For Your Listening Pleasure

Mike Orscheln has spent more than four decades leading billion-dollar businesses, navigating corporate turnarounds, private equity transitions, and helping companies grow from good to extraordinary. Mike has served as CEO, president, and executive coach, building a career around one simple belief: people and purpose always come before profit. But this conversation isn't really about business. It's...

For the 100th episode of For Your Listening Pleasure , fashion stylist and founder of The Clothing Therapist, Dana Asher Levine, shares her remarkable journey of resilience, reinvention, and finding purpose through life's biggest challenges. Known for styling some of Hollywood's most influential women, including a decades-long professional relationship with television powerhouse Shonda Rhimes, Dan...

Marissa Isang is an Emmy-nominated storyteller whose career has taken her from Chicago newsrooms to the forefront of AI and tech communication. Born and raised in Chicago, Marissa reflects on how the city shaped her understanding of family, resilience, and curiosity. We talk about the feeling of Chicago, navigating life between Bronzeville, the suburbs, and Rockford, and why the city never really...

Jacynth Bassett is redefining what it means to age and challenging a system that profits from our fear of it. As the founder of Ageism Is Never in Style , she’s built a global movement dedicated to dismantling age bias and reshaping how we think about identity, beauty, and worth at every stage of life. What started as a deeply personal observation, watching her mother become increasingly invisible...

Luke Corbett grew up in St. Louis in a conservative, values-driven household, eventually finding his way to Washington, D.C., where he worked on Capitol Hill at the center of American politics. But what makes Luke’s story so compelling isn’t just where he started; it’s how his perspective evolved. From working inside the system to questioning it, from navigating his identity as a gay man within co...

Melissa Forman is a Chicago radio icon, television personality, and the kind of storyteller who has spent decades keeping an entire city company on its drive to work. Because Melissa’s career isn’t just about radio. It’s about what it takes to build a lane in a male-dominated industry, to go from being expected to be the “sidekick” to becoming the one driving the show, and to do it with warmth, hu...

September is Suicide Awareness Month, and today I am honored to welcome Melani and Lenny Lighter to the podcast. In February 2023, their family was forever changed when their beloved daughter and sister, Lauren, died by suicide. In her memory, and in honor of the millions of lives lost each year, they created LIGHTER, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness and providing support for mental heal...

Dr. Ishnella Azad, known simply as Ish, is a psychiatrist-turned-real estate mogul who has lived multiple lives in one. From medicine to commercial real estate to data centers, her journey is fueled by a singular mission: to empower everyday people, especially women, with the tools to build generational wealth and lasting freedom. In this episode, Dr. Azad shares how surviving personal trauma, inc...

Eddie Pate is a powerhouse in the world of inclusion, diversity, and equity with over 24 years of experience at global giants like Microsoft, Starbucks, and Amazon. Eddie is also the founder of Eddie Pate Speaking and Consulting and co-authored Daily Practices of Inclusive Leaders: A Guide to Building a Culture of Belonging . From growing up in a multiracial family as an "Army youth" to experienci...

Tammy Demos founded KLEOS+KLEA, a groundbreaking skincare brand that takes clean beauty to an entirely new level. With over two decades in the skincare industry, Tammy has been a pioneer in natural, non-toxic skincare, long before "clean beauty" became a movement. In this episode, Tammy shares her incredible journey, from launching multiple skincare brands to creating a product line designed first...

Jon Bostock is the new CEO of Kodak Alaris. With an impressive career spanning leadership roles at GE, Big Ass Fans, and Truman’s, Jon has built a reputation for driving innovation and sustainable business growth. At Big Ass Fans, he led a successful company restructuring and sale, and later, he founded Truman’s to revolutionize the cleaning industry with a focus on reducing waste. In this episode...

Welcome to For Your Listening Pleasure. In this episode, I sit down with writer and photographer Bill Hayes, whose memoir Insomniac City profoundly impacted me during a pivotal moment in my life. Bill shares his journey of love, loss, and new beginnings—from losing his longtime partner, Steve, to later falling in love with renowned neurologist Oliver Sacks. We explore the healing power of nighttim...

This is a special episode; not only is it the 90th episode of For Your Listening Pleasure, but this episode is for my Dad. My Dad, Ross Waxman, passed away unexpectedly on November 15, 2024, and today, January 23rd, would have been his 67th birthday. My dad was my biggest cheerleader and unwavering supporter. Whenever I came up with business ideas or creative projects, he backed me 100% without he...

I’m thrilled to welcome Kayla Kleinman to the podcast today. Kayla is a seasoned blogger, avid book lover, and dynamic content creator based in NYC. She founded Kayla in the City in 2011, a vibrant lifestyle blog celebrating authenticity and empowering millennial women to embrace their authentic selves without shame. I discovered Kayla through her engaging Instagram posts and videos, which resonat...

Graham Nolan, Co-Chair and Co-Founder of Do the WeRQ, a platform dedicated to increasing queer creativity, representation, and share of voice in the advertising industry. Graham is instrumental in telling the platform's story and forging partnerships with those who value queer creativity. Based in Austin, Graham is also a seasoned reputation management, public relations, and communicatio...

Kym Durham is a second-generation psychic medium with the unique ability to connect with those who have crossed over to the spiritual world. Kym describes this ability as tuning into a television or radio station that most people can’t see or hear. Beyond her spiritual work, Kym collaborates with law enforcement agencies, describing crime scenes, helping to locate missing persons, and recovering l...

I am honored to welcome Kelly Campbell back to the podcast. If you haven't already, I highly recommend listening to Kelly's first episode. In this episode, Kelly and I discuss their new book, Heal to Lead: Revolutionizing Leadership through Trauma Healing, and its transformative journey toward understanding the essence of leadership. From the very first page, Kelly captivates readers with pro...

Dr. Ryan Turner brings a wealth of experience as a board-certified dermatologist and Assistant Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, boasting 15 years of clinical practice. Recognized as a New York Rising Star in the prestigious New York Times Magazine Super Doctors edition, Dr. Turner's credentials are impressive. He obtained his Doctor of Medicine with honors from Harvard Medical Sch...

Thayer Lavielle, who joined Wasserman in 2011 and currently serves as Executive Vice President of The Collective. The dynamic division is dedicated to elevating the visibility of women and fostering inclusion in sports and entertainment. With a keen focus on innovation, Thayer spearheaded the creation of The Collective Marketplace in 2021 and The Collective Think Tank in 2020 – groundbreaking init...

Anushay Hossain is a devoted advocate for women's health. Through her book "The Pain Gap: How Sexism and Racism in Healthcare Kill Women," she sheds light on the common biases in the American healthcare system. Drawing from her own experiences and those of others, Anushay reveals the stark realities of medical bias and trauma faced by women. From her childhood in Bangladesh to her own childbirth t...

Molly Morter is the Head of Strategic Growth for Approach Marketing, and she brings with her decades of agency experience. With her expertise in storytelling and marketing, she's revitalized brands and driven growth for major players like BP, Walmart, Dyson, General Mills, and Airbnb. Her journey is unique, from her Midwest roots to being one of the only women in the country to compete in off-road...

Join us for an enlightening conversation with Pepper Miller and Rob Volpe! Pepper, an expert on Black American culture and author of "Let Me Explain Black, Again," explores the diverse sub-cultures within Black America, urging marketers to bridge understanding gaps. Meanwhile, Rob Volpe, founder and CEO of Ignite 360 and author of “Tell Me More About That,” delves into the intersection of race and...

Kelly Campbell (they/she)   is a Trauma-Informed Leadership Coach to emerging and established leaders who know they are meant for more, Kelly instigates change and impact. Her debut book,  Heal to Lead: Revolutionizing Leadership through Trauma Healing  (Wiley) will be released on April 16, 2024. An inspiring keynote speaker, they have also written for  Forbes  a...

Lindsay Holden, co-founder of Odele, a revolutionary and award-winning brand disrupting the hair care space. In 2020, Lindsay, alongside Co-Founders Britta Chatterjee and Shannon Kearney, launched Odele, a clean, inclusive, and salon-grade hair care line designed for everyone who shares a shower, regardless of age or gender. Despite debuting during a global pandemic, Odele achieved profitability w...

I am honored to welcome Holland Martini and Maria Vorovich, the visionary co-founders of GoodQues, a rapidly growing company challenging traditional research norms. As the Chief Insights Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, respectively, Holland and Maria share a unique journey from their Grey Group encounter to leading the charge at the "anti-research" research firm. Discover how their unorthodox...