Relate

It started as something to do in 2012. Jeff Reitz decided to visit Disneyland every day. As of July 2017, Reitz, 44, of Huntington Beach, has passed through the Disneyland's gates every day since for 2,000 days in a row. We spend an afternoon in the park with the Air Force veteran to find out what makes this place worth visiting over and over (and over) again. You'll hear about some of the relationships he's made over his 4-plus years of daily visits and gain some perspective on some serious customer loyalty.

How do you connect with people whose cultures and backgrounds are different from yours? How do you find common ground? Well, in this story about an unlikely friendship between a Turkish-American and an Armenian-American, it all starts with the simple act of recognizing one another as individuals. The two men in this story were raised to distrust each other's culture because of complicated history around the Armenian Genocide. But a 4,000 mile bike trip across the US went a long way to forging a connection and mutual understanding around a difficult subject.

Professional adversaries. How do they manage their relationships? On the podcast this week, we look at a relationships founded in battle. If you’re a politician, or a lawyer for example, how do you deal with the people you’ve fought against during a campaign or a trial? Because often you have to work with those very same people after the dust has settled. We decided to look to sports for some of the best examples of adversarial relationships. And it doesn’t get much more adversarial than in the one-on-one, fight-to-the-finish sport of fencing. Nicole Ross is an US Olympic foil fencer, and she explains how her foes can also be friends, with the right mindset and some emotional discipline.

This episode begins with a child's bedtime story. But the story doesn't come from a parent. It comes from a voice at the end of a phone line, from someone the child will likely never meet. Dealing with customers and clients can be stressful and emotionally taxing. But what if the clients who contact you are kids, and the things they're looking for are love and support? We talk to kids' help phone counsellor and founder of the National Association for the Children of Alcoholics (NACOA) Hilary Henriques on how she supports children with difficult home lives, and how she takes care of her own emotional well-being when dealing with so much heartbreak. You'll hear the story of one young girl who worked herself into Hilary's life in ways Hilary couldn't have anticipated. Managing that relationship was one of the most difficult challenges she has ever faced as a counsellor.

As much as we’d like to believe we can handle anything on our own, the truth is, as the song goes, we all need somebody to lean on. Today, the Relate podcast is all about community. How it’s crucial to have the support of a network of friends, neighbours, colleagues… not only to get you through life’s challenges, but also to keep you healthy and happy. Community is the antidote to isolation. On this episode, you’ll hear about two groups whose mission is to pull people out of loneliness and into the warm embrace of community. You’ll hear about retirees who get their grooves back through building projects and camaraderie, and military families who land in communities far away from home, but with new friends in place already working to help them land on their feet.

Imagine that you live somewhere where you can’t be yourself. Some place where you’re not allowed to do what you love because of who you are, or where you come from, or what you look like. Maybe you’ve experienced that. On the Relate podcast this time around: people trapped by culture and stereotypes and war, and the relationships that helped them break through these barriers and be their best selves.

Parenthood. It’s the mother (or father) of all relationships. On this episode of the Relate podcast, we’re exploring parenthood from a few different angles. You’ll hear about a tough-as-nails biker club in New York City that helps support moms and their newborn babies. There’s also a rather extreme example of parenting... from behind bars. Mona Graves spent 24 years in prison, and not only managed to parent her two sons, but used her experience to help other incarcerated mothers. And we get some hilarious perspectives on fatherhood and minivans from James Breakwell. He’s the author of “Only Dead On The Inside - A Parent’s Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse.”

There’s something about traveling - about being out of your element - that makes you more open to connection with people. On this episode of the Relate podcast, we’re looking at relationships forged in those exciting, life-affirming, and sometimes terrifying travel experiences. There’s the story of two young women who bonded over a bus trip gone spectacularly wrong in Ethiopia. And you’ll get some tips on understanding cultural differences from Graham David Hughes, a man who has traveled to every single country in the world without ever setting foot in an airplane!

Failure is a part of being human. But the surprising thing is that failure is also necessary for success. It seems counter-intuitive, but as you’ll hear on this episode of the Relate podcast, you can’t have one without the other. You’ll hear the story of a man who had basically failed at everything. He was homeless. He was an alcoholic. He had no future. But somehow, he was able to turn a single dime into a business empire. There’s also a piece about a serious case of writer’s block. It’s about how an author’s failure to finish a book led to his most successful work. And you’ll get some useful tips from performance psychologist Mark Aoyagi on how to take those crash-and-burn experiences and turn them into stepping stones to success.

We've all had to start over. Whether that's moving to a new city, leaving a job, or recovering from an illness, it’s tough to start from scratch. But embracing the unknown can lead to new perspectives. On this episode of Relate, you’ll hear from a man who was attacked by a white supremacist shortly after 9/11 and found meaning in both their lives. There’s the story of an adopted woman who goes searching for her birth family and got more than she bargained for, and you’ll hear about a thrill-seeking skydiver who was forced to start her life over in the most dramatic way.

Some people can't stand conflict. Others seem to court it. Either way, it's an unavoidable part of life. So, how do you manage it? How do you resolve it? And what can you learn from it. On this episode of Relate, you'll get some super useful tips on dealing with conflict from a former NCAA referee. There's an incredible story of a relationship forged in the harrowing battlefields of the Iraq war. And you'll hear one man's attempt to reconcile his experiences as a gang leader.

They say that to understand someone else’s point of view, you should walk a mile in their shoes (because, then, you’re a mile away, and you’ve got their shoes!). On this episode of Relate, we do more than walk a mile, we dive deep into the practice of empathy and explore the ways that it can improve your relationships with strangers, friends, family, and customers.

We've all been there. Maybe you were stuck somewhere without a ride. Maybe your computer was on the fritz. Maybe you lost your wallet on vacation. That's when some stranger came along and saved the day. We've got several stories for you about the kindness of strangers, including volunteers who help the homeless connect with long-lost relatives, strangers who become friends through life and death struggles, and a tricky situation where two strangers can't quite trust one another. Welcome to the debut episode of Relate, Zendesk’s new podcast about relationships. Hosted by Tamara Stanners.

So much of who you are comes from your relationships—with friends, co-workers, and your community. Relate by Zendesk is about how we connect, how we work together, and how we understand one another. In each episode you’ll hear stories about relationships forged through high adventure and everyday kindness. There are unlikely friendships and surprising connections. And like all good stories, there are lessons in how to manage challenging situations and better understand your own relationships.