Best Offstage Podcasts (2026)

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#197: Joe Swenson/Broken Arts Entertainment 40:08

Play Pause

5d ago40:08

40:08

Joe Swenson is probably one of the busiest people in internet theatre. A playwright/producer/author and owner/president (including film producer/writer/director) at Broken Arts Entertainment. Broken Arts Entertainment | Joe's website | Facebook | New Play Exchange |By George Sapio

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Hacking the Afterlife Holiday Edition; Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders talk to people offstage about the coming year! 32:44

16d ago32:44

32:44

Welcome to the podcast Hacking the Afterlife. I tend to put information here that gives context to the podcast. In that vein, for those unfamiliar with what we're doing: At what point in time is it okay to ask recently deceased people questions on the flipside? When is too soon? When is it inappropriate? Some context: as a filmmaker, I’ve written a…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Amelia Earhart, Hira New Year Revolutions! 34:01

2h ago34:01

34:01

Happy New Year! Jennifer and I chat about the upcoming New Year, about pets in the afterlife. Also a visit from Amelia Earhart prior to my going on Coast to Coast to talk about the new book SHE WAS NEVER LOST: THE AMELIA EARHART SAGA. George's mom stopped by (she's still on the planet, but his mom's higher self stopped by)... and we chat with Ameli…

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Stories from the Set of "Tapawingo" 1:08:36

13d ago1:08:36

1:08:36

"Tapawingo," starring Jon Heder ("Napoleon Dynamite"), is about an oddball who becomes the bodyguard for a misfit teenager and finds himself in the crosshairs of the town's family of bullies. The quirky indie comedy is out now on VOD! Available for purchase or rental on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Fandango at Home and others. In this podcast, actors Jo…

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HACKING THE AFTERLIFE with Jennifer Shaffer, Frank Gehry, Luana Anders, John Lennon, Elvis 45:46

24d ago45:46

45:46

Some years ago, when Jonathan Krane was producing my films and married to the Oscar nominated actress Sally Kellerman - who was Luana Anders closest pal on the planet - my wife and I had a Christmas dinner at Sally and Jonathan's home. Frank Gehry was there - by himself, so my wife and I, both children of architects sat down to have a lively conver…

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Family Onstage, Family Offstage: Backstage at "Over the River and Through the Woods" 16:48

1M ago16:48

16:48

Backstage with AJ is crossing the river into family, laughter, and love. Step backstage with AJ at "Over the River and Through the Woods" as we sit down with longtime friends and castmates Karen DeHart and Deb Anderson. From carpool rides to rehearsal laughter, these two share how their characters are similar in some ways, but express love in very …

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HACKING THE AFTERLIFE with Jennifer Shaffer, Eddie Hassell, Classrooms in the Afterlife, SANTA 50:41

1M ago50:41

50:41

As always, the podcast is around whatever topic that Luana Anders, our moderator on the Flipside wants to discuss. In this case, it was about how to modify stress, how to change the paradigm, and most importantly, to talk about Santa. I make a joke about how you never see Santa and Satan in the same room - both have the same letters, both wear red …

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#196: Jesus Granados 34:34

1M ago34:34

34:34

This month our guest is Jesus Granados, a high school coordinator, and english teacher at Complejo Educativo Santa Lucía in Santiago de Puriscal in the canton of San José in Costa Rica. Jesus is also an actor, director, and experienced theatre professional.By George Sapio

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Prince, Robert Towne, Robin, Fred Roos 32:45

2M ago32:45

32:45

Another mind bending podcast. #Prince #Hira #RobertTowne #RobinWilliams #FredRoos Jennifer begins the podcast talking about a kitty she's rescued and what she's going to name it. Robert Towne's dog Hira stopped by - often does when it comes to animals - and we asked him about how the cat found Jennifer. Then since Robert Towne was standing by, I as…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Kobe Bryant, Jesus and friends 1:00:20

2M ago1:00:20

1:00:20

We weren't able to do a podcast tonight, "unforeseen circumstances" (isn't that funny for a podcast where we talk to the afterlife?) - but am rerunning one of our most popular podcasts, with the additional opening and subtitles, so people can "sing along with us." Just kidding. Here's the original liner notes: This was from a year ago.... For those…

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Palace Of The People 24:38

2M ago24:38

24:38

Palace Of The People by The Music CenterBy The Music Center

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Dancing With The Ancestors 21:04

2M ago21:04

21:04

Dancing With The Ancestors by The Music CenterBy The Music Center

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HACKING THE AFTERLIFE with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Prince and President Kennedy 32:28

2M ago32:28

32:28

Another mind bending podcast. In this case, Luana brought JFK forward to chat with us about a number of things. Including a conversation I had with him yesterday via a guided meditation. I ask as many questions as I could think of - and I'm happy to report that he's still the charming fellow he was when he was on the planet. He has a birthday messa…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Robert Towne and his dog Hira and pal Jeanne 44:36

2M ago44:36

44:36

It's the "Day of the Doorway" podcast. Jennifer begins by talking about some of the incredible things happening in her world, the Fox TV show they're making that Jessica Alba is producing, and the unusual events that have happened in the past around her "Day of the Dead." As we like to point out; "can't be dead if they can communicate or share new …

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Stories from the Crypt: "Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors" 27:36

2M ago27:36

27:36

Backstage with AJ is sinking its teeth into Halloween. AJ Jaffari sits down with director Caitlin Papp and actor Nick Mandracchia to talk all things Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, the fang-tastic farce that recently ran at City Lights Theater Company. From gothic grandeur to 2025 punchlines, they explore how the show balances eerie atmosphere with l…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Lisa Marie Presley, her dad, Prince, Bill Paxton 36:26

2M ago36:26

36:26

Another mind bending session if only because of the scope of the conversations. We begin with our usual catching up - Jennifer is doing her "Wine and Spirits" events in Manhattan Beach, and I've been doing guided meditations with people (she's at JENNIFERSHAFFER.COM) and I'm at RICHARDMARTINI.COM We invite Luana Anders for a chat, and Luana brought…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Kobe Bryant, John Candy, John Hughes, Luana Anders 50:48

3M ago50:48

50:48

I happen to catch the "I like me" documentary about #JohnCandy on Netflix, directed by Colin Hanks. It's a wonderful trip down memory lane. In my case, I studied at Second City in Chicago (took classes for a semester) before I moved to LA. I joined a group of improv actors in the Harvey Lembeck workshop, but was an avid fan of SCTV during my years …

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Julia Morgan, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix 37:20

3M ago37:20

37:20

Another mindbending podcast. Jennifer was up in Berkeley last weekend, ran into a concert pianist prodigy (Evan Le) and filmed a little of him playing the piano (which we included in the podcast with his mother's permission.) While Jennifer was visiting this building, she became aware of the architect of the building, and asked questions about her.…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer Redux episode Robert Towne, Luana Anders, Charles Grodin, Napoleon 28:08

3M ago28:08

28:08

While Jennifer is on a parent student weekend, am replaying one of our more popular episodes... over 4500 folks have seen it - it is second part of an interview with Robert Towne, the screenwriter, on the flipside (my old boss) and a discussion of Napoleon and a visit with Charles Grodin and Luana Anders. Here's the original liner notes from a year…

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#195: Dave Osmundsen 33:14

3M ago33:14

33:14

Dave Osmundsen is autistic playwright / dramaturg / actor whose article “Finding Autistic Theatre Artists Is a Challenge (If You Make It a Challenge)” appeared in Howlround this past February. It's a terrific article and I wholly recommend reading it because it will definitely broaden your knowledge base around autism. In the article Dave addresses…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana, Henry Jaglom, Orson, Peter, Sally, Dennis, Carl 27:32

3M ago27:32

27:32

This is an unusual version of the podcast. An old friend passed, someone I've known for 40 years, someone who was friends with our moderator Luana Anders on the Flipside, and by his own estimate was friends with 80% of our class on the flipside. Henry Jaglom was a Hollywood icon, known by everyone, knew everyone, used to hold the most attended New …

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana, Robert Redford, Kobe, Robert Towne, Amelia 41:11

4M ago41:11

41:11

This is another milestone. We only had a half hour, so I began by asking a specific question. The video that I posted, that Jennifer had not seen - was of footage of Saipan in 1944. I asked Amelia if this footage featured the Electra? She said it did but the "wrong date." (She says year, but Jennifer later said that meant date to her). The video wa…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, FIVE, Prince discuss aliens and UAPs 32:25

4M ago32:25

32:25

Another mind bending podcast. We begin with a general conversation about the terrible event yesterday where a political commentator was gunned down. I mentioned how we've spoken in the past to people on the flipside including Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, JFK and others who have been killed for their political views. Unusually, there's a voice…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Ronald Reagan, John McCain, Mr. Bailey, Luana and friends 43:43

4M ago43:43

43:43

Another example of the kind of kismet that happens when Jennifer and I meet up. We don't plan a guest list, we have Luana Anders, our moderator on the Flipside who does that for us. In this episode, the first person that comes through is Mr. Bailey, Luana's cat. When Luana was on her death bed, her cat escaped from her house and disappeared. She ca…

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#194: Robert Weibezahl "Doughnut Disturb" 28:09

4M ago28:09

28:09

Robert Weibazahl is a playwright and a teacher whose play "Doughnut Disturb" is the third of our 2025 Diversity/Equity/Inclusion series. Robert's website | Facebook | New Play Exchange | BlueskyBy George Sapio

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana, Fred Roos, Ellie, Harry Dean Stanton, Amelia Earhart 33:28

4M ago33:28

33:28

Another one of those mindbending discussions between Jennifer, myself and folks offstage. In this podcast, we began talking about our previous week, which included Jennifer getting a flat tire at a wedding in Utah. That led to a conversation about a dream I had the night before, where my old mentor Fred Roos (prolific producer, Oscar winner) showed…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Towne and Friends 1:02:47

5M ago1:02:47

1:02:47

Odd sequence of events allowed me to see Jennifer today. As she notes in the podcast - someone booked a session which prevented me from seeing her - and then when the day wore on, someone couldn't do their session with Jennifer - so we got together. There's some really mind bending information here. Jennifer tells the story of her son losing his wa…

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Hacking the Afterlife podcast with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Amelia Earhart and Prince 38:00

5M ago38:00

38:00

Another one of those mind bending podcasts that we do. Jennifer is back from her vacation, and Luana wanted to talk about a dream that I had last night - where we flew off to a party event where all her friends were. It happened in the 1980's, and I was revisiting the event, only some of the people at the party are now on the flipside. Luana talks …

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Prince, John Lewis, Billy Holiday 50:20

5M ago50:20

50:20

A request for an encore podcast of our conversation with the Late Honorable Representative John Lewis, Prince and Billie Holiday, moderated by Luana Anders on the flipside, and Jennifer Shaffer (.com) on this side... from the liner notes: Another mind bending session. Apologies for the wifi interruptions on audio... there's a moment in here where I…

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Verse Meets Vibes: Behind the Scenes of "Head Over Heels" 25:33

5M ago25:33

25:33

Backstage with AJ is turning up the volume and the poetry. AJ Jaffari chats with director Jeffrey Bracco about Head Over Heels, the gloriously genre-bending musical now onstage at City Lights Theater Company. From Elizabethan verse to 1980s bops, Jeffrey shares what drew him to this wild mashup of styles and how he brought it to life with bold colo…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Kobe Bryant, Marilyn Monroe, Jesus and friends 1:00:20

5M ago1:00:20

1:00:20

While Jennifer is on a much needed two week vacation, I'll be sharing some of our more unusual podcasts. This was from a year ago.... For those not familiar with this podcast; Jennifer Shaffer is an intuitive medium who works with law enforcement nationwide on missing person cases. She does pro bono work daily for them, and once a week we get toget…

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#193: Nick Maynard: "Things You See in the Rain" 34:46

5M ago34:46

34:46

Nick Maynard is a playwright from the UK who's worked professionally within the performing arts industry for a number of years, both commercially and academically, creating and facilitating over 300 different stage shows as writer, director or producer. His play “Things You See in the Rain” is the second of our 2025 Diversity/Equity/Inclusion-theme…

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Hacking the Afterlife podcast with Jennifer Shaffer and Richard Martini, Luana Anders and Amelia Earhart 35:25

6M ago35:25

35:25

In today's episode, it's a continuation from last week's discussion about process. We begin by talking about Amelia Earhart and the new book SHE WAS NEVER LOST; THE AMELIA EARHART SAGA. Jennifer and I never plan what we're going to talk about, and when Amelia shows up to talk about the book, I can do nothing more than listen. The rest speaks for it…

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HACKING THE AFTERLIFE with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Amelia Earhart, Robert Towne 32:29

6M ago32:29

32:29

Another mind bending episode. We continue talking about process where we left off last week, Jennifer talking about her gratitude meditation that she does every night and again in the morning that keeps her on an even keel. I asked Luana Anders, our moderator on the flipside if she had anyone who might want to chat with us. She said Amelia Earhart …

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Rich Martini and Luana Anders; talking to the flipside process 29:32

6M ago29:32

29:32

Every now and then Luana suggests an unusual topic rather than bringing someone forward to speak with us. In this case, she wanted to talk about the process of communication with people offstage. Jennifer speaks about her process, working with law enforcement, and how she gets information from people offstage and passes it along to a particular per…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana, Eddie Hassel, Prince, Charles Grodin, Paul Newman 32:45

6M ago32:45

32:45

We did a podcast in Jennifer's office in Manhattan Beach, lensed by Max Carlson who is in the midst of making a documentary about spirituality. We talk a bit about Jennifer's birthday week - and ask Luana Anders on the flipside how they celebrate birthdays over there. One of Jennifer's friend's son stopped by, the actor Eddie Hassell, and then othe…

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#192: Cris Eli Blak 35:37

7M ago35:37

35:37

Cris Eli Blak is an emerging proud Black playwright and screenwriter whose work has been performed and produced around the world, from Off-Broadway; across the United States; on university stages; as well as in London, Australia, Ireland, and Canada. He is the winner of the first Black Broadway Men Playwriting Intiative, the winner of the 2024 Char…

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Jennifer Shaffer BDay Wishes from Luana, Kobe, Robert Towne, Amelia, her parents 36:36

6M ago36:36

36:36

It's that time of year when our pal Jennifer Shaffer hits another milestone. In this podcast Luana Anders and Jennifer's parents Jim and Linda stopped by to say hello and remind her of their being close by at all times. A visit from Kobe and Amelia to weigh in on a couple of questions, but mostly a discussion of how to stay in touch with people off…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Brian Wilson, Prince, Luana, Aretha Franklin 32:20

7M ago32:20

32:20

Another mind bending podcast. In this we begin by talking about our recent appearance at Contact in the Desert. I did a guided meditation with a law enforcement person who reached out to me today to talk about something that occurred to him. He knew someone in the midst of the conflagration in downtown LA, and based on something we discussed at the…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Prince, Luana, Nojah, 5 and Jim Medlyn 30:57

7M ago30:57

30:57

Another one of those mind bending podcasts. We begin by reviewing our visit to Contact In the Desert over the weekend, where we did a lecture and a workshop. (Both are available at the ContactInTheDesert.com website) In our lecture members of the audience asked questions from Jennifer and in the workshop, our moderator on the Flipside brought someo…

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#191: Laura Shamas / Harriette Feliz 50:27

8M ago50:27

50:27

Our guests are playwright Laura Shamas and multidisciplinary artist Harriette Feliz, who are here to talk about Laura's play “Four Women in Red” which recently finished a run at the Victory Theatre in Burbank, CA. Harriette is one of the four cast members. “Four Women in Red” addresses the ongoing epidemic of violence against Native American women.…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Michael Hutchence and Elvis 43:27

8M ago43:27

43:27

A Memorial Day weekend podcast. Michael Hutchence, who passed in 1997 stopped by to say hello. He said that he wanted to "talk about death" but it wasn't until I was uploading this I realized he was referring to "a day where we remember people who have passed away." I mentioned that we had spoken to him briefly before, that transcript is in one of …

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Backstage with AJ: The Icing on the Stage 21:16

8M ago21:16

21:16

Backstage with AJ is serving up something sweet. AJ Jaffari sits down with real-life couple Luisa Sermol and Tom Gough, who play fictional spouses Della and Tim in "The Cake." It's their first time acting together, and they're dishing on everything from the joys and challenges of sharing the stage to how their own marriage compares to their onstage…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Hira, Mr. Bailey, Robin Williams 29:28

8M ago29:28

29:28

Our host on the flipside, Luana Anders wanted to talk about our upcoming talks at Contact in the Desert on May 30th at 11 am, and May 31st at 11 am. To those fans of the podcast, Luana is our moderator on the flipside. She passed in 1996, but brought Jennifer and I together and has been moderating our discussions for ten years. Today she wanted to …

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer, Mother Teresa, Pope Joan, Augustine, Jesus, Jim and Luana 39:05

8M ago39:05

39:05

This is our 2025 Mother's Day special. We didn't plan it that way, but that's what it become. As we've noted in the past, Jennifer and I don't plan any aspect of our podcast other than asking Luana Anders, my pal on the flipside, who wants to come forward and speak with us. Jennifer and I have been doing this weekly for ten years, the past five on …

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#190: Philip Middleton Williams 58:39

9M ago58:39

58:39

Philip Middleton WIlliams has been produced around the world and published in many anthologies and seven of his plays by Next Stage Press. He has an MFA in playwriting from the University of Minnesota and a PhD in playwriting and dramatic criticism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He also serves on the national advisory board of the William…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Rich Martini, Luana Anders, Linda Medlyn, Steve Jobs 31:48

9M ago31:48

31:48

On the anniversary of Jennifer's mom's passing, Linda stopped by for a chat about the process. That is - 'How do people offstage reach out to people onstage with coincidence or bits and pieces of memory, so we know they still exist?" In this case, she reminded Jennifer of a dream that she had where she'd seen her parents line dancing - the memory o…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Eddie Hassell, Stephen Hawking, Siskel & Ebert, Luana, Jim 36:10

9M ago36:10

36:10

Another mind bending foray into the Flipside. First reminding the audience Jennifer and I will be appearing at the Contact In the Desert conference May 30th at 11 am, then Saturday May 31st at 11 am (ContactInTheDesert.com) Today's podcast included a visit from the actor Eddie Hassell who pointed out that he'd turned the lights on and off at his pa…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Rich Martini, Luana Anders and Samantha the Dolphin 30:32

9M ago30:32

30:32

Another mind bending podcast. Jennifer had one of her "uncorked" events in Manhattan Beach this past week, and one of the attendees wanted to speak to her pet hamster who had passed away. Jennifer recounts doing that as well as talking to a "tree" in their yard that was ill and about to pass away. We've had multiple conversations both with animals,…

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Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Tyler Sanders, Heath Ledger, Marilyn Monroe 35:32

9M ago35:32

35:32

Today's podcast got crowded! We started off by talking about Jennifer's recent visit to the Oprah studios where she participated in a discussion about menopause and at some point Oprah made her way to Jennifer and put her around her and said "thank you." She was referring to a session that Jennifer had done with a friend of Oprah's and the kinds of…