All The Wiser

Laura Cathcart Robbins first started using Ambien to help her get some sleep. But as the pressures of her public life grew, so did her usage of the drug. She was swallowing lethal amounts of sleeping pills and washing them down with booze. At the heart of her addiction was a feeling that she wasn’t able to be honest about who she really was – beginning in childhood at the hands of an abusive step-...

Kimi and Erica discuss last week's episode with death doula Diane Button , which they can't stop thinking about! Both confess to having an endless fascination (ok, borderline obsession) with the wisdom and knowledge that people share when they know the end is near. Diane's message is more about living well than dying well. Her dying clients are called "the wisdom keepers" and s...

Death Doula Diane Button has served as a companion to hundreds of clients and their families through the end of life process. She is a lead instructor at the University of Vermont's End of Life Doula Certificate program, a founding partner of the Bay Area End of Life Doula Alliance, and the author of the bestselling new book, Dear Death: Finding Meaning in Life, Peace in Death and Joy in an Or...

We are committed to learning more about the crisis of people living without homes in our country following Anthony Brown's episode last week. Sharon Browning, Kimi's friend, neighbor, and changemaker, speaks with us about the current state of affairs and possible solutions. Sharon co- founded a volunteer-run organization in Los Angeles that has placed 177 people in permanent housing. Her u...

Anthony Brown spent 23 years living on the streets battling homelessness, addiction and incarceration. He describes his state of mind as one without hope, trying not to feel, trying not to care. Until one day a police officer asked if he wanted some help. Today Anthony is a registered nurse, an author, speaker and founder of Brown Manor, a safe place where those in need can restore their lives. In...

Is your head full of negative voices and stories? Let's share and dismantle your pesky inner critic together. This week, Kimi and Erica are joined by "the horribly mean voices in their heads." In this episode, they discuss the negative stories they tell themselves about themselves and how they plan to stop them. Kimi talks about her critical voice about her body and intelligence. For t...

Originally aired on The One You Feed podcast... Eric and Kimi discuss her journey to healing and how the role of identity can be helpful (or not so helpful) when dealing with depression or mental illness. "Kimi’s unique specialty is identifying and developing stories with soul. She has traveled the world interviewing hundreds of people and creating content that motivates people to live a happi...

We talk a lot about truth telling and talking about hard things in service of others on All The Wiser. Our goal is to illuminate, educate, and make people feel less alone. Normally, it would be our guests who take this leap, but this week it was the All The Wiser producers.  As a result of last week's interview with Kate Ranta about domestic violence that nearly killed her, producer Erica Gera...

When Tom asked Kate to move in with him after dating for three months, she was thrilled. He seemed really into her and wanted to make her life as a single mom easier. But once they were married and had a child together, things got dark. Her “too good to be true” husband became jealous, controlling, and ultimately, deadly. Kate Ranta shares the warning signs and red flags that just might save the l...

During the first episode of 2023, Kimi is joined by Tara Daigle, All The Wiser Associate Producer. As they discuss last week's episode on postpartum mental health, Kimi talks about her own experience with intrusive thoughts and the shame spiral that follows. Kimi and Tara were reminded of the importance of finding your people when going through hard times (postpartum health or anything else)....

When Jessica Ekhoff gave birth to her son, the last thing she planned for was a mental health crisis. The signs were there within days of delivering, but with no history of mania, it was easy to overlook the obsessive, grandiose thinking, the hyperfixation and impulsivity. Eventually, a terrifying delusion landed Jessica in a psychiatric ward where she was able to get a diagnosis and receive treat...

Christy interviews Kimi about her favorite moments and memories from Season 4 in this week's mini-episode. We dig into finding guests, key ingredients for a successful episode, and Kimi's dream for All The Wiser in 2023. Additionally, she shares how the stories on her show have changed her, helping her surrender what she can't control and take control of what she can. Follow the show a...

Austin Hatch is one in a million. Scratch that. One in 3.4 million. Those were odds that an MIT statistician gave of him surviving the plane crash that killed his mom and two siblings. But then, just days after being accepted to play basketball for his dream school, the University of Michigan, Austin was in a second plane crash – this one claiming the lives of his dad Steve and his step-mom Julie....

Kimi and Christy talk about Yusuf Dahl's radical transformation from prison inmate to Ivy League scholar. They discuss what attributed to Yususf's ability to adapt and ultimately thrive - a clear internal vision, a sense of purpose, patience and the knowledge that he was loved. As a public defender in juvenile dependency court, Christy shared an emotional story about representing a father...

He knew he was loved by his mother, and because she loved him, Yusuf Dahl knew he was worth something. Growing up in a food insecure and financially unstable household in Milwaukee taught Yusuf what not to do in order to be a successful adult. Those lessons made him a profitable drug dealer. After landing in prison, however, Yusuf began applying himself in a new way. The investment in himself set...

I’m really excited to share with you a special episode from another podcast I love and think you will too. It’s called a Family Secrets hosted by Dani Shapiro.  In this episode, "Somebody's Daughter", Ashley’s father is imprisoned when she’s eight months old. She has no real context for him until she visits him for the first time, when she’s seven. They forge as best a relationship the...

Kimi shares a message of love, gratitude, and permission to prioritize self-care as the holiday season begins.  Follow the show at  @allthewiserpodcast  on Instagram. Keep the conversation going! Join our new  Facebook group  and connect with other listeners like you! Stay in the know with all things All The Wiser!  Sign up  for our newsletter for personal reflections from Kimi, new episodes, and...

In part two of this series, Ken Coll recounts his experience raising Matthew and surviving the stabbing that nearly took his life.  A few years after adopting baby Matthew, it became clear to Tom Boulet and his husband Ken Coll that something wasn’t right. Matthew had severe behavioral issues and an oppositional, defiant nature that had him bouncing from school to school. Still, Tom and Ken left n...

*Rebroadcast* (originally aired 5/14/19) In honor of National Family Caregivers Month, we celebrate caregivers around the world including Kimi’s friend, and All The Wiser guest, Michel Varisco Gleason. Today we are re-airing their intimate conversation from 2019. #teamgleason #nationalfamilycaregivermonth Mom, wife, artist and one of my all time favorite people, Michel Varisco, cozies up with All...

A few years after adopting baby Matthew, it became clear to Tom Boulet and his husband Ken Coll that something wasn’t right. Matthew had severe behavioral issues and an oppositional, defiant nature that had him bouncing from school to school. Still, Tom and Ken left no stone unturned to get Matthew the care and treatment he needed. After finishing high school and attending a few years of college,...

Kimi is joined by Christy and her new puppy, Holly June Miller Peterson, to discuss vulnerability, how powerful it is, and how hard it can be to find courage. Christy opens up about her desire to share more vulnerably as well as her hesitation to do so. Inspired by Paul Gilmartin's episode last week, Kimi shares her experience with hypomania and discusses whether some symptoms can be viewed as...

Most people don’t change unless they have to. For Paul Gilmartin, it was facing a life without experiencing the intimacy he saw other people had. First he needed to know how to deal with his feelings and then find healthy ways to express them, which he does very openly on his popular podcast, The Mental Illness Happy Hour. But the biggest piece of the puzzle for Paul was facing the childhood traum...

Kimi is smitten with Meyli Chapin, “Terrorist Attack Girl”, and after listening to the interview from last week, Christy is too. Both appreciate Meyli’s authenticity and the raw emotion she brings to her story of terror and healing. It is a rare gift to share pain and hope in equal measure.   Kimi and Christy discuss trauma, both the big and small hardships that impact our health and wellbeing. Th...

Meyli Chapin was trapped in a hotel room for 17 hours in Nairobi while Al-Shabaab terrorists attacked the property. She was alone and certain she was going to die. But through the incredible efforts of brave men who fought to recover Meyli and extract her to safety, she survived. However, after the attack, PTSD left her mind shattered. She felt like a fraction of the strong, confident, capable wom...

I’m really excited to share with you a special preview from another podcast I love and think you will too. It’s called a Slight Change of Plans from Pushkin Industries.  In this special preview, civil rights icon Ruby Bridges shares what it was like to be the first African-American student to attend an all-white elementary school in Louisiana in 1960. Ruby was just six years old at the time, and i...