The Phoenix Table

Send us Fan Mail In this season finale of The Phoenix Table, Sam opens up about a struggle many high achievers face: using productivity as a vice. As year-end pressure builds, she finds herself stuck in the cycle of stress, overdoing, and eventual burnout. In this honest conversation, Sam shares why slowing down feels uncomfortable, why rest gets mistaken for laziness, and how taking a full day fo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Phoenix Table, we sit down with Yasmine De Aranda, who turned a season of heartbreak and uncertainty into a profound journey of love, resilience, and redefinition. When Yasmine’s husband was diagnosed with long COVID and became bedbound, life as she knew it shifted overnight. What followed was a powerful transformation—one that tested her strength, deepened...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Phoenix Table, we sit down with Michele Hecken, a serial entrepreneur, speaker, and author who built her first business from scratch while raising two young daughters, and later transformed it to run entirely without her. Michele opens up about the “messy middle” of entrepreneurship: burnout, guilt, and the fear of letting go. She shares how redefining work-...

Send us Fan Mail In this solo episode of The Phoenix Table , Sam opens up about what it really means to love someone through their healing — and how to stay whole while doing it. She reflects on the quiet, complicated space between care and self-preservation: the moments when you want to help, but you’re scared of saying the wrong thing; when you hold back to keep the peace and end up feeling disc...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Phoenix Table , we sit down with Travis Scott, who transformed a period of intense depression and grief into an extraordinary 2,500-mile journey on a bicycle. Travis shares the emotional weight of losing his cousin Brent, a dedicated cyclist, and how the unexpected acquisition of Brent’s Trek Madone road bike became the spark he needed to find new purpose. H...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Phoenix Table , Nicole Donnelly shares her journey as an entrepreneur, detailing the rise and challenges of her company Baby Legs, the emotional and financial struggles during economic downturns, and the importance of resilience and connection. Through it all, she reflects on the power of resilience, connection, and storytelling, and the joy she’s found in r...

Send us Fan Mail In this mini episode, the first in a mini-series called “Coffee Breaks,” Sam reflects on what it really means to be brave, not in the loud, world-shifting moments, but in the quiet, unseen choices we make every day. Bravery, she reminds us, often looks like showing up when it would be easier to disappear, choosing honesty over comfort, and moving forward even when your heart is tr...

Send us Fan Mail In this raw and eye-opening episode of The Phoenix Table , Todd Palmer shares how losing his father at just five years old shaped his beliefs about success, leadership, and self-worth. What began as a drive to “do it all” as an entrepreneur eventually led him into burnout, debt, and the brink of bankruptcy. Todd opens up about the brutal truth a coach gave him, the neuroscience th...

Send us Fan Mail In Part 2 of I’m Not Okay , Sam shares the next chapter of her journey following a traumatic family event. What does it really look like to heal after everything falls apart? From the fog of grief to the unexpected freeze moments that shut her down, Sam walks through the physical, mental, and emotional realities of trauma recovery. She reflects on the shame tied to “being okay,” t...

Send us Fan Mail In this raw and heartfelt episode of The Phoenix Table , Sarah shares her journey of shifting from the CEO of a top HubSpot agency in the Philippines to becoming the full-time caregiver for her mother diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She opens up about the hard decisions, the grief of watching her mom fade, and the surprising lessons she discovered along the way—about identity, leaders...

Send us Fan Mail In this raw and deeply moving episode of The Phoenix Table , Trygve Olsen opens up about his painful decision to become estranged from his parents after years of alcoholism, denial, and one traumatic event that changed everything. He shares the story of setting boundaries to protect his son, the heartbreaking realities of gaslighting and family pressure, and the quiet strength it...

Send us Fan Mail This week’s episode of The Phoenix Table is one of my rawest yet. Just two weeks ago, my husband’s depression reached a breaking point, and for the first time I had to face the reality that I couldn’t “fix it.” What followed was one of the scariest and most transformative experiences of my life — navigating the helplessness of loving someone through a mental health crisis while re...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Phoenix Table , Sam Anderson sits down with Meg Duffy, a Principal Professor at HubSpot Academy, who shares her powerful journey from running the Tokyo Marathon to facing an unexpected cancer diagnosis just two weeks later. Meg opens up about the shock of hearing the word “cancer,” the guilt and denial that followed, and what it was like to navigate treatmen...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when success on paper doesn’t feel like success in life? In this episode of The Phoenix Table , Sam sits down with Dr. Kristen Kale — entrepreneur, author of Notivation , and unapologetic truth-teller — to unpack her journey from chasing hustle culture to designing a life she actually loves. Dr. K shares raw stories of early struggles with learning disabilities, build...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Phoenix Table , we dive deep into the quiet pressures we place on ourselves—the "shoulds" that stack up and quietly define our identity. Sam unpacks how the collapse of her first business revealed just how much of her self-worth was built on productivity, achievement, and outdated expectations. Through personal stories and mindset shifts, she explo...

Send us Fan Mail In this deeply personal episode, Sam takes you back to the moment everything she built came crashing down — the collapse of her first business, the grief that followed, and the unexpected clarity it gave her. This isn't just a story about loss — it's about identity, shame, resilience, and the quiet rebuilding that happens when no one’s watching.  She opens up about what...

Send us Fan Mail In this debut episode, host Sam Anderson opens the door to The Phoenix Table — a show born from fire, resilience, and the messy middle of life. Sam shares what led her to create this space for raw stories and real conversations: From motherhood and mental health to identity, grief, and the quiet, unseen work of rebuilding. She reflects on what it means to rise not after the fire,...

Send us Fan Mail In this short teaser, host Sam Anderson introduces the heart behind the show: a space for raw stories from the fire—for those rising through the messy middle. If you’ve ever faced a season of unraveling, of grief, of starting over—this podcast is for you. Sam shares a glimpse into her journey and what to expect in future episodes: honest reflections, powerful guest conversations,...