Whitney McGruder (she/her) always knew she wanted to be an author. 📖 Along with her husband Travis, Whitney offers editing services to upcoming authors and writes her own, with two book published in her The Destiny Seeker series. Her passion for writing and creating content on Instagram for other authors aims to spread the ✨good vibes✨ and information that she's received in the online writing community. Whitney wants to destigmatize self-publishing and chats with Gio and Renée about navigating the goals of being a published author without engaging in traditional publishing, and how creating connections with fellow writers instead of viewing them as 'competition'. Sidebars include The 10th Kingdom fanfiction; the importance of #ownvoices in traditionally published fiction; and Whitney's partnership with bookshop.org. Find Whitney on social media @whit2ney, connect with her at witandtravesty.com, and sign up for her newsletter here! Want more L2M? Go to patreon.com/listen2mepod to find out how you can keep the show going! See more of our work: Gio at giografik.com and Renée at reneewrought.com.

In this episode, Gio and Renée catch each other up about what's been going on, including new purchases (Gio's plant daddy journey continues), and the continual struggle with taking on too👏🏻many👏🏻things👏🏻 (o, the many balls Renée has in the air)! Burnout is real and we're trying not to fizzle out; we're here to remind you that it's okay to just be where you are. Sidebars include himbos (you know what those are, right?), judgements we make about people based on the things they did ten years ago, and the many stickers Renée puts in her day planner. Like the show? Go to patreon.com/listen2mepod to find out how you can support it! See more of our work: Gio at giografik.com and Renée at reneewrought.com.

Do you ever dabble in stitchcraft? ✨Michelle Mabuyo (she/her) was a newbie in the art of embroidery when she got hooked on floss--and now she's running her own Etsy store, stocked with magical hand-stitched items to get you started on your very own textile adventure. Michelle's stitching is cute, colourful, and full of references to pop culture, romance and nerd/programming culture complemented by floral patterns and watercolour painting on cloth. As a programmer and educator, Michelle talks about the engineering solutions-approach to her stitching business, the freedom of exploring what she enjoys creating, and balancing the entrepreneurial and creative mindset. Find Michelle's kits and beautifully completed hoops on Etsy at Magical Stitchcraft and follow her on Instagram @magical.stitchcraft to watch her projects come together. If you enjoyed this episode, consider supporting the show on patreon.com/listen2mepod! See more of our work: Gio at giografik.com and Renée at reneewrought.com.

Keisha Kerr (sher/her) is making her mark in the makeup world, one full, feathery lash and glossy lip at a time. Keisha talks to Gio and Renée about how she found her way from law and business school back to her dream of working in the beauty industry. She speaks about defying others' expectations, how she repurposed what she learned outside of makeup artistry for achieving her goals and why beauty has always been her passion. Sidebars include the mother-daughter dynamic, listening to your passion, and putting your authentic self into the brand you're building. Find Keisha's range of beauty products at keishakerrmakeupart.com and follow her @keishakerrmakeupartist on social media. Like this episode and want to keep L2M going? Support the show! Go to patreon.com/listen2mepod to find out more. Find more of Gio at giografik.com and Renée at reneewrought.com.

In this listener-suggested episode, Renée takes Gio into a research rabbit-hole about the surprisingly and insidiously gendered and binary concept of "self-care". TW for discussions of discrimination, racism and gender binary bias in the medical industry and industrial health complex; brief mentions of homophobia, toxic masculinity, death and chronic illness. Gio and Renée share their own experiences with and understanding of self-care, based on their relationship with gender and their upbringings; discuss the difference between integrated, foundational self-care and the commodified version of self-care presented to us in media; the business of marketing self-care and how "self-love" is something that you can achieve as long as you're buying the right products or services; and how to take better care of yourself from a place of love, community and self-compassion. Find more of Gio at giografik.com; Renée at reneewrought.com; and check out the Listen 2 Me Patreon for early episodes and sweet bonuses! ✨

Luke Maddaford (he/him) makes art dedicated to exploring the connection between identity and landscape; queer space and culture outside of major metropolises; placemaking; and queer histories and futures. A multidisciplinary artist (drawing, writing, sculpting), Luke has exhibited throughout Canada and participated in residencies in Fort McMurray, Windsor, Toronto, and Northern Ontario. In this chat with Renée and Gio, Luke talks about his work as an artist, curator, and community organizer; his degrees in "drawing" (Diploma in Visual Art and Design from Keyano College; Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drawing from the Alberta College of Art + Design; Master of Fine Arts degree in Visual Art from the University of Windsor); the inspiration behind organizing Windsor's "Beers for Queers" events; founding LEFT Contemporary, a grassroots studio and exhibition space; and the practice of art in a pandemic. Find more of Luke's work at lukemaddaford.com or follow him on Instagram @lukemaddaford, and keep an eye out for his upcoming project with Undecimals. You can find more Listen 2 Me goodies on our Patreon or follow us on social media @listen2mepod (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook). 

Gio and Renée have a chat with the lovely Steve Broome (he/him), multi-medium artist, drag queen, burlesque performer and journeyman welder, about his spite-fueled journey toward self-expression and his Lisa Frank-inspired, "a-gore-able" art style, the dangers of indiscriminate censorship and making art on the side while working full time. 👠 Steve gives his best tips on how to access those things that make you unique and channel it into your art, talks about the intentional performance of sexuality and gender as Séancé Ghouls, and the homoeroticism of painting penises on sawblades. Detours include monsterf*cking, looking intimidating when you are actually sweet and gooey on the inside, and the sinister monetization of social media platforms. ⚠️ Trigger warnings for mention of rape culture, discussion of sex work. 

Author and YouTuber F.K. Aldon is a Jill of All Trades: she writes ✍🏾, she reads tarot 🔮, she podcasts 🎙️, she paints nails 💅🏾. Gio and Renée speak with Fadima about her motivation and process for writing her debut, nonfiction book The Single Friend; the ethics of starting her YouTube tarot channel Scorpio Stiletto Tarot; the social commentary that informs her channel Unfiltered & and her podcast Weird Millennials; and her foray into writing articles for vocal.media. Detours include listener feedback (finally!!), Listen 2 Me's new suite of sound effects (thanks, Gio!), and whatever the fuck is up with Geminis ♊. Follow F.K. Aldon on Instagram, subscribe to her YouTube channels and check out Weird Millenials on Spotify, Google or Apple Podcasts. Find more of Gio at giografik.com; Renée at reneewrought.com; and check out the Listen 2 Me Patreon for early episodes and sweet bonuses! ✨

(Part 2 of 2) In this two-part episode, Gio and Renée chat with Dr. Andrea Dinardo (she/her): a psychology professor, published author, TEDx speaker, and retired psychologist making psychology accessible for anybody growing through life's challenges. If you've ever thought of yourself as a "Gio" or a "Renée", this episode is for you. Dr. D takes Gio and Renée through an analysis of their own personalities, along with a wide range of other topics—including her research into toxic positivity; her personal philosophy of "belief optimism"; the importance of boundaries on and offline; the difference between psychology and coaching. Detours—and there are so many detours!—include resilience and grief therapy, The Big Five Personalities, the importance of friendship, the impact of performing vulnerability online and its connection to empathy burnout, and the importance of taking stock of your accomplishments. Find more of Dr. D's work at drandreadinardo.com and get more Listen 2 Me goodness at patreon.com/listen2mepod or on social media @listen2mepod.

(Part 1 of 2) In this two-part episode, Gio and Renée chat with Dr. Andrea Dinardo (she/her): a psychology professor, published author, TEDx speaker, and retired psychologist making psychology accessible for anybody growing through life's challenges. If you've ever thought of yourself as a "Gio" or a "Renée", this episode is for you. Dr. D takes Gio and Renée through an analysis of their own personalities, along with a wide range of other topics—including her research into toxic positivity; her personal philosophy of "belief optimism"; the importance of boundaries on and offline; the difference between psychology and coaching. Detours—and there are so many detours!—include resilience and grief therapy, The Big Five Personalities, the importance of friendship, the impact of performing vulnerability online and its connection to empathy burnout, and the importance of taking stock of your accomplishments. Find more of Dr. D's work at drandreadinardo.com and get more Listen 2 Me goodness at patreon.com/listen2mepod or on social media @listen2mepod.