S6-EP16: Adam Brownlee on Understanding Happiness

In this bonus subscriber-only installment of Spirit Talk Show, Doyle brings the adventure roaring back with a thrilling stretch of Dantro, the Planet Man—packed with asteroid fields, political deception, Martian power plays, betrayal, dungeon escapes, and a desperate fight to save Earth.
As Dantro races the Earth crew to safety, the larger threat becomes clear: Marston of Mars is not seeking peace, but conquest. While the League of Planets debates Earth’s future, secret armadas gather, loyalties are tested, and the mission shifts from diplomacy to survival. When Dantro and Pat head to Mars to aid the underground resistance, they fall straight into Marston’s hands—and into one of the serial’s most suspenseful runs yet.
This extended bonus episode has everything that makes classic space serial storytelling so addictive: cliffhangers, strange creatures, sinister rulers, hidden allies, impossible escapes, and that wonderfully pulpy sense that the fate of the solar system could turn on one brave choice.
Subscriber bonus episodes like this one are for listeners who love vintage sci-fi, old-time radio energy, and the joy of getting lost in a larger adventure one chapter at a time.
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.

Some stories take a lifetime to find their voice.
In this engaging and heartfelt episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Doyle sits down with author Jean Burgess for a conversation that spans decades of storytelling—from childhood performances in the living room to a late-in-life journey into fiction writing.
With over 40 years in theater as a performer, director, and educator, Jean brings a rich and deeply human perspective to storytelling. Her work blends personal experience with imagination, creating what she calls “retro fiction”—stories set in the 1970s and 80s that explore identity, courage, and the search for one’s authentic voice.
Her newly released novel, That Summer She Found Her Voice, captures the journey of a young woman coming into her own during a time of cultural change, music, and self-discovery. In this episode, Jean shares the inspiration behind her writing, the real-life experiences that shape her characters, and the powerful themes woven throughout her work—including feminism, stigma, and the courage to choose your own path.
The conversation moves between laughter and reflection, touching on theater, teaching, creativity later in life, and the evolving role of storytelling in a changing world. Along the way, Jean reminds us that it’s never too late to begin again—and that every voice matters.
Whether you’re a writer, a dreamer, or someone still searching for your place in the story, this episode offers something real, thoughtful, and deeply human.
Explore Jean’s work and connect with her at:https://jeanburgessauthor.com
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.

In Episodes 1–3 of Dantro, the Planet Man, Earth’s first space expedition goes wrong almost immediately when a fuel problem—and two unexpected stowaways—send the mission hurtling toward disaster. Just as Professor Darrow, Pat, Slats, Billy, and Jane appear doomed to crash on the moon, they are rescued by the mysterious Dantro, a spacefaring hero from the League of Planets.
What follows is classic serial sci-fi at full speed: first contact with a larger galactic civilization, a glimpse of the powerful world of Planaria Rex, and the first signs that Mars may be hiding a far more dangerous agenda. As Dantro races the Earth crew to safety, enemies close in and the stakes begin to stretch far beyond one ship or one world.
This bonus subscriber-only collection launches the saga with everything that makes Dantro, the Planet Man so fun: vintage radio energy, cliffhanger pacing, cosmic intrigue, strange technology, and the thrill of discovering that Earth is only one small part of a much larger universe.
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.

What if confidence isn’t something you earn—but something you remember?
In this inspiring, funny, and deeply affirming episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Doyle and producer Howie welcome Simone Knego—international speaker, two-time TEDx presenter, bestselling author, podcast host, and the voice behind The Extraordinary Unordinary You and the upcoming book Real Confidence.
Simone’s story doesn’t begin on a stage. It begins at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro—far from home, far outside her comfort zone, and face-to-face with a question many of us carry quietly for years: Am I enough? With six kids waiting back home, a full life already in motion, and a long history of self-doubt, Simone chose to climb—not to prove anything to the world, but to finally believe herself.
From summiting Africa’s tallest mountain to navigating international adoption, parenting neurodiverse children, building a global speaking career, and learning how to silence the “what-if whisperer” in her own head, Simone shares her journey with humor, honesty, and zero pretense.
In this conversation, we explore:
Why confidence is a skill—not a personality trait
The moment her daughter stopped her mid-self-criticism—and changed everything
How discomfort builds belief from the inside out
The messy middle between doubt and self-trust
Her REAL Method: Respect yourself, Embrace failure, Ask what you want, Live without limits
Why leadership often happens around the kitchen table, not the boardroom
Along the way, Simone reads from her work—sharing stories that move effortlessly between laugh-out-loud moments and quiet revelations. As always, Spirit Talk Show weaves in a tribute poem and story, honoring not just Simone’s achievements, but the courage it takes to meet yourself honestly and choose differently.
This episode is a reminder that you don’t need to become someone new.You need to stop being cruel to the person you already are.
Settle in. You might recognize yourself in this one.
Spirit Talk Show: now go tell a story worth telling.
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.

What happens when storytelling leaves the page and moves to the tabletop? Listen to this bonus episode.
In this unique episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Doyle sits down with longtime tabletop gamer Russ to explore the fascinating world of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) — collaborative storytelling adventures where imagination, strategy, and community come together around the table.
Most people know the iconic name Dungeons & Dragons, but that’s only the beginning. From heroic fantasy quests to science-fiction adventures and narrative-driven games, tabletop role-playing has grown into a creative space where players build characters, solve problems, and create stories together in real time.
In this conversation, Doyle and Russ discuss:
• What tabletop role-playing games actually are• Why Dungeons & Dragons became the “Kleenex” name for the hobby• How these games combine storytelling, strategy, and social interaction• Why finding the right group matters more than mastering the rules• How beginners and younger players can get started today
They also talk about how the hobby has evolved over the last forty years — from living-room game tables to online communities where players from around the world gather to build stories together.
Whether you’re a lifelong gamer, a curious beginner, or simply someone who loves storytelling in all its forms, this episode offers a glimpse into a hobby where imagination is the only real limit.
Pull up a chair, roll the dice, and join the adventure.
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.

History tells us who mattered.Stories tell us who lived.
In this sweeping and deeply illuminating episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Doyle and producer Howie welcome Cinda Gault, an acclaimed novelist whose work resurrects the lives of women history barely paused to record—women who crossed oceans, paddled into wilderness, defied expectation, and claimed meaning on their own terms.
Cinda is the author of Everything I Hope For, A Small Compass, and This Godforsaken Place—historical novels set across the Orkney Islands, Quebec, the Canadian frontier, and Toronto in the 1970s. Her characters are not symbols or slogans. They are complicated, determined women navigating constraint, risk, love, disappointment, and self-knowledge in eras that offered them very little room to maneuver.
Drawing from a lifetime of work in psychology, criminology, prison systems, women’s crisis advocacy, and academia—including a PhD analyzing Canadian women’s literature—Cinda brings extraordinary insight to the lives she reimagines. Yet she resists activism on the page. Her goal is not to lecture history, but to listen for the women hidden in its margins and let them speak again.
In this conversation, we explore:
How forgotten women reveal themselves through footnotes and silence
Why courage is not a modern invention
Freedom, risk, and responsibility across generations of women
What the 1970s taught us about identity, marriage, and autonomy
Why meaningful lives are built through choice, not permission
Throughout the episode, Cinda reads extended passages from Everything I Hope For, offering listeners moments of intimacy, tension, and recognition that linger long after the final sentence. As always, Spirit Talk Show weaves in a tribute story—honoring not just Cinda’s work, but the women whose lives she carries forward.
This episode is an invitation to slow down and remember:History is not a parade of great men.It is a long corridor filled with women who moved anyway.
Settle in.
Spirit Talk Show: now go tell a story worth telling.
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.

Some people search for miracles.Others trip over them daily—and laugh while doing it.
In this joyful, funny, and deeply thoughtful episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Doyle and producer Howie sit down with Kirsten Rudberg—author, screenwriter, podcaster, spiritual explorer, and self-described panentheist who believes the divine is not somewhere else, but everywhere, all at once, including squirrels, spilled coffee, and awkward public moments.
Kirsten grew up across continents—from Guyana to Pakistan—immersed in a childhood where cultures, languages, and faiths coexisted naturally. That global upbringing shaped a worldview rooted in curiosity, compassion, humor, and sacred wonder. Whether she’s walking the Camino alone through brutal weather, caring for family through life’s hardest transitions, or hosting her podcast Bite-Sized Blessings, Kirsten brings the same question to everything: What if nothing is ordinary?
In this conversation, we explore:
Why miracles might be constant—and we’re just distracted
Panentheism explained without incense, robes, or gatekeeping
Creativity as a nagging muse that refuses to be ignored
Walking the Camino without training (and trusting anyway)
Boundaries, kindness, and why small gestures matter more than grand ones
Why humor might be one of the most spiritual tools we have
Along the way, the episode unfolds into playful radio-style scenes, improvised scripts, laughter, deep reflections, and a powerful spoken-word monologue about “small lights” that quietly stitch the world back together.
This is an episode that doesn’t just talk about magic—it models it. Through wit, warmth, and radical attentiveness, Kirsten reminds us that blessings aren’t rare. They’re bite-sized, persistent, and waiting to be noticed.
Settle in.Laugh a little.And keep your eyes open.
Spirit Talk Show: now go tell a story worth telling.
 
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.

Some people don’t speak loudly.They speak deeply.
In this reflective and quietly powerful episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Doyle and producer Howie welcome Joseph Bolton—a former Army officer, folklorist, and creator of the richly imagined Old Grandmother’s Tree series, a body of work rooted in ancestry, myth, and the enduring wisdom of story.
Joseph spent 25 years in the U.S. Army, including time at West Point and a deployment to Afghanistan—experiences that shaped his understanding of mortality, meaning, and what it truly means to live with intention. After loss, grief, and retirement, he turned inward—and then outward—toward storytelling as a way of honoring those who came before him.
At the heart of his work is Marie-Mette Owaugwe, a 17th-century Algonquin ancestor whose life, loss, dignity, and resilience became the living trunk from which an entire story-world grew. Through folklore-styled narratives, trickster figures, creation myths, and hundreds of hand-illustrated pages, Joseph tells stories that feel ancient and strangely familiar—like something you almost remember.
In this conversation, we explore:
How ancestry can become a living presence, not just history
Why folklore speaks truths modern language can’t
Storytelling as a sacred act of remembrance
Loss, brotherhood, and carrying family forward
Why some stories are meant to be grown, not written
Joseph reads from Dance of Creation, the latest volume in the series, offering listeners a creation story that feels both cosmic and intimate—one that reminds us that every life begins with a unique dance, and every person carries gifts meant to be seen.
This episode unfolds like sitting beside a fire under old stars—slow, grounding, and full of wonder. It is a conversation about roots, memory, imagination, and the quiet courage of listening long enough for meaning to rise.
Settle in.Some stories don’t ask to be consumed.They ask to be remembered.
Spirit Talk Show: now go tell a story worth telling.
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.