Madness Cafe

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Our guest this week, N.G. Avant, is an award-winning indie author who made the leap into fiction after working in municipal politics. Her first series, Capital City, grew out of her experience in politics. She joins us to discuss her new book Nexus, which is the first book in her new series, Witchy Women. This series contin...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Ah, rest - arguably most of us don't get enough of it. Did you know that sleep is only one way to rest? In fact, there are 7! Tune in to find out what the 7 types are and why they're important. Photo by Baptista Ime James on Unsplash Articles referenced for this episode: https://www.apa.org/topics/mental-health/se...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Dear Martin by Nic Stone stands as the final book in our 2025 Banned Books Series. Dear Martin tells the story of a Black teenager trying to work through the effects of being racially profiled by the police. But that's only one part of the story; there's quite a bit packed into this concise, tightly written book....

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! By now, just about everyone has commented on the New York Times OpEd piece "Did Liberal Feminism Ruin the Workplace?". Well, now it's our turn. Tune in to hear our thoughts about the saga. Mentioned in this episode: - "Did Liberal Feminism Ruin the Workplace?" https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/opin...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! It's time for another installment of our Banned Books Series! This month we're discussing Almost Perfect, winner of the first Stonewall Award for Children's & Young Adult Literature, written by Brian Katcher. This book follows Logan, a high school senior, as he works through his feelings about his friends...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! In this post-Roe world of fewer states with legalized access to abortion care women are forced to travel to get the healthcare that they need and want. Our guest this week, Rev. Erika Ferguson, founded an organization that helps women make that journey - Tubman Travel Project, a first-of-its-kind travel model for reproducti...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! So much of the popular lore around midlife leads us to believe that it's just a slog to endure. And, honestly, so many women in midlife feel like that's true. But it doesn't have to be this way. Our midlife years can be full of vibrancy, joy, passion and reinvention. How do we make that happen? Our guest Carl...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! When someone is harmed, whether by an individual or a system, the harm is often holistic - meaning the effect of the harm is not contained to one area of that person's life. That said, it makes perfect sense that the justice and healing be holistic as well. But what does that look like? How is that put into practice? I...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Women's rights are being dismantled in so many ways around the world. One place where this dismantling has happened in the extreme is Afghanistan. In this week's episode we talk Cara Cruikshank about how some of the women in Afghanistan are surviving, maintaining their humanity, and maintaining connection.  As a w...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! What is the purpose of education, of schooling, of the school system? How was the American education system developed? What were the reasons behind how and why certain practices and programs were put into place? How were Black and Native children considered in the system? In Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Na...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Jesse Andrews' Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is the next installment of our Banned Books Series. It has been banned and removed from library shelves for sexual explicitness, profanity, and degrading content. Tune in to hear our review of the book. Support the show Be part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts a...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Resistance movements are happening all over the world. Some are in their infancy, and some have been in existence for decades. Case in point, Iran. Our guest this week, Zolal Habibi, joins us to talk about Iran's women's rights and human rights resistance movements. Her connection to the movement and her work to s...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! What can we learn from myths, archetypes, and goddesses? Specifically, what can we learn from the goddess Inanna? And what does Carl Jung have to do with any of this? This week's guest, Mari Castle, joins us to discuss it all, and then some.  Where to find Mari Castle: Website: www.breathwork9.com Email: Mari.breathwor...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! In this month's installment of our Banned Books Series, we discuss Shaun David Hutchinson's YA novel We Are the Ants. Tune in to hear our thoughts on the book. Have you read this book or any of Hutchinson's other books? What did you think? Let us know - join the discussion! Support the show Be part of the con...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! What effect does an absent father (whether physically or emotionally) have on children, specifically daughters? We explore this topic with this week's guest Dr. Susan Schwartz. Susan E. Schwartz, Ph. D. trained in Zurich, Switzerland as a Jungian analyst and appears on podcasts and presentations at Jungian conferences...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! In this episode, we talk about the club that has become an entire movement - the We Do Not Care Club - started by the amazing, down to earth, and comedically gifted Melani Sanders known on Instagram as @justbeingmelani. Melani gives voice to the reality of women in midlife trying to make sense of menopause and talking about...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Imagine if America went into therapy. What would that look like? This week's guest Phyllis E. Leavitt went down that rabbit hole and wrote the book America in Therapy: Hope and Healing for a Nation in Crisis. In this episode, we discuss the book as well as the premise of how therapy could help our country during this t...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! As we say in this episode, once you read Tiffany D. Jackson's Monday's Not Coming it stays with you. And maybe it should. After all, isn't that what art is supposed to do - change you, provoke you, make you think? And isn't that one of the reasons why certain books are banned? Fight against the bans. Rea...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! So many people are living lives lacking in true intimacy or are in relationships that are not sexually satisfying. This week's guest Xanet Pailet has firsthand experience with this and knows how to help. Xanet is the bestselling author of Living an Orgasmic Life: Heal Yourself and Awaken Your Pleasure and the founder o...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! According to society, fairy tales, and rom coms being single is a problem in search of a solution. Our guest Fanny Tristan, a trauma therapist and clinical social worker with over 15 years of experience, had many clients who felt like they were failing because they were single. Unwilling to pathologize singledom, Fanny deve...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Society and fairy tales try to convince us that marriage is the penultimate marker of success as an adult. But studies and reality have shown that that may not be the case. Indeed, equality and equity are not guaranteed under the marriage contract. We have some strong opinions about marriage, and we aren't afraid to sh...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, written by Sherman Alexie, tells the story of 14-year-old Native American Arnold Spirit, Jr. on the Spokane Indian Reservation and his decision to go to the nearly white high school in a nearby town. The book has been consistently challenged since its publication due to descr...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! Join us as we celebrate our 4th anniversary!  A look ahead, a look back and a little self analysis. To find out the real date when women could have their own credit card, click the link below:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/10/28/fact-check-9-things-women-couldnt-do-1971-mostly-right/3677101001/ Support...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! How many times have you joked with your friends about buying that big vacation house on the beach or about living together in your retirement a la The Golden Girls? It doesn't have to be a joke. For many people, it's a realistic solution to housing affordability and loneliness crises. This week's guests Amy M...

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode! In this week's episode we're diving into a topic that most of us probably rarely think about - pelvic health. To talk about why pelvic health is important, we're joined by Dr. Judy Rossi, PT, DPT, PHC - a certified pelvic health specialist.  Dr. Rossi graduated from physical therapy school at California State...