We Can't Do It Alone

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with Jessica, his best friend and life partner, to explore the difference between helping mode and solving mode, our commitment to trying to understand each other through our diagnoses, being stuck in shame spirals, slowing down enough to recognize possibility in one another, the keys to maintaining softness, and why we only know what we know...

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with Ali Riley, four-time Olympian soccer player and co-author of Girls Gone Veg , to explore Ali's early retirement and the grief and self-acceptance wrapped up in that, the continued fight for equality and inclusivity in sports, why allowing yourself to fall apart is a sign of strength, Ali's hopeful and beautiful IVF adventure that lies ah...

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with Katya Lidsky, author of Be Your Dog's Best Friend , to explore the entanglement of grief and anger, how intent and impact play a crucial in how we help, giving kids space to be mad at their parents, eating disorder recovery and the disconnected body, practicing the art of detachment by writing stuff down and throwing it away, and the cea...

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with Bernie Dickson, artist and ultra runner, to explore how we can create space for people in our lives to ask "why," growing up in an warm and inviting open-door household, the vulnerability of opening up your home to people, AI and its influence in the classroom, a movement of messiness, how authenticity is an opportunity to build deeper t...

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with Cynthia Alonzo Perez, author of My Marianismo and founder of Rooted In Reflection , to explore what's it been like to move her family to Mexico, the joy of being in relationship with peace protectors, the three houses framework, a mother-daughter relationship story that will simultaneously break and fill your heart, and why you being you...

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with Amil Niazi , author of The Cut's parenting series "The Hard Part", to explore why it's important to allow your kids to see and understand your change, the vulnerability of dogs, giving each other more space and grace to be human, why we've been drawn to reading dystopian fiction lately, and Amil's new book, Life After Ambition: A "Good E...

Welcome to season 3! On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with Sophie Lucido Johnson , author and New Yorker cartoonist, to explore why vulnerability is both essential and precious, why we perform when we first meet someone, honoring friend chapters with love and grief, saying "I love you" to strangers (especially Trader Joe's clerks), the difference between hosting and integrat...

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with Sinead Farrelly , National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) champion, World Cup footballer for Ireland, scream enthusiast, and most importantly, a human , to explore the feeling of being cut off from yourself inside the competitive, intense world of professional sports, the weird way in which grief entangles itself in you, connecting your bo...

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with biblio, poetry and hip hop therapist, creator of the Readers Who Run with the Wolves book club, and author of Bibliotherapy In the Bronx , Emely Rumble LCISW, to explore Emely's childhood being raised by her grandmother and the books that helped her to escape and to understand, foster care and the safety within being present, the life-ch...

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with podcaster ( I Thought It Was Just Me ), creator of Tinder Live, musician ( Final Girl out now!), and You Will Find Your People author Lane Moore to explore the feeling of not wanting to talk about our mental health because we're tired of drowning in it, why dogs are helpers too and how Lane's dog Lights gifted Lane their first truly safe...

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with nature nerd, rock climber, and National Parks Service ranger Alex Wild to explore the ups and downs of Alex's firing and then rehiring by way of ridiculous Elon Musk's ridiculous DOGE cuts, how the empathetic and impassioned response from the public influenced his return to the park service, the stuff in life we take for granted because...

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with best-selling author, scholar-activist, ancestral medium, podcaster (From Root to Bone), and founder of Decolonizing Therapy, Dr. Jennifer Mullan to explore the feeling of being held, what it's like for Dr. Jenn to ask for help as a woman of color, the systems that eat up big-hearted helpers, the beauty of sacred rage, why sometimes you n...

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with writer, podcaster, NAACP honoree, and The Woke Mama herself, Whitney Alese, to explore how many things can be true at once, seeing possibility through the eyes of the people we love and look up to, why we're both into real feelings over hot takes, the magic of childlike wonder, and Whitney's transformative story about a generational quil...

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with friend, father, and recently graduated social worker Craig Dickson to explore how we're shaped by listening to people's stories, Craig's experience being a dad to two kids who live with autism spectrum disorder and how his kids help him deepen his patience and soften his anger, why we shouldn't be judged by how well we follow society's e...

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with disability justice activist, founder of the Upgrade Accessibility movement, award-winning podcaster (The Politics of Disability), and author of Adventurous Adeline, Mary Fashik, to explore what it feels like for Mary, as someone who is immunocompromised, to see the world "move on" from Covid, why online activism is real activism, how Mar...

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with social justice activist, award-winning author of The Wake Up, and podcaster ( I Feel That Way Too ) Michelle MiJung Kim to explore how to be human with each other, the beauty of resilient relationships, Michelle's identity quakes, how we can all take on more collective risk in pursuit of collective liberation, and the story of when Miche...

To kick off season 2 of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn introduces this season by getting a lil spicy and exploring today's rampant individualism and why community, and the helpers, are our resistance. How you can support Nōn and this independently-run podcast: Leave a 5-star rating and a wildly glowing review for We Can't Do It Alone on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods. Order The...

On episode 9 of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with illustrator, video creator and podcaster, Sophie Ansari (Podcrushed) to explore the culture of curiosity in the Bahá'í faith, having a life partner who is open to learning, naughty things we did as teenagers and being a hopeful teenager, and why we're mirrors for each other. Helpful things mentioned during this episode: @scribbledbysophie P...

On episode 8 of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with comedian, actor and writer Daniel Van Kirk to explore human adaptability, why helping is an unspoken part of a single-parent home, the importance of celebrating while we're still in it, and why working hard and being kind gets you the second job. According to Nōn, Daniel is a sweetie pie, even if he might look like he can rough you up. Help...

On episode 7 of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with Ess Crossley (he/they) to explore our new project The Feely Cards (out October 22*), how helping sometimes looks like people educating us even if it feels uncomfortable, Ess's transformation from their "women phase" to their beautiful nonbinary trans little bean world, and how our capacity for love, patience, helping, and even being human i...

On episode 6 of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with Eric Dorsa to talk about their experience as a queer person in recovery (eating disorder, substance), how we silence or diminish parts of ourselves when things are disordered, what it's like to reclaim space in a world where you've felt unseen and unsupported, and how Eric embraces drag as a medium for bringing more inclusivity and equitabl...

On episode 5 of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with Sam Robertson to explore the ripple effect of helping, why reading is the best way to strengthen your empathy muscles, why stories are the core of humanity, Sam's experience as an owner of an independent bookshop, and why bookstores are the heart of community. Helpful things mentioned during this episode: Arvida Book Co. @arvidabookco The A...

On episode 4 of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with Bill Cole to explore coming of age during the AIDS crisis, queer representation in film, the particularly heinous stigma around AIDS, how someone you've never met can be a helper, and the lasting legacy of AIDS activist icon, Stephen Gendin. Helpful things mentioned during this episode: @billcolebillcole The AIDS Memorial Broadway Cares/Equ...

On episode 3 of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with 20-something neurodivergent queer disabled writer, Zee Zelinski, to explore why we're mosaics of everything and everyone we've ever interacted with, the particular grief of help and helping as a disabled person, gender identity, feeling seen as a little queer kid, and Zee's love letter to poet Andrea Gibson. Helpful things mentioned during...

On episode 2 of We Can't Do It Alone , Nōn sits down with NY Times bestselling author Frederick Joseph to explore the craft and respite of writing poetry, Black boys and men being whole beings capable of being strong and soft, collective liberation, and how we feel collective care should look like: I am yours and you are mine . Frederick is the author of the heart-stirring poetry collection, We Al...