For my wife…

In this deeply personal reflection, I talk about the death of my friend Kenny and the complicated emotions that come with grief, addiction, and survival. I explore what it means to sit with suffering without numbing it—how, after years of sobriety, you learn not to escape pain, but to coexist with it.

There's dark humor here too: how food becomes salvation, how a slice of pizza can keep you from falling off the edge. I talk about antidepressants, suicide, empathy, and even orcas playing with seals—because somehow it all fits when you’re trying to make sense of a broken world.

Ultimately, it’s a meditation on sadness and the quiet strength of being human. We are a species capable of cruelty, but also kindness—like the fishermen who shelter a terrified seal from killer whales. And maybe, just maybe, that’s enough.

I love you so much, Kenny. You were one of my greatest friends.

This is a new phenomenon I’ve been noticing lately. I suspect I’m going to see more young autistic people enter into the homeless community. And the shelter system is not going to accept them.

Kenny has been on a slow but certain downward spiral since his wife died in 2011. He's been particularly suffering the last year. So I did this for him.

In this debut episode of "Finding the Others," host Sage embarks on a reflective and deeply personal exploration of community, disillusionment, and hope. He challenges listeners to reconsider widely-held assumptions about society, urging a recognition that the systems we've been taught to trust often serve to control rather than uplift us.

Sage candidly shares his journey from a conventional believer in political and social systems to someone who now sees them as fundamentally flawed. He reflects on interactions that recently motivated him to start this podcast, including a poignant conversation with a friend about a teenager overwhelmed by political fear, and his instinctive reaction to being asked what brings him hope—"there is no hope."

Throughout the episode, Sage delves into the nature of hope itself, distinguishing between personal, everyday hopes and grand societal aspirations, which he views with profound skepticism. By recounting his personal experiences, including his transformative involvement with Akron’s homeless community, he illustrates the stark disconnect between the ideals promoted by society and the harsh realities faced by marginalized communities.

Ultimately, "Finding the Others" isn't about succumbing to nihilism but about fostering community and shared understanding among those who have realized that traditional structures won't save us. Sage invites listeners into a space where authenticity, genuine connection, and mutual support form the foundations of true change.