Back to Square One

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After a 2 week hiatus, Derek and Carmen are back but for this season's finale episode. The best friends wrap up this era by looking back at the growth and emotional breakthroughs achieved in the last 21 episodes. Who were they before Back to Square One and how has the podcast changed them? What have they learn from this season's episodes? Derek and Carmen uses this episode to thank each other, the...

We'll see you guys soon in a couple weeks! 

Welcome to Season 2 of Back to Square One! On this episode, Derek and Carmen attempt to feature their mothers as guests on the show. On this Mother's Day Special, Carmen talks about her struggle with body image and mom guilt as she enters the final trimester of pregnancy. Derek and Carmen discuss the underappreciated mother who does it all and the overpraised father who does the bare minimum. Fina...

This week, Derek and Carmen wrap up the first 20 episodes dabbling in the MANY recurring topics in the history of Back to Square One. From Derek's situationships and broken upbringing to Carmen's hopes and dreams for her son as she enters into motherhood. In this episode, Derek contemplates the link between his search for and need to show affection and the absence of such affection in his childhoo...

Welcome Back. What do you do when you know a relationship has expired but your heart just won't let go? What happens when you have a tendency to overthink but also have an inability to open up? I'm unhappy and struggling but, who will listen? This week Derek and Carmen dissect their friend's relationship woes. Carmen shares her identity crisis as she transitions into the new world of motherhood. D...

Welcome back! It's been an eventful week for our Back to Square One hosts. While Carmen was recovering from COVID, Derek was on a mission to find the love of his life with help from the TikTok and Aritzia community. Derek updates us on the interesting events that transpired on his most recent dates. Derek and Carmen dissect Everything, Everywhere, All at Once ( SPOILER ALERT !), a film that explor...

This week on Back to Square One, Derek and Carmen talk about all things Downtown Toronto. Derek shares his recent encounter with some strange characters at a downtown McDonald's. While Derek reveals how moving downtown changed his life and his intentions to remain in the city, Carmen chats about her experience living downtown in her early 20's and why she chose to leave and move to the suburbs. Wh...

While Eden has been away on a 2 week bachelor and work trip, Carmen shares the fears and insecurities that crept up during her time home alone. Carmen reflects on her childhood and the difficulties her mom must have endured raising them without the help of her dad. Derek and Carmen discuss long-distance relationships and what couples must do to make it work. Derek talks about his fears of having t...

This week on Back to Square One, Carmen talks about her recent trip to Vancouver where her and her friends witnessed a "murder". Derek and Carmen go on to discuss Netflix's popular reality show, Love is Blind. Is love truly blind? How important is emotional connection? Physical connection? The two discuss the importance having good role models of love early in life. Carmen wonders how the absence...

Are you toxic? How do you know if you're in a toxic relationship? If so, how do you get out of one? This week on Back to Square One, Derek and Carmen discuss the 25 toxic traits from Dr. Erin Eatough's article "Too Toxic! How to spot the traits in yourself and others". From lack of empathy for others to self-centredness and from being quick to anger to avoiding conflict, Carmen and Derek discuss t...

After an extremely heavy episode last week, Derek organizes his thoughts and sits down with Carmen this week to talk about the steps he's taken to actively move on from his childhood trauma. Carmen and Derek share the ways in which they deal with their depressions and problems. They introduce their discord channel to everyone who feels alone and who are in search of a safe and supportive community...

This episode is dedicated to Yolo, Derek's Labrador Retriever & Border Collie mix who passed in January the night of recording episode 11. Derek shares the events leading up to and following the heartbreaking news of Yolo's passing. Derek and Carmen recall earlier memories of Yolo and Derek speaks on what he has learned from being a dog owner. Despite undergoing the shared sorrow of Yolo's pas...

This week, Derek and Carmen share unsolicited dating tips and advice! They go over what they find attractive in the opposite sex and tricks on how to make yourself feel and look more confident. Derek and Carmen dive into what they learned from their own dating experiences and things they wish they had done differently in their previous relationships.   If you could go back in time, what would...

Welcome back! In episode 10, Derek and Carmen talk origin stories. Derek shares the details of how he pursued a less traditional career path - from music engineering and wedding photography to talent management and now, creating Schedule35. Derek discusses the “extra credits” theory which he believes to be the reason behind his risk-taking endeavours. Carmen shares how she stumbled into the misund...

This week, Derek and Carmen go back in time and recount their earliest childhood memories. Derek tells the story of when someone stole his beloved red ball while living in government housing and growing up being terrified of his dad's explosive temper. Carmen describes an embarrassing memory of shopping with her mom and her first encounter with law enforcement at the tender age of six. Derek and C...

Welcome back to another episode! This week on Back to Square One, Derek and Carmen talk all things chemistry. What is chemistry? How do you know when you have it with someone?  Who do you wish you had chemistry with but don't? Is it more common to have chemistry with people who are of the same ethnicity because of similar upbringings and cultural understanding? Derek and Carmen go into the ch...

This week, Derek and Carmen reacts to the TikTok comments of their two most controversial posts from episode 1. Can guy + girl best friends be truly platonic without exploring all doors? Why is it hard to keep people we vibe with in our lives despite things not working out romantically? Carmen discusses her insecurity of sharing her life with the world and dealing with negative comments. Derek and...

Carmen shares HUGE news! She's pregnant! Carmen retraces the emotional roller coaster of trying to conceive and her first thoughts after finding out. Derek is educated on the insecurities and rush that women suffer and feel, thanks to the ticking female biological clock and fertility concerns associated with age. Carmen gets emotional describing the devotion and passion she has to becoming the bes...

Welcome back! After last week's episode, where Derek reflects on his childhood and upbringing, he decides to reach out to his younger brother after a 6-year hiatus. Derek describes the reunion and confirms his previous assumptions about his family dynamics after talking with his brother. Carmen illustrates the relationship she had with her younger sister and the burdened role of being the older si...

In this episode, Derek shares the intimate memories of his broken childhood and reflects on the family dynamics that made him who he is today. Derek admits his fear of commitment, his struggles with intimacy, and relationships overall as a result of the conditioning and lack of family and togetherness in his life.  ** This episode is also sponsored by Schedule35 - your best microdosing source...

Welcome back! Carmen and Derek dig deep and retrace the steps on Carmen's journey with her husband, Eden. From long-time friends to now, life partners.  Carmen describes the ups and downs of the marriage to date by answering a series of hard questions posed by a curious Derek. Carmen talks about what really matters in marriage. They also discuss what almost broke her marriage, what saved it,...

In this episode, Derek and Carmen discuss the past, present and future of their friendship. Derek recounts moments in their friendship that made it difficult to remain close and discuss how friendships change when your bestie is dating one of your closest buddies. They talk about how the pandemic dug up past traumas and brought people closer together while tearing other relationships apart. Carmen...

Welcome to episode one of Back to Square One! Best Friends, Derek and Carmen take a walk down memory lane and revisit how they met and life growing up in the suburbs.  Join them as they sit down and dissect whether opposite-sex besties can be 100% platonic and if so, how?  Carmen plans a big Christmas Party and Derek questions the guestlist as they argue whether invites should be based o...