Human Amplified

For years, Lynnette Henderson built a career around research, education, and helping others. Then chronic headaches, debilitating fatigue, and brain fog forced her to step away from the work that had defined much of her life.

Lynnette shares her journey to a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak diagnosis caused by Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and what it has been like navigating chronic illness, complex medical care, and the loss of the life she once knew.

We examine the challenges of finding answers when your symptoms are dismissed, why becoming your own healthcare advocate can be essential, and how illness can reshape your identity, relationships, and sense of purpose.

For anyone who has built their identity around achievement, Lynnette's story offers a different way of thinking about purpose, self-worth, and what it means to simply be.

Editor's Note: This conversation was recorded during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some references to public health guidance, events, and resources reflect that specific moment in time and are no longer current. We've preserved this episode as a snapshot of how people experienced and responded to an unprecedented period.

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertainty touched nearly every part of daily life. For Marine veteran Andy Littlefield, that meant balancing work as an essential employee in the surgical supply industry while checking on fellow veterans facing isolation, PTSD, and the emotional weight of an unprecedented moment.

Recorded during the height of the pandemic, this conversation captures how veterans, healthcare workers, and communities navigated a rapidly changing world. 

While some references reflect the guidance and circumstances of that specific time, the discussion around resilience, service, empathy, and supporting one another remains just as meaningful today.

When Kristen Teffeteller bought her first hula hoop after a music festival, she was simply looking for a new hobby.

She had no idea it would lead her into circus arts, burlesque, and a profession built around movement and live performance. Over time, those experiences reshaped her confidence, her relationship with her body, and her understanding of creative expression.

We unpack the unexpected lessons that come from performing, why movement affects your emotions, and what happens when you stop waiting to feel ready and simply begin.

What happens when the stories you've believed about yourself aren't actually yours?

For years, Erin Grace struggled with anxiety, depression, dissociation, and a persistent feeling of not being enough. In searching for answers, she turned to trauma work, energy healing, and intuition to better understand the beliefs that had shaped her life.

We dive into childhood trauma, self-limiting beliefs, emotional healing, and how changing your inner story can change the way you experience the world.

While we explore energy healing, its central message is about understanding yourself, challenging limiting beliefs, and creating a different story for your life.

When someone buys a T-shirt, what are they actually paying for?

For artist Sherry Spivey, the answer isn't the cotton. It's the artwork. And the memory of the vacation, the festival, the dog show, the event with friends, or the tradition someone wants to remember years later. 

After three decades of designing and screen printing T-shirts, she's watched people wear them until they fall apart, save them for decades, and even turn them into quilts they can keep forever.

Sherry shares how she develops new ideas year after year, what it's like building a business with her husband, and how living with Type 1 diabetes has given her the flexibility to build a life around creativity instead of the other way around.

What if creating art isn't about making something beautiful, but about discovering something true?

For sculptor Ben Minnis, every piece begins as a conversation. Rather than forcing clay into a predetermined form, he listens, responds, and lets the work reveal itself. 

That process has led him to explore some of life's biggest questions: identity, human connection, creativity, childhood, and what it means to truly see another person.

Ben shares how overcoming a lifelong stutter, working with young children, and embracing uncertainty transformed not only his artwork but his understanding of what it means to be human.

When Brandi launched Human Amplified, she thought she was creating a podcast about the human condition. What she didn't expect was how much hearing other people's stories would change her own perspective.

Throughout Season 1, guests shared deeply personal experiences of trauma, loss, resilience, healing, and hope. Each conversation revealed how much people carry beneath the surface, and how often our greatest struggles become our strongest connections.

In this episode, Brandi reflects on the lessons that shaped the first season, why sharing our stories matters, and how those conversations inspired a new direction for the podcast.

Ryan Sauls and Brandi Fleck answered relationship questions submitted by listeners - this is the unedited, full length recording. They recorded this episode at 6 am in their closet on a Monday before work. There’s a huge surprise at the end that they didn’t air with the original episode. Can you guess what it is?

For more episodes, go to onbeinghumanpodcast.com. Season 2 will be here in March 2020. Until then, thanks for listening you guys! Enjoy.

Military service has a beginning and an end. The transition home isn't nearly as clear.

Three Marine veterans share what happened after they left the military, from adjusting to civilian life and losing the structure they once depended on to navigating PTSD, alcoholism, grief, and survivor's guilt. 

They also explain why finding other veterans who understood those experiences became one of the most important parts of healing.

Their experiences reveal just how complex the transition out of military service can be, and why connection often becomes as important as recovery itself.

Every relationship has an origin story. It begins with a conversation, then another, then another.

Somewhere along the way, friendship becomes trust, trust becomes love, and two people slowly build a life together. But what are the moments that make that happen?

Brandi Fleck and Ryan Sauls share the story of their relationship, from coworkers and friends to partners building a blended family. As their story unfolds, they reflect on communication, compatibility, conflict, and the everyday habits that have helped their relationship grow.

What you'll find isn't a guide to the perfect relationship. It's a glimpse into two people learning to love each other well, and a reminder that understanding another person's story often helps us better understand our own.