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.