DWC 141: The Empathy Machine with René BessonDWC 141: The Empathy Machine with René Besson
Deepen with Christina
Christina Weber introduces new business partner René Besson as they share how WeDeepen grew from curated dating events into a broader relationship and community platform. Their conversation reflects on empathy, storytelling, and treating love as a skill that can be studied and practised together.
43:37•3 Aug 2026
Turning Love into an Empathy Machine with Christina Weber and René Besson
Episode Overview
- Love is presented as a learnable skill that benefits from study, practice, and structured experiences.
- WeDeepen aims to be a central place to access teachers, events, and tools for healthier relationships.
- René Besson connects his lifelong “why” around empathy and storytelling with WeDeepen’s mission.
- Community spaces like love immersions help people feel less alone and more supported in their growth.
- Protecting the authenticity and “magic” of relationship work is seen as crucial while the business expands.
“What would you do to have all that time back that you spent making these mistakes that you suffered through, and you can go through this process and not lose any more time?”
What drives someone to seek a life that feels more like a film you’re starring in than a show you’re watching on the sofa? This milestone conversation on *Deepen with Christina* brings that question to life as Christina Weber introduces her new business partner, veteran Hollywood producer René Besson, as Managing Partner at WeDeepen.
You’ll hear Christina retrace her journey from curating intimate New York dating events – “20 men, 20 women” and long, emotional phone calls – to building WeDeepen as a kind of “ClassPass for the love and relationship industry.” She talks frankly about the hamster wheel of dating events, the lack of real education around relationships, and her refusal to give up on love as a serious skill you can study and practise.
René shares the exact moment everything clicked for him, reading out Roger Ebert’s line: “For me, the movies are like a machine that generates empathy,” and describing how Christina instantly swapped in the words “WeDeepen” – a “diamond bullet in the brain” that made his life’s work suddenly make sense.
From there, he explains why he left the film grind to build something where he can actually see people change, describing WeDeepen experiences as medicine for loneliness, miscommunication, and years of painful trial and error in relationships. There’s plenty of humour and spice too – including a cheeky round of truth or dare where René is tasked with “domming” the audience into supporting WeDeepen, and Christina shares an eyebrow-raising teenage library story.
Underneath the playfulness sits a serious message: love is learnable, intimacy is central to a fulfilled life, and community makes it easier. If you’ve ever wished there were real tools, teachers, and spaces to help you love better – and people to walk beside you while you do it – this conversation might have you asking: what if you really treated your love life as your greatest adventure?
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