A Podcast and HANGS

In January I had the cool experience of recording a podcast conversation in New York with Luke Haverty for his podcast, At the Table with Luke Haverty. 

We had such a great conversation about purpose, anxiety, creativity, world religions, New York City, self-compassion, being a soul, and more. It is a conversation filled with new insights for both of us and rich dialogue. It was so fun to be in his energetic presence in his studio in the bustling West Village.

You can listen to our conversation on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can watch video clips of our conversation on Instagram.

I’m sharing this with you today, because I want you to listen and share our conversation, but also to hear more about what Luke is doing for humanity and maybe it will inspire you to gather people together in your community.

Luke is gathering his neighbors, new acquaintances, and people he wants to get to know better in events called HANGS.

He keeps them simple, gives the gathering a purpose or prompt to share a story, and sets the intention that gathering with people is about actively practicing seeing, hearing, and understanding one another. 

I see it as Luke inspiring a movement of compassion and creating what humans long for most right now - authentic connection. 

Here are Luke’s words for the work he is doing:

HANGS is an act of rebellion against the quiet erosion of real human connection. We live in a phone-first culture where we are more “connected” than ever digitally, yet increasingly disconnected from ourselves and each other. That gap shows up as loneliness, anxiety, depression, and the gnawing sense that something essential has been lost. HANGS is about reclaiming our power as humans, and finding our way back home.

I’ve always loved bringing people together but when I tried to turn gathering into a business, it lost its magic. What once felt natural and fun became overly complicated and at times, performative. HANGS was a way to return to the essence of gathering and to fall back in love with hosting. My first love.

At its core, HANGS is about inspiring others to do the same. It’s a reminder that gathering doesn’t need to be polished or expensive to be meaningful. It can be extremely simple & it can be fun. My hope is that HANGS empowers people to take initiative in their own lives, to see that there are endless ways to host and to remember the real power of connection.

When I’m faced with a challenge in hosting (and in life), I come back to two questions: What would this look like if it were simple? And what would it look like if it were fun? Optimizing for those two things makes hosting more enjoyable. It doesn’t mean discomfort disappears but almost every time I lean into it, I’m glad I did. 

What I’ve discovered over time is that hosting is rarely about the food or the design. Those details matter but at the end of the day, what people are yearning for is deeper connection, real friendship and experiences that reminds us our imperfect humanity.

Luke is teaching his generation how to host and reminding the rest of us of this lost art. 

I love this wisdom: What would it look like if it were simple? And what would it look like if it were fun?

In a time where we sit on couches and look at our phones, we are losing the ability to truly connect with people in the same room. Luke knows you may need some guidance on how to overcome the fear of awkwardness in sending out invitations and what to do when everyone gets there. Here is a podcast episode he recorded where he walks you through how to host. He gives practical easy tips, ideas for themes, and walks you through the elements of being a welcoming host. 

Here is a video to give you a feel of a HANGS gathering.

Luke is a creative genius who has a vision of the profound power of human connection and he’s on a mission to inspire and teach us how to do it. 

Let’s follow his lead and host a Hang. 

Who are you going to invite? What do you want everyone to bring? What story do you want them to share? 

Let’s sit in the same room without phones in hand and hear each other’s stories. 

This is a tangible way to fuel love and compassion in your world. 

More love,