Tell Me What It's Like – Details, episodes & analysis

When Laurie Jacobson was 43, she found herself in a deeply unhappy marriage and increasingly isolated and depressed. After years of trying conventional therapies and self-help approaches without relief, she made a decision that felt radical at the time: she signed up for a silent retreat at a Buddhist monastery she’d discovered through a pamphlet in a coffee shop. Over the next 22 days of meditation and silence, Laurie experienced a profound shift in perspective that helped her see her life differently, and ultimately gave her the clarity she needed to make a difficult life decision.

1. What daily life was like during a silent meditation retreat
2. Why she decided to go to a Buddhist monastery after trying many other forms of help
3. The surprising mental clarity that can come from long periods of silence and meditation
4. How the experience changed the way she saw her marriage and gave her the strength to leave it
5. The lessons she carried forward about openness, desire, and letting go

Mentioned in this episode:

1. Theravada Buddhism
2. Laurie's book, Unexpected Awakening: 22 Days at a Buddhist Monastery Freed Me from Abuse

Support This Show:

• Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast app
• Leave a rating & review — it helps others find the show
• Share the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media

As a teenager, Christina King looked like she was doing everything right — she had good grades, played sports, took advanced classes. But when her mom paused during an argument and asked, “Are you happy?” it changed the course of her life. Today, Christina is a therapist specializing in tween and teen girls, and she shares what’s really happening in the teenage brain, why emotional ups and downs are often developmentally normal, and how parents can stay connected during one of the most intense seasons of growing up.

Note: This episode is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. It includes discussion of teen mental health, including self-harm, in the context of helping parents understand and respond.

1. The question that led her to therapy as a teen
2. What "all gas, no brakes" means for the adolescent brain
3. Why emotional volatility can be a healthy sign
4. Tween girl friendship dynamics and indirect aggression
5. Social media, comparison culture, and feeling left out
6. The difference between venting mode and problem-solving mode
7. Why parents should depersonalize their teen's emotions

1. Christina King Family Therapy
2. Find Christina on Instagram
3. Inside Out 2 (when discussing adolescent emotions)

Support This Show:

• Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast app
• Leave a rating & review — it helps others find the show
• Share the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media

Cori Burns had always loved running, but eventually pregnancy pushed her to walking for exercise. She found she loved it, but quickly realized there weren't any shoes made for women who walked for fitness. So, she set out to create them herself.

In 2023 she launched Raesyn, a technical shoe company making shoes “for women who walk to sweat.” Cori shares how she spotted a gap in the shoe industry, what went into designing a shoe for women who walk for exercise, and the determination it took to turn her idea into Raesyn.

Hear Cori talk about:

• What makes walking for exercise different from running
• When she noticed there was a need for walking shoes
• What she looked for in the ideal women’s walking shoe
• The process to get from prototype to a shoe ready for market

Mentioned in this episode:

• Raesyn Shoes — Cori’s footwear brand
• Girls Who Walk Baltimore, the walking group Cori mentioned
• Cori’s walking workouts and Substack

Support this show:

• Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast app
• Leave a rating and review
• Share on social media and tag @rainemediaco

When Linda Strader joined a US Forest Service fire crew in the 1970s, she didn’t know how rare it was for women to do that kind of work - she just wanted an interesting job. But she quickly realized she was stepping into a world that didn’t necessarily welcome her. In this episode, Linda shares what it was like to be one of the first women on a fire crew, the discrimination she faced, and why she loved the work enough to keep coming back for seven seasons.

Hear Linda talk about:

• What a fire crew actually does beyond just battling flames
• How she got the job with no idea women weren’t “allowed”
• The hostility she faced from many coworkers and supervisors
• The physical and emotional toll of working to prove herself again and again
• Why she loved the job regardless of the hardships

Mentioned in this episode:

• Learn more about Linda's work on her website
• Linda's memoir, Summers of Fire: A Memoir of Adventure, Love and Courage by Linda Strader
• U.S. Forest Service
• Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
• Read more information about the Federal Women’s Program
• Learn more about the Catalina Hotshots

Support this show:

• Follow in your favorite podcast app
• Leave a rating and review
• Share on social and tag @rainemediaco

When Jennifer Daniel landed her first job after college, she quickly realized she didn’t quite know how to navigate the world of business meetings with confidence. That led her to the Protocol School of Washington and, eventually, to founding her own etiquette business, Polished Peyton Etiquette Essentials. For nearly 25 years, she’s been teaching children, young professionals, and executives the skills they need to succeed - with etiquette as a foundation for confidence and kindness.

Hear Jennifer talk about:

• How she found her way from a resort job to opening her own etiquette and protocol school
• The difference between etiquette and protocol, and why both matter in business and social life
• Why young professionals often struggle with communication in the age of smartphones
• How etiquette classes can build confidence and relational skills, not just table manners
• Why kindness is the most important rule of all

Mentioned in this episode:

• Polished Peyton Etiquette Essentials
• The Protocol School of Washington

Support this pod:

• Follow in your favorite podcast app
• Leave a rating and review in your app
• Share on social media and tag @rainemediaco

Valerie Russell spent a decade in criminal justice. She worked as a corrections officer, a narcotics investigator, even on the 9/11 Human Recovery Project. But one day, she realized she wanted something entirely different. She sold everything, moved to Guatemala with just a backpack, and built a thriving travel agency from scratch.

Hear Valerie talk about:

• The book that inspired her to walk away from law enforcement to start a new life abroad
• What it was like to arrive in Guatemala alone, not knowing anyone
• How she grew Due South Travels into a successful business without advertising
• Why she feels like she lives in paradise
• The importance of resilience, community, and creativity in building a life abroad

Mentioned in this episode:

• Due South Travels, Valerie's travel agency in Guatemala
• The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, the book that inspired her

Support this show:

• Follow in your favorite podcast app
• Leave a rating and review
• Share on social media and tag @rainemediaco

Matt Farley has created over 26,000 songs ... many of them about poop. But behind the absurd humor is a thoughtful approach to creativity, productivity, and making things without fear.

In this episode of Tell Me What It’s Like, Matt shares how he embraced the ridiculous, built an empire of searchable songs, and let go of perfectionism — all while homeschooling, making movies, and continuing to make music.

Hear Matt Talk About:

• Why he shares his music (even when it feels humiliating)
• How he uses song titles and streaming platforms to get discovered
• Why embracing imperfect work led to his most popular songs
• The Motern Method: his creative productivity system explained
• How he balances homeschooling, filmmaking, and songwriting
• How making movies with friends helps him stay creative and connected

Mentioned in This Episode:

• The Odd Man Who Sings About Poop, Puke, and Pee on Spotify – one of Matt's many musical personas
• All About Highlighters, surely Matt's next big hit
• The Hungry Food Band in case you need a song about mac & cheese
• Dropped My Phone in the Toilet, by The Very Nice Interesting Singer Man
• The Guy Who Sings About Cities and Towns, and sometimes just the zip code
• Matt's list of Matt's Most Popular Songs
• The Motern Method – Matt’s book on creativity
• Evil Puddle, Matt's latest film
• Find Matt Farley online at Motern Media

More than 3,000 years ago, a Native American community in what is now Northeast Louisiana built monumental earthworks - such as mounds, ridges, and a vast plaza - at Poverty Point, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For nearly two decades, Dr. Diana Greenlee, station archaeologist at Poverty Point, has worked to uncover what life was like for the people who lived there so many years ago.

Hear Diana talk about:

• How the massive earthworks at Poverty Point were constructed
• Evidence of art, craftsmanship, and daily life at the site
• What we know about the mounds and ridges built by the people who lived there
• How modern tools like ground-penetrating radar reveal insights without excavation
• The moment she discovered a previously undocumented mound

Mentioned in this episode:

• Read more about Dr. Diana Greenlee
• Poverty Point World Heritage Site
• UNESCO World Heritage listing for Poverty Point
• University of Louisiana at Monroe

Support this show:

• Follow in your favorite podcast app
• Leave a rating and review
• Share on social media and tag @rainemediaco

In Part 1, Bill Gerhart shared his son Connor’s story and discussed the dangers of fentanyl. In Part 2, Bill shares more about the fentanyl crisis, why he feels prosecuting those who sell it is necessary, and what he’s doing to raise awareness. He also reflects on his belief that there’s opportunity in every event, and how he moves forward with that perspective.

Hear Bill talk about:

• Giving away Narcan at Connor’s memorial service so others might be saved
• Why awareness and access to treatment matter more than ever
• The role of cartels, supply chains, and prosecution in the fentanyl epidemic
• His hopes for developing a new, non-opioid addiction treatment
• How this tragedy has made him appreciate his friends and family even more

Mentioned in this episode and references:

• If someone you care about is battling opioid addiction, find resources here
• Learn more about Naloxone (Narcan), the reversal drug Bill and his family gave out at Connor's Celebration of Life
• Read more about the crisis and the DEA's "One Pill Can Kill" awareness campaign

This week's music is by Ievgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay.

In 2023, nearly 80,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses. Bill Gerhart's son Connor was one of those people. In this first part of a two-part conversation, Bill shares who Connor was, from his childhood and football days to his career as a civil engineer, and how a series of surgeries and pain prescriptions led to an opioid addiction that few around him knew about. He also reflects on when he realized what was happening with Connor, and why awareness is so important.

Hear Bill talk about:

• Connor’s childhood, football years, and what made him “every dad’s dream”
• The challenges of college and how he found his way forward
• Rebuilding confidence after setbacks and starting a successful career
• The injuries and surgeries that introduced opioids into his life
• How his family discovered his addiction, and what Bill has since learned about awareness and prevention

Mentioned in this episode and references:

• See Bill's tribute to his son Conner at Connor's Celebration of Life
• If someone you love is battling opioid addiction, find resources here
• Read more about Suboxone, a medication used to treat opioid addiction
• Learn more about Naloxone (Narcan), an opioid overdose reversal drug
• Find out more about Fentanyl test strips, a tool to detect fentanyl in recreational drugs

Closing music by Ievgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay.