A LOT with Audra

What if the thing you want most is the thing you keep talking yourself out of? This weekend, a walk with my husband turned into a full-on dissection of why we resist our own desires. Whether it's a bigger house, a new role, a book we want to write, or even something as simple as ordering a certain dessert — we are so quick to tell ourselves all the reasons we don't really want it. But what if unde...

Has your relationship with health and fitness become more about punishment than care? That's the question at the heart of today's conversation. Kendra Moody returns to the show—not in her role as COO of The Thread, but as founder of Restore Health Coaching—to talk about what it really takes to build a sustainable wellness lifestyle, especially for women navigating their second act. We cover why so...

What happens when achievement starts costing you aliveness? Dr. Kristen Strom joins the show to share her story of chasing success as a professor, wife, and mother—only to realize that the life she'd built was slowly draining the life out of her. From missing her kids' sporting events to feeling numb at the mention of a university teaching award, Kristen opens up about the red flags she ignored, t...

Have you ever felt that subtle shift — the one where something inside has moved, but you can't quite name it yet? That feeling is exactly what today's guest, Keveney Avila, founder of The Interior, helps people navigate. After a decade practicing law — including pro bono work with unaccompanied immigrant children and human trafficking survivors — Keveney's life pivoted in a way she never could hav...

What if the permission you've been waiting for to slow down was yours to give all along? Karen Bartholomew knows firsthand what burnout looks like — running from 6 AM to 9 PM, no time for a cup of coffee, no room to breathe. In 2010, as a single mom of three, she hit a wall and gave herself four months to figure out what she actually wanted. That pause didn't just change her life — it became the f...

What if the guilt you feel every time you say "no" is actually costing you more than the yes ever could? After a peer advisory group session turned into an unexpected goldmine of ideas, I knew I had to bring it straight to you. If you're a people-pleaser, a do-gooder, or someone who feels a pang of guilt every time you turn someone down, this one's for you. I'm sharing the practical frameworks tha...

What if the way you've shown up for the people you love has quietly changed — and that's actually okay? This week, Audra reflects on a simple moment (last-minute ice cream sandwiches vs. planned-out chocolate banana popsicles for her son's birthday treats) that cracked open a much bigger conversation about navigating seasons of change, letting go of guilt, and learning to sit with discomfort inste...

Yes, we are still friends. No, the band is not breaking up.  Are you really ready to let go of something that isn't broken? That's the question at the heart of this episode, as Audra sits down with Kendra and Kristen to share the news: after 11 cohorts in Wichita and 3 in Kansas City, The Thread is holding one final cohort before evolving into something new—an alum-first community. They get into t...

What does it look like to stop running from tension and start letting it fuel you? Fresh off two full days at the Global Leadership Summit in Wichita, I'm sharing the lessons that hit me hardest — the kind that make you reconsider the way you've been thinking about discomfort, uncertainty, and what freedom actually means. I'm also throwing in a bonus lesson from a kid-free night and Season 4 of Te...

What if the way you think about self-trust is actually keeping you from it? Audra breaks down a coaching conversation that flipped her thinking on self-trust — and shares the real definition that's helped her stop abandoning herself every time she falls short of a goal. Then she walks through five practical habits she's built over the past few years to strengthen that trust from the inside out. Hi...

What if the story you've been told about the teenage years is just... wrong? My guest today, Megan Saxelby, founder of Wild Feelings, spent 15 years teaching middle school and 4 teaching high school before becoming a parent coach — and she's here to make the case that adolescence isn't something to survive, it's a season to actually enjoy. We get into what parents misunderstand before the tween ye...

Ever feel like your best years might already be behind you? Lee Gray would tell you they're just getting started. At 50, Lee was laid off from her corporate marketing job — and instead of it breaking her, it became the launchpad for the most successful chapter of her career. Today she's a business coach, entrepreneur, and podcast host who's helped over 100 business owners build companies that don'...

How do you inherit someone else's dream and make it your own? Molly Motsinger built a 21-year career in healthcare before walking away to become CEO of Sapahn, an ethical fashion brand she didn't found but fell completely in love with. We talk about what it's like to step into a mission you didn't create, why she got "obsessed" with Sapahn before she ever considered leaving healthcare, and how fou...

What if the real reset you need this year isn't about a new planner or another five-year plan — but about getting brutally honest with who you are right now? In this solo episode, I'm walking through the psychology-backed "fresh start effect" and sharing the three lessons I'm personally carrying into the second half of 2026: why the real work always starts internally, why it's time to let go of wh...

What if the key to growth this summer was intentionally chasing no's? That's exactly what I've been doing — and it's changing how I approach risk, rejection, and going after what I want in business and life. After working with a coach last fall on vocational dreams, I was introduced to a goal that stopped me in my tracks: collect 100 no's. The idea is simple but powerful — the more asks you put ou...

What's the difference between a dream that changes your life and one that just lives forever in your Notes app? That gap might be smaller than you think — and it starts with one risky step. We're at the midpoint of 2026, and it's time to stop waiting for the "right" time. This week's short pep talk is a challenge to every woman who knows what she wants but keeps pushing her timeline out. Whether y...

What if the thing standing between you and the life you actually want isn't your circumstances — it's still thinking in terms of “or” instead of “and”? Alex Kuhn, founder of Born Leaders (now rebranding to All In Worldwide), joins me for a conversation about ambition, identity, and what it really means to go all in — on your career and your family, your dreams and your present moment. Alex was the...

What if your second act isn't about changing your life — it's about finally showing up in the one you already have? Monica Packer, founder of the About Progress podcast and a certified habits and identity coach, joins me to talk about the version of personal growth nobody talks about: the quiet, internal kind. Monica spent years as a self-described aspiring perfectionist — achieving on the outside...

What does it actually take to leave behind everything you've built — your career, your country, your circle — and start over from scratch? Carolina Freeman did exactly that when she moved from Argentina to Wichita, and what she found on the other side is a story about identity, resilience, and the courage to finally live life on your own terms. Carolina is the chef and owner of Argentina's Empanad...

What if your birthday celebration wasn't really about your birthday at all? Jen Christian turned 40 with one of the most intentional, fun, and friendship-forward celebrations I've ever seen — and it started not with a party plan, but with a personal reckoning. After navigating a postpartum fog that hit during COVID, Jen found herself asking: Who am I now? What do I value? And who are my people for...

What if the path that didn't work out was actually the one preparing you for exactly where you're supposed to be? Career and leadership coach Jenna Bottolfsen joins me for a conversation about the unexpected pivots, restarts, and pauses that shape us — and why the thing you thought was a setback might actually be the most important step in your story. Jenna went from 25 years in corporate HR to a...

What if the most powerful lesson from the Olympics has nothing to do with the athletes? Executive coach Jeana Marinelli joined me for a conversation straight from her last days in Florence, Italy — capping off nearly 90 days abroad that started as a one-week trip to the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. What began as a trip to see snowboarding turned into an extended season of rest, community,...

What if becoming a mom didn't just change your schedule — it changed you at your core?  I sat down with Taryn Zweygardt, a therapist specializing in perinatal mental health and co-owner of Flourish, to talk about the identity shifts, the mental load, the perfectionism, and the ADHD diagnoses that so many of us didn't see coming — until motherhood cracked us open and showed us what was really there...

What does it actually take to wake up, choose differently, and become someone new? Whether you're staring down a milestone birthday or quietly sensing it's time for a change, this conversation with Damon Young will meet you right where you are. Damon is a civic leader, executive mentor, public speaker, and founder of DK Young Consulting — and he sat down to talk candidly about what it looked like...

What if the most creative thing you ever did had nothing to do with a paintbrush? Creativity isn't reserved for the artists with the fancy titles — it's a way of moving through the world, and it might be the most powerful form of self-trust you have. I sat down with Wichita-based multidisciplinary artist Jill Nicole Luten to talk about what happens when you stop performing creativity and start pra...