This week on Eyes Wide Open, we’re speaking with Calley Means, a former consultant in the food and pharmaceutical industries turned activist and advocate against them. Calley works to subvert big industry’s poisoning of our food system and the corruption in regulating agencies enable this to happen. Calley is also the founder of a company called TrueMed, which is an organization that issues food and health-promoting services as prescriptions that allow you to utilize your HSA funds within your healthcare program (something that may be beneficial to you as we come up to the end of the year).

I make a lot of my own personal products because the chemicals used in mass-production can actually be detrimental to our overall health and wellness, both in physical and mental aspects. As a result, Calley’s platform and mission really resonated with me.

Today, we're going to talk about Calley’s journey from a young kid in DC wanting to be in politics, his time consulting in food and pharma, to how he ended up now advocating against these industries. I hope that when you finish this episode you can look at the food and health industries with your eyes wide open.

Find Calley here:

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

TruMed Website: https://www.truemed.com/

Calley’s Website: https://calleymeans.com/ 

Find Nick Thompson here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nthompson513/ 

Website: https://www.engagewithnick.com/ 

UCAN Foundation: https://www.ucanfoundation.org/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EngageWithNick 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickthompson13/

TW: This episode features stories of sexual trauma, addiction, self harm, and suicidal ideation. Avoid listening if these topics may cause you emotional or psychological distress.

On today's episode of Eyes Wide Open, we will be sitting down with mental health advocate Todd Rennebohm. Todd is a public speaker, author of the children's book, “Sometimes Daddy Cries,” and host of the hit podcast, “Bunny Hugs and Mental Health.” 

I’ve known Todd for a few months now, and he is a wonderful person trying to turn his struggles into something that can help other people. This is a deep and difficult episode full of hard conversations, and I want to thank Todd for being authentic, open, and honest about his experience.

I hope that you enjoy this episode, and I hope that this helps you understand others who are struggling so that you can approach difficult situations with your eyes wide open.

Reality and unscripted television are often anything but that. Join us in demanding that producers add a mandatory disclaimer before and after each episode, underscoring that episodes are for entertainment purposes only, and the content can be edited, manipulated, and presented in any order for storyline purposes. https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/add-a-disclaimer-to-all-reality-television-programming 

Find Todd here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bunnyhugspodcast/?hl=en 

Read “Sometimes Daddy Cries:” https://www.amazon.com/Sometimes-Daddy-Cries-Todd-Rennebohm/dp/022883466X 

Listen to the “Bunny Hugs and Mental Health” Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bunny-hugs-and-mental-health/id1560055327 

Find Nick Thompson here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nthompson513/ 

Website: https://www.engagewithnick.com/ 

UCAN Foundation: https://www.ucanfoundation.org/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EngageWithNick 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickthompson13/

Reality and unscripted television are often anything but that. Join us in demanding that producers add a mandatory disclaimer before and after each episode, underscoring that episodes are for entertainment purposes only, and the content can be edited, manipulated, and presented in any order for storyline purposes. https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/add-a-disclaimer-to-all-reality-television-programming 

In a couple days, many of us in the United States will be getting together with family to celebrate Thanksgiving. Along with the holidays comes many internalized expectations, memories from childhood, and of course the societal expectations for how holidays should look. Many of us also find ourselves faced with uncomfortable and inappropriate conversations and situations when family gathers together.

To address what is going on from a psychological perspective, I invited Dr. Isabelle Morley to share her expertise on the subject. Dr. Isabelle is a licensed clinical psychologist, couples therapist, and the Director of Mental Health Services at the UCAN Foundation. 

Dr. Isabelle and I talk about setting boundaries with family and managing expectations over the holidays so that we can find joy. We also discuss how you can get out ahead of and avoid conversations you're not comfortable having with family, or get out of conversations that make you uncomfortable like dating, news, and politics. 

I hope this episode helps you go into your Thanksgiving dinner and the rest of your holiday season with your eyes wide open.

Find the UCAN Foundation here:

Website: https://www.ucanfoundation.org/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_ucan_foundation/?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM%3D 

Find Dr. Isabelle Morley here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drisabellemorley/?hl=en 

Website: https://www.drisabellemorley.com/ 

Find Nick Thompson here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nthompson513/ 

Website: https://www.engagewithnick.com/ 

UCAN Foundation: https://www.ucanfoundation.org/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EngageWithNick 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickthompson13/

Today's guest on Eyes Wide Open is Emma Demar, also known by her nickname, “That Trendy Therapist.” She's a licensed clinical social worker, former actress from Gossip Girl, podcast host, and bestselling author of the book, “The Truth Teller: The Truth Behind Our Masks.” 

In my journey to better understand myself and my internal motivations, I came across Emma and her book, which is all about how to rediscover yourself through inner work so that you can show up in the world as your authentic self. I instantly connected with her message because it aligns with one of my key ethos in, to be unapologetically myself and do the work to get there.

Our conversation covers positivity, grounding, unmasking, how to accept your own complexities, and learning your inner truth. Emma also shares her own mental health journey, including struggling with anorexia as a teenager.

I really hope that you enjoy this episode with Emma, and that it helps you to show up in the world as your true authentic self so you can go through the world with your eyes wide open.

Find Emma here:

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

Website: https://www.thattrendytherapist.com/home 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thattrendytherapist 

Read “The Truth Teller” book: https://www.amazon.com/Truth-Teller-Behind-Our-Masks/dp/B0CBD639H2 

Listen to “The Truth Teller” podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-truth-teller-by-that-trendy-therapist/id1500330939 

Find Nick Thompson here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nthompson513/ 

Website: https://www.engagewithnick.com/ 

UCAN Foundation: https://www.ucanfoundation.org/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EngageWithNick 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickthompson13/

Reality and unscripted television are often anything but that. Join us in demanding that producers add a mandatory disclaimer before and after each episode, underscoring that episodes are for entertainment purposes only, and the content can be edited, manipulated, and presented in any order for storyline purposes. https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/add-a-disclaimer-to-all-reality-television-programming 

Today’s guest on Eyes Wide Open is Gianna LaLota, a licensed mental health counselor and specialist in cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as a yoga and reiki instructor. Gianna is an expert on mental health and skilled in many therapeutic disciplines, but I really wanted to have Gianna visit the podcast for a discussion on mindfulness.

Today, it feels like everybody is talking about being mindful, but it is often unclear what mindfulness actually looks like when it's applied to your everyday life. Gianna clarifies this definition and shares why it is important, how factors like perfectionism and self-criticism play into it, and how you can turn negatives into positives.

We also get to know Gianna and learn about her therapeutic practice, how she dealt with harmful perfectionist tendencies growing up, and how she decided to become a therapist. It's a very interesting and fun conversation that I hope helps you learn a little bit about mindfulness so you can go through life with your eyes wide open.

Find Gianna here:

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

NYC Cognitive Therapy: https://www.nyccognitivetherapy.com/ 

Find Nick Thompson here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nthompson513/ 

Website: https://www.engagewithnick.com/ 

UCAN Foundation: https://www.ucanfoundation.org/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EngageWithNick 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickthompson13/ 

Reality and unscripted television are often anything but that. Join us in demanding that producers add a mandatory disclaimer before and after each episode, underscoring that episodes are for entertainment purposes only, and the content can be edited, manipulated, and presented in any order for storyline purposes. https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/add-a-disclaimer-to-all-reality-television-programming 

On this week's episode of Eyes Wide Open, Nick sits down with Chicago-based abstract artist Callie Ezell for another episode detailing her experience surviving life in a cult. Part two picks up right where part one left off, so make sure to listen to that episode if you want to hear Callie’s full story.

In this episode, we talk about Callie’s experiences and emotions as she began working toward an exit strategy to leave the cult. We follow Callie as she attempts to integrate back into normality, with things like meeting new friends, dating, and finding new work all haunted by the backdrop of her decade-long cult experience and the anxiety, stress, and trauma that she carried from it. Her difficulty reintegrating with normal life eventually led her to therapy and discovering art as a way to express herself. 

Callie is very vulnerable in this episode, and gives us an honest depiction about what her experience was. This episode will help you view other human beings with compassion and empathy so that we can all go through life with our eyes wide open.

Find Callie here:

Mcmillan Street Art: https://www.instagram.com/mcmillanstreetart/?hl=en 

Find Nick Thompson here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nthompson513/ 

Website: https://www.engagewithnick.com/ 

UCAN Foundation: https://www.ucanfoundation.org/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EngageWithNick 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickthompson13/

Today's episode of Eyes Wide Open is part one of two where I talked to Callie Ezell. Callie is a Chicago-based abstract artist and founder-entrepreneur with Mcmillan Street Art. We recently got connected through a mutual friend, who told me that Callie spent 10 years of her life in a cult. 

Reality and unscripted television are often anything but that. Join us in demanding that producers add a mandatory disclaimer before and after each episode, underscoring that episodes are for entertainment purposes only, and the content can be edited, manipulated, and presented in any order for storyline purposes. https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/add-a-disclaimer-to-all-reality-television-programming 

For those of you who've been following my post-Love Is Blind journey, you may have seen me compare elements of the production process to being part of a cult. This was inspired and informed by my conversations with Callie, because a lot of what she has shared with me about her experience in this cult was very similar to what I and my fellow cast members experienced when we participated in the Love is Blind experiment.

Callie’s story was way too difficult for us to cover in one episode, so we split it up into two parts. In part one, Callie will help us understand how she was recruited by this cult, what her first day and year was like, what she experienced from a control perspective, and what her life was like while she was living within this program. In the upcoming part two, we will focus on how Callie came to realize what was happening and how she got out.

I hope that this episode opens your eyes to some of the control mechanisms and horrific practices that are happening in our real world, and how this can really happen to anyone. Callie’s story is something that I think is really important for everybody to hear, and I hope that this helps you go through life with your eyes wide open.

Find Callie here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/callieezell/?hl=en 

Mcmillan Street Art: https://www.instagram.com/mcmillanstreetart/?hl=en 

Find Nick Thompson here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nthompson513/ 

Website: https://www.engagewithnick.com/ 

UCAN Foundation: https://www.ucanfoundation.org/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EngageWithNick 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickthompson13/

Reality and unscripted television are often anything but that. Join us in demanding that producers add a mandatory disclaimer before and after each episode, underscoring that episodes are for entertainment purposes only, and the content can be edited, manipulated, and presented in any order for storyline purposes. https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/add-a-disclaimer-to-all-reality-television-programming 

On today's episode of Eyes Wide Open, we’re joined by Professor Tim Wilson, who has a really compelling and fascinating backstory as an actor, animator, politician, and educator. He was also cast on season two of the reality TV show The Circle, where he went on to win the show. However, as has been a consistent theme in our podcast, there is a darker side to his story with manipulation and loss of agency behind the scenes.

Tim’s story underlines the need for basic human rights, labor practices, and representation in reality TV. This issue in reality TV is much bigger than I ever thought it was. Every time a new story or a new headline comes out, it is an unpleasant reminder that this is a completely unmanaged, unregulated wild, wild west and people are being hurt and neglected.

We're going to learn a little bit about Tim, how he ended up on The Circle and as the winner, as well as everything that he's been through personally, professionally, and the impacts that appearing on reality TV has had on him. I hope his story helps you watch reality TV and think about how we view these shows with your Eyes Wide Open.

Find Tim here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialprofessor_tim_wilson/?hl=en 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ProfessorTimWilson 

Find Nick Thompson here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nthompson513/ 

Website: https://www.engagewithnick.com/ 

UCAN Foundation: https://www.ucanfoundation.org/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EngageWithNick 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickthompson13/

Reality and unscripted television are often anything but that. Join us in demanding that producers add a mandatory disclaimer before and after each episode, underscoring that episodes are for entertainment purposes only, and the content can be edited, manipulated, and presented in any order for storyline purposes. https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/add-a-disclaimer-to-all-reality-television-programming 

On part two of our interview with comedian and musician Danny LoPriore, we're going to veer away from mental health and focus on the realm of politics.

During the “Ask Me Anything” section of our last episode, Danny asked me my thoughts on the Libertarian Party. This led to an unexpected discussion about the American political system, capitalism, and our strengths and weaknesses as a country. It is a very nuanced conversation about politics that manifested into its own episode. 

Our conversation was not about right versus left. It's not about Libertarians, Democrats, Republicans, the Green Party, etc. It's about the issues that have stemmed from our political system from the perspective of two people who are living it every single day here in the United States, and I hope it helps you view the world of politics with your eyes wide open.

Find Danny here:

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

Listen to Off the Cuff: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/off-the-cuff-with-danny-lopriore/id1534952843 

Listen to Nick Thompson on Off the Cuff: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-real-price-of-reality-television-with-nick-thompson/id1534952843?i=1000625362754 

Listen to The LoPriore Podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lopriore-podcast/id1550884342 

Find Nick Thompson here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nthompson513/ 

Website: https://www.engagewithnick.com/ 

UCAN Foundation: https://www.ucanfoundation.org/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EngageWithNick 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickthompson13/

Today on Eyes Wide Open, we’re going to start part one of a conversation with Danny LoPriore, a standup comedian, musician, and mental health advocate. 

Danny got his start on Vine, and now hosts two podcasts, The LoPriore Podcast and Off the Cuff. I had the privilege of being a guest on Off the Cuff a few weeks ago, and Danny and I bonded over our shared passion for mental health and other common interests.

In today’s episode, we're going to discuss mental health, exploring the anxieties and angst that we all feel around death, mortality, and what it's like to lose a pet. We also discuss what it feels like to have a public presence when you're struggling. 

Stay tuned for next week’s episode, where Danny and I discuss politics in part two of this interview. This week though, let's spotlight anxiety and mental health so you can go through life with your eyes wide open.

Find Danny here:

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

Listen to Off the Cuff: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/off-the-cuff-with-danny-lopriore/id1534952843 

Listen to Nick Thompson on Off the Cuff: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-real-price-of-reality-television-with-nick-thompson/id1534952843?i=1000625362754 

Listen to The LoPriore Podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lopriore-podcast/id1550884342 

Find Nick Thompson here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nthompson513/ 

Website: https://www.engagewithnick.com/ 

UCAN Foundation: https://www.ucanfoundation.org/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EngageWithNick 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickthompson13/