Behind The Story

In this episode of Behind the Story, host Jelani sits down with Todd Merrill—fractional CTO, software executive, private pilot, and host of Tales from The Sky Lounge—for a practical conversation on what AI is actually changing in business and software.

Todd breaks down why we’re entering an era where coding as a moat is fading, how AI coding tools are getting “shockingly good,” and why the real differentiator is context engineering: clearly defining the user, problem, constraints, and outcomes before letting AI generate anything.
We also unpack key shifts shaping the AI wave—Model Context Protocol (MCP), tool-using assistants that connect to email/calendar/CRM, and what that means for non-technical founders, startups, and established companies trying to move fast without breaking trust.

What you’ll learn
Why AI lowers the cost of building software—and unlocks more ideas from non-technical founders
How to avoid “vibe coding” and build like a CTO: planning → artifacts → context → execution
The leadership gap Todd sees: curiosity at the top vs. adoption friction across teams
Trust, safety, fraud, and the human risks we’re not confronting enough yet
Todd’s personal grounding practices—and why “touching grass” matters more than ever

What does it really mean to feel desired, safe, and fully alive in your relationships?
In this powerful episode of Behind the Story, Jelani sits down with Dr. Tiffany Stanley, licensed psychotherapist, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, and author of Nothing Is Off the Table, to explore the psychology of desire, intimacy, trauma, and self-trust.
With over 20 years of clinical experience, Dr. Stanley breaks down why so many women struggle with sexual desire, emotional connection, and self-expression—even in loving relationships. She explains how attachment styles impact intimacy, how trauma lives in the nervous system, and why healing sexual shame is essential for reclaiming pleasure and authenticity.
In this episode, we discuss:
Why sexual desire often disappears—and how to reconnect with it
The difference between performing intimacy and experiencing real pleasure
How trauma and the nervous system affect relationships
Rebuilding self-trust after years of self-abandonment
Attachment styles and their impact on love and sex
Moving from shame and performance to presence and authenticity
What “Nothing Is Off the Table” really means for modern relationships
This conversation goes beyond surface-level advice. It’s an honest exploration of emotional healing, feminine empowerment, boundaries, and what it truly takes to create deep connection.
If you’ve ever struggled with intimacy, burnout, mismatched desire, relationship anxiety, or feeling disconnected from yourself—this episode will resonate deeply.
🎧 Listen now and discover how healing begins when nothing is off the table.

What happens when art becomes more than expression — when it becomes a space for reflection, dialogue, and healing?
In this episode of Behind The Story, Jelani sits down with Mazarine Memon, visual artist, facilitator, and founder of The Art Brewery, to explore how creativity can open conversations that leadership, language, and structure often cannot.
Mazarine’s work lives at the intersection of art, human connection, and inquiry. Through immersive experiences in schools, organizations, and communities, she creates environments where people feel safe enough to pause, reflect, and truly see one another.
This conversation is also deeply personal. After the sudden loss of her husband and creative partner — who spent over four decades in advertising and taught entrepreneurship and small business marketing — Mazarine made the decision to continue and evolve the work they built together. While carrying grief, she has been training facilitators, collaborating with experts, and developing a powerful new body of art of her own.
Together, we explore:
How art can function as a container for meaningful conversation
The role of creativity in leadership and organizational culture
Building continuity after loss — without erasing grief
Training others to hold space with integrity and care
What it means to keep creating when life changes everything
This is a quiet, honest, and expansive conversation about creativity, resilience, partnership, and meaning — and an invitation to consider how art can help us navigate both personal and collective transformation.

Dating advice is everywhere—but clarity feels harder than ever to find.
In today’s culture, relationship conversations often swing between extremes: dominance versus independence, emotional armor versus vulnerability, rules versus resentment. The result? Confusion, burnout, and people questioning whether healthy relationships are even possible anymore.
In this episode of Behind The Story, Jelani sits down with Dr. Michele Henry, dating and relationship coach, for a thoughtful, grounded conversation that cuts through the noise. Together, they explore what’s actually happening beneath modern dating dynamics—and what both men and women are missing in today’s advice culture.
Dr. Henry shares her perspective on:
• Why so much dating advice feels empowering online but fails in real life
• How modern dating narratives became so polarized
• What healthy interdependence really looks like today
• The mindset and communication shifts people can implement immediately
• How to stay open to love without becoming naive or guarded
This isn’t a debate. It’s not about choosing sides.
It’s about clarity, balance, and relationships that actually work.
If you’re navigating dating, questioning modern relationship advice, or looking for insight that feels real—not performative—this conversation is for you.

Award-winning filmmaker Ileana D. Vasquez joins Jelani for a powerful conversation about art, identity, and building LolitaMoon Productions from pure vision and relentless creativity.
Ileana is a writer, director, and producer whose work blends theater, photography, and raw emotional storytelling. Her projects have earned the Bronze Telly, Gold Aurora, and Accolade Award, and she’s collaborated with Women In Film L.A., CBS, and international production teams on films like A New Yorker @ Paris.
In this episode, Ileana opens up about:
• Growing up creative and discovering her storytelling voice
• Transitioning from theater and photography into filmmaking
• Founding LolitaMoon Productions and developing her cinematic style
• The challenges of navigating Hollywood as a woman filmmaker
• The emotional truth she seeks in every project
• The realities of independent filmmaking—its freedom, pressure, and purpose
• What’s next for her as she builds the next chapter of LolitaMoon
If you love film, creative journeys, or stories of resilience and originality, this conversation will stay with you.
Watch, listen, and go behind the vision of one of today’s bold independent filmmakers.