Aloha Alive: The Dawn O'Brien Podcast
Why Aloha? the whole world knows what aloha is--love in Hawai'i--but better to ask WHY ALOHA? the answer is as essential as breath & as fun as whistling, so LET'S GO!
Episodes
54 episodes
Why My Vote Counts...Double! | Sheila Medeiros Republican Candidate, HD 43
A tied election is rare. A tied election decided by drawing lots in a lauhala box is even rarer. But the real twist comes after that: District 43’s result gets overturned in court, and now voters in Makakilo and Kapolei are heading into a court...
Choose Who You Ride With & Watch the Miracles: Tricia Ma’ae Liupaono
A small cross on a restaurant wall shouldn’t feel like a turning point, but sometimes the smallest moment lands with the most weight. We sit down with Tricia Ma’ae Liupaono, CEO and founder of My Sister’s Keeper Ministries and Reckless Love, an...
Breaking Hawai'i Pipeline To Child Sex Trafficking
A child trafficked for a cheeseburger?! Once you hear it, you can’t unhear it & you start seeing why prevention has to be specific, honest & urgent. We’re joined by Tammy Bitanga, Director of Community Engagement at Ho’ola Na Pua, a Haw...
Champ Church & Dawn Show!
A simple family favor turns into a wild twist: Champ Kaneshiro gets ordained so he can officiate a wedding in Hawaii, and the paperwork starts showing up with a new title, “Pastor.” That’s where the real conversation begins. We talk about what ...
He Makes Everyone Laugh. But His Story Goes Much Deeper
He can make a TSA line laugh in ten seconds, then turn around and say something that hits your heart. We’re joined by longtime Hawaii MC, TV host, and fitness trainer Champ Kaneshiro, and we talk story about the real source of his energy: grati...
He Lost Everything. Then God Gave Him His Life Back
He was a football standout. Then he lost his way, lost his identity, and ended up homeless, addicted, and ready to give up on life. Kuhio Thomas now leads Adult and Teen Challenge as a director, and he joins us with his wife Rachel for a raw, h...
This Wasn't Just a Daddy-Daughter Dance
A tux, a princess dress, a red carpet, and a ballroom full of dads trying not to cry. That’s the surface story of the Daddy-Daughter Prom, but the real story is what happens when a father chooses to show up on purpose and speaks identity into h...
From Darkness to Faith: A Molokaʻi Transformation
Hawaii’s spiritual history is bigger than the version most of us inherited, and it gets personal fast. We sit down with Kahu David Blevins of Imiola Church in Waimea to talk about the historic Hawaiian awakening of the 1830s, the legacy of Lore...
God Interrupted Her Retirement... Now She's Running for Office
A sidewalk so narrow a wheelchair can’t pass. Speeding that tops the complaint list across District 43. And a community that keeps hearing “we’ll look into it” with no timeline in sight. That’s the real-world backdrop for our conversation with ...
Open Your Refrigerator... Daniel Anthony Lt. Governor Candidate Explains Why
If Hawaii had to live off what’s already on the islands for two weeks, would your neighborhood be ready, or would it panic? I’m talking with Daniel Anthony, a subsistence farmer, father of seven, and longtime community advocate who’s now runnin...
God Called Her Home... Now She's Fighting for Hawaiʻi Tara Malia Gregory
Hawaii does not feel “political” until the potholes wreck your car, the floods hit your street, or a disaster response arrives days late. We sit down with Tara Malia Gregory, a Honolulu City Council candidate, to talk about why this local seat ...
Tormenting Spirits, Family Battles & the Power of Worship
A single sentence can haunt you for years if you don’t finish it with truth. We sit down with the DeLima family again and go straight into a topic that hits home for parents, leaders, and anyone battling anxiety or intrusive thoughts: the torme...
Hot Sauce: The Humility Behind the Handles
A streetball legend walks into Kalihi and doesn’t ask for a red carpet. We sit down with Philip “Hot Sauce” Champion, the face so many fans still associate with the AND1 era, and we get past the mixtape mythology to hear the true arc: daily wor...
Overcoming Addiction, Prison & Houselessness—My Sister’s Keeper
She came out of prison with no title, no money & no plan yet still built one of the most practical, faith-forward outreach efforts in Honolulu. Triciaa Maʻae-Liupaono of My Sister’s Keeper is now under the nonprofit under the umbrella...
Breaking the Silence on Childhood S*xual Abuse
The most dangerous place for a child can be the place everyone assumes is safest: home, family, and trusted circles. We sit down as two sister friends to talk plainly about childhood sexual abuse, incest & the generational silence that lets...
Hawaii's Secret to Natural Disasters & More...
Charmaine Hauanio-Kuewa is a Miss Aloha Hawaii & Salvation Army Hawaii leader, talking on local disaster relief, ohana trials, & what real help looks like Hawaiian-style. • Why Salvation Army responds to both disasters and “daily di...
Why Hawai’i is Important for World’s Last Days
What's Hawai'i got to do with it? Where does Aloha fit into the Last Days? It's getting real with Pastor Jonathan Steeper--a pastor who refused to shutdown the church during global lockdown, who stood for religious freedom in a national wa...
How God Turned Ordinary Faith Into Extraordinary Impact
A pastor walking into prison at 14 should not be normal, and yet Pastor Jay Puahi’s story makes one thing clear: God uses the willing, not the polished. We sit down with Pastor Jay and his wife, Sister Shar Puahi of Straight Up Ministry, to tal...
Aloha Crushes Anger: Mr. Angry vs. Mr. Aloha - Hana HOU!
He’s a beloved Hawaii musician with a reputation for warmth, humor, and that unmistakable “aloha” energy. But what happens when the person everyone loves in public becomes someone his family fears at home? We sit down with Kelly Boy and Leolani...
Pure Aloha vs Street Life | The Transformation Is Real
Lightning strikes a plane outside your window and suddenly every “later” turns into “right now.” That’s where we start with Keikoa Carvalho of Pure Aloha and Rasco Idayan of Building Bonds Through Burpees, two men who know fear, addiction, and ...
E:33 The Night God Broke Me — Pastor Andrew Yasuhara
Your phone says you’re connected, but your relationships might say otherwise. We sit down with Pastor Andrew Yasuhara and get into the kind of faith conversation that actually touches real life: how to reach youth who live online, how to rebuil...
E32: I Was Done With My Marriage… Then THIS Happened
Rock bottom doesn’t always look loud. Sometimes it’s a quiet dinner table, an empty house, & realizing the thing holding the marriage together is gone. I sit down with Leolani De Lima, wife of Kapena’s Kelly Boy De Lima, and we talk about w...
Season One Recap Show
HAPPY 1ST BDAY! It's our "BABY LU'AU" Party featuring da BEST OF BEST highlights for U! Enjoy our 1st baby steps from Dawn's only solo episode & first set (with awkward background & lighting...
E31: What's S*x Got To Do With It?
"Your child isn't looking for porn, porn is looking for your child." Michele Okimura, Explicit Movement, talks plainly about s*x, p*rn, & more shocking stuff related to s*x. Why does sex matter to God? What is sacred (vs. secular) sex? And ...
Why USA is in the Cross-hairs of Persecution Coming! Pastor Chris Nayyir, Pakistan Church
Persecution isn’t a dramatic headline to us, it’s a promise Jesus already warned us about. Pastor Chris Nair, a pastor and church planter originally from Pakistan, joins us for a clear-eyed talk on what it means to follow Christ when opposition...