Shells and Shadows

About Shells and Shadows

Welcome to Shells & Shadows with your host, Yehuda HaLevi. Through honest conversations and stories from young leaders and seasoned mentors, we will explore what it means to look into the mirror, face and befriend our shadow selves, and shed our outer shells to reveal the light we all contain within.

Publisher

Yehuda HaLevi

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 Jan 2025

Latest episode

27 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

32 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   27 Aug 2026

   The Crime of Looking Away | Professor Amos Guiora on Bystanders, Duty & the Shadow of the Holocaust

   What does it mean to witness harm—and what responsibility do we carry when we do? Professor Amos Guiora has spent much of his life confronting that question. The son of two Holocaust survivors, Guiora grew up in a home where the Holocaust was almost never discussed. It was only after a college professor challenged him to study the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising that he began confronting the history that had quietly cast a shadow over his family. That confrontation would eventually become deeply intertwined with his life’s work. Guiora went on to serve for 20 years in the Israel Defense Forces, where his career placed him inside some of the most difficult questions of law, counterterrorism, national security, negotiation, and human decision-making. Today, he is a professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law and directs its Bystander Initiative, where his scholarship examines the responsibility of those who witness, enable, or fail to intervene in the harm of another. In this conversation, we explore the Holocaust through the lens of bystanders and upstanders, the responsibility to learn from history, Guiora’s relationship with Israel and his years of service in the IDF, and the immense weight of making decisions when human lives are at stake. Professor Guiora also shares the story of a legal opinion he gave during his military career that he later came to believe was wrong—an opinion that helped set a major operation into motion. We discuss what it means to recognize a mistake when the consequences may be enormous, to take responsibility for one’s judgment, and to continue moving forward. We also wrestle with Israel after October 7, criticism of government and country, the rule of law, the hostages, political responsibility, and Guiora’s broader argument that great harms rarely occur through perpetrators alone. Behind them, he argues, are ecosystems of bystanders and enablers whose choices—or silence—allow harm to continue. This idea runs through Guiora’s scholarship on the Holocaust, institutional sexual abuse, and contemporary politics: evil does not exist only in the person committing the act. We also have to ask what everyone around them did when given the opportunity to act. Near the end of our conversation, I ask Professor Guiora what he would tell someone who feels intimidated by the prospect of speaking up. His answer is remarkably simple: “Don’t walk away from harm to another.” Simple as can be. Except, as he reminds us, it isn’t. Professor Amos Guiora is a Professor of Law (Lecturer) at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law and director of the Bystander Initiative. His books include The Crime of Complicity: The Bystander in the Holocaust, Armies of Enablers: Survivor Stories of Complicity and Betrayal in Sexual Assaults, The Complicity of Silence: Confronting Ecosystems of Child Sexual Abuse in Schools, and his newest book Enablers: Normalizing the Unimaginable. If something in this conversation sparks something within you, share it with someone who may also find meaning in the ideas explored here. If we can change one person’s life, perhaps we change the world in its entirety.

2. 

   2 Mar 2026

   The Body Remembers — Until You Teach It Otherwise (with Tricia Sexton)

   In this episode of Shells & Shadows, Yehuda sits down with Tricia Sexton — breathwork facilitator and founder of Rooted Journey Retreats.Tricia shares what it was like growing up inside bullying that escalated into sexual assault, rumor, and shame — and how that kind of betrayal can live in the body for decades, showing up as distrust, low self-worth, and painful patterns in relationships.What changed her life wasn’t a single breakthrough — it was leaving. A study abroad in Ireland became years of living abroad in places like Tanzania, Thailand, Nepal, Guatemala, and Costa Rica — and through that travel, she found a different kind of confidence, resilience, and self-trust.Today she brings those lessons into her work: holotropic-style breathwork, integration, and adventure-based retreats designed to regulate the nervous system under real conditions — not just in theory.In this conversation:• The long tail of shame, distrust, and low self-worth• EMDR and reclaiming the “higher self” as your real self• Travel, reverse culture shock, and why integration is the whole point• Breathwork umbrellas: pranayama vs holotropic, circular breathing, breath holds• A practical daily tool: longer exhales + nose breathingConnect with Tricia:Instagram: @breathe_withtriciaWebsite: rootedjourneyretreats.com (rootedjourneyretreats.com)If this conversation sparked something in you and you’re ready to go deeper, work with Yehuda.Visit https://shellsandshadows.com/ (https://shellsandshadows.com/ )to book a free guided breathwork + cold plunge session — a lived initiation into the work of meeting your body, your shadow, and your spark.

3. 

   27 Feb 2026

   Come As You Are: Building the Space I Never Had (with Ashley Rupe)

   In this episode of Shells & Shadows, Yehuda sits down with Ashley Rupe in the new Salt Lake City studio for a conversation about loneliness, survival, and building the support system you never had. Ashley shares why she started a local healing collective — a non-clinical space rooted in breathwork, nervous system regulation, and real human connection. Not a place to be diagnosed. A place to show up exactly as you are. After hosting her first in-person event, one thing stood out: Every single person said they were lonely. She talks about growing up as the oldest sibling between two completely different households — one strict and religious, the other unstable and shaped by addiction. She didn’t graduate high school. She learned adulthood by watching and adapting because there were no clear answers when she asked for help. Emotions weren’t talked about. Support wasn’t consistent. And even in a large family, she often felt alone. She reflects on what it means to reach out and not be met — and how choosing your mental health can sometimes mean creating distance from people you wish could show up differently. After maintaining stability for six years, she recently made the decision to check herself into inpatient care voluntarily. Not because someone forced her. Because she recognized she needed support before things escalated. She speaks candidly about that choice — and why asking for help isn’t weakness. In this episode, you’ll hear: - Why Ashley created “Come As You Are” and what people are actually hungry for - The difference between being alone and being lonely - Growing up without emotional safety — and figuring life out in real time - Boundaries, family rupture, and why unconditional love doesn’t mean unconditional tolerance - Coping skills, breathwork, and nervous system regulation - Parenting with emotional awareness and natural consequences - The line she leaves listeners with: “You can do hard things. You’ve done it before. What’s one more?” If this conversation moved something in you, share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you’re ready to go deeper, work with Yehuda. Visit https://shellsandshadows.com/ (https://shellsandshadows.com/ )to book a free guided breathwork + cold plunge session. Change one life. Start with your own. Connect with Ashley:Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sunflowerbabbbe?igsh=MXdwN2cycjhzYm94cw==)Tiktok (https://www.tiktok.com/@sunflowerbabbbbe)Podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/4beswL6mkFbr039wwQf7ts?si=9ece11c0951e4c1c)

Who has been a guest on Shells and Shadows

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• former cannabis entrepreneur
• Daniel
• Bob

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 30 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

47

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

Contact Shells and Shadows

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.