Wine is supposed to bring people together.

Holiday dinners. Date nights. Client gifts. Friends around the table. That one bottle someone has been saving for the right moment.

But for a lot of people, wine comes with a frustrating question: Why does something I enjoy not always agree with me?

In this episode of Is Anything Real?, Adam W. Barney sits down with David Meadows, PhD, and Derek Meadows of PureWine for a conversation about wine sensitivity, family invention, product innovation, holiday hosting, and what happens when a father-son team decides to redesign the wine experience from the glass up.

The myth: If wine doesn’t agree with you, your only options are to suffer through it or give it up completely.

The reality: Sometimes the ritual isn’t the problem. Sometimes the glass needs a better system.

David and Derek share the story behind PureWine, the company behind products like The Wand, The Wave, and The Phoenix: wine filtration tools designed to help reduce certain compounds in wine while preserving the ritual people love.

This is not a product demo disguised as a podcast.

It’s a founder story. A family story. A science-meets-real-life story.

And honestly, a very timely pre-holiday conversation for anyone thinking about hosting, gifting, gathering, or making wine night a little more enjoyable for more people at the table.

Adam, David, and Derek explore:

• The father-son story behind PureWine
• Why wine sensitivity is more common than people realize
• What may be hiding in the glass
• Why the wine ritual matters during holidays, dinners, and celebrations
• How PureWine thinks about filtration, enjoyment, and accessibility
• The difference between building a product and building trust
• What it takes to educate a market without overpromising
• Why science-backed consumer products need clear communication
• How a simple wine accessory can change the hosting experience
• Why “save wine night” is really about keeping people included in the ritual

The bigger takeaway: Wine isn’t the villain.

But if something you love keeps creating friction, it might be time to redesign the system around it.

This episode is for wine lovers, holiday hosts, product builders, founders, gift-givers, and anyone who has ever wondered whether there’s a better way to enjoy the rituals that bring people together. And use the code ABARNEY20 for 20% off your first order at PureWine: https://drinkpurewine.com/

Responsible note:
Enjoy responsibly. This conversation is educational and not medical advice. PureWine products are designed to help reduce certain compounds in wine; individual experiences vary. If alcohol or wine causes symptoms, talk with a qualified healthcare professional.

Guest Links:

• David Meadows, PhD: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-meadows-phd-94a28056/
• Derek Meadows: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-meadows-mba-222b45168/
• PureWine Website: https://drinkpurewine.com/
• Email: derek@drinkpurewine.com and david@drinkpurewine.com
• 20% off your first order discount code: ABARNEY20

Host:

• Adam W. Barney
• Transition Leadership Coach
• Creator of EnergyOS
• Author of Make Your Own Glass Half Full
• Host of Is Anything Real?

Book your 20-min Exploration Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min
Subscribe to Is Anything Real?: https://isanythingreal.adamwbarney.com/

Age is not a cage.

In this episode of Is Anything Real?, Adam W. Barney sits down with Ande Lyons, host of Don’t Be Caged By Your Ageand founder of The New England Podcasters Group, for a conversation about positive aging, ageism, reinvention, visibility, purpose, and what it really means to keep becoming after 65.

Ande’s work challenges one of the quietest and most expensive myths in our culture: After a certain age, your life is supposed to get smaller. You’re supposed to be realistic. Slow down. Step aside. Stop starting new things. Accept that the most expansive chapters are behind you.

But what if that story isn’t reality? What if it’s just a cage we inherited?

Through Don’t Be Caged By Your Age, Ande spotlights people who are thriving after 65: people who are repurposing lived experience, reimagining retirement, challenging ageist assumptions, and building lives filled with meaning, creativity, connection, wellness, entrepreneurship, and purpose.

This conversation is not about pretending aging is fake. It’s about telling the truth more completely.

Yes, bodies change. Energy changes. Priorities change. Responsibilities change. But purpose does not expire. Visibility does not expire. Creativity does not expire. Contribution does not expire. And your next chapter does not have to be smaller than your last one.

Adam and Ande explore why ageism wastes talent, why “someday” is such a dangerous story, how people can reclaim possibility in later life, and why younger generations need a better relationship with aging too.

This episode is for anyone who has ever wondered: Am I too old to start? Is it too late to reinvent? Do I still have something meaningful to build?

What if the cage isn’t my age...but the story I’ve been told about it?

The big takeaway: Age is not a cage. Start anyway.

Guest: Ande Lyons
Host of Don’t Be Caged By Your Age: https://www.dontbecagedbyyourage.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andelyons/
Email: ande@dontbecagedbyyourage.com

Also mentioned:
New England Podcasters Group: https://newenglandpodcasters.group/

Host: Adam W. Barney
Transition Leadership Coach
Creator of EnergyOS
Author of Make Your Own Glass Half Full
Host of Is Anything Real?

Book your 20-min Exploration Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min

Subscribe to Is Anything Real?: https://isanythingreal.adamwbarney.com/

Women in sports leadership are still way too rare, especially in men’s professional hockey.

Toni Will is one of the only women in the country leading a men’s professional hockey team, and her story challenges one of leadership’s most stubborn myths: If you don’t already know the room, you don’t belong in it.

In this episode of Is Anything Real?, Adam W. Barney sits down with Toni Will, General Manager of the Kalamazoo Wings, women’s leadership coach, keynote speaker, host of Women In, founder of Empower Her, and author of Rebellious Success.

Toni entered men’s professional hockey after earlier chapters in banking and economic development. She didn’t walk in pretending she already knew everything. She walked in honest, curious, and willing to learn. That became part of her leadership advantage.

This conversation is about women in sports, leadership, outsider perspective, gatekeeping, access, community, confidence, and what happens when difference stops being treated like a weakness and starts being trusted as intelligence.

Adam and Toni unpack why “I don’t know yet” isn’t a disqualification, why curiosity can be a serious leadership tool, and why the rooms most convinced they know exactly what they’re doing are often the rooms most allergic to change.

Toni also shares how her outsider lens helped her see the Kalamazoo Wings differently. She wasn’t emotionally attached to hockey in the same way a lifelong hockey purist might be. Instead, she was emotionally attached to the people, the organization, the community, and the experience being created for fans. That perspective mattered.

Because most people walking into a minor league hockey arena aren’t just looking for pure hockey. They’re looking for entertainment, community, memory, and belonging.

The episode also explores the Kalamazoo Wings’ Guinness World Records, including the largest lightsaber battle, and why those moments are not just fun stunts. They’re proof of culture, discipline, execution, accountability, and leadership that knows how to bring a community into the room.

The deeper thread is access.

Toni and Adam talk about unequal starting lines, allyship, women in sports, and what it means to use access not as a trophy, but as a door handle - or, in Toni’s language, an elevator - for someone else.

In this episode:

• Why women in sports leadership still matters
• What Toni learned walking into men’s professional hockey
• Why “I don’t know yet” isn’t weakness
• How curiosity became a leadership advantage
• Why outsider perspective can reveal what insiders miss
• The business cost of sameness
• Why fun isn’t frivolous in leadership
• What Guinness World Records teach about culture and execution
• How access can become architecture for others
• Why allyship requires more than good intentions
• The Outsider Advantage Audit for leaders, founders, sports executives, and allies

The big takeaway: You don’t need permission from the room to lead it. Sometimes the leader the room needs is the one willing to question how it’s always been done.

Guest: Toni Will
General Manager, Kalamazoo Wings
Women’s Leadership Coach
Keynote Speaker
Author, Rebellious Success
Host, Women In

Website: https://www.toniwill.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonildaniels/

Email: tonilwill78@gmail.com

Host: Adam W. Barney
Transition Leadership Coach
Author of Make Your Own Glass Half Full
Creator of EnergyOS

👉 Book your 20-min Exploration Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min

Subscribe to Is Anything Real?: https://isanythingreal.adamwbarney.com/

A very quick bonus episode and an unusual ask from me.

👉 Vote here: https://tophost.org/2026/adam-w-barney

Is Anything Real? is currently #3 in the Top Host competition, and the first cut happens tonight.

12 is lucky. 1 sounds better. 😉

I've spent a lot of time building this show around conversations that challenge assumptions, get past the noise, and hopefully leave people thinking a little differently. And every guest, listener, comment, share, and conversation has helped make it what it is.

So I'm asking for a little help today. If you've enjoyed the show and you'd like to help me make a run at #1, I'd genuinely appreciate your vote.

No big pitch. No elaborate campaign. Just a quick, slightly unusual ask from a guy who's grateful people keep showing up for these conversations.

Vote here: https://tophost.org/2026/adam-w-barney

Thank you. Seriously! ❤️

— Adam W. Barney
Host, Is Anything Real?

Success is not always additive. Add more effort. Add more output. Add more commitments. Add more you.

That's the high-performer trap. But what if the real unlock is subtraction?

In this episode of Is Anything Real?, Adam W. Barney sits down with longtime friend Nell Derick Debevoise, also known as Nell3D, creator of the 100-Day Subtract to Succeed Practice, for a conversation about systematic subtraction, pro-zilience, caregiving, over-efforting, success, leadership, and why “try harder” is sometimes the most expensive advice in the world.

Nell’s work is a daily permission slip to stop worshiping more and start building a life that actually holds. This conversation is not about quitting life, lowering ambition, or pretending hard things are not hard. It is about subtracting what is fake so the real work can actually breathe.

Nell’s TEDx talk, “Subtract to Succeed: The Case for Doing Less,” also just went live: a perfect companion to this episode’s conversation about systematic subtraction, pro-zilience, caregiving, and why success isn’t always additive.

Adam and Nell explore the invisible weight high performers carry: unhelpful thinking, rumination, fake urgency, performative productivity, objectiveless meetings, content backlog shame, other people’s imagined expectations, and the belief that one more push will finally create the calm week that never comes.

They also unpack pro-zilience, Nell’s alternative to the usual resilience story. Instead of just bouncing back to where you were, pro-zilience asks what it would mean to grow forward through disruption: becoming more grounded, more honest, and more capable because of what life demanded.

The caregiving thread makes this episode especially human. When life gets loud, subtraction stops being a productivity hack and becomes survival-grade leadership. Caregiving, illness, family needs, work, ambition, and real life do not operate in neat straight lines. Your life is not linear. It is a system.

And if the system is overloaded, no amount of motivation can fix it.

In this episode:

• Why success is not always additive
• Why high performers over-effort
• Why “try harder” can become expensive advice
• What systematic subtraction actually means
• Why unhelpful thinking has a double cost
• How to tell the difference between reflection and rumination
• Why resilience can accidentally blame individuals for system problems
• What pro-zilience means
• Why caregiving makes subtraction non-negotiable
• Why objectiveless meetings are a good place to start
• How relationships, wealth, content, and leadership collect unnecessary noise
• Why success must feel good, not just look good
• Why content backlog shame is a very modern form of suffering
• How to run a simple subtraction practice
• Why life is three-dimensional, not linear

The big takeaway: Your life is the system.

Subtract what’s fake. Keep what’s human. Build what compounds.

Guest: Nell Derick Debevoise
Nell3D + Creator of the 100-Day Subtract to Succeed Practice
Watch Nell’s TEDx talk, “Subtract to Succeed: The Case for Doing Less”: https://youtu.be/bzRp2sQQNGc

Website: https://www.nell3d.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nell3d/

Email: nell@nell3d.com

Host: Adam W. Barney
Transition Leadership Coach
Author of Make Your Own Glass Half Full

Creator of EnergyOS

👉 Book your 20-min Exploration Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min

Subscribe to Is Anything Real?: https://isanythingreal.adamwbarney.com/

Love is not proven by running yourself into the ground.

But too many families are handed an impossible myth: If you really love someone, you should be able to care for them yourself.

That sounds noble until someone is exhausted, unsafe, resentful, financially overwhelmed, medically confused, and Googling long-term care options at midnight while pretending they are fine.

In this episode of Is Anything Real?, Adam W. Barney sits down with Lindsay Friedman, founder of LTCareNav and host of The Care Compass, for a deeply human conversation about long-term care, caregiving, family guilt, provider trust, and why needing outside help does not mean you failed your family. It may mean you are finally telling the truth soon enough to protect them.

Lindsay is working on one of the most human, broken, and under-discussed systems in the country: long-term care. Through LTCareNav, she helps families connect with vetted care providers. Not random listings, not pay-to-play lead-gen chaos, but real support when families are overwhelmed, scared, and trying to make high-stakes decisions quickly.

This episode is about care planning. But it's also about leadership under pressure. Because a family navigating care suddenly becomes a leadership team. There are stakeholders, emotions, constraints, money, medical needs, sibling dynamics, old history, safety concerns, and guilt...often with one person quietly carrying too much while calling it love.

Adam and Lindsay explore why the language of care partner matters, how caregiving can become one-sided when the relationship disappears, and why the well-being of the person providing care must be part of the care plan. They also unpack what is broken in the way many families are matched with long-term care providers. When families are in crisis, they do not need more phone calls, confusing directories, or visibility disguised as quality. They need clarity, trust, and vetted support.

This conversation is especially relevant for anyone caring for aging parents, supporting a spouse, navigating home care or assisted living decisions, preparing for long-term care planning, or quietly realizing their family may need help sooner than they wanted to admit.

In this episode:

• Why love is not a care plan
• Why needing outside help is not failure
• Why many families misunderstand who pays for long-term care
• Why caregiving is more than physical care
• Why families usually wait until crisis to plan
• Why care partner is a better frame than caregiver
• How self-sacrifice can damage the relationship you are trying to preserve
• Why care decisions go sideways under emotion and urgency
• What is broken about pay-to-play care matching and lead-generation directories
• Why vetted provider introductions matter
• Why care partner wellbeing must be included in the care plan
• The Care Partner Reset families can use this week

The big takeaway: Love needs infrastructure.

Not because love is weak. Because love is too important to be left unsupported.

Guest: Lindsay Friedman
Founder, LTCareNav
Host, The Care Compass

LTCareNav: https://ltcarenav.com/

The Care Compass + resources: https://ltcarenav.com/podcasts

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lfriedman1/

Email: lindsay@ltcarenav.com

Host: Adam W. Barney
Transition Leadership Coach
Author of Make Your Own Glass Half Full
Creator of EnergyOS

👉 Book your 20-min Exploration Call: https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min

Subscribe to Is Anything Real?: https://isanythingreal.adamwbarney.com/

Everyone's talking about the intelligent future. Faster models. Smarter systems. Better automation. More synthetic output.

But this week's guest poses a deeper question: If everyone is building the intelligent future, who’s building the human one?

In this episode of Is Anything Real?, Adam W. Barney sits down with Mike Brown, founder of Sightworks, for a wide-ranging conversation about AI, design, leadership, belonging, creativity, built environments, and what it means to create places, teams, companies, and communities where people feel more alive. Mike has spent roughly 25 years in creative production, design, storytelling, set design, fashion, retail, and the built environment. Across that work, his focus has been the conditions where people gather, feel, move, believe, belong, and remember.

This conversation is not anti-technology. It's a challenge to lazy futurism. Technology can accelerate work, compress knowledge, and improve systems. But it cannot create trust, belonging, repair, judgment, wisdom, or the human conditions that make people more alive.

Adam and Mike explore why synthetic polish is getting cheap, why perfection is not the future advantage, and why leaders need to intentionally design for aliveness, connection, and agency. Mike also shares what decades of designing temporary environments taught him about what actually lasts. The built thing may disappear. The event may end. The set may come down. But the human imprint remains.

The episode also introduces the Human Future Design Audit, a practical reflection for leaders, founders, designers, marketers, and strategists who are being seduced by the intelligent future without checking whether the human one is still breathing.

In this episode:

• Why the intelligent future is an incomplete prophecy
• Why leaders need to build the human future on purpose
• What design, theater, and placemaking teach us about leadership
• Why temporary experiences can create lasting human imprint
• Why synthetic polish is getting cheap
• Why perfection is not the real advantage
• Why aliveness matters in teams, places, and companies
• How leaders can create conditions for agency and authorship
• Why human, artificial, and natural intelligence all matter
• Why pause, stillness, and empty space are valuable
• The Human Future Design Audit
• Why faster is not the same as better
• Why smarter is not the same as wiser

The big takeaway: Intelligence without humanity is not progress. It is speed with better branding.

Guest: Mike Brown
Founder, Sightworks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikebrownsightworks/

Sightworks: https://sightworks.co/

Email: mike@sightworks.co

Host: Adam W. Barney
Transition Leadership Coach
Author of Make Your Own Glass Half Full
Creator of EnergyOS

👉 Book your 20-min Exploration Call:
https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/explorationplugin-20min

Subscribe to Is Anything Real?:
https://isanythingreal.adamwbarney.com/