Driftwood Conversations

C. Von Hassett — Awareness, Death and the Practice of the Pause Writer and longtime meditation practitioner C. Von Hassett joins Hilary Sloane for a wide-ranging conversation about awareness, fear, death, meditation, and learning to be present in an increasingly distracted world. Hassett has practiced Dzogchen, a Tibetan contemplative tradition, for more than thirty-five years. From his home in Ri...

Jeff Hafler has spent more than twenty years building an unusual life in California's high desert. He owns the Beauty Bubble Salon and Museum in Joshua Tree and is a musician, former yoga teacher, collector, husband, and father. He also believes deeply in synchronicity and in paying attention when life seems to point you in a particular direction. Jeff and I talk about leaving West Hollywood for W...

Mandi Leigh: Leaving the Life You’re Good At Mandi Leigh spent years working in the film industry, beginning as a production assistant on Supernatural and eventually becoming an assistant director. She was good at the work. She loved it. But another part of her life was becoming impossible to ignore. “I love working in film, but I love life more.” Mandi had always been a singer, but when she began...

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 fr...

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 l...

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 so...

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-drive...

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 anima...

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...

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, servic...

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, whi...

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 intell...

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 act...

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 M...

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 storie...

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, de...

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 b...

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 gain...

  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 messag...

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...

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 th...

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...

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 men...

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 wh...

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...