Innerspace: Deep, Meaningful Conversations with Brett Kaufman

Brett Kaufman
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  • MENTAL HEALTH
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Innerspace is a space for reflection, awareness, and lived experience. Through calm, grounded conversations with Brett Kaufman, the show explores what happens beneath the surface, the inner signals, transitions, and moments of clarity that shape how we move through the world.

  1. From Breakdown to Breakthrough with Laura Cooke

    3D AGO

    From Breakdown to Breakthrough with Laura Cooke

    Laura Cooke had everything that should have made her happy — successful career, beautiful family, dream job as assistant head of school at Wellington School in Columbus. But her body was keeping score. Stress-related illnesses forced her to confront a hard truth: she was walking around pretending to be happy while making choices that led to misery. In this conversation, Laura shares her journey from a CompuServe founder's dinner table to building Positive Foundry, a company that brings emotional intelligence and well-being tools to frontline workers. She opens up about the moment Martin Seligman's book "Flourish" changed her trajectory, why she walked away from her dream job, and how installation crews are now having "feelings meetings" because of her work. This episode explores the courage it takes to rebuild your life from the inside out, the power of conversation to create real change, and why the inner work isn't just for people who think they need it. Laura is creating generational change one conversation at a time, proving that transformation happens not through information but through connection.

    59 min
  2. Jim McCarthy: From State Champions to Murder Charges - The 20-Year Journey to Make "Mr. Football"

    APR 13

    Jim McCarthy: From State Champions to Murder Charges - The 20-Year Journey to Make "Mr. Football"

    Jim McCarthy lived every high school athlete's dream until it became a nightmare. State championship winners, local celebrities, his teammate awarded the illustrious “Mr. Ohio". Then one phone call changed everything: their 15-year-old teammate Lorenzo Hunter was found shot dead, and two teammates were arrested for murder. Jim carried this story for twenty years, knowing the truth wasn't being told. His documentary "Mr. Football" isn't just about what happened, it's about what happens when a community finally stops running from trauma and starts healing together. This conversation explores the power of listening and why some stories take decades to tell properly.

    52 min
  3. From Civil Engineer to Cookie Empire with Brad Kaplan

    APR 6

    From Civil Engineer to Cookie Empire with Brad Kaplan

    Brad Kaplan had never baked a cookie from scratch when he Googled "pumpkin desserts" for Thanksgiving 2018. Six years later, he owns two Lion Cubs Cookies locations in Columbus with a third on the way. This is the story of how an impulsive kid from Cleveland who became a reluctant civil engineer discovered his true calling through controlled experiments in his kitchen. Brad shares the three jumps every entrepreneur must make, why removing distractions revealed his passion, and the three scoreboards that determine success at every stage of life. Whether you're considering a career pivot or starting your own business, Brad's journey offers honest insights into what it really takes to build something from scratch.

    1h 17m
  4. Geoff Javer: Finding Identity, Community, and Healing in the Second Half of Life

    MAR 30

    Geoff Javer: Finding Identity, Community, and Healing in the Second Half of Life

    Geoff Javer is a lifelong friend of Brett's, and in this episode, they sit down to unpack a journey that spans five decades. From growing up navigating childhood trauma to finding an identity as the "party kid" in high school, Geoff shares how he struggled to fit into the traditional academic box due to dyslexia. A major wake up call in college led to an 18 year career climbing the ranks in the corporate insurance world, where he finally found the validation he had been seeking. Geoff eventually took a massive leap of faith to buy a drive thru convenience store. Twelve years later, he is not just serving a rural community, he is finding deep happiness and connection in the daily grind. Geoff also opens up about his newfound passion for gardening and photography, proving that it is never too late to try something entirely new and find profound mental healing in the second half of life.

    1h 20m
  5. Gabby Goldach: Innate Intelligence, Generational Trauma, and the Hidden Power of the Nervous System

    MAR 23

    Gabby Goldach: Innate Intelligence, Generational Trauma, and the Hidden Power of the Nervous System

    Gabby Goldach is a chiropractor, but she does not approach the body as a broken machine that needs fixing. She views the nervous system as a transmitter of life force, and her practice is designed to help your body remember how to heal itself. In this conversation, Brett and Gabby trace the full arc. They explore her childhood in Columbus, navigating her parents' divorce at twelve, and the profound realization in Oslo that allowed her to finally reconnect with her father. Gabby shares the story of moving across the world to Norway, Spain, Andorra, and Singapore, and how those experiences shaped her return home to create "the inside space". They discuss the profound impact of generational trauma, how a mother's nervous system wires her baby in utero, and why true healing requires us to step out of our educated minds and trust our body's innate intelligence. This is a conversation about releasing the narratives that no longer serve you and reclaiming your sovereignty.

    1h 21m
  6. Tricia Eastman: The Truth About Plant Medicine, Ancestral Trauma, and Spiritual Technology

    MAR 16

    Tricia Eastman: The Truth About Plant Medicine, Ancestral Trauma, and Spiritual Technology

    Tricia Eastman — author, facilitator, and founder of Ancestral Heart — has spent her career bridging cultures, honoring initiation traditions, and supporting Indigenous-led land stewardship. Right now, she’s part of a grassroots campaign to preserve iboga, the most sacred plant of Gabon — and arguably one of the most significant on earth. Through Ancestral Heart, donations are flowing directly to Blessings of the Forest and Maghanga Ma Nzambe, two community-rooted organizations working to protect this plant, secure livelihoods for forest stewards, and ensure this living heritage endures for generations. This is communities coming together. Forest stewardship as reciprocity. A story worth filling your heart and your newsfeed in chaotic times. Join the journey toward peace, unity, and healing. Donate or learn more at ancestralheart.com or https://donorbox.org/ancestralheart

    1h 46m
  7. Scott Levin: The Illusion of Control, Surviving 9/11, and the True Purpose of College

    MAR 12

    Scott Levin: The Illusion of Control, Surviving 9/11, and the True Purpose of College

    Scott Levin is a tenured college professor, a lifelong friend of Brett’s, and someone who has learned to find profound comfort in life's unavoidable chaos. In this conversation, Brett and Scott trace the full arc: growing up in Ohio, the sudden loss of his father at 13, discovering Dostoevsky to escape the trap of 1980s materialism, moving to New York City just two weeks before 9/11, and the decades of teaching that helped him understand the ultimate "in-between" stage of young adulthood. They discuss the concept of "negative capability," why the materialism portrayed in novels like American Psycho leaves us feeling dead inside, and the true role of higher education today. Scott explains why his primary goal in the classroom is teaching young adults how to think for themselves, rather than pushing an agenda. This is a raw, 40-year friendship on display. Whether you are navigating change or searching for deeper meaning beyond the material world, this conversation is a powerful reminder that we are never truly stuck. Follow Scott Levin youtube page https://www.youtube.com/@brokenwords-brokenstrings

    1h 11m
  8. The Success Lie: Chantell Preston on Identity, Trauma, and Rebuilding After the Exit

    MAR 9

    The Success Lie: Chantell Preston on Identity, Trauma, and Rebuilding After the Exit

    Chantell Preston sold her healthcare company at 41 and thought she'd finally made it. What followed were the two hardest years of her life. In this episode, Chantell traces the full arc: a childhood defined by divorce, abandonment, and a controlling home in Oklahoma. A teenage relationship that turned physically abusive and why she couldn't leave. The drive to prove herself that became the fuel of her entrepreneurial career, and the price she paid for it in every relationship that mattered. When the business sold, so did her identity. The title was gone. The family was fracturing. And for the first time, she had to sit with the question she'd been outrunning her whole life: who am I without all of this? Chantell is now an investor, author, podcast host, and co-owner of a professional volleyball expansion team in San Francisco. But the most meaningful work she's doing today can't be put on a business card. This is a conversation about what success actually costs and what it takes to finally come home to yourself.

    56 min
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Innerspace is a space for reflection, awareness, and lived experience. Through calm, grounded conversations with Brett Kaufman, the show explores what happens beneath the surface, the inner signals, transitions, and moments of clarity that shape how we move through the world.

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