Jedidiah Jenkins: The Authority of Your Own Questions (Encore)

Jedidiah Jenkins: The Authority of Your Own Questions (Encore)

This episode first aired in December 2025. We're bringing it back because it's one that stays with you. What if the clarity you’re looking for isn’t “out there” at all, but already inside you — waiting for the moment it comes into view? In this conversation, NYT bestselling author and adventurer Jedidiah Jenkins sits down with us to talk about revelation, habituation, aging, and what it means to build a life you’re actually comfortable being yourself in. Jed talks about how his books — from To Shake the Sleeping Self through Mother, Nature and now his upcoming fourth — trace the long arc of becoming, moving through the mother wound, his religious upbringing, and the early experiences that sharpened his curiosity. He shares why he sees revelation as the moment when previously collected pieces finally organize into clarity, and how trusting the authority of his own questions has guided his life and work. We talk through: * Revelation vs. information — why most “aha” moments are old truths finally landing in the right order * Habituation and the hedonic treadmill — how we get used to everything, even the life we once wanted, and how Jed disrupts that pattern * How he now makes sense of the 30-year-old who biked from Oregon to Patagonia — and the life that opened because of it * How his first three books became a trilogy of healing the mother wound * Why living fully as yourself quietly liberates other people to do the same * His eight-week, no-phone sabbatical in rural Colorado during the election — and what surfaced when the noise stopped * Why he believes many of us are one sabbatical away from a breakthrough * Entering the “youngest old person” season of life and finding a beginner’s mindset again in midlife We also talk about the truth of the moment — how naming what’s real as it arises becomes its own form of presence — and how Jed has had to rebuild his sense of truth from the inside out after growing up inside a religious system that defined it for him. He reflects on learning to trust the authority of his own questions, and why that practice continues to shape his life and his work. And yes — we talk about the leaf. The one Kathryn caught during a silent walk at Jed’s retreat, the one that never touched the ground. Jed wrote on it: What falls will feed the new. It becomes a quiet throughline for this conversation about clarity, courage, and letting what’s no longer true fall away so something more honest can grow. More from Jedidiah Jenkins: • Website — www.jedidiahjenkins.com [https://www.jedidiahjenkins.com/] • Instagram — @jedidiahjenkins [https://www.instagram.com/jedidiahjenkins/] • Substack — jedidiahjenkins.substack.com [https://jedidiahjenkins.substack.com/] • Forthcoming fourth book — out fall 2026 (fun sneak peek at the process mentioned in the episode [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVqzb2SRCv0]) Connect with The Truth Is: 🎥 Watch the full conversation on YouTube → @thetruthis_pod [https://www.youtube.com/@thetruthis_pod] 📸 Follow on Instagram → @thetruthis_podcast [https://www.instagram.com/thetruthis_podcast/] Credits Hosted by Kathryn Flaschner Edited by Dan Croll Music by Will Savino [https://wsavino.com/] Visual Identity by Sarah Gainer & Jonathan Bush Advised by Natalie Tulloch

Kate Boyer: If I Don't Go Now, I'm Never Gonna Go — On Stunt Work, Self-Trust, and Doing It Afraid

Kate Boyer is a Los Angeles-based stunt woman and actor who has built her career one leap at a time — literally. She grew up in Philadelphia with an explorer's mindset, found her way to martial arts young, and eventually packed everything into a Honda Civic and drove cross-country with a vision. What she found on the other side of that move became the foundation of a decade-plus career in film and television, doubling for actors and executing the kind of work that demands total trust in yourself and the people around you. Kathryn has known Kate through their shared world as actors, and has watched up close what it looks like to build a self-led life in one of the most uncertain industries there is. This conversation is about the posture you have to take to do that — not waiting for the golden ticket, but deciding what the next move is and going. Kate is beginning to bring that practice to other artists, helping them find the clarity to do the same. In this conversation: * Growing up in Philly and the explorer's mindset that never left * Discovering stunt work as an expression of art — and what it demands emotionally * The Honda Civic move to LA and learning to listen to your inner voice * Why fear is a muscle, not a wall * The feeling on the other side of doing something you were afraid to do * What it means to bring your truth into a room rather than perform what you think is wanted * Building toward work that serves other artists Follow Kate: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/kateboyer/] The Truth Is: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thetruthis_podcast/] | Video production and editing by Anton LaPlume. Music by Will Savino. Visual identity by Sarah Gainor and Jonathan Bush. Guidance and advising by Natalie Tulloch.

Wilfredo Perdomo: Building a Business Is a Spiritual Experience — On Taking a Faithful Leap and Finding Your Destino

Wilfredo Perdomo is the founder of DESTINO, a wellness-focused hospitality and lifestyle concept he's building in the Catskills. As a Cuban-American raised by immigrant parents, his foundation is rooted in working hard, creating beauty with what you have, and making people feel genuinely welcomed. He spent eight years working with Drew Barrymore, most recently as president of Barrymore Brands — building products with heart and creating things people truly connect with. Now he's bringing all of that into something entirely his own: a micro-resort and retreat space centered around wellness, design, nature, and emotional reset. His mission is to make wellness feel accessible and less performative — to give people permission to pause. Kathryn met Wilfredo during those brand-building years. This conversation is about what it looks like when you take everything you've learned and take a faithful leap into yourself — and what it costs, demands, and opens up when you do. In this conversation: * The spiritual and emotional initiation of leaving a career to build something of your own * The ego humbling of building your brand in public * Divine action as a daily practice for navigating uncertainty * A breathwork realization about his mom that reframed everything * The Surrender Experiment and the balance between trust and showing up to do the work * What it means to stop deferring the life you actually want Mentioned in this episode: The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer Follow Wilfredo: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/wilfreydoh/] DESTINO: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/findyourdestino/] Website [https://www.findyourdestino.com/] The Truth Is: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thetruthispodcast/] YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@thetruthis_pod] Video production and editing by Anton LaPlume. Music by Will Savino. Visual identity by Sarah Gainor and Jonathan Bush. Guidance and advising by Natalie Tulloch.

Charlotte Jackson: Trust Falling With the Universe — On Dreaming Vaguely and Following Your Fun-tuition

Charlotte Jackson is a private chef, cofounder of CANDID, writer, coach, and host focused on helping people have better conversations with themselves and each other. She's also one of the original minds behind Reading Rhythms, the silent reading community that started on a rooftop in Williamsburg and caught the attention of the New York Times and the Today Show. Charlotte is one of those people who wants to do all of it — and rather than questioning what to eliminate, she's letting it all coexist. A lot of us feel the limitations, and even the slow death, of the linear career path, and Charlotte is a living example of what's possible when you loosen your grip on that model we inherited. When you give yourself permission to experiment rather than arrive. In this conversation: running two experiments at once, Internal Family Systems and the warring parts within us, why she's allergic to the word strategy, how to embrace your vague dreams and follow your Fun-tuition. Mentioned in this episode: Run Two Experiments [https://substack.com/home/post/p-195194846] — the framework Charlotte references for navigating a career transition: one experiment for the thing you can't stop thinking about, one for the skill you can offer tomorrow. Follow Charlotte: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/charlottejacksonn/] Substack [https://charlottejackson.substack.com] CANDID: Website [https://getcandidcards.com] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/getcandidcards/] Reading Rhythms: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/reading_rhythms/] The Truth Is: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thetruthis_podcast/] YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@thetruthis_pod] Substack [https://substack.com/@kathrynflaschner] Editing and video production by Anton La Plume. Music by Will Savino. Visual identity by Sarah Gainor and Jonathan Bush. Guidance and advising by Natalie Tulloch.

Kate Mueller: Nature Can Hold All of Our Differences — On Coffins, the Camino, and Awe

"I'm the last to know why I do things," Kate Mueller said to me during this interview. What an enticing revelation, especially as Kate and I looked back on the creative projects that have come through her, starting with a coffin she began building when she was 19, that sits in the middle of her living room at 35. She told me it is a good way to not watch too much Netflix. Not only has her coffin been with her as a reminder of our shared truth, but she's made friends through it, hosting coffin parties in LA where people gather to explore mortality over a glass of wine. Great way to skip some small talk! In my experience, the exploration or the contemplation of our own mortality has a helpful side effect — it orients us back to our life. The nowness (whether you like it or not!) of it all. And her work also takes us there. Kate's large scale installations, including String of Light That Connects All Things, a series of steel sculptural forms placed along the Southern California shoreline at sunset, are designed not to be looked at but to draw your awareness to what's already there. We talk about her orientation towards the awe of the natural world, how she gathered her friends and family across political differences following the 2024 election for an installation on the beach, and what that experience opened up for her. Kate's journey has been true to her from the beginning, and her life as an artist has been informed by her own pilgrimage for truth. From growing up homeschooled in a conservative and religious household, to being met by a nun at the train station in Romania to live in a monastery — where she hoped to find the clarity and courage to be honest with her family about her faith — to walking the Camino de Santiago alone in her early 20s, she found her foundational truth. A belief that people are good, that we are here to care for one another, and that anyone can mirror back to you a spark of the divine. And that nature has a way of holding us all. This conversation will invite you to step into the awe that exists right here in this lifetime. In this episode we talk about: * Building her own coffin at 19 — and what it's taught her about living * Hosting coffin parties in LA and what happens when you bring mortality into the room * Growing up homeschooled in a conservative religious household and knowing early her truth lied somewhere beyond it * What 500 miles alone in winter taught her about people * String of Light That Connects All Things and the Thanksgiving beach installation * Sitting inside a mirror chamber and stepping outside your own ego * Why she still believes people are largely good — and what convinced her * Success looks like a worn down pencil — and wishing notes washing back to shore Links to Kate's Work: Kate's Coffin (Feature in LA Times) [https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2025-02-19/kate-mueller-artist-welder-coffin-maker-la-crafted] String of Light That Connects All Things [https://www.katemueller.com/stringoflight] Upcoming Installation May 23rd Oxnard,CA [https://www.katemueller.com/stringoflight/get-involved] About Kate Mueller Kate Mueller is a Los Angeles–based installation artist whose work feels like an invitation to step into another astral plane. Her large-scale sculptural forms shift perception, drawing viewers into a heightened state of awareness. Merging welding with transdisciplinary techniques, Mueller constructs immersive works that engage movement, scale, and presence, making participation central to the experience. Her sculptures are designed to be entered, circled, and encountered physically, drawing attention to the immediacy of the moment, the awe of the natural world, and the interconnectedness of all things. CONNECT WITH KATE KATE'S WEBSITE [https://www.katemueller.com/] KATE'S INSTAGRAM [https://www.instagram.com/katemueller__/] CONNECT WITH THE TRUTH IS Instagram: @thetruthispodcast [https://www.instagram.com/thetruthis_podcast/] YouTube: @thetruthis_pod [https://www.youtube.com/@thetruthis_pod] Substack: Kathryn Flaschner [https://substack.com/@kathrynflaschner] CREDITS Hosted by Kathryn Flaschner Production & Editing by Anton LaPlume  Music by Will Savino — wsavino.com [https://wsavino.com/]  Visual Identity by Sarah Gainor & Jonathan Bush  Advised by Natalie Tulloch