What makes somewhere — or someone — feel like home?

On today's episode of The DTALKS Podcast, award-winning author and illustrator Shaun Tan returns to the show to talk about his latest book, Hometown.

Joe and Shaun explore the story's wonderfully strange premise: a girl who feels completely at home among a family and community that look nothing like her, until someone who looks like her arrives and insists she belongs somewhere else.

From there, the conversation opens into questions of identity, belonging, belief, first contact, and why human beings can become so certain that their way of seeing the world is the correct one. Shaun also discusses the value of leaving room for doubt, the importance of questioning what we inherit, and how Hometown ultimately became a story about making thoughtful decisions rather than simply accepting what someone else tells us is true.

Joe and Shaun also talk about parenting, giving kids enough guidance to feel supported without making their decisions for them, and why home may ultimately be less about where we come from and more about familiarity, love, and having the freedom to change.

Enjoy!

How much of our lives should actually exist outside the frame?

On today's episode of The DTALKS Podcast, Joe sits down with his friend A.J. Hernandez, a Boston-based lifestyle, food, and fashion creator, for a conversation about what it means to build a life online without turning your entire life into content.

A.J. talks about finding the balance between beautiful, curated experiences and not taking himself too seriously, why authenticity can quickly become just another social media strategy, and how he decides which brands, opportunities, and pieces of his personal life actually belong on his feed.

Joe and A.J. also discuss navigating marriage and boundaries in the age of content creation, the importance of keeping some things sacred, the increasingly blurry line between real and manufactured content, and why social media can sometimes make us feel connected to people without actually maintaining the relationship.

It's a conversation about storytelling, friendship, identity, boundaries, and remembering that you can invite people into your life without necessarily giving them the key.

Enjoy!

What happens when you take control of your own story?

For the 300th episode of The DTALKS Podcast, Joe welcomes back two previous guests for two very different conversations about identity, storytelling, survival, and the stories we tell about ourselves.

First, actor Nicole Pacent joins the show to talk about stepping into the role of Mystique in Marvel's Wolverine. Nicole discusses making an iconic character her own, the freedom of performance capture, bringing pieces of herself into Raven, representation, vulnerability, and what it means to reach a career-defining role after nearly two decades of work.

Then, Survivor alum, writer, and podcaster Stephen Fishbach returns to discuss his debut novel, Escape! Stephen takes us behind the curtain of reality television to explore fame, the strange desire to stay relevant after appearing on TV, the relationship between contestants and producers, and what happens when someone else is helping shape the story you're telling about yourself.

Two conversations. Two very different worlds. And a fitting celebration of 300 episodes spent trying to better understand how other people experience theirs.

Enjoy!