The Big Silence

Today's guest is Miki Agrawal. Miki is a social entrepreneur, advisor, and investor who uses creativity and disruptive innovation to challenge the status quo and change culture. She is the founder of several acclaimed social enterprises: TUSHY, THINX and WILD (collectively valued at over 200 million). She is also the author of the #1 best-selling books Do Cool Sh*t and Disrupt-Her.  She passi...

Today's guest on The Big Silence is Dr. Doni Wilson, a naturopathic doctor, certified professional midwife, certified nutrition specialist, and author of Master Your Stress, Reset For Health. We go deep on stress, how it manifests in our bodies and minds, long term effects, and ways to effectively manage it in our day-to-day lives. Her diverse background makes her an expert on stress as it relates...

Brother and sister duo and Soul co-founders, Mike and Angie Lee, are here to share how they’ve made transitions in their career journeys and found natural solutions to managing ADHD, anxiety, and depression. Angie is a highly sought after marketing mentor, keynote speaker, professional podcaster, and serial entrepreneur. Mike is a world-ranked professional boxer who has fought in some of the world...

Today's guest needs no introduction. Liz Plosser is the Editor-in-Chief of Women's Health. She's been passionately reporting and editing health, fitness, nutrition, sexual health, and mental health content for her entire career. She has a 360-degree outlook on the wellness world, having worked across platforms at print magazines (Self, Cosmopolitan), with video (CosmoBody), overseeing content and...

Terri Cole is back for her third appearance on the podcast. Terri is a licensed psychotherapist, global empowerment and relationship expert with a gift for making complex psychological concepts accessible and actionable. In this episode, we explore the toxic patterns and cycles women experience that keep us stressed and burned out. Whether it’s in relation to our career, external relationships or...

Today’s episode is a panel discussion from a fitness event in Austin at the Kollective social performance club featuring three inspirational trainers; Melissa Alcantara, aka Fit Gurl Mel, Jeremy Hills, founder of Kollective, and my personal trainer, Sandy Brockman.  We talk about having a goal with your fitness regardless of your age to keep you accountable and engaged, advice for people new...

Michael Webb is unlike any magician you’ve seen in person or virtually on zoom. As a full-time magician with 15 years experience, Sydney magician Magic Mike is a fun, easy going and approachable magician who caught my attention after I watched his inspirational mental health message on Australia’s Got Talent in 2022 that brought me to tears. I loved talking to Mike about his mental health journey;...

Today's guest on The Big Silence is Kati Morton. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist with a master's degree in psychology from Pepperdine University, as well as a successful author and speaker known for humanizing mental health through her super popular YouTube channel.  We cover big and little T traumas, the traits of a good and bad therapist, the cost of therapy, what high funct...

A first-generation immigrant raised on Long Island, NY, Vasavi Kumar is famous for “Saying It Out Loud.” She’s a former TV host, licensed therapist, and the creator of the Say It Out Loud Safe Haven, an online support community. She holds dual Masters degrees in Special Education from Hofstra University and Social Work from Columbia University. Vasavi is an open book in this one, getting raw and h...

Today, we have a special mixed-AMA episode with a dear, dear friend of mine, Miya. Miya and I met at the gym and have been close friends for over twenty years – witnessing and supporting one another through the many seasons of our lives – the good, the painful, and everything in between. We begin the episode with Miya’s learned experience with love and parenting, how she’s grown to place the utmos...

Today on The Big Silence, we’re joined by Debbie Whitehead, a licensed therapist with thirty years of experience in mental health and family and marriage counseling. She shares her deep trauma experience as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse which led to her becoming a thriver and sharing her story with the world. [Content Warning: This episode deals with overcoming difficult traumas, including...

Diagnosed with depression at the young age of thirteen, Joey Thurman’s journey as a young person was more challenging than he made it appear to the outside world as a multi-sport athlete. At home though, his truth was laid bare as he threatened to commit suicide on many occasions. We talk about his journey into the professional fitness space, a success story that sounds similar, and happened aroun...

Alyson Charles, rock-star Shaman and author of Power Animals, started running as a toddler, with her dad as her coach. Making the decision at a young age to suppress her true soul's purpose and calling to maintain a relationship with her dad, she went on to become a national champion athlete and D1 college coach.  But as she describes it – she was winning, but lost. Realizing that she had bee...

You may know today’s guest from iconic shows like Malcolm In The Middle, The Big Bang Theory, and Arrested Development. I know her as my new BFF. Alessandra Torresani is a beaming light of positive energy and healthy outlook; she joins the show to talk about being diagnosed with Bipolar 1 Disorder and thriving as an on-screen sensation and mental health advocate.  Moving to Hollywood at eleve...

Dr. Elisa Hallerman is another gracious guest whose story mirrors some of my own. She’s the author of Soulbriety: A Plan to Heal Your Trauma, Overcome Addiction, and Reconnect with Your Soul (released just last month!) and the founder of her own mental health modality by the same name. In this episode, we go deep on the complex interwoven concepts of sobriety and addiction recovery, discussing her...

Today, we’re joined by Aija Mayrock, a bestselling author, poet, and performer who was bullied as a child and lives, now, to help alleviate that pain from future generations. Her story starts with her most impressionable years spent suffering in silence, mocked for speech impediments, a lisp and a stutter, and experiencing cyberbullying and harassment seeded by a social post by someone she’d never...

It’s time to get this ship in tip top shape, as we’re joined by international leader, speaker, and beloved super yacht Captain, Sandy Yawn. Building upon humble beginnings and overcoming addiction, Captain Sandy retells her story of self-leadership, draws the line between forgiveness and resentment, tells some incredible seas-going stories, and previews her new book – Be the Calm or Be the Storm:...

Bobby is back to help us kick off this energetic interview with keynote speaker, motivational coach, and professional storyteller, Kindra Hall. Known for her dynamic stage presence for all of the world’s top brands, she’s also the author of Stories That Stick and released Choose Your Story, Change Your Life just about a year before this episode is set to air. Seeing herself an outcast as a child,...

Amber Valdez is a spiritual awakening guide and bestselling author. She’s also one of my very best friends, someone I’ve connected with here in Austin over hikes and long conversations about our shared backgrounds and experiences. She grew up in a mentally and physically abusive home with a single mother who was mentally ill. As a young girl, she was creative and entrepreneurial, selling cookies a...

Our ever-elusive co-host joins the show again today, this time, in the captain’s chair as Bobby Goldstein interviews his wife, New York Times bestselling author, and founder of The Big Silence, Karena Dawn. After all, it’s been nearly forty episodes since we caught up with our fearless host. We learn how Karena has processed her mother’s passing, just over a year after the loss, unpacking her evol...

Frolicking nude in nature, giggling, sweating, even crying – there are a few things we can do as humans that deeply connect us to our inner child magic. My guest today, Christine Olivia, grew up in a toxic and unsafe environment. Shaped by that experience, she has learned to treasure the frolicking, to savor the laughter, and to always embrace the playful side of things. Daydreaming as a kid that...

The truth is, life’s not black and white. Today, we’re embracing the greys. And this means so much more than your favorite muted fall fashion tones. Mary Lawless Lee is a mother, writer, entrepreneur, and creator. She’s the author of Happily Grey, a book about in-between living – and she’s our guest on today’s episode of The Big Silence. We start by unpacking the inspiration and meaning behind her...

Dr. Neeta Bhushan is a well-known speaker, entrepreneur, and podcaster ( check out episode 79 of The Brave Table ). She’s also the author of That Sucked. Now What?, hitting bookstores in January. But before she was the evolved and expanded version of Neeta that she is today, she faced a truth that would change everything, forever.  We talk about that day, and the painful years that preceded i...

Today’s episode features Dr. Jaime Zuckerman, aka Dr. Z. She's a national expert in narcissistic abuse and a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of adults with anxiety and mood disorders. She's also a relationship coach and she has her own podcast. We break down narcissistic personality disorder, harmful Disney messaging, golden child syndrome manipulation, and how to have...

This one is all about reframing the negative, avoidant, and prescription-driven social programming around mental health, and more importantly, mental illness. Our guest today, Dr. Daniel Amen, asks a question that illustrates a fascinating contrast… What if brain health was mental health? We parse vocabulary throughout the conversation, how words can mean so much when it comes between a person fee...