Ducking Realitea

The Dog Who Wouldn’t Let Me Disappear

Send a textSiobhan sits down with returning guest Lee Williams, and her very vocal dog, Tiburon, to talk about trauma, healing, and the quiet ways safety gets rebuilt.After experiencing a terrifying home invasion, Lee’s sense of security was shattered. Locks and cameras helped, but fear lingered. Enter Tiburon: a nine-month-old Siberian Husky adopted almost on instinct, whose size offered protection, but whose presence offered something far more powerful. Through daily walks, routine, responsibility, and relentless energy, Tiburon forced Lee back into the world at a time when depression was pulling her inward.Together, Siobhan and Lee explore the emotional aftermath of trauma, the reality of living with flashbacks, and how animals, especially rescues, can become anchors in our healing. They talk husky chaos, destructive phases, exercise demands, and the deep intelligence of working dogs, alongside heavier conversations about mental health, loss, and survival.This episode also celebrates community: neighborhood bars, familiar faces, rescue organizations, and the small rituals that make us feel safe again. At its heart, this is a story about choosing life, choosing care, and how sometimes the thing that saves you doesn’t speak, but insists you get out of bed anyway.Support the show

Massholes, Music, and Mayhem with Johnny Dismal

Send a textThis episode of Ducking Realitea is a chaotic, tender wander through the life of Johnny Dismal: bartender-turned–festival boss, punk rocker, and darkly hilarious visual artist. Johnny and Siobhan trace his journey from a childhood bouncing between Air Force bases in Europe to becoming a self-described “Masshole” obsessed with hardcore shows along the New England coast.Johnny unpacks how music and art showed up early—parents spinning John Denver and Peter, Paul and Mary, while he snuck horror flicks and formed teenage bands with friends who barely knew how to hold their instruments. A brutal early critique (“you have absolutely no talent”) became a lifelong vow to never shit on anyone’s creative dreams, a value that quietly shapes everything he does.They go deep into festival bartending and people management: herding 600 bartenders, de-escalating drunk chaos, and why you should never punch a guest over twenty-five cents in tip money.Johnny and Siobhan riff on grief, humor, classism vs. racism in Boston, walking as therapy, and why bars still matter as community hubs—even if you don’t drink.It’s a conversation about art, work, chosen family, and humanity from two folks who’ve spent decades doing that shit from behind the bar.Support the show

Lion, Lamb & Big Dick Energy: Becoming Unapologetically You with Sarah Woodruff

Send a textSiobhan sits down with artist and entrepreneur Sarah Woodruff to talk about what it really means to live creatively, without apology. Sarah shares her winding journey through thrift-store fashion eras, owning multiple businesses in her twenties, founding a burlesque troupe, singing in bands, and eventually stepping away from a soul-draining corporate job to rebuild her life (and studio) on her own terms.They explore the difference between confidence and comfort in your own skin, the grief of losing joy when creativity becomes transactional, and the relief that comes from realizing you’re not meant for everyone. Sarah opens up about self-criticism, ADHD tendencies, perfection paralysis, and how returning to playful, low-stakes creation through the Alameda Gallery & Collective helped her reconnect with joy.The conversation weaves through motherhood, long-term partnership, bar culture as community, boundaries, gossip, and the responsibility that comes with sharing your story publicly. It’s a reminder that art doesn’t need permission, that growth is messy, and that being “a lot” is often exactly the point.If you’ve ever dimmed yourself to fit, this episode will gently (and hilariously) remind you to turn the light back on.Support the show

One in a million with Jamey Aspel

Send a textWhat are the odds an adopted kid is a perfect kidney match for their dad?Jamey Aspel’s story is one in a million—and somehow also painfully human.In this funny and deeply honest conversation, Jamey joins Siobhan to talk about growing up adopted in evangelical Appalachia, coming of age as a gay kid in a world that told him he was wrong, and the jaw-dropping moment he discovered he was a near-perfect kidney donor match for his adopted father. What began as “I’ll just get tested” became major surgery, a decade of life gifted back, and a reckoning with love, obligation, identity, and faith.Along the way, Jamey opens up about religious trauma, late coming-out, estrangement, grief, therapy, and learning how to move beyond survival toward real growth. Equal parts heartbreaking and hilarious, this episode is about resilience, chosen family, and choosing joy, even when the world is still very much on fire.Support the show

A Touch of Tism 4 in a Dumpster Fire World

Send a textIn this milestone 60th episode, Siobhan is joined by Danielle and Holly for a wide-ranging, deeply candid conversation that feels less like a podcast and more like sitting at a bar with people who actually care about the world, and each other.They talk about community as a form of survival, especially in a time when the news cycle feels relentless and overwhelming. From taking intentional breaks from social media to protect mental health, to the unspoken rules of neighborhood bars as places where empathy, accountability, and respect are still taught in real time, the trio reflects on what it means to show up for people without burning yourself out.The episode weaves humor and heaviness seamlessly, touching on politics, cultural identity, generational differences, drugs (with harm-reduction honesty), grief, forgiveness, and the ripple effect of small acts of kindness. They explore the idea that people are allowed to change their minds, that identity shouldn’t be a prison, and that grace is often more powerful than outrage.At its core, this episode is about choosing humanity, starting small, staying local, and remembering that community isn’t an abstract concept. It’s the people in the room, the bar down the street, and the way we treat each other when no one’s watching.Support the show