The Things We Know

In this episode of The Things We Know, Kari and Lisa turn the mic on themselves. As coaches who spend most of their time asking the questions, they finally sit in the guest seat and answer the ones that get to something real fast. What do people get wrong about coaching? Who are they actually built to work with? What does someone really come to them for, even when they can't name it yet? And how d...

We sat down with Athena Dean Holtz for a conversation about something most women don't talk about enough — the decisions we make when we're hurting. The ones that make sense at the time. The ones that cost us later. And the moment when you finally see the pattern and realize you can't keep doing it the same way. We talk about wounded decision making, how women self-medicate with work, and what it...

We didn't plan this episode. We sat down and hit record because the news cycle last week was too much to ignore. We talk about what women are actually absorbing right now. The stories that don't just stay in headlines, but land in our bodies. From political misconduct allegations to the exposure of online communities built around violating women, to the ongoing lack of accountability for powerful...

In this episode of The Things We Know, Lisa and Kari explore what happens when life doesn't match the vision board. Drawing from their coaching work and lived experience, they unpack why tools like intention setting and mindset can be powerful when they work, and why they can become painful or even shaming when reality intervenes. Together they examine the limits of manifestation culture, the role...

In this powerful episode, Lisa and Kari sit down with Jessica Patay, founder and executive director of We Are Brave Together, a global nonprofit created to support caregiving mothers raising children with disabilities and medical complexities. Jessica shares the personal story that sparked her mission, the invisible isolation so many caregivers endure, and why community is not a luxury, it is surv...

In this episode of The Things We Know, Kari and Lisa slow down to talk about why storytelling has always mattered so much, and why it still does right now. They reflect on story as a way we make sense of what we've lived, how women across cultures have carried memory and meaning when formal histories fell short, and why telling our own stories is never just personal. The conversation explores how...

What if the best version of you is still ahead? In this episode, Lisa and Kari get real about one of the most quietly radical things a woman in midlife can do — let herself be new. Not fixed. Not improved. New. If you've ever Googled "how to reinvent yourself in your 40s" at midnight, or wondered whether it's too late to try something that scares you, this conversation is for you. Lisa and Kari ta...

In this conversation, Kari and Lisa sit down with Shawna Rosenzweig, CEO of Camp Fire, to explore what young people are facing today and what adults can do to support them with clarity and compassion. Shawna shares her path into youth development and community engagement, what it looks like to lead a one hundred and fifteen year old national organization, and how she balances identity, parenting,...

In this episode of The Things We Know, Lisa and Kari explore what it really means to make peace with your pace in a world that constantly equates speed with worth. They unpack the quiet pressure so many women feel to keep up, especially in midlife, when responsibilities multiply and life demands more care, not more urgency. The conversation moves through burnout, ambition, desire, and the seasons...

What if getting dressed could feel like a way to reconnect with who you're becoming? In this episode, Kari and Lisa talk with Julia Dietmar, CEO and co-founder of OpenWardrobe, about how style naturally evolves through the seasons of our lives and how clothing can help us express ourselves more authentically during times of change. Julia shares how to let go of old fashion "rules," how to make the...

In this episode of The Things We Know, Kari and Lisa revisit a topic that sits at the heart of every meaningful relationship: repair. Rather than striving for perfection or trying to get it right all the time, they explore why the willingness to notice harm, take responsibility, and come back into connection matters more. Drawing from relationship research, parenting and caregiving realities, and...

In this episode, Lisa and Kari sit down with international speaker and visibility expert Kimberly Crowe to talk about finding your voice and letting it work for you, especially in the middle chapters of life. They explore why so many women stay hidden, how the stories we tell ourselves shape our confidence, and what begins to shift when we choose visibility over perfection. Kimberly shares her jou...

In this episode of The Things We Know, Kari and Lisa sit down with Dr. Nelva Lee to reflect on how embracing life's turns helped define the path she ultimately built. Nelva reflects on a career spanning healthcare administration, education, entrepreneurship, and community advocacy, and how building systems to support multilingual, immigrant, and underserved communities emerged through lived experi...

In this episode of The Things We Know, Lisa and Kari use the psychological thriller All Her Fault as a doorway into a much larger cultural conversation about how quickly women are judged, blamed, and morally scrutinized. Through the intertwined storylines of working mothers, caregivers, and a woman whose life has been shaped by inherited guilt, they explore how blame lands differently on women tha...

In this episode of The Things We Know, Kari and Lisa name the moment we're living in without softening it or pretending it's business as usual. They talk honestly about the emotional and nervous system toll of staying awake to what's happening in the world, why disengagement is no longer a neutral choice, and how caring deeply right now comes with a real cost. Drawing from their work as coaches, m...

In this episode of The Things We Know, Kari and Lisa talk with Kristy about what it looks like to take a leap in midlife and step into a version of yourself you didn't see coming. Kristy shares how she went from growing up in a very nonpolitical household to becoming an activist and community organizer, working alongside a committed network of women through Build Tomorrow Chicago and Indivisible E...

Kari and Lisa talk with researcher and storyteller Rachel Joy Swardson about the real landscape of women's friendships—the fractures we don't speak about, the quiet eroders that dissolve connection, and why midlife can feel both full and lonely at the same time. Together they explore how values shifts, life transitions, and unspoken expectations shape the way women find, make, and keep friends, an...

Lisa Callahan and Kari Morin are back!   Here to open Season Four of The Things We Know by retiring the familiar pressure to be better and asking a different, more honest question. What if this year is about being braver instead. In a world that feels heavy and uncertain, they explore what courage actually looks like in midlife and in these times. Not perfection or optimization, but emotional hone...

Lisa and Kari offer a lively preview of what's ahead in Season Four, sharing the themes, conversations, and guests they're most excited to bring to the podcast in the coming months. With several powerful interviews already recorded, they highlight the topics that will shape the new season—courage, friendship, activism, healing, identity, pace, desire, storytelling, and more—along with the kinds of...

In this episode of The Things We Know, Kari and Lisa wrap up a tough year by exploring a surprisingly uplifting idea called the winning streak. Inspired by creator Charlie Rocket and expanded through the somatic work of Melanie Mishler, they talk about how naming even the smallest things that are going right can shift how we experience progress and resilience. This conversation is not about forced...

Kari and Lisa mark their one hundred fiftieth episode with a reflective, honest conversation about the beliefs they once held tightly, the ones life softened, and the truths that feel steadier now. Looking back at the evolution of the podcast, the unexpected shape of this past year, and the lessons earned at different ages, they explore how perspective shifts over time and what wisdom emerges from...

In this episode, Kari and Lisa dive into a conversation many of us feel but rarely name: how easy it is to slip into information bubbles without even realizing it. They explore what happens when our news feeds narrow, our assumptions harden, and the algorithms learn us a little too well — and they offer a refreshing, compassionate look at how to stay informed without losing ourselves in outrage or...

In this episode of The Things We Know, Lisa and Kari sit down with filmmaker, actress, and creative entrepreneur Trinette Faint, fresh off her Best Actress win at the Berlin Indie Film Festival for her witty and deeply human short film Party Pants. Together they explore what it means to reinvent yourself in midlife, build community that's real instead of performative, and lead with creativity and...

What if the answers you keep searching for are already in you? In this episode, Kari and Lisa explore the idea of cumulative knowledge — the way life quietly teaches us through repetition, resilience, relationships, and the stories we carry. It's a conversation about the wisdom we forget we have, the old scripts we're still running, and the surprising ways our lived experience shapes what we do ne...

In this episode of The Things We Know, Kari and Lisa talk honestly about movement and motivation in midlife. Not the glossy version, but the real one that includes shifting energy, caregiving, perimenopause, creaky joints, and the moments when even finding your sports bra feels like a workout. They unpack what it means to move through the world at this stage of life with strength, humor, and self-...