Safe Space Convos

Today we decided it's time to make things a bit more personal. As we've begun to delve deep into conversations with others on the podcast and learn about their lives and lessons, it's gotten us thinking about where we're at in our own lives, and the lessons and perspectives that we've gathered so far. We have a lot of laughs and even a lot of tears in this conversation, so if you're interested in joining some real talk with us, today is your day! Love you!

We are so honored to have gotten to interview Zach Skow for today’s episode, someone that we’ve admired from afar for a very long time. Zach is the founder of Marley’s Mutts dog rescue and The Pawsitive Change Program, which pairs shelter dogs with incarcerated people for training and rehabilitation. Well over 1,000 incarcerated people have graduated the Pawsitive Change program to date, which boasts a virtually 0% recidivism rate for graduates as compared to the US National average of 73%. In today’s episode, Zach shares with us all about his journey through addiction and liver failure, to somehow beating all of the odds and getting sober at 29. He credits his three dogs for being the motivation and love he needed to survive through near life-ending health issues related to his alcoholism, and is truly a walking miracle. This conversation is a powerful one fueled by hope, faith, community and sheer will. We hope you enjoy it!

*Trigger warning: We discuss and allude to sexual abuse in this episode. If that will hurt you, please skip this one and join us next time. ❤️

Welcome to a conversation that we are beyond honored to be having with Lamont "Tory" Stapleton. Tory is an incredible human, and today we wanted to talk to him about his program with the incarcerated population, Between the Lines. Tory started going into prisons sporadically as a volunteer starting in 2014, but years later when he coincidentally ran into a formerly incarcerated student of his out in the world and realized the impact of his program, Tory got to work solidifying Between the Lines. His nonprofit provides an opportunity for the incarcerated population to connect as humans in a safe, fun and loving way, and also offers them a platform to tell their stories and share their messages of truth, hope, and wisdom with the world. Between the Lines has quickly expanded into a crucial programming resource for this population of men and women who are desperate for support, and we could not love their mission more! If you're interested in supporting them or the incarcerated population, please go follow Between the Lines on social media and/or donate if you have the means! We love you all, and thank you so much Tory for sharing your light!

What an absolute pleasure it was to sit down with today's guest, Shea Simmons. We initially found Shea from a viral video on TikTok and immediately knew we needed him on the show. Shea lost his three youngest siblings, Kamryn, Christopher, and Lindy, in a car accident involving a drunk driver in 2021. His honesty regarding his struggle with addiction, the loss of his beautiful siblings, and his journey to meet his sobriety in the midst of intense grief is such an emotional and beautiful display of his humanity. He talks in depth about his feelings towards the man who took his sibling's lives, opening up an important conversation about judgement, empathy, and forgiveness. Thank you Shea for sharing your heart and your truth with us! This episode is lovingly dedicated to three angels: Kamryn, Christopher and Lindy Simmons.

Yay! We’re so happy to have our tiny but mighty friend Lisa Small on the show this week. Lisa currently serves as the Senior Director of Youth and Transformative Justice at Liberty Hill, a foundation committed to funding community organizers who fight for justice and equity for all. Lisa has dedicated her work to uplifting female and female-identifying youth, and is committed through her work and her life to end youth incarceration. We love this conversation so much. Though it's not easy to discuss kids in cages, Lisa brings us so much hope and faith in the change that is possible and that is currently happening. We hope you learn as much as we did and feel connected. Love you Lisa!

The man, the myth, the legend! We are so honored and grateful to be interviewing Franky Carillo Jr today: exoneree, dad, LA County Commissioner and future California Assembly member for the 52nd District. Franky spent twenty years in California prisons for a 1991 crime that he did not commit, and was exonerated in 2011 after two decades of optimism, resilience and following his intuition. We chat with him all about being sentenced to life in prison at 18 years old, his journey to freedom, and all of the ways he has spent the last thirteen years being a change maker. He talks in depth about his relationship with forgiveness and even shares that he is now friends with not only the men (then boys) who falsely identified him, but also the district attorney that prosecuted him. Franky is currently on the campaign trail to be a member of the California State Assembly, and when he wins ( !!! ), Franky will be the first formerly incarcerated member in history! We could not think higher of Franky and all that he has endured and overcome, and we hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did! THANK YOU FRANKY!

If we’ve learned anything in our lives, it’s that while we don’t always have control over the circumstances, we do get to make decisions about how we show up. In today’s episode, we talk about some of the ways that we’ve moved through adversity and pain, whether it be finding like-minded community or channeling your rage and heartache for change. While it’s not always the easy choice to find the silver lining and joy, we have found that we'd prefer that to the alternative.

We’ve shared some details about our older brother Ryan’s life, his wrongful conviction, and his tragic and early passing, but this is an episode we truly never thought we would record. A couple of weeks ago, a few videos caught fire on social media, which propelled Ryan into a lot of people’s lives unexpectedly. With that came an immense amount of love, but also a fair amount of questioning around his circumstances, particularly the validity of his claim of innocence. We decided that the most compassionate and loving thing we could do for him would be to share his story and clear his name ourselves, since his lawyers and the courts failed to do so in his life. In today’s episode, we take you through every aspect of the case. We’ll detail the circumstances of the crimes, the prosecution’s case against him, and all of the things that prove his innocence: forensic evidence, an alibi, a witness recanting her identification, and a confession letter from the actual perpetrator seven years into Ryan’s prison sentence. We hope you’ll come to this conversation with some patience (lol it’s a long but GOOD one) and an open heart. Ryan, this one is definitely for you, for all that you endured. We see you, we miss you, and we love you.

To the victims of these crimes: we empathize with you deeply and wish you nothing but healing.

Happy Thursday! In today’s episode, we talk about how growing up straddling two worlds has shaped us, how we relate to others, and our goals with this podcast. We know so many people can relate to the feeling of not knowing where you belong, but maybe not feeling like you fit in perfectly anywhere is just an opportunity to build a bridge. Love you!

We’re back for part 2 with the man of the hour, Jared Villery! If you missed part 1, Jared was our brother’s best friend in prison who also helped litigate his case from behind prison walls. He was recently released from custody after serving 21 years, and has come to lovingly share his story with us! On today’s episode, we talk all about his release from prison, what he learned about humanity from his time incarcerated, and what his plans are moving forward in his newfound freedom! We’re so grateful to him for being here and hope you enjoy :)