Talking With Friends, Sharing the Load Podcast

The sad fact for women being tormented by their partners is that the police and the courts haven’t taken them seriously unless they had physical injuries. It’s slow but things are gradually changing. Not soon enough for thousands of women in the thick of it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joannapiros.substack.co...

I started out as a broadcast news reporter, first in radio and then in television and strangely, after all this time, I’m going back to those roots. Here’s how I got here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joannapiros.substack.com/subscribe

Initial reports of another ferry shutdown were met with the usual shrugs and sighs of resignation by those of us who must rely on the system, much to our frequent disappointments. As the day unfolded and more and more sailings were cancelled, rumours swirled and finally solidified. Someone was balanced on the railing of the boat which had docked and unloaded earlier, and it was looking more and mo...

What does it signify when people attempt suicide in the most public of settings and how is it different from the attempts done in private, away from those who might intervene? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joannapiros.substack.com/subscribe

This is a little think piece anchored by lots of photos so the audio version lacks a little sumpin, sumpin, but you can always go back and check out the pix to put it all together. Thank you! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joannapiros.substack.com/subscribe

He’s an award-winning Indigenous entrepreneur, a passionate proponent of the cyclical economy, a high-school dropout and recovering alcoholic, and disarmingly frank on all counts. Meet Aaron Joe. In the past year, Aaron has won a number of prestigious awards, from Indigenous organizations and also from Business in Vancouver and Ernst & Young. However. There is one accolade he received which wasn’t...

This is a kitchen table interview and profile of someone who has evolved into an inspiration for his family, his community, and sometimes even himself. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joannapiros.substack.com/subscribe

In this third act of life, many of us are looking to optimize: our health, our work, our time, our relationships. Too bad we couldn’t have done it sooner. I’m certainly not the only one who has come to significant insights into my health and wellness via a long and winding road of hits and misses. My kingdom for a map! That plea to the heavens was answered, recently, when I forked over a few hundr...

Our flat in Warsaw is on the 5th floor and there’s no elevator. Pretty much the norm in the old buildings and a bonus glute workout which, after two days, we don’t even feel. And that sets the tone for much of my youngest daughter’s first visit to the city where I was born, where her grandparents endured the German occupation, then the Warsaw Uprising, and then the Soviet occupation. The story of...

It’s one thing to study history, it’s another thing altogether to walk in its footsteps. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joannapiros.substack.com/subscribe

We had some friends over for dinner the other week, just a last minute pot-luck casual kind of thing. The best kind, in my opinion. During the meal the question was floated: if your spouse were to die, would you remarry? Little did we know, as we discussed the issue, that we were replicating, in real time, decades of research. The women all vigorously said “absolutely not” and while the men said,...

Your chances of remarriage are already slim, especially if you're a woman. And is that such a bad thing? I mean..... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joannapiros.substack.com/subscribe

Each time I’ve been to Auschwitz, the impact of the concentration and extermination camp has been crippling. Except this last time, in March of 2026. The Auschwitz-Birkenau museum and memorial has been undergoing expensive conservation efforts, partly to shore up buildings in danger of simply crumbling under their own weight, and partly to address what curators call new approaches to telling the o...

I know I’m always going on about the importance of being strategic, before going tactical. This piece, about my most recent visit to Auschwitz, is a painful reminder of how important the order is in achieving the original objective. I hope you find it interesting enough to look deeper at their website: www.auschwitz.org This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers...

Like so many of us, I’ve been delighting in the flood of Lego-adjacent videos lampooning the Trump administration in general and Trump and Hegseth in particular. There are far too many to link here but just search Explosive Media, PersiaBoi, Southern Punk or Nukta Media. This is not to say I’m a fan of the Iranian regime, obvs, but the fact that most viewers of the videos aren’t, makes the case fo...

Have you wondered where the mocking Lego-style videos slamming the Trump regime are coming from? How they’re made? What they cost? Tune in for all the deets. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joannapiros.substack.com/subscribe

Another random conversation with a friend sent me looking for the reasons behind audio testing standards, and uncovered a huge, unused, lever to reduce dementia onset. Buckle up! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joannapiros.substack.com/subscribe

Have you had your DNA mapped? Either through an ancestry type search with associated health markers, or specifically for health? I’m warning you upfront: it will get you researching into the wee hours, like I am. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joannapiros.substack.com/subscribe

I was packing for my Poland trip a couple weeks ago, with the Oscar awards on in the background. While rolling T-shirts, I clocked a comment by the lead actor in the Brazilian film, The Secret Agent , Wagner Moura. He was presenting the nominees in the new Casting category. Moura commented on how well the casting director had chosen “faces which could have been around in the 70s”. That resonated w...

You know how some people you meet have a face that makes you think of the Victorian era? Or the 40s? Come with me down another fascinating rabbit hole of observation, intuition and research. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joannapiros.substack.com/subscribe

Wherein we explore our nascent relationships with our AI helpers, God help us. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joannapiros.substack.com/subscribe

Like many of you, I read Margaret Atwood most recent Substack blog where she admits to flirting with, and being flattered shamelessly by, Claude, Anthropic’s AI. It was a witty and enlightening exchange from both participants but, as I read, I felt an uncomfortable feeling creeping over me. I was jealous. I’d love it if you subscribed so we can continue this conversation. You see, I’ve been carryi...

We had a Phys Ed teacher in high school named Pete Bourchier and the thing I remember best about him is the way he smelled. Please don’t think I mean that in a negative way, on the contrary. He may not have used excessive splashes of it but Brut was strong stuff and a little went a long way, especially in the closed spaces of the gym. A bottle of the original 1964 vintage is listed on eBay for $29...

Do you find yourself overwhelmed by occasional waves of nostalgia? Do you feel some memories, rather than remember them? Do they make you mostly happy with a hint of bittersweetness? You’re likely nostalgia prone — like me. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joannapiros.substack.com/subscribe

Some confluence of forces in the universe meant that I recently enjoyed several virtually perfect days. Please know that doesn’t mean everything was perfect; I mean, look around, how can anyone say things are even remotely perfect unless your entire world fits into your kitchen? What I mean by perfect is that the major daily occurrences conspired to create a day which allowed me to breathe, smile,...