Heidi Hartwig has been building community her whole life. As the creator of Friends from New York, she shares why nightlife isn't a luxury - it's medicine. In a world where AI is doing more and screens are replacing everything, this conversation is about why getting into a room with strangers - no phones, just music and people - might be the most important thing you can do for yourself right now.

This is my April theme: community, and what it actually takes to find your people when the whole world is on a screen.

TRY THIS: Find one song, one artist, one scene that makes you feel like yourself. It doesn't have to be a party. It can be a movie club, a backgammon night, a tiny show. Just go.

April Playlist – Songs That Make Everyone Best Friends for Three Minutes Friends from New York

Find the show: Substack · Instagram · musicistherapypod@gmail.com

Send this to the friend who always knows the right song for the moment.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shervin Lainez has photographed the biggest musicians alive (Adele, St. Vincent, David Byrne) and he did it by walking up to artists in New York alleys with no portfolio and a lot of nerve. I met him when he was 22 and shooting indie bands for free, he took life-changing photos of me at the Chelsea Hotel, and watching him become the guy everyone wants to shoot them has been one of my favorite things to witness.

Community is my April theme: who passed you around when you were nobody, and why that network of people who believed in you before you had proof is the thing you keep trying to find your way back to.

TRY THIS: Think about the first time someone paid you to do the thing you love. Remember how insane that felt. That feeling isn't gone, it's your baseline. Everything you're building now is trying to honor it, not recreate it.

April Playlist – Songs That Make Everyone Best Friends for Three Minutes

Shervin Lainez on Instagram

Free workshop Apr 18: mct.hestaprynn.com/april18

Find the show: Substack · Instagram · musicistherapypod@gmail.com

Send this to whoever's in the grind with you right now.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you've ever wondered why certain songs trigger emotions or memories — why Fleetwood Mac Rumors still hits in 2026, why Hallelujah makes strangers cry at weddings — Alan Light has spent his entire career finding the answer. As former editor-in-chief of Vibe and Spin, interviewer of Led Zeppelin, and author of books on the songs that outlive everything, he knows exactly why some music becomes medicine and some just becomes background noise.

This is my April theme: community — why certain songs and bands don't just last, they become a place people live. And what that tells us about why music heals the way nothing else does.

This episode is for anyone looking for their people.

TRY THIS: Think about the song or band that made you feel like you belonged somewhere for the first time. That feeling didn't go away — it just needs a room to live in. Where are you finding that room right now?

April Playlist – Songs That Make Everyone Best Friends for Three Minutes

Don't Stop: Why We Still Love Fleetwood Mac's Rumors · Sound Up! Podcast

Free workshop Apr 18: mct.hestaprynn.com/april18

Connect with DJ Hesta Prynn and the show:

Substack · Instagram · musicistherapypod@gmail.com

Send this to the person who made you a mixtape. You know exactly who.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.