Lizness School

Today's guest is Roberta Katz, Liz's faculty advisor at Stanford last year. Roberta is so fun to talk to. She's a senior research scholar at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford and a PhD Anthropologist. She is the author of the book Gen Z, Explained , a project she describes to Liz as a "second glass of wine idea." Roberta also holds as a law degree, and was previo...

Today's the day Leah Sutherland finally presents her Shrek thesis. Is Shrek The Movie the voice of the millennial generation? And if so, why? At Lizness School, our academic standards are loose, but we do demand that your ideas be interesting AND entertaining. Liz will evaluate Leah's today. Our next episode will be our Season 2 Finale, a time of reflection by Liz on what, if anything, she's learn...

Every course has a refresher class at the end of the year so Lizness School does, too. Today you'll get a set-up for the end of season 2 and a refresher for all of Season 1. Liz and Leah review what they learned when it comes to community, purpose and wellness. After this Refresher, there are two more episodes to go this year - the Shrekisode and the Lizness School S2 Finale which Liz will do afte...

Side Quests are a key pillar of Lizness School. Today on Season 2 Episode 20, 3 listeners share their side quest stories with us. Thank you to Corey DuBrowa , Mary Warwick and Tara James . More on Corey's music writing: Corey's current book “An Ideal For Living” https://hozacrecords.com/product/aifl/ Fast Company, Corey in “day gig” mode:  https://www.fastcompany.com/user/coreydubrowa Rolling...

On today's Lizness School, we hear two stories from listeners whose big transitions were not by choice. First we talk to Kathy Douglass, who lost her husband Ron last fall. Since then, she's sold or packed or shipped everything and moved from Minnesota to a town in France she'd never even visited before. Then Liz reads from a message from Doris Matter, who shares what her life as a widow is like o...

Today Liz and Leah refresh the big themes of Season 2 and refire their specific goals for the Spring Quarter of Lizness School. Time to FINISH STRONG. Plus, another call-out for listeners who want to share their own Side Quests on the podcast. Email us at liznessschool@gmail.com. Send Voice Memos if you can! Today we discuss two big themes and the podcast guests who helped us develop them. Reliste...

On today's episode, Lee Weinstein talks to Liz and Leah about how to think about creating an Intentional Life Plan . It starts with some digging. Ask yourself the big questions. Get yourself some craft paper + sticky notes. Go! See more on the process in Lee + Melinda's Workbook here . Look at a Life Plan here . More on Lee here . Also on this week's episode, we put out a LIZNESS SCHOOL CASTING CA...

Jim Chi is President of Oregon Sports Angels . This week, two of the company founders that he advises are on Shark Tank. So exciting for these two college seniors with a patent in materials science! Jim can't share the result yet (we had to bleep put him out at one point) but Tanvi and Madhav sent a great audio message describing the behind-the-scenes vibe at the Shark Tank taping. Congratulations...

Today's guest is Lian Dolan , Liz's youngest sister who went through a major life stage change on New Year's Eve. She became a mother-in-law for the first time! She also hosted the wedding at her home, which gave her a chance to try out all of the "how to throw a wedding" tips she learned researching her latest novel,  Abigail and Alexa Save the Wedding  , a USA Today Bestseller. How did...

Today Liz Dolan interviews Phil Pizzo, the founder of Stanford's Distinguished Careers Institute , a deep thinker on transitions and lifelong learning. His career has taken him from pioneering pediatric oncologist to Dean of Stanford Medical School to rabbinical studies and chaplaincy training. He is a man who thinks a LOT about doing things differently. Sponsor: Welcome to our new sponsor Stanfor...

Wellness . At Lizness School that means health + fun. Liz and Leah both have wellness goals this year that include training for a big event. On today's first ever wellness episode, specific training plans are put in place. First Leah, an ultra runner and certified trainer herself, gives Liz her plan from now until September to be ready for physical activity at altitude in Peru with her Stanford DC...

Today's episode starts with a conversation with John Evans, a Lecturer in Nonfiction in the Creative Writing Department at Stanford University. John was Liz's memoir writing teacher during her year as a Fellow in Stanford's Distinguished Careers Institute. Their conversation is about why people get interested in memoir writing and why being in a memoir writing group can be so meaningful. John lead...

On today's episode, Liz and Leah review the goals they each set at the beginning of the school year. BUT FIRST, a listener supplies our searched-for alternative word for retirement. Tune in to hear it. At the end of the episode, we have an assignment for listeners to execute over the holiday break. Our first episode in 2026 will include our experience taking Suzy Welch's Values Bridge Assessment....

Today's episode is inspired by a letter we received from listener Laura Tiberi asking us to consider how life choices can be different for "those who are faced with significant transitions as a result of medical illness or injury." Laura was "retired by leukemia", has experienced two stem cell transplants and "is 3 1/2 years old in transplant years." We speak to Kira Dales, a fellow Fellow of Liz'...

Today, Liz Dolan gets advice about advice-giving from Gretchen Rubin, host of the new advice podcast Since You Asked , co-hosted with psychotherapist + author Lori Gottlieb . Gretchen is a  seven-time  New York Times  bestselling author who studies happiness, habits, and human nature. She is also the co-host of the award-winning, top-ranked podcast  Happier with Gretchen Rubin...

Ken Stern visits Lizness School today to talk to Liz Dolan about his new book Healthy To 100: How Strong Social Ties Leads to Long Live s. Ken is the Founder and Chair of the Longevity Project , which he launched in collaboration with the Stanford Center on Longevity . He hosts the podcast Century Lives, also part of the Stanford Center on Longevity . Read Ken's newsletter Three Not-So-Bad Things...

It's never too late to totally switch it up. Just ask Sue Fleishman who went from being a Communications Guru at big entertainment companies like Universal, Amblin and Warner Brothers to rebranding herself Campbell Linden, Romance Novelist ! On today's episode, she shares her story including a juicy Hollywood bad-behavior- behind-the-scenes tale and how she came up with her nom de plume. Millennia...

On today's episode , Liz Dolan talks to Greg Burke , a fellow '24 Fellow at Stanford's Distinguished Careers Institute, about his path from growing up in St. Louis through print and television journalism to working at the Vatican serving as Pope Francis' chief spokesperson. Talk about career curves! Greg is currently teaching Communications at the IESE Business School in Barcelona Here's Greg Burk...

On today's episode, Liz's older sister Julie Dolan on David Brooks' theory of resume virtues vs eulogy virtues, her expertise at making and keeping friends plus unsolicited advice for Leah about moving. Gotta get rid of the boxes. Also drifting vs vibing. Julie's recommendation: The Road To Character by David Brooks Lizness School Movie Challeng e - An Intergenerational Cultural Exchange. For the...

Mentorship and Intergenerational Exchange : On this episode, Liz Dolan interviews Katie Connor, Executive Director of Stanford's Distinguished Careers Institute, to hear about her career, what it's like to mentor people at various ages and how she almost flunked mindfulness. Season 1 of Lizness School is all about Liz's experience as a Fellow in this program last year. Katie Connor bio on Stanford...

On today's episode, Liz lays out some new goals for the new year that starts on her September 11th birthday. And announces a big event for September 2026. She's got a whole year to train and Leah's going to help. And she wasn't kidding about The Stairs of Death thing. We've also got listener contributions - voice memos and emails with thoughts on transitions and taglines. Thanks to Carole on her "...

Lizness School Season 2 Premiere: New Life Choices It's all about choices now. Liz Dolan completed her year as a Fellow at Stanford's Distinguished Careers Institute and now she's back in the wild figuring out what's next. There are always lots of choices to make and she's got goals about work, community and wellness. Her millennial mentor Leah Sutherland is in the middle of her own transitions, s...

Today's episode is special - a combination of the writing Liz did in her memoir class this spring and excerpts from favorite audio episodes throughout the season that include both Liz and Leah. Think of it as Liz's own Director's Cut - a season finale that brings her whole year at Stanford DCI together.  Lizness School Season 2 will begin at the end of the summer. Liz and Leah will continue t...

Liz finishes up her year at Stanford DCI and heads home to Santa Monica CA but first Leah delivers a commencement speech. They also discuss a special episode coming up next - a final cut that is a combination of audio highlights from the year's worth of podcasts and some of Liz's writing n her memoir class. Lizness School Season 2 will come back at the beginning of the new school year. Welcome to...

Liz and Leah answer the question everyone is asking: Will there be a Lizness School Season 2? Well YES, thank you for asking! Hear all about the plan for the rest of Season 1 and the launch of Season 2 on this episode. Do you have thoughts and tales about your own life transitions? Email liznessschool@gmail.com. Also on this episode, Leah administers a final exam for Liz. Let's see what she learne...