Running Wild With Christine

Meet Kelly Tatham, an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and photographer whose work explores the search for love and the quest for the true nature of reality. Kelly is also a rad lady that I met via Girl Gang! (plug plug) For today's episode, we discuss: her short film “Multiverse Dating for Beginners”,  magical realism, living home-free, hustling as a media creative,  internalized misogyny, serendipity, the struggle for love, metaphysics & conscious agence theory, vulnerability and so much more.  What's your stance on the universe? Do you spend your time thinking about the tiny little choices you make/have made that have changed the course of your existence? Join us in this exploration of meaning and communication. "Life is just performance art."  Forgive our struggles with the language because, as Kelly sarcastically puts it,  "like words aren't cages for consciousness..."  Kelly is currently in pre-production on a documentary about the search for t

Oh my lovelies, let me introduce you to Jordan Gray. Jordan is a full-time sex and relationship coach, Amazon best-selling author, and prolific blogger. I have been trying to get him on #RWWC for months, but it wasn't until we first met IRL at an 18-person pansexual play party that he agreed to come on. We obviously tell you more about the sex party but that's merely circumstantial.  For today, I invite you to join us for this beautifully rabbit-holly episode. Topics covered: starting his business, travelling, writing about relationships, pricing your services, the men's club he's a part of, his ideal coaching clients, the reasons why he does his work and the criticism he faces for pushing men to explore their emotions, shame alleviation and shadow work, radical honesty and SO MUCH more.  If you're curious to know what the life of a relationship coach looks like, and how one becomes an expert at removing emotional blocks and encouraging thriving intimate relationships, here's your chance! 

On this wonderful International Women's Day and the first birthday of my book, I wanted to speak with a very special story-teller. Amanda Chatel is a sex & relationships writer for Bustle, a feminist and as of recently, a novelist.  She makes me laugh and cry on a weekly basis via her writing and sarcastic Insta stories. I'm therefore inviting you to sit with us for this beautifully hilarious episode of storytelling. Amanda walks me through her incredible personal journey. We talk exes, revenge, horse shit (literally), soulmates (lol), writing, divorce parties at the Plaza, death & ill-wishes, forgiveness, birds and so many more unbelievable things.  Hold on tight; this is quite the journey! Enjoy the laughs!  For more on Amanda, check out her writing on Bustle, her Facebook Page @lachatel, or find her on Twitter @angrychatel .  ps: Please, please, please consider buying my book, Just Bad Timing, on this beautiful day of celebrations. If you are in Vancou

Meet Hallie Lieberman, historian and author of Buzz: The Stimulating History of the Sex Toy (Pegasus Books, 2017). Today, she walks me down her life path to discovering her passion for history, while being an illegal sex toy home party salesperson. Her book traces the history of sex toys in the US since the 1950s and we go through what it was like to research the key elements of her findings. Hallie is also gracious enough to let me in on her future work regarding the global history of male sex workers who service women.  Topics discussed: university indecisiveness & waiting tables, sex positivity, the right to sexual pleasure, the disability rights movement, sex work, gigolos, non-sexual nudity and more!  Show notes:  The documentary about Scotty Bowers: "Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood", directed by Matt Tyrnauer.  Please, please, please, consider donating to the podcast to help me get better and broader content out to your beautiful ears. Like,

Meet Dr. Lori Brotto, a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of British Columbia, clinical sex researcher and psychologist, and author of "Better Sex Through Mindfulness" (Greystone Books, 2018). Today, as per our tradition, we retrace the steps she took throughout her life to get to being talked about in the New York Times and helping women improve their sexual lives. We talk about her childhood on a farm, her first experiences in a lab (watching rats have sex), the history of clinical research on sex, her pivotal transition to mindfulness as a tool for treatment, and landing a job as a psychologist in a surgical department. Lori educates me about the discrepancies between self-reported arousal and desire issues in women and the physical responses to stimuli, teaching other medical professionals about sex and health, and how mindfulness can improve sexual desire and mental health. Our human striving to feel not alone in our struggles is highlighted again by the r

Meet Andrea Loewen, Vancouver writer and theatre manager, member of Girl Gang, and newly published author of Feeling Better: a field guide to liking yourself (and maybe even loving yourself).  Today, we discuss self-loathing and depression, through the lense of Andrea's personal story. She walks me through how she even realized she was depressed in the first place, how she started working her way through the tools she researched, and what she hopes her book will accomplish.  As in most cases, we talk about imposter syndrome, mental health, relativity, gratitude practices, showing up and self-esteem!  If you're going through depression, or bouts of self-loathing, listen in, there's almost no resistance to putting on an episode and listening. And then perhaps buy her book? Let us know what you thought of this episode!  Show notes:  Rollkuchen are Mennonite Fritters!  Info on Lucia Frangione here.  Find out more about Andrea here.  Please like, follow, ap

Well... this is a topic that the universe sent me in the shape of Tyler on New Year's Eve. When he told me what he does for a living, I drunkenly insisted he must come on the podcast and slipped him my business card! To my surprise, Tyler reached out a week later, and was incredibly candid and open about his career as a sex worker online.  Listen in on our conversation about how he got into camming: from growing up in a small town in Canada and suffering from anxiety, to living in Las Vegas with pornstars and beginning to grow into himself. We discuss: the first time he logged in, the effects of isolation and digital objectification, the fetish that made him draw a line in the sand, fear & morality, rim jobs and toxic masculinity, communication & expectations during sex, and the importance of empathy when working with other humans.  I'm so grateful for all the insights and this incredibly vulnerable and real conversation. If you'd like to talk to Tyler, do no

Meet Chelene Knight, author of Braided Skin and Dear Current Occupant, CEO of #LearnWritingEssentials and all around powerhouse, comes on the pod to discuss writing and investing in your community. While diving into the story behind her online courses for writers, we discuss the importance and cruciality of storytelling.  Rabbit Holes include: the little pushes we need from life to trust our creative talent and potential, stories by WOC, authenticity & perceived permission to speak, imposter syndrome, and knocking down isolation barriers.  To quote Chelene:  "Writing and publishing are not based solely on craft or talent, there’s a privilege involved. It’s our goal to reach and support underrepresented writers and to give space to those writers who are often muted or silenced. Inclusivity, open-mindedness, creativity, teaching through mentorship, and freedom to share stories are all values that we place at the forefront of everything we do.” To find out more and/or sig

It's a warm welcome back to our dearest Anita Cassidy and Dr. Lori Beth Bisbey. Lori is a psychologist and sex and intimacy coach, and Anita is a writer and founder of Alethya.com We are back to talk about the repercussions of boundaries, new year's resolutions and expectations! It's a big one for anyone struggling with the enormous amounts of pressure we feel around this time of year to "improve ourselves" according to capitalism & patriarchy's standards.  Instead, let's focus on communication and accountability.  Anecdotes contain examples from: polyamory/non-monogamy, writing, single life, friendship, setting historical context to labels, inability to accept complexity, and living outside of boxes.  Take sweet care you wonderful souls. Do the work, without the expectations, and be aware of your intuitions when inevitably curveballs happen!  On Twitter, you can reach us at @drbisbey, @anitacassidy76 and @christinewild_ . You can find out more about Lori at drloribethbisbey

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!  In this amazing first episode of the year, we delve into Depression and Sex! Meet JoEllen Notte. She runs redheadbedhead.com, and is a writer and sex educator, committed to challenging stigma, offering resources, and helping folks feel seen, heard, and supported.  As per usual, we go through how life put her on this path and what led her to just recently signing a publishing deal for her upcoming book: The Monster Under The Bed: Sex, Depression and the Conversations We Aren't Having! As part of the book research, JoEllen surveyed 1,100 people and interviewed close to 200 about their experiences and shares some insights with us.  Topics covered: moving across the country to soothe a broken heart, resentment as relationship cancer, "empathy, strategy or distraction", trends in the sex-positive movement, non-monogamy and lastly tools for how to deal with depression within a relationship.  We reference Elle Chase, author of Curv

WELCOME TO THE LAST EPISODE OF 2018! Julia is a new favorite powerhouse of mine! I met her at a community-based event called Expressions of Intimacy. This was the latest in a series she runs, called Expressions of Self, where each installment centers around a particular topic relating to how we define ourselves. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree at UBC's School of Population & Public Health, focusing on a qualitative study that investigates primary antenatal care provider perspectives regarding anxiety & depression during pregnancy. Most importantly for today, she is the creator "So I had an Abortion", a multimedia platform aiming to destigmatize abortion through storytelling. Julia bravely tells us her story, and goes into depth as to how sharing your experiences can be helpful with reducing anxiety and shame. We naturally digress and run into topics far and wide: imagining fertility problems, family dynamics, morality and shame, UNlearning, STD's, storytelling, reproductive justice

What's your first thought when I say: Body Image? Noun: the subjective picture or mental image of one's own body. This week, I had the pleasure to welcome Jen Larsen, author of Stranger Here (Seal Press, 2012) and Future Perfect (Harper Teen, 2015), for this episode about bodies! Jen and I started very much in the same way, inspired by strangers responding to our anonymous blogging, except that Oprah once said her name! In our usual fashion, we discuss how life unfolds, taking detours along the way. Her memoir discusses her experience with Weight Loss Surgery, Depression and the myth of "Skinny=Happy". We take winding turns talking about the publishing industry, aging and invisibility, awkwardly flirting with fellow women, Newfies, catcalling & contradictions, female rivalry and so much more. We discuss why saying things how they are, loudly discussing the issues that matter to us and basking in vulnerability is SO FUCKING IMPORTANT. For more, head to www.jenlarsen.net, to Twitter and Facebook @jenfoo

This week we talk about entrepreneurship and pleasure products! Casey Murphy is a sexual health educator, entrepreneur and business coach. Casey started The Pleasure Parlor in 2017, a Portland-based business which incorporates an online retail website, expert curated subscription boxes, and a traveling educational pop-up shop. Currently her primary focus is business coaching; teaching step-by-step strategy to female entrepreneurs who desire to create impactful, profitable pleasure-based businesses. We discuss what it takes to believe in your skills, your knowledge and your worth enough to partner with the right clients and create value beyond expectations. We also discuss talking about sex publicly, educating college students, the challenges of marketing adult products and orgasms! We obviously also get into talking about pleasure itself, and how hard it can be to make room for and prioritize pleasure for ourselves. SURPRISE! Casey was generous enough to give you guys 15% off all products on www.thepleasu

It's a warm welcome back to our dear Anita Cassidy and a perfect introduction to Dr. Lori Beth Bisbey. Lori is a psychologist, sex and intimacy coach. Her mission is to take sex and conversations about sex from the shadows to the light. She divides her time between client work, speaking, live events, podcasting and writing. You can hear here on the A to Z of Sex ™ weekly and Sex spoken Here weekly. Today we decided to delve into the difficult arena of setting and respecting boundaries! When it comes to intimacy, parenting, time, consent and so many more circumstances, how do we navigate our need for self-care and the fickleness of shifting wants and needs? What does it mean to have to be firm and ask for what you "need", when a little voice in the back of your head second-guesses those same demands? We discuss what the hardest part about boundaries is for each of us, and then take a slippery slope down the areas of fear, trauma and intuition. Take a seat on this communal couch with us and let's share our

A huge Welcome Back to Matthew Keegan, from Ep. 3! If you missed him like I did, you'll be delighted to hear us talk about Nina Power's One Dimensional Woman (2009, Zero Books). Based on Marcuse's One Dimensional Man, this short read is FULL of amazing starting points for this wild run down interesting rabbit holes. Topics covered: The Cooptation of Modern Feminism (and its contradictory definitions), Consumerism & Marxism (and its economic consequences), The Role of Cinema and many more rabbit holes! Please, please, please join us, in this TOUGH conversation and do SHARE your thoughts, however flawed or incomplete, with us.. that's how we learn. Thanks Nina, for putting all my goals into perspective and reminding me of all the structural capitalist issues of my gender identity. And thanks Zero Books for the feels! Matthew and his friend Leon Sandler are launching a podcast called "The John David Ebert Podcast", with John David Ebert. Their first episode will be about Deleuze's "Postscript on the Soci

Dr. Marina Adshade, professor of the Economics at the University of British Columbia, welcomed me into her home to talk about sex robots and marriage! How might the recent technological changes affect the concept of marriage and relationships more broadly? If Sex Robots can fulfill you sexually, does that take sex compatibility out of the relationship equation? Does it open the door to conversations about non-monogamy? Marina started a course on the Economics of Sex, which turned into a blog, and turned into "Dollars & Sex" the book! More recently, she published an article in Slate called "How Sex Robots Could Revolutionize Marriage—for the Better" (Aug 14, 2018). By way of this article, we cover a full range of rabbit holes including: morality, economic factors of relational compatibility, defining love, why we marry, emotional labour and self-awareness. I am so grateful for Marina's time and honesty, and I love how personal we end up getting! What do you guys think? Get at us on Twitter @christinewi

This is a fun one for me! José, the character from Just Bad Timing, and my OG bestie in Vancouver, runs wild with me about culture shock, life progression, perfect storms, dancing salsa and smoking weed, amongst many many other topics. If you're heartbroken, and/or overweight, and/or depressed, we got some hot tips for you. "Non-toxic judgment" and opposite approaches are the foundation to our friendship, and we'd like to know if you know what we mean! In our usual style, we start with how we met, tell tales of UBC days, and end up promoting his new Sports Podcast "Sports and More from the 604!" Be sure to check it out on insta @sportsandmore604 and listen here: anchor.fm/sportsandmorefromthe604 Also Vancouver people! Salsa Showcase November 9-10-11, aka STARTS TODAY! Bravo Dance Company, Amateur Team! Let's cheer them on! https://squareup.com/store/SHOWCASE2018 Ps: You're welcome for my slip ups on his actual name. Hahaha! See if you can spot it ;) Pps: Sorry about all the F%*$king swearing. ---

Oh boy. You're in for a fun, wordy, all over the place one with gorgeously talented Kristina. Musician, Actress, Poet, Kristina does it all. Listen in for a bit about her life journey, but mostly zoom in on the Words with us. We discuss a song she wrote called "Rows" as an introduction to individual artistry versus collective activism. How do we talk about what is, before leaping into what is to be done? What role does art, writing and music have to play in today's society? How do we realize our self-efficacy and freedom of choice, without taking the power of opinion for granted? Where and when do we develop emotional intelligence? Who's talking to you: your gut, your heart or your mind? Big questions... almost no answers. As per usual. Come and have a think with us. Around 20', there's a big moment of learning, where we get words wrong entirely and find our way around messing up! MISTAKES ARE PART OF LIFE. Please don't be afraid to try and have deep and tough conversations, because that's what this exp

Welcome to this very vulnerable episode about life after sexual trauma. Joanne O, my dear friend, was just published in the New York Review of Books (Oct 25, 2018) in Responses to ‘Reflections from a Hashtag’. She was one of the women victimised by Gian Gomeshi back in 2013, and wanted to share her story with me. I highly recommend you read her piece and listen to this incredibly insightful story of hers. She walks me through the past four years of consistently being triggered by the media and the ways she has been coping with how trauma fundamentally changed her. Amongst other things, we discuss rape culture, being in a relationship now, what "normal" means, sex & orgasms and simply existing in today's world. Next time you click, think about whose story is worth more to you? Bottom line: it's ok to make mistakes. And this is how you apologize: 1. Admit your mistake. 2. "This is how I fucked up". 3. Sincerely apologize. 4. "How can I start attempting to make it better?" = ACCOUNTABILITY. As promised

Welcome to a fascinating episode! Morten Rand-Hendriksen, educator for LinkedIn Learning on Web Design and Interaction Design instructor at Emily Carr, walks me through his life journey from university politics in Oslo, to his 16 year-long "life experiment" in Vancouver. In our usual RWWC pattern, we follow life's unexpected twists and turns, while remaining conscious of how privileged certain opportunities are, to get to today's main topic: Ethics (or the lack thereof) in Design and Tech. What kind of world are we creating? What lessons from philosophy can we apply to design as a language? Why is the industry trying to come up with a whole new set of ethics? How do we take ads and money out of the equation and replace it with human betterment? We are conscious that tech is built to keep us engaged are distorting our understanding of reality, but what now? My fave quote: "Your life is actually this huge loop, where you go somewhere and you abandon it for a very long time, and it just naturally comes back,