Everyday Thin Places

Rachael and Elizabeth share a vulnerable and tender conversation about being one year into the Covid-19 pandemic. This episode is about looking back into the past year to explore normalizing some of the difficult challenges and emotions we have collectively confronted. Visit  https://www.everydaythinplaces.com/donate.html  to support this podcast and the community we are building.

In this episode, Rachael and Elizabeth discuss the power of naming - people, places, things, feelings, ideas, all of it!

Poet, Pastor, and Peacemaker, Drew Jackson joins us to talk about his forthcoming book “God Speaks Through Wombs”. Drew has an amazing ability to reclaim the narratives of scripture through his poetry and talking with him was inspiring and challenging and we are so honored to share our conversation with you! https://www.djacksonpoetics.com/ https://www.ivpress.com/god-speaks-through-wombs https://...

Astronomy hobbyist Charlie McLoughlin is here to talk about his passion for astronomy. We talk through astronomical events and discoveries and ponder the cool stuff happening in the Universe around us.

Rachael Gallagher and Elizabeth Varaso discuss regenerative organic agriculture with Jeff Tkach from Rodale Institute. Jeff is Chief Impact Officer for the Rodale Institute and is responsible for expanding Rodale Institute's global influence in healing people and the planet by unlocking the transformational power of regenerative organic agriculture. 

Former lawyer, and current doula and grandmother, Cathy McCormick swings by to talk about being a self-described "loudmouth", how that characteristic has served her throughout her life, and her transitions from lawyer, to childbirth educator, to doula, to grandmother. Cathy is someone both Elizabeth and Rachael love, and soon you'll love her too. 

Elizabeth tells Rachael about the deeper meaning behind the margins in her monthly word art. We needed a margin episode before we jumped right back into our interview episodes, so we used this episode to create some margins of our own.  Don't forget to rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode.

It's our fourth and final mini-episode for the month of January, and one of our listeners has a questions about one of Elizabeth's monthly rituals.  We find out that this podcast may have never come to be if Elizabeth hadn't stumbled upon this spiritual practice! Click here to check our our show notes to see some examples of the pieces Elizabeth has made, and use the hashtags #every...

Rachael Gallagher and Elizabeth Varaso discuss some helpful feedback from a child-free listener. We have some ideas for future episodes about all the ways people create family and we're really excited to share those with you in 2021!

Rachael Gallagher and Elizabeth Varaso discuss an imaginary dinner party with all the guest from every episode of Everyday Thin Places. What will we eat? What will we talk about? How soon can we make this happen?!

In this week's mini-episode we explore the surprises of hosting Everyday Thin Places. To send us a question for a future mini episode, reach us at everydaythinplaces@gmail.com. Visit  http://everydaythinplaces.com for links to everything we mention on the show. Follow us on Instagram (@everydaythinplaces). Choose your own adventure and listen to one of our previous episodes that you missed!

Once upon a time in January 2020 we had visions about making this year meaningful. It may not have looked exactly like what we expected, but it has certainly been a meaningful year. And, 2021 is still ours! This week we talk about saying goodbye to 2020, including some of the specific plans Rachael made at this time last year. We're also talking about the hopes we have for 2021. Follow Everyd...

In this episode, we talk through the idea of darkness. Today is the Winter Solstice, and that inspired us to reflect on darkness. Through our conversation, we learned that Elizabeth is a night owl and Rachael is an early bird, and that Elizabeth prefers the dark and Rachael is working on her appreciation of darkness.  There is beauty in the darkness and we recognize the privilege of being invited...

Rachael Gallagher and Elizabeth Varaso are joined by Dr. Liam Robins to discuss Hanukkah, embracing Judaism as an adult, the "thin place" experience of lighting the Hanukkah candles, and more. Buy us a cup of coffee: https://ko-fi.com/everydaythinplaces

Rachael Gallagher and Elizabeth Varaso are joined by poet Kaitlin Shetler to discuss her poem 'Sometimes I Wonder', the concept of incarnation, going deeper into the beauty of the Christmas story, and so much more. Like what you hear and want to help support this podcast?  Say thank you by buying us a cup of coffee!  www.ko-fi.com/everydaythinplaces Visit our website at www.everydaythinp...

This week, Rachael and Elizabeth take a deep dive into the world of couture jewelry design with Michelle Pajak-Reynolds. We learn how Michelle started making jewelry early in life, how her travels and research inform the designs she creates, and she walks us through the process of how collections come to be from mining her own gemstones to making their way to their forever homes. Michelle designs...

For this bonus episode, Rachael and Elizabeth are joined by the very talented artist and designer Mark Ruffin, who started the movement, Black Dolls Matter, which has grown from a social media campaign to a retailer of dolls, doll clothing, and accessories. He talks to Rachael and Elizabeth about how Black Dolls Matter came to be, the magic of having a doll that looks like you, how we can all supp...

Kay Bruner is here and we're talking about her family motto: "whatever happens, we'll get through it together", how to make this holiday season meaningful regardless of how "unprecedented" this season will be, and the importance of boundaries. Follow Everyday Thin Places on Insta: www.instagram.com/everydaythinplaces! We want to see you there! Like what you hear and w...

Rachael Gallagher and Elizabeth Varaso discuss the enneagram with enneagram coach, Erin Sur. We discuss everything from how Erin uses the enneagram to coach her clients to which Friends characters fit into which enneagram type, and Elizabeth shares her image of each of the enneagram types as spots on a dance floor. Let's dance! Like what you hear and want to help support this podcast?  Say th...

Rachael Gallagher and Elizabeth Varaso discuss a profound weekend that they both experienced a few weeks ago.  Within a few hours, Elizabeth helped a family to welcome their rainbow baby into the world and Rachael said her final goodbye to her grandmother, a holocaust survivor. Rachael reminisces about her Gran, Rene Koenigsberg Hammond and Elizabeth opens up about the precious experience of helpi...

Rachael Gallagher and Elizabeth Varaso are joined by Conrad Benner, who is a blogger, a podcaster, an organizer, a curator, and a photographer. They discuss  "Mailbox Voters", a project created to educate voters on all the ways to vote, "To The Polls 2020", a display of temporary murals in Love Park using public art to encourage people to vote, and how Conrad balances non-parti...

Rachael Gallagher and Elizabeth Varaso are joined by Isaac Saul, a journalist and the founder of Tangle, an independent, ad-free, non-partisan, politics newsletter that offers both sides of the biggest news stories every day. He'll walk us through how Tangle came to be, what Isaac thinks of our shared state of Pennsylvania, and what his daily work looks like. This is a must listen (especially...

Horror film scholar and expert, Jennifer Moorman is here for the episode we thought would be perfect for this week leading up to Halloween. Jen shares about how she developed a love for horror films, how monsters in horror films can help "outsiders" to feel empowered, and the power of the unknown that horror filmmakers tap into in order to scare us.  We also discuss how death and birth a...

Author, speaker, and podcaster Rob Bell joins us to talk about his new book, "Everything is Spiritual", the power of well-asked questions, and what is giving him hope right now. We begin by talking about the power of a good ending. Then we talk about everything from asking good questions, to the unexpected twists and turns of life, to human reproduction, and so much more. Like what you h...

Halley Kim joins us to talk about her service, "Birthing Your Stories", which is a service to help mothers to put their birth stories and stories of new beginnings into words. While many of us have struggled to put our stories onto paper, Halley shares about the importance of telling our stories and provides a way for us to get them out in the open. We also reflect on the importance of h...