Ducking Realitea

Tracy Cheri Jones: No Bullshit, From Trauma to Taxidermy

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1866039/fan_mail/new] This episode is not light… but it’s important. From being coached to lie to CPS at four years old to ending up on a psych ward as a teaching case, Tracy has survived more than most people can imagine, and somehow built a life full of love, art, and zero tolerance for bullshit. Siobhan sits down with Tracy of Black Widow Bottles for a raw, unfiltered conversation about what it actually takes to rebuild your life when you were never given a safe place to start. They talk about childhood abuse, being failed by the system, running away and surviving on the streets, addiction, suicide attempts, and the long road back through therapy, medication, and doing the work. But this isn’t just about survival, it’s about ownership, boundaries, and choosing a different path. Tracy shares how she fought to rebuild her life, regain custody of her kids, and create meaning through her art, honoring life, grief, and memory through her work in wet taxidermy and pet memorials. We also get into the complicated parts: grief that doesn’t resolve cleanly, losing her daughter to addiction, navigating family dynamics, and learning when to walk away from people who continue to cause harm. If you’ve ever felt too broken, too far gone, or stuck in your past, this conversation is your reminder: Healing is messy. It’s nonlinear. And it’s still possible. 🦆 Come sit with us in The Pond. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1866039/support]

Touch of the Tism Goes Live - Episode 6

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1866039/fan_mail/new] This episode was supposed to be a quick promo. You know… remind you about the live show, keep it tight, move on. Yeah—no. That’s not what happened. This episode of Touch of the Tism is part promo, part group therapy, and fully unfiltered. We’re gearing up for our first live show on April 4—bands, tastings, a fundraiser for Meals on Wheels—and we’re equal parts excited and slightly spiraling. Between joking about turning 26 (again), bad ankles, and how sleeping wrong in your 30s can ruin your life… we get into the real stuff. Holly opens up about losing her friend Nick and the kind of grief that doesn’t move in a straight line—the late-night thoughts, the guilt, the “what could I have done differently” spiral. Danielle talks about anxiety, doomscrolling, and how writing things out (even the stuff you never send) can pull you back from the edge. Siobhan brings it home with real talk on depression, safe spaces, and why “it’s okay to not be okay” actually matters. We also talk about what years behind the bar teach you—how to read people, how to show up for strangers, and how much emotional labor goes into just… being human. It’s chaotic, hilarious, tender, and deeply real. And honestly?  This is exactly why we’re doing this live. 🦆 Ducking Realitea Presents: Touch of the Tism — LIVE 📍 Fireside Lounge, Alameda 🗓 April 4 🎙 Live show at 7 PM • 🎶 Music at 9 PM  With Siobhan, Holly & Danielle, plus tastings from New Alchemy Distilling, Schilling Cider, and The Chaga Co—and a special appearance by 1ZKing. Real conversations. Real people. No filter. 🎟 Grab your tickets now — limited capacity [https://www.simpletix.com/e/ducking-realitea-launch-party-tickets-263517] $20 cover.  Come hang out in The Pond. We want you there. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1866039/support]

I Worked an Event at Oprah’s House… and Everything Changed with Kristina Martinez

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1866039/fan_mail/new] She thought she’d be dancing on tour… instead she found herself producing events at Oprah’s house. In this episode of Ducking Realitea, Siobhan sits down with experiential event producer Kristina Martinez to talk about what it actually takes to build a career behind the scenes of the moments people never forget. From bartending triple shifts in New York to producing large-scale immersive events across the Bay Area, Kristina shares how she pivoted out of dance, followed the breadcrumbs, and built a career creating experiences that make people feel something. We get into: * What experiential event production really is * The Oprah moment that changed everything * Why hospitality teaches skills most people don’t have * The pressure, chaos, and personalities behind big events * Burnout, boundaries, and learning to say no * The rise of immersive events, AI, and sensory design This is one of those “casual conversations about serious sh*t” episodes about trusting your path, even when it doesn’t look how you planned. Come hang out in The Pond 🦆 Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1866039/support]

Punk, Layoffs, and the Lens That Saved Brian Paine

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1866039/fan_mail/new] This one gets real. I sat down with Brian Paine a Bay Area punk kid turned tech professional—who watched his life unravel after layoffs, grief, and a slow slide into depression. We talk about what it actually feels like when you lose your identity, your routine, and your sense of self… and how easy it is to quietly disappear. Brian opens up about going from the loud, social “mayor of the group” to someone who could barely leave the house. No social media. No energy. Just trying to get through the day. Therapy wasn’t the path this time—he white-knuckled his way through content creation, streaming D&D and posting videos, until even that fell apart. Then one night, after almost turning around four times, he walked into a show at the Ivy Room with nothing but his phone. Behind the lens, something shifted. The noise in his head went quiet. Photography, music, and community didn’t fix everything—but they gave him something to hold onto. And sometimes, that’s enough to keep going. This episode is raw, funny, and uncomfortably honest in the best way—a love letter to punk, creativity, and doing the thing anyway. If you’ve ever felt stuck, numb, or like you’re slipping… come hang out in The Pond.  Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1866039/support]

The Quiet Reality of Domestic Violence with Laura McInnis

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1866039/fan_mail/new] Domestic violence doesn’t always look like the movies. Sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes it’s confusing. And sometimes it slowly erodes your sense of self. This week on Ducking Realitea, Siobhan sits down with Laura MacInnis, managing attorney at the Family Violence Law Center, to talk about the real dynamics of abuse, coercive control, and the long road survivors take to reclaim their lives. Laura shares how her own emotionally abusive relationship in college shaped her path into nearly a decade of legal advocacy for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Together, she and Siobhan unpack the subtle warning signs of abuse: isolation, manipulation disguised as love, financial dependence, and that constant feeling of walking on eggshells. They also dive into why leaving abusive relationships is so difficult, the role shame and self-doubt play in keeping people stuck, and what actually helps survivors move forward: community support, financial stability, and being heard without judgment. Laura also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the legal system, custody battles, myths about “parental alienation,” and how high-profile cases like Epstein and R. Kelly mirror patterns she sees every day in her work. It’s a heavy conversation, but also a hopeful one. Because healing is possible, community matters, and joy is one of the most powerful forms of resistance. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1866039/support]