What if the real reason you avoid getting savvy with money isn’t math? Vivian Tu, former Wall Street trader turned founder of “Your Rich BFF,” is back, and this time she’s asking us to rethink everything we think we know about money, including the complicated emotions that come with it. From paying an $8,000 lease break in her twenties to becoming the breadwinner in her marriage, Vivian opens up to Danielle about the evolution from being “smart” with money to being wise. But this isn’t just a finance conversation. It’s about shame. It’s about immigrant parents and sacrifice. It’s about dating red flags, prenups, consumerism, and the quiet fear so many women carry that they’re “bad with money.” Plus, the one investing mistake too many of us are making without even realizing it. In this episode of Question Everything, you’ll learn:

• The personal changes (freezing embryos, retiring her parents, starting a trust) that led her to write her new book Well Endowed
• The difference between being smart with money and being wise with money
• The lie that most women are being told about their money habits 
• How to have hard conversations about money, from the first date to long-term partnership
• Why you should never get married without a prenup (don’t worry, even if you did, it’s not too late!)
• Why credit card debt is one of the most problematic types of debt and how to tackle it with a plan 
• Why you can’t rely on willpower to be financially successful 
• A statistic that shocks Vivian: 50% of couples don’t talk about money until they are already engaged
• The common mistake that some people are making with their retirement savings that will cost you in the long run
• Why Vivian calls consumerism a “trap” and urges us to “deinfluence” our lives
• How to curb lifestyle inflation with three simple questions 
• A simple hack to save money on online purchases
• The moving lessons Vivian learned from her immigrant parents’ sacrifices, and how she’s using that knowledge to build generational wealth
• Why putting your credit score on your dating profile is suddenly a flex
• Vivan’s suggestions for how to have meaningful money conversations on the first date (without seeming obvious)
• How to reframe the big financial decisions of your twenties and thirties, and beyond

Follow Vivian on TikTok @yourrichbff

Make sure to check out Vivian’s book Well Endowed

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Is self-help actually helpful? In this episode of Question Everything, Danielle speaks with Gretchen Rubin, #1 bestselling author and co-host of the Since You Asked podcast. Danielle and Gretchen unpack some big questions when it comes to the rampant self-improvement era we’re living in now. Questions like: Can people ever really change? How do you make better decisions when every option comes with regret? In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why getting enough sleep is the most underrated habit for happiness and productivity
• How your chronotype can impact your daily energy, mood, and life
• Why reunions and old friendships are a key to connecting with others, but also another version of ourselves
• Why self-help is not a one-size-fits-all approach to life 
• The science behind how digital vs. IRL friendships impact the quality of our life 
• What psychology tells us about how behaviors ultimately dictate the quality of our lives 
• How to make tough life decisions without chasing “perfect” choices
• Practical strategies for reframing setbacks and career transitions

Follow Gretchen on Instagram @gretchenrubin

Check out Gretchen’s podcasts, Happier with Gretchen Rubin and Since You Asked with Lori Gottlieb and Gretchen Rubin

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Which truths shape us, and which ones hold us back? In this episode, Cameron Rogers opens up to Danielle about the unexpected turns, identity shifts, and inner work that shaped the woman she is today. From walking away from a prestigious finance career to navigating anxiety, reinvention, and viral honesty online, she shares the truths she had to confront and the ones she chose to release. In this episode, Cameron shares:

• How her online persona “Freckled Foodie” began as a secret side project while she worked on Wall Street
• The unexpected moment she realized hustle culture was consuming her
• Why leaving her finance job didn’t magically erase her anxiety
• How pregnancy and postpartum cracked open a deeper level of honesty in her life and online
• The evolution from wellness content to vulnerable conversations about mental health
• The boundaries she keeps around what she shares publicly versus what stays private
• How trusting her gut became her most reliable guide in parenting, work, and relationships
• What she learned about partnership, emotional labor, and choosing a true co-parent
• The identity shifts that come with reinvention
• The therapy tools and mindset shifts that changed the way she moves through the world

Follow Cameron on Instagram @CameronRogers

Book recommendation: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Check out Cameron’s podcast Conversations with Cam

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Jessica Bennett has spent her award-winning journalism career focusing a gender lens on social issues and culture — from the persistence of workplace inequality, to cultural trends like Playboy magazine to rebrand and the evolution of Miss America, to the ripple effects of #MeToo. She was the first-ever gender editor of The New York Times and is the author of two bestselling books, Feminist Fight Club: A Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace (HarperCollins) and This Is 18: Girls' Lives Through Girls' Eyes (Abrams). She is an adjunct professor of journalism at NYU. Fun fact: She once wrote a viral piece about her Resting Bitch Face.

In 2021 Jessica wrote a piece that I have been thinking about since then. It was title, Speaking of Britney … What About All Those Other Women? Monica Lewinsky. Janet Jackson. Lindsay Lohan. Whitney Houston. We are living in an era of reappraisals. It questioned if we were rethinking how we treated the the "wild" girls of the 90's and 2000's—Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson, Monica Lewinsky. We break it down and discuss how we are treating women in the media today and what that means for how we see ourselves and each other.

Follow Jessica on Instagram here

Listen to Jessica's new podcast: inretropod.com

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Why is talking about money more taboo than talking about our sex lives? Vivian Tu wants to break that cycle! As a former Wall Street Trader, Vivian believes everyone should talk more about personal finance. She's everyone's Rich BFF creator, breaking down personal finance and investing in simple, fun, and digestible content. If money and personal finance overwhelm you and don't know where to start, Vivian's got your back - she breaks down steps to get you started on the road to financial literacy and success. Today she shares:

• The biggest factor shaping our POV on money

• What she learned NOT to do from Chad + Brad on Wall Street

• Is dating with money in mind an good or bad thing to do?

• The people who are surprisingly bad with their money

• How everyone (including you!) can get rich and the resources to get started

• How to set yourself up for long-term success (even in a recession!)

• Why you need to ask for a raise every year

• The mistakes Vivian sees millennials make with money

• The shocking cost of being a woman

• Finances in relationships and talking about money with a (potential) partner

• Her perspective on splitting rent with a partner

• Her thoughts on women buying luxury items

• The one item in your bedroom you should not skimp on

Follow Vivian on Instagram @your.richbff and click here to preorder her book, "Rich AF: The Winning Money Mindset That Will Change Your Life

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Comedian + actress Amanda Seales (Insecure) is coming out with a new comedy special–one she wrote, produced, starred in and financed!! Do you know hard that is?! She joins Danielle today for an unfiltered conversation about her long career in Hollywood (the great + the challenging), Hollywood hierarchy, why people forget the entertainment business is a business, and her new unapologetically political comedy doc "In Amanda We Trust." Today she shares:

• What staying the course + resilience in your career really looks + feels like.

• Her unfiltered thoughts on the Screen Actor's Guild and Writers Guild Association strikes impacting Hollywood

• Why co-hosting The Real was her last effort to be a part of "the system"

• She reveals the co-star she dated on the set of Insecure

• Her opinion on friendships with the cast of Insecure + coworkers in general

• The story of financing her new standup special "In Amanda We Trust: An Unapologetically Political Comedy Doc" and why it was a game changing

• Being brutally honest with herself about what she can handle, and what she can't

• Why the U.S is at a critical time in our political history

• She reflects on her miscarriage shortly after her departure from The Real and how it reframed her thinking about what to do next

• Her unfiltered thoughts about her social media following and what people project onto her

Follow Amanda on Instagram @amandaseales and check out her comedy special "In Amanda We Trust" on August 18 exclusively at InAmandaWeTrust.com

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Entrepreneur Nancy Twine was a VP at Goldman Sachs when she tragically lost her mom. That incredible loss prompted her to start thinking about how she wanted to spend her time. She had childhood memories making beauty products in the kitchen with her chemist mother and decided she was going start a clean haircare line.Today she is the founder and CEO of Briogeo. Today she shares:

• How to find passion in your job
• Why having your career as part of your identity can be a good thing
• The importance of evaluating how we spend our time
• How a tragedy led to her founding a multimillion dollar company
• How grief inspired fearlessness
• Launching a company during economically uncertain times
• Why educating your consumer is the key to success
• Becoming the youngest Black woman to launch in Sephora and supporting the next wave of Black beauty business owners
• The brutal business of retail and understanding the levers that drive those merchants
• How to handle the "no's" in business
• What to consider when selling your company or bringing on investors
• Why leaders need to let go and empower their employees
• Why you should define your north star and set an intention for success
• The technique she uses to maximize her day and protect her time
• And the surprising factor that can affect your hair health!

Follow Nancy on Instagram @NancyTwine and check out her site here!

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Hitha Palepu is a proclaimed multi-hyphenate; she's a mother, entrepreneur, content creator, investor, author, and speaker. As the CEO of Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals and partner in Adama Ventures, she is focused on empowering women to advocate for themselves when it comes to their health. Today she shares:

• Why women are not the priority in drug and therapy developments
• Why there is a hierarchy of where research dollars are spent
• How healthcare is more expensive for women
• Why women are more likely to die from a heart attack
• Why there is a disparity in healthcare between men and women
• How women can advocate for themselves
• How to identify medical gaslighting
• The unconventional way she developed her love for science and medicine
• How being a woman of color shapes her view on medicine and impacts clinical studies
• How to find a doctor or practice that works for you
• What gives her hope for the future
• How social media can actually benefit women

Follow Hitha on Instagram @HithaPalepu and grab her book here! https://tinyurl.com/3s7p3pcc

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Writer, Editor, Podcast Host, and most importantly, Sarah Michelle Gellar Historian, Evan Ross Katz has an unfiltered conversation about pop culture, internet culture, and of course celebrities! Today he dishes all about:

• What drew him to Hollywood

• The jobs not listed on his resume

• Standom and who he thinks has the most emphatic fandom

• How to write a great cold email

• Why he believes in protecting celebrities

• Why celebrity news culture is shifting

• His thoughts on internet culture

• What's going down in his DMs

• He gives his candid thoughts on the etiquette of gossip, AI and its impact on culture, the performance of celebrity and Nepo babies

• He also reveals the surprising celebrity that loves to gossip, the celeb who blocked and unblocked him(!) and the person who influenced both of our careers

Follow Evan on Instagram @evanrosskatz and check out his podcast Shut Up Evan!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sinead Bovell is a consultant turned model turned futurist who loves to talk tech. She founded Waye a community preparing everyone for the future of work and life with advanced technologies. Through meaningful conversations, Sinead is making waves and shifting the perspective on who should be talking tech and who should be listening. Today we all need to listen to this impactful conversation about our future with AI.

Sinead shares valuable insights covering many topics, including:

• How AI has been a part of our lives for decades
• AI and the future
• How AI is actually good for humanity
• Why AI is not all doom and gloom
• What concerns you should have when it comes to AI
• Why the people building AI systems need to have diverse backgrounds
• How many historical biases affect AI
• The faults with AI
• Which jobs will be most impacted by AI
• The forthcoming creative boom
• How AI will free up your time
• How the nature of work is changing
• Her shocking prediction for the future sentiment of social media
• Her thoughts on the future regulation of AI
• And so much more!

Follow Sinead on Instagram @SineadBovell

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Actress + author Constance Wu ("Crazy Rich Asians" and "Hustlers") joins the podcast to have a raw and unfiltered conversation about the scenes that make up her life and the stories told in her memoir, "Making a Scene." Today she shares:

• The unique way she hustled before landing her first life changing role in Crazy Rich Asians and ultimately, Hustlers.
• Sexual harassment on "Fresh Off the Boat"
• Her experience with rape
• Why she's not afraid to use her voice + what she hopes others will gain from her honesty
• What she felt when she met Brad Pitt
• How she felt she had to prove herself
• Why she was paranoid the first few years of "Fresh Off the Boat"
• The controversial tweets – and how her life changed for the worse and then for the better afterward
• Judging women and why it's not our fault
• Who she was most nervous to send her book to
• Why she has empathy for her abusers
• Why you won't ever see her in a Rolls Royce or NYFW show
• Her relationship with fame now
• Her relationship with faith
• Why she wants her daughter to read her memoir
• And a piece of breaking news! Becoming a mom of 2

Follow Constance on Instagram @ConstanceWu and grab her book here!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Through the story of VIVA, an erotic magazine for women created by Bob Guccione (founder of the men's magazine Penthouse), we are getting a history lesson today on FEMINISM! First wave, second wave, third wave, fourth wave? What does it all mean and where are we now?

A little background: While VIVA was created by one of the most prominent figures in adult entertainment, it was staffed by female writers and editors and featured groundbreaking full-frontal male nudes, writing by feminist icons like Betty Friedan and profiles of literary legends like Maya Angelou. Its cover stars include Bianca Jagger and Shelley Duvall. Anna Wintour was even VIVA's fashion editor at one point. But what is originally conceived as a high-end, progressive, sexual utopia for women… doesn't quite turn out that way.

Jennifer Romolini is an award-winning writer, editor, and author of "Weird in a World That's Not: A Career Guide for Misfits" and the upcoming memoir, "Ambition Monster" (Atria Books, 2024). A longtime media executive, Romolini is the host of Crooked Media's latest series "STIFFED", which tells the true story of VIVA, one the first erotic magazines for women, and co-host of the "Everything is Fine" podcast with former Lucky Magazine editor-in-chief, Kim France. She started her career as a magazine fact checker working at Talk, Lucky, Glamour, Cosmo, and Allure. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, ELLE, Vogue, Fast Company, and many magazines that no longer exist.

Follow Jennifer

Listen to STIFFED (iHeartPodcasts + Crooked Media production)

THANK YOU to our fantastic sponsor Green Chef: Use code prettysmart50 to get 50% off plus free shipping!! https://www.greenchef.com/

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Sara Riff is a fashion veteran and Global Director of Entertainment Relations for Jimmy Choo. She is also host of the podcast "Having it All and Other Lies" and a founding member of the nonpartisan organization dedicated to creating a cultural shift around voting and civic engagement, I am a voter. Today she's sharing:

• How defining her style by 3 words helped her hone in on her aesthetic.
• How she landed her dream job at Jimmy Choo and how her role has evolved while she's been there.
• The best feedback she got early on in her career while interviewing for jobs.
• How fashion, beauty and art have a universal impact on women across the globe.
• How shoes can really transform someone's mindset and spirit.
• Her favorite parts of her job and what skill she is most proud of.
• How the ways we shop and consume fashion has evolved over the years.
• Why it's important to have an image and a brand no matter who you are.
• How having a daughter changed the way she talks to herself and how she feels about body image.
• How she became a founding member of the I am a voter organization and what it's been like to see its impact.
• How she feels about brands taking a stand on social and political issues.
• Her podcast, "Having it All and Other Lies" and why it's so important to her to talk to powerhouse women who admit to not having it all.

Follow her on instagram @sara_riff

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Real Housewives’ stars Jenna Lyons and Erin Lichy join Danielle to reflect on the reinventions that shaped them, as women, creatives, and public figures. From family rituals to the pressures of perfection, online criticism, and the surprising freedom of letting go, they share what it really takes to stay grounded when the world is watching. Jenna and Erin share:

• How childhood food experiences shaped their adult relationship to cooking 
• Why perfectionism keeps so many women from hosting, and how Erin’s weekly Shabbat dinners taught her to “unbutton” and welcome people in without fear.
• What it’s really like to reinvent yourself on reality TV, including dealing with internet trolls, losing control of the narrative, and showing up authentically anyway.
• The wild story behind Jenna’s lash brand failure, including moldy packaging, a delayed launch, and losing Target as a customer, and why she now sees it as her biggest business lesson.
• How being an outsider can shape empathy and taste
• Why female friendship matters as adults, and how their bond formed not through glamor but through vulnerability
• The refreshing style advice about creating a signature look 
• What makes a great leader or creative, plus why you should hire people smarter than you

Follow Jenna and Erin on Instagram @jennalyonsnyc and @erindanalichy

Check out Erin’s book She’s a Host

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Special Drop! Listen to Chasing Sleep here: https://link.chtbl.com/a_-vQyo6

Katie Lowes + Adam Shapiro explore the fascinating relationship with sleep and the far-reaching effects of sleep on our quality of life. Through engaging conversations with sleep experts and everyday people, they'll uncover the intriguing connections between sleep and intimacy, parenting, creativity, work, and even our dreams. The podcast aims to help listeners understand the importance of getting quality sleep and how to get more of it.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Internationally acclaimed artist, poet, author, comedian, and speaker, Alok Vaid Menon joins PRETTYSMART! They share:

• What it was like being bullied as a child and how it impacted them.
• Their daily relationship with self acceptance and self hatred.
• How transitioning is not about gender for them.
• Why they feel the most beautiful when they are telling the truth.
• How we are politicizing just being and the impact of that.
• Why they think so many people are triggered by the concept of transgender rights.
• Their thoughts on color!
• Why we all need to be more curious and have more fun.
• What dopamine dressing is and how it's beneficial for all of us!
• Gendering in fashion and why we should degender it.
• How we are all just souls playing dress up.
• Questions to ask yourself every day to lead to a happier and more fun filled life.
• Why we have to announce progress and look at small changes as big triumphs.
• Why self forgiveness has been the hardest lesson for them.
• Why they say their earnestness is their most controversial identity.

Follow Alok on Instagram here!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk frequently about what it means to be a mother on this podcast. But what about what it means to be a father? And how do our relationships with our father's impact us? Co-host of the Today show, anchor at NBC and author of the book "Pops: Learning to Be a Son and a Father." joins PRETTYSMART to talk about fatherhood, parenting and what his relationship with his dad has taught him about himself. He shares:

• Why we need to stop expecting people to become something they have no examples of.
• Why the hard times in his life have become what fuels him to be so successful.
• How the father/son bond has evolved for him over the years.
• The universal thing he's learned from interviewing so many dads over the years.
• His relationship with Al Roker and what his mentorship means to him.
• Why bringing his son to Take Your Child to Work Day made him so emotional.
• How he is breaking the generational curse and what he is doing differently with his own kids.
• What changed for him once he stopped molding his values to others and figured out what mattered most to him.
• The magic of silence and stillness and how that has helped him both personally and professionally.

Follow Craig on Instagram @craigmelvinnbc and grab his book here!

Thank you to today's podcast partner: OUAI: 15% off site wide when you use the code: PRETTYSMART

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Nine months before Rosa Parks kicked off the bus boycotts, Claudette Colvin was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She was fifteen. In 1912, women's rights activists organized a massive march in support of women's suffrage. Leading them up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan was not one of the mothers of the movement, but a teenage Chinese immigrant named Mabel Ping-Hua Lee. Half a century before the better-known movements for workers' rights began, over 1,500 girls—some as young as ten—walked out of factories in Lowell, Massachusetts, demanding safer working conditions and higher wages in one of the nation's first-ever labor strikes.

The untold story of the people who have helped spark America's most transformative social movements throughout history: teenage girls. Young women have been disenfranchised and discounted, but the true retelling of major social movements in America reveals their might: they have ignited almost every single one.

Mattie Kahn is an award-winning writer and editor. Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Vox, and more. She was the culture director at Glamour, where she covered women's issues and politics, and a staff editor at Elle. She joins the pod to talk all about her new book, "Young and Restless: The Girls Who Sparked America's Revolutions."

She shares:

• Why she always believed she could be and do whatever she wanted in life.
• How she felt as a teenage girl and her thoughts on teenage girls today.
• What it means to be an activist and why change so often occurs because of teenage girls.
• Why things aren't as bad as they might seem,
• The positive and negative impacts of social media on activism.
• Why it's important to cultivate a community of women of all ages and generations around you.
• How to get involved in making change without feeling overwhelmed.
• How to keep hope alive even when it seems hard.
• Why teenage girls can get away with more than women when it comes to activism.
• The impact of friendships on activism.

Follow Mattie on IG @matkahn

Get a copy of Mattie's book here

Vaulted affiliate program for you to sign up through: https://vaulted.com/gold-affiliate-program/

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POP STARS x FEMINISM: Today we will explore the stories of pop stars who have left an indelible mark on women and feminism. We are diving into their groundbreaking songs, their personal journeys, and the cultural shifts they've inspired. We are going through the eras. How did their music, their life experiences, their clothing/makeup, the way they dance and the way they talk about sex impact culture at the time? And did feminism become commodified? Is it a requirement to be a feminist if you're a pop star? We are going through the eras: Diana Ross, Cher, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Lana Del Ray, Katie Perry, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Due Lipa, Billie Eilish.

Breaking it all down is Audra Heinrich, a writer + reporter who who specializes in feature writing about politics, entertainment, and cultural moments and movements. Her work has been published in: Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, ELLE, Bustle, Them., Cosmopolitan, Glamour. She holds an M.A. in American Journalism from New York University and a B.A. in English Literature and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies from The Ohio State University. In addition to her writing career, she has also amassed years of experience as a part-time political organizer. After co-founding the New York City chapter of Women's March in 2017.

And you all know writers are MY pop stars, so Audra is a pop star in my eyes. Follow here here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audraheinrichs/

Website: https://www.audraheinrichs.com/

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Sex therapist Vanessa Marin and her husband, Xander join PRETTYSMART to discuss their mission to help people have more (and better!) sex. They share:

• What made them decide to start working together and helping others improve their sex lives.
• What is off limits for them when it comes to talking about sex publicly.
• Their philosophy on why sex is so important in relationships.
• What it really means to have great sex.
• Why we are all afraid to talk about sex.
• How sex changes as we age.
• The two different sex drive types and how they impact our sex lives.
• Ways to open up to your partner about sex (and prompts to help you feel more comfortable doing so!)
• How to get your partner to initiate more.
• If it's normal to squirt or not during sex.
• How to bring new relationship energy back to your sex life.
• What to do if you've been faking your orgasms.
• How to communicate any sexual fantasies you might have.
• The impact the porn industry has had on our sex lives and how we all think about sex.
• Why you should reframe the way you think about the number of sexual partners you've had.

Follow Vanessa and Xander on IG Here

Buy their book "Sex Talks: The Five Conversations That Will Transform Your Love Life" Here

Vaulted affiliate program for you to sign up through: https://vaulted.com/gold-affiliate-program/

Cozy Earth: Up to 35% off site wide when you use the code PRETTYSMART

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Aurora James, founder of the luxury brand Brother Vellies + the 15 Percent Pledge joins PRETTYSMART to share stories, lessons from her new memoir "Wildflower." She shares:

• Her memoir "Wildflower" and the story behind the title.
• Why fashion was a unifier in her house growing up.
• The crucial life lesson her mom taught her at a very young age.
• Why identity is complicated for her and why it inspired her to write her book.
• The impact her modeling career had on her mental health.
• Why she wants to co-parent 5 kids with 5 different male friends.
• Why she was arrested when she was in college and what spending time in a jail cell taught her about women.
• The inspiration behind her company Brother Vellies and why she wanted to help get rid of unconscious bias in fashion.
• Why she has never shied away from using her brand and platform to speak up for others.
• The financial setback she faced even while her brand was being worn by Beyonce and Rihanna.
• How her non-profit, 15% Pledge, started with an Instagram post in 2020 and the motivation behind it.
• Her top tips to incorporate activism in your own life.
• Why she believes defining success on your own terms is the key to happiness.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grammy Award–winning artist Kelly Rowland and educator Jessica McKay join the podcast to talk about motherhood and share their children's book Always with You, Always with Me. They discuss:

• The inspiration behind the book and the struggles of being a working mom.
• Why representation in books and media is so important (and what happens when there is a lack of it).
• Mom guilt and how they work through it.
• How writing this book impacted how they think about their own mothers.
• Jessica's inspiring views on flipping the narrative around motherhood + career
• How Kelly was able to forgive her mom after she passed away.
• How motherhood changed them.
• Why Kelly thinks girl groups are necessary.
• The most fun Kelly's ever had in the entertainment industry (Coachella with Beyonce).
• The biggest misconceptions about fame.
• Kelly's breast augmentation and how she would talk to her own kids/nieces about it.
• How they knew their husbands were the one.

Order their children's book Always with You, Always with Me: https://www.amazon.com/Always-You-Me-Kelly-Rowland/dp/0593465512

Thank you to today's podcast partner: OUAI: 15% off site wide when you use the code: PRETTYSMART

Vaulted affiliate program for you to sign up through: https://vaulted.com/gold-affiliate-program/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Author Angela Garbes joins the pod today to dive deep into her book "Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change" and discusses the economic, political and ideological systems that have shaped the way our society sees care work. She shares:

• Why care work and mothering is so undervalued in American society.
• How lack of compensation for care workers is a uniquely American problem.
• Mothering as a verb instead of a noun
• How the majority of Americans believe in more support for domestic workers/why our government does not represent us any longer.
• How both the wealth of our country and our views on care workers comes from slavery.
• The surprising median wage that nannies in America make and why we need to look at our own biases when it comes to paying them.
• Why being a care worker is life changing work.
• Why mothering is the earliest public health intervention we could have.
• How to remain hopeful when it comes to making changes to the system.
• If she thinks we will ever see paid family leave in America and what we have to do to get there.

Follow Angela: https://www.instagram.com/angelagarbes/

Buy Angela's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Labor-Mothering-Social-Change/dp/0062937367

Thank you to today's podcast partners!

• OUAI: 15% off site wide when you use the code: PRETTYSMART
• Cozy Earth: Up to 35% off site wide when you use the code PRETTYSMART

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Worried about a friend? Or unsure of how to support someone going through a hard time? In honor Mental Health Awareness month, Danielle partnered with LaurelBox to create a free digital download to help us connect with and support friends going through a hard time. Here are 15 Questions: FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: HTTPS://WWW.LAURELBOX.COM/PRODUCTS/GRIEF-SUPPORT-GUIDE-FREE-DIGITAL-DOWNLOAD

Laurel Box is a female founded business – created by cousins Denise Wolfe and Johanna Mutz. They create heartfelt, personalized sympathy gifts for people who've experienced loss, to help nourish the hearts and support people going through a difficult season of life. We discuss:

• How to show up for someone going through a hard time
• What to say to someone in grief, morning, or struggling
• How Johanna's miscarriage played a role in creating LaurelBox
• While LaurelBox gifts are physical, they serve a much more emotional purpose.
• The language around grief
• The purpose of gift giving

Shop LaurelBox: https://www.laurelbox.com/

Follow LaurelBox: https://www.instagram.com/laurelbox/

• OUAI: 15% off site wide when you use the code: PRETTYSMART
• Cozy Earth: Up to 35% off site wide when you use the code PRETTYSMART

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What if psychic ability isn’t rare, it’s actually universal? World-renowned psychic medium and author Laura Lynne Jackson joins Danielle to explain why intuition, signs, and spiritual communication are innate gifts we all possess, and how to access them without relying on a medium. She breaks down the concept of a “team of light,” the role of creativity as divine communication, and how spirituality can make us more resilient in real life. In this episode, Laura shares:

• How we all have psychic and intuitive abilities
• Her meaning of a "team of light," which includes God energy, spirit guides, and loved ones/ancestors who have crossed.
• Why signs are real, specific, and co-created, not coincidences
• How creativity is a portal to the other side 
• Why our spirit guides help steer us toward our highest path, not necessarily our easiest path.
• How failure is often a soul-level teaching tool and can be contracted for a higher purpose.
• Our soul relationships continue after death and often become stronger once a loved one crosses.
• Why we don’t have just one soulmate, multiple soul connections can appear across forms and lifetimes.
• That manifesting requires two overlooked steps: purge negative beliefs and restore balance before asking.

Follow Laura on Instagram @LauraLynneJackson

Book recommendations: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 

Check out Laura’s book Guided

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Danielle Prescod is the author of the bestselling book Token Black Girl and cofounder of 2BG Consulting which aims to help fashion and beauty brands and influencers on their anti-racism journeys.

Before she moved out of NYC to New Orleans and published her book, she was a fifteen-year veteran of the beauty and fashion industry, most recently the style director of BET.com and previously held positions at Nylon, Elle, InStyle.

She went to school in Greenwich, Connecticut, and was one of just three Black girls in her graduating class. She writes: "I remember that the reality of Blackness settled onto me like a terminal illness. I desperately wondered how I could get rid of it so I could just be like everyone else. It distressed me that I would never be 'cured' of it and could never escape it." She says it all got worse when she went to work in the fashion and beauty space. Her dieting became an eating disorder and her trendy workplaces re-created the racial traumas of her youth.

So much of Danielle's book is about identity— the one you assume but also the one the world assumes for you. She writes "Your identity and self-awareness evolves slowly over time, both subtly and overtly in how you decide to show up in the world. But it can also be dictated, unfairly at times, by how the world sees you. that's especially true "if you find yourself to be a woman – and even more so if you find yourself to be a woman of color."

Follow @danielleprescod and on TikTok @danielleprescod7

Purchase her book: bit.ly/3BxvshU

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Hollywood stylist and co-founder of "The Period Company," Karla Welch joins PRETTYSMART to share her journey as both a stylist to the stars and as an entrepreneur. She shares:

• How she went from working in restaurants to working in fashion.
• Why she believes she's always surrounded by a little bit of magic (and how that mindset has helped her).
• The stories behind some of the iconic looks she's created for some of the biggest stars (Hailey + Justin Bieber, Olivia Wilde, Sarah Paulson, Tracee Ellis Ross to name a few!)
• Her creative process behind dressing some of Hollywood's biggest stars + how she uses creativity as her compass.
• How she knows when she's got the right look on a client.
• What it was like being one of the first stylists to collaborate with big brands.
• Saying "YES" versus saying "NO"
• How to attach your style to your story.
• What inspired her to create "The Period Company" and their mission to end period poverty.

Follow Karla: https://www.instagram.com/karlawelchstylist/?hl=en

Support The Period Company: https://tinyurl.com/mryab98t

Danielle's 1st Look Episode (NBC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbOfn0nJN2A&t=247s

https://theouai.com/: Use code PRETTYSMART for 15% off your entire purchase

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Steph Jagger is a bestselling author, life coach, and speaker. Her grandmother had dementia and her mother, early onset Alzheimer's. Steph says "my biggest fear is the fact that I live inside of a lineage of forgetfulness. I don't want to forget. I want to remember." We spend decades building a life and wanting to remember it all. We save photos, we take home movies. In her new memoir Everything Left to Remember, she explores what's left when our memories are taken from us. We discuss:

• What we learn about our own stories through our families stories.
• What do we lose when we lose our memories?
• Conscious Grieving vs. Unconscious Despair
• MOTHERING: The 4 archetypes of mother: QUESTION: what will I allow to be created through me?
• The 1 question Steph wished she asked her mother before her Alzheimer's diagnosis
• How to have hard conversations (anger vs. aggression)
• How tapping into her "inner mystic" allowed her to witness her mother's journey in awe
• How love and loss shapes us
• What it's like to be with a person you know you are going to lose
• Deep remembrance
• Bully energy and how to combat it (intimacy + connection)
• What it looks and feels like when women forget themselves + shapeshifting.
• "Pain travels through families until someone is ready to feel it." How to determine what pain is yours and what is someone else's to bear.
• Owning mortality, and how that makes you live differently.

Buy Steph's Book: https://tinyurl.com/339zppbn

Follow Steph: https://www.instagram.com/stephjagger/

Thank you to our sponsor of this episode: GREENPAN: go to GreenPan.us and use promo code PRETTYSMART and you'll receive 30% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER plus free shipping on orders over $99.

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April Showers is the first female, Black-owned business to own a licensed character brand in a major retailer. She is the creator of Afro Unicorn, a brand designed to represent the uniqueness of women and children of color in a truly diverse and inclusive fashion, selling apparel and accessories to toys, puzzles, books and more. Today she shares:

• How karma played a huge role in her success.
• What it's like having Disney and Star Wars as her main competitors.
• How she launched the brand amidst some of the hardest personal moments in her life.
• How she got into her first big box retailer.
• Why her approach is "All gas, no breaks."
• The surprising way she learned all about licensing her brand.
• Her visualization and journaling practices that helped her as she's built her empire.
• The most pivotal decision she's made in her business.
• Why she says you can go after exactly what you want.
• How she thought her life was going to end when she got pregnant because she hadn't seen a positive image of a single mother + how she feels about it now.
• The surprising lesson she has learned from her two sons.

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World Renowned Psychic Medium and Best-Selling Author Rebecca Rosen joins PRETTYSMART to talk about her new book, "What's Your Heaven: 7 Lessons to Heal the Past and Live Fully Now." She shares:

• 3 tangible ways to raise your vibe + frequency.
• The one major thing that might be blocking you from manifesting the things you want.
• How to tell the difference between intuition + anxious mind thoughts.
• Who is Team Spirit? And how we can all utilize them to help us + guide us?
• A new way to reframe when hard things show up for us in life.
• What spirits want us to know while we are still living.
• Why meditation is key to help us tap into our higher self (and her advice if meditation is hard for you!)
• The one question to ask yourself before you make any decision.
• Reincarnation, soul contracts and soul groups: What they are and how they can help us better understand our life experiences.
• Why we don't have to wait to die to experience heaven.

Follow Rebecca Rosen on Instagram at www.instagram.com/mediumrebeccarosen

Buy Rebecca's book What's Your Heaven: https://tinyurl.com/45w42fyu

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Adriana Carrig founded the original word bracelet– Little Words Project. What started in her parents basement has now grown to 40 employees, 7 locations, and huge brand collaborations with companies like Nike, Barbie, WNBA, Dunkin Donuts. Just like so many great companies, Adriana's was started from pain– she was bullied as a young person and wanted to inject the world with some more kindness. Although the company has grown and changed, that mission of kindness has sustained throughout. Despite doubters, Adriana hasn't changed her core perspective in the last decade of building her company. By staying true to her brand's values and taking bold, strategic risks, she's been able to serve the original customers who keep the brand growing year-after-year. She shares

• Why the key to taking on any tough project is to "just start beading"
• When she knew she really had something special (post sorority).
• How facing cruelty + bullying throughout her life inspired to build a brand of kindness.
• Why she breaks the stereotype that women are risk averse.
• How her brand continues to grow on the strength of the foundational original customer.
• Why copycat companies don't faze her at all.
• What it feels like to grow from a family-size business to dozens of employees.
• How she went from making her bracelets in her parents' house to the CEO of a multi-million dollar business

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Why do women cheat? Author, journalist, podcast host of the new series She Wants More, Jo Piazza tries to uncover the truth behind women's infidelity. Danielle and Jo listen to several clips of women's stories of affairs and discuss:

• Why is women's Infidelity is on the rise?
• The 4 different types of affairs
• Why women cheat vs. why men cheat: does Jo agree with Esther Perel's hypothesis: "men cheat out of boredom and fear of intimacy and women cheat out of loneliness and hunger of intimacy."
• How much does lying play into cheating?
• Is cheating forgivable?
• Does unequal household labor (chores) increase women's likelihood of cheating?
• What do we expect from our partners nowadays + what are we willing to outsource? (Is it OK to outsource sex?)
• 1 piece of love & marriage advice Jo has learned from her years of interviewing people + writing about relationships.
• What does the future of relationships and marriage look like?

Listen to "She Wants More" on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-she-wants-more-107769177/

Follow Jo Piazza: https://www.instagram.com/jopiazzaauthor/?hl=en

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What happens WHEN WOMEN LEAD? What are the key commonalities of female leaders who thrived in spite of the challenges? Can some of your weaknesses actually trun into your greatest strengths? CNBC's Senior Media & Tech Correspondent Julia Boorstin wrote a book about it. She spoke with more than 120 female leaders, from Goop's Gwyneth Paltrow, Bumble's Whitney Wolfe Herd, Jenn Hyman (Rent The Runway), Lena Waithe and more to determine their strategies for success.

Julia's had her finger on the pulse of tech and business as a correspondent for more than two decades. She launched and oversees the CNBC Disruptor 50. Currently CNBC's Senior Media & Tech Correspondent, she's also been a fixture at CNN Headline News. She's even worked for the State Department and Vice President Al Gore's domestic policy office. Needless to say, Julia understands leadership. She shares:

• What the 120 female leaders she interviewed all had in common
• Why do stock prices increase when a company has a female CEO?
• How to turn your weaknesses into strengths (example: CEO Jennifer Holmgren on negotiation)
• Why women are more likely than men to make swift decisions.
• How gratitude can make you money.
• Mentors vs. Peer to Peer mentorship.
• How the Mark Zuckerbergs and Elon Musks contribute to a myth of the "Male Visionary" or "Boy Wonder"
• How to ask tough questions.
• Julia's thoughts on New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's decision to step down.

Buy Julia's Book: When Women Lead: https://amzn.to/3ekjT4Y

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How do you get to where you want to go—the dream job, the dream life? That's a big question we all ask ourselves. We know WHERE we want to go, but don't always know HOW to get there. Via engaging stories of some of the most successful people in the world as well as practical advice from Matt's own successes and failures, this book shows you how to win. The title speaks to a major theme in the book—overcoming fear. Matt explains how to break the patterns holding you back, and go after what it is you truly want. He says you must "burn the boats".

Matt is an entrepreneur who has reached the pinnacle of 5 industries (Founder RSV, Investor (Gary Vee's largest investor), Guest Shark on Shark Tank, and executive fellow at Harvard Business School). You would probably never guess that he dropped out of high school. Matt shares:

• How you can throw Plan B away and go all in on your dream!
• Growing up in poverty and how it pushed him to make his first all-in decision
• The TWO TRAITS he looks for when investing in people
• What happens to people who don't take risks.
• How to get over fear of failure
• Cancer taught him to have greater compassion for himself, and others at work.
• Why the right life partner for you acts as a force multiplier
• How celebrities like Kim Kardashian + Tracee Ellis Ross + Scarlett Johansson that guest speak at his Harvard class have burned the boats.
• How the law of compound interest applies to ideas and achievements

Buy Matt's Book Burn The Boats: https://tinyurl.com/bdzfvh55

Follow Matt: https://www.instagram.com/mhiggins/

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With 1.6 Million followers, TikTok star Tefi Pessoa has built a community where she has become famous for her thoughtful and heartfelt advice on love, mental health, heartbreak and more. There's a reason she's been called the internet's BFF. Today she joins PRETTYSMART to delve deep into all things love, dating and heartbreak. She shares:

• Why men are who they are at 35.
• What she's learned from heartbreak.
• Why even after heartbreak love is still magical.
• How to not let heartbreak or bad relationships break your spirit.
• How she is able to never compromise who she is in relationships.
• Why it's helpful for her to enlist her tribe before she breaks it off with someone.
• What she finds she is really mourning when a relationship ends.
• Why some traits are not going to change in the person you're dating (and how to figure that out).
• When to listen if people tell you "you can do better".
• Navigating a breakup in the public eye.
• Why there's courage in normalcy.
• How men and women handle heartbreak differently.

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What separates a good brand from a timeless one? In this episode, Coach’s longtime CEO Lew Frankfort joins Danielle to share the lifetime of lessons he documents in his new memoir Bagman. Lew breaks down why an outsider’s perspective can be an advantage, how “magic and logic” shaped Coach, and what scaling a $6 million leather goods company into a $5 billion global lifestyle brand really took: personally and professionally. In this episode, Lew shares:

• How a stroller-ready diaper bag sparked his first entrepreneurial lesson
• Why immersive curiosity must precede data and analytics
• Life lessons he took away from his struggles with a speech impediment as a child, and how they had a long lasting impact
• How being an outsider helped him see the fashion world through a different (and valuable) lens 
• The hidden costs of growth—including health, mindset, and family time
• The techniques he used to help him navigate depressive episodes throughout his life and career
• A haunting fear of failure that fueled his drive for excellence but came at a personal cost
• A values-first philosophy on leadership and legacy amid short-term pressures
• What Gen Z is getting right

Follow Lew on Instagram @LewFrankfort

Book recommendation: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

Check out Lew’s book Bagman

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We often frame modern relationships through a transactional lens, but what if instead of concerning ourselves with what we can get from somebody we ask ourselves what we can give? Rachel Rischall believes generosity for generosity's sake is ultimately the best way to form strong, valuable relationships. A 20-year vet in public relations, Rachel is the founder of Three PR (she's an EXPERT). She says her superpower is she can and will talk to anybody. She's an expert on finding ways to connect and help others. In the end, everybody comes out ahead. Rachel shares:

• Why she feels called to helping others as often as she can
• When to start being generous every day (it's first thing in the morning)
• Why introducing people to each other is an incredible gift
• How to overcome the cold e-mailing jitters (and the best way to follow-up when they don't email back)
• Navigating generosity in a world comfortable placing women in positions of service
• How to evolve professional connections into professional relationships

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After this interview aired I got messages from women all over the country. It seemed to have a domino effect inspiring book clubs, and other interviews with Alicia! Her book changed me and it gave me so much joy to hear that this conversation changed so many of you too. As it was one of the earliest episodes of the pod I felt it deserved a re-air: Award Winning Journalist + MSNBC Anchor Alicia Menendez explains how The Likeability Trap can keep women from achieving their ambitions. Women are stuck in an impossible bind known as the Goldilocks Conundrum: be nice, but not too nice. Talk about what you bring to the table without sounding like you're bragging. Strong women are often criticized for being cold, while warm women may be seen as pushovers." The constant chatter of how women lead impedes them from leading. In trying to be everything all at once women are straight up exhausted". But in being aware of The Likeability Trap, we can push up against it. Alicia gives us tactical tools to be more practiced in leadership, how to receive feedback, break free of the trap, and succeed as you are.

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LANGUAGE + POWER, GENDER, RACE: Linguist and writer Amanda Montell is here to discuss reclaiming gendered insults, cursing, women's linguistic innovation, sexism in our language and owning your own voice. She is the author of two critically acclaimed books, Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language and Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism She is also a creator and host of the hit podcast, Sounds Like A Cult. Today she joins PRETTYSMART to expand on her book Wordslut. She wants you to feel empowered by language instead of silenced by it.

She shares:

• Why young women are the language innovators.
• Slurs and how so many of them were once ordinary words used to reflect femininity.
• How culture and language go hand in hand.
• Why marginalized communities use language as a form of power in culture (and why it is almost always co-opted by mainstream society).
• Why we need to stop calling out typos and grammar mistakes online.
• What it really means when we have to put a qualifier on a word.
• What term we can use instead of "hey guys" and why it's important to read the room when it comes to language.
• The power of reclaiming words vs. abolishing them.

Follow Amanda here: https://www.instagram.com/amanda_montell/

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Co-Founder of Betches, the hugely popular female-founded and led media and entertainment brand, Sami Sage is here to share her story from how Betches went from an idea one night in college to a full blown media company. She shares:

• How to start a company with friends
• Where the idea for Betches came from and what it was like in the early days of the brand.
• Why they have never taken money from investors.
• Why trial + error is important when you are building a business.
• Why she is so passionate about politics and the decision to create the Betcher Sup vertical to help inform others.
• Sami's pop-culture predictions on Kanye, Pete Davidson, Harry & Megan and more.

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Actor, dancer, choreographer and star of the hit Starz drama P-Valley, Nicco Annan is bringing his magic to PRETTYSMART today. The Detroit-born actor refused to conform to a Hollywood template and instead has made a name for himself by embracing his individuality and following his intuition. His portrayal of Uncle Clifford (the revolutionary + beloved character) has earned him critical acclaim as well as nominations from the NAACP and independent spirit awards. Danielle + Nicco discuss:

• The meaningful lesson he learned in high school + how that has carried him in life.
• How being told he was too big to be a dancer helped him in the long run.
• Why it's important to use all of your gifts when trying to achieve your dreams.
• How he was held at gunpoint at 14 years old.
• How P-Valley is helping change how we view sex workers and strippers.
• The role of intimacy in playing Uncle Clifford and how Nicco approaches the masculine/feminine qualities of the character.
• What he's learned from playing Uncle Clifford and how he knows this role is bigger than him. (and why his character is so beloved + impactful)
• Why it's important that P-Valley has all female directors and the male gaze.

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• 3 specific tips to help you get promoted.
• Why passion is crucial in your career.
• Her number one tip to help you on future interviews.
• Why self education is so important on the job.
• What surprised her most about working at Vogue.
• What she's learned about leading and managing well.
• How Cosmo has evolved over the years and modernized its view of sex.
• Why asking for critical feedback (and being okay receiving it) is vital.
• What she's learned from the Cosmo readers and what she hopes her legacy to be.
• The best parts of working in a female driven environment.

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Mimi Bouchard is a meditation teacher, wellness influencer, and founder of Superhuman App. Listen to this walking meditation (and conversation with Mimi) to manifest the energy of your future— "you are a lucky person".

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In 2017, the former US Surgeon General called loneliness a public health epidemic. It's been compared to a crisis on the scale of opioids or obesity. Some studies equate the health effects of loneliness with that of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Julie Schechter is helping to fight the loneliness epidemic. She is the CEO and co-founder of Present and Small Packages, two companies focused on building stronger relationships and connections in a digital world. She provides insight on the modern paradox of technology: how something meant to bring us closer together has led to a lonelier population. Julie explains:

• How our everyday lives have lost the traditional structures that made us feel connected
• Why our relationships are typically dictated by proximity
• How the pandemic forced "hustle culture" to come to a halt and the lasting impact of pandemic loneliness
• Why technology has made us all feel lonely
• How losing your oldest friendships has the health impact equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day
• What kinds of technology can work to make us feel closer
• Why the simple act of noticing something in someone is so powerful

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Love Wellness founder + former star of Laguna Beach and The Hills Lo Bosworth is here to share her wellness journey and how it inspired her to help others do the same. She shares:

-Where do our 'happy hormones" come from?

-The chronic health problems she faced + how it took 18 months for her to get a proper diagnosis.

-How healing her gut healed her anxiety, depression and many other health issues (vitamin deficiencies can result in anxiety + depression)

-How our gut health is connected to our vaginal and brain health.

-Supplements 101 - where to start if you want to heal your gut.

-How being on MTV turned out to be a blessing (even if it made her cry).

-The struggles she faced being a reality TV star.

-Why she was inspired to start her company Love Wellness

Purchase Love Yourself Well: https://tinyurl.com/4vu2492d

Shop Love Wellness: https://likeshop.me/lovewellness

Follow Lo: https://www.instagram.com/lobosworth/

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Atsuko Okatsuka is a standup comedian who was named one of the Top 10 Comics to Watch in 2022 by Variety. Her hilarious videos on social media have garnered her millions of views and her HBO special premieres on December 10th. Today she joins the pod and shares:

• What it was like living immigrating from Japan and living in a garage with her mom and grandma from age 10-17.
• How an earthquake helped her rise to fame.
• Why she feels the things we didn't like about ourselves as kids are really our superpowers (and how to harness them).
• Why she thinks comedy is a part of the service industry.
• How she started the viral #Dropchallenge.
• Her special relationship with her grandmother (and how she got to 18,000 Twitter followers!)
• Why she believes getting married is more "childlike" than being single.
• Why she thinks the key to life is knowing what you're not into.

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At 23, Sydney Towle was living a bright, full life—until she felt a lump after a run and heard the words: “likely carcinoma, multiple enhancing masses.” What followed was a diagnosis of Stage 4 cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive cancer usually found in people decades older. Sydney started sharing her journey online to stay connected and hopeful +  quickly became a viral TikTok star with over 4 million followers. But as her story spread, the internet turned cruel. Reddit forums accused her of faking cancer. Brands distanced themselves. Strangers sent death threats. She survived the viral campaign against her and is opening up about the emotional, physical, and spiritual lessons she’s learned while living with indefinite chemo and facing life’s biggest questions. Sydney shares:

• Receiving her rare cancer diagnosis alone in a parking lot.
• How she knew it was cancer before she was diagnosed + her advice for others.
• Why she chose to share her story on TikTok
• Surviving a viral hate campaign of people on the internet accusing her of “faking cancer”
• The mental battle of pretending to be “just a normal 25-year-old” while living with a rare  cancer
• Dating while in chemo + redefining love 
• The mantras that keep her going.
• Why she no longer believes “everything happens for a reason” but still believes in kindness, empathy, and intuition.
• Using humor and disassociation to cope with cancer treatment
• Fertility preservation and cancer 
• How friendships change +  who shows up when life gets hard
• Finding hope when there is no finish line in sight
• Life lessons at 25: what really matters when time feels stolen.

Follow Sydney’s journey on TikTok + Instagram

Book Recommendation: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

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Marcy Blum and Jess Conroy have each revolutionized the wedding industry in their own exceptional ways. Marcy is an internationally sought-after event planner and entertaining expert with 30 years of experience throwing innovative and ground-breaking events. Jess is the founder and CEO of Carats & Cake, a financial operating system created for the events industry. These women each have tackled a different piece of the $60 billion-a-year wedding industry pie, but their creativity and uniqueness have earned them both respect in their field. Today we cover:

• Wedding/Party/Event Do's + Don'ts
• The biggest waste of money when it comes to weddings
• Why you shouldn't be a chill host
• How to create meaning at events and parties (weddings)
• Setting the right tone for a party
• Over 2 million couples get married a year. A wedding can be one of the largest purchases a couple makes in their life…how can we make it more meaningful?
• How Marcy + Jess transformed the events industry
• Building a brand and noticing the white space in your industry
• Advice for seeking investors
• Raising money as an entrepreneur and the power of storytelling

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Kardashians are in the business of "getting us talking"— also known as the business of being famous. How have they impacted our society + culture? Has it been a net positive or net negative? And is that 'power' waning? Writer and cultural critic, Kimberly Nicole Foster joins the podcast to break it all down with me. We discuss many aspects— race, gender, greed, parenting, business, hair + makeup + fashion trends.

We discuss:

• Why she believes the cultural power of the Kardashians is waning
• The impact the Kardashian's have had on the beauty industry
• Why she thinks Kim and Khloe are now trying to slim down after years of embracing their curves.
• Why she thinks the Kardashians tried to appeal to Black men - and why that's changing now.
• How white Americans and Black Americans view the idea of the Kardashians getting us to embrace our curves differently
• Why the Kardashians are a representation of American culture and where it is going.
• Her thoughts on how Kim is using her children to expand her brand and keep herself in the culture zeitgeist.
• The problem with the mentality of always needing more, more, more.

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Olivia Culpo and her sisters Aurora and Sophia are about to become America's newest reality TV family, in their TLC show "The Culpo Sisters." Today they're sitting down together to share:

• The hardest moments to watch each other go through.
• Why Sophia and Aurora decided to make their lives public after seeing Olivia do it.
• Why Olivia thinks pageants are empowering (and what Aurora hopes pageants will change in the future).
• Who has the best taste in men - and the worst!
• Why they decided to do a reality show with their family and what they hope to show people.
• Their must-have beauty products of the moment.
• Their favorite wellness trends that are worth the hype.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.