In this episode, I explore the radical tension between the "Stone", the rigid, official record used by institutions to exert control, and the "Echo," the subterranean flow of chisme that serves as a vital counter-archive for the marginalized. Moving from the forensic, de-mythologizing political photography of the Trump cabinet to the tactical social media survival databases used by communities to evade ICE raids, revealing how gossip functions as a decentralized form of accountability in low-reliability environments. By reclaiming the root of gossip as "god-sibb" or intimate witness, I argue that sharing chisme is a fundamental act of abolitionist praxis, allowing us to dismantle the carceral logic in our heads, challenge capitalist metrics of worth, and protect one another through the transformative power of the whisper.

In this episode, I dive into the profound emotional pull we experience as the calendar year winds down, a phenomenon I call the gravity of memory. I explore how the intense melancholy and nostalgia of the season, woven into our traditions and triggered by familiar recipes or traditions is not a weakness, but a healthy, necessary response to the symbolic death of the year. I argue that this time of reflective emotional repose is a deliberate, even resistant, act against the demands of hustle culture, and is essential because the preservation of our future traditions absolutely requires us to embrace the honesty of our present feelings, allowing both the ache of loss and the gratitude for life to coexist.

In this episode, I explore what I call relationships of convenience, dissecting the difference between reciprocal care and the "extractive mindset" that treats people, whether romantic, platonic, or familial, like a temporary resource for short-term gain. I argue that this pattern is not accidental, but a personal manifestation of a broader systemic failure, rooted in colonial, capitalistic, and patriarchal logic that devalues consistent, inconvenient emotional labor. I connect this relational failure to an internal one, exploring how the resulting cynicism and fear of being disposable makes depression feel like being unable to trust anyone. Ultimately, I challenge the listener and myself to reject this transactional model by committing to relational discipline: the choice to be the Samwise, the Tanjiro, or the Mirabel who prioritizes shared well-being over personal extraction, and embracing self-reciprocation to build the internal trust necessary to risk genuine connection again.

In this episode, I dive into the recent, ongoing US government shutdown to dissect the difference between the honest struggle of compromise and the easy aggression of sabotage, both in politics and in our personal lives. I argue that when one side refuses to negotiate over essential issues, like the expiring ACA premium tax credits that affect millions, they are replacing governance with a dangerous game of stonewalling. I connect this institutional failure to a profound internal one, exploring how the resulting paralysis mirrors the feeling of invisibility and powerlessness that comes with depression. Ultimately, I challenge the listener to move past this fear of being unacknowledged by finding the "Minimum Viable Product" lever—a small, disciplined act of self-governance that allows us to accept the slow, heavy rhythm of the day and choose steady, internal effort over a frantic, performative sprint.

In this episode of Finlos Lives, I look at what happens when someone important isn’t there—how absence alters routine, attention, and the body’s internal rhythm. Using the image of a vinyl record, I explore how relationships leave physical and emotional grooves that keep guiding us even after contact stops. Through psychology, daily practice, and reflection, I examine how missing someone shapes memory, behavior, and connection, showing that what feels like loss is often the system recalibrating for balance.

In this episode of Rowing with the Homies, “Only I Will Remain,” I explore whether the goal of life is to eliminate fear or to face it and let that struggle define what truly matters. Drawing from the "Litany Against Fear" from Frank Herbert's Dune, I examine fear as a compass: an internal guide pointing toward our deepest values and hardest work. I connect this idea to modern cultural anxiety, political outrage, and the crisis of masculinity, showing how avoidance of fear fuels much of today’s chaos. Through reflecting on both collective behavior and my own experience with depression, I explore courage, acceptance, and the disciplined work required to move through fear and emerge more whole.

In this episode, I look at how performance has replaced authenticity, from the political stage to social media feeds and even our private lives. I explore the rise of “performative governance,” where spectacle wins over substance, and how the pursuit of clout has reshaped our understanding of strength and status. I break down the performative masculinity of figures like Donald Trump, Andrew Tate, and Pete Hegseth, and why Chuck Schumer’s attempt to imitate their viral energy falls flat. Together, we’ll unpack the psychological roots of clout chasing, the emotional damage it causes, and the steps we can take to reclaim quiet, disciplined effort as the antidote to a noisy, attention-driven world.

In this episode of Rowing with the Homies, I explore the complex and corrosive nature of hypocrisy, examining the gap between the story we tell about ourselves and the choices that show who we actually are. I unpack how this gap manifests from the grand stage of political contradictions—where optics are valued over honesty—to the quiet corners of our daily lives, where we use self-soothing explanations and "moral licensing" to avoid confronting our own contradictions. I discuss how the pursuit of integrity requires intentional self-cultivation and a commitment to discomfort, before closing out in the final segment, Today Depression Feels Like Being in a Hall of Mirrors, by reframing the internal struggle with mental health as an essential process of choosing to stop performing and walking toward the truth of one's real, unvarnished self.

In this episode of Rowing with the Homies, I dive into the deeply complex and heavy topic of how we decide what's true and how we attribute blame in a world that feels increasingly polarized, exploring the dangerous divide between evidence-based decision-making and the use of events to simply confirm pre-existing political or cultural narratives. I unpack how this pattern erodes the foundations of a shared reality in discussions around major issues like immigration and climate change, and how it fosters the systemic defunding of organizations like the CDC and scientific research. I discuss the broader societal impact of this shift, including the decline of trust in public institutions and the rise of toxic online communities that foster ideological disengagement and nihilism. Finally, I offer a multi-pronged approach for moving forward, focusing on intentional dialogue and information hygiene, before closing out in the final segment, Today Depression Feels Like, by reframing the struggle with mental health as an essential act of trusting the truth of your own experience to find your internal compass in a chaotic world.

In this episode of Rowing with the Homies, I explore the heavy topic of temporal poverty, which is the feeling of having no time for anything other than work and basic survival. The episode delves into how time has become a commodity whose value is increasingly tied to productivity, and how modern capitalism and the "always-on" culture have exacerbated this issue. I also explain how this phenomenon isn't new, tracing its origins to the Industrial Revolution and contrasting it with other cultures' more holistic views on time. Ultimately, I reframe the struggle for time as a collective fight for a shared pace of life, one that re-humanizes us and prioritizes community and authenticity over an extractive culture that views people as resources to be optimized.