Driftwood Conversations

  In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Sandra Mendelson—animal communicator, channel, and, as it turns out, my second cousin. Though we grew up aware of each other, life took us in different directions, and it wasn’t until recently that we reconnected and discovered a shared sensitivity to the unseen. Sandra came into her abilities later in life, learning to trust the messages she receives from animals and the energetic field around them. What unfolds in this conversation is not just a discussion about animal communication, but a deeper exploration of intuition, healing, and the ways we begin to listen differently—both to the world around us and to ourselves. We talk about awakening, about doubt and trust, and about the quiet intelligence animals may hold as mirrors for human experience. This is not a linear conversation. It moves in moments, in recognition, in openings that invite reflection rather than conclusions. It is also, for me, a meaningful reunion, one that reminds me how connection can reappear in unexpected ways, carrying something both familiar and entirely new. To learn more about Sandra, go to: SandraMendelson.com

n this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I speak with Olga Naiman, an interior designer, author, and teacher whose work moves far beyond aesthetics into what she calls spatial alchemy. Rather than focusing on decoration, Olga explores the emotional and psychological imprints we carry into our homes. She asks questions about safety, identity, memory, and what we are ready to release. As a refugee from the former Soviet Union, her relationship to home has been shaped by instability, loss, and the ongoing search for grounding. That lived experience informs a practice centered on creating spaces that support healing and transformation. This conversation moves through trauma, the body, color, and the quiet ways we begin to reshape our inner and outer worlds. At its core is a deeper inquiry: what does it mean to live in a space that truly reflects who we are becoming?

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Wayne Kastning, an artist, designer, and teacher whose life journey spans from a remote farm in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas to the creative worlds of New York and Los Angeles. Raised without electricity or running water until his teenage years, Wayne grew up surrounded by storytelling, craftsmanship, and a deep connection to making things by hand. Our conversation explores what it means to leave home, to trust your instincts, and to keep saying yes to the life that calls you forward. Wayne speaks candidly about identity, curiosity, and the courage it takes to become yourself. This is a story about transformation, resilience, and the quiet determination to follow a creative path, even when it feels uncertain.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I speak with Dr. Joan Hangarter, known to many as Joan of Angels. Joan has spent more than four decades working with people at moments of change in their lives. She began her career as a chiropractor and eventually expanded her work to guide intuitive and visionary women navigating crossroads in their personal and professional lives. In this conversation, Joan shares the story of her own path: growing up on Long Island, moving west after her father's death, and becoming part of a spiritual community in Los Angeles. Over the years, she built and rebuilt her life several times, each moment requiring her to listen more closely to what she calls inner guidance. Our discussion moves beyond titles and methods and into the deeper question of how people learn to trust themselves when life asks them to take a new direction. Joan speaks about discernment, the courage to say yes to what we hear inside, and the ongoing process of becoming who we are meant to be. It is a thoughtful conversation about listening, change, and the willingness to keep growing through every stage of life. To contact Joan of Angels, go to [email protected] To hear the podcast, listen now on Driftwood Conversations.

Rachel Reid Wilkie is a shamanic practitioner and tarot reader based in the Joshua Tree area. Born in Cambridgeshire, England, she has lived and traveled widely, with time in Europe, New York, and Los Angeles before the desert became her home. Her work weaves shamanic ceremonial healing and journeying with tarot and Hermetic studies, shaped by trainings in the Andes and the Amazon and years of mentorship. Rachel offers one-on-one sessions that may include energetic clearing, ancestral work, and tarot as a tool for insight and alignment. You can find her on Instagram under her name, and at rachelreidwilkie.com.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, Hilary Sloane sits down with fellow Z107.7 reporter Gabriel Hart — novelist, musician, and founder of the print-only literary magazine Beyond the Last Estate. Hart’s punk-noir novel On High at Red Tide challenges conventional crime fiction, resisting easy moral packaging in favor of psychological depth and institutional critique. Together they explore what punk and noir literature share at their core: a distrust of the center, a focus on outsiders, and a refusal to sentimentalize broken systems. The conversation moves through discipline, desert solitude, independent publishing, and the creative courage required to build work outside mainstream channels. Gabriel's book is "On High at Red Tide," Pig Roast Publishing. The magazine is Beyond the Last Estate — beyondthelastestate.com. And his site is gabrielhart.net.  

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, Hilary Sloane sits down with longtime Joshua Tree resident Buck Buckley for a wide-ranging conversation that begins with his move to the desert during the 2007 construction collapse and unfolds into something much larger. Buck is a big thinker, someone who connects history, language, culture, energy, health, and community into one continuous thread. What starts as a personal story becomes a meditation on how societies grow, fracture, and reinvent themselves. Whether you find yourself agreeing with every point or simply listening with curiosity, this conversation invites you to step back, question assumptions, and consider how we each participate in shaping the future of the places we call home.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Julie Daniels for a conversation that unfolds slowly and with intention. Julie is a writer, thinker, and guide whose work explores attention, presence, and what it means to live in a deeper relationship with time, language, and self. Rather than rushing toward conclusions, our conversation lingers in uncertainty, curiosity, and the spaces between words. This is not a transactional exchange, but a shared moment of listening and reflection—an invitation to step out of the metronome of daily life and enter something more spacious, human, and quietly alive. You can reach Julie Daniels at SERVICE: 818-623-8960 or her EMAIL: [email protected]  

Heather Clisby is a reporter, traveler, and keen observer of the human condition, and in this episode of Driftwood Conversations, we talk about what it means to stay curious in a changing world. Heather and I both work at Z107.7, a family-owned local radio station, and our conversation moves through journalism, comedy, travel, intimacy, and the shifting ground beneath it all. We reflect on why local journalism still matters, not as performance but as witnessing, and how staying informed does not have to mean living inside a constant scroll. Heather brings humor, honesty, and a wide lens to the conversation, reminding us that paying attention, choosing depth, and staying human are radical acts in their own right.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Claudia for a thoughtful, unhurried conversation about the paths we take and the ones that quietly shape us along the way. Claudia shares the wisdom she has gathered through years of paying attention, including her relationship with the moon as a guide for reflection, rhythm, and renewal. We talk about how lunar cycles influence the way she works, listens, and makes meaning, and how this awareness has shaped her current work in the world. Together, we explore what it means to live with intention, to trust subtle timing, and to allow our lives to unfold in alignment rather than urgency. This conversation is less about answers and more about listening; to ourselves, to each other, and to the natural cycles that invite us to grow.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Talor Stewart, a licensed architect and the author of Conscious Home Design. Talor approaches architecture as a living relationship rather than a technical exercise, exploring how the spaces we inhabit quietly shape our behavior, our nervous systems, and the way we give and receive care. Our conversation moves beyond materials and floor plans into something more human, how homes can support intimacy, creativity, rest, and belonging, whether you are building from the ground up, renting, or living in a small space. Talor is an intuitive and deeply conscious practitioner who has spent years integrating a holistic way of living into his architectural practice, and this conversation offers thoughtful, practical insight into how design can support the life you are actually trying to live.

This episode of Driftwood Conversations features an intimate conversation with Mark Winters, a singer-songwriter and former aerospace engineer whose music carries both depth and restraint. Woven throughout the episode are songs written and performed by Mark himself, offering a sonic extension of the themes we explore—curiosity, reinvention, and the courage to keep creating. The episode opens with "Let It Rain" and closes with "Man in the Sky," framing the conversation with music that feels both grounded and expansive. For more information about Mark’s music, go to [email protected] www.markwintersmusic.com  

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I’m joined by Cynthia Abulafia, a yoga teacher and guide whose work bridges embodied practice, Goddess wisdom, and lived spiritual experience. What unfolds here isn’t a lesson or a prescription; it’s a deeply human conversation about trust, surrender, and learning to inhabit the body with honesty. Cynthia speaks with rare openness about her own journey, and what moved me most was how grounded and accessible her spirituality feels. It is rooted not in striving or transcendence, but in presence, acceptance, and lived experience. This conversation stayed with me long after we stopped recording.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, Hilary Sloane speaks with Isha Marla, a 14-year-old student from Portland, Oregon, whose curiosity and discipline have already led her to develop a biodegradable, seaweed-based fabric called Alginifab—an alternative to fast fashion. But this conversation goes beyond innovation. It’s a thoughtful exchange about creativity, persistence, community, and what it looks like to take a young person seriously as a whole human being. Isha speaks with clarity, steadiness, and a grounded sense of self—offering a refreshing reminder of what becomes possible when we listen without projecting or rushing to define outcomes.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with my longtime friend Steven Cuden, a writer whose creative life has spanned Broadway, television, film, and teaching. Our friendship stretches back more than four decades, and that history allows us to speak honestly about what it really means to stay with the work. We talk about doubt, discipline, revision, and the uncomfortable moments that shape a creative life—not as failures, but as necessary companions. This is a conversation about endurance, friendship, and the long game of making art.

This week’s episode of Driftwood Conversations steps away from a traditional guest format and turns toward listening to the moment we’re living in, to the questions people are quietly asking themselves, and to what’s emerging beneath uncertainty. As the year comes to a close, I reflect on themes of exhaustion, clarity, simplification, and integrity, sharing observations about how people are choosing to live, what they’re building, and what they’re letting go of. The episode closes with poetry by Stanley Moss, read by me, and an original poem written and read by Miri Hunter. We are inviting you to pause, listen, and rest together before stepping into the year ahead.

Changing the Dial: A Conversation with Charles Ftacek In this week’s Driftwood Conversation, I sit down with Charles Ftacek, a clinical nutritionist, apothecary maker, and doctoral student whose life journey weaves together hardship, healing, science, and spirit. You may know Charles from the Joshua Tree Trading Post, where he pours tea with an open heart and an easy laugh. But behind his grounded presence is a remarkable story of survival, transformation, and purpose. Charles shares candidly about growing up with depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts; finding himself in and out of rehab centers; and the diagnosis that changed everything. In our conversation, he reflects on walking away from a promising country music career, rebuilding his life through food and functional medicine, discovering the root causes of illness, and learning how environment and lifestyle shape our well-being. We explore men’s health, emotional resilience, the mind–body connection, and the wisdom he’s gathered through years of personal and clinical experience. This is a conversation about re-patterning, reclaiming health, and the courage it takes to choose a new path. It’s raw, illuminating, and full of heart. Listen in, and let Charles remind you that healing is never a straight line—it's a life’s work, shaped by inner listening and the environments we choose to live in.

Ceremonial facilitator and coach Hester Van Hoeven Ward joins me to discuss spiritual awakenings, motherhood, breaking toxic patterns, and returning to herself in the desert. We trace her journey from New York and Venice Beach to Landers, Kenya, and back to Joshua Tree, exploring how joy can endure—a quiet flame—even during our darkest nights. We also briefly touch on her work with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples and what it means to live as an ally, a mother, and a mystic in everyday life.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, James Morrison invites us into a radically simple and deeply human approach to acting; one rooted not in performance but in presence. We talk about letting the actor disappear, surrendering to the story, and creating from the belief that you are already enough. James reflects on the quiet moments that shaped his craft, the practice of returning to oneself through art, and the courage it takes to stop abandoning who we are. It’s a conversation about acting, yes — but even more, it’s about living with honesty, attention, and grace.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with artist Jed Ochmanek, whose work explores perception, presence, and the act of seeing. Our conversation moves through art, awareness, and the subtle ways the environment shapes understanding. It’s a dialogue about attention—how we look, what we see, and what remains unseen. This episode features music from Dreams of Sleep and Wakes of Sound by Merz, Laraaji, and Shahzad Ismaily. Listen on Podbean, or find Driftwood Conversations on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube to follow more stories about creativity, consciousness, and connection.

Driftwood Conversations with Bernard Leibov In this episode, Hilary Sloane speaks with Bernard Leibov — artist, curator, and founder of BoxoPROJECTS in Joshua Tree, as well as co-founder of the Joshua Treenial: Desert Futures. Born in South Africa, Bernard’s story moves through the contrasting worlds of apartheid and awakening, the energy of New York’s art and finance scenes, and finally, to the open silence of the Mojave Desert. Here, he discovered a sense of belonging that changed how he lives and creates. This conversation explores what it means to build community through art, how silence and vulnerability can be forms of creative practice, and the tension between supporting others’ visions and sustaining your own. For Bernard, art isn’t just what hangs on a wall—it’s how you live, how you listen, and how you belong to a place. Listen as we talk about transformation, belonging, and the power of the desert to strip life down to what truly matters. Learn more about BoxoPROJECTS and The Joshua Treenial: Desert Futures at boxoprojects.com and joshuatreenial.com.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Sailene Ossman, a pioneering voice in plant medicine and conscious healing. Sailene’s path began with a near-fatal car accident at nineteen—an experience that reshaped her understanding of life, pain, and purpose. Out of that trauma emerged a deep calling to help others find balance and relief through the healing power of plants and fungi. For decades, she’s been a compassionate advocate, guiding people toward natural wellness long before cannabis or mushroom medicine entered mainstream dialogue. Our conversation moves through resilience, service, and the wisdom that comes from walking between worlds—science and spirit, pain and possibility, grief and renewal.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with artist and energy worker Abigail Kochunas, whose creative and spiritual journey blurs the lines between art, healing, and the unseen world. Abigail paints, acts, writes, and works with energy—bridging the physical and the spiritual through her deep sensitivity and intuitive gifts. We talk about what it means to be born open, how creativity becomes a form of communication with life itself, and how staying sensitive in a noisy world can be both a challenge and a calling. This is a conversation about presence, listening, and the quiet power of living from the heart.

In this Driftwood Conversations episode, Lia, a homeschooled researcher gathering an oral history of Morongo Basin creatives, and Kiki, a traveler, musician, watercolor lover, and aspiring teacher, offer a glimpse into the lives of teens and local culture today. We discuss self-directed learning, retro music, and surf culture, as well as the impact of social media on attention and confidence. We explore what it truly means to be “best friends” and why documenting this moment in Joshua Tree’s art scene is important. There’s college dreaming, band practice, Swiss chocolate, Argentine meals, and yes… a cameo of favorite desserts.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Jef Harmatz—news director and morning show co-host at Z107.7 in Joshua Tree. Many of you know Jef as the quick wit behind your morning news, but his creative life extends far beyond radio. He’s been a cartoonist, a cook, and now a podcaster in his own right. Our conversation weaves through art, humor, and the anxiety of making a living as a creative person. Jef reminds us that the value of creative work isn’t about chasing perfection—it’s about showing up for the process itself. From comics to hot dogs to community radio, his story is a reminder that creativity lives not in the product, but in the act of making.

Hunter Prosper is a nurse, storyteller, and now author of Stories From a Stranger, a collection born from his journey of asking hundreds of people to share their lives with him. You can follow his work and ongoing storytelling on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. 

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Virginia Campo—a Colombian-born community builder whose life has carried her across continents, love, and loss. Virginia shares what it meant to immigrate as a child, to grow roots in the U.S., to find unexpected love in a Joshua Tree layover, and to walk through the profound grief of losing her father. That passage of grief led her to train as an end-of-life doula, bringing presence and compassion to others in their most vulnerable moments. What emerges in this conversation is Virginia’s deep resilience and her willingness to be remade by life’s turning points, to say yes even when the path is uncertain.

In Part Two of my conversation with Prema Saraswati, we move from her childhood in Laos and the flight from war into her years growing up in America. In Sacramento, Prema was expected to serve in silence, yet she excelled in school, pursued higher education, and carried the weight of her family’s survival. Her path led through poverty, dislocation, and an abusive marriage, but also toward resilience and discovery. From these struggles, she found her calling as a healer—drawing on Reiki, hypnotherapy, past life regression, and ancestral wisdom to guide others through trauma. Listen now to Driftwood Conversations on YouTube and Spotify. 

Driftwood Conversations with Prema Saraswati (Part 1) In this deeply moving first part of our conversation, Prema Saraswati shares her extraordinary journey from a mountain village in Laos, through the terror of war and life in refugee camps, to starting over in America. A member of the Hmong people, she carries the weight of her community’s history—survival under unimaginable circumstances, resilience in the face of displacement, and the quiet strength to keep going. This episode is about loss, courage, and the unseen wounds of war that safety alone cannot heal. Join me as Prema opens her heart about her family’s escape, the challenges of starting anew, and the beginnings of the path that would one day lead her to become a healer.

In Part 2 of my conversation with Katherine Hervey, we dive deeper into the heart of her journey—from leaving the public defender’s office to immersing herself in art, storytelling, and prison reform. Katherine shares how she met Chris Blackwell, a writer and leader working from inside prison walls, and how their friendship has evolved into powerful creative collaborations. Together, they challenge the narratives surrounding incarceration, bringing humanity and healing into spaces often defined by isolation and punishment. This episode is a window into Katherine’s ability to hold complexity with empathy, transforming pain into art and connection.

In Part 1 of my conversation with Katherine Hervey, we delve into the inner journey that led her from a career in criminal defense law to art and advocacy. Katherine shares how her sensitivity and empathy, once a source of pain, became the compass guiding her toward healing, storytelling, and a deeper purpose. Her work, including The Prison Within and Broken is Beautiful, invites us to see mass incarceration through the lens of connection, humanity, and transformation.

In this intimate episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with the radiant and resilient Lady Chilane, a performer, storyteller, and bold soul who has walked through fire and come out singing. Our conversation delves into identity, survival, and self-expression, presenting a poignant testament to what it means to reclaim your story with grace and power. Special thanks to Jeff Hafler for his incredible musicianship and to Rocky’s Pizza for the unforgettable live performance that helped bring this episode to life.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Maurine Xavier, a woman who walked away from the safe, expected path of a high-level finance career and into the mystery of a life led by intuition. What unfolds is not just a story of career change—it’s a story of spiritual reckoning, physical pain as a message from the soul, and the quiet courage it takes to choose joy over fear. Maurine shares her raw, luminous journey through burnout, awakening, and becoming a mentor for others seeking their truth. This conversation explores the thresholds we cross when we finally choose to listen—first to the whisper, then to the roar, of a life asking to be lived differently.

In Part 2 of my conversation with artist and filmmaker Gordon Clark, we go deeper into the heart of his story-driven work. Gordon reflects on photographing gang leaders, child subjects, and spiritual seekers, capturing not just portraits but decades of transformation. We talk about growing up in apartheid South Africa, finding truth through frequency, and how trauma and perspective shape both art and identity. Gordon shares powerful moments with Quintino, a boy he photographed from age 4 to 15, and Ernie Lustick, a gang leader seeking redemption. This is a conversation about presence, perception, and the sacred act of witnessing.

Gordon Clark: Art, Witness, and the Frequency of Connection (Part 1) Today on Driftwood Conversations, I’m sharing Part 1 of my conversation with Gordon Clark — an artist, photographer, and filmmaker whose work defies the quick snapshot or surface impression. Gordon doesn’t just document people; he walks beside them, sometimes for years, through grief, beauty, transformation, and all the human terrain in between.  

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with John Gearty, an immersive media pioneer and founder of Pulse Jet Studios, to explore the frontier where music, technology, and storytelling intersect. John shares his journey from working on Apple’s Vision Pro to collaborating with artists like Björk and Lil Chris on groundbreaking virtual reality music experiences. We discuss what it means to create spaces that extend beyond the stage, how VR can transform the way we connect with art and the spiritual threads that run through even the most futuristic work. This is a conversation about sound, presence, and the radical possibilities of human creativity.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with sound artist and meditation specialist Kate Cline, known artistically as RSI. We explore Kate’s journey into the world of sound — from her work as a producer to her deeply intuitive approach to sound meditation. Kate shares how sound frequencies can influence brainwaves, foster healing, and open doorways to presence and transformation. This intimate conversation transcends technique into the spiritual responsibility of working with sound, reminding us that every vibration carries meaning, even those we cannot perceive.

Janis Commentz Painter and educator Janis Commentz discusses finding beauty in the desert and in everyday life. This conversation delves into her artistic evolution, her dedication to community art education, and how she utilizes creativity as a means of spiritual connection and expression.

In Part Two of Driftwood Conversations with Sant Khalsa, we delve into her recent projects, her community-centered practice in Joshua Tree, and her reflections on legacy, teaching, and how we might reimagine our relationship to the land and each other. Sant is one of those rare people whose presence feels both grounding and expansive. I can’t wait for you to hear her story. 

Sant Khalsa is an artist, activist, educator, and longtime resident of Joshua Tree whose life and work embody the kind of transformation this podcast seeks to illuminate. In Part 1 of this episode, Sant shares the early influences that shaped her, from her Jewish heritage to her spiritual awakening, her name change, and the beginnings of her creative and political journey. We discuss the power of art to reveal what’s unseen, the roots of her photography practice, and the pivotal moment when a California wildfire led her to environmental work that has now spanned decades.

Driftwood Conversations: Wendee & Joyce In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, Hilary Sloane speaks with environmental journalist Wendee Nicole and her daughter Joyce. What begins as a story about reporting in Uganda and founding a nonprofit unfolds into a moving exploration of identity, adoption, resilience, and love across cultures and generations. Through personal storytelling, the episode reveals the complex journey of building connections within the community and forming a sense of family. Music Introduction (for description or narration): This episode features Ugandan music that celebrates cultural pride and modern rhythm. You'll hear tracks by Pinky and Jokwiz Klean, which are included with the artists' permission. Their music brings the vibrant energy of Uganda into this story of resilience and transformation. Sheebah, Mudra D. Viral, and other rising voices from Uganda's contemporary music scene are also mentioned: artists redefining sound in East Africa.

In a conversation with Jill Lust, we dive into creativity, nomadic living, and the courage to reinvent oneself. Jill speaks about art, spirit, and the practice of being present with life’s transitions, offering wisdom from her years as a traveler, artist, and seeker.

Jeff Frost In this episode, I sit down with Jeff Frost, an artist, filmmaker, musician, and self-proclaimed alien. His life and work move between chaos and beauty, collapse and transformation. From painting inside abandoned desert homes to capturing California wildfires in haunting time-lapse, Jeff’s story is one of survival, spiritual awakening, and the healing power of art.

Jamie Rose Jamie Rose is an award-winning documentary photographer and humanitarian. In this episode, she shares her journey covering global health crises and humanitarian issues, and how she co-founded Momenta Group to support other photographers in telling impactful stories. Her deep compassion and commitment to justice shine through every image and word.

Lauren Lovett Actress, coach, and trauma-informed practitioner Lauren Lovett brings her unique blend of theater, voice work, and emotional awareness to the forefront. In this episode, we discuss how conscious communication and self-awareness can heal, empower, and transform our relationships—on and off the stage.

Episode 3: Fred and Jim – A Lifetime of Creative Friendship In this heartwarming conversation, Fred and Jim—longtime friends and collaborators—share their intertwined stories of creativity, survival, and unwavering support. Hilary guides a conversation that touches on chosen family, enduring artistic expression, and how connection can sustain us through life’s biggest transitions.

Episode 2: Sam Oaks – Service, Leadership, and a New Kind of Volunteerism Hilary sits down with Sam Oaks, founder of Atova International, a nonprofit reshaping global service through empowerment and education. From military life to jungle conservation in Indonesia, Sam shares his deeply personal journey, insights on leadership, and how love in action guides both his work and relationships.

Episode 1: Miri Hunter – Art, Resilience, and Spiritual Strength In this opening episode, Hilary Sloane speaks with Miri Hunter—artist, performer, educator, and spiritual seeker. Miri reflects on her journey through illness, creativity, and personal transformation. Together, they explore the quiet power of resilience, the magic in everyday moments, and the deep calling to live an authentic, expressive life.   📅 New episodes every Wednesday—hit “Subscribe” now! 💬 Love the show? Let us know! Leave a quick rating & review here—your feedback helps us grow! 📲 Stay connected with Hilary Sloane: ➡️ Follow on Instagram | Substack | LinkedIn