I Am Speaking

Being a flight attendant is not all about handing out peanuts and making sure people have their tray tables up. Not even close. Every day at work, Mike takes on much of the responsibility for the safety of the passengers on the flights that he is working on. And most people do not recognize how much responsibility that actually is when they are demanding a better seat or fighting about wearing a m...

A well-known scene from the movie, Meet the Parents: Jack: Greg's in medicine too. Bob: What field? Greg: Nursing Bob: Ha ha ha ha. No, really, what field are you in? Greg: Nursing. And now, meet Ares Collins, a nurse who happens to be male (and African-American.) We discuss how both of these facts have impacted his career. You will love Ares. You will hope that Ares, or someone like him, will car...

We are loving our I Am Speaking with Expert Voices series, and this week’s guest is no exception. We think you’ll love him as much as we did: Mr. Joel Hubbard, cofounder of The Art of Growth and a certified Enneagram Coach.  You might have heard about Ennegram, or heard that it’s “one of those personality tests.” But what you’ll learn from this conversation is how much deeper the enneagram insight...

I Am Speaking’s brilliant and thoughtful resident therapist is back for another session with Shailushi and Kosha. This time, we talk about gender stereotypes in the workplace, how toxic masculinity starts early, and how Karen thinks we might be able to eventually break free of toxic cycles.  Karen is the founder of Multicultural Counseling Associates in Oak Park, IL. They are a unique group focusi...

“I mean, I was king shit of changing a diaper.” - Jason Krebs.  Friends with Shailushi for three decades, a clinical psychologist, and a Stay-at-Home-Dad  Being a SHAP is hard. No matter what. But what happens when the world isn’t used to seeing a man in that role? Jason says there are 2 main reactions. Listen in to see what they are and what Jason thinks of them.  Nationally, we are engaging in a...

Happy Holidays! We wanted to wrap the year talking about holiday traditions, holiday favorites and holiday wishes. See you all in 2022! Merry Everything, and thank you for joining us on this ride. It is not over. We have so many more stories to hear, share and amplify. Happy New Year, and remember to always stand up a little straighter and talk a little louder when you say " I am speaking." -Love,...

If you’ve ever been curious about the inner workings of the Baxi Sisters, welcome to at least their brother’s side of the story.  Chirayu Baxi is Shailushi and Kosha’s youngest sibling and only brother. Growing up in small-town central IL, one of the only Indian or Brown families around, with 3 independent, opinionated strong older sisters…that will definitely influence and help mold a young man a...

Hemant Mehta is an author, an activist, and a blogger. Oh, and he’s also an atheist. He has been the force behind The Friendly Atheist blog, podcast, website and social media platforms for years. But before you think Hemant’s sole purpose is to convert people to atheism, listen to this conversation. He doesn’t care to debate anyone on atheism vs religion.  His scope of work goes far beyond tallyin...

"You don't have to go to the best of the best to be the best." - Dawn Munson How do you respond when your professor says “that’s what I get for calling on the woman in the room”? There are plenty of ways one *could* respond. The way Dawn Munson did, you’ll just have to listen to find out. Spoiler alert: it didn’t involve throwing things and curse words as one might imagine (and hope for.) It did i...

What an incredible ride this conversation was with MIchael Vadacchino. Throughout his life, Michael has fought against gender norms and expectations - sometimes just being a badass gymnast or dancer and sometimes actively as he leads male dancers in a judgement-free Boys Dance Too conference. Any way you slice it, Michael is an artist, a thinker and a leader.  You hear, toward the end, some emotio...

Dr. Sheetal Kircher is a GI oncologist at Northwestern Medicine. She’s brilliant. She’s insightful. She’s kind. And Shailushi and Kosha are so lucky that she’s also their cousin.  Your co-hosts talk to Dr Sheetal Kircher on their first episode of I Am Speaking w/ Expert Voices. As an oncologist of GI-based cancers, Dr. Kircher’s discussions with her patients often involve end-of-life wishes, hospi...

What is toxic masculinity? How do you recognize this toxicity in yourself and be open to change? How do you impact change around you? Shailushi and Kosha sit down with their good friend, Dr Greg Tinkler, to hear his take on these issues. Adopted as an infant, Greg was othered within the family from the start. Not having an ethnic/DNA identity, he was able to forge his own path, reject the racism a...

And just like that, we enter Season 3.  Season 3 of I Am Speaking with Shailushi and Kosha will focus on bucking gender norms and expectations. Just as in every aspect of life, there are a billion ways to do that. And we are going to explore some of those ways. Each guest will have a story that connect to this thread. First Up: Susan Matta, lawyer and advocate extraordinaire. If you know her, you...

Your cohosts have a conversation together as they close out Season 2 of I Am Speaking with Shailushi and Kosha.  This last season has been filled with joy, proverbial gut punches, words of wisdom from our incredible guests, and moments of validation that we are on the right track with this podcast project of ours. Today, Shailushi and Kosha recap and reflect on all of those moments and memories, p...

Darien Marion-Burton. He/him. HBIC. Wondering what HBIC stands for? You won’t question it once you listen to this episode.  Darien is a young Black gay man who has navigated life in the intersections. He speaks to us about that intersectionality, what is expected of him, and how he uses emotional intelligence and a certain level of code switching to work through those expectations. Darien is large...

We are so lucky to have found Gretchen.  Gretchen is a young woman from a very small conservative town where she could not be herself. She spent years hiding who she was, denying her identity and dodging homophobic slurs. Until she did a very scary and brave thing, and moved herself out of her small world into the big city, so she can begin living her truth. We can all benefit from channeling Gret...

EPISODE REVISIT - listen to one of our first episodes with Rekha Rajkumar.  What a joy it was to talk with our good friend, Rekha (well, Shailushi's good friend. Kosha poached her. You learn about Kosha's friend-poaching habits in this episode.) Rekha Rajkumar is a first generation American whose parents immigrated from South India. She has 2 kids of her own now, and is coming full circle in manag...

What a joy it was to spend some time talking to Mark Perry. Mark and Kosha went to high school together - 2 years apart in grade but connected through theater. Mark is a lawyer, a dramaturgist (Google that, or just listen to the episode), a brother, a son and a friend. He has been with his now husband, Michael, for nearly a decade. Oh also, he is hilarious. The sharp wit that Kosha remembers from...

A huge part of the joy of doing this podcasting is listening and sharing the stories of our guests. And when one of those guests is Kelsey, the joy comes fairly easily.  You have heard ABOUT Kelsey, if you listened to Dave Is Speaking. Kelsey is Dave’s wife, within the polycule of their polyamourous life. And now you will hear FROM Kelsey, in this episode, Kelsey Is Speaking.  She loves axolotls (...

“We deserve.” Anna DeShawn is a powerhouse and a poet, on her way to becoming a media mogul.  Born and raised in Chicago’s south side, Anna didn’t allow herself to question her sexuality until college. Living her truth as a queer Black woman meant also realizing that if she wanted to be in “The Room Where It Happened,” she would have to open the door to a whole new room. Her newest project, The Qu...

Dave is a teacher, a friend, a husband, a director. He loves bridges. He also happens to be polyamorous and demisexual.  Polyamory is such a misunderstood part of the sexuality spectrum that it often gets represented poorly, fetishized or just completely neglected. Our conversation with Dave was beautiful. In this episode he shares how he and his wife came to be polyamorous, why his wife would rat...

Michelle L’amour’s Instagram bio reads: “Erotic Artist. Empowerment Advocate” and we cannot agree more with those descriptions. And if you don’t know what those are, you definitely need to listen to this episode, we promise you’ll get it after to listening to this powerhouse of a woman. Michelle L’amour is known as The Most Naked Woman and she has traveled all over the globe performing her unique...

Our resident therapist is back, and she has more insight and words of wisdom to share. We are so lucky to have her. Karen talks to us about how her life experience informed her path as a therapist, how the pandemic has shifted how people can find mental health help and she shares what advice she would now give her younger self. Karen is now accepting patients onto her waitlist, so if you live in I...

Mama Tits, some may know her as Brian Peters, is a force to be reckoned with. His journey of self-discovery, love and joy has taken him from California to Idaho to New York to Seattle and now he and his husband live in Puerto Vallarta where Mama Tits has a residence at Act 2 Stages.  “This is what I was born to do. Realizing my calling as an entertainer and taking the leap to do it professionally...

Dr Elisa Woodruff is a counselor and an educator of future counselors. Her clinical and research interests include sexual and gender diversity, wellness and the mind/body connection, systemic and generational trauma, religion and values in counseling, the needs of older adults, and medical issues and disability. And she identifies as asexual, gray aromantic.  We learned so much during our conversa...