Mentor Buffet

Kathrine Switzer is the 1974 champion of the New York Marathon and the first woman to finish the Boston Marathon. On this episode of Mentor Buffet, she shares the mentors she had at the beginning—her father who encouraged her to run a mile a day as a young girl, the coach at Syracuse who let her train with the men, the postman who trained with her day in and day out, and her idol the famous baller...

Alexi answers listeners’ advice questions about what to do when they learn deal-breaking information about their fiancé, and how to deal with the feeling that disaster could be looming around every corner. Alexi also offers advice for relating to an uncertain future.  For a limited time, we’re partnering with Merrell to give you an exclusive offer of 25% off your first purchase using the code...

Ultramarathoner Max Jolliffe joins host Alexi Pappas to share about his evolution as a person and athlete over the past few years, including how he’s formed the habit of choosing positivity, and how he’s learned to prioritize progress over perfection. Max recounts his third place finish at the Kodiak 100 last week, which qualifies him for next year’s UTMB—the most prestigious trail race in the wor...

Alexi answers listeners' advice questions about getting in touch with your passion, how to make money if you don't want to work a 9-5, and how to choose which direction to go at a crossroads. For a limited time, we’re partnering with Merrell to give you an exclusive offer of 25% off your first purchase using the code MENTORBUFFET2026 when you checkout on Merrell.com.   Learn more about your a...

Richard Linklater, the great filmmaker who made Boyhood, Before Sunrise, Dazed and Confused, and so many other movies you love, joins host Alexi Pappas on Mentor Buffet to share about protecting how he spends his time, why the art life is important to him, and how he relates to actors. Both having backgrounds in sports, Rick and Alexi also compare and contrast sports to the Arts. Rick recounts his...

Richard Linklater, the great filmmaker who made Boyhood, Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise, Slacker, and so many other movies you love, joins host Alexi Pappas to discuss what it has meant for him to listen to his passion and create his own path. Rick recounts community college professors he admired for living the Art life. He points to Henry David Thoreau as his greatest mentor for writing Walde...

Jenny Simpson, the World Champion and Olympic medalist track athlete, joins host Alexi Pappas to share about her experience with cardiac arrest, and the changes in her life that are coming as a result of never being able to run again. They talk about our relationship to the unexplainable, finding new teachers when we’ve outgrown old ones, and embracing the fact that we’re good at multiple things....

Amelia Meath of Slyvan Esso joins host Alexi Pappas on Mentor Buffet to share about her Aunt Carol who showed her how to be free, what it means to means to share creative and romantic partnership with the same person, and how to build a scene. They talk about how there’s no such thing as “the best,” meeting your icons, and what it means to be guided by intuition. Amelia also shares the feeling she...

Allie Rowbottom, the author of Aesthetica, Jell-o Girls, and now Lovers XXX joins Alexi on Mentor Buffet to share about the mentorship she’s experienced from her husband, the writer Jon Lindsey, from her mom, who was constantly writing during Allie’s adolescence, and from her professors—who offered her reading lists that accelerated her toward her taste and style and set deadlines for her. One of...

Alexi answers listeners' advice questions about navigating long-distance relationships with your friends and family, giving advice to somebody who doesn't accept advice easily, and dealing with being more intense or ambitious than your friends. She also offers wisdom on how to deal with being constantly busy, because she's constantly busy right now. Add a comfy pair of Merrells to your rotation wi...

Nils Arend, the founder of The Speed Project, shares the story of designing his life, step by step, from the beginning. He traces the foundation of his principles from his adolescence in Germany to decades later founding and then exiting his successful advertising agency. He talks about the importance of setting ambitious goals but then detaching yourself from the outcome, how he avoids settling,...

Alexi answers listeners' advice questions about how to deal with being busy, how to be easier on yourself, and how to stay true to yourself in your creative expression. Add a comfy pair of Merrell's to your rotation with 25% off your first purchase using the code MENTORBUFFET2026 at ⁠https://merrell.com⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adam Skolnick, the lifelong writer behind the David Goggins memoir Can’t Hurt Me, countless publications in the New York Times, and the recent novel American Tiger, joins host Alexi Pappas on Mentor Buffet to discuss how to recognize a calling, how to mold a career around the lifestyle you want, and overcoming doubt. Adam shares about his mentors Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love wh...

Lisa Thompson, Alexi's marathon teammate who is blind, joins us on Mentor Buffet for a beautiful conversation about growing up with a visual impairment. And she shares wisdom every step of the way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alexi is joined by her friend Lisa Thompson to answer listeners' advice questions about letting go of a situation you've outgrown, feeling like you live two distinct lives, and granting yourself permission when you're wired to always ask for it. Add a comfy pair of Merrells to your rotation with 25% off your first purchase using the code MENTORBUFFET2026 at ⁠https://merrell.com⁠. Learn more about...

Alessia de Gasperis, the artist formerly known as Kai who you may know from the hit songs “Never Be Like You” with Flume and “Revolution” with Diplo, joins host Alexi Pappas to share the story of the past ten years, making music and not making music, inside and outside of the institutions of the music industry. Alessia and Alexi talk about healing childhood wounds, training your nervous system, an...

Alexi answers listeners' advice questions about how to know whether you should take somebody's advice, how to know when to quit, and what to do if you feel like you like your boyfriend way more than he likes you.  Add a comfy pair of Merrell's to your rotation with 25% off your first purchase using the code MENTORBUFFET2026 at ⁠https://merrell.com⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastc...

Documentary filmmaker Erin Lee Carr, the director of Mommy Dead and Dearest about Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Britney vs. Spears on Netflix, as well as 13 other documentary films, joins host Alexi Pappas to share about a number of film world icons who have been mentors to her: Janet Pierson, Andrew Rossi, and Sheila Nevins. Erin, who was born two months prematurely to parents who struggled with drug...

Nayeema Raza is the host of the podcast “Smart Girl, Dumb Questions” and she joins Mentor Buffet host Alexi Pappas to share about the influence her upbringing has had on her values. Her father worked for the World Bank and their family moved around constantly. Nayeema learned how to communicate, even across language barriers. She shares how her upbringing has given her her openness, her flexibilit...

Alexi answers listeners’ advice questions about how to deal with feeling like everybody around you is less ambitious than you, how to navigate a flirtatious friendship, and the best way to proceed into romantic situations with a complicated sexual health condition.  Add a comfy pair of Merrell's to your rotation with 25% off your first purchase using the code MENTORBUFFET2026 at https://merrell.co...

David Greene is a longtime journalist who for many years was the host of NPR’s Morning Edition. On this episode of Mentor Buffet, he joins host Alexi Pappas for a conversation about their moms, who both struggled with depression and passed away when they were young. How do you know what to do when you’re a kid? How does my relationship to my mother affect my current relationships? What is the natu...

Creative icon Marta Pozzan joins host Alexi Pappas to talk about femininity, what it means to be your true self, and why creation is her orientation toward the world. Marta and Alexi discuss their childhoods, and what it feels like for them to be alone. Marta shares a story about an influential early mentor of hers working at a magazine in Italy. Marta also shares her style icons and about the rol...

Alexi answers listeners' advice questions about being busy, comparing yourself to others, and trying new things. She also offers tips on how to avoid your emails going to the junk folder, how to quit shoplifting, and how to tell your friend bring her dog everywhere is not the vibe. For a limited time, we’re partnering with Merrell to give you an exclusive offer of 25% off your first purchase using...

Kristen Faulkner, the two-time Olympic champion cyclist, joins host and fellow Olympian Alexi Pappas to discuss the decision of leaving her thriving career in venture capital in favor of her Olympic dream. Kristen is somebody who can change: She grew up in Alaska and then moved to New York City, she rowed for Harvard and then took up cycling, she left her prestigious job in favor of something with...

Dan LaMorte, comedian and ultramarathoner, joins host Alexi Pappas to discuss mentorship (and the lack of mentorship) in the comedy world. He encourages us to sit in the presence of suffering without trying to numb it. All experiences are good, even painful ones. He shares what it’s been like going through his divorce, talks about his love for running, and shares how important his family’s been in...