2025.06.2xx | Summer | Mix 008

Are you experiencing the lingering impact of sexual trauma in your life and wondering how to truly heal? Tune in for an inspiring discussion with Erika Shershun on her book and work Healing Sexual Trauma Guided Journal: Writing and Somatic Practices to Help You Process, Heal, and Feel Safe.

Moments with Marianne airs in the Southern California area on KMET 1490AM & 98.1 FM, an ABC Talk News Radio Affiliate! 

Erika Shershun, MA, LMFT, is a somatic psychotherapist who specializes in helping trauma survivors reclaim the life they were meant to live. She’s the author of the Healing Sexual Trauma Guided Journal, the Healing Sexual Trauma Workbook, Create Boundaries & Live with Resilience, and the PESI Sexual Trauma Clinical Training. The workbook is available in Spanish (Tengo Un Trauma Corporal?), Russian, and Polish. Her approach is trauma informed, rooted in somatic principles, drawing on neuroscience and integrative modalities such as EMDR, Brainspotting, energy psychology, mindfulness, self-compassion, and parts work. Erika values diversity, offers individual online therapy sessions in California, and provides coaching to clients outside of the state. https://healingsexualtrauma.com 

For more show information visit:
www.MariannePestana.com


Healing Sexual Trauma with Erika Shershun MA, LMFT


Tennessee foster care corruption disproportionately harms Black families, exposing judicial misconduct and DCS racial bias. Support African Elements at patreon.com/africanelements.

Tennessee Foster Care: Shocking Corruption & Black Families

Songwriter Stephin Merritt on impermanence, organizing principles, and the art of constraints: Raised by a spiritually seeking mother, Merritt moved 33 times by age 22 and describes himself as a “hippie brat” who “never liked children—even as a child.” This sense of solitude shaped his singular voice as the creative force behind The Magnetic Fields, who are touring this year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their landmark triple album 69 Love Songs.&nbsp; In recent years, his productivity has slowed due to long COVID, a development he accepts with dark humor: “The gods have punished me for my dependence on inspiration by withdrawing it.” Here he reflects on creativity, aging, and songwriting, following a warm and revealing conversation with his longtime friend—and former personal assistant—bestselling author Emma Straub.     &nbsp;

290: Stephin Merritt (The Magnetic Fields)

Are you aware that you are so smart? 
 
Speaker: Hans Haiert 
Hans Haiert takes an entertaining and insightful look at the similarities of the functioning of a smartphone and the interplay of body and soul.
 
Hans has been a student of the Brahma Kumaris since 1990 and has helped in the coordination of the Munich Centre since 1995. He also assists with BK service on a national level in Germany. His speciality is to look at this spiritual knowledge from the universal perspectives of science, psychology and philosophy.  Hans has shared his insights in lectures and seminars in more than 40 countries.  A qualified lawyer, specialising in environmental laws, he also holds a degree in economics.

The Soul - Smartest of All Smartphones - Hans Haiert - Thursday 27th March 2025

Self-proclaimed “badass and blind” singer, songwriter, guitarist Raul Midón in an expansive and deeply personal conversation about music, identity, independence, and the art of seeing clearly without sight. From his childhood fascination with radio and jazz in a small New Mexico town to his breakout moment in New York with legendary producer Arif Mardin, Midón shares the story of how he forged his unique artistic path.  Blind since infancy, Midón has navigated life and a career with extraordinary intention and vision. He discusses the development of his signature sound — a percussive, virtuosic guitar style combined with his soulful voice and signature trumpet-like vocal improvisation — as well as his time as a session singer, his decision to pursue a solo career, and his commitment to self-producing and engineering his own records.  Here he also touches on his political awareness, his reflections on artistry and authenticity, and the spiritual and philosophical dimensions of making music. Whether he's performing solo or recording in his Maryland home studio, Midón offers a masterclass in independence, self-expression, and the power of knowing — and trusting — yourself.

291: Raul Midón

This one feels like a voice memo from purgatory — intimate, looped, and left slightly unfinished on purpose. “Project 12” leans into the tension of space, turning repetition into ritual. It’s for when you don’t want a song — you want a room to sit in.  Lo-fi mantra energy. Anti-pop, but still a love song.  RIYL: Hiding songs in your notes app, early Slauson Malone, Frank Ocean demos, demos that should’ve stayed demos but you love them more.

Plastic Halo

Ok, les comparto una ídea. Considero que aún no debería estár haciendo esto <3 Loveu so much. Si para ti también preciosa. Nos vemos en Noruega prima.

I'll probably delete this in a while, maybe not.

IDEA  222 CLOSE TO YOU. Idea creada en 10 minutos. Idea no terminada

When he was five years old, Max Pollak had a moment. Sitting in front of a black-and-white television in suburban Vienna, he saw Fred Astaire tap dancing for the first time. “I was so spellbound by his elegance and his effortless swinging persona that I immediately decided I have to learn how to do that,” he remembers. He didn’t understand the cultural context or the language, but he knew that whatever was happening on that screen — the rhythm, the movement, the magic — was something he had to pursue. That moment sparked a lifelong journey that would take him from Austria to Harlem to Havana and back again. Here, Max Pollak tells the remarkable story of how he taught himself to dance in a place where no formal tap training existed. Early on, improvisation wasn’t just part of his style — it was the only way forward. That instinctive relationship with rhythm would become the foundation of his unique voice as an artist. At 14, Pollak met his first mentor: Carnell Lyons, a master tap dancer from Kansas City who had relocated to Europe during the civil rights era. Lyons had grown up alongside Charlie Parker and had performed with jazz legends. He passed on not only the technical language of tap, but a deep awareness of the art form’s Black American roots. That relationship shaped the way Max approached dance — not just as choreography, but as culture. After moving to New York, Max began studying drums and enrolled in Bobby Sanabria’s Afro-Cuban ensemble at The New School. It was there that he was asked the question that would redefine his artistic path: Do you want to tap dance to Cuban music — or do you want to tap dance Cuban music? Inspired by that challenge, Pollak dove into Afro-Cuban music, learning the language of clave and fusing it with tap, body percussion, and voice. The result was RumbaTap — a groundbreaking synthesis of traditions that bridges continents and cultures. When members of the legendary Los Muñequitos de Matanzas saw Max perform, they asked him to teach them. That moment affirmed the authenticity of his approach and led to collaborations in Cuba that brought him closer to the source of the music he had been drawn to for so long. Today, Max Pollak is widely recognized as one of the most innovative tap dancers in the world. His contributions to the language of tap, particularly in blending it with Afro-Cuban music and body percussion, have earned him international recognition — including the rare honor of having his image featured on a United States postage stamp. He’s also a vocalist, drummer, composer, and storyteller. This week, he celebrates the 25th anniversary of RumbaTap with a special performance at 92NY, featuring members of Los Muñequitos. This episode came together unexpectedly, sparked by a tip from bassist and composer Alexis Cuadrado, who sent me the press release for the 92NY concert. I reached out to Max for a short interview — and the conversation turned out to be so rich and wide-ranging that I decided to share it in full. We talk about lineage, improvisation, spirituality, and what happens when you follow the rhythm only you can hear.

292: Max Pollak

Subtlety

Synthesist | Sound Designer | Audio Engineer

Drip Cult is the sound of synthetic emotion breaking through digital decay. Blurring the lines between alt-electronic, glitchpop, and dreamwave, the project crafts immersive, slow-burning tracks that feel like memories corrupted by compression artifacts. Lo-fi textures meet glassy synths and muted vocals, building an aesthetic rooted in mood over melody — equal parts intimacy and distortion.

With titles like Plastic Halo, Guilt HD, and DRKMODE, Drip Cult’s universe is hazy, minimal, and wired with emotional static. It’s music for late-night browsers, soft crashes, and quiet intensity — a soundtrack for digital ghosts.

In a single moment your life can change!  “Moments with Marianne” is a transformative hour that covers an endless array of topics with the ‘best of the best.’ Her guest are leaders in their fields, ranging from inspirational authors, top industry leaders, business and spiritual entrepreneurs.  Each guest is gifted, and a true visionary!  A recognized leader in her own work, and while teaching others to develop, refocus, and grow; Marianne will bring the best guest, and sometimes a special surprise.  Don’t miss this – you never know just which ‘moment’ will change your life forever.

The Third story is a weekly podcast featuring long-form interviews with creative people of all types, hosted by me, Leo Sidran. Their stories of discovery, loss, ambition, identity, improvisation, risk, and reward are deeply moving and compelling for all of us as we embark on our own creative journeys.

The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (UK), a registered charity since 1975, opens its doors every day of the year to students from all walks of life, cultures and backgrounds to study Raja Yoga meditation. Students find that meditating in this way daily brings a lot of peace and positivity to their lives.

We also join together with many national and local organisations and diverse communities, helping to enhance the wellbeing of people in different spheres of society.

We work across the UK in more than 40 locations and are part of a network of organisations offering activities in over 110 countries. Our spiritual headquarters is in Mount Abu, in the Aravali mountain range, Rajasthan, India.

Brahma Kumaris, UK was established as a Registered Charity in 1975 and charges no fees for any of its activities, being funded by voluntary contributions.

Registered Charity No: England & Wales (269971) and Scotland (SC040512).

New tracks tagged #process