In this Shaping Freedom podcast episode, host Lisane Basquiat speaks with Rob and Emilee McGowan about losing their five-year-old son Myles to brain cancer in 2008 and the unexpected isolation that followed. The McGowans share why friends disappeared after their loss—overwhelmed by guilt, fear, and helplessness rather than lack of caring. Emilee explains why asking "how can I help?" often fails and what actually helps: showing up with specific, consistent actions without being asked. The couple discusses how real isolation begins months after loss when everyone returns to normal life, and how they founded Myles Ahead of Cancer and Diving Within to support families facing childhood cancer and couples navigating difficult conversations.

In this inspiring episode of Shaping Freedom, host Lisane Basquiat sits down with award-winning producer, journalist, and filmmaker Susanna Peredo Swap—a cultural force dedicated to uplifting San Diego’s creative community. Susanna shares her powerful journey from surviving a childhood spinal cord injury and growing up as the daughter of a young immigrant mother, to becoming the founder of Vanguard Culture, a nonprofit championing the region’s creative workforce.

In this episode, Lisane sits down with Dr. Andrea Best—holistic psychiatrist, physician, and recipient of the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Best blends neuroscience, ancestral wisdom, and integrative medicine to help people move from stress and burnout into clarity, vitality, and purpose.

In this episode, Lisane Basquiat sits down with KJ Rose—Grammy Award-winning performance director, author, and founder of The Rose Effect. KJ shares her journey from stage fright to working with icons like Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, and how she now helps people step into their power.

This week on the podcast, I’m joined by Dana Mason—former music executive turned healing practitioner—whose work redefines how we approach trauma, truth, and transformation. Learn how music becomes medicine—and why honoring who you are is the first step to becoming whole.

This week on the Shaping Freedom podcast, I’m joined by Drs. Katie and Gay Hendricks, founders of The Hendricks Institute and pioneers in the field of conscious living. Over the past four decades, they’ve authored more than 50 books, trained coaches worldwide, and shared their work on platforms from Oprah to 48 Hours.

We explored what it takes to build blame-free relationships, how to stop sabotaging joy with old patterns, and why recommitting—again and again—to authenticity is the key to transformation. From body intelligence to breaking free of the “upper limit problem,” their wisdom is both practical and profound.

Click below to learn how two masters of conscious love dismantle the myths we inherit—and reveal the everyday choices that bring us back to truth, connection, and expansion.

This week on the Shaping Freedom podcast, I’m joined by Toria Avila, principal of Alliance Virgil Roberts Leadership Academy in South Los Angeles. Toria isn’t just running a school—she’s raising the bar for what education can mean in a community. From her childhood in Watts to leading classrooms today, she shows what happens when you refuse to lower expectations for our kids.

For this episode of the Shaping Freedom podcast, I sat down with Doug Boxer—attorney, justice advocate, and son of U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer—and Chris Holden, former California Assembly member and lifelong public servant. Together, they’re leading the charge for families devastated by the Eaton Fire, one of the largest wildfires in U.S. history.

This week I sat down with Devin C. Hughes—author, speaker, and happiness advocate who knows that joy isn't luck, it's practice. We dove deep into his raw memoir Contrast: A Biracial Man's Journey To Desegregate His Past and why feeling like "the other" can become your superpower.

Devin breaks down how he transforms toxic workplace cultures and why "happiness hygiene" isn't woo-woo—it's survival. We talked about breaking generational cycles, raising kids who trust you with their truth, and why he's writing children's books to plant self-worth in young minds.

👉🏾 Ready to ditch survival mode for intentional joy? This conversation will shift how you show up in the world.

This week on the Shaping Freedom podcast, I spoke with Baratunde Thurston—Emmy-nominated host of America Outdoors on PBS, bestselling author, and fearless cultural critic—about why true freedom lives in embracing your flaws, not hiding them. We unpacked how vulnerability fuels real strength and why showing up authentically is the boldest move you can make.

This week on the Shaping Freedom podcast, I sat down with Dr. Napatia T. Gettings to talk about why brain health—not just talk therapy—is the real foundation for emotional intelligence. We covered everything from sleep and screen time to how we model regulation through our own choices.

We often think boundaries are about what we say to others—but what about the voice in your own head? In this soul-stirring episode Carmella Johnson reminds us that true healing starts internally. You can demand respect from others, but if you’re speaking to yourself with shame, doubt, or self-criticism, the cycle won’t break.

Recording the 100th episode of the Shaping Freedom® podcast wasn’t just a milestone—it was a moment of truth. Sitting down with longtime collaborators Billy Johnson Jr. and Ryan Tillotson, I found myself reflecting on everything this show has taught me: about vulnerability, alignment, and the quiet courage it takes to be fully seen.

In this episode’s conversation with Shanti Das, founder of Silence the Shame. After tragedy struck Shanti’s personal life, her public life became one of health and healing. She dives into the way this tragic has guided her, how her work within the hip hop community has bled out into wide reaching groups, and how it’s time that men finally talk about their feelings in a more honest and real way.

In this episode’s conversation with Antonio Neves, we explore some of the most pressing issues affecting modern men–and women. We talk about how to get out of that comfort zone that’s leaving you unfulfilled and find alignment through community, self-exploration, and a little time in nature.

In this two-part episode of Shaping Freedom, Lisane interviews Kevin Powell, a poet with Jersey roots and a Grammy nomination tucked under his belt, about family, resilience, and his album, "Grocery Shopping with My Mother," birthed from real-life trips to the store with his ailing mom. Listen as we explore love, health, and his surprise Grammy nomination. In the second part of this powerful conversation, Liasane and Kevin both look at the responsibilities and influences that creatives and their works have regarding the world and society around them. They later transition into why the creative’s journey is so important to shaping them and their works.

In this two-part episode of Shaping Freedom, Lisane interviews Kevin Powell.

A poet with Jersey roots and a Grammy nomination tucked under his belt, about family, resilience, and his album, “Grocery Shopping with My Mother,” birthed from real-life trips to the store with his ailing mom. Listen as we explore love, health, and his surprise Grammy nomination. In the first part of this series, Lisane and Kevin focus heavily on what it means to break the shackles of toxic masculinity and what it means to find love in a heartless society. 

This week I speak with Stephanie Mitchell, a wellness and fitness instructor and founder of The Rolling Mat, a corporate yoga wellness program that works with companies to improve employee wellness.

In this episode of Shaping Freedom, host Lisane Basquiat interviews Dr. Salvatore Forcina, an accomplished doctor and author of The American Doctor.

Dr. Forcina shares his inspiring story of overcoming obstacles and achieving the American Dream through education, hard work, and resilience. 

In this week’s conversation with Hannah Summerhill, we explore her insights on how we can all work to overcome the barriers that prevent us from having conversations on race, inequity, and how to best navigate these issues while creating more inclusive and equitable communities.