The Charleston Chicks

🧬 Can we actually cure Type 1 diabetes and cancer in our lifetime? This week on Charleston Chicks, we sit down with Dr. Leonardo Ferreira, immunologist at MUSC and Founder & CEO of Torpedo Bio, to talk about engineering immune cells, the future of medicine, entrepreneurship, venture funding, and what it really takes to build life-changing science from the ground up. Leo shares his journey fro...

Men's mental health, modern dating, and the male loneliness epidemic: are men lonely because the world changed, or because they refused to change with it? On this episode of The Charleston Chicks, hosts Lisa and Melanie break down what's really behind the rise in male loneliness, and they don't sugarcoat it. They trace the term back to its source (a 2023 U.S. Surgeon General declaration on lonelin...

Lieutenant Renate on Breaking Every Barrier What happens when a dancing cop goes viral — and not everyone's cheering? In this episode of Charleston Chicks, hosts Lisa Nicole and Melanie sit down with Renate, a Police Lieutenant with the North Charleston Police Department and one of the highest-ranking women in her agency. After a video of Renate dancing at a Flo Rida concert at Riverfront Park wen...

Wardrobe stylist and creative director Andrea Serrano has spent 30 years dressing photo shoots, TV shows, and ad campaigns — from an MTV Latino internship in Miami to styling luxury hospitality brands like The Ritz-Carlton and Saint Regis. On this episode of Charleston Chicks, she walks us through her wildest career pivots: opening one of Charleston's first streetwear and sneaker boutiques in 2004...

Are women too emotional to make good leaders? Lisa Nicole and Melanie are tackling one of the most controversial questions in leadership today. In this episode of the Charleston Chicks Podcast, they dive deep into the outdated stereotypes that have shaped leadership for decades and why the old school model built on dominance, control and assertiveness is no longer effective in modern organizations...

In this episode, hosts Lisa Nicole and Melanie sit down with TEDx speaker and AI founder JT White for a candid, no fluff conversation about where artificial intelligence is really taking us, and what we should actually be worried about. JT brings a rare perspective: an evolutionary psychology background meets a career building and selling tech companies. He's not here to hype AI. He's here to tell...

Fifty doesn't look anything like we thought it would, and that's the best news we've ever gotten. In this episode, co-hosts Lisa Nicole and Melanie get real about the unexpected gift of your 50s: finally having the space, the self awareness, and the courage to ask who am I now? After decades of marriage, motherhood, and quietly putting themselves last, they're sharing what it actually feels like t...

If Part 1 was the highlight reel, Part 2 is where we get to the heart of it. We dig into Mookie's concept of "heartlosophy",  the idea that love isn't just a feeling, it's an action, and what happens when you build your whole life around that. He reflects on his lowest lows and highest highs and why having nothing sometimes feels like everything looking back. Then we get into his late mother Linda...

In this episode of The Charleston Chicks, we sit down with Jonathan "Mookie" Morant- Charleston musician, songwriter, producer, and now five time author, on the day his newest book hits #1. Mookie takes us behind the scenes of a remarkable life: from crashing Maurice Starr's birthday party (and somehow still landing his first music industry break), to working alongside the Backstreet Boys and Will...

In this powerful episode of The Charleston Chicks, we sit down with Megan Manigault, a 2026 TEDx Charleston speaker, survivor leader, and Executive Director of I AM Voices, a local nonprofit providing housing and long-term support services to survivors of sexual violence and trafficking in the tri-county area. Megan opens up about her deeply personal journey from survivor to systems builder, shari...

What if your hardest moments weren't punishment - but preparation? In this episode of The Charleston Chicks, we sit down with Kevin Waits: retired police chief, FBI National Academy graduate, author of Favorite: From Last to First, and TEDx Charleston speaker. Kevin grew up climbing 14 flights of stairs in a Harlem housing project with chronic asthma and metal leg braces, and went on to lead a pol...

What if your body could heal itself, not with drugs, but with its own cells? In this fascinating conversation, we sit down with Dr. Leonardo Ferreira, immunologist and assistant professor at the Medical University of South Carolina's Hollings Cancer Center, ahead of his 2026 TEDx Charleston talk. Originally from Portugal, Dr. Ferreira earned his PhD at Harvard, completed a postdoctoral fellowship...

What if the way we introduce AI to the next generation determines the future of humanity itself? In this episode, we sit down with JT White, TEDx Charleston 2026 speaker, AI veteran of over a decade, and father of two, to talk about one of the most urgent questions facing parents and educators right now: how do we hand our kids this technology without losing them to it? JT shares how a career buil...

What if your body has been trying to tell its story all along, and art is the only language it knows? In this episode, we talk with Lexi Morgan, TEDx Charleston speaker, PhD level art therapist, and founder of Haven Healing, to talk about how art gives the body a voice - and why that matters deeply for trauma recovery. Lexi shares how growing up in a domestic violence situation led her to discover...

What if the key to understanding our divided world has been inside us for millions of years? In this episode, we sit down with Andie, TEDx Charleston speaker and the woman behind the Instagram account Ancestral Habits, to talk about the ancient, hardwired behaviors that connect every human alive today, and why that science matters more than ever right now. Andie shares how a lifelong passion for a...

What if the secret to better postpartum recovery has been around for 2,000 years? In this episode, we sit down with Guang Ming Whitley, TEDx Charleston speaker, mom of four, and author of the first English language guide to Chinese postpartum recovery, to talk about Zuo Yuezi, an ancient tradition she believes could transform how American women heal after birth. Guang shares how her mother's postp...

What does abuse really look like and why do so many people stay silent? In this powerful episode, Lisa Nicole and Melanie sit down with TEDx speaker, confidence coach, and domestic violence advocate Brenna Lawrence to hear her raw, unfiltered story of surviving a decade-long abusive relationship. From the first punch at 17 to sleeping on the floor to avoid waking her abuser, Brenna shares what it...

What happens when the church you grew up in leaves you with more fear than faith? In this deeply personal episode, Lisa Nicole and Melanie pull back the curtain on their very different, yet surprisingly similar, church upbringings. From Southern Baptist fire-and-brimstone sermons to high-profile televangelists and evangelical megachurch culture, they share the moments that shaped them, confused th...

Hey, it's Lisa Nicole and Melanie, and we're back for Season 2 of the Charleston Chicks Podcast! This season, we're doing things a little differently. This isn't just another podcast about having it all together. This is about the REAL stuff: reinvention, relationships, career pivots, and those moments where you're not sure who you are anymore, but you're finding your way anyway. We're not here to...

In this episode of The Charleston Chicks Podcast, we discuss how to handle difficult people you can’t avoid, from workplace conflicts to tense holiday family moments. Drawing on more than 20 years of HR leadership, Melanie shares the truth: most people can be difficult at any given time. In the workplace, that often shows up as "confusion" about policies, when in reality it's disagreement. Sometim...

If you’re in your 40s or 50s and exhausted from trying to “do it all,” this one’s definitely for you. We were told we could have it all career, marriage, kids, the clean house, the energy... and when it felt impossible, we quietly carried the guilt. In this episode, we’re calling out the lies we were taught, like don’t brag, stay humble, don’t make waves (and for God's sake, don’t age) and talking...

In this episode of Charleston Chicks, Lisa Nicole, Jen, and Melanie have an honest, refreshing conversation about romantic relationships as women grow older. From long-term marriages to dating again after divorce, this episode explores how emotional safety, intellectual connection, independence, and peace often matter more than traditional labels, timelines, or expectations. They discuss redefinin...

Boundaries aren’t about control—they’re about self-respect. In this powerful episode of Charleston Chicks, Lisa Nicole, Jen, and Melanie sit down for an honest, nuanced conversation about what boundaries really mean, why they’re so hard to hold, and how they evolve over time. From people-pleasing and family dynamics to work, friendships, and romantic relationships, this episode explores how trusti...

In Part 2 of this Charleston Chicks series, co-host Lisa Nicole and her children made the courageous decision to rebuild their lives 3,000 miles from home — leaving behind familiar places, close friends, and family in order to find safety and begin again. Part 2 also reveals how Lisa Nicole courageously stepped forward to share her personal story of being stalked — for awareness, healing, and hope...

In Part 1 of this deeply personal Charleston Chicks episode, we open the door to a story where fear and uncertainty collide with a terrifying truth that can’t be ignored. What began as an unexpected knock on the door in August 2014, quickly turned into a horrifying realization. A woman I had never met knew intimate details about my life, my marriage, and my children. What followed was the beginnin...