In this Double Tap episode, we’re joined by cultural strategist and writer Matt Klein to examine what happens when relationships move onto digital stages. We unpack performance, constant visibility, the loss of backstage space, dating apps, and AI intimacy, and how these systems shape how we show up with others and with ourselves. This conversation isn’t about opting out, but about seeing the systems we’re inside of more clearly.

In this episode of Self-Centered, Tori Lazar and Olivia Owens explore what it takes to reconnect in a world where our realities no longer align. Joined by unifier Sophie Beren and cultural strategist Matt Klein, they unpack echo chambers, digital performance, reciprocity, and the fear of voicing needs. Together, they examine how personal patterns and platform design shape our capacity for trust, friction, and meaningful connection—and what it might look like to rebuild shared reality from the inside out.

Writer, designer, and cultural strategist Van Neumann joins Olivia and Tori to explore what it takes to feel safe enough to be honest — online, offline, and within ourselves. From their shift from creative strategist to screenwriter, to leaving the U.S. in pursuit of safety and presence, Van shares how identity, digital infrastructure, and community intertwine. Together they unpack the limits of platform-based belonging, the difference between friendship and organized community, and how creative evolution can be both public and private. This episode invites listeners to slow down, ask why more often, and imagine smaller, more human ways of staying connected in a system that’s always asking for more.

In this Double Tap episode, therapist and author Minaa B. helps us reimagine healing beyond hustle and hyper-independence. Together, we unpack how perfectionism, productivity, and pressure to “have it together” distort what it means to be well — and why joy, connection, and community are just as essential as self-awareness. Minaa shares how to redefine “good” mental health as function rather than flawlessness, how to build self-advocacy in systems that dismiss our experiences, and why healing isn’t about fixing what’s wrong — it’s about expanding our capacity to live, connect, and find joy, even when life feels heavy.

In the debut episode of Self-Centered, hosts Tori Lazar and Olivia Owens explore what support really looks like when productivity culture turns self-care into performance and rest into another metric to optimize. Together with Van Newman and Minaa B., they unpack how healing, resilience, and wellbeing have been co-opted by the systems that made us unwell—and what it takes to reclaim peace on our own terms.

Welcome to Self-Centered, a podcast where centering the self challenges the systems around us. Hosted by Olivia Owens and Tori Lazar, each episode explores the ongoing negotiation between self and system — and what it means to stay whole in a world that rewards fragmentation. This short trailer introduces what’s coming: honest conversations, cultural analysis, and stories that bring the personal and the collective together. Follow Self-Centered wherever you listen to podcasts and join the conversation on Instagram @selfcenteredpod .