Sarah Fader The Podcast

Join me as I interview guitarist Alejandro Gomez about his new band: Dreams As Nightmares.

Hailing from the city of sin, Las Vegas, Nevada, Dreams As Nightmares is a fresh voice in metal-core, influenced by genre-related bands like ERRA and Tesseract, while dipping into the melodic essence from artists like Dio and Alice in Chains. Their music blends technical finesse and raw emotion, offering a sound that’s both powerful and deeply relatable, crafting a sonic space where fans can feel seen and supported through the embrace of tough times and challenges. Their debut single "Into The Storm" (2025) sets the bar as the starting point of a journey where members and fans will be a towering force to be reckoned with by the world.

Dreams As Nightmares was conceived in 2023 as the project of guitarist Alejandro Gomez, after having parted ways with his past projects Image Intent and Damaged Savage. Following the creation of the project, he joined forces with Rich Thomas from Auralight (AZ) and A Suffocating Lie (CA) and independent singer/songwriter Connor Hetzel, adding a powerful vocal duo, combining raw screaming with prominent cleans, and opening the doors to a wider audience. Subsequently, the addition of guitarist Thomas Velasquez of Tree Frog Express and The Noir Movement made the band a creative powerhouse, combining different musical backgrounds, leading to the refinement of the band's catalog. With the late addition of drummer Mike McGuinness, the band completed its lineup to begin their live music endeavor.

https://www.dreamsasnightmares.com/

When some close to you dies by suicide, the grief can be feel unbearable. Noam Schneck PHD joins me to discuss his research on how the brain responds to the loss of a loved one who has taken their life.

More about Noam:

Dr. Schneck studies the way that people adapt to the suicide loss of a loved one. Specifically, his research aims to identify unconscious processes of coping with the loss that help people grow and adapt while also allowing them to remain engaged in current life demands. These unconscious processes are identified using a machine learning based approach to functional magnetic resonance brain imaging called neural decoding. The goal of this research is to ultimately develop a treatment technique that would entrain greater unconscious processing of the loss.

IN THE NEWS:

1. Survive Together Study

https://themighty.com/2018/08/survive-together-suicide-loss-survivor-study/(link is external and opens in a new window)

2. The Dana Foundation Blog

https://danablog.org/tag/noam-schneck/(link is external and opens in a new window)

3. Suicide Survivor Study

https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/health/study-could-help-people-dealing-with-suicide-loss/97-455104640(link is external and opens in a new window)

4. Bereaved People Unconsciously Suppress Thoughts of Lost Loved Ones

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2189378-bereaved-people-unconsciously-suppress-thoughts-of-lost-loved-ones/(link is external and opens in a new window)

Tim Boyle began his career in the financial services profession as an insurance telemarketer for Allstate Financial at the age of 15. Working there throughout high school and college, Tim held various roles and was promoted to his first management position by age 19. After graduating from the University of Alabama, he opened a successful, independent insurance agency in Charlotte, North Carolina, before joining AAA at 23 where he created their Life Insurance Career Distribution Channel. Currently, Tim is the Vice president of Advisor Growth and Development for THG Financial where he is responsible for a team of 25 advisors throughout New England.

Connect with Tim on Linked in - https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-s-boyle-clu-fscp-7911301a5/

Composer John Jesensky and I talk about music, Inspector Gadget, Thomas Newman, piano, and more!

Composer/conductor JOHN JESENSKY earned his B.M. in Music Composition from the Hartt

School of Music under the tutelage of composer Stephen Gryc, as well as leading wind ensemble

conductor Glen Adsit. John was awarded his M.M. in Film Composition from New York

University, where he studied with renown film composers Ira Newborn and Sonny Kompanek.

During his tenure at NYU, Jesensky’s score for Michael Daugherty’s short film, "Season’s

Greetings," won the Skirball Film Scoring Competition.  Upon graduation, he was presented the

Elmer Bernstein Award for Film Composition.

His film scores have made appearances and won awards at events such as the Cannes Film

Festival, L.A. Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Hollyshorts Film Festival, D.C. Film Festival

and Phoenix Film Festival. He has collaborated with some of the film world’s finest composers

including John Williams, and Danny Elfman.

During his conducting tenure, he has directed premiere ensembles of North and South

America, Europe, and Asia in performances of his original music, The Harry Potter Film Concert

Series, Star Wars, The Godfather, Titanic, It’s a Wonderful Life, along with countless other

works from both the film and classical worlds.

Jesensky remains an active composer/conductor in New York. www.johnjesensky.com

Join me and my guest author Daniel Aegan as we discuss the downfall of the artist formerly known as Twitter and how to steal a pizza. Daniel is a dark humorist, writer and tarot reader. Find him at www.danielaegan.com

In this episode, Michelle Tillis Lederman talks about her book, The Connector's Advantage. What does it mean to have a mindset of abundance? How can one be conscientious and maintain fulfilling relationships? Learn how being generous is good for you and the person who receives your gifts.

Here's more about Michelle:

Michelle is an accomplished speaker, trainer, coach, and author of four books including The Connector’s Advantage, The 11 Laws of Likability, Heroes Get Hired and Nail The Interview – Land The Job. Named by Forbes as one of the 25 Professional Networking Experts and one of the Top 30 Communications Professionals by Global Gurus, she is also a former NYU professor, financial executive, and recovering CPA. She teaches from experience and shares what she’s learned during her extensive career. Michelle’s clients range from government to academia to non-profit to Fortune 500 companies including; Madison Square Garden, Citi, Johnson & Johnson, Ernst & Young, Deutsche Bank, Michigan State University, Columbia Business School, Target, Sony, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, and The Museum of Modern Art.

Michelle received her BS from Lehigh University, her MBA from Columbia Business School, and her PCC accreditation from the International Coaching Federation. She is certified in the Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching method.

Michelle lives in New Jersey with her husband, two sons, and two rescued dogs.

https://michelletillislederman.com/

Join me as I talk with the lovely Bryanna Gary, creator of The Angry Noodle blog! Bryanna is a neurospicy rockstar who creates "silly little guys." She's a streamer, gamer and a badass. She is an alumna of NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where I also went. We love Bryanna, who also goes by Brie or Brioche. Here's more about The Angry Noodle:

The Angry Noodle is a blog for all things writing, science fiction, fantasy, horror, worldbuilding, and more. I intended it to be a space for writers and readers of speculative fiction alike.

On this little noodle site of mine, you’ll find a wide range of speculative fiction content: worldbuilding, magicbuilding, writing advice, writing inspiration, science fiction and fantasy-themed personality quizzes, and more!

https://theangrynoodle.com/

Support The Angry Noodle on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/theangrynoodle

Richard Brockman MD lost his mother to suicide when he was only 7 years old. Since that day he has been trying to put the pieces of his life back together. In his book Life After Death - Surviving Suicide, Dr. Brockman describes his journey of loss and healing.

Richard Brockman, MD, is a clinical professor in the department of psychiatry at Columbia University and a visiting professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Namibia. He has been honored with the Nancy C.A. Roeske Award for medical student education by the American Psychiatric Association and with the Victor J. Teichner Visiting Scholar Award from the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry for his teaching. Also a playwright, his shows have been produced both off-Broadway and on international stages.

When Brockman found his mother’s body, the simple narrative of his childhood ended. Life After Death tells the story of a boy who died and of a man who survived when the boy and the man are one and the same. It tells a very personal—yet tragically common—story of irredeemable loss. It tells the story of story itself. How story forms. How it grows. How it changes. How it can be broken. And finally, how sometimes it can be repaired.

Now an expert in genetics, epigenetics, and the biology of attachment, Brockman chronicles his evolution from a child overwhelmed by trauma to a man who has struggled to reclaim his past. He lays bare the core of one who is both victim and healer. By weaving together childhood despair and clinical knowledge, Brockman shows how the shattered pieces of the self—though never the same and not without scars—can sometimes be put back together again.

Join me and August McLaughlin, as we talk about ADHD things and the Adderall shortage! I love August because we have such similar brains. She talks freely about female sexuality at Girl Boner Radio and she's an amazing writer. Also, we ran around without shirts and our parents told us that wasn't okay. Here's more about the lovely August:

August is a journalist, author of several books and host and producer of Girl Boner Radio, which was named “one of the best sex podcasts you should be listening to in 2022” by Romper and one of the top feminist podcasts by Bellesa. Her articles and expertise have been featured in a range of publications, including Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, DAME Magazine, O: The Oprah Magazine, Forbes and Shape. She’s also a certified sex educator with related expertise in eating disorders and ADHD.

Canadian podcaster, Casey Ryan, is a movie savant. I tried to stump him by finding movies he hadn't seen, but alas I failed. Until next time, Ryan. Casey and I talk about movies his podcast On The Cutting Room Floor, anxiety and much much more.