Driftwood Conversations is a weekly podcast hosted by journalist Hilary Sloane, sharing soulful conversations with artists, seekers, and everyday revolutionaries. Each episode offers stories that connect us to the world—and to each other—through truth, wisdom, and the grit of lived experience.
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Seattle artist Cristina Martinez creates work rooted in memory, resilience, community, and the beauty that can emerge from difficult beginnings. In our conversation, we talk about the women who shaped her, her unexpected path from fashion school to painting, and why storytelling and human connection are at the heart of her work. Cristina shares how art has become a way of honoring where we come from while imagining who we might become. To see more of Cristina’s paintings, murals, and public art, visit cristinamartinezart.com or follow her on Instagram @sew_trill.
Dr. Priyanka Upadhyai: Science, Story, and the Human Search for Meaning What happens when a scientist who studies rare genetic disorders also becomes a thoughtful observer of what it means to be human? In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Dr. Priyanka Upadhyai, a professor of biomedical sciences in India whose work explores the mysteries of genetics and disease. Beyond the laboratory, Priyanka is a writer whose reflections on identity, curiosity, and everyday life have attracted readers around the world. Our conversation moves easily between science and storytelling, chi
Field guid for Being Human, Episode 1 - Story In the first episode of Field Guide for Being Human, Hilary Sloane and Jungian therapist, writer, and coach Brenda Littleton explore the nature of story. Together they discuss memoir, dreams, trauma, identity, and why the stories we tell ourselves can both limit us and set us free. As the conversation unfolds, they discover that perhaps story isn't something to cling to or erase, but something that continues to evolve throughout our lives. What happens when we stop asking who we've been and begin asking who we're becoming? If you've ever written, r
Musician, poet, and community organizer Palo Xanto joins Hilary Sloane for a conversation about creativity, music, and life in the California high desert. Drawing inspiration from hip-hop, rock, poetry, and the desert’s unique culture, Palo discusses his evolution from a young rapper in Northern California to the frontman of a genre-blending band that combines conscious lyricism with groove-driven music. He shares how writing became his first creative language, why community matters, and how independent artists are navigating a rapidly changing creative landscape. The conversation explores the
Show Notes Guest: Sean Kennerly Sean Kennerly is a writer, musician, and founding member of the influential California punk band Samiam. He is also the vocalist for the Brooklyn experimental noise band Ice Balloons. His debut novel, Memoir of a Hyena, combines years of research with an imaginative first-person narrative that invites readers into the life of one of nature's most misunderstood animals. In this episode, we discuss: Growing up surrounded by books, music, and the arts Experimental music and the influence of John Cage and Robert Wilson Creativity, curiosity, and following unconventi
In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I speak with Danielle Frank, author of A Wine Lover's Guide to Parenting, a humorous yet surprisingly thoughtful book that uses the language of wine to explore kindness, empathy, and raising good humans. But our conversation goes far beyond the book. Danielle shares her journey from the fast-paced world of Miramax Films in New York to a successful career in the wine and spirits industry, as well as the personal pivots that shaped her life. We talk about resilience, creativity, breaking away from expected timelines, choosing a path different from the
This is the fifth and final episode of Writes of Passage: Stories of Service, presented by Mil-Tree Veteran Project. Produced by Dawn Davis, the series features conversations with participants in Mil-Tree's recent Writes of Passage program, which ran from February through June 2026. Mil-Tree is a nonprofit organization based in Joshua Tree, California, that fosters community among veterans, service members, and civilians through the arts, dialogue, collaborative projects, and creative entrepreneurship. Writes of Passage brought participants together for a weekend retreat, writing workshops, pe
In this fourth episode of Writes of Passage: Stories of Service, presented by Mil-Tree Veteran Project, host Dawn Davis speaks with John Kalb, a Vietnam veteran, musician, actor, theater producer, and longtime supporter of Mil-Tree programs. John served in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany and shares the story behind his powerful Writes of Passage piece, Fire on the Water, which recounts the devastating 1966 shipboard fire that remains one of the deadliest tragedies in U.S. naval history. Through memory, reflection, and storytelling, John explores service, loss, resilience
Omar Columbus: Transforming Service Into Story In this episode of Rites of Passage: Stories of Service, host Dawn Davis speaks with Omar Columbus, a twelve-year Air Force veteran, artist, photographer, poet, performer, and curator. Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, Omar joined the Air Force in search of opportunity and purpose. His military career eventually led him to become an intelligence analyst responsible for briefing fighter pilots before combat missions during the Iraq War. Today, Omar channels those experiences into creative work that explores identity, memory, service, an
The Stories We Carry | Brenda Littleton What happens when we begin to reclaim the parts of ourselves we've left behind? In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with writer, artist, educator, and depth psychology practitioner Brenda Littleton for a conversation that moves through story, creativity, healing, and personal transformation. Brenda shares her journey from environmental activism on Vancouver Island to academia, Jungian psychology, and her current work helping artists, writers, therapists, and other creatives navigate periods of change and reinvention. Together, we explo
In the second episode of Rites of Passage: Stories of Service, host Dawn Davis speaks with Renee "RA" Pickup, a Marine Corps veteran, writer, editor, artist, publisher, and longtime Mil-Tree facilitator. Their conversation explores military service, creativity, storytelling, and the ways people find meaning and connection through sharing their experiences. RA reflects on her decision to join the Marine Corps during the early years of the Iraq War, her experiences as a woman in the military, life as a military spouse during deployment, and the role writing and creative expression have played th
Rites of Passage: Stories of Service — Mary Jean "MJ" Puckett Mil-Tree Series In this episode of Rites of Passage: Stories of Service, Dawn Davis speaks with Mary Jean "MJ" Puckett, a nurse, military spouse, and mother of a Marine whose life has been shaped by decades of service to others. MJ reflects on her career in emergency medicine, public health, and child protective services, sharing stories that reveal both the challenges and rewards of caring for people during their most vulnerable moments. She also speaks about life as part of a military family, the emotional realities of deployment,
Writer, regenerative mentor, and Luna Arcana co-founder Rohini Walker joins Hilary Sloane for a thoughtful conversation about identity, creativity, healing, and the Mojave Desert. Born in India and raised in England, Rohini shares how immigration, cultural displacement, and inherited trauma shaped her journey toward the work she does today. Together, Hilary and Rohini explore somatic awareness, decolonial perspectives, creativity as a healing practice, and the ways the desert landscape mirrors our own inner transformations. The conversation touches on stewardship, belonging, ecology, embodimen
Fashion designer and artist Anja Broenink joins Hilary Sloane for an intimate conversation about creativity, reinvention, illness, aging, and the courage to keep evolving. Born and raised in the Netherlands, Anja began her career as a nurse, studied fashion design, and eventually built her clothing line, Anja SF, in San Francisco during the dot-com boom. Today she lives in Joshua Tree, where she balances painting, design, and a quieter, more intentional life. Together, they discuss fashion in the 1980s, Japanese design influences, cancer recovery, spirituality, creativity after COVID, and the
In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I speak with therapist, writer, and longtime spiritual explorer Catherine Auman about relationships, emotional growth, friendship, awakening, and the long arc of becoming ourselves. Catherine shares stories from her life, including her early feminist performance work in Los Angeles, her years of therapeutic practice, and the deeper understanding she gained through both struggle and love. What stayed with me most was her honesty about how growth continues throughout life and her belief that friendship, respect, and presence are at the center of meanin
In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Sandra Mendelson—animal communicator, channel, and, as it turns out, my second cousin. Though we grew up aware of each other, life took us in different directions, and it wasn’t until recently that we reconnected and discovered a shared sensitivity to the unseen. Sandra came into her abilities later in life, learning to trust the messages she receives from animals and the energetic field around them. What unfolds in this conversation is not just a discussion about animal communication, but a deeper exploration of intuition, healing, a
n this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I speak with Olga Naiman, an interior designer, author, and teacher whose work moves far beyond aesthetics into what she calls spatial alchemy. Rather than focusing on decoration, Olga explores the emotional and psychological imprints we carry into our homes. She asks questions about safety, identity, memory, and what we are ready to release. As a refugee from the former Soviet Union, her relationship to home has been shaped by instability, loss, and the ongoing search for grounding. That lived experience informs a practice centered on creating spaces
In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Wayne Kastning, an artist, designer, and teacher whose life journey spans from a remote farm in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas to the creative worlds of New York and Los Angeles. Raised without electricity or running water until his teenage years, Wayne grew up surrounded by storytelling, craftsmanship, and a deep connection to making things by hand. Our conversation explores what it means to leave home, to trust your instincts, and to keep saying yes to the life that calls you forward. Wayne speaks candidly about identity, curiosity
In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I speak with Dr. Joan Hangarter, known to many as Joan of Angels. Joan has spent more than four decades working with people at moments of change in their lives. She began her career as a chiropractor and eventually expanded her work to guide intuitive and visionary women navigating crossroads in their personal and professional lives. In this conversation, Joan shares the story of her own path: growing up on Long Island, moving west after her father's death, and becoming part of a spiritual community in Los Angeles. Over the years, she built and rebui
Rachel Reid Wilkie is a shamanic practitioner and tarot reader based in the Joshua Tree area. Born in Cambridgeshire, England, she has lived and traveled widely, with time in Europe, New York, and Los Angeles before the desert became her home. Her work weaves shamanic ceremonial healing and journeying with tarot and Hermetic studies, shaped by trainings in the Andes and the Amazon and years of mentorship. Rachel offers one-on-one sessions that may include energetic clearing, ancestral work, and tarot as a tool for insight and alignment. You can find her on Instagram under her name, and at rach
In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, Hilary Sloane sits down with fellow Z107.7 reporter Gabriel Hart — novelist, musician, and founder of the print-only literary magazine Beyond the Last Estate. Hart’s punk-noir novel On High at Red Tide challenges conventional crime fiction, resisting easy moral packaging in favor of psychological depth and institutional critique. Together they explore what punk and noir literature share at their core: a distrust of the center, a focus on outsiders, and a refusal to sentimentalize broken systems. The conversation moves through discipline, desert solit
In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, Hilary Sloane sits down with longtime Joshua Tree resident Buck Buckley for a wide-ranging conversation that begins with his move to the desert during the 2007 construction collapse and unfolds into something much larger. Buck is a big thinker, someone who connects history, language, culture, energy, health, and community into one continuous thread. What starts as a personal story becomes a meditation on how societies grow, fracture, and reinvent themselves. Whether you find yourself agreeing with every point or simply listening with curiosity, this
In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Julie Daniels for a conversation that unfolds slowly and with intention. Julie is a writer, thinker, and guide whose work explores attention, presence, and what it means to live in a deeper relationship with time, language, and self. Rather than rushing toward conclusions, our conversation lingers in uncertainty, curiosity, and the spaces between words. This is not a transactional exchange, but a shared moment of listening and reflection—an invitation to step out of the metronome of daily life and enter something more spacious, human,
Heather Clisby is a reporter, traveler, and keen observer of the human condition, and in this episode of Driftwood Conversations, we talk about what it means to stay curious in a changing world. Heather and I both work at Z107.7, a family-owned local radio station, and our conversation moves through journalism, comedy, travel, intimacy, and the shifting ground beneath it all. We reflect on why local journalism still matters, not as performance but as witnessing, and how staying informed does not have to mean living inside a constant scroll. Heather brings humor, honesty, and a wide lens to the
In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Claudia for a thoughtful, unhurried conversation about the paths we take and the ones that quietly shape us along the way. Claudia shares the wisdom she has gathered through years of paying attention, including her relationship with the moon as a guide for reflection, rhythm, and renewal. We talk about how lunar cycles influence the way she works, listens, and makes meaning, and how this awareness has shaped her current work in the world. Together, we explore what it means to live with intention, to trust subtle timing, and to allow o
