One Whole Life with Shawn Francis

Getting real with my wife Karie after the kids go to bed. Is podcasting a good way to schedule time together?

We'll see

In this episode, I reflect on the loss of someone who meant more to me than just a coach—my high school pole vault coach, Mark Haesly. His passing made me realize how deeply one person can shape the direction of a life without ever knowing it.

Coach Haesly created something special for us as kids. The pole vault pit wasn’t just a place to train—it was a place where we could be ourselves. Loud, competitive, weird, emotional… it didn’t matter. It was a safe environment where we felt accepted, supported, and encouraged to grow.

Looking back now, I realize that what I’ve tried to build with Team Hoot comes directly from that experience. Without Coach Haesly, there probably wouldn’t be a Team Hoot. The sense of belonging, play, and authenticity I try to create today is rooted in what he gave us back then.

In this episode, I talk about grief, mentorship, coaching, and the powerful ripple effect one person can have on young people. Sometimes the communities we build as adults are really just our way of recreating the spaces that once made us feel safe and alive.

This episode is a tribute to Coach Haesly and the legacy he left behind.

Topics in this episode:
Grief and loss
The impact of great coaches and mentors
Creating safe spaces for young people
The origins and inspiration behind Team Hoot
How one person’s influence can shape an entire community

In this episode, I explore how cognitive bias shapes what we think is real—and how quickly perception can turn into emotion. A wild moment at Costco almost triggered full “mama bear mode,” and it got me thinking about rage, protection, and the stories our brains tell us. I wrap it up by diving into why leaning into play might be one of the most grounding things we can do in a biased, chaotic world.

In this episode, I talk about how brutally hard it is to parent when you’re sick—and your kids are sick too. When your body is exhausted and your nervous system is overloaded, the thing you want most is solitude, quiet, and space to regulate. But parenting doesn’t pause.

I explore the tension between needing solitude to heal and still showing up for your kids, even when you feel emotionally and physically depleted. I also revisit something I keep coming back to: repair matters more than perfection. You don’t have to be a flawless parent—you just have to be a present, repairing one.

And because this episode drops on Valentine’s Day, I end with a reminder of love—not just romantic love, but the messy, tired, human love that exists in families every day.

Happy Valentine’s Day. 💙

What is play, really—and why does it seem to disappear as we get older?

In this episode, I explore where play comes from, why it feels so essential when we’re young, and what happens when adulthood slowly pushes it aside. We look at how play shapes curiosity, creativity, connection, and even identity—and why so many of us feel disconnected from it later in life.

But play isn’t automatically good. So we also ask the harder questions:
Is play always healthy? Is it truly natural? Can play become escapism, avoidance, or even destructive?

This is a reflective conversation about joy, seriousness, culture, and what we lose—and maybe can reclaim—when we stop playing.

What if your mind is its own universe?

In this episode, I explore the idea that we all carry vast inner worlds within us—inspired by The Life of Chuck, Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself, and the concept that we “contain multitudes.” This is a conversation about consciousness, identity, and the unseen inner landscapes that shape how we move through the world.

I reflect on watching my kids’ universes grow—how their awareness, imagination, and sense of self are forming—and what it teaches me about being human. I also dive into those powerful moments in life when it feels like something larger is guiding you, nudging you toward a specific path. What is that feeling? Intuition? Fate? Alignment? Or the voice of your inner universe finally speaking clearly?

This episode blends philosophy, poetry, parenting, and personal experience to explore meaning, direction, and the mystery of existence.

Perfect for listeners interested in:

• Philosophy of mind and consciousness

• Walt Whitman and poetic meaning

• Parenting reflections

• Intuition and life purpose

• Existential questions and mindfulness

A quiet, thoughtful exploration of what it means to live inside—and alongside—the universe within.

In this episode, I reflect on getting back into meditation, the unexpected wisdom of Bluey, and how online negativity has pushed me to step back from social media. I explain why negative comments come from a specific sample of people—not reality—drawing from lessons I learned in grad school research classes.

I also talk about parenting stress, the statistic that 20% of couples split within the first year after having a child, why betraying a child’s safety is the deepest form of betrayal, and why so many of us are afraid to die.

We wrap it up with a challenge: maybe growth doesn’t come from comfort—but from learning to embrace struggle bubbles.

On January 7th, an ICE-related shooting in Minnesota shook communities across the state. In this episode, I process what it feels like to live just an hour away from where it happened—and how proximity makes events like this hit differently. When something violent and politically charged happens so close to home, it’s no longer just a headline. It’s personal, unsettling, and deeply confusing.

I talk about the difficulty of knowing what’s true when social media is flooded with opinions, partial information, and emotionally charged narratives. How do we decipher what’s really happening when every platform seems designed to divide us further? And how do we hold compassion for people on both sides of an issue when fear, anger, and grief are running so high?

This episode explores what it’s like living in a place where communities feel fractured, trust feels fragile, and uncertainty feels constant—while still trying to stay human, empathetic, and grounded.

I also shift gears and share a personal moment of light in the middle of all this heaviness: my recent trip to Key West and attending my first pole vault event in two years. After being away from the sport for so long, I was genuinely surprised to be welcomed back with open arms. That experience reminded me how powerful community can be—even when the world feels divided.

This episode is about proximity, perspective, truth, compassion, and finding moments of connection when things feel unstable.

Topics include:

• The January 7th ICE shooting in Minnesota

• Living close to a traumatic, divisive event

• Sorting truth from noise on social media

• Political and social division in local communities

• Fear, empathy, and compassion for multiple perspectives

• Returning to pole vault after two years away

• Finding belonging and connection again

This episode is a mix of reflection, discomfort, and honesty.

I talk about how Christmas isn’t entirely as Christian as we think , why I don’t like people touching my kids in public, and a run-in I had at Costco that raised serious questions about boundaries and protection. I also reflect on turning 40—and a realization about an old pattern of trying to fix other people’s stress so I don’t have to feel my own anxiety.

Faith, parenting, aging, and self-awareness—all colliding in one episode.

Why are toddlers afraid of the dark? Why do they think there are monsters under the bed? In this episode, I break down the brain science behind toddler fear, including how the amygdala “coming online” triggers imagination, anxiety, and nighttime panic.

I also explore the surprising connection between toddler tantrums and adult emotional meltdowns, and why both come back to the same neurological systems.

Then we dive into what Inside Out 2 teaches us about emotional regulation, identity, and the idea that we are not our emotions—a concept that matters for kids and adults.

Finally, I ask a question so many people avoid: Are “thoughts and prayers” actually meaningless, or is there real psychological impact behind offering support?

Perfect for listeners interested in parenting, psychology, childhood development, emotional intelligence, and how the brain shapes behavior at every age.