Running Wild with Christine

HELLO EVERYONE! I know it's been a hot sec but what can I say? Mama's on vacay! It's fair to say this one was SO WORTH going back to the keys for.  Meet Dallas Barnes, CEO of Reya Health - a digital platform for personalized contraceptive counselling. Dallas created her company to help people with ovaries navigate their birth control journey. If you're like us, it's been a wild fucking ride figuring it out with NO guidance and you'll be screaming alongside the episode: ME FUCKING TOO!  In our RWWC custom, we retrace some of the steps which led Dallas to where she is today and how Reya Health came to be two years ago. Sadly too many of us are familiar with feeling dismissed or unserved by the medical community when negative side effects arise. Funding for research in marginalized genders' health must be prioritized in order for a lot of us to avoid unnecessary trials and tribulations. Help us spread the word, echo our plea for more research funding and help yourself with Reya Health. The app launches September 1st, and while the website and services are currently only available in Canada, if you are able to help Dallas cross borders do get in touch.  Topics: the challenges of starting your first business, celebrating small wins, discovering your sexuality, accessing the RIGHT birth control methods for yourself, setting boundaries, safety and access to information, advocating for yourself, feeling validated. Mention: Dr Sarah Hill. Give @reyahealth a follow and as always please do share this episode if you've found it helpful! With all my love, C. xox

This week let me introduce you to Mili, from @barenaked_me! The forces of nature, otherwise known as Mili's mother, brought us together one fateful morning, over some Kajmak and Jaffa cakes. Today, about a year later, we finally sit down to share what we've learned about emotions. Mili is an empowerment coach, who works with women on finding their true emotional selves. Join us in discussing what empowerment feels like and the effects of discovering it. If you've cried yourself to panic lying on the floor, because of a story you've been telling yourself, this one is for you.  Topics: #bodyimage, #patriarchy, covid #cocooning, #motherhood and #dietculture, debunking self love, learning is cyclical, #trauma, adrenal consequences of stress, #negativeselftalk, #validation, #storytelling, #nuance and MORE!  This episode has some true nuggets of gold, belly laughs and rants, as is on brand in this podcast. If this conversation calls you, please share it with your friends. It is more important than ever that we find time for these conversations.  Topics:  Find Mili on Instagram if you find yourself called to work with her, or know someone who could benefit from this kid of self work. As always, I leave you with love, until our next talk. xx 

Hello lovers! Please meet the lovely Kristine. You might know her from @theportraitsessions or @persepective feminine on IG. She is here today to chat with me about definitions of intimacy, of community and of relationship models. Join us on this exploration of - well, our feelings, and - the effects of covid isolation on our non-monogamous relationships.   Topics: pendulum swings, being alone together, codependency, control and consequences, cohabitation in non-monogamy, emotions vs reason, fear-based decisions, *a rant* about the lack of resources for ENM, loving your partner in opposing ways, living authentic lives in the good and the shitty, online dating and SO MUCH MORE.  Come join us on this exploration of how we have learned to love, to have sex, to see ourselves, and to create community.  Please feel free to refer back to episode 96 with Devon for context if you are curious! Go check out Kristine and her beautiful, awe inspiring work. Thank you so much for listening and remaining faithful to our human explorations. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for future episodes! With all the love, C. x

Hello everyone! We are closing off September, also known as Alopecia Awareness Month, with this vulnerable and rage-filled episode with Janessa St Pierre! Join us for this tour of the marks as she has experienced them, working in the film industry as a Black woman in Vancouver.  As usual, we go back to childhood and family, ballet dancing and high school socialization, to highlight how we got here. Listen in if you wanna rage with us about racism, misogyny, the male gaze and how toxic the filmmaking machine still is. Last but not least, Janessa takes the time and energy to share her Alopecia story with us and raise some awareness about the autoimmune disorder and its lack of representation.  Topics: reaching awareness of racist micro-aggressions, performative activism vs. accountability, belonging & internalized racism, inclusivity & imposter syndrome, toxicity in the film industry, the 3 different types of Alopecia, why is hair loss scary?, beauty standards, storytelling and the way it informs the collective self, and much more.  The first half of this conversation ties into a lot of stories featured by @iastories about the potential strike of film technicians in the US at the moment and I urge you to educate yourself about what it takes to make the TV shows and movies that you love, and amplify the voices fighting for our workers' rights.  Shout out to Jason ALM for introducing us way back when and to Sommer from @raisethatbarre. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it widely as the intent here is to spread a moment of vulnerability, togetherness and awareness.  With love, C. xox

Hi everyone! Meet Erin Davidson, sex and relationship therapist from Vancouver, BC, here today to talk about her new book Break Through the Breakup. Join me in discovery Erin's story of the "reformed good girl/people pleaser" as we discover which rules she decided to scrap and how she ended up here. Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault content. We talk about unlearning religious sexual scripts and messages, highschool boyfriends in university, and embodying the attributes that we personally decided were valuable. What would happen if sex didn't exist? Or not in the way we conceive of it? Join us on this ride down my favorite rabbit holes.  Topics: Christianity vs Sex, hearts as the backpacks of our lives, heartbreak, shame & guilt, sexual debuts, therapy, processing sexual assault openly, #metoo, the power of writing, healing, the 3 Components of Self Compassion, and so much more!  For more about Erin, go to erinedavidson.com or find her on IG @erin.e.davidson. Thank you so much for listening to the podcast and sticking around. I see you and I'm so grateful for you. So much love, C. xo

Hello weirdos. Meet my good friend Tony. Tony and I went to university together and have managed to stay in each other's lives in various capacities for the last 8 years. Today, in line with men's health month, we are here to talk about mental health and in particular, how it's affected Tony and what tools have helped him in difficult times. Join us for this walk down memory lane at UBC and how the last two years have shaped his relationships.  Topics: children of divorces, athletes and their outlets, #dormlife, the evolution of dating, communication skills, unconventional career choices, vulnerability and emotions, #videodates, going to therapy, reaching out and sharing with friends, and life advice from an auto-mechanic shop.  Shout out to the OG UBC Pit Pub and its survivors, as well as anyone who survived Gage towers. Also bonus embarrassing story of my boat accident at the end of the episode. You're welcome  Thanks so much for listening. We hope that as a society we can foster a more healthy mental environment for all people and dismantle the systems of shame that have previously prevented men from seeking and receiving mental healthcare. As always, Tony and I are here if you need an ear or a shoulder for support. You can reach him @t.ganto on IG and you know where to find me. With all the love, C. xo

Hi friends, lovers and strangers, meet Ariel. Ariel comes to us this week thanks to Mark, to tell her story of addiction and recovery. Trigger warnings for eating disorders, addiction, mental health and sexual trauma. Please listen at your own discretion.  Ariel candidly recounts her childhood and adolescence, with the hindsight that recovery allows. We follow her along her journey from teen rebellion, through adventures and homelessness, into treatment facilities and life on the other side. If you've ever wondered how or why people are nice, you might wanna listen in to Ariel's revelation about pro-social behaviour and what happiness is.  Topics: bulimia, alcohol and drug addiction, trauma, rock bottoms and amends, homelessness, escapism, negative self-talk, the inefficacy of social safety nets and programs, emotions, NA & AA, sober dating & sex, healing, abortion, polyamory, and so much more!  Shout out to charlfordhouse.ca. Thanks so much for listening to yet another  story. We tell these with empathy and love in mind. If you know anyone who would benefit from hearing it, please do share. To get in touch with Ariel, you can find her @thattallgirlariel. With lots of love, your C. xo

Friends, lovers and strangers - meet my darling dear friend Oona. Oona runs and co-founded a tech co-op called BRAVE, that provides services to prevent overdose deaths. Today, she discusses with me the myriad rabbit holes that brought her to her calling, as well as her personal experiences with grief that currently inhabit her heart.  We talk about the virtual supervised injection site app that she helped create and implement, and how technology continues to allow for tangible, actionable change (despite our growing disappointments with it). Join us for this very personal, vulnerable and rich episode about how life is senseless and we - and only we - ascribe it its meaning.  Topics: substance use, the #overdosecrisis & OD prevention, isolation, reaching out, social media, death, soulmates, taboos in the circle of life, rites of passage, grief vs pain, coping, colonialism, parenting, self-love, and so much more!  Oona's prompt and homework for the week goes as follows: in what ways do you currently put yourself at the center of your own life? If you do manage to do so, what tools do you use? Feel free to answer this question via email or by finding me on IG.  Thanks so much for listening. To support BRAVE, go to brave.coop. To get in touch with Oona, you can find her @the_oona_verse. Thanks again for spending this hour with us and don't forget to support this podcast any which way you can if this has brought you anything worth keeping. xx

Hello lovers! Meet Josh! You might know him as Ivan in Amazon's comedy series Upload, but Josh is also a writer and hilarious human all around.  He takes me down memory lane as we explore his childhood in Baldwin Hills, LA and going to multiple denominations of religious schools. We share our common experience of having survivalist parents and coming out to our parents as creatives. Join us for this wonderful ride down some unexpected paths of conversation and some real deep shit.  Topics: favorite kinds of underwear, shame, immigrant mentality, our worst #weed stories, quarantine stories, parenting, #marriage, the impulse to create, OnlyFans for Crying, being #softandsquishy vs. tough love, vulnerability as strength, resilience, sexuality and boundaries, writing and MORE!  Reference: The Defiant Ones on Netflix, Untamed by Glennon Doyle, My Dad Wrote A Porno - the podcast.  For more about Josh, you can find him on IG @joshbanday or at joshbanday.com for more on his writing and VO/acting work.  Thanks again for joining us for this glorious rabbit hole of a podcast episode and I hope some of these topics will inspire you to have these difficult conversations with your parents, children and/or chosen family. With all the love, your C. 

Welcome back my lovers. Well, this one is a personal one. My partner Mark recently recovered from COVID 19. We talk about what it was like: from finding out he tested positive, to balancing isolation from each other in a one bedroom apartment. The mental toll of this disease is unlike anything we've been through in our lifetimes and we get into those feels. Mark describes his symptoms, his fears and the impact of social media on his recovery. "We're stuck with each other, but I'm not even there," are words that haunt me still. Join in if you have experienced this situation and need to feel not alone in this. Or if you are curious and want to be prepared, should this happen to you.  Topics: #covid19, social isolation, the privileges required to actually quarantine, the strain on our relationship, resentment, fear, #boomers, the irony of survivalist mentality, shame, capitalism, Glennon Doyle's Imagination, anger and social stratas.  Please, please, please take this seriously. We are not out of this yet. I need you all to make it so we can continue to tear it all apart for a better reconstruction.  Ps: This episode was recorded outside so bear with us in the first few minutes of heavy breathing sounds. We are learning as we go here, always have and always will. Shoutout to Kevin Costner's Yellowstone for keeping me alive.  Thanks for being part of the journey and now more than ever, I send you all my love and well wishes. C, xo.

It's a warm welcome back to Neil Fox from episode 22!! Over two years later, the host of the Cinematologists podcast is back. The movie he'd just finished is now being distributed globally next month, and we catch up on the movie industry today and the hurdles film makers may (should?) face.  If you want the full back story, listen to the previous episode, but in brief, Neil is a senior lecturer in Film at the School of Film & Television, Falmouth University, a screenwriter, podcaster and very lovely all around human. We catch up today about what it's like teaching the next generation of filmmakers and learning from them in turn. We talk about his film Wilderness (2017, Baracoa Pictures) and how it might hold up today. It was written five years ago, and depicts social and personal themes that are quite timely. Please do consider giving it a watch. Now, join us for this conversation about the realities of our industry.  Topics: hindsight, what stories need telling, shifts in mindsets, #metoo and #blm, the problem with the film industry, you vs. the machine, the missed opportunities for post-COVID work life, modern day exploitation vs. worthy sacrifice, rethinking filmmaking, and some hopeful notes.  For more about Neil, go to drneilfox.com! Thanks for listening to another episode and for your continuing support. With all my love, C. 

Hello friends! Meet Thomas K Girard, an emerging scholar in the Design field. Thomas reached out to me to talk about life and its design. We meander establishing the basics: a Vancouver childhood, playing international strategy card games in high school, thinking you've learned nothing in undergrad and manifesting yourself into the 'real world'. We debunk the mythical "do what you love and the money will follow" approach and detour into TED talks and teaching.  Topics: choosing to fail, art vs. logic, manifesting your intention, familiarity in strange places, introverts on public speaking, prototyping in the real world, community building, "wicked problems", planning in these uncertain times, faith, and MORE!  For more about Thomas, go to thomaskgirard.com or @onthomas_tweet on Twitter! You can watch the TED talk here! Thanks again for listening, and catch ya on the next one!  With Love, C. xo

Hi everyone! Welcome back to Andreia from episode 105! She is a Marriage and Family Therapist, based in Denver, Colorado. Today, she wanted to discuss one of the most prevalent topics that she's heard this past year: "My partner doesn't make me happy anymore." We delve into codependency in long-term committed relationships and establish some common hurdles and resources. It was so refreshing and helpful to hear Andreia talk about her personal experiences, alongside mine, as well as the theoretical frameworks that guide her practice. Listen in, even if you're not in a relationship, as there are some crucial self-worth nuggets of wisdom in here.  Topics: therapy as a "last resort", the effects of isolation on relationships, autonomy vs connection, communication, defining individual happiness, family patterns, distinguishing and making room for someone else's feelings, codependency, where you draw self-worth from, boundaries, evaluating the myth of "marriage is boring", establishing your relationship's TOS, being lost in translation, what does "better sex" mean,  self-exploration, the biggest enemy of excitement, the three S's that can help you: Self-Awareness, Self-Soothing and Sharing.  Reference: Family Systems Theory: "Differentiation of Self" (Kerr & Bowen, 1988), Esther Perel's Mating in Captivity at estherperel.com. For more on Andie, go visit her IG @andies.therapy.couch! Thanks for listening.

Hello lovers! Meet Taty. She's a sex blogger, speaker and educator, currently in grad school at Widener university. Join us on this fun journey of figuring out how to break it to your Southern family that you're moving North to study sex! We talk about how other people's reactions can turn a genuine curiosity into a repressed, shameful taboo. Luckily, Taty had a great lightbulb moment that put her back on the right track. Listen in to find out more about her journey and what it takes to do what sets your soul on fire.  Topics: shame and embarrassment, sexuality and culture, shibari, the Bible as an R rated book, the meaning of life, defining what Sex is, attending sex conferences, personality vs. sexuality, power dynamics in kink, how writing about sex affects her dating life, unsolicited propositions, watching porn in the classroom, imposter syndrome, helping people find their pleasure, and doing whatever the fuck it is you want to do.  Reference: The Daily Show's Michael Kosta clip about Masturbation vs. the Alt-Right; Dr. Ruth.  Thanks for listening as per usual. We love that you're here. Please do not hesitate to reach out with comments, feedback and suggestions for past or future episodes. You can find us on IG @runningwildwithchristine. For more about Taty, go to @taty_k_king on IG or twitter. Shout out to @javaydabae and @stephauteri!  As always with lots of love, C. xox

Welcome back friends, lovers and strangers. Meet @fatpheebs! She's a superwoman, a kind soul, and a true sunshine. Today, she shares with us her harrowing story with online abuse and mental health. [TW: SI, SH, MH, SA, Violence] Pheebs is a well-rounded activist, covering body acceptance, self-love, fatphobia, fat positivity, sexual violence, mental health and lately only abuse and harassment. We get to listen in on how one interview about "How Fat Feels" led Pheebs to discover, and own, her voice and place in the world, giving her the strength to go down the rabbit hole of activism and social work.  Please join us for this crucial conversation that should be mandatory listening. There are significant trigger warnings for this episode so please use your discretion. Pheebs is very clear about her duty of care when it comes to the topics at hand. However, it is necessary that we start developing tools to effectively deal with violence online. Please join us on this mission.  Topics: being silenced, shame, bullying, unlearning, transparency & vulnerability, living in a fat body, trauma, mental illness, therapy, self-harm, IRL vs Online,  trolling and death threats, misogyny, fatphobia, doxing, suicide attempts, the inadequacy of resources to deal with online crime, how to protect oneself (HINT: there's no good solution yet), CALL TO ACTION (around 50'). References: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in the UK; Ep 96 with Devon. Please, if you have any constructive input or resources to share with Pheebs, you can find her @fatpheebs on social media. You can also reach out to me if you prefer and I will forward any pertinent information.  Today, and all days, please take care of yourselves and each other. With all my love,  C. xox

Hi Lovers! Meet Irving, the host of Asians in Space, the man behind The Asian Canadian, and one of the participants of @menwhotakebaths. He joins us today to talk the world over. We discuss growing up in Alberta and figuring out how to do this thing called life. We then delve into what led him to creating @theasncanadian page and what matters to him most today.  Topics: internalized racism, basketball, being a dickhead in high school, childhood vs adulthood, fears, trauma, the continuous path of fixing ourselves, perfectionism, therapy, guilt & shame, how we share and find news today, academic gatekeeping, belonging, experience vs. expertise, systems of oppression, the discomfort of the unknown, conspiracy theorists, shifting to a more sustainable system of society, cancel culture, the pedestalization of individuals vs. the eternity of the planet, the ability to be wrong, modernization theory, ... It spirals from there. Tune in you won't regret it. Big shout out to Nicolle Hodges from episode 74 and Ji-Youn Kim from episodes 78 and 104!  For more from Irving, I highly recommend you follow @theasncanadian on IG, or listen to @asiansinspace! Thanks again for listening my darlings and stay tuned for the next episode. Lots of love, C. xox

Hello Lovers! Meet Sommer! She's a dear friend and the bright and compassionate mind behind a new awareness IG account called @raisethatbarre. Her mission is to start a conversation, to shed light on the harsh realities of the dance world, as well as to come up with collaborative, community-based solutions to the hardships faced by dancers. She bares her heart and soul today in this very candid conversation about her experience in the ballet world and her relationship with her body. At 22, she suffered a spinal injury that would end her dance career, AND begin her healing and self-love journeys.  Topics: the toxicity of the dance world (and ballet in particular), body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, socialization and stigmatization, shame around resting, injuries and healing, substance abuse, social pressure, health and sustainability, mental health, feeling not good enough, self-worth vs. looks/thinness, "productivity" and guilt-trips, collaborative solutions, competition vs community, SELF-LOVE and empathy!  Shout out to @maddiebless on IG. You can go and participate in her survey via her link in bio. And many thanks to @paulazulkoskey for the happiest picture of Sommer.  Please do give her a follow @raisethatbarre and engage in the conversation. Thank you all for listening and for sticking around. I have decided to relax my publishing schedule and focus on quality conversations, over self-imposed rigorous scheduling. Thank you for trusting me and sticking around. #humaninprogress  All my love, C. xox

Hello friends! Change of pace today! Meet Jakub Ferencik, author of upcoming debut book titled “Up in the Air: Christianity, Atheism, & the Global Problems of the 21st Century”. Jakub just arrived in Slovakia, his homeland, to weather this COVID storm and we catch up on his travels, background and interests before taking a deeper dive. We explore where the inspiration to write came from and what he hopes to accomplish. Join us on this epistemological adventure in the fight against certainty.  Topics: Christianity, blogging, human connection, values & epistemology, the reality of nuances and the bypassing of reality in political discourse, reducing polarization, morality, the thought exercise of defending "the opposition", drawing lines where empathy ends, the discomfort of preaching radical vulnerability vs. human rights battles, going beyond the self-affirming echo chambers, progress and regress, the meaning of life, the experience of suffering, mindfulness and guilt, social taboos and many more light topics.  Reference: Chris Erickson's (from Ep. 9) The Poetics of Fear: A Human Response to Human Security, Jonathan Gottschall's The Storytelling Animal, Stephen Fry quote mentioned: "I believe one of the greatest human failings is to prefer to be right than to be effective." More from Jakub at: IG @jakub.ferencik.official, medium.com/@jakubferencik, Twitter @JakubFerencik and watch out for the book this fall! Shout out to the Vancouver Podcast Community!  Thanks so much for listening. As always, feedback is welcome as I am but a human in progress. The schedule might start to change for next few episodes as my work life begins again, but stories will always find their way here. Because stories are all we have. I love you. C. xo

Hello my lovers. Meet Ericka Gail, a non-binary, queer, Black femme [they/them, she/her] trauma therapist, known as @mentalhealthfemme! We start by catching up on the context we find ourselves in this year and the conflicting feelings that 2020 can bring up. They tell me about how their QTBIPOC focus has evolved and shifted over time, and what their recent rise in reach means to them and their work. We talk about the important people in our lives who made us who we are, and how grief can be a driver. Join us in this deep and personal conversation about what drives us as humans and how we cope!  Topics: activism & social justice, vulnerability as a radical practice, fawning as a trauma response, writing, PTSD and anxiety, experiential knowledge, imposter syndrome, asking for help, emotional processing and empathy, public grieving, being a "people pleaser in recovery", and community care.  For more on Ericka, go to @mentalhealthfemme on IG and DM them for the Poetry Zine. I also invite you to Venmo them at EriqooBWM or on PayPayl at paypal.me/ErickaGBey. Thanks so much for listening to another episode of the podcast and please do share it far and wide! Lots of love, C. xox

MY LOVERS. Meet the lovely Victoria. She is the host of The V Word Show on the Applewood channel on Youtube, a badass Mama, actress and former teacher. She made time for us today to discuss her journey, and the state of the world and our place in it. She tells me about her experiences with mothering, about speaking out, about growing up Black and mixed race in the UK, about sexuality and self-acceptance. This episode is funny, sincere and beaming with energy thanks to Victoria's honesty and forthcomingness. I am crushing on our gal so I hope you all enjoy this mix of rant and hopefulness.  Topics: quitting a life you've settled into, teaching, the life of a woman, the need for open conversations, taking up space, community building, race conversations, "good" parenting, privilege, giving yourself license to be yourself, BLM, kindness, internalized racism and misogyny,  learning and unlearning, queerness and periods, liberation, and SO MUCH MORE.  Resources: Channel Four's "The Talk", Steph Auteri @stephauteri on Sex-Positive Parenting, Rachel Ricketts @iamrachelricketts and this article "Reframing Cancel Culture: Why Calling Someone Out Is an Act Of Service"  For more on Victoria, go to @thevwordshow on Instagram and find her on YT! Thanks again for listening my babies and take sweet care of yourselves this week. You are enough. Always yours, C. xox

Hi everyone! Meet Andreia! She is a Marriage and Family Therapy Candidate, based in Denver, Colorado. Andreia joyfully walks me through her Brazilian upbringing, including her progressive Catholic high school, and her journey into American society. We meander through the little life things that end up shaping lives and get us to a point of embracing our true selves. Join us for this lovely introspection - the stuff you wish you knew about your therapist.  Topics: coming out of one's sheltered childhood, the endless international student life, being nerds, immigrant obstacles, the struggles of corporate life, mental health, anxiety, tools for BIG life changes, relationships and therapy, being true to oneself, facing insecurities, asking "Why Now?",  how COVID has affected couples and families, survival mode and sex drives, redefining joy, grief and lessons, and the state of the world.  Thanks Casey Murphy for the intro! Check her out in ep 37 for more about her businesses! Reference: Esther Perel at estherperel.com. For more on Andie, go visit her IG @andies.therapy.couch! Thanks for listening. speak to you all next week. Do not hesitate to reach out if you would like to come speak on the podcast, priority will be given to BIPOC, Trans and Sex Workers' voices. All my love, C.

It's a warm welcome back to our dear Ji-Youn (jee-yan) Kim. If you haven't yet met her in ep 78, Ji-Youn is an anti-oppressive, trauma informed counsellor. She's an advocate for rage as liberation, and facilitates workshops called Processing Rage in collaboration with Cicely Blain. She reached out to me a couple of weeks ago to use this platform to talk about white supremacy and toxic power dynamics in the counselling industry. So that's what we did. Here's our unfiltered conversation on spiritual bypassing, white supremacy and oppression as it takes place on a LOT of counsellors' couches. Stay tuned for tools on what to look for in an anti-oppressive counsellor.  Rage trigger warning.  Topics: #counselling, trauma, the current climate of #BLM "awakening" for non-Black people, the repercussions on anti-oppression activists of color, #mentalhealth, the toxicity of feel good therapeutic approaches, tone policing, cognitive dissonance and self-doubt, white saviour complex, white fragility, racial gaslighting, de-colonizing your mind, going past attachment theory, the roots of therapy, community vs individual, and SO MUCH more. Role models and resources mentioned: Dr. Mullan @decolonizingtherapy, Ericka Gail @mentalhealthfemme, Alishia McCullough @blackandembodied. Thanks so much for listening. Please do share this episode and spread the word. Hire Ji-Youn. You can find her here: itsjiyounkim.com or @itsjiyounkim on IG.  Speak to you all next week! C, xox.

My lovers you are in for a treat today! Meet Eman Salem, our fave badass life coach and CEO of Iron Self! We dive right in, without much intro, into the meat of it. Listen in if you've ever felt unable to be true to yourself, either due to your upbringing, your current setting or your imposter syndrome. I say this, but the episode is all about Eman and I's personal experiences and families. This is not a "things you should do" episode, it's lessons we've learned.  There's tons of incredible stuff in here, and Eman was so very generous with me. Let's get radically vulnerable together.  Topics: difficult conversations, vulnerability, immigrant mentality, feeling sexually caught between two cultures, cognitive sexualized dissonance, queerness!, self-work as privilege, validation culture, tough love, the role of the ego, resistance to healing, empowerment, community building, and feeling valuable.  To find out more, go to @ironself18 on IG and stay tuned for the online course! SHARE her platform if it genuinely speaks to you!  Thank you so much for listening my loves. The platform is available for any BIPOC should they want it! Do not hesitate to reach out or share if it can be of interest. In the meantime, let's get to work. Yours, C. xo

Welcome to our first guest of Season Three: photographer and visual artist Kriss Munsya. He came over to the podcast to talk about his current project The Eraser, as well as his life more broadly. We discuss his upbringing as an immigrant from the DRC in Belgium and his journey to today. We talk about hitchhiking from New York to Brazil (in 2013!!) and the riches of meeting people whose path you otherwise would never have crossed. He casually tells us about his first movie, and subsequent documentaries, expanding on what kind of art and storytelling matters to him.  Topics: being made to feel "not Black enough"; Europe vs the Americas; feeling lost; stumbling into making his first movie; touring with bands across the world; control issues; culture shock, politeness as a concept, grieving a lifestyle; the charm of grimey bars & their honesty; the current state of the world, the outside look on America today; feelings of hate, hope and sadness; art, love and empathy as activism, and wisdom in humility.  You can watch more about Kriss' films here: krissmunsya.com/videos. Go check out the gorgeous project @mgmt.krissmunsya and @krissmunsya on IG, as well as his Etsy page where you can purchase his prints.  Thanks so much for keeping up with the podcast. Can't wait to bring more incredible people to the "couch" and continue to foster this vulnerable and authentic environment we've built. With love, C. xox

Welcome back my lovers. How are y'all holding up?  Firstly, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. It has been amazing to host the last two seasons and I am beyond ecstatic that we are back for another one. To kick things off, Julia from @soihadanabortion takes the reins in a flipping of the script. I got to experience what it's like relinquishing control and being in the hot seat. Julia has me blabbing about the origins of the podcast, as well as its current process. She asks me poignant questions about the lessons I've learned, in this space we've created, and how they highlight where we are at as a society. We then move on to the AMA questions that you submitted!  Topics: avoidance, cognitive dissonance, survival, generational patterns, being called in/out, learning as a process of elimination, certainty as the basis for oppression, accountability, non-monogamy, learning about the kink community while entering it, kink anxiety, bullying, the evolution of my understandings of sex from childhood to now, every experience having inherent value, masturbation, world change, activism, anti-racism and other slippery rabbit holes.  Here are some Black sex-positive advocates you should be following (as promised in the episode) :  Ericka Hart, M. Ed @ihartericka, Ev’Yan Whitney. @evyan.whitney, Ashley Cobb @sexwithashley, Afrosexology @afrosexology_, Goody Howard @askgoody, Unf*ck Your Polyamory @polyrolemodels, Cindy Lee Alves @cindyleealves. Vagesteem @vagesteem, Jimanekia Eborn, MS @jimanekia, Javay Frye @javaydabae and so many more!  Plug: Cicely Blain and Ji-Youn Kim's Processing Rage Workshop and the Stratagem Virtual Conference.  Thanks again my loves. It feels weird releasing an "about me" episode in these times, but the battle continues and will always be an intersectional fight. I hope some of the insights in here are valuable and that we remember this work is only possible today thanks to Marsha P. Johnson and other black trans activists.  Ps: you still get 20% @intamopleasurables products with our promo code WILD20! 

Welcome my dears. I was going to do a thing for the big 100, but it hardly seems relevant now. If you sent me your AMA's for that, don't worry, it will be the opener for season three. In the meantime, before we go on a little break, I wanted to leave you with something much more important.  Here's a list of 100+ resources to educate yourself on anti-racism and Black history. Please, please, please, especially if you are white, take the time to delve into some of the works of the Black artists, activists, writers and thinkers below. We owe it to humanity. Thank you. That is all from me today. Take care of yourselves, stay safe and let's ACT against racism and oppression.  justbadtiming.com/podcast/blacklivesmatter

Hello my lovers! Welcome to 90-fucking-9! Meet Cam Fraser! He is a men's Sex Coach, as well as a Certified Sexologist, Counselor, Registered Yoga Teacher, Tantric Practitioner, and Workshop Facilitator. Do you think there's enough there to get us started? We cover his Australian upbringing, American college experience and journey into his current practice, before delving into the good stuff.  Topics: toxic masculinity, the relationship between early sex and binge drinking, the search for alternative models of masculinity and pleasure, not fitting in, sex ed, yoga for better sex, paying attention the your body, shame, Tantric Shaivism and Hatha Yoga, what it looks like to work with Cam, ejaculatory control, what is sex, statistics of sexuality, AND offering solutions past the criticism. For more on Cam, go to cam-fraser.com or @thecamfraser on IG! Check out his services, his podcast and his super informational feed.  (Referenced in podcast: Betty Martin's Wheel of Consent and Jameela Jamil.) Thank you SO MUCH for being around for episode 99! This is an incredible journey we are on, and I for one couldn't be more grateful!  Ps: Don't forget to get your lubes and oils from Intamo Pleasurables at 20% off with promo code WILD20. 

Hello lovers! Meet Danica Darling, our guest and sex worker extraordinaire! Although she is primarily an exotic dancer and escort professionally, Danica also holds psychology and paralegal degrees, and guest lectures on sex work legality in Canada! We retrace her steps from childhood in a religious suburb, to thriving during university years and becoming a sex worker.  Topics: #sexworkiswork, what supportive parents can look like, being nerds, first nights as an exotic dancer, Fort McMurray (yes, you read that right), serving vs. stripping, feeling less judged within the sex worker community, onlive vs. in-person, #OnlyFans, the root of negative stigma, coming out as a sex worker, how to make sex work safer, and much more!  You can find out more about Danica's podcast 50 plus a tip on your favourite podcast apps or @50plusatip on IG! You can also check out her OnlyFans @danica_darling! Don't hesitate to DM her on IG @danica_darling_ regarding the book club and/or lap dance workshops!  Thanks for listening and supporting sex workers this week and all weeks. Get yourselves some pleasure! Yours, C. xo  Ps: Don't forget that you can get 20% off @intamopleasurables with our #promocode WILD20! Get your lubes and oils for slippery fun. 

Hello world! This week, I had the honour and pleasure to chat with incredible Cicely Belle Blain! They are a black, mixed raced, queer writer and entrepreneur, CEO of a diversity and inclusion consulting firm, and activist powerhouse. I'm excited for you all to hear this story of how they founded Black Lives Matter Vancouver and discovered how they could best positively impact society.  Topics: emigrating to Vancouver, discovering queerness over Rihanna, reinventing oneself, feminism, anti-racism activism, entrepreneurship, #diversity, "fake it 'till you make it", basics in inclusion, the Stratagem conference, broadening education & resources for everyone who can't necessarily afford a consultancy, audience capacity, expertise and imposter syndrome, and being in progress!  For more on Cicely, go to cicelyblainconsulting.com or @cicelyblainconsulting on the socials! Be sure to watch out for Stratagem 2020 that will take place during the month of July online! You can also find out more about Strategem The Podcast @stratagemvirtual on Instagram! Thanks so much for listening to this inspiring episode! Please do let me know if you have any suggestions for upcoming episodes and continue to rate, share and like this podcast! With love, C. xo Resources mentioned: qmunity.ca and Black Lives Matter Vancouver on Facebook.

Hello lovers! Meet my dear friend IRL Devon. He did me the honour of spending an hour on the record talking about all things non-monogamy and political science. You folx are in for a treat! Listen in on how one might go from being a serial monogamist, to currently finding oneself in a polyamorous constellation! This is a joyful episode about alternatives to monogamy, the sometimes awkwardness of play and the magic of pleasure. I hope you'll like listening to it as much as I enjoyed taking part in it.  Topics: shibari rope bondage, bisexuality, learning how to communicate about sex and relationships, touch & sensualism, breathwork, relationship anarchy & polyamory, words vs. labels, oversharing vs. vulnerability, therapy, falling in love with two different people simultaneously, the work that takes, the connection to your body (from sports-induced endorphins to psychedelic effects), the lasting taboo around what pleasure can look like for men (ejaculation vs. orgasm), AND MORE! And because I'm a sucker for lessons out of PoliSci100, here's the takeaway: "Models are useful for making sense of the world that we're in, but be weary of defining the world by the model." Here's the article referenced halfway through the episode: Thirteen things I wish I’d learned before choosing non-monogamy, by Lola Phoenix (on Medium). Thanks so much for listening my darlings.  I love you. C, xo.

Welcome friends, meet Maverick. They are a counsellor who just finished their program and are now launching themselves into their career. We talk about their focus on queer, non-binary and trans clients and why trauma-informed counselling by and for their community is crucial.  Topics: small town life as a queer PoC, puberty for trans youths, coming out, mental health, moving to the city, tarot, finding your niche, choice paralysis, the importance of pronouns, creating a support system, being social creatures, reconnection in isolation, the cis and straight biases of the counselling and wellness world, self-care, becoming a "professional" and grappling with imposter syndrome.  For more about Maverick's services, go to linktr.ee/mavericktrev. You can also find them on social media @queerlich. Thank you Ji-Youn Kim for the intro! :) (Check her out on episode 78! ) Thank you my darlings for listening! Please do share, review and rage about this podcast so we can reach more ears! All my love, C. xo Ps: Go to intamopleasureables.com and use the code WILD20 for 20% off on your purchases! 

WELCOME LOVERS! How's everybody holding up? 'Cause we are... fine? Join us on this honest and candid whirlwind about covid feelings and feminism! Adriana defines herself as an artist, a woman, a spirituality and self-love seeker, and a total badass. Okay, that last one was my description, but hey, it's true. Today, we decided to talk about TOUCH and feminism, as well as how those have been BIG themes in Adri's life. Has that been the case for you? Topics: graphic design, swimming, expectations, entrepreneurs vs. the covid slowdown, the importance of touch, fashion marketing, body and age diversity, feminism, palatability, feeling like an energy dispenser, self-exploration in isolation, sitting in discomfort, fear, comfort, slowing down.  References: Sympli Women's Clothing and Ryan Heffington's Sweatfest (see @ryan.heffington on IG). For more on Adriana, go to @adricreative and adricreative.com!  Thanks again for joining and please, subscribe, rate and follow this podcast to spread the joy!  Ps: you still get 20% off all your slippery needs with the promo code WILD20 @ intamopleasurables.com! #supportpleasure

Hello lovers. This week, AJ Lowik (pronouns: they/them/theirs) came over to chat about their work and life! We talk about what it's like to walk in this world as a non-binary trans person, a queer liberationist, an unapologetic feminist, a PhD candidate, a researcher and instructor. Predictably, this episode goes in many different directions. We cover coming out narratives, academia and the ivory tower, and choosing one's battles. Listen in on this exploration of gender, learning and choices.  Topics: cats, trans-inclusive reproductive rights, childhood and nerdom, gender categories, sexuality studies, queerness,  trans-inclusive care & accessibility to abortion clinics, deconstructing cis-normative narratives within healthcare and parenthood, empathy for all humans walking this earth, academia vs. activism, opting out of gender, misgendering, colonialism & social constructs,  the need to stick people into boxes & boundary policing, AND SO MUCH MORE!  Correction and precision: Toni King-Rose from @transdeathcare uses he/him/his pronouns. Go check out his work!  Thanks again for listening to this week's episode of @runningwildwithchristine and please remember to subscribe, follow, rate and review this podcast! For more information on AJ, go to ajlowik.com or @thegenderoffender on socials.  With all my love and care, your little C. x Ps: you still get 20% off all your slippery needs with the code WILD20 @intamopleasurables

MY LOVERS! Meet my new fave long-distance love, Odessa Young. Odessa is an Australian actor, whom you might have seen in Assassination Nation (2018), The Daughter (2015) and High Life (2017). She will also star as Frannie Goldsmith in the upcoming CBS mini-series The Stand. We were finally able to sit down and download on how we feel during this real-life pandemic.  We start off retracing her steps as a young actor inevitably ending up in LA. We then meander through the difficulties of choosing a vocation with no "natural" progression, and having to make your own path. We digress into our respective reviews of Marriage Story and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, because why not? You'll just have to listen to hear where we go from there because it's wonderfully bizarre and yet wholesome! There's also some comforting life advice in here. You belong here. Topics: discerning between hobby and career, the concept of stability, "fake it 'till you make it", expectations, the bubble of the film industry and its perversions, myopic storytelling and alienation, #metoo, networking and morals, feminism, wine, THE ISOLATION, staying the fuck at home, therapy and mental health, creatives in chaos, hustle culture (boo), socialism and SO MUCH MORE.  You can find Odessa @ayoungcowgirl on Instagram. And remember, you get 20% off your purchase at intamopleasurables.com with the promo code WILD20!  Thanks again my darlings for listening to another episode. Please do follow, subscribe, rate and share this podcast at your leisure.  With all my love, C. xo

Welcome MY LOVERS! Meet Airial, our sexual health educator of the week and our newest and only PARTNER of the podcast! She's the CEO of Intamo Pleasurables, a company aimed at facilitating sex that feels better, using plant-based ingredients and the soothing properties of hemp-seed oil. Join us today for a hilarious and deeply personal ride on Airial's journey to today. We saunter through her Kitsilano childhood, through choosing a vocation, and spend some time investigating sexual woes. (Not for the faint of heart friends, crass depictions of what cervix healing procedures feel like - FUN.)  Topics: self-care, mental health, sexual health, empowerment, abortion, HPV, LEEP procedures, shame, sexual education for people with diverse abilities, getting creative, entrepreneurship, challenges of marketing sex-related products, masturbation, and SO MUCH MORE. Shout out to the University of Alberta's graduate certificate in Sexual Health! Look it up if this online program speaks to you! Also, Polycystic ovary syndrome is what I couldn't remember around 26'!  Get 20% off your Intamo purchases (and FREE shipping for orders of 25$+) with our promo code WILD20! Simply go to intamopleasurables.com or @intamopleasurables on the socials! Remember, for every sale that Intamo Pleasurables makes, a portion of the proceeds goes towards providing free local (Vancouver Island & Vancouver) inclusive sex education. Thanks again my lovers for sticking around for yet another episode, and please have yourself some SLIPPERY pleasure this weekend. (Get it - lube pun?) Yours delectably, C. xox

Welcome my lovers!! 90 down WTF! Meet Julia, our single-mom and coach of the week! Today, we retrace Julia's steps throughout her life as a daughter to her mother, a mother to her daughter and a woman part of a larger story. She walks me through how many of her life decisions were influenced by her toxic relationship with her mother, and how recovering from the abusive parenting sent her on a path of discovery. Listen in on this fascinating life story. Who knows? It might resonate with you.  Topics: low-nurtured, poorly-bonded toxic and/or abusive parenting recovery, relationships, chef life, eloping, motherhood, trilogies, meditation, duplicity, narcissists, death, confidence, assertiveness, gaslighting, trauma, tools for feeling capable, self-worth, boundaries, generational baggage, sensuality, writing, happiness, the power of storytelling, and sisterhood. Thanks friends, lovers and strangers for staying on this journey with us! Please do rate, subscribe, recommend the podcast to friends, share on IG, all the things.  Thanks to Sam from episode 70 for the intro! (Listen to that one for an incredible conversation about the way we do non-monogamy.)  For more on Julia and her coaching programs, go to prettyaggressive.net or @prettyaggressive_official on IG and FB! For the book, find Beyond Damage on Amazon!  Your cooped up little C. #staythefuckhome

My lovers! Meet my dear friend Charlotte, our writer, director and locations manager of the today! She walks me through her Scottish childhood, big move to London and travel discoveries across Australia and Canada. We talk about the film industry and its less-known Locations department, balancing creativity versus money, and creating one's own films. Follow us down these rabbit holes on narrative and creating positive discourse on trans people amongst other things.  Topics: storytelling, travel, taking Europe for granted, small town ambition, inevitably COVID-19, happy life accidents, logistics vs. creativity, problem solving, privilege, trans lives, acting, directing, gender representation, making space, expanding past our lived experiences, growth, writing, and trusting your instincts!!  Keep your eyes peeled for Eyes Down, Charlotte's short that we discuss at length. You can keep in the loop on IG @chard_films and on her personal page @charlottedaniel2. Shoutout to the Beaumont Society in the UK and to the Scottish Trans Alliance.  Thanks again for listening and I hope to be able to continue recording amidst COVID-19, as we all need more real talk and community during these trying times. I hope everyone is keeping safe and at home.  With all the love, from my little bleeding extroverted heart to yours, your little C. 

Hi my lovers! Meet Julie, today's author and creative extraordinaire! We get to know more about her childhood in Montreal and evolution through different kinds of education. She tells me about her experiences following the red threads of her life that somehow unravelled into making her the author of Sex Up Your Life: The Mind-blowing Path to True Intimacy, Healing, and Hope. Join us down this fascinating path of how caring about people can take many different forms. You won't regret taking part in this holistic and multifaceted conversation of utmost cultural relevance.  Topics: activism, education, love, film life, teachers, writing, sex, taboos, healing, akashic records & sexual energy, creating spaces for stories, the continuum of sex from disruptive to healing,  the new societal place of sex, definitions, legacies & trauma, rape culture & consent, shame and so MUCH MORE.  You can get your copy of Sex Up Your Life on Amazon, or visit cocreativesex.com for more about working with Julie! You can also find her on IG and on Facebook @cocreativesex .  Shout out to Devi Ward for being awesome. (Check out authentictantra.com.) Thanks again for listening to another week of #RWWC and speak to you next Friday! Love, C. xo

Hello my lovers. Happy international women’s day and happy book birthday to me! This one is me rambling about storytelling and podcasting and love. You get a freebie read of chapter One and you might want to buy the book after that, who knows? I’m just grateful for all of you and love you all so much. Take this time to celebrate the womxn in your life and hug the storytellers. I’m excited for what’s to come and I talk a bit about future projects here. So if you can’t think of any other gestures, you can start with subscribing to this podcast, reviewing my book, giving me a review anywhere really... even a bad one as long as it’s honest. That’s all I ask. Much love. C, xo.

Welcome lovers to this crazy mashup crossover of Kilter&Mint vs. RWWC!  Ash Belluz came over to the couch to introduce herself and talk smack! Kilter&Mint is a podcast on snapshot storytelling, a place to hear from the movers & shakers of Vancouver and also a gentle nudge to go to yoga. Ash herself is a yoga teacher, mom, podcaster and hilarious gem of a human. Join us for this episode on our respective stories with podcasting, life and walking the path to today. (I gotta say, it felt weird and great answering questions for half the episode!) Come not your head and rant with us my lovers.  Topics: Tom Hardy, podcasting, motherhood, social justice and micro-scale activism, choosing whose voices you bring to your platform, competition vs networking, online dating, making lists, setting standards, privilege & community, motivation, touch, and strange tattoos.  Special treat: you get to hear about my raclette accident.  For more on the podcast and @the.feelosophy, go to kilterandmint.com or @kilterandmint or @ashbluz on the socials! Stay tuned for more on Common Ground coming up in YVR next month for accessible, inclusive and affordable yoga! Do also check out the Lululemon International Women's Day event @lululemonyvr. 

Hi my lovers! Meet my colleague Jaden! This aussie import was open enough to come chat with me about his relationship to his sexuality, his body image issues and his sex life (or lack thereof). We go through his early life, student years, and coming out journey together. We spend some time talking about first relationships and self-sabotage. We digress into some highly entertaining stories of first moves and awkward flirting, before diving in deep. Listen in if you too feel like your inability to love yourself is hindering your ability to find a loving partner. Listen especially if you're fully aware of it and just haven't gotten to the point where you can help yourself.  Topics: high school awkwardness, relationships, body image, the importance of swimming lessons, university/college self-reinvention, rejecting physical touch, frustration, self-awareness of being one's own worst enemy, depression, escaping home vs escaping problems, virginity as a myth, spontaneity and more!  I am so grateful for open souls. Thank you Jaden for this refreshing dose of vulnerability and honest storytelling. Sorry for not being more helpful! Lovers, come get your dose of self-deprecating humor and cackles.  Thanks again for listening and speak to you next week. Please consider supporting this podcast financially at the appropriate button somewhere on this page, or reviewing and rating this podcast on your favorite platform. I love you mucho. x ps: seriously tho, DM me if you're down to entertain Jaden and I with your dating profiles ;) 

Well lovers... This episode comes to you three days late, because life happens. I had planned to come out with a special Valentine's day episode about Love, with Mark, to talk about progress, learning and relationships. I wanted to be joyful, talk about us and celebrate the successes of this ever-changing relationship we are building. Instead, we had a bad weekend of arguments and anxiety. Here is our unedited, unchecked, vulnerable couch therapy session about mental health and our version of non-monogamy. Please do feel free to skip this one.  I love you all. May you all be kind to yourselves and take life one step at a time.  Yours, as always. C. x

Welcome my lovers. Let us delve into the wild woman archetype today. Meet Fiona. She is a women's empowerment educator and feminine embodiment facilitator. We go back to her worldly upbringing, boarding school stint and decade of confusion spent climbing the corporate ladder. We then dive into the interesting bit, the breakdown bit, the "fuck this shit" bit. Stick around for this fascinating saunter around femininity and sexuality. I really loved getting to know Fiona and I hope you will too!  Thank you for one of the few things that you do right, @instagram.  Topics: online connections, Brexit, life changing moments, fucking the system, travel, the digital nomad life, yoga, sex, periods, shame, shadow-banning, witches, wilderness, communities of self-identified women, movement, power, patriarchy, unlearning, trust, rules, healing, (as always storytelling), individualism vs. community, presence and so much more!  For coaching and more on the Wild Feminine Way, go to fionamccoss.com or @fionamccoss on IG! If you're in Seattle, WA, this Sunday Feb 9, check out the "We Sensual Womxn" event at the Mind Body Sanctuary!  Resources: Wild by Cheryl Strayed, The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman, Women who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estés.

Welcome my lovers! Meet Shane! He's our human of the week, and also Sally's partner from episode 65! In this episode, Shane walks me through his British childhood and career in social & youth work. We get to today: a point in his life where he gets to wake up and think "What now?" A point of reinvention, unlearning and re-writing of the story. Join us for this genuine and special episode with the kindest man.  Topics: family values, Saint Albans Tourism, setting personal deadlines, getting laid off, Neuro-Linguistic Programming courses, silence, Love, vulnerability & masculinity, storytelling, community, being unprepared, fatherhood, identity building, having supportive partners, motivation, self-confidence and inadequacy, barriers to success, and SO MUCH MORE.  Stay tuned for more on Shane's upcoming projects @sd_sandiford on the socials! And of course, do go to mannersldn.com and support badass womxn entrepreneurs!  (Resource: KickOff@3 kickoffat3.co.uk ) Thanks for listening and speak to you all next week! Much love, C. xox

Hello there! Meet Sarah Trivett, our somatic trauma therapist of the day. As is tradition, we retrace her steps from childhood to today. We spend some time talking about how insidious trauma is and how the realisation of its existence is a huge step. This episode is all about how the personal intertwines with the practice. Sarah tells me about her focal shift from addictions' treatment (with mostly men) to somatic sexuality work focused on vulva-owners. Follow us down this path of paradigm shifts and Aha moments. Listen in on her journey from "blah" sex to what she calls altered-state orgasms!  Topics: Vancouver DTES, grief, parents, healing, trauma, counseling school, feminist narrative therapy, imposter syndrome, sexual healing, tantra, personal development, discovering pleasure, spirituality, jade eggs, conscious body exercises, inner child work, group sexual energy and so much more!  For one-on-one Holistic Sexuality Coaching and Trauma Resolutions with Sarah, go to sarahtrivett.com. You can also check out the Jade Magic Series at The Dharma Temple in Vancouver, starting Saturday Feb 15th! Resources:  Pussy: A reclamation by Regena Thomashauer, ProChoices Community Therapy Clinic prochoices.ca, Layla Martin laylamartin.com.  Thanks again for listening! Speak to you next week. And as always, please do follow, subscribe and review the podcast to help others find us! 

Happy new year!!! Welcome back my lovers! What a treat we have prepared for you today! Meet Claire, our superstar comedian, dancer, actress and producer. She came over to the couch to talk about The Dirty Betty Show, Feminism, and small towns! Naturally, we kick off the episode by discussing strip clubs. We then do our usual "who are you" dance, from childhood in a small town to producing a provocative show to shake up said small towns. Join us for this candid and giggly episode about personal achievements and definitions of success.  New fave quote of the pod: "When you love something so much, you can squeeze it too tight and just break it." Claire's advice: start with something you don't love quite that much.   She tells me about her funny, filthy, feminist femme-led comedy shows, and the challenges she faces touring across Canada.  Topics: Luminesque, theatre, depression, bombing auditions, comedy, making your own big break, fuckboys, drag performances, handling negative reviews, creating something that isn't meant for everyone, TW: rape mention & lack of consent, learning, the smart use of half-measures, producing & casting a show, acting, extroverts vs. introverts, stage vs. screen, community building and storytelling, fostering JOY and so much more.  Thanks Paula for the connection! For more on Claire, go to @clairemariepollock and @thedirtybettyshow on IG! I also encourage you to go see a show! You can find out more about the detes and dates at thedirtybettyshow.com. 

Welcome to the last episode of 2019!!! Thanks so much for sticking around for this very special episode with an indescribable human! (Let me attempt this anyway..)  Meet jaye simpson, an Oji-Cree Saulteaux Non-Binary Two Spirit Queer Trans Woman (Sapotaweyak Cree Nation) poet, artist, performer and activist. They came over to the couch to tell me all the things. We go back to their 16 years in foster care, their art, advocacy and social justice work. In this episode, they tell me about their trials and tribulations, but also about stepping into their power and what the keys to their successes are.   Topics: spotted owls, small town cruelty, queerness, slam poetry, erasure, violence, baby queers, call out vs cancel culture, privilege, indigeneity, social capital, colonialism, the tragic story of Tina Fontaine, the problem with the [white and capitalist] justice system, politics, land acknowledgments, the limitations of "awareness", gender identity, social work failures, coming out, bullying, sex, writing about sex, dating standards, power, and SO MUCH MORE, LIKE A FUCKING LOT.  Bottom line: be unapologetic and consensual.  Mentions: Maggie from @graceclubyvr, Billy-Ray Belcourt @nakinisowin, Kai Cheng Thom kaichengthom.com, Gwen Benaway @gwenbenaway, Arielle Twist @ArielleTwist, Sonya Renee Taylor  thebodyisnotanapology.com, and probably a few more.  For more, go to @jaye_simpson or look up HUSTLING VERSE (Arsenal Pulp) or go to Grain Vol 46, No. 5 for their writing!  Thanks so much my beautiful souls for feeling all these feelings with us. Thank you for being part of this journey, for broadening your conversations, for laughing, crying and raging with us. I wish you rest, constructive energy and purpose in these reflective days. See you in the roaring twenties for more unabashed, unfiltered, uncomfortable topics with new and familiar souls.  All my love belongs to you. C. xo

Rage.         How does it feel? Where do you feel it? Welcome to this week's awe inspiring episode with Ji-Youn (pronounce Jiyanne) Kim. I had the pleasure of welcoming her over to the couch to talk about social injustice and feelings. We do our usual walk about her Korean roots and Vancouverite childhood. We zero in on her university days. Fun fact: if you google "UBC drop out" one of the first photos you'll find is of Ji-Youn! It's in those days that she started advocating for mental health after she went viral for dropping out following a suicide attempt. Check out the Tipping Point if you want to know more about an advocacy movement that aims to push post-secondary institutions to better support student mental health. We wander around her steps from drop out to counsellor, to arrive at her work on Processing Rage. Follow us down this rabbit hole to hear more about the tools we might have or need to work through some of this world's most burdensome emotions.   Topics: white supremacy, survivors guilt, social justice, assimilation, healing, the whiteness of the wellness industry, somatica, shame, anti-oppression, intersectional feminism, anger vs. violence, screaming, the socialization of expressing/suppressing emotions, non-closure, valuing the questions when there are no answers, attachment theory, de-colonizing socialization, labeling, self-responsibility, control issues and SO MUCH MORE.  References: Cicely Belle Blain @cicelyblainconsulting, Lutze Segu @thefeministgriote (ep28), and you'll have to listen for the others!  For more, go to @itsjiyounkim on IG or itsjiyounkim.com for her coaching and counselling services.  Thanks so much for listening my loves. I wish you some grounding moments of peace. All yours,  C. xo 

Meet Toni, our 20 year old advocate for gender inclusion and acceptance within death services for today! He is a transgender man, who identifies openly within the funeral and death care services profession. He is currently studying to become a funeral director and embalmer at the Canadian College of Funeral Services. Today, Toni candidly opens up to us about what it means to him and talks about the current system's implications for transgender and gender-nonconforming people.  Death and Funeral services are not (yet) equipped for transgender care and it will take people like Toni to make it happen! Please do join us for this fascinating episode on a topic I had never thought about before (privilege!). Thank you so much Toni for taking my hand and leading us down the rabbit hole.  Topics: death, coming out as trans, grief, the three main options you get once you're dead: embalming, cremation and no embalming, representation, trans rights within death services, mental health, death doulas, abuse, funeral rites and remembering, suicide, science and binaries, empathy, LGBTQI+ rights and services, and so much MORE!  Bit of wisdom for today: "Accepting your own death is a really good way to learn to live."  References: Coroner Talk podcast, The college he goes to: ccfs.ca, Canadian network for the prevention of elder abuse: cnpea.ca,  Thank you so much Debbie for the intro! Sorry I got to tell the world about him first! (Everyone check out the Uncomfortable podcast!) And obviously, go support Toni @transdeathcare on IG and Twitter!  Much much love and tenderness to you all. Yours as always,  C. xo

Welcome to the much-anticipated follow-up episode to Joanne and Julia's Expressions of Self series on life after trauma. The women held three consecutive storytelling events, each one month apart, on the topics of Survival, Resilience, and Healing after trauma. They came over to my couch to discuss how it went, what they learned and what surprised them. Their aim was to gear the conversation towards the HOW, and not the who, what,  and why's of survival. Listen to this hilarious and empowering episode, led by your fave trio!   For an intro to the girls, refer to episodes: 31 with Joanne, 39 with Julia, and 58!  Topics: trauma, forgiveness, storytelling, thinking out loud with others, somatic exercises, resilience as a constant, healing as a non-linear concept, learning and connection from personal experiences, counseling, the pitfalls of certain post-traumatic services, imposter syndrome as a survivor, setting and expressing boundaries, battling negative self-talk, knowledge building, empathy, setting standards on treating each other with dignity and respect - and not doing it alone!!  The common thread of these conversations was simple, and worth repeating: we need to practice showing the forgiveness and kindness that we show others, to ourselves.   For more on Expressions of Self, go to expressionsofself.com or on Facebook. For more on So I Had An Abortion, go to the website, IG @soihadanabortion and twitter @soihadanabort.  TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. Tell me what you wanna hear my lovers. I'm happy to keep using this podcast as my personal platform for free education, but I'm happy to shift my attention to any potential blind spots! ;)  I love you all. Thanks for coming to play.  C. xox 

Hello my lovers! Meet Megan. She is a self-healing guide, who focuses on intuitive healing, readings and Reiki. Follow us down the rabbit hole that is her life, to uncover how a high-school "failure" became an entrepreneur and now helps people get that extra spark that makes life feel real. Listen to this peaceful and re-generating, yet real-talk AF, episode on how to recenter yourself and turn toward the right direction at the very least. I’m starting to find the energy of this podcast a little cocky. Like: ok Universe, I see what you’re doing by putting these particular people on my path!  It’s getting quite weird.  Have you ever felt like "is this it?" There's gotta be more to life than this? I got good news: you’re just a click away from Megan's truths. I seriously can’t believe I’m here talking (typing) about energy. Gotta hear it to believe it.  Topics: hiring a life coach, therapy, positive psychology, spirituality, psychic abilities, identifying vs feeling feelings, taking time for introspection, embracing darkness (again a pattern it seems), entrepreneurship, self love, group energy, new people's energy in non-monogamous relationships, echoes and resonance, keeping people human and empathetic, sexual drive and energy preservation, balance in the lack of balance, binaries, love of all kinds and sources, and SO MUCH MORE.  Mentions: Mark Groves @createthelove and Esther Perel @estherperelofficial. For more,  go to meganjanesoutar.com or @meganjanesoutar on IG and FB. There's still time to look into Monday's Soul Purpose workshop at meganjanesoutar.com/purpose. Stay tuned for Megan's upcoming spin class too!  Thanks again for listening my gentle lovers. I miss hearing from you. I know you’re still listening in droves (thanks!!) but I miss your input. GET.AT.ME. Your little C. x

Welcome to 73! Meet Lindsay, this week's sex educator! We talk about going from wanting and training to be a lawyer, to becoming a staunch advocate for comprehensive and inclusive sex education for all! We discuss everything: her immigrant Lebanese education, her life in DC as an ACLU intern, turning into an elementary school teacher and even coming out as pan!  Topics: political science degrees, LGBTQI+ issues, pansexuality, the Trump election, consent, sex ed curriculum writing, what healthy relationships look like, technology and access to knowledge, generational shifts, our responsibility in creating functional humans through education, the social and economic implications of family planning, perpetuating social injustice and economic inequality, art vs nudity, censorship, nipples, rejection, and ALL the things.  For more on Lindsay, go to sexedandthecity.co or on Instagram @lifeoflindsaym!  Thanks again for listening! These conversations give me life!!! Hope you enjoyed it and please do share any input you might have to help us improve!  With love,  C. xox 

Welcome my dear lovers and beloved strangers. 72 is about ART and FEMINISM! Oh and of course, sex.  Nikki Peck is an artist, whom you most likely know from her Instagram page @bonercandy69 where you can find all sorts of glorious depictions of women in their realest sexual moments. In her work (and her own perfect words), Nikki illustrates the power and importance of female sexuality as a form of identity, liberation, and freedom from male hegemony. Listen in if you've ever had contradicting thoughts about your place in the world and your existence as a functioning human. None of this makes sense, and that's part of the art of living.  Topics: bisexuality, art & meaning, patriarchy, mental health, self-love, shame fests, subversion of the male gaze,  cognitive dissonance,  fourth wave feminism, porn & censorship, internalized misogyny, dry spells!, critical feedback, inclusivity & messaging, perseverance, nudity AND SO MUCH MORE CRAZINESS. Join us in the rebellion.  For more on Nikki and her work, go to nikkipeck.com or on Instagram @bonercandy69! I hope you enjoyed our chats and do let us know if you want to recommend any female* (read self-identified femmes and non-binary people included) role models that have inspired you along your journey!  Thanks for the listen and à la semaine prochaine mes amis!  Yours,  C. xoxo

Fuck YES! In this episode, Kimbree from Vibin' tells us all about her upcoming sex-toy subscription business centred around fat femmes of colour and their self-pleasure. In her search for representation within the sex-toy industry , she found little but frustration and turned that energy into entrepreneurship! The site goes live in about a week so YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!  We discover her childhood in upstate New York, within a mixed race family of Trump supporters to her coming of age in university. Yes, you read that right. We talk about unlearning, privilege, feminism and fatphobia, within the first 5 minutes. So saddle up, and hop on yet another rabbit-hole-filled ride.  Topics:  masturbation, racism, elitism, entrepreneurship, fat bodies and self-love, pleasure, sextoys, representation, self-love, cancel culture, being considered "illegitimately political", accountability & empathy, success & capitalism, inequality and SO MUCH MORE!  For more on Kimbree and her business, go to biggirlvibes.com, or to @biggirlvibes on Instagram!  Thanks again for listening my loves. Speak to you on the next one!  C, xxx.

Well my lovers, welcome to another intimate one. Sam is one of my all time favourite girl crushes IRL. We met on Tinder, and the rest, well, ... is now public. During this episode, you will hear us discussing our versions of non-monogamy, from the perspectives of bisexual women in committed, open relationships with male primary partners. We talk about Sam's path to today, her relationships, her breakthroughs and tribulations. It's quite a ride, so join us! Fave quote: "No one person will ever encompass everything that you want in a partner, so I guess you'll just have to... be a hoe."  Topics: straight-passing monogamous-passing privilege, realizing your sexuality, the toxic aspects of jealousy in monogamy, communication, sex, creating rules and setting boundaries, dessert analogies for ambivalent sexual experiences (specifically when swinging!), dating, assumed monogamy, coming out, anxieties, happiness, libido drops & self-esteem, AND SO MANY GIGGLES!  I hope this answers some of your burning questions about non-monogamy, love, life and people who do things weirdly. Now go and have some fun on your extra-curricular activities.  All my love,  C. xox

WELCOME TO EPISODE 69!!! Woot woot, wink wink. I can't think of a better person to feature than Javay da BAE! She's the millennial sexpert you need. If you haven't already come across her insta feed or her youtube channel, this is the perfect introduction to this badass.   Today we get to know Javay's impulsive decisions that led to her incredible journey to her Master's in Sexuality Studies at Widener.  She hopes to become a sex therapist with a focus on supporting sex workers and of course I had to have her on the pod!  Topics: legitimacy as a black woman, moving across the country to make your goals happen, the entertainment industry, working out financials for grad school, LGBTQ sex education, creating inclusive and comprehensive sex therapy!!!, rage, sex work, the importance of visibility and support, sexualization of BIPOC, working within your own expectations and being gentle with oneself, rage & social justice, climate change and soooo much more. Do check out her Facebook Page, Instagrams @javaydabae and @millennialsexpert and Twitter @JavaydaBAE. She ended up uploading a new post on Youtube about Sex vs. Gender!! See it here: buff.ly/2Imb33o If you feel so inspired to help this gal get through grad school to spread the gospel on sex education, drop her some cash!!! Her Cash App is $JavaydaBAE and her Venmo @JavaydaBAE .   Thanks again for listening and I hope you learned something!  USE YOUR VOICE! (Ps: Get Emily Nagoski's COME AS YOU ARE.)  Lots of love.  C, xox.

Hello lovers! Meet Maureen, founder and CEO of The Waterslyde, and new co-owner of Lovability Inc! Inventor and intimacy coach, mother, business woman and all-around POWERHOUSE, Maureen walks me through the creation of life as she knows it. From her sporadic and dispersed childhood, getting married and giving life, to now being "the Jewish mom, sex toy inventor!"  We talk down the funnest rabbit roles surrounding judaism and self-pleasuring, as well as unlikely sources of feminism and going from secular thought to "becoming religious".  Topics: "the ten year nap", accidental inventions at the gyno, Jewish Marital Laws, "self-hating" your own religion, fear, modern rabbis, #womensupportingwomen, managing the "Jewish mom" stereotype and the sex industry work, intimacy coaching, representation, uncomfortable conversations,  "Niddah" and "Shomer Negiah", pornography, finding common ground and SO MUCH MORE. For more go to waterslyde.com or lovabilityinc.com! Maureen is also super generous and will offer you 15% off products from BOTH COMPANIES (excluding bundle packs and apparel) when you use our special code WILD 15, before 10/31/2019. Thanks again for listening my lovers and catch you on the next one! C. xoxo PS: Please do send any topic or guest requests straight to my DM's on Twitter or Instagram @christinewild_ or on our Facebook page. 

Ooof.. What to say! This one is so very near and dear to me. Bryan is my work husband. We have spent on average 14h/day together for most of 2019 and over the course of it, we have gotten to know each other quite well. It quickly became clear to me that he had a story to tell and so this day was a long time coming.  In this witty and vulnerable episode, we uncover what it's like to be in an emotionally, and at times physically, abusive relationship in a small town, from a male perspective (in a heterosexual relationship.) His story, though not often covered, is indicative of the pervasive and stigmatized narrative of mental and emotional abuse within toxic masculinity.  In this episode, we retrace the twists and turns of Bryan's life from his small town in Nova Scotia, to the self-discovery of his own potential and break from toxic patterns.  TW: emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Topics covered: mental health, codependence, telling mom about oral sex, dating in a small town, substance abuse, sexual bucket lists, moderation, emotional baggage, self-doubt, family patterns, anger, talking about feelings(!!!), self-worth, the irrational fear of travelling, the film industry life and many, many hilarious stories. I hope you enjoyed this refreshing dose of friendship and sharing. I hope it inspires you to spend some time with a friend and open up. Maybe it even sparks the guts to leave the person you're with, or stops you from consistently talking yourself down, or shuts the voices in your head up for a second. I wish that for you.  Take a minute and breathe. There's a whole wide world and a whole new life on the other side, and it's all one small step at a time. I believe in ya.  As always,  you have my heart.  C. xoxo

It's been over a year since we checked in with "A Dirty Word" author Steph Auteri! She's back to tell us all about postpartum from publishing your first book and parenting as a sex writer.  You may remember her from Episode 21, the sex writer who was bad at sex? If you didn't listen, I highly recommend you go back and do it! For this episode we dive into: exhaustion, achieving life goals "and then what?", creative pressure, diversifying your creativity, going to a writer's residency, being a hot mess, her new project for resources on sex education, parenting sex positively, peer-based education, her historical project on social hygiene, the moral ties and fear-based approach to sex education, mom tricks to hide your tears, gender conversations with her 5yo, world problems and adversariality, and SO MUCH FUCKING MORE. "Just so many more things to be afraid of on behalf of my daughter, that's what motherhood is," according to Steph.  For info on Steph, go to stephauteri.com and make sure to check out her writing section and/or buy her book. Stay tuned for her sticker & book giveaway! If anyone feels like they want to/ know how to help her with her resources project regarding sex ed, get in touch!!  Thanks so much for listening!!! I love you!  C. xox Other resources discussed:  Books: "Handbook for a post-roe America", by Robin Marty and "Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle" by Amelia and Emily Nagoski.  Articles: "When They Start Asking Questions", by Steph Auteri in Creative Nonfiction, Issue #71, Let's Talk About Sex, Summer 2019. Aforementioned clip: The Daily Show, "Guns are gay now"  by Jakoubie Young-White - look it up on FB or Insta or wherever. You're welcome. Ps: You can buy my book also. I love you long time. 

60-EFFING-5! With my gal Sally from Mannerswear!  I met Sally at her stall in Spitalfields Market, where she sells awesome bodycon clothing. She serendipitously asked ME to hang out a while as her stalker ex-boyfriend was lurking around and she didn't know what to do. After much giggling, I naturally bought a dress from the loud, exuberant and so very loveable gal.  What follows is an unlikely instagram friendship, and my introduction to her phenomenal (feminist AF) world.  This episode is nuts, as are the two of us. Tune in for the hilarious and empowering story of Sally's life and business. We retrace her globetrotting steps through bad relationships and impulse decisions, to find ourselves in an ever shifting space that continues to improve as we learn. (I'm serious; her story is RIDICULOUSLY hilarious and entertaining. Listen in!)  Topics: bad relationships, perseverance, parenting a boy, FUCK BRAS, body image (always!), going on Dragon's Den, feeling invincible, catcalling vs banter, women supporting women,  UNDERBOOB SWEAT!, the current paradigm shift, trying things and not being afraid, expecting the complicated and making things hard!  For more on Mannerswear,  I URGE YOU to go to mannersldn.com or @mannerswear on the socials! And seriously, GET YOURSELF SOME MANNERS for your bodayyyy.

Hello beautiful souls!  Welcome back! Today, Jess DeVries brings us a FASCINATING life story! She grew up Evangelical Christian during the crux of the purity movement and is now a somatic sex & intimacy coach. Yes, so many questions, I know.  We retrace the steps through her childhood and "loss of virginity", to finding a purpose via arts degrees and people services jobs.  Topics: shame, guilt, healing, sexuality & "sacred whores", dating people who end up affecting the trajectory, expectations vs reality, what is somatica, listening to your body, christianity, consent & self-doubt, naming and treating "purity culture" as trauma, white supremacy, learning and allyship, for starters!  This peaceful and calm episode lets you take a breather and follow along a path that may have looked chaotic but makes a lot more sense when you take the time to breathe and reflect. I think we all need a bit of Jess vibes this beautiful Friday.  For more on Jess go to her website belovedcoaching.net, or find her on Facebook or Insta @belovedcoaching. (Thanks to Casey at the Pleasure Parlor for the awesome connections!) 

Welcome my lovers! Meet Ayla Grace. To start this episode, we backtrack on Ayla's journey. After childhood bullying and othering, she started stripping and sex work after graduating high school. Seven years ago, her journey of self-love really began as she decided to get sober. Her life is an incredible ride and she takes us along for the story, to help us understand how she turned her experiences into this phenomenal life force.  With the help of yoga, and a 12-step program, her healing process started with unpacking why this feeling of "not being good enough" poisoned some of her life choices. We walk down some of her life path to understand why her approach to relationship coaching starts with the relationship you have with yourself. With a core focus on how they feel internally, Ayla now helps femmes improves their relationships with others in the broadest of senses.  Trigger Warning: Rape and Sexual Abuse (7') Topics: addiction, hyper-sexualization, the music industry, accountability, learning, luck & relativism,  sexism & misogyny, launching your coaching business, notions of success, money!, singledom, what showing up for yourself looks like, self-confidence and cyclical emotions, and motivation, FOR STARTERS! Click play for the vastness of this playing field! For more on Ayla, go to linktr.ee/iamaylagrace and @iamaylagrace on Instagram!  Thanks for listening as always. I love you.  C. xox

Good Girls Don't Talk About Sex? Yes, they do! And we are here to prove it!  Leah Carey is a sexual communication coach. She is also the host of the Good Girls Talk about Sex podcast.  In this episode, we discuss what turns in life led her from growing up in her “little girl body” and all that entails, to taking a “journey of sexual freedom” at 42 and changing her entire life around!  Content trigger warning: emotional and physical abuse (~2m57s-5m)  Topics: women’s upbringing as care providers vs. asking for what you want, emotional abuse and self esteem, resilience and healing, healthy sexploration and pleasure, the power of internet friends, storytelling and judgment-free “TMI” conversations, privacy and so much more!!!  Please do listen to this surprising story that had me laughing and gasping! Leah is a total firecracker and if you’re like me, you’ll leave this episode inspired and energized.  For more go to www.leahcarey.com or listen to the podcast on all your favorite apps! You can also reach Leah @goodgirlstalk on Insta, Twitter and FB!  Thank you so much for listening my darlings.  Take care of your sweet selves.   With love,   C. xoxo

On episode 61 my lovers, I have the immense pleasure of introducing you to my Markus. In this intimate, yet RWWC-style conversation, Mark & I delve into open, ethically non-monogamous relationships (including ours).  I get to question him about his relationship history and the factors and tools that led him to require non-monogamy from future potential partnerships. We therefore delve into different definitions of intimacy, personal space & commitment, modern dating and feelings. We retrace how the conversations which started our friendship were the building blocks to our compatibility & the rules of our open relationship.  You'll have to forgive some personal questions that were entirely self-motivated, but hey! They led to very interesting insights into what communication within a couple of opposites looks like. Between the OCD A-type that I am, and the romantic ADHD man that he is, we differ cerebrally, historically and emotionally.  We cover the difficulties of dating inside the film industry, the importance of boundaries, definitions of masculinity, definitions of "meaningless" sex, and how we understand the world entirely differently. What's it like to be either of us on #tinder? What's it like to exist socially as entirely opposite entities?  Please do come in and listen. We would love to know your thoughts and/or questions?  As always, thank you for listening my lovers. (You are my lovers, 'cause I love you. *feelings*) Get yourself some pleasure this weekend.  Yours,  C.  xoxo

Hello lovers!  Welcome to this wonderful chat with Debbie Roche from Uncomfortable - The Podcast. Debbie and I share how and why we decided to get into this business of attempting to comfortably talk about uncomfortable topics with strangers, AND TO RECORD IT!  She walks me through how she got out of Scotland and into this weird time consuming hobby that we share.  This chat contains: millennial career dread, weird bodily fluid confessions, leadership conventions, entrepreneurship & loneliness, podcasting, self-worth & money, LISTENING (!), setting boundaries and so much more! I HIGHLY recommend this giggly heart to heart between two people asking others to bare their hearts and what we've learned from our guests.  Debbie's adorable Scottish accent also is just pleasant to listen to if you needed another reason to click.  For more, go to uncomfortable.blog for the podcast (I was on episode 9 about #sexparties) or debtalkstv.com for the original vlog. Please, PLEASE, please do reach out if you have any input as to: uncomfortable topics you want to talk about, uncomfortable topics you want to hear about, questions you may have, friends who might want to come talk and all that jazz. On Twitter @uncomfy_podcast, on Insta @uncomfortable.blog and @christinewild_ for me everywhere!  As always, enjoy your Friday.  With Love,  Your little C. Ps: HOLY CRAP 60! Thank you so much for sticking around!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

As promised on Instagram, here it is: 40 glorious minutes of uncensored verbal diarrhea by your darling dearest. I fucked up, and didn't get around to scheduling a recording this busy week. So I asked you on my very official insta-story-poll, if I should skip it or ramble, and you answered. There's a bit of everything in here. To be honest, I just finished recording it and I will not be listening to it again.  Content warnings: current relationship stress, my mother issues, moving day, why it's important to talk, OCD, why I'm happy you exist, why I can't sentence a string together... All that and more in this nonsensical and uncomfortable exercise you put me through. You're welcome.  There may be some good stuff in there, but that's up to you to figure out.  I love you lots. Thank you.  With love,  Your little C. 

Welcome to Episode 58! Joanne and Julia join forces for this year's Expressions of Self events here in Vancouver, BC! They will be holding three events to build community around the following intersecting themes: survival, resilience, and healing. Therefore, it was only normal to gather and take a deep dive. The ladies and I go in and out of serious tones, discussing trauma, the importance of storytelling and the vital energy gained from community. We attempt to answer some of our most daunted "What Now?" questions and keep pointing towards ways to improve our common existence. Words matter. Your story matters. It is not your fault.  Join us for this introduction to these beautiful brains that I cherish and find out what to expect or how you might want to address these topics within your community. Let us know your thoughts!!! (My Insta and Twitter handles are @christinewild_ and I want to hear from you!)  Feel free to check out episodes 31 and 39 for their previous appearances on the podcast.  About the events: All will be informed by restorative approaches to justice and wellbeing, and aim to unify those attending in our collective experiences of each theme, in powerful reclamations of identity. These events promise to create spaces for love for and from ourselves as well as for each other. We are all surviving something. In the case of sexual violence, we want to hold space for nuance and recognition of the intersections between (and throughout!) it and gender, race, sexuality, ability, neurotypicality, and so on. The community we aim to create lives in our lived experiences.  We will have trained counsellors and people with trauma-informed disclosure training in the space at every event.  For more, go to expressionsofself.com or the Expressions of Self Facebook page.  With love,  C. xoxo

Welcome back my lovers!!!! Let's kick off SEASON 2! Episode 56 stars my newest friend Jen Doan!  Jen is a sexuality empowerment coach based in Vancouver, BC. She came over to my actual living room to tell me her story and talk about SEX. We may or may not have been flirting with each other so, sorry about the giggles. That's what happens sometimes when two powerful women find themselves on a comfy couch and a similar wavelength. ;) Her obsession with sex begins in her teenage years in the privacy of her studies, and progresses supporting our dear Jordan Gray in the infancy of his business. Shen then walks me through the winding road she took from being a successful marketing entrepreneur to hanging it up to pursue her passion. We talk about the benefits of hiring a life coach, about the pressures of success and financial gain, and about how hard it can be to make a change when your life seems to be peaking already.  More topics covered: archetypes & "self-help", breakups that kick your life into gear (always and forever a thing), masturbation, getting to know yourself, libido & sex as a toxic tool, harnessing your sexual energy in everyday life, being conscious of your internalized "isms" and "ginys", body image and some more nonsense. Do click and dive into the depths of it with us.  For more on Jen & her SlutSchool (and the free orgasm tutorial), go to www.jenniferdoanconsulting.com or listen to the The Inner Badass Podcast on your favorite Podcast apps. Much, much love to you my darlings. Thanks for your patience and your loyalty. You are the bestest. Do pitch in with your opinions on Instagram or Twitter!  Your little C.

Welcome to the last episode of Season One of #RWWC!  This episode has been a long time coming and I am so glad we managed to make it happen.  Alix, my darling friend, is a ridiculously talented actor, voice-over artist, feminist, activist and recently, director! Her and I met at Cannes in serendipitous circumstances, and bonded over our fierceness. (Thanks Adam Lannon for bringing us all together.)  Her short-film She Lies Sleeping is currently in competition in Sci-Fi London’s 48h Short Film Challenge. Alix will also soon star as Mary Shelley in A Nightmare Wakes. Check out her IMDB here or @AlixWiltonRegan on Insta and Twitter.  In this vulnerable and emotionally-charged episode, we discuss: feeling like you never do enough, politics & the state of our society (based largely on a Western European critique), fake news vs. definitions of objective fact, privilege and unlearning, the necessity of all of us being “IN PROGRESS”, body image and the ultra-skinny industry requirements, gender diversity and imposter syndrome, and SO MUCH MORE.  This is for you. You, who has ever been told to “Shut up, (woman)” and haven’t let it stop you from speaking your truth.  I CANNOT SAY THIS ENOUGH: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. This has been an incredible year of learning, evolving, growing and unlearning. I love you and I can’t wait to bring better, stronger, deeper conversations to your ears in just a short couple of months.  From my grateful and loving heart,  your little C.  Xoxo BONUS: Angèle, Balance ton quoi, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi7Rx3En7-k

Let's talk about Sex baby! Welcome the lovely Jay to the famjam. She's a sex and empowerment coach based out of Vancouver, BC, Canada. She was introduced to me by a friend via her instagram page @femmeforth. I was thrilled to have her on for one of the last episodes of Season 1 of #RWWC! As per tradition, we start at the origin story. How does a 24 year old get to run workshops aimed at exploring and improving femme sexuality?  Today, the episode covers: somatic therapy, the information gaps within sex literature, sex as a common denominator for humankind (whether you have lots or none of it), internalized objectification, Nicki Minaj's influence on the orgasm gap, sexual boundaries: stating them and respecting them, the four components of sexuality: sensuality, intimacy and relationships, gender/sexual identity & sexual health, communication and non-monogamy, AND SO MUCH MORE!  For more about the workshops, Jay herself, or her writing, go to www.jaylenecoaching.com. (Sorry about my nosey voice. I was fighting a hard-core cold... The show must go on!) Thanks so much for following the podcast. You are the best. Tell your friends, neighbours, parents and lovers about it! Let's talk about this shit peoples!  I love you.  Stay tuned for 55! xx

Welcome back Amy! It's been A YEAR!!!!!! HOLY SHIT! One year since the first three episodes aired! Holy crap. I can't even explain how much it means to me that you guys stuck around, brought your friends along, and made this community what it is today!  It was therefore only natural to bring Amy back for this personal episode of more BITCHING and running wild!  Topics we bitched about:  conflicting needs: Security vs. Freedom, changes, the unexciting reality of everyday life, silver linings, adapting to living with your significant other, the fear of losing oneself within a couple, FEARS in general, social pressure, monogamy vs not, choosing to have kids or not, what makes you truly you, and much more.  This one is full of rabbit holes and we go on rants and catch up, but hey this is where this podcast came from! Therefore join us for this conversation that goes all over the place! Bottom line: it's ok not to know what you want, yet. It's ok to get what you wanted, and realize it comes with a whole new set of issues and fears.  Long live the wild ones.  With love,  C.  Show notes:  The French podcast is "Vieille Branche" with Catherine Robbe-Grillet. You can find the episode here.  If you still haven't, check out justbadtiming.com for more about Amy, me and the adventures. 

After Tyler Harris' male perspective, we welcome camgirl Ashley Taylor to the RWWC family! Thank you Kelly Tatham, for the universe-driven introduction!  Ashley and I sit down for this deep and vulnerable chat about the nature of beast. Ashley now cams under her own name. Her profiles do not separate between her acting, directing and camming activities. Her openness is astonishing, and I am so thankful for her wanting to share her story with me. We start talking about her Virginia upbringing, her LA adventures, and how getting dumped was the catalyst to her current and fulfilling life! (We have that in common!)  Topics covered: early twenties love stories, her ex's gender transition, breakups and their uglier sides (strong emotions displayed), going from a financial hole to financing her award-winning indie film, the unexpected life force & creative aspects of camming, butt plugs (!), public image & censorship, fear, boundaries & personal safety, and so much more!  Join us for this crazy ride down some pretty surprising rabbit holes with Ashley! You can contact us and send us comments or questions on Twitter  @ashleytaylortv_ and @christinewild_  For more about the film, go to dressedasgirlmovie.com . For the curious ones, I point you to her MFC Profile: https://profiles.myfreecams.com/AshleyTaylor_ As always, PLEASE do subscribe, like, follow, applaud this episode and the podcast in general! If you have extra pennies, click to support this podcast! With love, C. 

Meet Maggie Anderson from the anti-club @GraceClubYvr. Tavia Cosper and Maggie started Grace Club as a space for feminists to come together to empower those in our communities to make positive and much needed change in the landscape of our civic, social, and economic advancement. They believe that the act of coming together in storytelling, and education, supports their mission, and creates new opportunities, ideas and conversations that will lead to greater healing, growth and prosperity for womxnkind. Today Maggie came over to my actual living room for some much needed real talk. She starts by walking me through how the Trump election and the Women's March were the wakeup call she needed to step into the activist's shoes she'd always wanted to wear. We explore the creation of Grace Club and what happens at their events. We then move on to her personal experiences as an individual with feminism and inequality. Stick around until the end, because that's where the good stuff is.  Topics & TWs: "One can only preach to the choir for so long!" intersectionality & inclusion, personal growth, grief and suicide, drug addiction, storytelling as a tool for empathy and humanization, parenting for social change, privilege awareness, fear & shame, and the benefits of community and in-person sharing, to name just a few. "The first thing you should know about me is that I'm not you. A lot more will make sense after that." Unknown. Please do check out www.graceyvr.com if you are interested in a platform that welcomes everyone, whether you are just starting to delve into feminism, or whether you want to help them dig deeper into issues of social, economic and civic inequality.  Thank you for listening to this episode. We hope it raised some thoughtful questions about how you personally can make an impact in your own community. "What is it like to move in the world as you?" As always, please follow, subscribe, support this podcast so I can keep investing in us, and our shared vulnerability as humans.  Shownotes & References:   "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction" by Gabor Maté, MD "Down to This: Squalor and Splendour in a Big-City Shantytown" by Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall "Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype" by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Meet Kelly Tatham, an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and photographer whose work explores the search for love and the quest for the true nature of reality. Kelly is also a rad lady that I met via Girl Gang! (plug plug) For today's episode, we discuss: her short film “Multiverse Dating for Beginners”,  magical realism, living home-free, hustling as a media creative,  internalized misogyny, serendipity, the struggle for love, metaphysics & conscious agence theory, vulnerability and so much more.  What's your stance on the universe? Do you spend your time thinking about the tiny little choices you make/have made that have changed the course of your existence? Join us in this exploration of meaning and communication. "Life is just performance art."  Forgive our struggles with the language because, as Kelly sarcastically puts it,  "like words aren't cages for consciousness..."  Kelly is currently in pre-production on a documentary about the search for the true nature of reality. To find out all about her work, go to her instagram page @kellytatham. Check out the aforementioned 2018 collage on Medium here.   As always, I urge you to subscribe, follow, like and applaud this podcast to support this hugely time consuming endeavour. It's so important my lovelies, to be able to get these conversations out there! Also, it's been a while since I pointed you towards my site www.justbadtiming.com! Buy my book!  With love,  C. Shownotes & References:  The Chronology of Water: A Memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch

Oh my lovelies, let me introduce you to Jordan Gray. Jordan is a full-time sex and relationship coach, Amazon best-selling author, and prolific blogger. I have been trying to get him on #RWWC for months, but it wasn't until we first met IRL at an 18-person pansexual play party that he agreed to come on. We obviously tell you more about the sex party but that's merely circumstantial.  For today, I invite you to join us for this beautifully rabbit-holly episode. Topics covered: starting his business, travelling, writing about relationships, pricing your services, the men's club he's a part of, his ideal coaching clients, the reasons why he does his work and the criticism he faces for pushing men to explore their emotions, shame alleviation and shadow work, radical honesty and SO MUCH more.  If you're curious to know what the life of a relationship coach looks like, and how one becomes an expert at removing emotional blocks and encouraging thriving intimate relationships, here's your chance!  You can find out more about Jordan, his coaching and his writing at jordangrayconsulting.com. You can also buy some of his books on Amazon!  As always, sending love and vulnerability to you my lovers. Have a wonderful weekend.  With love, C. PS: Of course, I got my tech issues on his episode, so I apologize for the light intermittent buzzing throughout the episode! (We are all humans and we do our best.)  PPS: Please do subscribe, like, follow and download this podcast. Also, buy my book. Thanks! 

On this wonderful International Women's Day and the first birthday of my book, I wanted to speak with a very special story-teller. Amanda Chatel is a sex & relationships writer for Bustle, a feminist and as of recently, a novelist.  She makes me laugh and cry on a weekly basis via her writing and sarcastic Insta stories. I'm therefore inviting you to sit with us for this beautifully hilarious episode of storytelling. Amanda walks me through her incredible personal journey. We talk exes, revenge, horse shit (literally), soulmates (lol), writing, divorce parties at the Plaza, death & ill-wishes, forgiveness, birds and so many more unbelievable things.  Hold on tight; this is quite the journey! Enjoy the laughs!  For more on Amanda, check out her writing on Bustle, her Facebook Page @lachatel, or find her on Twitter @angrychatel .  ps: Please, please, please consider buying my book, Just Bad Timing, on this beautiful day of celebrations. If you are in Vancouver, I'll be at Havana on Commercial Street drinking mojitos anytime after 5pm today.  pps: As always, like, subscribe, download, applaud, all the things to support this podcast. I love you so very much my dear listeners. And to all my inspiring, gorgeous Womxn out there, have a wonderful day and do whatever the FUCK you want.  Your little C. 

Meet Ricardo Scipio, your friendly neighborhood sex photographer. Trinidad-born, Ricardo grew up in Toronto. After attending The Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, he started his art career as a fashion photographer and then later as a fine art nude photographer. As per our usual we discuss life's weird way to take us down its rabbit hole to endeavoring to photograph "authentic people, having authentic, unapologetic, unashamed, real sex." The Sex Goddess Project is a very diverse, sex-positive and body-positive project that pushes back against slut-shaming and challenges the way sex is depicted. A very diverse group of women and transpersons of all shapes, and sizes and colours and gender-identities celebrate their sexuality, through these glorious moments of joy, connection, intensity, ecstasy, and abandon. Topics covered: growing up in a born again Christian background, career transitioning, spontaneous masturbation, how his goddesses led him from nudes to sex, fear & sex, porn as sexual education, body image and so much more. "Sex is too important to leave in the hands of pornographers." Ricardo Scipio, 2016. Check out his work at sexgoddessproject.com and if you're local, consider attending this coming Wednesday's event at the Art of Loving, 7.30-9.30pm.  Please, please, please, consider donating to, liking, subscribing to or applauding this podcast. I love watching you guys listen, but I crave some more discussion with you about your thoughts on the pod! With love,  C.

Meet Hallie Lieberman, historian and author of Buzz: The Stimulating History of the Sex Toy (Pegasus Books, 2017). Today, she walks me down her life path to discovering her passion for history, while being an illegal sex toy home party salesperson. Her book traces the history of sex toys in the US since the 1950s and we go through what it was like to research the key elements of her findings. Hallie is also gracious enough to let me in on her future work regarding the global history of male sex workers who service women.  Topics discussed: university indecisiveness & waiting tables, sex positivity, the right to sexual pleasure, the disability rights movement, sex work, gigolos, non-sexual nudity and more!  Show notes:  The documentary about Scotty Bowers: "Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood", directed by Matt Tyrnauer.  Please, please, please, consider donating to the podcast to help me get better and broader content out to your beautiful ears. Like, follow, applaud, subscribe if you like what you hear!  With love,  C. 

Meet Dr. Lori Brotto, a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of British Columbia, clinical sex researcher and psychologist, and author of "Better Sex Through Mindfulness" (Greystone Books, 2018). Today, as per our tradition, we retrace the steps she took throughout her life to get to being talked about in the New York Times and helping women improve their sexual lives. We talk about her childhood on a farm, her first experiences in a lab (watching rats have sex), the history of clinical research on sex, her pivotal transition to mindfulness as a tool for treatment, and landing a job as a psychologist in a surgical department. Lori educates me about the discrepancies between self-reported arousal and desire issues in women and the physical responses to stimuli, teaching other medical professionals about sex and health, and how mindfulness can improve sexual desire and mental health. Our human striving to feel not alone in our struggles is highlighted again by the response readers have had to Lori’s book. Pick up your own copy today. She is now also working on a digital app to bring her work to a broader, general audience. As always, you can reach us on Twitter ‪@DrLoriBrotto and @christinewild_. Please rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast for more content like this. If you’re able and willing, you can also donate to support this podcast. ‬ Show Notes: Emily Nagoski’s “Come As You Are” More on Dr Lori Brotto at www.drloribrotto.com www.amazon.com/better-sex-through-mindfulness-cultivate/dp/1771642351

Meet Andrea Loewen, Vancouver writer and theatre manager, member of Girl Gang, and newly published author of Feeling Better: a field guide to liking yourself (and maybe even loving yourself).  Today, we discuss self-loathing and depression, through the lense of Andrea's personal story. She walks me through how she even realized she was depressed in the first place, how she started working her way through the tools she researched, and what she hopes her book will accomplish.  As in most cases, we talk about imposter syndrome, mental health, relativity, gratitude practices, showing up and self-esteem!  If you're going through depression, or bouts of self-loathing, listen in, there's almost no resistance to putting on an episode and listening. And then perhaps buy her book? Let us know what you thought of this episode!  Show notes:  Rollkuchen are Mennonite Fritters!  Info on Lucia Frangione here.  Find out more about Andrea here.  Please like, follow, applaud, subscribe and perhaps DONATE to support this podcast! What would you like to hear next? 

Well... this is a topic that the universe sent me in the shape of Tyler on New Year's Eve. When he told me what he does for a living, I drunkenly insisted he must come on the podcast and slipped him my business card! To my surprise, Tyler reached out a week later, and was incredibly candid and open about his career as a sex worker online.  Listen in on our conversation about how he got into camming: from growing up in a small town in Canada and suffering from anxiety, to living in Las Vegas with pornstars and beginning to grow into himself. We discuss: the first time he logged in, the effects of isolation and digital objectification, the fetish that made him draw a line in the sand, fear & morality, rim jobs and toxic masculinity, communication & expectations during sex, and the importance of empathy when working with other humans.  I'm so grateful for all the insights and this incredibly vulnerable and real conversation. If you'd like to talk to Tyler, do no hesitate to email or DM me and I will give you his email address, no questions asked. Alternatively, you can find him on Twitter @tylerharris241.  Thank you for listening. I'm so thankful for Tyler discussing his area of sexwork with me and would love to open the floor to anyone within the industry. Please reach out, I would love to hear your story.  As always, I love you folx. Your little C. 

Meet Chelene Knight, author of Braided Skin and Dear Current Occupant, CEO of #LearnWritingEssentials and all around powerhouse, comes on the pod to discuss writing and investing in your community. While diving into the story behind her online courses for writers, we discuss the importance and cruciality of storytelling.  Rabbit Holes include: the little pushes we need from life to trust our creative talent and potential, stories by WOC, authenticity & perceived permission to speak, imposter syndrome, and knocking down isolation barriers.  To quote Chelene:  "Writing and publishing are not based solely on craft or talent, there’s a privilege involved. It’s our goal to reach and support underrepresented writers and to give space to those writers who are often muted or silenced. Inclusivity, open-mindedness, creativity, teaching through mentorship, and freedom to share stories are all values that we place at the forefront of everything we do.” To find out more and/or sign up for the upcoming Memoir writing workshop, head over to cheleneknight.com/ecourses or check her out on Twitter @PoetChelene (I'm still @christinewild_ by the way!)  THANK YOU for listening. Please do favorite, applaude, subscribe, download or SUPPORT the podcast so we can make more awesome conversations happen!

It's a warm welcome back to our dearest Anita Cassidy and Dr. Lori Beth Bisbey. Lori is a psychologist and sex and intimacy coach, and Anita is a writer and founder of Alethya.com We are back to talk about the repercussions of boundaries, new year's resolutions and expectations! It's a big one for anyone struggling with the enormous amounts of pressure we feel around this time of year to "improve ourselves" according to capitalism & patriarchy's standards.  Instead, let's focus on communication and accountability.  Anecdotes contain examples from: polyamory/non-monogamy, writing, single life, friendship, setting historical context to labels, inability to accept complexity, and living outside of boxes.  Take sweet care you wonderful souls. Do the work, without the expectations, and be aware of your intuitions when inevitably curveballs happen!  On Twitter, you can reach us at @drbisbey, @anitacassidy76 and @christinewild_ . You can find out more about Lori at drloribethbisbey.com and Anita at alethya.com. Do watch out for Lori's new weekly radio show "The A to Z of Sex" in the sexy lifestyle network part of Voiceamerica, coming this year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!  In this amazing first episode of the year, we delve into Depression and Sex! Meet JoEllen Notte. She runs redheadbedhead.com, and is a writer and sex educator, committed to challenging stigma, offering resources, and helping folks feel seen, heard, and supported.  As per usual, we go through how life put her on this path and what led her to just recently signing a publishing deal for her upcoming book: The Monster Under The Bed: Sex, Depression and the Conversations We Aren't Having! As part of the book research, JoEllen surveyed 1,100 people and interviewed close to 200 about their experiences and shares some insights with us.  Topics covered: moving across the country to soothe a broken heart, resentment as relationship cancer, "empathy, strategy or distraction", trends in the sex-positive movement, non-monogamy and lastly tools for how to deal with depression within a relationship.  We reference Elle Chase, author of Curvy Girl Sex, check her out, and Stephen Biggs @psybiggs on Twitter. We also bring up Emily Nagoski's Come As You Are, because obviously. Read it.  Thank you Steph Auteri, for introducing me to JoEllen.  Please, rate, follow, subscribe and if you wish you can now support the podcast financially to help me get better content out to you! 

WELCOME TO THE LAST EPISODE OF 2018! Julia is a new favorite powerhouse of mine! I met her at a community-based event called Expressions of Intimacy. This was the latest in a series she runs, called Expressions of Self, where each installment centers around a particular topic relating to how we define ourselves. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree at UBC's School of Population & Public Health, focusing on a qualitative study that investigates primary antenatal care provider perspectives regarding anxiety & depression during pregnancy. Most importantly for today, she is the creator "So I had an Abortion", a multimedia platform aiming to destigmatize abortion through storytelling. Julia bravely tells us her story, and goes into depth as to how sharing your experiences can be helpful with reducing anxiety and shame. We naturally digress and run into topics far and wide: imagining fertility problems, family dynamics, morality and shame, UNlearning, STD's, storytelling, reproductive justice issues and grief. (The words she was looking for around 47' are "relative privilege and competitive victimization.") You can find out more at www.soihadanabortion.squarespace.com , on Twitter and Facebook @soIhadanabort and on Insta @soihadanabortion. You can also go to www.expressionsofself.com for the 2019 events! Thank you so much for listening in on this incredible first year of rabbit holes. May we all have gained some knowledge from each other's experiences and feel more connected to our common humanity. I love you. Speak to you in January. xox

What's your first thought when I say: Body Image? Noun: the subjective picture or mental image of one's own body. This week, I had the pleasure to welcome Jen Larsen, author of Stranger Here (Seal Press, 2012) and Future Perfect (Harper Teen, 2015), for this episode about bodies! Jen and I started very much in the same way, inspired by strangers responding to our anonymous blogging, except that Oprah once said her name! In our usual fashion, we discuss how life unfolds, taking detours along the way. Her memoir discusses her experience with Weight Loss Surgery, Depression and the myth of "Skinny=Happy". We take winding turns talking about the publishing industry, aging and invisibility, awkwardly flirting with fellow women, Newfies, catcalling & contradictions, female rivalry and so much more. We discuss why saying things how they are, loudly discussing the issues that matter to us and basking in vulnerability is SO FUCKING IMPORTANT. For more, head to www.jenlarsen.net, to Twitter and Facebook @jenfoo.

This week we talk about entrepreneurship and pleasure products! Casey Murphy is a sexual health educator, entrepreneur and business coach. Casey started The Pleasure Parlor in 2017, a Portland-based business which incorporates an online retail website, expert curated subscription boxes, and a traveling educational pop-up shop. Currently her primary focus is business coaching; teaching step-by-step strategy to female entrepreneurs who desire to create impactful, profitable pleasure-based businesses. We discuss what it takes to believe in your skills, your knowledge and your worth enough to partner with the right clients and create value beyond expectations. We also discuss talking about sex publicly, educating college students, the challenges of marketing adult products and orgasms! We obviously also get into talking about pleasure itself, and how hard it can be to make room for and prioritize pleasure for ourselves. SURPRISE! Casey was generous enough to give you guys 15% off all products on www.thepleasureparlor.com using the Promo Code WILD. Give yourself some pleasure just ahead of the stressful Holiday season! You can also find out more information about ongoing and future coaching masterclasses on her website! (Sorry about some of the glitchy audio, we're a work in progress over here!)

It's a warm welcome back to our dear Anita Cassidy and a perfect introduction to Dr. Lori Beth Bisbey. Lori is a psychologist, sex and intimacy coach. Her mission is to take sex and conversations about sex from the shadows to the light. She divides her time between client work, speaking, live events, podcasting and writing. You can hear here on the A to Z of Sex ™ weekly and Sex spoken Here weekly. Today we decided to delve into the difficult arena of setting and respecting boundaries! When it comes to intimacy, parenting, time, consent and so many more circumstances, how do we navigate our need for self-care and the fickleness of shifting wants and needs? What does it mean to have to be firm and ask for what you "need", when a little voice in the back of your head second-guesses those same demands? We discuss what the hardest part about boundaries is for each of us, and then take a slippery slope down the areas of fear, trauma and intuition. Take a seat on this communal couch with us and let's share our beautiful vulnerabilities.... On Twitter, you can reach us at @drbisbey, @anitacassidy76 and @christinewild_ . You can find out more about Lori at drloribethbisbey.com and Anita at alethya.com. Do watch out for Lori's new weekly radio show "The A to Z of Sex" in the sexy lifestyle network part of Voiceamerica, coming in 2019. You can find out more about The Gift Of Fear here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56465.The_Gift_of_Fear Please do let us know if you have any comments, questions or ideas for future topics that you want to hear us discuss! Happy Friday and please show us some love!

A huge Welcome Back to Matthew Keegan, from Ep. 3! If you missed him like I did, you'll be delighted to hear us talk about Nina Power's One Dimensional Woman (2009, Zero Books). Based on Marcuse's One Dimensional Man, this short read is FULL of amazing starting points for this wild run down interesting rabbit holes. Topics covered: The Cooptation of Modern Feminism (and its contradictory definitions), Consumerism & Marxism (and its economic consequences), The Role of Cinema and many more rabbit holes! Please, please, please join us, in this TOUGH conversation and do SHARE your thoughts, however flawed or incomplete, with us.. that's how we learn. Thanks Nina, for putting all my goals into perspective and reminding me of all the structural capitalist issues of my gender identity. And thanks Zero Books for the feels! Matthew and his friend Leon Sandler are launching a podcast called "The John David Ebert Podcast", with John David Ebert. Their first episode will be about Deleuze's "Postscript on the Societies of Control." Watch out for it on the guys' twitters: @johndavidebert, @sandler_leon and @Keegan_am! Parting words from Marx himself, on why Capitalism isn't compatible with Feminism: "The bourgeois sees his wife a mere instrument of production. He hears that the instruments of production are to be exploited in common, and, naturally, can come to no other conclusion that the lot of being common to all will likewise fall to the women. He has not even a suspicion that the real point aimed at is to do away with the status of women as mere instruments of production."

Dr. Marina Adshade, professor of the Economics at the University of British Columbia, welcomed me into her home to talk about sex robots and marriage! How might the recent technological changes affect the concept of marriage and relationships more broadly? If Sex Robots can fulfill you sexually, does that take sex compatibility out of the relationship equation? Does it open the door to conversations about non-monogamy? Marina started a course on the Economics of Sex, which turned into a blog, and turned into "Dollars & Sex" the book! More recently, she published an article in Slate called "How Sex Robots Could Revolutionize Marriage—for the Better" (Aug 14, 2018). By way of this article, we cover a full range of rabbit holes including: morality, economic factors of relational compatibility, defining love, why we marry, emotional labour and self-awareness. I am so grateful for Marina's time and honesty, and I love how personal we end up getting! What do you guys think? Get at us on Twitter @christinewild_ and @MarinaAdshade Here's the Slate article: slate.com/technology/2018/08/sex-robots-could-totally-redefine-the-institution-of-marriage I highly recommend you read and watch more of Marina's work on www.marinaadshade.com Here's the link to Carrie Jenkins that Marina references regarding defining love: www.carriejenkins.net Star Trek episode reference: The Perfect Mate, Star Trek: The Next Generation episode (season 5, episode 21) Thank you for your likes, favorites, subscribes, reviews and ratings! Love you.

This is a fun one for me! José, the character from Just Bad Timing, and my OG bestie in Vancouver, runs wild with me about culture shock, life progression, perfect storms, dancing salsa and smoking weed, amongst many many other topics. If you're heartbroken, and/or overweight, and/or depressed, we got some hot tips for you. "Non-toxic judgment" and opposite approaches are the foundation to our friendship, and we'd like to know if you know what we mean! In our usual style, we start with how we met, tell tales of UBC days, and end up promoting his new Sports Podcast "Sports and More from the 604!" Be sure to check it out on insta @sportsandmore604 and listen here: anchor.fm/sportsandmorefromthe604 Also Vancouver people! Salsa Showcase November 9-10-11, aka STARTS TODAY! Bravo Dance Company, Amateur Team! Let's cheer them on! https://squareup.com/store/SHOWCASE2018 Ps: You're welcome for my slip ups on his actual name. Hahaha! See if you can spot it ;) Pps: Sorry about all the F%*$king swearing.

Oh boy. You're in for a fun, wordy, all over the place one with gorgeously talented Kristina. Musician, Actress, Poet, Kristina does it all. Listen in for a bit about her life journey, but mostly zoom in on the Words with us. We discuss a song she wrote called "Rows" as an introduction to individual artistry versus collective activism. How do we talk about what is, before leaping into what is to be done? What role does art, writing and music have to play in today's society? How do we realize our self-efficacy and freedom of choice, without taking the power of opinion for granted? Where and when do we develop emotional intelligence? Who's talking to you: your gut, your heart or your mind? Big questions... almost no answers. As per usual. Come and have a think with us. Around 20', there's a big moment of learning, where we get words wrong entirely and find our way around messing up! MISTAKES ARE PART OF LIFE. Please don't be afraid to try and have deep and tough conversations, because that's what this exploration is for, evolving together. For more about Kristina, visit www.kristinalao.com or @mykristinalao on Twitter and Instagram.

Welcome to this very vulnerable episode about life after sexual trauma. Joanne O, my dear friend, was just published in the New York Review of Books (Oct 25, 2018) in Responses to ‘Reflections from a Hashtag’. She was one of the women victimised by Gian Gomeshi back in 2013, and wanted to share her story with me. I highly recommend you read her piece and listen to this incredibly insightful story of hers. She walks me through the past four years of consistently being triggered by the media and the ways she has been coping with how trauma fundamentally changed her. Amongst other things, we discuss rape culture, being in a relationship now, what "normal" means, sex & orgasms and simply existing in today's world. Next time you click, think about whose story is worth more to you? Bottom line: it's ok to make mistakes. And this is how you apologize: 1. Admit your mistake. 2. "This is how I fucked up". 3. Sincerely apologize. 4. "How can I start attempting to make it better?" = ACCOUNTABILITY. As promised, here’s your diva cup resources: www.divacup.com You can find the original post on Jo's blog: thepersonalispolitical2.wordpress.com and reach her on Twitter @JoLynneO

Welcome to a fascinating episode! Morten Rand-Hendriksen, educator for LinkedIn Learning on Web Design and Interaction Design instructor at Emily Carr, walks me through his life journey from university politics in Oslo, to his 16 year-long "life experiment" in Vancouver. In our usual RWWC pattern, we follow life's unexpected twists and turns, while remaining conscious of how privileged certain opportunities are, to get to today's main topic: Ethics (or the lack thereof) in Design and Tech. What kind of world are we creating? What lessons from philosophy can we apply to design as a language? Why is the industry trying to come up with a whole new set of ethics? How do we take ads and money out of the equation and replace it with human betterment? We are conscious that tech is built to keep us engaged are distorting our understanding of reality, but what now? My fave quote: "Your life is actually this huge loop, where you go somewhere and you abandon it for a very long time, and it just naturally comes back, then you realise that that’s what you’ve been doing all along.” For more, go to www.mor10.com or follow Morten @mor10 on Twitter. Please subscribe, favorite, rate or review for more of this kind of awesome content. Love to all.

Alright Lovers! Let's steer away from all this seriousness in the air. Naomi Loud and I decided to take you on a little ride through our weird little brains. We talk about our personal approaches to social media and grappling with the fact that total strangers know some of the most secret parts of us. We talk about memoir writing, painting, curating your creative process, doing drugs (and not doing them) as an intro! We then focus on Astrology! Naomi introduces me to definitions of psychic, clairvoyance and weird empath things that happen. Our dear darlings, listen to yourselves! Lots of easy self-care and therapy advice in here, in a very personal way, to deal with anxiety and feelings. For more on Naomi, follow her Instas @naomi.loud or @witchywaters and don't forget to check out her youtube page https://buff.ly/2QyK2f1 and her Medium page: medium.com/@naomiloud Thanks again for listening! Please, please, please share, subscribe, favorite and all the clicks. Love you! (Sorry about my hangover voice... life happens.)

Lutze Segu, PhD student at the Social Justice Institute at UBC, is my guest for this riveting episode - the Fourth instalment on Feminism. She's been a social justice organizer and social worker for over 6 years, and took the time to speak to me about all things critical race theory, intersectionality, #metoo, patriarchy and consent! I want to thank her for taking the time and emotional labour to teach me about my privilege (time and time again), radical inclusion, #blacklivesmatter and social justice. Bottom line: Empathy is good - but we got work to do. Check out Lutze's Twitter @FeministGriote References: Kimberlé Crenshaw, American civil rights advocate and a leading scholar of critical race theory: @sandylocks on Twitter Debby Irving, "Waking Up White": www.debbyirving.com

Brooke Takhar, from MissTeenUssr.com, came over to chat about life with me. This incredibly open conversation made me feel so good about sharing feelings, stories and connecting with people on a deeper level. Topics covered: Motherhood, Writing, Sexual Awakening, Contraception, Periods and Miscarriages, via bitching about random life inconveniences. Trust Brooke to make you laugh through some of the cringey-est of experiences! Listen in for your daily dose of belly laughter and vulnerability! Check out her FB page @missteenussr for more! :)

Bryce, a dear friend of mine, is now one of Canada's most successful Powerlifters! He will be the subject of an upcoming documentary and his willingness to be vulnerable obviously hit all of my nerd spots. Listen in on his personal journey from a scrawny, metal band frontman/bartender, to setting two world records, winning three medals at world championships and being a successful entrepreneur! We discuss how life changes in tiny little increments, and how eventually life takes you to the unexpected. I couldn't help but think: where are my small choices taking me? Food for thought y'all, food for thought! Please subscribe to this podcast for more random and vulnerable content! Check out Calgary Barbell's youtube channel below, and @calgarybarbell on Instagram! https://www.youtube.com/calgarybarbell For more about powerlifting and apparel head to: www.calgarybarbell.com

This week Rebekah, film producer extraordinaire & marketing PM, shares her journey with me from turning 30 (and understanding what not giving a fuck means) to starting Fired Up, her own production company, detouring via the role dedication and passion have played in her creative successes. Honesty, respect and vulnerability are discussed as they relate to leadership, career transitioning and working for free sometimes! (Ooh controversy.) Listen to this very exciting, fun and bubbly episode if you've ever felt stuck, like time was running away from you and like everyone else was achieving their goals except you... because we have! This can be your pep talk (weird choice for a pep talk surely, but if you're here, we already know you're a bit weird!). You can check out Rebekah's films on her website: rebekahrenford.com and check her out on twitter @b3kah! Check out "I Want To Make You Happy" for her latest project! twitter.com/@IWTMYHfilm As always, please please please SUBSCRIBE!

Nell from woman-on-top.co.uk came over to my virtual living room to talk about her goals, normalising sex (!), our books and general misdemeanour. Nell and I have lots in common, so sorry if we just agree a lot, but listen in if you still wonder what the benefits of being open about sex are! She also gives you a bit of courage to say what you mean in certain circumstances (awkward families for example), cause we all need a little push! (Intersectional feminism also discussed, because duh.) Sorry about some of the feedback at some points, tech can be tricky! Check out Nell's instagram because it's amazing: instagram.com/womanontop_nell Thanks for listening my darlings! As always, favourite, follow, subscribe, like... all that jazz.

Dr Neil Fox from the cinematologists.com podcast comes to speak to me about his film Wilderness (baracoapictures.com/wilderness) and relationships in general. We ramble on about loving ideas, living in confusion, privilege, and unlearning destructive habits & assumptions. Listen in if you want to share some deep dark thoughts about creativity, voices that need/needn’t be heard and unsure answers. For more about Neil and all of his projects head to drneilfox.com ! Please follow, subscribe, rate and review this podcast if you like it!

Well, well. Steph and I had a great time recording this one! She was gracious enough to send me a galley of her book "A Dirty Word" to read, and boy do we get into some serious topics. Ranging from body and soul, to pathologizing women's sexuality, to non-consensual, coercive sex, to the lack of desire or orgasms, to making family members super awkward, we cover it all! In the name of helping us all be more comfortable with the uncomfortable, and hopefully paving the way to a better sex ed system, and a healthier and safer sex-positive future. We are not broken, nor deficient. We are all in this together. For more on Steph and her amazing list of resources: www.stephauteri.com Don't forget to pre-order her book!

Hello lovers! We are back!! Let me introduce you to one of my oldest and dearest friends, Sophie. She's a Human Rights professional, a intelligent, purposeful feminist and a kick-ass wife. She and I take twists and turns trying to redefine relationships, communication channels, values and self-confidence for ourselves. What does a contemporary feminist marriage look like for her today? What do her and I have in common? What can we do to set ourselves free of society's pretty little boxes and live without the weight of labels? Tune in for more. (Also, sorry about the rambling at some point, we had to do this one twice due to equipment failure. Humans are imperfect, we did our best! Also thankfully Sophie got us back on topic!)

OK! Disclaimer: suicide and depression discussed in depth. My lovely friend Devon S. was gracious enough to let me into his head, his battle against depression and our common difficulty staying on topic. We do go down a few rabbit holes: Are creatives more prone to depression? Why can’t people just listen? How are European universities free? But in between random celebrity and film trivia, Devon tells me about his experience calling a Suicide Hotline. Anyhow: this is a good episode if you want to know more about what it might feel like to be depressed and how to potentially speak to a loved one who might be/is depressed. Random thing I said I would put in the bio: “White Cat, Black Cat,” by Emir Kusturica For help and support in the UK: www.samaritans.org  For the US lifeline: suicidepreventionlifeline.org  In Canada, www.crisisservicescanada.ca

James Gates, writer for Culture Trip, and I discuss today’s topic: Toxic Masculinity. After reading “The Descent of Man” by Grayson Perry (https://buff.ly/2L1HhDI), James had a pivotal moment of understanding his own consciousness of gender stereotypes. The book is a great read, but according to James, recognising how detrimental to society as a whole it is, creating awareness is not enough. Creating dialogues about toxic masculinity is where it needs to start. Therefore, we go into our individual experiences, into the toxicity of labels and the changes we try to make every day. Most importantly, we address the reality that change is hard. Challenging norms is hard work and vulnerability really should become the basis of human interactions. For more on James: https://theculturetrip.com/authors/james-gates/ @jamespetergates on Twitter & Insta Shout outs & References: Jo on Twitter! @Jowebber1981 Satan’s Whiskers, https://buff.ly/2LAvWHG On Eurydice Dixon, https://nyp.st/2HRSbX4

Adam Lannon and I discuss his experience being a feminist from a male perspective, in a Post-Me Too world. We talk about meeting at the Cannes Film Festival, the changes we've seen, and most importantly the differences we can make as individuals. Part of the problem with this challenging topic is that it’s really hard to speak about it. Whatever we say will be wrong for somebody. So indulge us. We really did our best, from our limited individual experiences. To know more about Adam, you can find him on Insta @iamadamlannon, on twitter @adamlannon and here https://buff.ly/2KNbCXg Please rate, review and subscribe! Shout outs to: Frank Mannion! You rockstar. Alix Wilton Regan: https://buff.ly/2N40bHz and Twitter @AlixWiltonRegan Young Hot Bloods, at the Long Sight Theatre: https://www.longsighttheatre.com/young-hot-bloods Dr Neil Fox @drneilfox Ashes, by Sophie Black: https://buff.ly/2m5yF0T @sophieblackfilm Video version of this podcast to come @RealTimeRadical on Youtube & Facebook

Welcome back to #RWWC! Today, you meet Léa, one of the women behind femmedufutur.wordpress.com Through her blog, she advocates for a whole new brand of feminism, open conversations with a healthy dose of self-awareness and doing whatever the f*$k you want in the end! Dudes, this is an episode that you will like, because we are genders at peace! Enough pitting people against people: let's love and support each other. Léa is a kick-ass French friend of mine, who, like me, has been a single gal in her twenties for a little while.. and so naturally we decided to talk about Commitment! Woop! There's so much to say about this feared topic and we must never ignore the systemic factors of individualism and cultural background, gender implications and relationship expectations. Yet again, communication and consciousness are the tools we need. It's not easy, but it's so evident: become aware of what you want and need, and make compromises!

In this funny yet insightful episode, Paulie and I discuss life in all its glory, messiness and difficulty. Starting off with the drunken debauchery of how we met, we move on to travel and being a chef, and cannot go on without addressing the news of Anthony Bourdain's suicide. We do our best to discuss depression, seeking help, our personal experiences with mental health and the extraordinary effects of speaking out. If you are struggling, we see you, we love you and we need you. If you are not able to reach out, we will. You can reach Paulie @pauliechef84 on Instagram, and as for me, it's still @christinewild_ on both Twitter and Insta! Thank you for listening, be gentle with yourself and remember we are all doing the best we can. For help and support in the UK: www.samaritans.org For the US lifeline: suicidepreventionlifeline.org In Canada, www.crisisservicescanada.ca

Anita Cassidy is back! We know how much you loved Episode 6, so we are back for another round of deep questions on social standards in our relationships. We all prefer to feel good, don't we? But what happens when we experience "negative" feelings within relationships? How do we discuss them in relationships that do or don't have solid communication tools in place? We give you our best advice and share some personal stories of our recent struggles. For you London folk, Anita and I will be in London on July 5th at her social on Extraordinary Conscious Relationships. Meet us between 6-10pm at Black & Blue, across from Waterloo station. More info on Anita's site nomoradicalrelationships.club Let's take this conversation IRL and have some drinks! As always, please rate, review and subscribe so I can keep doing this awesome work.

Hello lovers! Meet Sunny. Sunny is my wicked smart friend. She's drop dead gorgeous and a solid gal. Together, we decided to discuss the challenges we face when dating, when choosing jobs, or merely being ourselves. If you too face the problem of being called "intimidating" or "scary", this one is for you. We also discuss privilege, unconventional career paths, relationships as they evolve through your twenties and the hard task of letting yourself be vulnerable. I thank her for speaking from the heart, because this one was super real. Join the #vulnerability and #honesty revolution. Subscribe and rate this podcast for more awesome content.

Well, this week, we decided to give your brain a bit of break. So have a glass of wine and talk nonsense with Amy and I. We catch up post-Cannes (still sorry about my voice) and tell you about the weird instances when acupuncturists knew us better than we know ourselves. There are also some Book Two scoops in here, never before told stories of mine. Are you open to the universe? Please, subscribe rate and review this podcast on iTunes so we can start trending, y'all. And do tell us what you want to hear! @christinewild_ are my insta and twitter handles. In the meantime, enjoy your weekends. As Amy would say, coeur coeur love.

Well, ladies and gents, it was my pleasure and privilege to chat with Dr. Shannon Chavez about masturbation, Body Sex workshops, mediation, Mind/Body approaches to sexual health and fulfilment and so much more! Shannon has so much positive energy radiating out of her and I hope you can all feel it through your headphones. This is your time to think about your orgasms, your me time, the place you allow pleasure to take in your life! I'm so sorry about my voice - I had just come back from the Cannes Film Festival, and let's just say it was taxing! Her website is a phenomenal source of information, so please go check it out: www.drshannonchavez.com You can also find out more about Betty Dodson here: www.dodsonandross.com

Episode Ten has my friend Kelly S. and I chatting about feeling like we don't ever fit in. From travelling to unlikely careers, we share our experiences. We also discuss some of our crazier drunken black outs, and life's crazy rollercoasters. Never before divulged stories inside! To all my "outsider" friends, we're here, and we love you just as you are. For more about her businesses in Geneva, check out: www.hashtagpopup.ch and these two handles on Instagram: @creativenomad_ and @kelloushka. Mine is @christinewild_ on both Twitter and Instagram, if you somehow didn't already know! Please subscribe, rate and review so we can get more content out to your ears!

You're in for a treat! Chris Erickson, professor of Political Science at UBC, and as off recently Certified Tantric Practitioner with the Institute of Authentic Tantra Education, in Vancouver, BC, chats with me about Sex and Politics. What could the two have in common? Way more than you think! In this episode, Chris and I unpack our understanding that the approach to healthy societies is in many ways the same as the approach to a healthy sex life. The most helpful tools seem to be honesty, mindfulness, compassion, and my personal favorite, empathy. Tell us what you think about our analysis! Check out www.authentictantra.com for more information on Chris' Wife Devi's institute, and if you're at #UBC, take his classes. I'm serious, do it. It changed my life.

My friend Dani and I discuss our personal differences, but also similarities, in our approaches to defining success and happiness. We also detour through the meaning of sexual intimacy and relationships, and taking leaps of faith! Enjoy our little trip down some rabbit holes. This episode isn't a conversation between experts, it's an exchange between curious beginners at this thing called life. For his music, check out: https://www.mixcloud.com/dny_ocean/

Episode 7 has me chatting with Madison James, a 38-year-old Male Escort, with a keen interest in sexual development, Tantra and BDSM. We discuss his eBook, a mental guide for BDSM relationships, vulnerability, sensuality and the role of sexual energy. We question our stances on transactional relationships, social constructs around promiscuity and escorting, and the way we communicate! For more information, access to his eBook and blog, check out www.themadisonjames.com

In this sixth episode, Anity Cassidy and I discuss her book Appetite (http://amzn.eu/3dAVyBn), her approach to conscious relationships and writing about sexuality. We also share our takes on affairs, secret online lives, the difficulties we face as women, holding on to all the different sides of ourselves. Making mistakes is how we learn most often, don't you think? And what we've learned is that the secret to healthier relationships might be quite easy. Listen to find out! For more information, check out her website: www.anitacassidy.uk We also refer to Esther Perel. Check out her Ted Talks here: www.ted.com/speakers/esther_perel

In this super exciting episode, Girl on the Net and I chat about censorship, Eroticon, sex advice, non-fiction, social justice and basically any other topics that our brains ventured down. It was a privilege to chat with her and do go check out her stuff! (We also plug Meg-John & Justin because how could we not.) For more info: www.girlonthenet.com www.megjohnandjustin.com

In this installment, Amy and I discuss friendship and social contracts! Why are female friendships so rare and fickle? Can heterosexual men and women be friends? How do we navigate competition, jealousy and the undertone of seduction in the workplace?

In this episode, my friend and fellow writer Matthew and I discuss philosophy, the loneliness of creative ventures and why sitting alone with your depressing thoughts matters. Matthew and I met on Tinder, bonded over critical theory and continue to disagree on a regular basis. It's a hoot. (Listeners discretion is advised as the words "socialism" and "Marx" are discussed at length.)

In Episode Two, my publicist Kat Knox and I discuss imposter syndrome and growing balls. Not literally, though. We do go into detail about the reality of pursuing your passions, and ridding yourself of the thought that careers (or relationships) are linear. Kat also represents Jeff Bauman, and tells us about her personal experience surrounding the Boston Marathon Bombing ahead of its fifth year anniversary on April 16th. So remember, roses will always smell good. Be free little vines, reach for all kinds of goals and recognize your strengths.

The First Episode of Running Wild with Christine! Let's go straight to the slippery subject of "What's your number?" of sexual partners! What's a high number? How does it differ for men or women? Why is it such a f#*$ing sensitive topic? Plus, you get to meet Amy, my all time bestie and recurrent character in Just Bad Timing, my newly released memoir. (Pardon her French accent, but it's cute as hell.)