Arash's World Podcast

Arash Farzaneh
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Daily

This podcast is affiliated with the blog Arash's World dealing with existential issues and solutions in health and wellness, psychology, and philosophy. By providing reviews on books alongside exclusive, insightful & thought-provoking interviews with health & wellness experts, renowned psychologists & psychotherapists as well as global thought leaders and life coaches, we put together and forge individual holistic paths toward health, happiness, and wellbeing in your personal & professional life!

  1. 3d ago

    Walking Well with a Curious and Wandering Mind: Ken Wilson on Paths, Pilgrimages, Birdsongs, Planted Trees, Microdosing, and Transformation

    In this episode, I have the pleasure of talking to author, poet, professor, and dedicated walker Ken Wilson about his book, Walking Well: Trails, Paths, Pilgrimages. We start with a simple question why walk? and follow it from his childhood rambles and daily commute through Regina’s Wascana Centre to the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrimage that made walking an even bigger part of his life. Ken explains that walking can be meditative, but it can also give our thoughts room to wander, rehearse difficult conversations, and unlock new ideas. We compare what solo walks give us with the easy, free-flowing connection that can happen when we walk beside someone else. Along the way, we talk about pandemic walks, mindfulness in motion, birdsong, planted trees on the Prairies, and the way a familiar route can shape the mood and rhythm of an entire day. Our conversation also takes a more personal turn as he reflects on mental health, microdosing, and a powerful guided experience that left him feeling he had been given a second chance. We bring in Dickens, pilgrimage stories, and the idea that walking’s steady back-and-forth movement may help us process experience. By the end, Ken makes a warm and convincing case that when we step outside, pay attention, and keep moving, we may find more creativity, connection, and renewal than we expected.

  2. 5d ago

    Doulas, Pitocin, and Prepared and Informed Parents: Navigating Childbirth Safely with Birth-Injury Attorney Gina Mundy

    In this episode of Arash’s World, I have the pleasure of speaking with birth-injury attorney, bestselling author of A Parent’s Guide to a Safer Childbirth, and host of “The Childbirth Attorney Podcast” Gina Mundy who draws on more than two decades of reviewing childbirth cases to explain how families can prepare for a safer delivery. Gina highlights several practical considerations: approaching Pitocin inductions slowly and carefully, understanding the distinct supportive role of a doula, questioning whether and when the bag of waters should be broken, learning common labor-and-delivery terminology before stress makes new information harder to process, and paying close attention to the baby’s heart-rate monitoring. We also weigh home birth, hospital capabilities, premature delivery, and C-sections, emphasizing that the safest choice depends on each family’s circumstances and access to timely medical care. Throughout, Gina connects legal experience with prevention, advocacy, and informed decision-making while working toward a future in which fewer families ever need a birth-injury lawyer.

  3. Sep 26

    The Don River, Near-Death Experience, Dreams and Intuition in a Mental Hospital and Lives Transformed with Author Robin Blackburn McBride

    In this episode, I have the great pleasure of speaking with Author and Poet Robin Blackburn McBride about her book River of Dreams, a character-driven blend of historical, metaphysical, and women’s fiction. The novel follows Avery Conlon from a mysterious childhood experience in Toronto’s Don River to her work as a nurse in a 1920s mental hospital, where she uses heightened intuition to help women return home. Robin explains how research into near-death experiences, dreams, intuition, period language, and early mental-health care shaped Avery’s story. She distinguishes the novel’s “supernormal” elements from fantasy, framing them instead as an invitation to consider the limits of perception while Avery quietly navigates institutional power, personal doubt, and a growing connection with a curious and open-minded neurologist. Our conversation also reveals the personal history behind the book: Robin’s great-grandmother entered a mental hospital and never returned home, a silence that continued to affect later generations. Against that legacy, the Don River becomes both setting and symbol: a place of transformation that connects memory, dreams, healing, and the larger question of how the stories we tell shape who we are and who we become.

  4. Sep 24

    Pat Garrett, Lew Wallace, and the Betrayal of Billy the Kid with Criminal Defence Attorney Frank Abrams

    In this episode of Arash’s World, I have the pleasure of speaking with author and veteran criminal defence attorney Frank Abrams about his forthcoming book, The Slander of Billy the Kid and the Abrams Tintypes. Frank recounts how a group of five tintype photographs purchased at a flea market led him to believe that one image depicts Billy the Kid alongside Pat Garrett and other figures associated with the Lincoln County War. Drawing on the investigative instincts developed over four decades in law, he describes seeking opinions from historians, museum experts, facial-recognition specialists, handwriting analysts, and forensic examiners. We then provide a spirited reconsideration of the legend surrounding Billy the Kid. Frank argues that popular history and film have exaggerated Billy’s violence while at the same time casting Garrett as a heroic lawman, despite evidence that the two men had once been friends. He also explores Governor Lew Wallace’s unfulfilled promise of a pardon, the economic and political conflicts of the era, disputed accounts of Billy’s death, and the photographic reversal that helped create the enduring misconception that Billy was left-handed. Throughout our conversation, Frank frames the story as a clash between evidence and myth, one made newly urgent by modern tools that can test old photographs and documents. The result is part historical mystery, part legal argument, and part personal account of an accidental discovery that became a years-long pursuit. In this podcast, we move through Old West history, betrayal, forensic research, photography, cultural memory, and the challenge of persuading people to reconsider a familiar story as opposed to firmly holding onto longstanding and unfounded myths.

  5. Sep 19

    From Enrolment Decline to Call to Action: Strengthening French Learning in BC with CPF Director Michel Pouliot

    In this episode of Arash’s World, I have the pleasure of speaking with Michel Pouliot, Executive Director of Canadian Parents for French, BC & Yukon Branch on the gradual decline in French-language enrolment across British Columbia. Although demand remains strong, he explains that French Immersion and Core French programs face limited classroom capacity, enrolment caps, and uneven support from school districts. We examine several causes of this pressure, including a shortage of qualified French teachers, difficult certification pathways for internationally trained educators, and limited access in northern communities. We also emphasize that students are more likely to continue learning French when strong instruction is paired with cultural activities, practical opportunities to use the language, and flexible course options in high school. Michel calls for proactive teacher recruitment, protection of French-program classroom space, more flexible access to electives, and stronger provincial requirements where community demand exists. We then conclude that expanding French education would strengthen Canada’s bilingual identity, improve mobility and employment prospects, connect learners with Francophone cultures, and support the country’s long-term economic relationships.

  6. Sep 3

    Closing Ceremonies and Dying Times: Darlene Madott on Heartbreak, Humor, and the Necessity of Loving Each Other

    In this episode, I have the great pleasure of speaking with Darlene Madott who describes herself with distinct precision: “a writer” and “a reluctant lawyer who had to find a way of being in the world.” In this wide-ranging conversation, Darlene talks about her latest book, Closing Ceremonies and Dying Times, a paired collection that explores heartbreak, grief, death, and love with a rare blend of tenderness and dark humor. Closing Ceremonies follows characters through “the aftermath of love,” moving from abandonment and betrayal toward reconciliation, while Dying Times is more about how to live than how to die. We dig into the personal and creative forces behind the book, including a later-life heartbreak after a 21-year relationship that led her to write “Parsing His Goodbyes.” What began as a reluctant confrontation with pain then became a seven-year creative journey through grief, humour, revenge, empathy, and ultimately love. Darlene also reflects on the boundary between fiction and memoir, drawing on her legal background and her years of listening closely to clients’ stories, family memories, and lived experience, all the raw material she reshapes into fiction. Moreover, we also trace Darlene’s lifelong calling as a storyteller, from childhood puppet shows and a Grade 2 pirate novel to her decision during COVID to leave law behind and commit fully to writing. She shares the unusual publishing journey of Dying Times, its republication alongside Closing Ceremonies, and its Italian translation, which became a deeply meaningful return to her ancestral roots. At its heart, this podcast is about transformation: heartbreak into art, endings into ceremonies, death into wisdom, and writing into a way of loving the world.

  7. Sep 1

    Mindfulness, Leadership, and the Courage to Become Whole: Creating an Inspired Life with Dr. Ron Stotts

    In this episode, I have the great pleasure of speaking with Dr. Ron Stotts, a transformational guide, bestselling author, and executive coach about mindfulness, inner transformation, and the process of creating an inspired life. Ron explains that his work is less about solving isolated problems and more about helping high-performing leaders expand their internal capacity, become more self-aware, and lead with clarity under pressure. We then explore how lasting change begins by addressing deeper patterns rather than repeatedly managing surface-level challenges. A central theme here is the difference between achievement and wholeness. Ron describes how many successful people build confidence through external accomplishments while still struggling with self-acceptance, emotional backlog, and the pressure to maintain a persona. He emphasizes that true leadership and personal fulfillment come from integrating all parts of oneself, developing emotional intelligence, and learning to respond consciously rather than react from fear or old conditioning. Furthermore, we highlight mindfulness as a practical way of living rather than a rigid spiritual exercise. Ron encourages a simple process of stopping, breathing, observing, and proceeding with the next best step. Through presence, curiosity, and breath, individuals can recognize emotional indicators, uncover unconscious patterns, and use pressure as an opportunity for growth. Ron connects neuroscience, ancient wisdom, spirituality, and everyday life, presenting transformation as an ongoing process of becoming more authentic, capable, and present. We then close with reflections on reinvention, destiny, and choice. Ron shares a formative moment from his youth that led him to question inherited beliefs and begin carving his own path. He frames life as a continuing adventure in which each conscious choice opens or limits future possibilities. Overall, this podcast offers a thoughtful exploration of mindfulness, self-leadership, emotional healing, and the courage to live from a place of wholeness rather than performance alone.

  8. Aug 30

    Thru the Eyes of the Hustler’s Daughter: T Savage, Shontel Greene, and Terrance West on Trauma, Truth, Bonding, and Transformation

    In this powerful and inspiring episode, I have the great pleasure of speaking with rapper, writer, and filmmaker T Savage about her upcoming biopic, Thru the Eyes of the Hustler’s Daughter, a deeply personal film rooted in her Baltimore upbringing, childhood trauma, mental health journey, and determination to transform pain into purpose. Joined by her mother, Shontel Greene, and actor/former NFL player Terrance West, T Savage explains how music, writing, and filmmaking became vehicles for telling her story honestly and for reminding young women with similar experiences that they are not alone. The conversation also explores the emotional cost of revisiting trauma on screen. Shontel reflects on how acting in the film reopened painful memories from her own past, including survival, family addiction, illness, and the hidden depression beneath material success. Together, she and T Savage push back against the glamorization of hustling, violence, and street life, emphasizing that “everything that glitters isn’t gold” and that what is often portrayed as power or luxury can actually be grief, fear, and survival in disguise. At its heart, the episode is about post-traumatic growth, family, artistic courage, and reinvention. Terrance West shares how acting helped him find a new path after football, while T Savage describes the film set as a space where cast and crew became family through the vulnerability of the story they were carrying. With plans for a theatrical screening, soundtrack, future music projects, and even the possibility of a book, this podcast is not only about the biopic Thru the Eyes of the Hustler’s Daughter but it is also a clear statement of resilience, healing, and hope.

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

This podcast is affiliated with the blog Arash's World dealing with existential issues and solutions in health and wellness, psychology, and philosophy. By providing reviews on books alongside exclusive, insightful & thought-provoking interviews with health & wellness experts, renowned psychologists & psychotherapists as well as global thought leaders and life coaches, we put together and forge individual holistic paths toward health, happiness, and wellbeing in your personal & professional life!

Information

  • Creator
    Arash Farzaneh
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    200
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2021 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Arash's World Podcast