A Lighthouse in the Dark

Fish
  • 5.0 (10)
  • Society & Culture

A Lighthouse in the Dark is a heartfelt podcast about resilience, healing, grief, mental wellness, purpose, and human connection. Hosted by Michael Fishman, each episode shares honest conversations and personal reflections to help listeners feel seen, supported, and reminded that even in life’s darkest moments, light can still be found. 

  1. 5d ago

    Mellissa Fung: Survival, Storytelling, and the Courage to Shine Light Where the World Looks Away

    In this powerful episode of A Lighthouse in the Dark, Michael Fishman sits down with journalist, author, and filmmaker Mellissa Fung for a deeply human conversation about courage, survival, storytelling, women in peril, and the responsibility of shining light where the world too often looks away. Mellissa shares her journey as a journalist and war correspondent. What it means to find the story, earn trust, enter dangerous places, and carry the weight of telling the truth. She opens up about her own personal story of survival, the experience that shaped Under an Afghan Sky, and how living through captivity changed not only her life, but her understanding of trauma, voice, dignity, and purpose. Together, Michael and Mellissa explore the calling behind her work: using journalism not just to report events, but to protect humanity, amplify women’s voices, and bear witness to people whose stories might otherwise be forgotten. They discuss Between Good and Evil: The Stolen Girls of Boko Haram, her documentary Captive, the Cornell case, protecting women, finding community, and the courage it takes to keep looking for light after walking through darkness. Mellissa also shares how her storytelling has expanded into fiction with The Last Mandarin, co-written with Louise Penny, a thriller about family, power, politics, and personal conviction. Throughout all her work, Mellissa carries the same moral heartbeat that runs through her journalism: power matters, truth matters, women’s lives matter, and silence can never be the answer. Raw, brave, thoughtful, and deeply inspiring, this episode is for anyone who believes stories can save lives, survival can become service, and one voice used with purpose can help illuminate the world. Because sometimes the most powerful act of healing is not only surviving the dark, but returning with a light bright enough to help others find their way out. Mellissa Fung Links: Socials — @MellissaF Pulitzer — https://pulitzercenter.org/people/mellissa-fung Captive — https://www.filmoptioninternational.com/captive Full episodes can be watched as well on YouTube @alighthouseinthedark channel. For more connection and exclusive content please subscribe to the official @alighgthouseinthedark Substack. Additional content is available across social media @alighthouseinthedark

  2. Sep 24

    Bossi: Tell All the Other Girls - From the Finishing School for Difficult Women to the Songs That Set Us Free

    In this deeply personal and empowering episode of A Lighthouse in the Dark, Michael Fishman sits down with artist, musician, songwriter, poet, multi disciplinarian artist and creative force Bossi for an honest conversation about survival, love, womanhood, art, cancer, and the power of finding your voice after life has tried to silence you. BOSSI opens up about what it truly means to be an artist. Not just as a performer, but as a person willing to turn pain, truth, rage, beauty, humor, and lived experience into something that can help others feel seen and less alone. She shares her journey into music, away from music, and then back again, including the love that helped steady her, the creative fire that called her home, and the strength it took to overcome cancer twice. Together, Michael and BOSSI explore the courage it takes to keep becoming, the healing power of self-expression, and why using your voice can become both a personal liberation and a public act of resistance. They also discuss Bossi’s Finishing School for Difficult Women, her bold, witty, and empowering satirical media series teaching women what to say when the world asks them to become smaller, softer, quieter, or easier to control.  Her latest album, Tell All the Other Girls, expands that mission into music, giving voice to the inherited stories, silenced truths, and fierce reclamation at the heart of the female experience. Released in 2025, the album features 13 powerful songs that call for women to stop shrinking themselves to fit a world that was never built to hold their full brilliance.   Heartfelt, funny, raw, defiant, and deeply inspiring, this episode is for artists, survivors, dreamers, women finding their fire, and anyone who has ever had to fight their way back to themselves. Because sometimes healing is not quiet. Sometimes it sings. Sometimes it roars. And sometimes it tells all the other girls that they were never too much, they were just finally becoming free. Links for Bossi: Website — https://www.iambossi.com/ Socials — @iambossiofficial YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/iambossi  Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/artist/3AKwaimpgJI3BopgYKCy8l  Full episodes can be watched as well on YouTube @alighthouseinthedark channel. For more connection and exclusive content please subscribe to the official @alighgthouseinthedark Substack. Additional content is available across social media @alighthouseinthedark

  3. Sep 17

    Alison Haislip: Nerd at Heart, Brave Art, Big C Energy, and the Role That Helped Her Heal

    In this deeply personal episode of A Lighthouse in the Dark, Michael Fishman sits down with host, actor, and storyteller Alison Haislip for a brave, honest, and heart-opening conversation about cancer, creativity, resilience, and the art that helps us keep going. Alison begins by sharing the path that shaped her from the curiosity, charisma, and work ethic that helped her become a beloved and world-renowned host on projects like G4’s Attack of the Show! and American Ninja Warrior, to the acting dreams that continued calling her forward. Then life changed.  The tenacity, humor, and fearless shaping her acting career on shows like Bones, NCIS, Shameless, Franklin & Bash ,  and The Rookie were suddenly redirected by a breast cancer diagnosis which forced her into a season of surgery, chemotherapy, recovery, uncertainty, and deep self-discovery. But in the middle of treatment, Alison also found herself stepping into an extraordinary opportunity on The Pitt. She opens up about what it meant to pursue her art while fighting for her health, how the production supported her through the process, and how acting became more than a profession. It became motivation, purpose, and a lifeline. Together, Michael and Alison talk about fear, humor, vulnerability, identity, healing, and the strange strength that appears when life asks us to face something we never wanted but somehow must survive. Alison also shares how her journey inspired Big C Energy, her podcast helping others tell the stories that often go unheard after the words, “You have cancer.” Tender, courageous, funny, and deeply human, this conversation is for anyone who has faced illness, loved someone through treatment, rebuilt after diagnosis, or needed a reminder that even in the hardest chapters, your story is still being written. Because sometimes healing is not just surviving what happened. It is finding your voice, reclaiming your light, and helping someone else feel less alone. Alison Haislip Links: Website - https://alisonhaislip.com/ IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1689872/ Socials - @AlisonHaislip Big C Energy - https://www.youtube.com/@BigCEnergyPodcast/ Full episodes can be watched as well on YouTube @alighthouseinthedark channel. For more connection and exclusive content please subscribe to the official @alighgthouseinthedark Substack. Additional content is available across social media @alighthouseinthedark

  4. Sep 11

    Dr. Nicole LePera: The Holistic Psychologist - How to Do the Work, Heal the Patterns, and Become the Love We Seek

    In this beautiful, raw, and deeply human episode of A Lighthouse in the Dark, Michael Fishman sits down with Dr. Nicole LePera, widely known as The Holistic Psychologist, for an honest conversation about healing, change, attachment, self-realization, communication, and the lifelong practice of becoming more fully ourselves. Dr. LePera’s work has helped millions begin the path of self-healing through books including How to Do the Work, How to Be the Love You Seek, How to Meet Your Self, and Reparenting the Inner Child. Her approach blends clinical psychology, holistic principles, neuroscience, nervous system work, self-awareness, and practical tools for breaking cycles, healing from the root, and reconnecting with the true self.  Together, Michael and Dr. LePera explore why real change is possible, but rarely instant. They discuss anxious, avoidant, and disorganized attachment styles; the rarity of being secure, the ache of needing to be exceptional; how early experiences shape the brain, nervous system, beliefs, and relationships; and why so many of us repeat old patterns until we become conscious enough to interrupt them. The conversation moves into repair, communication, self-trust, inner child healing, and the courage to stop living on autopilot. Nicole shares insight into how childhood experiences can shape adult relationships, how to build emotional resilience, and how healing often begins by learning to meet ourselves with honesty, compassion, and daily practice.  Warm, vulnerable, practical, and profoundly connective, this episode is for anyone who has ever felt stuck in old cycles, longed to feel safe and loved, or wondered whether they could truly change. Because doing the work is not about becoming someone else. It is about remembering who you were before the world told you who you had to be. Links for Dr. Nicole LePera: Website - https://theholisticpsychologist.com/ Socials - @the.holistic.psychologist  How to Do the Work - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089SZ9JKW?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_6XFP7Z6BWGTE2SKSGG12&bestFormat=true How to Meet Your Self - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B258CCTP?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_QF6PTE8DMAZGTBPQYSVD&bestFormat=true How to Be the Love You Seek - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BYDSF6V5?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_EQ00ZX9ZK21NZTH9Y5NJ&bestFormat=true Reparenting the Inner Child - https://a.co/d/01SDCRzF YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtEWTaMjqOH8J1Gy06Ey0Yg  Full episodes can be watched as well on YouTube @alighthouseinthedark channel. For more connection and exclusive content please subscribe to the official @alighgthouseinthedark Substack. Additional content is available across social media @alighthouseinthedark

  5. Sep 4

    Steve Eastin: A Life of Synchronicity, Story, and the Love of Acting

    In this unforgettable episode of A Lighthouse in the Dark, Michael Fishman sits down with actor, author, teacher, musician, and master storyteller Steve Eastin for a conversation about craft, resilience, purpose, and a lifetime spent chasing truth through performance. Steve shares the wisdom behind his book, Born In A Fatal Car Crash: …And Other Dramatic Entrances, walking us through the experiences that shaped his life, his career, and his powerful approach to teaching acting. Michael and Steve reflect on working together on Little Bigfoot 2, the lessons that stay with you long after a set wraps, and what it really means to train, prepare, listen, and show up fully as an artist.  From his time as a touring musician to an extraordinary screen career that includes Catch Me If You Can, Killers of the Flower Moon, Con Air, The X-Files, Dexter, Field of Dreams, Austin Powers, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Locker 13, Gilmore Girls, Black Scorpion, Murder One, Diagnosis Murder, and Days of Our Lives, Steve offers a rare look inside the long road of a working actor who has built a life through discipline, humility, humor, and heart. He also shares what it was like working with visionary directors including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Jason Reitman, while offering timeless insight for actors, creators, teachers, dreamers, and anyone still finding their way. Warm, funny, honest, and deeply human, this episode is a celebration of the artist’s journey. From the strange beginnings, the hard-earned lessons, the beautiful accidents, and the courage it takes to keep saying yes to the work. Because sometimes a life in story begins with an impossible entrance — and becomes a masterclass in how to keep showing up. Links for Steve Eastin: IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0247611/?_ssoLoop=1 Steve's Book - https://www.amazon.com/Born-Fatal-Car-Crash-Entrances-ebook/dp/B0D7YX1S3H/ref=sr_1_1?crid=37FQ9ZSWO1E7X&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.k-9AVSQkw_I6CX_3KeWFcsxyTMpz-G8nmM-FEWSGFVbn9hNEw6h-AUdtxQNBoBIN63LG8jl93lKEpc5Cv35oucH0opZPDoVmrkPU8REshxc.edUcGPGeFGmB87Q28YZL_0-IqcNRB_fri3ihwQ563TM&dib_tag=se&keywords=Born+in+a+fatal+car+crash&qid=1788545205&sprefix=born+in+a+fatal+car+crash%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-1 Article - https://burbankarts.com/artists/steve-eastin/ Full episodes can be watched as well on YouTube @alighthouseinthedark channel. For more connection and exclusive content please subscribe to the official @alighgthouseinthedark Substack. Additional content is available across social media @alighthouseinthedark

  6. Aug 27

    Kalina Silverman: One Question Can Change Everything. Big Talk, Real Connection, and the Courage to Go Deeper

    In this heartfelt episode of A Lighthouse in the Dark, Michael Fishman sits down with Kalina Silverman, author and creator of the global Big Talk movement, for a beautiful conversation about loneliness, mental health, curiosity, vulnerability, and the life-changing power of asking better questions. Kalina’s work invites people to move beyond small talk and into conversations that reveal who we really are. Through her videos, cards, workshops, and book Big Talk, she gives people practical tools to build empathy, deepen relationships, strengthen belonging, and create moments of honest human connection in everyday life. Her work has grown into a global movement used in schools, workplaces, governments, nonprofits, and communities around the world.  Together, Michael and Kalina explore why deep conversations matter now more than ever, especially in a world where so many people feel connected online but alone in real life. They discuss how curiosity can become a bridge, how one meaningful question can open a heart, and how conversation can support mental health by reminding people they are seen, heard, and not alone. This episode is warm, practical, hopeful, and deeply aligned with the mission of A Lighthouse in the Dark. It is for anyone who is tired of surface-level exchanges and hungry for more meaning, more honesty, more belonging, and more human connection. Because sometimes healing begins with one brave question and the willingness to truly listen. Kalina Silverman Links: Website — https://www.kalinasilverman.com/ Socials — @KalinaSilverman & @MakeBigTalk Big Talk Book — https://www.amazon.com/Big-Talk-Meaningful-Connections-Enrich-ebook/dp/B0F9V6CHFD Full episodes can be watched as well on YouTube @alighthouseinthedark channel. For more connection and exclusive content please subscribe to the official @alighgthouseinthedark Substack. Additional content is available across social media @alighthouseinthedark

  7. Aug 20

    Nausheen I. Chen: Speaking Coach - Find Your Voice, Own Your Power, Speak as a Leader

    In this inspiring episode of A Lighthouse in the Dark, Michael Fishman sits down with Nausheen I. Chen world-renowned speaking coach, 3-time TEDx speaker, former Fortune 500 communications leader, filmmaker, and creator of the Speak as a Leader system for a powerful conversation about confidence, voice, self-belief, and becoming the kind of communicator the world remembers. Nausheen has coached entrepreneurs, executives, founders, and leaders across major global companies, helping them speak with clarity, confidence, energy, and impact. Her work centers on three essential pillars: confidence, messaging, and delivery. Great communication is never just about what you say. It is about how fully you believe it, embody it, and bring it to the people who need to hear it.  Together, Michael and Nausheen explore how to move through fear, quiet the negative self-talk, use your voice with intention, and build the self-trust needed to stand in your message. They dive into her speaker’s toolkit: voice, energy, body language, presence, feedback, and style. They continue going deeper into the human side of communication: believing you are worthy of being heard, carving out your niche, and showing up with the courage to be seen.  This conversation is practical, motivating, and deeply empowering for speakers, creators, entrepreneurs, leaders, performers, and anyone who has ever wondered whether their voice matters. Because finding your voice is not just about speaking louder. It is about becoming more fully yourself — and trusting that your light belongs in the room. Nausheen I. Chen Links: Website — https://www.speaking.coach/ LinkedIn— https://www.linkedin.com/in/nausheenichen/ YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/@nausheenichen Socials — @nausheen.speaking.coach Full episodes can be watched as well on YouTube @alighthouseinthedark channel. For more connection and exclusive content please subscribe to the official @alighgthouseinthedark Substack. Additional content is available across social media @alighthouseinthedark

  8. Aug 13

    Susan Bratton: Reclaiming Intimacy, Pleasure & the Courage to Love Fully

    In this illuminating episode of A Lighthouse in the Dark, Michael Fishman sits down with Susan Bratton intimacy educator, author, speaker, and self-described “intimacy coach to millions” for an honest, hopeful, and heart-centered conversation about love, passion, shame, communication, and the healing power of true connection. Susan shares why she sees intimacy education not simply as a career, but as a devotion to helping people heal the wounds of shame, fear, silence, and misinformation. She opens up about her own relationship journey, the challenges that nearly pulled her marriage apart, and the education, communication, and practices that helped rebuild a stronger, more passionate, more connected partnership.  Together, Michael and Susan explore how intimacy can become part of a fuller, healthier life not just physically, but emotionally, relationally, and spiritually.  They discuss the importance of honest communication, creating safety with a partner, asking for what you need, staying curious, and moving beyond outdated ideas that leave people disconnected from their bodies, their partners, and their joy. Susan frames this as a move from shame and silence into what she calls “regenerative intimacy,” where love, pleasure, trust, and emotional openness can keep growing over time.  This conversation is tender, bold, playful, and deeply human. It is for couples, singles, seekers, healers, and anyone who wants to feel more alive, more connected, more honest, and more at home in their own heart. Because love is not meant to fade into routine. With courage, communication, and care, intimacy can become a lighthouse guiding us back to connection, healing, and the joy of being fully seen. Susan Bratton's links: Website - https://susanbratton.com/ Socials - @susanbratton Books - https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B086SWBXNG/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=73fcf4c7-8622-4776-9e15-17d27a5dc406 www.orgasmicintercourse.com www.sexualsoulmatepact.com www.soulmateembrace.com Full episodes can be watched as well on YouTube @alighthouseinthedark channel. For more connection and exclusive content please subscribe to the official @alighgthouseinthedark Substack. Additional content is available across social media @alighthouseinthedark

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

A Lighthouse in the Dark is a heartfelt podcast about resilience, healing, grief, mental wellness, purpose, and human connection. Hosted by Michael Fishman, each episode shares honest conversations and personal reflections to help listeners feel seen, supported, and reminded that even in life’s darkest moments, light can still be found. 

Information

  • Creator
    Fish
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 A Lighthouse in the Dark
  • Show Website
    A Lighthouse in the Dark

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