Things They Don’t Teach Us

Storytelling isn’t just an artistic craft, it’s a system built from layered structures (power, class, economics, culture, ideology) that shapes how stories are formed, who gets to tell them, and what gets seen vs. hidden. Novelist and urbanist Douglas McDaniel shares his experience of writing across worlds, classes, and histories, and provides an structured frame for creating and telling stories....

Depending on who you speak to, dating a stranger while abroad is one of those things that can sound like a dream come true or a complete nightmare. But what if someone told you that there is more middle ground than you might realize? Lia Castillo was that person for us. In addition to telling us her techniques for initiating a date situation overseas, she also shares how to do so respectfully and...

You may know what a budget is now, but how did you learn about it? Many people didn’t even grow up in families that talked about money, so how did we actually learn how to budget? And, how will you teach the young people in your life how to budget? Dr. Sandrine breaks down her methods of teaching budgeting and explains how budgeting isn’t limiting but actually empowering. Chapters 00:00 Intro01:48...

The financial markets can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t have the time or training to follow it. Still, about 61% of Americans own stocks. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen recently, tariffs and other sources of volatility can significantly impact everyone’s wealth and net worth, fast! That makes this a great time to refresh your understanding of Wall Street. Silas Myers, CFA, joins us to dem...

Are you good with savings or better at status? Is your flavor of gratification instant or deferred? Simple questions, but little by little the answers and responses to each one add up and shape the financial trajectory of our lives.  Guest Nick Josey, founder of the Vincita Institute, joins us to share his advice and suggestions for how to shift our mindsets around these and other questions, and w...

Being fired. Getting laid off. Made redundant. No matter what you call it, leaving a job involuntarily can range from an annoyance (if you’re planning to leave the job soon anyway) to a blow to one’s self esteem. Some people even feel like failures or become embarrassed by the loss of a job. Of course, not all job losses are the same, and in many cases it’s due to a clash of expectations or person...

Unlike in some cultures, aging in the United States is stigmatized as being an endless decline in quality of life until the end. Youth is revered while aging is feared. Despite the memory slips, graying hair, and occasional aches, what are we missing by not appreciating aging and seeing it as worthy of celebration? Guest Christine Rose joins us to share her thoughts on aging over the past half cen...

As we all know, anyone can be rejected for anything at any time. But, despite the ubiquity of rejection in our lives, we're rarely - if ever - taught how to handle it in healthy and humane ways. Guest Christina "Tippi" Cogen joins us to discuss some of the underlying reasons people may feel rejected or need to reject someone. She also shares how we can process those feelings and experiences health...

Have you ever felt like a professional fraud? Despite your level of education, professional achievements, or job title, did you ever think that you didn’t belong there, shouldn’t belong there, and that everyone else would think the same? If so, you may have experienced the powerfully isolating feeling of Imposter Syndrome. It’s definitely something they don’t teach us when almost no one feels comf...

What happens when the words we use and the platforms we employ for communication aren’t working in our favor? Languages evolve and methods of communication modernize, but are we reaching a point where technology is controlling and shaping our thoughts more than we realize? And if it is, how will the awareness of this change your behaviors? Meet Samuel Allen, an actor, writer, and teacher, who teac...

If you’ve never thought about leaving the 9-to-5 cycle early and embarking on something new, this episode may not be for you. However, if you’ve spent any time existing in the space between casually daydreaming and doing back-of-the-envelope math, then this episode may stir something new within you. The FIRE (financial independence, retire early) philosophy was having a moment during the years lea...

How does someone go from the corn fields of Illinois to becoming a businesswoman and a world traveler? What are the risks involved and how does one factor in the calculations needed to assess them? Meet Trina Mitchell. Born and raised in East Moline, IL, she enlisted in the US Army at the age of 17. After a 3-year tour, she enrolled in UMass Lowell to complete her Bachelor’s degree in Business Adm...

Erin Anderson’s life has been one of learning, education, and service “at best.” She grew up in Montana and attended UMass Amherst studying sociology and history with a concentration on the Black Arts Movement. Her Masters degree is in Intercultural Youth and Family Development, which was housed in the counselor education program at the University of Montana - Missoula. Her life's work is centered...

Vincent Jones is an innovative connector with a passion for building dynamic communities around common purpose and finding creative solutions to advance progressive change. His career spans the worlds of philanthropy, non-profits, politics, government, communications, travel, and social entrepreneurship. Currently he is Founding CEO of The Citizen Jones Companies, a collection of socially-minded b...

Social media and all the apps are supposed to make connecting with people easier than it was in the past. But what do you do when you have the time and the opportunity to become acquainted with a stranger spontaneously IRL? Johan Xia shares his insights on overcoming awkwardness, the things that draw him to new people, and the experience of navigating social encounters in different cultural and li...

sister sadada (she/they) is a student of liberatory practices: She lives in her body and vacations in her mind. She is Black Nipmuc and an embodied liberation teacher who works with individuals and groups who do the work of healing and educating. The aim of her work is to guide embodied liberation in our relationships and our structures. Since 2012, she has provided professional consulting and men...

Meet Wendy and Derek, two friends who love travel. In this first episode of their podcast, they share tips and tidbits from their times abroad.

Derek and Wendy have been shooting the sh*t about arts, culture, education, history, politics, self care, travel, and other topics for over a decade. Many of their conversations drift into areas that they call the “things they don’t teach us,” which is usually an assortment of advice, information, inspiration, and other revelations that they wished they had been taught or told at an earlier age. W...