Driftwood Conversations

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, Hilary Sloane sits down with fellow Z107.7 reporter Gabriel Hart — novelist, musician, and founder of the print-only literary magazine Beyond the Last Estate. Hart’s punk-noir novel On High at Red Tide challenges conventional crime fiction, resisting easy moral packaging in favor of psychological depth and institutional critique. Together they explore what punk and noir literature share at their core: a distrust of the center, a focus on outsiders, and a refusal to sentimentalize broken systems. The conversation moves through discipline, desert solitude, independent publishing, and the creative courage required to build work outside mainstream channels.
Gabriel's book is "On High at Red Tide," Pig Roast Publishing. The magazine is Beyond the Last Estate — beyondthelastestate.com. And his site is gabrielhart.net.
 

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, Hilary Sloane sits down with longtime Joshua Tree resident Buck Buckley for a wide-ranging conversation that begins with his move to the desert during the 2007 construction collapse and unfolds into something much larger. Buck is a big thinker, someone who connects history, language, culture, energy, health, and community into one continuous thread. What starts as a personal story becomes a meditation on how societies grow, fracture, and reinvent themselves. Whether you find yourself agreeing with every point or simply listening with curiosity, this conversation invites you to step back, question assumptions, and consider how we each participate in shaping the future of the places we call home.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Julie Daniels for a conversation that unfolds slowly and with intention. Julie is a writer, thinker, and guide whose work explores attention, presence, and what it means to live in a deeper relationship with time, language, and self. Rather than rushing toward conclusions, our conversation lingers in uncertainty, curiosity, and the spaces between words. This is not a transactional exchange, but a shared moment of listening and reflection—an invitation to step out of the metronome of daily life and enter something more spacious, human, and quietly alive.
You can reach Julie Daniels at SERVICE: 818-623-8960 or her EMAIL: VOICEGAL@AOL.COM
 

Heather Clisby is a reporter, traveler, and keen observer of the human condition, and in this episode of Driftwood Conversations, we talk about what it means to stay curious in a changing world. Heather and I both work at Z107.7, a family-owned local radio station, and our conversation moves through journalism, comedy, travel, intimacy, and the shifting ground beneath it all. We reflect on why local journalism still matters, not as performance but as witnessing, and how staying informed does not have to mean living inside a constant scroll. Heather brings humor, honesty, and a wide lens to the conversation, reminding us that paying attention, choosing depth, and staying human are radical acts in their own right.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Claudia for a thoughtful, unhurried conversation about the paths we take and the ones that quietly shape us along the way. Claudia shares the wisdom she has gathered through years of paying attention, including her relationship with the moon as a guide for reflection, rhythm, and renewal. We talk about how lunar cycles influence the way she works, listens, and makes meaning, and how this awareness has shaped her current work in the world. Together, we explore what it means to live with intention, to trust subtle timing, and to allow our lives to unfold in alignment rather than urgency. This conversation is less about answers and more about listening; to ourselves, to each other, and to the natural cycles that invite us to grow.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Talor Stewart, a licensed architect and the author of Conscious Home Design. Talor approaches architecture as a living relationship rather than a technical exercise, exploring how the spaces we inhabit quietly shape our behavior, our nervous systems, and the way we give and receive care. Our conversation moves beyond materials and floor plans into something more human, how homes can support intimacy, creativity, rest, and belonging, whether you are building from the ground up, renting, or living in a small space. Talor is an intuitive and deeply conscious practitioner who has spent years integrating a holistic way of living into his architectural practice, and this conversation offers thoughtful, practical insight into how design can support the life you are actually trying to live.

This episode of Driftwood Conversations features an intimate conversation with Mark Winters, a singer-songwriter and former aerospace engineer whose music carries both depth and restraint. Woven throughout the episode are songs written and performed by Mark himself, offering a sonic extension of the themes we explore—curiosity, reinvention, and the courage to keep creating. The episode opens with "Let It Rain" and closes with "Man in the Sky," framing the conversation with music that feels both grounded and expansive.
For more information about Mark’s music, go to info@markwintersmusic.com www.markwintersmusic.com
 

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I’m joined by Cynthia Abulafia, a yoga teacher and guide whose work bridges embodied practice, Goddess wisdom, and lived spiritual experience. What unfolds here isn’t a lesson or a prescription; it’s a deeply human conversation about trust, surrender, and learning to inhabit the body with honesty. Cynthia speaks with rare openness about her own journey, and what moved me most was how grounded and accessible her spirituality feels. It is rooted not in striving or transcendence, but in presence, acceptance, and lived experience. This conversation stayed with me long after we stopped recording.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, Hilary Sloane speaks with Isha Marla, a 14-year-old student from Portland, Oregon, whose curiosity and discipline have already led her to develop a biodegradable, seaweed-based fabric called Alginifab—an alternative to fast fashion.
But this conversation goes beyond innovation. It’s a thoughtful exchange about creativity, persistence, community, and what it looks like to take a young person seriously as a whole human being. Isha speaks with clarity, steadiness, and a grounded sense of self—offering a refreshing reminder of what becomes possible when we listen without projecting or rushing to define outcomes.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with my longtime friend Steven Cuden, a writer whose creative life has spanned Broadway, television, film, and teaching. Our friendship stretches back more than four decades, and that history allows us to speak honestly about what it really means to stay with the work. We talk about doubt, discipline, revision, and the uncomfortable moments that shape a creative life—not as failures, but as necessary companions. This is a conversation about endurance, friendship, and the long game of making art.