Driftwood Conversations

Jeff Hafler has spent more than twenty years building an unusual life in California's high desert.
He owns the Beauty Bubble Salon and Museum in Joshua Tree and is a musician, former yoga teacher, collector, husband, and father. He also believes deeply in synchronicity and in paying attention when life seems to point you in a particular direction.
Jeff and I talk about leaving West Hollywood for Wonder Valley, raising a son with his husband Michael, building the Beauty Bubble, surviving the pandemic, becoming the subject of the documentary Inside the Beauty Bubble, and the strange coincidences that have shaped his life.
We also talk about what happens when optimism meets a more difficult world—and why Jeff keeps returning to a simple piece of advice:
Follow your bliss and keep showing up.
https://insidethebeautybubble.com/
https://kinema.com/films/inside-the-beauty-bubble-ndm5aq
Driftwood Conversations is hosted by Hilary Sloane.

Mandi Leigh: Leaving the Life You’re Good At
Mandi Leigh spent years working in the film industry, beginning as a production assistant on Supernatural and eventually becoming an assistant director. She was good at the work. She loved it. But another part of her life was becoming impossible to ignore.
“I love working in film, but I love life more.”
Mandi had always been a singer, but when she began playing guitar and writing her own songs, music started pouring out of her. In 2024, she packed her guitars, her dog and a mattress into her Dodge Journey and toured through British Columbia. She discovered that traveling from town to town, sharing music and connecting with people, felt more like herself than anything she had done before.
Eventually, she took a much bigger leap, leaving British Columbia and moving across Canada to Toronto to build a life around her music.
In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, Mandi and I talk about what it means to leave something you’re good at, the fear and uncertainty of beginning again, family expectations, self-worth, songwriting, touring, and the strange moment when you realize you may have stepped into the life that feels like your own.
We also talk about her EP, Emotional Highs; the full-length album she is recording; her family's leatherwork tradition; and the two words tattooed on her hands: contradiction and balance.
Mandi didn’t leave film because she failed at it.
She left because another part of her was asking to be lived.
Driftwood Conversations is hosted by Hilary Sloane
https://www.mandileigh.com/

Seattle artist Cristina Martinez creates work rooted in memory, resilience, community, and the beauty that can emerge from difficult beginnings. In our conversation, we talk about the women who shaped her, her unexpected path from fashion school to painting, and why storytelling and human connection are at the heart of her work. Cristina shares how art has become a way of honoring where we come from while imagining who we might become. To see more of Cristina’s paintings, murals, and public art, visit cristinamartinezart.com or follow her on Instagram @sew_trill.

Dr. Priyanka Upadhyai: Science, Story, and the Human Search for Meaning
What happens when a scientist who studies rare genetic disorders also becomes a thoughtful observer of what it means to be human?
In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I sit down with Dr. Priyanka Upadhyai, a professor of biomedical sciences in India whose work explores the mysteries of genetics and disease. Beyond the laboratory, Priyanka is a writer whose reflections on identity, curiosity, and everyday life have attracted readers around the world.
Our conversation moves easily between science and storytelling, childhood and culture, research and creativity. We talk about growing up in India, the discipline of scientific inquiry, the role of imagination, and why stories matter just as much as data when we're trying to understand ourselves.
Despite the complexity of her work, Priyanka approaches life with warmth, humility, and an openness that makes this conversation feel less like an interview and more like two people exploring what it means to pay attention.
If you've ever wondered how science and creativity can exist side by side—or why curiosity may be one of our greatest human gifts—I think you'll enjoy this conversation.

Field guid for Being Human, Episode 1 - Story 
In the first episode of Field Guide for Being Human, Hilary Sloane and Jungian therapist, writer, and coach Brenda Littleton explore the nature of story. Together they discuss memoir, dreams, trauma, identity, and why the stories we tell ourselves can both limit us and set us free.
As the conversation unfolds, they discover that perhaps story isn't something to cling to or erase, but something that continues to evolve throughout our lives. What happens when we stop asking who we've been and begin asking who we're becoming?
If you've ever written, remembered, questioned your past, or wondered how meaning emerges from experience, this conversation is for you.

Musician, poet, and community organizer Palo Xanto joins Hilary Sloane for a conversation about creativity, music, and life in the California high 
desert.
Drawing inspiration from hip-hop, rock, poetry, and the desert’s unique culture, Palo discusses his evolution from a young rapper in Northern California to the frontman of a genre-blending band that combines conscious lyricism with groove-driven music. He shares how writing became his first creative language, why community matters, and how independent artists are navigating a rapidly changing creative landscape.
The conversation explores the desert as a source of inspiration, the role of creativity in finding one's voice, and the power of building authentic communities around art.
Learn more about https://paloxanto.com/home

Show Notes
Guest: Sean Kennerly
Sean Kennerly is a writer, musician, and founding member of the influential California punk band Samiam. He is also the vocalist for the Brooklyn experimental noise band Ice Balloons. His debut novel, Memoir of a Hyena, combines years of research with an imaginative first-person narrative that invites readers into the life of one of nature's most misunderstood animals.
In this episode, we discuss:
Growing up surrounded by books, music, and the arts
Experimental music and the influence of John Cage and Robert Wilson
Creativity, curiosity, and following unconventional ideas
The remarkable social world of spotted hyenas
Why Sean chose to tell a hyena's story from its own perspective
Making art for the love of creating rather than commercial success
Learn more:
Memoir of a Hyena — Some People Press
Instagram: @deathfluff
Music: Samiam
Experimental music: Ice Balloons
If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe to Driftwood Conversations, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who loves thoughtful conversations about creativity, storytelling, and the unexpected paths that shape our lives.

In this episode of Driftwood Conversations, I speak with Danielle Frank, author of A Wine Lover's Guide to Parenting, a humorous yet surprisingly thoughtful book that uses the language of wine to explore kindness, empathy, and raising good humans.
But our conversation goes far beyond the book. Danielle shares her journey from the fast-paced world of Miramax Films in New York to a successful career in the wine and spirits industry, as well as the personal pivots that shaped her life. We talk about resilience, creativity, breaking away from expected timelines, choosing a path different from the one we imagined, and what it means to keep reinventing ourselves.
At its heart, this is a conversation about transformation, courage, and trusting that life's detours may be leading us exactly where we need to be.
Danielle Frank, author of A Wine Lover’s Guide to Parenting. To learn more about Danielle and her work, visit DanielleFrankAuthor.com. You can also find her on Instagram at @CreateAGreatStory.

This is the fifth and final episode of Writes of Passage: Stories of Service, presented by Mil-Tree Veteran Project. Produced by Dawn Davis, the series features conversations with participants in Mil-Tree's recent Writes of Passage program, which ran from February through June 2026.
Mil-Tree is a nonprofit organization based in Joshua Tree, California, that fosters community among veterans, service members, and civilians through the arts, dialogue, collaborative projects, and creative entrepreneurship.
Writes of Passage brought participants together for a weekend retreat, writing workshops, performance coaching, and live storytelling events, all offered at no cost through support from the California Arts Council Community Impact Grant and generous community donors.
In this final episode, Dawn Davis turns the microphone on me.
I share my experience participating in Writes of Passage and the story I chose to tell—an account of volunteering with Raleigh International in Tanzania. At sixty-eight years old, I found myself hiking through unfamiliar terrain, living in a rural village, and working alongside people from cultures very different from my own.
What began as an adventure became something far deeper. The experience challenged my assumptions, tested my resilience, and expanded my understanding of service. It also reminded me that meaningful human connection often begins when we step beyond what is familiar and allow ourselves to be changed by the people we meet.
In our conversation, Dawn and I explore storytelling as a form of service, the lessons I carried home from Tanzania, and why curiosity continues to guide both my work and my life.
Participating in Writes of Passage was a remarkable experience. I am deeply grateful to Dawn Davis, the Mil-Tree team, my fellow participants, and everyone who helped bring the program to life. The journey reinforced my belief in the power of storytelling to build understanding, connection, and community.
Driftwood Conversations is honored to support Mil-Tree and help share these stories.
Produced by Mil-Tree Veteran Project with support from the California Arts Council Community Impact Grant and generous community donors. Shared in partnership with Driftwood Conversations.

In this fourth episode of Writes of Passage: Stories of Service, presented by Mil-Tree Veteran Project, host Dawn Davis speaks with John Kalb, a Vietnam veteran, musician, actor, theater producer, and longtime supporter of Mil-Tree programs. John served in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany and shares the story behind his powerful Writes of Passage piece, Fire on the Water, which recounts the devastating 1966 shipboard fire that remains one of the deadliest tragedies in U.S. naval history. Through memory, reflection, and storytelling, John explores service, loss, resilience, and the lasting impact of experiences that shape a life. This series was made possible through support from the California Arts Council Community Impact Grant and generous community donors.
For more information about Mil-Tree and its programs, visit www.mil-tree.org.