In Real Life Films

In this episode of The Essence of You Podcast, host Steph Lokelani sits down with Boise hip-hop artist and community builder Cornell Johnson, known on stage as ZERO Wan-Kenobi. Cornell opens up about how he found his voice through music with the Earthlings crew, why he believes Boise's creative community needs to support each other instead of competing, and how writing a song for his mother after her passing in 2020 taught him to "cultivate light out of darkness."

The conversation moves into Cornell's work with the Rap America Project, a youth rap camp he's helped grow for three years, teaching kids and adults everything from lyric writing to stage performance to the business side of music. He shares candid, unfiltered stories about a frightening health scare in August 2024 that led to a brain injury diagnosis, his ongoing recovery, and the daily disciplines, including the philosophies of Kaizen (getting 1% better each day) and Mushin (learning to sit with an impulse instead of reacting to it), that have carried him through sobriety and healing.

Cornell also reflects on fatherhood, his path from San Bernardino, California to Boise, Idaho, the creation of his ZERO persona, and what it means to build something bigger than himself alongside his bandmates. This is a raw, honest conversation about resilience, community, and choosing hope even when it's hard.

Connect with Cornell/ZERO Wan-Kenobi: Spotify, Apple Music, and all streaming platforms as ZERO Wan-Kenobi. Instagram and Facebook: . Also find his collective, Earthlings Crew, on all streaming platforms and Instagram .

📺Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/z8naK9LDeUs
🎧Listen on your favorite podcast platform: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-x2byr-1b36e5b

"You can't be triggered if you're not cocked." That's the kind of line Nichole Stull drops mid-conversation - half punchline, half life philosophy. In this episode, Steph sits down with improv artist and filmmaker Nichole Stull, who's spent decades shaping the visual world of indie film and TV (including the demon-driven color palette of "2:59") while also teaching storytelling and applied improv alongside her husband Jared for the last 25 years.

The conversation moves fast and goes deep. Nichole breaks down the "Story Spine," the improv-born storytelling framework Pixar built its scripts on, and why an alien can absolutely show up in a Western - as long as you've earned it. She talks about running her kids' school book fair for 13 years and how she went from devouring every Sweet Valley High book in existence to being a member of an early-2000s online Twilight book club. Get this: with Stephenie Meyer posting in it!

From there, Steph and Nichole don't shy away from harder territory: library censorship, what kids actually have access to online, and a remarkably candid conversation about po*******hy, intimacy, and the industry behind it. Nichole shares how she talks to her five kids, ages 7 to 22, about s*x, alcohol, and modesty without ever making any of it feel forbidden.

The back half turns personal. Nichole tells the story of a devastating junior high year, a friend's sudden death, and the summer she decided who she wanted to be walking into high school. It's a story about identity and reinvention that still shapes how she raises her own kids today. It's a masterclass in reframing trauma, taking responsibility for your own triggers, and understanding that every one of us, just by moving through life, is going to make ripples.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PtiKjdA5T90
Listen on your favorite podcast platform: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-n5igy-1b2d877

Our team brought it this weekend!!! Multiple locations, battling not just the heat but the thick smoke, and enjoying it?! Couldn’t have asked for a more kick-ass team. The hydration efforts were legit and I am so proud of the work we did in doing our part to shift Idaho’s politics.

Art Burns spent years in New York's high-pressure advertising world before addiction and burnout brought him to his knees, and to mindfulness. Today he's a certified mindfulness meditation teacher and founder of Alicia's Angels, a nonprofit bringing guided meditation, self-compassion coaching, and community support directly into chemotherapy infusion centers.

In this conversation, Art shares the story of Alicia, the client whose journey inspired the organization's name, and unpacks how mindfulness helps cancer patients and their families soften anger into acceptance, release the "cancer as identity" trap, and find beauty even in life's hardest moments. Steph and Art talk honestly about supporting loved ones through illness, the neuroscience behind rewiring the brain through practice, and why real presence matters more than having the "right" words.

Whether you're navigating a diagnosis, supporting someone who is, or just want practical tools for showing up more fully in your own life, this episode offers both heart and hard science.

Learn more about Alicia's Angels: https://aliciasangels.com/

📺Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xyh6RyX-m6o
🎧Listen on your favorite Podcast Platform: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-bsihz-1b25edc

𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗟! We are looking for volunteers to participate in a step forward exercise that asks questions about political stereotypes and differences, for a local documentary. This non-paid shoot will take place in 𝗕𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗲 on 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟴𝘁𝗵 from 𝟭𝟬𝗮𝗺-𝟭𝟭𝗮𝗺. Email 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗵𝗮@𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗺𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺 for more information and to join our film.

𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝗛𝗮𝗶𝗿 & 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘂𝗽 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 - 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱
Seeking a hair and makeup artist for two full-day shoots in Boise, Saturday–Sunday, August 1–2. Day rate range: $600–$800. This is a paid contractor (1099) position. Please send your reel, photos, and/or Instagram along with your rates to 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗵@𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗺𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺 by 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟯𝟬.

Actor, writer, filmmaker, and acting teacher Chance Fuerstinger joins Steph Lokelani for a conversation that moves from the craft of storytelling to the harder work of understanding yourself. Chance breaks down the Meisner technique, why "the dialog is bu****it" (the truth underneath it is what matters), and the running joke of being crowned Boise's sixth-funniest person. From there the conversation turns to real life: walking away from a soul-crushing job in medical billing, rewriting a fantasy novel first drafted at 16, and directing documentaries about stories that deserve to be told without an agenda attached.

The episode closes on the question this podcast always asks: who are you when the titles fall away? Chance talks candidly about the ongoing work of self-discovery, including a recent diagnosis that helped some long-standing pieces click into place, and learning to set boundaries with the people closest to him.

📺Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LQ1wRsjK8hA
🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast platform: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-axqyu-1b1c67c

LOCATION CALL! *PAID*
We are looking for a traditional suburban home for a full day shoot on Thursday, August 13th, for a local medical commercial in the Boise area. We need a kitchen with space for a wooden table, no large islands, and a living room large enough to stage a baby shower.

Style: bright, natural light + farmhouse or boho-casual vibes + warm wood tones + cozy

Submit your home by July 28th to [email protected]
Include photos or quick phone videos of your living room and kitchen, location (city & cross streets), contact name & phone number.