The Common Ground Podcast

In this powerful episode of The Common Ground Podcast, John Fletcher and Sydney Curtin sit down with Marquis Williams, co-host of the award-winning You Stuck With Me Podcast, to talk about intentional relationships, faith, communication, and the mindset required to build a lasting marriage in today’s culture. Drawing from his own life experiences, including growing up surrounded by marriage role m...

From Trauma to Transformation: Rocio Aquino & Angel Orengo on Forgiveness, Purpose & The Orchid Method | Ep. 36 What happens when pain, trauma, and life’s hardest experiences become the catalyst for personal transformation? In this powerful episode of The Common Ground Podcast , Rocio Aquino and Angel Orengo share their deeply personal journey of healing, self-discovery, and the lessons th...

From Trauma to Transformation: Andrea L. Wehlann on Yoga, Reiki & Inner Healing | Ep. 35 What happens when trauma shapes your life — but refuses to define your future? In this deep and thought-provoking episode of The Common Ground Podcast , Andrea L. Wehlann shares her journey through childhood trauma, emotional pain, spiritual seeking, and the long road toward healing. As a yoga educator, au...

When Your Body Fails but Your Faith Doesn’t: Abigail Gagnon’s Story of Hope | Ep. 34 What do you do when your body stops cooperating — but your faith keeps calling you forward? In this honest and hope-filled episode of The Common Ground Podcast , Abigail Gagnon shares her journey through chronic illness, silent migraines, depression, trauma, and the painful loss of the life she thought she was mea...

From Overthinking to Inner Peace: Shauna Hawkes on Yoga, Nervous System Healing & Self-Trust | Ep. 33 What does it take to stop overthinking, regulate your nervous system, and finally trust yourself again? In this grounded and thought-provoking episode of The Common Ground Podcast , Shauna Hawkes shares her journey from deep emotional pain and stored anger to healing through yoga, embodiment,...

From Meth Addiction to Getting Her Kids Back: Danielle Hart’s 16-Year Recovery Comeback Story | Ep. 32 What does it take to come back after 16 years of meth addiction — and rebuild a life you thought was lost forever? In this raw and hope-filled episode of The Common Ground Podcast , Danielle Hart shares her journey from accidentally trying meth at 17 to getting sober at 33 — and fighting to get h...

🎙️ Episode 31 is LIVE What happens when childhood abuse, family trauma, homelessness, and grief collide with faith? In this powerful episode of The Common Ground Podcast , Braden Perkins shares his raw journey from trauma and Norse paganism to surrendering his life to Christ in a hotel room at rock bottom. #CommonGroundPodcast #BradenPerkins #FaithAfterTrauma #ChristianTestimony #FromAgnosticToChr...

🎙 Episode 30 Losing a Child Changed Everything: A Psych Professor on Grief, Faith & Finding Meaning | Dave Roberts What happens when a father loses his 18-year-old daughter to cancer… and nothing in his psychology training can prepare him for the grief? In this powerful and deeply honest conversation, Dave Roberts —psychology professor, grief workshop leader, and co-author of When the Psycholo...

🎙️ EPISODE 29 Title: I Didn’t Know My Worth: Surviving Narcissistic Abuse & Reclaiming Your Life | Conitra Cowans What happens when silence, trauma, and survival slowly erase your sense of self—and how do you find your way back? In this powerful episode of The Common Ground Podcast , we sit down with Conitra Cowans —author, entrepreneur, domestic abuse advocate, and founder of Boujeez Steps Bo...

What does it actually take to stay married for nearly three decades—and still genuinely like each other? In this powerful and refreshingly honest episode of The Common Ground Podcast , we sit down with Byron & Margaret McKie , relationship coaches, podcast hosts, and best friends who have been married for 28 years . Their love story didn’t start with perfection—it started with friendship, hone...

When Co-Parenting Isn’t 50/50: What Really Happens Behind Closed Doors | Clover Johnston When people say “co-parenting,” most assume it means 50/50 . But what happens when it isn’t—when one parent is carrying the emotional load, the logistics, the finances… and the silence? In this episode of The Common Ground Podcast , we sit down with Clover Johnston —co-parenting coach, mom of three, educator,...

What happens when childhood trauma teaches you to confuse chaos with love—and you spend decades trapped in a relationship that slowly erases you? In this powerful episode of The Common Ground Podcast , we sit down with Regina Hiremath , author, life coach, and survivor of a 23-year narcissistic marriage , to unpack what she calls “Onesome” —the journey back home to yourself after emotional abuse....

What happens when you lose your career and your marriage —and the life you built no longer exists? In Episode 25 of The Common Ground Podcast , we sit down with Jonathan Emery (host of Life’s Checkmark ) for a powerful, honest conversation about the moment divorce stops being paperwork… and becomes an identity collapse . Jonathan shares how losing a job after 20 years and facing divorce in the sam...

What happens when success stops feeling aligned—and faith starts leading the way? In Episode 24 of The Common Ground Podcast , we sit down with Priyanka Khandalkar , an engineer-turned-CEO, Tony Robbins & Dan Graziosi trainer, and founder of Synergy, to unpack what it really takes to scale a business without burning out your soul . Priyanka shares her powerful journey from corporate engineerin...

What if trauma isn’t just something you “think” about… but something your body carries? In Episode 23 of The Common Ground Podcast , we sit down with Jamie Hughes — social psychologist, author, and holistic mental health educator — to break down why so many people feel stuck after years of talk therapy, and what changes when you treat trauma like a nervous system issue , not just a mindset problem...

What if the relationship didn’t “break” you… but revealed what needed to heal? In Episode 22 of The Common Ground Podcast , we sit down with Stephanie McPhail, MS —CEO of Being Loved Shouldn’t Hurt , certified coach, crisis counselor, Reiki practitioner, author, and co-founder of the Divorce Support Network —for a powerful conversation about leaving abuse, healing deeply, and building a life you’r...

From sleeping in a car and praying not to freeze… to rebuilding a life with purpose, faith, and a mission to help others—Ric “Mystro” shares a redemption story you won’t forget. In this powerful Episode 21 of The Common Ground Podcast , John “PhillyGoLive” Fletcher and Sydney Curtin sit down with Ric aka Mystro —artist, author, filmmaker, and founder of Innovative Media Atlanta —to unpack the real...

What happens when faith, trauma, and hypnotherapy collide? In Episode 20 of The Common Ground Podcast , John “PhillyGoLive” Fletcher and co-host Sydney Curtin sit down with Evie Sullivan — Austrian-born psychologist, integrative medical hypnotherapist, former actress and journalist — to unpack how hypnosis, faith, and the subconscious all show up in real-life healing. Evie shares her powerful stor...

Can you chase justice by day and chase meaning by night? In this episode of The Common Ground Podcast , John “Philly” Fletcher and Sydney Curtin sit down with Eric Harrison — lawyer by day, songwriter by morning/late-night, vinyl-loving storyteller always — to talk about what it really looks like to balance a demanding legal career with a thriving creative life. #TheCommonGroundPodcast #CommonGrou...

Episode 18 – Peace Ike: Bold & Kind: Faithful Conversations in a Divided World What does it look like to be both bold and kind in a culture obsessed with outrage, labels, and “us vs. them”? In this episode of The Common Ground Podcast , Sydney and John sit down with Peace Ike —executive coach, communication strategist, speaker, worship leader, and founder of Set the Table and The Gathering Pla...

What does it look like to raise up a bold, Bible-anchored generation in a world shaped by TikTok trends, ideological battles, and constant noise? In this episode, John and Sydney sit down with Britney Jenine Moonsamy —writer, author, songwriter, rap artist, and founder of Youth Cross Experience Magazine from Durban, South Africa—to talk about discipling Gen Z in a culture full of competing influen...

Welcome to a very special episode of The Common Ground Podcast with your hosts John “Philly” Fletcher and Sydney Curtin . Today, it’s just the two of us — no guest, no interruptions — because something important has been happening behind the scenes, and it's time to talk about it. After 10+ episodes, hundreds of guest inquiries, and a powerful shift sparked partly by recent events involving Ch...

What do you do when the narcissist isn’t an ex—you still have to see them at work, in your family, or in your building? In this powerful conversation, hosts John “Philly” Fletcher and Sydney Curtin sit down with H , a veteran teacher and Muslim American, to unpack life with a narcissist you can’t leave. We dig into gaslighting vs. reality, boundaries that protect (not punish), culture and faith dy...

When everything you’ve built falls apart, can obedience still look like success? In this powerful episode, Meme Mulugeta , founder of The One and Only Publishing , joins John Fletcher and Sydney Curtin to share her extraordinary journey from corporate success and devastating loss to divine purpose and radical obedience. After losing everything, Meme heard God say, “Write your book.” What started a...

Survivor advocate and new podcaster Sara Creque shares how she went from feeling invisible to reclaiming her voice—launching Unquiet Healing to “heal out loud.” We talk trauma bonds, leaving an abusive marriage, single-mom grit, EMDR therapy (what it is and how it helped), co-parenting through the court system, and the power of safe community (CASA, friends, faith) to move from survival to a life...