Art Episodes

Oct. 26, 2025

Collective Mind & Community: Navigating Fear, Connection, and Public Spaces

What influences the way we think — as a society, as neighbors, as humans? This week, Fawn and Matt go deep into collective consciousness and the emotional shifts happening in our communities today. From joyful moments like hearing a musician transform a parking lot into an oasis of connection… to fear-driven responses like calling police on harmless creativity… this conversation explores the widening divide between people sharing the same space. Topics include: How community dynamics influence what we fear (and who) Why our nervous systems respond instantly to headlines and algorithms Public spaces, safety, and why creative expression is under threat How to create connection when local trust erodes Global friendships as a lifeline and perspective check Practical ways to reclaim agency and restore belonging This episode reminds us that even when systems feel overwhelming, connection is still possible — and necessary. #CommunityMindset #CollectiveConsciousness #ModernCommunity…
Aug. 19, 2024

"When Boundaries Break: Navigating Friendship Challenges and Personal Growth"

"When Boundaries Break: Navigating Friendship Challenges and Personal Growth" In this episode of Our Friendly World, we dive deep into the complex world of boundaries and how they impact our friendships and self-worth. Fawn shares personal stories of navigating difficult situations, where her boundaries were tested, leading to heartbreak and valuable life lessons. With insights from close friends, the discussion explores how to establish and maintain boundaries, the importance of self-respect, and the courage it takes to stand up for oneself, even when it means risking being seen as the "bad person." Tune in for an honest conversation on the challenges of protecting your emotional well-being while nurturing healthy relationships. This episode revolves around the theme of boundaries in relationships and personal interactions. Fawn and Matt discuss their experiences and insights regarding how boundaries are tested, the challenges of maintaining them, and the importance o…
July 1, 2024

The World's Fair

This week's episode dives deep into the concept of hope and community through the lens of historical and modern perspectives on World's Fairs. Join Matt and Fawn as they explore the legacy of World's Fairs, from their origins showcasing futuristic visions to today's societal challenges and the role of media and technology in shaping our perceptions. Reflecting on the power of optimism amidst contemporary fears, they discuss how understanding our past can inspire a brighter future, fostering connections and resilience in an uncertain world. #WorldsFair, #FutureOfHope, #ScienceFiction, #PositivityMatters, #AIAndCreativity, #CommunityBuilding, #OvercomingFear
June 24, 2024

How to Voice a Community with Rachael Naylor

Fawn and Matt are joined by special guest Rachael Naylor, founder of the VoiceOver Network, as they explore how to build a community from the ground up using your voice and the transformative power of vulnerability and generosity. They discuss how openness fosters deep connections and creates supportive communities, drawing from personal experiences within the VoiceOver Network. Rachael shares insights on voice acting and the impact of authenticity in communication, while Fawn reflects on her journey of growth and success. The conversation underscores the importance of embracing authenticity, practicing generosity, and cultivating positive energy to navigate challenges and foster meaningful relationships. Vulnerability, Generosity, Voiceover, Community, Authenticity, Connection, Growth #VulnerabilityMatters, #VoiceOverCommunity, #GenerosityInAction, #AuthenticConnections, #VoiceActing, #CommunitySupport, #PersonalGrowth Rachael Naylor https://www.instagram.com/rachael.naylor/ ht…
April 1, 2024

"Finding Happiness and Deepening Friendships: Embracing Rituals for Everyday Joy"

In this week's episode of "Perfect Days," Fawn and Matt dive into the importance of rituals and routines in finding happiness and deepening friendships. Inspired by a Japanese film titled "Perfect Days," the hosts explore how the protagonist's daily routines bring him peace and fulfillment, despite the mundanity of his tasks. They discuss how too many choices can lead to analysis paralysis, emphasizing the value of simplicity and shared experiences in fostering intimacy and connection with others. Through anecdotes and personal reflections, they highlight the significance of finding rituals that bring joy and meaning to everyday life. Tune in to discover the beauty in embracing rituals and the impact they can have on your happiness and relationships. #FriendshipGoals #RitualsOfFriendship #DeepeningConnections #HappinessThroughRituals #SimpleJoys #IntimateMoments #EmbracingRituals #MeaningfulConnections #EverydayHappiness #FindingJoy
Feb. 12, 2024

The Art of Joy

This week's episode delves into the importance of joy in life, especially during challenging times, exploring the significance of creating art or engaging in creative activities every day to maintain balance and counteracting negative thoughts. The episode emphasizes the transformative power of joy, even in the face of hardship, and encourages listeners to embrace and prioritize joy in their lives. Fawn and Matt, share personal experiences and discuss a seven-day program called "Big Joy" based on a citizen science project at UC Berkeley, designed to increase emotional well-being and cultivating joy. The big reminder: JOY, especially in times of hardship, when times are hard, guy, when there's so much sorrow, when things are scary, you need joy. Joy is our life force.Do not feel guilty about experiencing joy. You need to. It is a necessity. It is a life force. #TheArtOfFriendship, #OurFriendlyWorld, #TheArtOfJoy, #JoyChallenge, #BigJoy, #GreaterGoodScience, #UCBerkeleyJoyProject,…
Nov. 27, 2023

Friendship and Emotional Support, Lessons Learned from Prejudice

This podcast episode delves into personal experiences with prejudice and discrimination, discussing the emotional impact and strategies for coping. Fawn recounts encountering prejudice in a new group, reflecting on the pain, shame, and feelings of being disregarded or unseen due to racism. The episode outlines steps to address such emotions, emphasizing acknowledging pain, accepting grief, seeking support, and nurturing oneself physically and emotionally. Fawn shares a transformative shift in perspective by communicating her desires to the universe, leading to a change in how she perceives the situation, ultimately aiming for a harmonious experience. Please tell everyone you can about our efforts in bringing back the art of friendship and transforming our society for the better. Click the subscribe button on our website:https://www.ourfriendlyworldpodcast.com/AND...Have a BEAUTIFUL EVERY DAY! And if you are able, please donate by buying us a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee…
Oct. 22, 2023

We Are a Murmur

A murmur is when hundreds or thousands of starlings flock together and create swooping swirling patterns in the sky. We've all seen it, you know, like all of a sudden, you look up because you hear something in the sky. You see just so many of them flying and they're in unison. They're in perfect harmony and synchronicity. You can see them flying and roosting together. And each roost has a few thousand to several million birds. They may fly over, a 12-mile area, looking for their home. And then other birds can sometimes join them, like join the ride. Ha ha.And then, when they arrive, it's like, they announce themselves through a murmur, those shapes that they create as they fly together.And when you look at it, they create shapes that we know. Like, I've seen some videos of them, over an ocean, and they're flying in the sky, and they're going from here to there, they're swirling, they separate, they come back together.Like water and then they turn into something that looks like a whal…
Oct. 16, 2023

Mama vs MOMA - The Feeling of ARTRAGE and How Our Presence Creates Ripples in the World

Every person is like a work of art. Fawn has a not-so-friendly trip to a museum and experiences #artrage and goes to a totally different museum and experiences LOVE and INSPIRATION. Whatever we do in life can be a way to help one another, it's about helping one another. It's about human connection. It's about love. It's about supporting one another. It's about community.Bringing it back to the art of friendship, institutions, businesses, people, animals, everything creates a ripple effect and creates a whole new world. Let's look at the people, and the institutions, and see how they contribute to the ripple. #MoMA #EricCarleMuseum #artrage, #rippleeffects, #artodfriendship Please tell everyone you can about our efforts in bringing back the art of friendship and transforming our society for the better. Click the subscribe button on our website:https://www.ourfriendlyworldpodcast.com/AND...Have a BEAUTIFUL EVERY DAY! And if you are able, please donate by buying us a cup of coffee at …
May 8, 2023

Unleashing and Untethering Self-Identity within Friendships/Relationships for Survival

As life happens, everybody fights, everybody argues everybody has a bad day. It's like people don't allow each other to flex and expand and contract. Oftentimes we get so focused and like we draw so much strength from things we've done in the past that have made sense for us that we can't conceive of a world where that doesn't make sense anymore. When you have misunderstandings, people misunderstand and they think it's the end of the friendship or the end of the relationship, but in reality, there's so much to unpack because everybody is experiencing their own life, their own interpretation of things, their own stresses, and everybody looks circumstances through the lens of their own past experiences. It's like you're not allowed to have three dimensions. You're only allowed to have two. And then some cases, one dimension. You have to be flexible. You have to go with the flow. It's the only way to thrive. Neither one of us can say anything with certainty's. That's the fun part. That'…
March 27, 2023

The War of Art and Clearing Self-Hatred - Peeling the Onion to Love

We're joined by our friend Marianne.  We're joined by our friend Marianne and discuss the strange occurrence that happens when we do something creative when we start to feel a passion as you feel like, oh my God, I want to do this, or I want to say this, I want to experience this, there's a kind of inertia pulling us to the opposite extreme.  It's this opposing kind of dynamic that's happening. I feel like when we pursue our dreams and our dreams could be pursuing our voice, pursuing speaking the truth in the world, we are met with this kind of resistance. Steven Pressfield calls it "The War of Art". It's a force that can stop you from doing what you're supposed to be doing. If you don't value yourself, you'll always sell yourself short. In this episode, we explore a way to clear these things, these horrible, heavy, negative thoughts that keep us from our greatness, for striving for what we need. We strive for unlimitedness and feeling free.Pick up a free copy of Fawn's workbook on m…
March 20, 2023

The Art of Self Awareness

The whole platform for our podcast is the art of friendship, and at the root is the art of communication.In discussing self-awareness, taking a look at ourselves and how we operate. Getting to know who we truly are, how we react to things, what our history is, why we think a certain way, why we act a certain way, what makes us introverted?What makes us like an outgoing person? What makes us want to do what we're doing? Like, where does all that come from? Understanding that will help us to understand others. SELF: (noun) a person's essential being that distinguishes them from others, especially considered as the object of introspection or reflexive action. A person's particular nature or personality, the quality that makes a person individual or unique. One's own interests or pleasure used ironically to refer to oneself as someone else. Like for example, "The only side worth supporting is your own sweet self. "Okay, SELF (verb): Self Pollinate Self-fertilize. Here's an example. " A va…
March 6, 2023

Don't Blame It On The Pandemic

I want to talk about the loneliness epidemic. People are talking about it like it's something that the pandemic brought about, but it's not. It has been here for a long time. The loneliness epidemic was here long before the 2019 pandemic, but people were more likely to speak about it, speak about the fact that they were at home alone, or they felt loneliness, that they felt like, wow, I don't have anyone near me. I don't have someone to turn to. I want to say, don't blame the pandemic. This is something that's been here long before. It's been happening decade after decade. It came to a point where I think, and I've said this before, I think that people felt ashamed, that it was their fault that they didn't have any friends, which meant that there was something wrong with them. But what we noticed was throughout the decades, it was getting worse and worse, and that you are not at fault.
Feb. 27, 2023

The Auger

Today's topic is having anxiety about the future. Let's fix our mental and physical posture. Are we looking at the future that's not good but we're forced to pursue? This brings us to the one word for the podcast episode today, which is Auger. What does it mean and how can it help shape our fate? Are we truly hopeful about the future? Are we OK with the direction that life is taking? It's about where are we going or not going. Is something happening too fast? Is something changing in your life that doesn't feel right? How many of us are feeling these things, and what can we do about it?
Feb. 20, 2023

Me, We - The Shortest Poem in History and Muhammad Ali on Friendship

"Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school, but if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you haven't learned anything"- Muhammad Ali. " Friendship is a priceless gift that cannot be bought nor sold, but its value is far greater than a mountain made of gold. For gold is cold and lifeless. It can neither see nor hear. In times of trouble, it's powerless cheer. It has no ears to listen, no heart to understand. It cannot bring you comfort or reach out a helping hand. So when you ask God for a gift, be thankful if sends not diamonds, pearls, or riches but the love of real, true friends."- Muhammad Ali on friendship.
Feb. 13, 2023

Love and Hate - How to Heal a Broken Heart with Barry Lane

Barry Lane, the ambassador of love and kindness, troubadour for loving-kindness is with us again, this time from Uvalde, Texas. Barry travels all over the place and he not only teaches kindness, but he spreads kindness everywhere. He goes to schools. He works with children, he's given TED Talks.In this episode, we discuss what is stronger love or hate?  How do you mend a broken heart? Where to find love when it seems all we see is a "prickly cactus"?Everybody is operating from some sort of trauma. Everyone has pain.  Everyone's doing their best going through whatever they're going through. EVERYONE is literally operating at their highest capacity. Now, that may not mean that they're operating to your standards, to your standards, they're just operating from the best way that they can live. And that goes with friendship. Barry is visiting with the children and teachers who were inside the massacre at Uvalde and we take some time to discuss how we can heal, and how we can be there for…
Guest: Barry Lane
Jan. 23, 2023

7 Ways of Rest Your Body and Mind Need So That You Can Be a Good Friend

Let's talk about rest. R e s t. We're always going, going, going! Doesn't the world to you seem like everything is speeding up faster and faster, and that time is going by incredibly fast, like a rollercoaster fast?Today's episode is on the value of rest and all the different types of rest we need to look at.There are 7 different ways of rest that our bodies need. And when we rest, we are better friends. We have a free gift for you. Go to https://www.ourfriendlyworldpodcast.com/ and pick up a free copy of Fawn's “Ikigai of Friendship” companion book And to gift us, tell others about our podcast, and leave a kind review.
Aug. 29, 2022

The Origins of Ethics and Its Influence on Friendship part 3

ethics and the origins of it, understand ethics, bringing it back to how it is affecting our friendships, how it is affecting our society, and basically ultimately our lives. Ethics is philosophical and it deals, it concerns itself with conduct in questions of good and evil in right and wrong. The definition- Ethical; derived from the Greek word ethos, which means character, and from the word, Mores, which means customs. Together they combine to define how individuals choose to interact with one another. So let's make things better, create a better world, and try to understand the shenanigans that took place that created the whole basis for ethics. We also explore Greek and Roman influence on us to this day. What do we do with this information? Understanding how we got where we are now and where we are now is the key. There are a lot of weirdness, differences, and change we need to look at. Ethics 3 TRANSCRIPT [00:00:00] Fawn: Hello, everybody. Welcome back. [00:00:01] Matt: H…
Aug. 8, 2022

The True Meaning of 'Martyr' and how it Affects Our Relationships

Fawn and Matt get into the etymology of the word MARTYR and figure out what it means within our various relationships within our culture and society.
March 28, 2022

Colors - How We Perceive Colors in Life and Color Translates In Our Connections with Each Other

Flowers evolve to be attractive to bees so that they can pollinate and they can reproduce themselves, which is if there's a lot of competition in the flower world, this is why you have such stunning orchids. It's because there's so much competition for bees because they can only pollinate so much in a day; the brighter and more colorful flowers attract the bees.But where did the perception of color come from and why is there such angst about color in our conversation and our lives? https://www.buymeacoffee.com/friendlyspace
Feb. 27, 2022

Galvanized - How Our Friendships and Thoughts Change the World

This is an URGENT message for today! Let's change what is happening right now! The world is a safe place, you guys (I KNOW, I KNOW... lately it feels and looks like it's the end of days. It's scary), but there's more to it. The world is also a loving, friendly place. The world is a small town and everyone is your friend. And there are all kinds of friends, each one with various amounts of capacities and areas of focused abilities and ways about them. In this episode, we provide a key to changing the world. We talk about how one man can create chaos and make millions of people experience terror. We talk about how one person also has the power to make everything GREAT! That one person is you. That one person is us. We talk about Nikola Tesla and remind each other of how truly powerful we are and how we can TOTALLY change the world in the midst of terrible things happening. We've been doing different episodes, "The Quiet Friend", "The Weird Friend", all the different types of friends.…
Dec. 13, 2021

Perceiving Together and Overcoming Adversity with our Friend Vanessa Brantley-Newton

With our friend and author/illustrator/singer/all-around artist extraordinaire, Vanessa Brantley-Newton, we discuss Perceiving together (also the meaning of Synesthesia), and overcoming adversity is the topic. We discuss thriving in life and building a toolbox for overcoming anything in life. We get into the concept of HOW WE ARE SEEN vs SHOWING PEOPLE WHO WE ARE. And of course, we get into the etymology of today's topic: OVERCOME. To reach Vanessa or learn more about her work: https://www.vanessabrantleynewton.com/ https://www.instagram.com/vanessabrantleynewton/ If you want a website like ours: https://www.podpage.com/?via=fawn
Dec. 6, 2021

The Art of Creating a Loving and Beautiful World with Vanessa Brantley-Newton

the art of friendship; we've talked about the different kinds of friends, the art of friendship, people along the way who changed the direction of our path, our understanding of life, the trajectory of our heart. It happens in different ways. It could be good or bad. I'm really mostly talking about the good. We've talked about this on other episodes. For example, one of my favorite episodes that we did was the one on "The Weird Friend". remember Matt. That's where through the etymology and from our own personal experience, we understood the original and true meaning of the word weird, which meant, or means fate chance, fortune destiny, like totally magical. Some friends are people who meet us on the path for a few seconds. I think all meetings are all pre-planned meetings. Have you ever had a friend or been in the presence of a person who weaves magic all around? Have you ever had that friend with mountain-moving words; with such elegance and style, with great command, with power…