Dawn Smith
Benefitting ManifestWorks
When Dawn Smith was born in 1978, the evangelical fundamentalist group known as The Assembly, started by her father and led by her grandfather, was already in full swing. They were living in communes separated by gender, and given schedules to account for each minute of the day, mostly spent in prayer. Things like dating, television, science, nail polish, piercings, and dancing were all forbidden (wife-training was a thing). Meanwhile, accounts of abuse continued to go unaddressed by a sinister group of leaders hell-bent on maintaining power and control, until the victims started sharing their stories, bringing Dawn closer than ever to the truth. Eventually, Dawn left The Assembly with her sister, husband and new baby, was introduced to things like movies, and television for the first time, and found her footing in a new exciting world. In this episode, you'll hear why Dawn says that “as hard as leaving was, the hardest day of freedom is better than the best day in a cult.”
Amy Purdy
Benefitting Adaptive Action Sports
Amy Purdy chose to be here. After losing both her legs below the knee at 19 to a form of bacterial meningitis, doctors gave her a 2% chance of survival. A year later she finished third in a snowboarding competition on Mammoth mountain. Amy went on to become one of the top Paralympic snowboarders in the world, competing on Dancing with the Stars, touring with Oprah Winfrey, starting a foundation, and writing a New York Times best-selling book. But after another life-threatening setback, Amy once again found herself knocking down doors to get the help she needed and in doing so, has inspired people everywhere to push through obstacles and make dreams happen.
Dopey Dave
Benefitting Hip Give
Dopey Dave is a recovering drug addict who spent his 20's using heroin on a daily basis despite a successful career in entertainment. After hitting bottom and entering a treatment center, he met Chris, and his life would never be the same. Chris and Dave became fast friends and started a podcast together - The Dopey podcast - where they shared wildly funny and absurd drug stories from their past. The podcast grew quickly, keeping countless addicts around the world company. Except that two years in - unbeknownst to Dave - Chris started using again, overdosed and died. In the wake of Chris's death, a devastated Dave had to find a way forward through his grief and in doing so, expanded the message of Dopey (drugs actually kill people) and found his own voice as a solo podcaster. He has never missed an episode.
Zak Ebrahim
Benefitting Masterpeace International
Zak Ebrahim's first memories were of a dad who was playful and made the family laugh. But at the age of 7, Zak's father committed an act of hate so radical that he was publicly thanked by Osama Bin Linden. On November 5th, 1990 El Sayyid Nosair shot and killed Rabbi Meir Kahane, the leader of the Jewish Defense League. He was also convicted and sent to prison for his involvement in the 1993 terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center that killed six people. After moving 20 times in 20 years, Zak changed his name and started a new life, taking painful lessons from the radicalization that surrounded his youth, and forging his own peaceful path of empathy and unity for all human-kind.
Preston Gorman
Benefitting The Refuge
Preston Gorman spent 27 days in the NIH Isolation Unit fighting the Ebola virus. Gorman was a young former firefighter and paramedic when he quit his job to volunteer as a nurse working on the front lines of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. After contracting the virus, he was placed in a coffin shaped plastic bubble for the 17 hour plane ride back to the United States. He was described as one of the sickest patients to ever be treated there. Preston was placed in complete isolation where 60 specially trained doctors volunteered to treat him. Less than a month later, Preston walked out the hospital doors and would choose to remain anonymous for the next 5 years. In the episode, he speaks candidly about surviving Ebola, living with PTSD, his darkest moments, lessons on faith, family and the road to rediscovering joy and hope.
Maya Amoils
Benefitting Beauty Bus Foundation
Maya Amoils had a very romantic mid-20's experience living and working abroad, running half-marathons and building the career of her dreams. That all changed after receiving a phone call that altered the course of her life. At 28, she was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer. The day before Maya came to do this interview, she completed her 15th round of chemo. She is fighting for her life and throughout her twisted and beautiful journey has discovered a lot about what matters most during our time here on earth. In this raw, vulnerable and beautiful conversation, Maya shares the ways we can show up for people when they need it the most, find compassion for ourselves during times of change, and create more moments of awe and wonder every chance we get.
Kevin Hines
Benefitting Kevin & Margaret Hines Foundation
Only 1% of those who attempt suicide by jumping off of the Golden Gate Bridge survive, and Kevin Hines is one of those people. Fueled by a history of struggle with depression and bi-polar disorder, Kevin thought the bridge would be the easiest way to die, yet the first thing he felt after clearing the railing was - regret. Today, Kevin is a world renowned speaker, best selling author, and mental health advocate who uses his powerful personal story to save lives. He talks openly about what it feels like to live with "brain pain," the extraordinary circumstances around his survival after the jump, his experience in psych wards, the common denominator of people who consider suicide, and how the simple act of showing kindness to someone in emotional pain can save their life.
Damien Echols
Benefitting Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue
Damien Echols grew up as a Metallica-listening, Wicca-dabbling, non-conformist teenager in southern bible belt country. When three 8-year-old boys were found dead in the woods of West Memphis Arkansas, the police immediately turned to Echols and his two friends Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. In 1994, Damien was sentenced to death and spent 18 years in prison including 10 years in solitary confinement. In order to keep his mind active, Damien turned his cell into a monastic-like sanctuary and practiced meditative rituals for up to eight hours a day. It was during this time that Damien met his wife Lori, who assisted in the uncovering of new DNA evidence that would eventually free him. Damien shares that we can all escape our own individual prisons, whether mental, emotional, or physical, and come out on the other side thriving.
BJ Miller
Benefitting Coalition to Transform Advanced Care
BJ Miller was a sophomore in college when he lost both his legs and half of one arm in a freak electrical accident with a New Jersey commuter train. He spent months in a burn unit followed by outpatient physical therapy to learn how to manage daily life as a triple amputee. Looking to put to use the lessons he learned on suffering, BJ decided to become a physician - specifically a palliative care doctor, working with patients to create a dignified, graceful end of life experience. BJ shares his thoughts on what truly matters in life from spending time with hundreds of people facing its end.
Mardy Fish
Benefitting The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation
If you follow the sport of tennis at all, you know the name Mardy Fish. He rose to prominence in the early 2000's and became the #1 American tennis player in the ATP rankings and #7 in the world. What you may not know about Mardy Fish is that during a career-defining match at the US Open against Roger Federer, in front of 25,000 people and with millions watching on TV, he walked off the court, withdrew from the match and simply vanished. It wasn't until many months later than Marty courageously revealed that he had suffered from a severe anxiety attack on the court, and was privately struggling to function in his daily life. Without a model to turn to for how to manage as an athlete with an anxiety disorder, he had to become the example he never found, and in doing so has inspired men and women all over the world to live a full and successful life in spite of mental illness.
Paula & Jonathan Williams
Benefitting Left Hand Church & Forefront Church
Paula Stone Williams knew from a young age that she was transgender, but as a leader in a conservative evangelical religious community, then Paul, avoided transitioning at all costs. Paul's son, Jonathan, followed in his father's footsteps and began a career in ministry, creating a new church under the same organization. Three months into his new job, Paul sat Jonathan down and told him that he was transitioning to a woman. The community backlash was instant, members exited en masse and funding disappeared. But through the reckoning, they forged a new relationship with their faith, each other, and birthed two inclusive churches publicly and intentionally welcoming the LGBTQIA community.
Looking Back
Looking back...our gratitude episode. Happy holidays!
Kimi shares some of the most memorable moments from our guests this year, why we decided to take a short break for the month of December and our intentions for the 2019 holiday season.
Tracy Walder
Benefitting Girl Security
Tracy Walder left behind a childhood of bullying and headed to USC where she studied history and held leadership positions in her sorority. When a recruiter from the CIA invited her for an interview her junior year, the "up-for-anything" bubbly blond jumped at the opportunity. Little did she know a year later, she would be placed in the counter-terrorism center in the weapons of mass destruction unit and regularly attending meetings with President Bush in the 9/11 war room. She departed for the middle east and by the age of 25 had already learned how to tail people, interrogate suicide bombers and gather life saving intelligence, all while witnessing death and destruction up close. Her career continued to take her to unexpected places where she was challenged at every level. Her message to girls everywhere: don't try to change who you are to fit what you think the job wants you to be.
Ed Gavagan
Benefitting Legacy of War
Ed Gavagan was walking home one night from the bar where he worked in Manhattan when he was jumped by three kids and stabbed six times in the back, side and neck. Doctors gave him a 2% chance to live, but against the odds, he survived. In the hospital he learned that the three kids were gang members looking for someone to kill as part of an initiation for moving up in the gang, and Ed was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But what’s even more remarkable than Ed surviving such a brutal attack is that he forgave his attackers and discovered - against a backdrop of debilitating depression and PTSD - a capacity for empathy he had never known.
Khalil Rafati
Benefitting Tashi Lhunpo Monastery
In his 20’s Khalil Rafati left his small town with a dream of moving to Los Angeles and becoming famous. But by the time he was 33 he found himself living on LA’s notorious skid row, 109 lbs., homeless, and fueling a daily heroin and cocaine addiction. Today, at 49, Khalil is now a wildly successful entrepreneur and the face of his wellness brand, Sunlife Organics. What is it like to beg for money? Why did he finally get sober after nine overdoses? The Khalil you will meet today has incredible wisdom and life lessons to share about addiction, the underbelly of recovery, hope and the power of kindness.
Cassie McKee
Benefitting Little People of America
Cassie McKee is Kimi's cousin and one of the people Kimi looks up to most in her life (and not just because Cassie is a world class bedazzler). Cassie has a form of dwarfism called Achondroplasia, which her husband and kids have as well. In this episode, she opens up to Kimi about what it's like living as a family of little people in an average sized world, genetics, parenting, and why she has made it her mission to meet strangers' curiosity about her and her family with open, honest dialogue and a warm, friendly smile.
Jake Olson
Benefitting Out of Sight Faith Foundation
Jake Olson was born with cancer in his left eye and by the age of twelve he was told that his right eye would also need to be removed. His last wish of sight was to watch his beloved USC Trojans play football one last time. Few would imagine that years later Jake would become a Division 1 football player himself after being asked to join the Trojans team as a long snapper. Today, he talks about coming of age as a blind boy, how life isn’t fair, that there is always something to be grateful for, and that no matter what you can find a way to do the things you love.
Aaron Stark
Benefitting Samaritan House Denver
Aaron Stark grew up in a violently abusive and drug-fueled home. By the age of 16 he was overweight, depressed, suicidal, and the victim of endless bullying. His plan was to unleash his pain by becoming a mass shooter, killing dozens and then himself. Now a 40-year-old father and husband, he shares the act that saved his life and countless others that day, and why we have to give love to the people we think deserve it the least because they are the ones that need it the most.