The Friend Lab
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The Friend Lab episodes

  • Friends With Benefits

    Text us to be featured on the show!

    Ok ya dirty birdy, we're not talking about THOSE benefits! BUT all friendship has benefits - and some are more... material than others. But when does a friendship cross the line from beneficial to... transactional? 

    Well, that's what we're discussing today. 

    Let us know what you think! We love ya.

    -Liz & Bryce

    Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram

    About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better.

    About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours 

    Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast

    Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast

    More about Liz → lizmckean.com

    Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean

    More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com

    Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird


    37 min
  • Bringing Your Whole Self: How Showing Up As ALL of You Drives Your Impact

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    Bryce and Liz have a convo that starts as a catch up and delves into EVERYTHING going on in their lives currently, which begs the question...can we really show up anywhere without ALL of us present in some way??

    Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram

    About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better.

    About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours 

    Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast

    Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast

    More about Liz → lizmckean.com

    Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean

    More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com

    Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird


    42 min
  • Being IN The Moment, ADHD Brain, and Your Favorite Color: The Friend Lab was LIVE!

    Text us to be featured on the show!

    The Friend Lab was LIVE on Substack a few weeks ago, and this is the convo we had! If you haven't already, join us over on Substack for the chance to join us on an upcoming live. If you like it, we'll do more of these!

    Ironically -or is it serendipidously? - we talk a lot in this episode about being IN THE MOMENT and how that can be challenging when you are always trying to recreate a feeling or an experience or even a routine that worked one time. Bryce & I are in recovery and have ADHD... and that becomes wildly apparent in this convo!

    But even though impermanence is a gift, and being in the present moment is a beautiful way to live... we didn't want you to miss this fun conversation. We hope you enjoy, and would love to have you join us for the next live recording! Be sure to subscribe on Substack so you don't miss the announcement. Or not, either way we're super glad you're here. :)


    Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram

    About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better.

    About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours 

    Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast

    Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast

    More about Liz → lizmckean.com

    Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean

    More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com

    Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird


    25 min
  • Bryce and Liz Take On The Men's Loneliness Epidemic

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    Did you know there is a loneliness epidemic among men? Bryce did NOT want to have this conversation, so of course we had to have it. And we're so glad we did, because you a deserve a positive, action-oriented perspective, and that's what we have for you today. Ways to connect if you're feeling disconnected. The positive impact of connection for everyone- but in this conversation, particularly for men. And essentially a message of hope for anyone feeling lonely. You are not just a number in some faceless epidemic, you are a person who needs people. So let's get connected- and remember what it actually takes to form meaningful relationships with other humans.

    We're so glad you're part of our community, and would love to hear from you! Call in with questions or comments, and use the links below to connect with us on social media.

    We love ya!

    Liz & Bryce

    Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram

    About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better.

    About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours 

    Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast

    Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast

    More about Liz → lizmckean.com

    Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean

    More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com

    Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird


    57 min
  • Is AI trying f**k me??: Is AI a Substitute For Human Connection?

    Text us to be featured on the show!

    We are tackling the big topics on the Friend Lab! AI- friend or foe to connection, to mental health, to... society? We don't know. But we sure do have opinions! 

    From ChatGPT whispering sweet nothings in our ears, to ours and others' conflicting feelings about whether AI in mental health is a good or bad thing (or somewhere in between), to questions about WHERE THIS IS ALL GOING.... we come to the conclusion that, again, we don't know. But we will continue to have opinions, and we always want to hear yours! Be sure you've used the links below to connect with us on various platforms (substack, IG, etc), and call in with your thoughts and questions.

    We love ya! (in the human way, not the weird chatgpt love-bombing way)

    Liz & Bryce

    Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram

    About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better.

    About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours 

    Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast

    Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast

    More about Liz → lizmckean.com

    Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean

    More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com

    Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird


    52 min
  • The challenges of JOY as an adult...What if instead of preparing for the worst, we imagined the best?

    Text us to be featured on the show!

    The bad news is, Fruity Pebbles are just colorful rice bits now, and pizza rolls have lost their spark.

    The good news is, we think we can we retrain our adult brains to center joy, to be in the moment with grace & compassion, and to live more like we did as kids, while we're still here.

    We chat about reasons joy can feel harder to find as an adult:

    • is it western/achievement culture
    • is it our "life is supposed to be this way" mindset?
    • maybe using our imagination to prepare for the worst?
    • because we hold too tightly to the things and people we love, ruining the experience?
    • or is it because we all heard about how hard life will be when we were kids?

    Whatever it is, we're ready to embrace our inner Mr. Rogers, to use our imaginations to center the good stuff, and we hope you will too.

    (And if this feels impossible so you are interested in diving deeper into a hypnosis convo with Liz, use the links below!)

    Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram

    About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better.

    About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours 

    Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast

    Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast

    More about Liz → lizmckean.com

    Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean

    More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com

    Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird


    40 min
  • Liz's Internet Hater, Exploring Intellectual Partnerships, and How We Give and Receive Love in Adult Friendships

    Text us to be featured on the show!

    Friend Lab fam, did you catch us live on Substack? It won't be the last time so subscribe over there if you haven't yet- we can't wait to connect!

    On today's episode, we talk about intellectual partnerships, what supportive love for friends looks and feels like, and what it means to be experimenting & growing in our relationships. We also discuss some really ANGRY internet trolls that popped up recently, and how Bryce showed up for Liz in a way that was both protective and empowering. 

    We go into details on all of these topics, including some conversation about what it looks like to be a man who shows up for women, and being a woman who can feel safe advocating for herself in the world. As always, every bit has a thru-line of deep love and respect for one another (despite a major disagreement about pickle kombucha).

    See you in the lab!

    Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram

    About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better.

    About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours 

    Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast

    Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast

    More about Liz → lizmckean.com

    Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean

    More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com

    Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird


    41 min
  • Outgrowing Your Old Story: What Happens When You Evolve Past Who You Thought You Were?...and wtf does the Kool Aid man have to do with it?

    Text us to be featured on the show!

    How the evolution of our stories and the way that we tell them change who we are and how we relate to the world...also Kool aid man babyyyy

    Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram

    About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better.

    About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours 

    Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast

    Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast

    More about Liz → lizmckean.com

    Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean

    More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com

    Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird


    45 min
  • Talking (literal) Shit With Friends, Gratitude Walks, and Marching Forth

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    Friends don't make friends feel bad about tummy trouble. In this episode, we relive some IBS childhood trauma and find a way to make it about friendship!

    We also celebrate March 4th, a.k.a. "March Forth!," we're talking gratitude, spiritual practices, and how both of those evolve over time. 

    (Shout out to Stinky Jeff, who inspired the masses by doing his thing, and didn't care.)

    Shop AG1 drinks for regular poops!  https://shop.drinkag1.com/BRYCETHETHIRD

    We love ya!

    -Liz & Bryce

    Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram

    About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better.

    About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours 

    Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast

    Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast

    More about Liz → lizmckean.com

    Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean

    More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com

    Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird


    43 min
  • How do you know someone's heart? Bryce's 3-step system (that Liz disagrees with)

    Text us to be featured on the show!

    As they all are, this episode is my fave. Bryce and I are friends on and off this show, so we talk often. And amidst all that talking, we disagree sometimes. And by sometimes, I mean a LOT. We actually disagree at the very start of this conversation! (and I'm writing the description this week so I get to say that I'm right. This is Liz btw) 

    We talk about the difference between truth, fact, and belief, and how that impacts relationships. Also, Bryce is pretty sure he's a warlock. He might be right! 

    In all seriousness, this episode is a cool example of how friends can disagree with a lot of love, so if you can't even imagine disagreement existing without conflict- this one is for you. 

    We love ya, and we mean it. (THAT we definitely agree on)

    xoxo Liz

    Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram

    About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better.

    About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours 

    Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast

    Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast

    More about Liz → lizmckean.com

    Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean

    More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com

    Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird


    40 min

About The Friend Lab

From the publisher's feed

The Friend Lab is a curious, candid, and sometimes chaotic exploration of what it means to be human together.


Hosted by Liz McKean: coach, hypnotist, yoga…