In this episode of Brokenish, we ask a question a lot of men quietly feel but rarely say out loud.

What if communication isn’t the problem… but expectations are?

We dig into why so many men struggle with communication, especially in relationships, and why “just talk more” completely misses the point. From avoiding emotional conversations, to assuming our partners don’t care, to believing we’re supposed to carry everything alone, this episode goes straight at the modern male identity crisis.

We talk about: • Why communication is really about what lands, not what you think you said • The hidden ways men unintentionally withhold, protect, or shut down • How childhood patterns shape how we show up as partners and fathers • Why many men don’t know what they need when they’re finally asked • The shift from “provider” to true partnership and why it’s so uncomfortable • What has to die in order for men to actually grow up

This is an honest, unfiltered conversation about masculinity, emotional responsibility, relationships, and what it actually means to be a man today.

If you’ve ever thought: “I don’t need that much communication.” “Why would anyone want to hear this?” “I don’t want to burden anyone.” or “I don’t even know what I need.”

This episode is for you.

🎙 Brokenish is where we sit in the uncomfortable middle of growth, healing, and becoming something better without pretending we have it all figured out.

What does recovery really look like when it’s rooted in connection, service, and meeting people exactly where they are?

In this episode of Broken-ish, we sit down with Angie, Executive Director of Peer 180, the largest recovery community organization on Colorado’s Western Slope, to talk about the long road from survival to service.

Angie’s story starts far from where she is today. At 19 years old, newly sober and running from guns, gangs, and chaos in Detroit, she believed staying clean was enough. What she learned instead was that recovery is about far more than abstinence. It’s about relationships, purpose, and belonging.

Through gang involvement, cross-country moves, near-misses, and relentless internal battles, Angie never picked up a drink or a drug. What carried her through was service. Showing up for others when her own life felt unsteady became the foundation of her recovery and eventually her life’s work.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why sobriety alone isn’t always enough
• The power and limits of traditional 12-step recovery
• What “meeting people where they’re at” actually looks like in real life
• Peer-led recovery and why hierarchy can get in the way of healing
• How Peer 180 grew from a volunteer effort into a thriving community hub
• Why dignity, choice, and inclusion save lives
• And how connection, not correction, creates lasting change

This episode is honest, nuanced, and deeply human. It challenges rigid ideas about recovery while honoring what works. It’s about walking with people instead of telling them where they should be.

Whether you’re in recovery, love someone who is, or work in mental health or addiction treatment, this conversation will change the way you think about healing, community, and hope

In this episode of Broken-ish, we move out of the heaviness and into the hope. Not the fake, motivational quote kind. The real kind that comes from doing hard things, telling the truth, and staying in the work long enough to see something take shape.

Using Tupac’s The Rose That Grew from Concrete as a backdrop, we get into what happens when passion and purpose finally line up, and why most people don’t “find” their passion at all. They build it through service, skill, relationships, and repetition.

We talk about:

• Why living only in self-reflection can keep you stuck
• How helping one person can turn into helping thousands
• The role ambition plays without turning into ego
• Why relationships matter more than credentials or modalities
• What it really means to build trust, culture, and impact
• And how meaningful work often grows out of uncomfortable seasons

This is a raw conversation about leadership, growth, helping others, and building something that actually matters. In life, in business, and in recovery.

If you have ever felt stuck in the concrete If you are questioning your purpose If you want to help people but also want more for your life If you are building something and feeling the weight of it

This episode is for you.

We are not broken. We are broken-ish. And something real is growing.