Talking With Friends, Sharing the Load Podcast

Although you are more than welcome to listen to this episode, the photos attached to the text blog post are what makes it. Pix and thoughts from a recent trip…in the fall. Get it? I knew you would. 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 meant to go to yoga this morning. I adjusted my schedule to accommodate, I had every intention of attending, the mat was already in the car… but when my eyes opened and my brain engaged, my body took over the agenda, burrowing deeper into the covers and saying, Naaaah. As I lay there, effectively checking out on commitments only I knew I was breaking, I got that faint taste in my mouth, that swe...

Yes, I fully intended to do my regular morning yoga today, like most days but something in me stamped its little foot and refused to cooperate. 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

“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” This line, from Act 4, Scene 2 of Henry VI, is often quoted, usually as an expression of contempt for the profession, an exhortation or a suggested solution. In reality, the context of the quote in Shakespeare’s work, is to remind us that lawyers uphold the law and are the first line of defense against chaos and subversion. As I pick my way thro...

Shakespeare’s Henry VI is often quoted as advice on who to shoot first, i.e. lawyers, but that’s not the way Shakespeare intended it. This was, in fact, a reminder that lawyers are the first line of defense against tyranny. Sound familiar? There are quite a number of lawyers doing the heavy work of resistance, right here on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with oth...

There’s a fierce battle in my heart today, feeling the tug of “home” from Poland, fearing the future for those who live there, and a vague sense of guilt that I have another, safer, home, thousand of miles away. 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

What goes on in the minds of men and why don’t I have better access to 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.com/subscribe

I remember losing my tonsils when I was 5 or 6, and how sad I was to not be able to eat the chocolate cake slide my mom brought me to the hospital. In those days you had to be tough enough to stay by yourself, put up with the pain, and chew Asper-gum whose appeal faded with alarming speed. Then there’s the appendix. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or...

It started as a challenge amongst friends but turned out so rich in memories that I had to share with all of you in hopes you’ll launch your own version! 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

Do you have a favourite number, colour, day of the week? If I had to guess, the vast majority of you wouldn’t pick Monday. 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 summer, Canadians are staycationing like mad so I have an iconic spot to suggest for your itinerary. Let’s do the time-warp again. 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

Sometimes events in the public eye are so personally gripping that you mull them and turn them over and over, attemptingto make sense of them. 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

If your work brings you joy, why should you ever quit doing it? All the people I spoke to in this piece are enjoying what they do, as do I. 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

Just because you take a mindless vacay, doesn’t mean your brain isn’t processing the lassitude around you and coming up with theories about virtually everything. Or is that just me? Let’s go to Mexico and find out. 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 would love to hear a story about a significant meeting in your life. Message me for the deets! Standing by for more. 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

There are lots of scary things in the world right now, which I won’t bother enumerating because you all know what they are. One new bogeyman, whose head has recently crested my horizon, is all too familiar. 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

It is probably universally true that almost everyone on the planet can honestly say, Today I received a text from a friend. Those lucky billions! 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

Wherever you are in your life, it’s within one of three acts. Each one different, with its own joys and challenges and sometimes the balance just isn’t quite fair. that’s something you learn in the second act: life isn’t fair. Who told you it would be? 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/subs...

It may well be that creativity is the one secret weapon we have against the onslaught of idiocy, and the incursions of AI into every aspect of life. 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 my love letter to the North, including endless sunshine and warm chocolate chip cookies. You should go, especially this year of Canadian staycations. 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

Canada geese refusing to fly south for the winter. #Resistanceisreal Friends from overseas are asking me to explain “elbows up”, to discuss how Canadians feel about being threatened by the great orange virus, and what we’re doing to safeguard our independence. Much ink has been spilled on all the manifestations of a newly revitalized Canadian pride so here are just a few items that caught my atten...

I’ve been thinking a lot about Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, Stan Rogers and all those other fantastic Canadians who sing so passionately about this country. From skating on the river to fishing off the Grand Banks, from driving a hammer in the bright blazing sun to waxing lyrical about hockey, there’s an embarrassment of riches in our musical love affair with this country. I wish I was a DJ an...

Those of us who insist on grammatical rectitude and faint at the sight of a flying apostrophe aren’t always popular, but at least we have each other! 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

If there was ever a time to have strong community around you, this is it. When we have people who have our backs, we can muster the strength to do what must be done, to endure what must be endured, to fight back if necessary. This is the audio version of an older post. I hope you like it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes...

As you know by now, this is a much-loved sub-series which brings together interesting people, talking about other interesting people who have inspired, impacted or joined their lives. I definitely want to hear yours! This one comes from Toronto by way of Calgary, as we do. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joannapi...