Unmuted by Nola

What does it mean to love something complicated? Recorded in the stretch between Juneteenth and the Fourth of July, this episode begins at 2 a.m. with Harper asleep on my chest, me scrolling through images from the Obama Presidential Center opening, and one question I could not shake: If I could choose, would I choose to be Black? My answer was immediate. Yes. Every single time. Not because the ha...

What happens when life doesn’t unfold the way you thought it would? In this episode of Unmuted by Nola, I sit down with Joyce Baker-Leggett, author of Redefining Regret: Starting Over Without Shame, At Any Age, At Any Stage, for a conversation about the life we planned versus the life we actually got. We talk about regret and shame, dreams that changed shape, finding your voice after difficult sea...

After weeks of overthinking my return to the podcast, I finally decided perfection was overrated. So yes, the audio gets a little glitchy in spots. Yes, I have one (or two) surprise guest hosts. And yes, we’re rolling with it. In this Season 3 kickoff episode, I’m catching you up on Costa Rica, turning 42, coming home to a child who somehow grew up while I was gone, rediscovering my love for priva...

People often talk about motherhood as something women have to manage around work. Or as the thing that somehow turns us into magical multitaskers. Honestly? Neither story has ever felt completely true to me. In this season two finale, I unpack eight ways motherhood has quietly made me better at my job… not because it “fixed” me, but because it exposed me. My urgency. My perfectionism. My over-func...

Some conversations don’t end when the mic turns off. They keep going in group chats. On sister calls. At the kitchen table. This was one of those. After my last episode sparked bigger conversations, I invited my sisters Tiffany and Kara back to keep it going. We talked about motherhood, faith, judgment, respectability, and the questions women can get tired of answering, even when life doesn’t unfo...

I thought my life would follow a certain order. Marriage. Then family. Then everything else falling into place. But at some point, life stopped feeling theoretical… and started feeling real. In this episode of Unmuted by Nola, I’m talking about what happens when your life doesn’t follow the blueprint you were given—and the decisions you’re left to make when everything doesn’t line up the way you t...

What if the problem isn’t you? What if it’s not your time management, your discipline, or your ability to “handle it all”? What if the math just… doesn’t work? In this episode, I sit with something I’ve been trying not to fix—and start asking a different question: What if this isn’t something that can be done better? From the invisible mental load to the expectations we carry (and the ones we plac...

This wasn’t supposed to be a deep moment. I came home from a girls’ day and my garage was clean. Not “a little better” clean… but completely rearranged in a way I hadn’t been able to do for months. And I couldn’t stop thinking about why. Why it took me so long… why it felt so hard… and how someone else could walk in and see exactly what needed to move. This episode isn’t really about a garage. It’...

Perfectionism isn’t just about high standards. It’s about what you make things mean when they don’t go the way you expected. In this episode of Unmuted by Nola, Nola shares a real-time experience of showing up, knowing she wasn’t fully ready, and what happened when preparation didn’t translate into control. This isn’t a polished reflection. It’s what perfectionism feels like in the moment. The ove...

We hear it everywhere. “We all have the same 24 hours.” It’s usually framed as motivation — a reminder that discipline and hard work are the difference between where we are and where we want to be. But what happens when that phrase quietly turns into a measuring stick? In this episode, I unpack why the “same 24 hours” mindset can be both misleading and damaging — especially when it ignores the inv...

In this episode of Unmuted by Nola, I’m joined by my friend and fellow lawyer Kelsey Knowles. What started years ago as a “work best friend” relationship has grown into something closer to adult sisterhood. In this conversation, we talk about the kind of strength that often goes unnoticed — the steady kind — and how life’s harder seasons shape the way we lead, show up for others, and find joy anyw...

Sometimes nothing is wrong… and it still hits different. In this episode of Unmuted by Nola, I explore the quiet second layer many of us carry as we move through the world — noticing patterns in storytelling, leadership, and everyday life. This isn’t about outrage. It’s about awareness. And the subtle weight of what we see over time. A reflective conversation on representation, power, and why rang...

Everyone has been so excited about my return to private practice. Supportive. Encouraging. Certain I’ll be great. So why does coming back feel more disorienting than expected? This episode is about returning to something familiar as a different version of yourself — and the quiet recalibration that follows. 🎵 Music credit Tuesday Vibes by Snoozy Beats https://soundcloud.com/snoozybeats Creative C...

Lately I’ve been sitting with a quiet question: Who am I trying to impress? Not dramatically. Not in a spiral. Just honestly. This episode is a reflection on polish, belonging, and the subtle pressure to signal success once you find yourself in rooms you didn’t grow up in. The internal math. The invisible rules. The difference between preference and protection. And the ongoing work of deciding whi...

When you tell people you’re leaving something you once called a dream job, they immediately assume something went wrong. They look for burnout. They want the tea. But sometimes… nothing broke. In this short Unmuted by Nola episode, I reflect on my last day at a role that changed me — what this season taught me about leadership, motherhood, having options, and learning to build without a playbook....

Lately, I’ve been sitting with a quiet but unsettling question: How do we keep going when cruelty is happening in plain sight—without becoming numb, hardened, or detached from our humanity? This episode isn’t about politics, persuasion, or having the right answers. It’s about moral clarity colliding with grief. It’s about holding anger and tenderness at the same time. And it’s about what it means...

In this episode, I reflect on what happens when you stop outsourcing your preferences — and start choosing what actually lights you up. From event outfits and bold shoes, to the rug that doesn’t “go,” to opening the champagne even when the moment isn’t perfect, this isn’t an episode about style. It’s about self-trust. Not everything needs to make sense to everyone else to be right for you. Music C...

This episode isn’t about reinventing yourself or doing more. It’s about questioning the things we’ve been told matter — and deciding what actually does. I’m sharing a few of my current hot takes on work, wellness, ambition, parenting, and why so much of what we stress over is unnecessary. Some of it is serious. Some of it is light. All of it is honest. If you’ve been feeling stretched thin, over-s...

This episode isn’t about doing more. It’s about being honest about what’s enough — and what unlimited actually means. In the quiet space between Christmas and New Year’s, I found myself reflecting — not because anything went wrong, but because something underneath the surface was asking to be noticed. What started as a simple word exercise turned into something a lot deeper than I expected — a rec...

The holidays can be emotionally complicated — even when things are good, even when you love your family, even when there’s laughter, food, and tradition. In this episode of Unmuted by Nola, we slow down and talk about what the holiday season often brings beneath the surface: family dynamics, old roles, grief, guilt, and the quiet emotional labor of showing up. This conversation explores: • why fam...

December has a way of asking for more than we have to give. In this episode of Unmuted by Nola, I’m talking about the social side of the holidays — the invitations, gatherings, family expectations, work parties, and the quiet pressure to be everywhere, for everyone, all at once. We unpack: • why not everything is worth the stress it costs • how to set boundaries without guilt or drama • the invisi...

December is not a month — it’s a personality. In this lighthearted episode of Unmuted by Nola, Nola unpacks the cozy chaos of the holiday season: the magic, the germs, the deadlines, the sugar, the emotional whiplash — and the annual selection of which mom will be taken out by sickness first. From advent books and toddler Christmas energy to travel prep and making magic while sick, this episode is...

Why do so many of us feel invisible — even in rooms where we show up fully? Why does competence sometimes make us more overlooked, not less? And why does the quiet longing to be understood feel so universal? In this episode of Unmuted by Nola, we explore the deep human hunger to be seen — not for what we do, produce, or hold together, but for who we truly are beneath the roles. This episode digs i...

In this deeply honest fireside-style episode, Nola cracks open a quiet truth so many high-achieving, high-caring people carry but rarely name out loud: Why doesn’t it ever feel like we’ve done enough? From spiraling over 25 Christmas books and first-class Santa train tickets to shrinking in professional rooms with “more traditional” lawyers, Nola explores how internalized pressure — not outside ex...

This week’s episode came out a little late — and honestly, that’s part of the story. I’m learning to let the world spin without me for a bit, to honor my capacity, and to tell the truth about what it feels like to love a life that’s beautiful, exhausting, and fuller than I ever imagined. This isn’t a breakdown. It’s a breather. I talk about lying awake wedged between my daughter and my post-surger...