Let's Be Human: Recent Episodes
Matt Martinez
Hello and welcome to Let’s Be Human, a podcast that explores the truth that humans are not designed to be alone. We fundamentally crave meaningful relationships with other people and our brains are literally hardwired for connection. With the influence of thought leaders like Brene Brown, Celeste Headlee, & Shasta Nelson, I aim to learn more about the theory of human connection and how it requires us to understand the raw human emotions we tend to shy away from like: vulnerability, authenticity, and discomfort. This podcast dives deep into the raw and tangled web of emotions, experiences, and quirks that make us human so we can better understand how to connect with others. Each week, I talk about a relevant topic or invite a guest on the show to challenge the way we think, make us uncomfortable, and push us to lean into being human - for better or for worse.
Donovan Beck is a Tik Tok star with over 5M views & 300k followers all from sharing his deepest and most vulnerable stories through poetry. Donovan is also the owner and founder of The Mind of Sol Media, a media company that creates film, does photography, and more. In our part one of our interview with Donovan, he shares his artistic inspirations, his thoughts on radical vulnerability, and shares more insights into his own mind. In part two of our interview with Donovan, we explore his new book - The Fool's Guide to the Universe - a collection of poems that detail his life experiences and most vulnerable moments through poetry. We talk about his inspiration for writing it and everything that lead to this point, as well as some discussion around the meaning of a few of his poems.
New Here? Welcome to The Human Glue Project, a podcast that explores the tangled web of emotions, experiences, and quirks that make up the idea of human connection.
The truth is, we humans are not designed to be alone and we fundamentally crave meaningful relationships with other people. That’s why every week we discuss topics that help us learn, understand, and use human connection to improve our social health and live more fulfilling lives by asking tough questions, challenging social norms, and fully embracing what it means to be a human - for better or for worse.
Donovan Beck is a Tik Tok star with over 5M views & 300k followers all from sharing his deepest and most vulnerable stories through poetry. Donovan is also the owner and founder of The Mind of Sol Media, a media company that creates film, does photography, and more. In our part one of our interview with Donovan, he shares his artistic inspirations, his thoughts on radical vulnerability, and shares more insights into his own mind.
Stay tuned for part two of our interview with Donovan as we explore his new book - The Fool's Guide to the Universe - a collection of poems that detail his life experiences and most vulnerable moments through poetry.
New Here?Welcome to The Human Glue Project, a podcast that explores the tangled web of emotions, experiences, and quirks that make up the idea of human connection.
The truth is, we humans are not designed to be alone and we fundamentally crave meaningful relationships with other people.
That’s why every week we discuss topics that help us learn, understand, and use human connection to improve our social health and live more fulfilling lives by asking tough questions, challenging social norms, and fully embracing what it means to be a human - for better or for worse.
Why are compliments so tricky? They seem easy but they aren't often interpreted the way we want, or they can seem difficult to think of. On top of that, sometimes compliments are hard to accept and it feels weird to say thank you!
In this episode, Matt teaches how to properly give compliments, and how to be in the right state of mind to accept them.
After months of not posting, this is an update on the podcast and the direction it is going. Matt discusses the topic of social wellness and how it applies to The Human Glue Project, the new mission and vision, and also the plans for the future. Stay tuned!
Rarely do we actually stop to think about the qualities of a good listener. In today’s episode, we’ll be doing a crash course on the concept of active listening and how you can apply it to your everyday life.
Why does misery love company? Today we explore the meaning behind the popular phrase and what it actually means. Why do we seek others out when we're sad? Is it rooted in connection or something darker?
What makes some people the ultimate human connector? Today we take a look at Malala Yousafzai - a Pakistani activist for women's education rights. In the podcast, we explore her story as well as what makes her a catalyst for connection at a large scale.
Donovan Beck is the owner of The Mind of Sol Media and he brings light to the creative industry and how art and film are rooted in human connection. In film, he mentions how creatives have an incredible ability to develop feelings of empathy within an audience, how filmmakers use little everyday things people don't think about to increase relatability, and more.
Imagine not having anyone that could truly understand what you were going through for 7 years. Carley Gordon tells the story of her battle with Hyeperadrenergic POTS, and how she maintained connections and found her tribe. Carley also provides insights into the cracks of connection in healthcare and how she's helping bring the human into care coordination as the founder of Peony Healthcare Coordination.
Matt gives an honest and transparent update of what's going on behind the scenes and what you can expect from the podcast moving forward.
Celeste Headlee, the author of two books, viral Ted X talker, and PBS show host, discusses interesting themes of human connection as she ties it back to our primal needs of conversation. We dive into themes of connection during and after the pandemic and find ways we can be better at conversation and listening.
Ted X Speaker and former radio co-host of one of the most popular UAE stations discusses how she was able to enable feelings of connection in millions of listeners without ever seeing them. In this episode, we discuss Malavika Varadan's lessons learned as a premier radio host, how she creates connections and themes interesting topics like having fans believe that they truly know her without ever meeting her.
Forgetting a name is one of the worst things you can do when building a new relationship. Not only does this tell the other person they're a "zero" it breaks down the connection between two people. In this episode, Matt discusses the power that someone's name can hold and he goes over some tips and tricks to help us remember names.
If we don't fully understand our own emotions and ourselves, how can we expect to connect to others? Drew Teller, the founder of the Lund Yoga Community, discusses how we can use Yoga to help us better understand our own emotions and thoughts. This, in turn, allows us to remove barriers of connection and have more meaningful relationships. In addition to this, Matt and Drew discuss things like vulnerability, loneliness, and more to create a well-rounded conversation.
In these strange times, we need to get creative with how we maintain social connection in a time of physical distancing. In this episode we cover creative ways to maintain our humanity during social isolation and quarantine.
What makes a connection with our mother's so special? Here are 5 scientific facts you (probably) didn't know about your connection with your mom.
Learn how to utilize Dr. Arthur Aron's legendary exercise to instantly create a deep connection with anyone (even strangers). In this episode discover the history behind the exercise responsible for multiple marriages/ best friendships and how to do the exercise yourself.
Has this generation lost quality romantic connection? Listen in as Matt and Damona compare today's romantic human connection with 50 years ago and how you can use modern digital tools to encourage a more meaningful romance with people online.
The science behind a hug and why we should try to give and get as many hugs as possible.
Learn seven easy ways to make lasting friendships quickly. Human glue can be made quickly or slowly - apply these 7 tricks to see just how fast a connection can be made.
Jacques and Matt discuss how partying can empower people to access joy by connecting with other humans. Jacques is the owner of Vyve - an agency specializing in creating events that encourage human connection through the power of crowd surfing, happy music, dancing, and more.
Matt discusses 4 important things to know about this podcast: who he is, what the hell human glue actually means, what to expect out of this show, and why he's making this podcast in the first place.