Friends With Benefits

Boundary Setting 101: The Thin Line Between Consideration and Self-Advocacy

Text us to be featured on the show! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2560154/fan_mail/new] How do you show up fully for the people you love without losing yourself in the process? In this episode of The Friend Lab, Bryce and Liz get into one of the most honest conversations the pod has had yet — the real tension between being a considerate person and being a self-advocate. Liz opens up about how recovery literally forced her to break through a lifelong pattern of people-pleasing, and how "life or death" became the threshold that finally gave her permission to choose herself. Bryce reflects on what it means to move through the world rooted in self-inventory — and why staying too long in spaces where you're seen as inconsiderate can quietly erode how you see yourself. They also get into the difference between guilt and shame (thanks, Brené), what it looks like to repair a relationship without abandoning your own truth, and why the messiest, most honest version of growth happens in the brackish water — that murky in-between where the people who challenge you and the people who know you end up in the same place. This one is for anyone who's ever apologized when they didn't need to, stayed silent when they should've spoken, or wondered if caring about others and caring about yourself can actually coexist. Spoiler: they can. But it takes work. Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thefriendlabpodcast/#] About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better. About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours  Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast More about Liz → lizmckean.com [https://lizmckean.com/] Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean [https://www.instagram.com/liz.mckean] More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com [https://www.brycethethird.com] Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird [https://www.instagram.com/brycethethird/#]

Moshpits, Broken Legs and Human Connections...?

Text us to be featured on the show! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2560154/fan_mail/new] Sometimes friendship looks like family counseling. Sometimes it looks like catching a stranger in a mosh pit. This week on The Friend Lab, Bryce and Liz unpack a Baby Keem concert that went sideways (in the best and worst ways), talk about the "scrolling season" ( are you a SCROLLy Polly??) we all fall into, and remind us that real conversation is still the best antidote for feeling stuck. Welcome to the buddy hood. Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thefriendlabpodcast/#] About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better. About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours  Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast More about Liz → lizmckean.com [https://lizmckean.com/] Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean [https://www.instagram.com/liz.mckean] More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com [https://www.brycethethird.com] Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird [https://www.instagram.com/brycethethird/#]

You Can't Snap a Stick and Make Someone Love You : On the movie OBSESSION, consent, and why the messy in-between is the only way real connection actually happens

Text us to be featured on the show! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2560154/fan_mail/new] Bryce walked out of the movie Obsession and immediately needed to talk about it — so naturally, he hit record. The premise: one wish, and someone is magically compelled to love you. Sounds like a fantasy. Turns out it's kind of a horror story. In this episode, Bryce and Liz use that as a jumping-off point to dig into what real connection actually requires — and what gets lost when you try to skip straight to the good part. They get into consent and autonomy in relationships, the difference between being loved and being truly known, and why the weird, awkward, unpredictable in-between is not just part of the process — it is the process. They also get into the full spectrum of connection — from your ride-or-dies to the gym friend who noticed you were gone, to the neighbor you only ever wave at — and why demanding everything from one person might be the thing standing between you and a real community. Plus: parasocial relationships, the highlight reel self vs. the actual self, Liz's third-grade best friend ranking system, and a brand new segment: Buddy Questions. You can't snap a stick. But you can do the work. Welcome to the lab. Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thefriendlabpodcast/#] About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better. About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours  Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast More about Liz → lizmckean.com [https://lizmckean.com/] Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean [https://www.instagram.com/liz.mckean] More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com [https://www.brycethethird.com] Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird [https://www.instagram.com/brycethethird/#]

Who Do You Trust With The Scary Stuff?: The Friends You Let Past Your Defenses — and Why

Text us to be featured on the show! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2560154/fan_mail/new] Bryce hit record mid-conversation — and this is what came out. In this episode, he and Liz dig into something we've all felt but rarely talk about: why the same information hits completely differently depending on who's delivering it. When it's someone you trust, someone who knows your heart and your history, even the scary stuff feels manageable. When it's not? You're out. Turkey leg dropped. Gone. They talk about what it actually takes to be a person someone lets past their defenses — the kind of trust that makes hard conversations possible, what it means to do the work on both sides of a friendship, and how knowing yourself is the whole foundation. Plus: protecting your peace without disappearing from the world entirely, what season you might be in right now, and why the buddy hood might just be saving lives one honest conversation at a time. Welcome to the Buddyhood. Pull up a chair. Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thefriendlabpodcast/#] About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better. About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours  Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast More about Liz → lizmckean.com [https://lizmckean.com/] Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean [https://www.instagram.com/liz.mckean] More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com [https://www.brycethethird.com] Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird [https://www.instagram.com/brycethethird/#]

Friends With Benefits

Text us to be featured on the show! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2560154/fan_mail/new] Ok ya dirty birdy, we're not talking about THOSE benefits! BUT all friendship has benefits - and some are more... material than others. But when does a friendship cross the line from beneficial to... transactional?  Well, that's what we're discussing today.  Let us know what you think! We love ya. -Liz & Bryce Follow The Friend Lab on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thefriendlabpodcast/#] About Liz McKean: Liz is a hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, and creator of spaces where people can unshame their coping tools and finally feel better. About Bryce The Third: When it comes to the most authentic and impactful voices rising out of Detroit, Michigan, Bryce The Third is a name you can’t afford to leave out. Not just an artist, he’s an emotional engineer with a live show that a mix of performance art, storytelling, high level lyricism and community building. Not only does Bryce have a story to tell, when you witness it, you’ll wanna tell yours  Join The FriendLab Community! → https://substack.com/@friendlabpodcast Call into the show to be featured → https://www.speakpipe.com/TheFriendLabPodcast More about Liz → lizmckean.com [https://lizmckean.com/] Follow Liz on Instagram → @liz.mckean [https://www.instagram.com/liz.mckean] More about Bryce → BryceTheThird.com [https://www.brycethethird.com] Follow Bryce on Instagram → @brycethethird [https://www.instagram.com/brycethethird/#]