In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Mitchell Goldman to unpack the moment everything shifted. From a breaking point in front of the mirror to confronting suicidal thoughts, Mitchell shares how he stopped seeking validation and took responsibility for his own life.

This conversation explores identity, self-perception, and what it really means to approve of yourself. If you’ve ever felt stuck in your own patterns or disconnected from who you are, this episode offers a direct perspective on doing the inner work and rebuilding from within.

In this episode, they explore:

• The mirror moment that changed everything

• Suicidal thoughts and self-confrontation

• Taking responsibility for your own life

• Approval vs external validation

• Identity and self-perception

• Healing from within

Listen to GUTS:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933

Follow GUTS:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Pastor Timothy Johnson, a former NFL player turned pastor, to explore the shift from performance-driven success to a purpose-driven life. Through stories of football, fatherhood, and spiritual growth, Timothy unpacks how chasing validation can disconnect us from who we truly are and what it looks like to start from victory instead of striving for it.

This conversation explores identity, self-worth, faith, and mindset, from navigating fatherlessness to redefining success beyond achievement. If you’ve ever felt stuck chasing goals that don’t fulfill you, this episode offers a grounded perspective on purpose, belief, and living with intention.

In this episode, they explore:

• Finding purpose vs chasing success

• Identity and self-worth

• Faith and personal growth

• Growing up without a father

• Control vs surrender mindset

• Overcoming the need for validation

Listen to GUTS:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933

Follow GUTS:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Susan Asiyanbi, a leader working at the intersection of relationships, culture, and organizational change. Susan reflects on how her parents’ values shaped her understanding of service, community, and the belief that every day offers a chance to try again.

Through stories of grief, friendship, and personal evolution, Susan challenges the idea that we are “good friends” by default. She explores the gap between how we see ourselves and how we actually show up, the tension between independence and community, and why relationships require more honesty than we’re comfortable with. From navigating loss to redefining what it means to give without expectation, this conversation exposes the complexity of connection.

Together, they explore:

• Why we’re not always the friends we think we are

• The difference between giving freely and giving with expectation

• How grief shifts perspective and what actually matters

• Why asking for help is uncomfortable but necessary

• The tension between independence and needing a village

• What it means to be complete but not resolved

Listen GUTS:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933

Follow GUTS:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of GUTS, Topaz Adizes sits down with Luis Velasquez, executive coach, Stanford leadership facilitator, and author of Ordinary Resilience. This is a conversation about resilience that isn’t performative. It’s lived. Through stories of survival, identity, fatherhood, and near breaking points, Luis unpacks how reframing reality can become a tool for transformation and how the smallest shifts in perspective can change everything.

In this episode, they explore:

• Why resilience is built through choice, not circumstance

• The difference between fearlessness and fearing less

• How identity shapes behavior and long term growth

• Reframing pain into purpose and forward movement

• Parenting, legacy, and what it means to truly prepare your children for life

_____________________________________________________________________

Listen GUTS:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933

Follow GUTS:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Didier Sylvain, coach and creative practitioner working at the intersection of personal liberation and collective transformation. Didier has guided executives and teams at organizations like Lionsgate, WME, and the NBA Foundation, drawing from a background that spans Deloitte Consulting, somatics, sound healing, and a deep lineage of embodied practice.

Through decades of inner work, loss, and creative discovery, Didier reflects on what it really means to lead from your values, why music is the marrow of his soul, and how the work we do for others is often the work we most need to do ourselves.

Together, they explore:

• What it means to be alive in your soul vs. hiding from it

• How lineage and ancestry shape who we become

• The dance between dreaming and discipline

• Why the opposite of fear might be play

• Creating beauty as a spiritual practice

• Grief, vision, and learning to trust the unseen

• What it feels like to finally come home

_____________________________________________________

Follow GUTS:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Emma Templeton, social psychologist and researcher studying the science of human connection. Emma explores what happens in the precise moments when conversation clicks and why some interactions leave us feeling deeply understood while others fade away.

Through her research on real, unscripted dialogue, Emma reflects on the invisible forces shaping how we connect and why meaningful conversation may be one of the most powerful tools we have.

Together, they explore:

• Why we dread social interactions we end up loving

• What makes conversations feel meaningful

• The science of conversational chemistry

• Why social scripts limit deeper connection

• The value of long, undistracted conversations

• Communicating complex ideas simply

_____________________________________________________________________

Listen GUTS:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933

Follow GUTS:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Andrew Kimler, Sundance fellow and award-winning creative producer, for a deeply personal conversation about adoption, fatherhood, creativity, and purpose.

After enduring three failed adoptions in a single year, alongside profound personal loss, Andrew reflects on grief, resilience, and what it takes to stay open after repeated heartbreak.

Together, they explore:

- The emotional reality of failed adoptions and how to mourn what almost was

- Why you “can’t get matched with the wrong kid” in the adoption journey

- What patience really means and how to use the waiting season well

- The difference between what a story is about and what it’s really about

- How creativity, writing, and fatherhood reveal your deeper purpose

_____________________________________________________________________

Follow GUTS:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Bryce Hoffman, bestselling author and the only civilian ever to complete the U.S. Army's Red Team Leader Program. As founder of Red Team Thinking, he helps organizations like Google, Salesforce, and the U.S. Marine Corps challenge assumptions and make sharper decisions.

Together, they explore:

- How radical idealism evolves into disciplined critical thinking

- Why ego is the enemy of great leadership

- Failure as a feature, not a flaw

- What it really means to stop pushing the river

This conversation is about learning to ask the tough questions, and having the courage to listen to the answers.

_____________________________________________________________________

Listen GUTS:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeUPrK1EksczxTm35F_GeUA

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933

Follow GUTS:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with award-winning podcaster, empowerment coach, and author Michelle Lamoureux, creator of The Good Life podcast and author of Design a Life You Love.

Michelle reflects on the formative experiences that shaped her: being “othered” as a child, surviving a near abduction, and wearing a scoliosis brace for six years — and how those moments cultivated empathy, resilience, and a drive to create safe spaces for women to reclaim their voice.

Together, they explore:

• Reclaiming your voice after silence

• How early experiences shape identity and empathy

• Success as the courage to try

• Motherhood, safety, and raising a daughter with agency

• Designing a life with intention

This conversation examines what it means to design a life with intention, expand beyond inherited limitations, and stay human in an increasingly AI-driven world.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Listen GUTS:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933

Follow GUTS:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Yoseph Ayele, Ethiopian-born entrepreneur and founder of LAVA, for a wide-ranging conversation about talent, ego, purpose, and the courage to not know. From growing up in Ethiopia to building across borders, Yoseph reflects on what happens when control loosens and attention shifts toward listening, humility, and service.

Moving between leadership, inequality, and self-awareness, this conversation explores talent as energy, not status, contradiction as a source of truth, and why learning to let go may be one of the most important leadership practices of our time.

In this episode, we explore:

• What talent really is and how it develops

• Ego, humility, and self-awareness in leadership

• Inequality, access, and reframing prosperity

• Letting go of control and certainty

• Purpose as service rather than achievement

• Parenting, legacy, and what we pass forward

_____________________________________________________________________

Listen GUTS:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933

Follow GUTS:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Airrion Copeland, a filmmaker, writer, and nonprofit leader, for a raw conversation about fatherhood, fear, and the moments that change how you see everything. After a near-death experience involving his young son, Airrion reflects on what breaks open when control disappears and what’s revealed in its place.

From early trauma and storytelling to compassion, uncertainty, and raising children in an unpredictable world, this conversation explores suffering as a teacher, purpose as service, and why letting go of certainty may be the only honest way forward.

In this episode, we explore:

• Fatherhood and fear

• Near-death experiences and wake-up calls

• Suffering as a teacher

• Letting go of certainty and control

• Purpose as service

• Raising children in an uncertain future

_____________________________________________________________________

Listen GUTS:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933

Follow GUTS:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Andy Tudhope, a technologist, writer, and builder, for a wide ranging conversation about code, consciousness, and community.

Andy reflects on formative experiences with violence, near death, and ego dissolution, and how those moments shaped his relationship with love, presence, and meaning. From Zen and Sufism to poetry, programming, and rethinking money as a communal habit rather than a fixed truth, this conversation explores sincerity, humility, and what it means to live inside the question rather than rush toward answers.

In this episode, we explore:

• Progress beyond speed and scale

• Death, presence, and love as practice

• Language, silence, and meaning

• Code, money, and trust

• Why better questions matter more than certainty

_____________________________________________________________________

Listen GUTS:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933

Follow GUTS:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

#GUTSPodcast #ConsciousTechnology #Philosophy #MeaningAndPurpose #RethinkingProgress

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Charlie Goldsmith, Healer and Explorer, for an honest conversation about healing, belief, and what it means to follow a calling that challenges how people understand reality.

Charlie shares the moment at eighteen when he first realized he could heal someone and the fear, disbelief, and isolation that followed. From family disapproval and years of having to prove himself, to being studied by major institutions and working to create pathways for others like him, this conversation explores resilience, empathy, and the cost of trusting your inner knowing.

In this episode, we explore:

• Discovering a gift no one believes in

• Healing, chronic pain, and the placebo question

• Family disapproval and self trust

• Trauma, empathy, and purpose

• Why not everything real needs explanation

______________________________________________________________________________

🌐 Subscribe for updates

https://topazadizes.com

👉 Follow us on social media:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@guts.podcast

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes, sits down with Kyrus Keenan Westcott, also known as KY, creator of The Vibe With Ky, to talk about mental health, ADHD, depression, and what it really means to stop pretending you’re fine.

Ky shares the roller coaster moment that shaped how he understands fear, acceptance, and growth. From losing his friend Ashton, to a ruptured Achilles and a painful breakup, to being late diagnosed with ADHD, depression, anxiety, and OCD, this conversation explores humor as a coping mechanism, neurodivergence, mental health stigma, and why honesty can be strength, connection, and survival.

In this episode, we explore:

• ADHD, late diagnosis, and neurodivergence

• Depression, anxiety, OCD, and mental health awareness

• Fear, acceptance, and the roller coaster metaphor for life

• Humor as survival and emotional regulation

• Boundaries, vulnerability, and avoiding toxic positivity

• What it means to stop pretending and start healing

______________________________________________________________________________

🌐 Subscribe for updates

https://topazadizes.com

👉 Follow us on social media:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@guts.podcast

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Getting Under the Skin, Topaz sits down with entrepreneur and mentor Don MacPherson (he/him) to talk about family, resilience, risk and the lessons that shaped him.

Don shares:

• The gifts each of his four parents passed on to him

• How loss and change shaped his view of life and relationships

• The summer adventure that set him on a new path

• Why he put off surgery for years and what it taught him when he finally said yes

• How trust, curiosity and love guide the way he leads and lives

This is a conversation about facing hardship, choosing gratitude and discovering the power of love in leadership and in life.

What has life designed you for?

These conversations are not performative interviews, book release tours or productivity hacks.

Genuine curiosity is the compass for these honest, human-to-human exchanges of stories. We explore how people are formed by the lives they’ve lived and celebrate the wisdom gained along the way.

Welcome to Getting Under The Skin

🔗 Learn more about our guest

https://www.linkedin.com/in/donmacpherson/

______________________________________________________________________________

🎧 Watch the full season of GUTS on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4epHaaofIRu1qr0AK7PnwrYJDp2O_FTZ or listen wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

🌐 Subscribe for updates

https://topazadizes.com

👉 Follow us on social media:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@guts.podcast

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Getting Under the Skin, Topaz sits down with strategist, leadership coach, and catalyst for change David Lancefield (he/him), whose work helps leaders expand their thinking, embrace discomfort, and step into deeper impact without losing themselves in the process.

David shares:

- Why presence matters more than perfection in leadership

- How to balance ambition with genuine connection

- The hidden cost of avoiding difficult conversations

- Why curiosity is the ultimate leadership superpower

- How to create environments where people -and ideas- can thrive

This is a conversation about leading from the inside out. About slowing down to see more clearly, and realizing that growth is less about adding and more about uncovering.

What has life designed you for?

These conversations are not performative interviews, book release tours or productivity hacks.

Genuine curiosity is the compass for these honest, human-to-human exchanges of stories. We explore how people are formed by the lives they’ve lived and celebrate the wisdom gained along the way.

Welcome to Getting Under The Skin

🔗 Learn more about our guest

https://davidlancefield.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidclancefield/

______________________________________________________________________________

🎧 Watch the full season of GUTS on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4epHaaofIRu1qr0AK7PnwrYJDp2O_FTZ or listen wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

🌐 Subscribe for updates

https://topazadizes.com

👉 Follow us on social media:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@guts.podcast

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Getting Under the Skin, Topaz talks with educator, coach, podcast host, and father Joe Ferraro (he/him). Joe's journey has been shaped by baseball, family, and an unwavering pursuit of self-awareness. From Sunday dinners to national championships, his story reflects discipline, vulnerability, and deep reflection.

Joe shares:

- The quiet legacy of his dad and how food became their love language

- What a recurring dream about losing his glove taught him about purpose

- How becoming a coach at 21 compelled him to grow before he felt ready

- The fears he still holds about being "too soft" with his students

- Why learning to lead by voice, not just by example, is both a gift and a responsibility

This conversation explores the gifts we inherit and those we discover, the tension between being a public voice and a private seeker, and the courage it takes to listen to what life is trying to offer us, even when it's unexpected.

These conversations are not performative interviews, book release tours or productivity hacks.

Genuine curiosity is the compass for these honest, human-to-human exchanges of stories. We explore how people are formed by the lives they’ve lived and celebrate the wisdom gained along the way.

Welcome to Getting Under The Skin.

🔗 Learn more about our guest

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jferraro1/

https://www.onepercentbetterproject.com/

https://www.damngoodconversations.com/joe-ferraro

______________________________________________________________________________

🎧 Watch the full season of GUTS on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4epHaaofIRu1qr0AK7PnwrYJDp2O_FTZ or listen wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

🌐 Subscribe for updates

https://topazadizes.com

👉 Follow us on social media:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@guts.podcast

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Getting Under the Skin, Topaz sits down with co-founder of Transcend Education, author, and creative strategist Dr. Jeff Wetzler (he/him), whose life’s work has been about bringing people together - from mountaintop gatherings to deep conversations on meaning, identity, and impact.

Jeff shares:

• Why “holding space” isn’t a tactic, it’s a way of being

• How chasing significance can distract us from actually living

• The tension between being a public leader and a private seeker

• What real service looks like in an ego-driven world

• How relationships - not accolades - are the true measure of a life

This is a conversation about practice over perfection, presence over performance.

About letting go of the script, and listening for the deeper invitation underneath it all.

These conversations are not performative interviews, book release tours or productivity hacks.

Genuine curiosity is the compass for these honest, human-to-human exchanges of stories. We explore how people are formed by the lives they’ve lived and celebrate the wisdom gained along the way.

Welcome to Getting Under The Skin

🔗 Learn more about our guest

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-wetzler-9ba3824/

https://transcendeducation.org/

______________________________________________________________________________

🎧 Watch the full season of GUTS on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4epHaaofIRu1qr0AK7PnwrYJDp2O_FTZ or listen wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

🌐 Subscribe for updates

https://topazadizes.com

👉 Follow us on social media:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@guts.podcast

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Getting Under the Skin, Topaz sits down with filmmaker, storyteller, and community catalyst Wayne Price (he/him), whose life has been shaped by curiosity, connection, and the courage to not follow the script.

Wayne shares:

- How choosing community over convention shaped his creative path

- Why energy - not achievement - is what truly moves people

- What the Grateful Dead taught him about belonging

- How he used {THE AND} Long-Term Couples deck to unlock a breakthrough family conversation

- What it means to create spaces that bring people closer, in work, art, and real life

From parking lots to premieres, Wayne has always been a host, a conductor of energy, a gatherer of people, and a reminder that the how matters just as much as the what.

These conversations are not performative interviews, book release tours or productivity hacks.

Genuine curiosity is the compass for these honest, human-to-human exchanges of stories. We explore how people are formed by the lives they’ve lived and celebrate the wisdom gained along the way.

Welcome to Getting Under The Skin

🔗 Learn more about Wayne Price

https://www.instagram.com/hiwayneprice/

______________________________________________________________________________

🎧 Watch the full season of GUTS on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4epHaaofIRu1qr0AK7PnwrYJDp2O_FTZ or listen wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

🌐 Subscribe for updates

https://topazadizes.com

👉 Follow us on social media:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@guts.podcast

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Getting Under the Skin, Topaz sits down with artist and filmmaker Tracey Arcabasso Smith (she/her), whose documentary Relative explores the generational trauma of sexual abuse in her family, and the healing that followed.

Tracey shares:

- The spiritual shifts that helped her redefine “mother”

- Why the courage to speak out didn’t feel like a choice

- How she balances her corporate leadership with a deep commitment to inner truth

- The tension between healing, parenting, and staying clear in a world full of pain

From vulnerability to visionary leadership, Tracey invites us to look within and reflect on what we’re really here to do. What has life designed you for?

These conversations are not performative interviews, book release tours or productivity hacks.

Genuine curiosity is the compass for these honest, human-to-human exchanges of stories. We explore how people are formed by the lives they’ve lived and celebrate the wisdom gained along the way.

Welcome to Getting Under The Skin

🔗 Learn more about Tracey and her work

https://www.instagram.com/tracey_arcabasso_smith

🎥 Watch her documentary, "Relative"

https://www.relativedocumentary.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Relative-Tracey-Arcabasso-Smith/dp/B0CBD67WSW?dplnkId=a1c63457-4732-4a10-ab97-c5444d224bbd&nodl=1

______________________________________________________________________________

🎧 Watch the full season of GUTS on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4epHaaofIRu1qr0AK7PnwrYJDp2O_FTZ or listen wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

🌐 Subscribe for updates

https://topazadizes.com

👉 Follow us on social media:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@guts.podcast

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/

#GenerationalTrauma #HealingJourney #FamilySecrets #TraceyArcabassoSmith #GUTSpodcast #podcast #newpodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this unscripted and deeply human conversation, Dr. Ichak Adizes — one of the world’s most influential business thinkers — opens up to his son, filmmaker and host Topaz Adizes, in a raw dialogue about love, aging, grief, legacy, and healing.

At 87 years old, Dr. Adizes reflects on the life that shaped him, the legacy he's still writing, and the emotional wounds he's only now beginning to confront. Together, father and son explore:

- What he regrets passing down to his children — and what he’s proud to have given

- How a childhood without love became the fuel for global impact

- Why success was never about achievement, but about being loved

- What aging feels like when time no longer stretches endlessly ahead

- The paradox of gaining wisdom while losing memory

This is more than a father-son conversation, it’s a powerful reflection on mortality, meaning, family, vulnerability, and emotional truth.

These conversations are not performative interviews, book release tours, or productivity hacks. Genuine curiosity is the compass for these honest, human-to-human exchanges of stories. We explore how people are formed by the lives they’ve lived and celebrate the wisdom gained along the way.

Welcome to Getting Under The Skin.

🔗 Learn more about Dr. Adizes and his work

https://www.adizes.com/

📖 Read his autobiography, The Accordion Player

https://publications.adizes.com/products/the-accordion-player-english

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🎧 Watch the full season of GUTS on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4epHaaofIRu1qr0AK7PnwrYJDp2O_FTZ or listen wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lauren Celenza is a designer, technologist, writer, and deeply curious human navigating the complex intersections of connection, technology, and imbalance. From redesigning Google Maps for informal transit systems across the Global South to building the first free direct IRS tax-filing tool in U.S. history, Lauren’s work is all about making the invisible visible — and helping people find their way.

In this episode, Topaz and Lauren explore:

• Why curiosity often begins with dissatisfaction

• The human cost of deindustrialization and distance — and how it shaped her family

• How asking “where is the imbalance?” became her guiding compass

• Why independence isn’t enough — and how interdependence could save us

• What we might lose — and long for — in a world increasingly shaped by AI

This is a conversation about grief and grasping. About navigating the spaces between what’s lost, what’s possible, and what’s still worth holding onto.

These conversations are not performative interviews, book release tours or productivity hacks. 

Genuine curiosity is the compass for these honest, human-to-human exchanges of stories. We explore how people are formed by the lives they’ve lived and celebrate the wisdom gained along the way.

Welcome to Getting Under The Skin 

👉 Mentioned in this episode:

• Monika Jiang’s “Sharing Our Loneliness” — https://www.monikajiang.org/sharing-our-loneliness

• Inside the beloved IRS Direct File tool — and why it’s under threat — https://www.nextgov.com/digital-government/2025/06/direct-file-beloved-its-users-internal-irs-report-says/405883/?oref=ng-homepage-riverand

• Why Direct File is now open-source (and what that means) — https://www.404media.co/directfile-open-source-irs-tax-filing-software-turbotax-is-trying-to-kil/

• On deindustrialisation and its lasting impact on working-class communities — https://inthesetimes.com/article/deindustrialization-offshoring-manufacturing-factory-factories-unemployment-layoff-work-labor-workers-working-people-working-class-industry-ohio-michigan-south-carolina-pepsi-gm

Welcome to Getting Under The Skin.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aaron Lazar is a celebrated Broadway actor, a father, a fighter, and a man in the middle of radical personal transformation. Diagnosed with ALS, Aaron now finds himself walking a path that demands more than physical strength — it calls for spiritual clarity, emotional courage, and a new kind of presence.

In this episode, he sits down with longtime friend and host Topaz Adizes for one of the rawest, most soul-opening conversations ever captured on GUTS.

Together, they unpack:

• How chasing success can disconnect you from yourself

• Why love from sympathy isn’t the same as love from love

• What it means to rehearse the energy you want to live in

• How joy and imagination are essential tools for healing

• The real difference between pushing through and showing up fully

This isn’t just a story of illness. It’s a story of rebirth.

It’s about shifting your inner script, one distinction at a time — and showing up, over and over, with more love than before.

These conversations are not performative interviews, book release tours or productivity hacks. 

Genuine curiosity is the compass for these honest, human-to-human exchanges of stories. We explore how people are formed by the lives they’ve lived and celebrate the wisdom gained along the way.

Welcome to Getting Under The Skin.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this premiere episode of GUTS, Topaz Adizes sits down with creative collaborator and longtime friend, Ants Cabraal, for a conversation about the stories we tell ourselves, the ones we outgrow, and what happens when our actions don’t align with our supposed ambitions. 

Together, they explore:

• Why chasing the wrong dream can still teach the right lesson

• How clarity doesn’t come from control, but from attention

• What it means to “steward your energy”, and how to know when you’re wasting it

• The power of small, serendipitous moments to show you you’re on the right path

• How building community is both a calling and a compass

These conversations are not performative interviews, book release tours or productivity hacks. 

Genuine curiosity is the compass for these honest, human-to-human exchanges of stories. We explore how people are formed by the lives they’ve lived and celebrate the wisdom gained along the way.

Welcome to Getting Under The Skin 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.