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

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

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 s

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 sca

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 m

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 fo

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. Thank

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

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 @j

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,

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

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 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/runni

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 relations

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.  Referen

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 si

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 spiral

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, compe

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

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 f

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