The Smoke Break

Zane Thomas, Zoë Schwartz, & Jasmine Nothing
  • 3.7 (3)
  • COMEDY INTERVIEWS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The Smoke Break, hosted by Zane Thomas, Zoe Schwartz, and Jasmine Nothing, is a mental health and comedy podcast recorded in Portland, Oregon. Since 2020, they’ve been having candid conversations with comedians, musicians, performers, and other community members that help to make things like medication, psychosis, trauma, diagnoses, recovery, and loss feel normal. With their personal lived experience, working in the mental health field, and being comedians/creatives themselves, they balance the vulnerability of personal stories with some ridiculous jokes and wild laughter.

  1. Episode 142: "Weaponized Boundaries" (ft. Briauna Skye)

    APR 18

    Episode 142: "Weaponized Boundaries" (ft. Briauna Skye)

    Hey pals! On this week's episode of "The Smoke Break", we spent some quality time with Briauna Skye! We kicked it off talking about friend breakups, which are possibly worse than relationship breakups—they linger in a special way, and are uniquely unmooring. Then we followed that up with weaponized boundaries, which kind of became a conversation about something else when we realized we weren't totally on the same page. And we finished up with radical acceptance, even though none of us are ninja turtles. Radical acceptance is a bitter pill to swallow sometimes, but it can also help move processing along—we often say "this is just what's happening now" to each other, which is sort of the same thing. Episodes drop weekly when our own mental health lets us. Thanks for listening.

    44 min
  2. Episode 141: "Individualism & Balance" (ft. Zachary Clark)

    APR 6

    Episode 141: "Individualism & Balance" (ft. Zachary Clark)

    Hey pals! On this week's episode of "The Smoke Break", we finally got to hang out with Zachary Clark! We started with Individualism—how it can make us feel unique but also can get in the way of genuine community and caring for each other. Then we talked about finding Balance. In this modern world, we have to manage so many things, and it's tough to find balance between all our responsibilities AND the things that bring us joy. It's too much for the number of hours in a day! Episodes drop weekly when our own mental health lets us. Thanks for listening.

    29 min
  3. Episode 140: "Wasting Time & Dependability" (ft. Gabe Holmes)

    MAR 28

    Episode 140: "Wasting Time & Dependability" (ft. Gabe Holmes)

    Hey pals! On this week's episode of "The Smoke Break", we had the best time with iconic queer comedian Gabe Holmes. We kicked it off talking about dependability—are we dependable? Who are the dependable people in our lives? Why is it important? How does it make our lives easier? Then we followed that up with the concept of wasting time…. Time is always passing and it's the most finite of resources, so how do you decide what your priorities are? What counts as wasting time or not, and who gets to decide? We wrapped it up by getting into the idea of "play"—it's easy to take ourselves pretty seriously, and letting ourselves play is such an important part of balancing everything out, but it's tough to allow ourselves to do it sometimes. How do y'all engage in play in your lives? Episodes drop Saturdays on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

    41 min
  4. Episode 139: "Psychosis & Hospitalizations" (ft. Ryan Knudtson aka Mob Rule)

    MAR 21

    Episode 139: "Psychosis & Hospitalizations" (ft. Ryan Knudtson aka Mob Rule)

    Hey pals! On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we had the pleasure of hanging out with Ryan Knudtson aka Mob Rule. We started things off talking about some shared diagnosis, and how folks have gotten through some really tough years with the help of supportive people, grit, and new skills. Then we talked about being in a hospital for mental health reasons and that while they can be useful because it’s the only option you have, they’re often dehumanizing and scary too. Then we closed it out talking about music! Where folks find inspiration, what equipment they use, and how art is sustaining during a truly wild time to be alive. Episodes drop Saturdays on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening. Link in comments…

    44 min
  5. Episode 138: "Reclaiming Community" (ft. Eli Gray)

    MAR 15

    Episode 138: "Reclaiming Community" (ft. Eli Gray)

    Oh hey, we’re back! On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we got to know Eli Gray (they/them) - Founding Director of WERQ TOGETHER. We got things going talking about trans joy, and the non-profit Eli started to help operationalize the support that they’d already been offering to the community for a while—including a dope event coming up on March 29th called Trans Town PDX! We kept things going talking about the importance of community, and how it can be difficult to try and rebuild it after being burnt by folks, or moving to a new area. We ended with a bit of a shift to discuss balancing how hard we work as social workers for a client vs how hard the client needs to work, and the nuance of why someone might be perceived as not working as hard as you or not. Episodes drop Saturdays on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

    45 min
  6. Episode 137: "Knowing Vs. Doing & Mortality" (ft. Phillip Stewart)

    07/05/2025

    Episode 137: "Knowing Vs. Doing & Mortality" (ft. Phillip Stewart)

    On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we got to hang out with storyteller, producer, and owner of Coffee Beer, the very silly Phillip Stewart. We began with the commodification of mental health in this day and age—the way capitalism impacts our choices and well-being, and how we are trying to take it back. Then we moved to the idea of “knowing vs doing”—like just because you GO to therapy, is that really enough? Or is that bar a little low, like maybe there should also be an expectation that you actually apply what you’re learning there? Lastly, we talked about mortality—sure, it’s a bit morbid, but knowing how short life can be can also be motivating to spend your time well in the meantime… Episodes drop every Friday on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

    47 min
  7. Episode 136: "Desperation & Connection" (ft. Mike Lindsey)

    07/04/2025

    Episode 136: "Desperation & Connection" (ft. Mike Lindsey)

    On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we finally got to hang out with the our old pal comedian Mike Lindsey. We kicked things off by talking about the idea of desperation—how it can sometimes be motivating, or can sometimes be the reason people act outside their values. Then we bounced back by discussing connection—where we’ve found it, what happens when people are deprived of it, and how you can create it if you’re feeling like you don’t have enough of it. Lastly, we tried to figure out some energy management. In a world where we have a million responsibilities, how do you decide how much of your energy to spend on each thing? What do you keep for yourself vs what you spend on someone else? Episodes drop every Friday on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

    44 min
  8. Episode 135: "Pain & Priorities" (ft. Jenna Britann)

    06/17/2025

    Episode 135: "Pain & Priorities" (ft. Jenna Britann)

    On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we finally got to hang out with the lovely comedian, storyteller, and vigilante Jenna Britann. We kicked things off by talking about pain—physical or emotional, how it can shape us, and how our relationship has changed to it over the years. Then we tackled priorities—how do you make them? How are you supposed to know what should be at the top of the list? What if the things most important to you aren’t the things that make money or are healthy? And then we wrapped things up talking about preparedness—how do we prepare for changes in our lives, or things not going as planned—or so you just wing it and see what happens? Episodes drop every Friday on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

    43 min
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Ratings & Reviews

3.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

The Smoke Break, hosted by Zane Thomas, Zoe Schwartz, and Jasmine Nothing, is a mental health and comedy podcast recorded in Portland, Oregon. Since 2020, they’ve been having candid conversations with comedians, musicians, performers, and other community members that help to make things like medication, psychosis, trauma, diagnoses, recovery, and loss feel normal. With their personal lived experience, working in the mental health field, and being comedians/creatives themselves, they balance the vulnerability of personal stories with some ridiculous jokes and wild laughter.

Information

  • Creator
    Zane Thomas, Zoë Schwartz, & Jasmine Nothing
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    118
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © No
  • Show Website
    The Smoke Break