and how to recognize the proof-of-concept moments that show you just how far you've come. Healing doesn't always look graceful and transformation rarely asks for your approval.

--

Follow Megan: @megmonahan Learn more at: meganmonahan.com Check out her 21-day meditation series: Link Here!

Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @tracenthomas To sponsor Circle This, email: [email protected]

In this episode Dre is joined by psychic medium Jonathan Mark—martial artist, lacrosse player , and lifelong skeptic—whose unexpected gift now helps families and detectives across the country solve cases and find connection after loss.

He never set out to do this work. But the messages kept coming. Loud. Specific. Unshakable. And soon, so did the calls—from grieving loved ones and law enforcement agencies such as NYPD, DA's office, and FBI asking for extra insight no one else could provide.

From scientific studies at MIT and Johns Hopkins that confirm unusual brain activity during readings, to the intuitive "screenshots" spirit sends him, Jonathan's work blends the mystical with the grounded—always with humility and deep care.

Together, Dre and Jonathan explore what it means to hold space between worlds. They talk about the science behind his gift, the grief that opens us, and the symbols spirit uses to reach across the veil. And the sacred responsibility of listening to what sometimes is hard for people to hear.

Johnathan illustrates just how connected we are and continue to be even when someone has crossed over, so much love remains.

Follow Jonathan on IG & TikTok: @Jonathanmarkmedium

Learn more at: https://jonathanmark.net/

--

Stay connected with the Circle This team: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @tracenthomas

To sponsor Circle This Podcast, email [email protected]

In this episode, Dre sits down with Stephanie Ferrario, founder of SheCan—a global movement and media platform amplifying women's voices through storytelling, education, and community. With over 3 million organic listeners, SheCan has become a living archive of transformation, visibility, and purpose.

Together, Dre and Stephanie circle around the questions: What makes a mentor? Why is emotional wellbeing a collective issue?

How do circles help us sit with discomfort, regulate our nervous systems, and remind us we're not alone?

From sitting with women in Ethiopia to launching a digital movement, Stephanie shares how SheCan was born in circle, listening to women's lived experiences and inviting the world to be inspired by them. They explore how internalized patriarchy, ageism, and competition keep women from rising, up until now, and how storytelling dismantles those myths.

This episode is both a love letter and a call to action: to gather, to witness, to build a new archive where her story matters—because when one woman rises, she lifts many.

Follow Stephanie & SheCan: @stefferrario & @she.can.world Learn more: www.shecan.world Subscribe: YouTube - SheCan World

--

Stay connected with us: @andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace

To sponsor this podcast, email: [email protected]

Most birthday celebrations are filled with gifts, cake, and casual conversation. But what if the real gift was presence—the kind that invites everyone to connect in a deep, meaningful way?

In this episode, Dre and Em are joined by Emily's best friend, David Perlman, who shares what it was like to celebrate his birthday in a completely different way: by sitting in circle. Instead of the usual dinner and side conversations, the group dropped into something sacred—an intentional space for reflection, vulnerability, and connection.

David reflects on how simply creating space for a shared experience, guided by Dre's facilitation, allowed everyone to be seen, heard, and moved—to laughter, to tears, and to something unforgettable.

Whether you're curious about circling or already hold space for others, this conversation is a beautiful reminder: we don't need a special occasion to create sacred connection. We just need the intention.

This episode is an invitation to rethink how we gather—not just for birthdays, but for life.

--

Stay connected with the Circle This Team:

@andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace

To Sponsor Circle This Podcast, email [email protected]

In this episode, Dre welcomes love coach and author Francesca Hogi (How to Find True Love) for a conversation about self-worth, connection, and what it really means to flirt with life.

Francesca redefines flirting as a way of engaging with the world—not rooted in romance, but in presence. At its core, flirting is about making others feel seen and acknowledged, creating space for possibility, chemistry, and soul-level connection.

They explore how dating can become a practice of self-love, how emotional resilience opens the door to intimacy, and how we can begin to shift from "being chosen" to choosing ourselves.

This episode touches on patterns, boundaries, AI dating agents, serendipity, the myth of scarcity in love, and the narratives we've inherited around beauty and worth.

Together, Dre and Francesca offer reflections, questions, and gentle permission to approach love—not as a game to win, but as a mirror, a teacher, and a human experience worth showing up for.

--

Stay connected with the Circle This Team:

@andreabendewald @circlethispodcast @emkratter @goodmessmedia @talkwithtrace

To Sponsor Circle This Podcast, email [email protected]