Too Much with Denise Love Hewett

Too Much goes into the mailbag for the very first time. In this listener Q&A, Denise answers five questions that hit close to home — on overachieving young and not stopping to savor it, the fear that slowing down will make everything fall apart, waiting for a relationship before letting your life begin, finding purpose in your 20s by learning what you don't want, and whether 31 is too late to...

In this reairing, how does power change our brains, and what can we do about it? In this episode, emotion scientist Dr. Dacher Keltner from UC Berkeley reveals the shocking neuroscience behind power corruption and why awe might be our best defense against toxic leadership. We learn about: The Power Paradox: Why we gain power through social intelligence but lose it once we have it How power literal...

In this episode, Denise sits down with Dean Victoria Rosner of NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study — Denise's alma mater — to unpack why traditional higher ed advice is failing a generation entering one of the toughest job markets since 2008, and what one program is doing differently (with a 93% employment-or-grad-school rate within six months to show for it). This episode includes: Why "f...

What does it actually cost to be single in North America — and why does that cost fall hardest on women? In this episode, Denise sits down with Renée Sylvestre-Williams, Toronto-based journalist, finance writer, and author of The Singles Tax — a groundbreaking look at the financial, legal, and social penalties that single people pay just for living outside the coupled-up norm. We go deep on why th...

What if you built the entire world of your brand before you ever formulated the product? That's exactly what Lauren Alexander and Kate McClamb of Sistine Spritz did — and it's just one of the unconventional moves that's setting them apart in a saturated beverage market. In this episode, Denise sits down with the co-founders of Sistine, a cleaner, California-forward take on the Italian aperitivo sp...

What if the reason you feel behind financially has nothing to do with your choices — and everything to do with the system? Amanda Holden spent years inside Wall Street investment management before leaving to build Invested Development, where she's taught over 25,000 students to invest with clarity and confidence. In her book How to Be a Rich Old Lady, she dismantles the myths the finance industry...

If you've checked every box — the title, the salary, the accolades — and still find yourself lying awake wondering why it doesn't feel like enough, this episode was made for you. Denise sits down with Brooke Taylor, transformational career coach, former Google marketing lead, and author of the newly released Healing the Success Wound, for a clarifying conversation on ambition and identity. Brooke...

This week, Denise sits down with Philip B, one of the most sought-after hair and scalp treatment experts in the world, for a full masterclass on what actually makes hair healthy, why the beauty industry has been getting it wrong for decades, and how a kid sorting rollers in a 1960s Beverly Hills salon built a brand now sold in 50 countries. Philip B breaks down the real science of scalp health, in...

  What if grief wasn't something to get over — but something to get fluent in? This week, Denise sits down with psychotherapist, death doula, and author Kara Hoppe for an expansive conversation. Kara works at the bookends of life, supporting new parents and walking alongside those in the dying part of life, and she brings a rare, grounded wisdom to a topic most of us have been taught to avoid. Tog...

Something shifted when AI got good at writing. You started wondering: did my coworker write that apology — or did the machine? Is this birthday message from my friend, or was it generated? Does it matter if you can't tell? Bob Hutchins has a name for what you've been feeling. He calls it proxy failure — and it may be the most important concept for understanding what AI is actually doing to human r...

In this episode, Denise sits down with Jessica Norwood, founder of Runway and one of the most visionary financial activists working today, to explore what it really means to move money in "right relationship" — and why reparative capital may be the blueprint for the economy we actually want to live in. Jessica unpacks why the traditional venture capital model was never built for Black entrepreneur...

What if you are not just a person moving through the universe — but a universe moving through itself? This week, Denise sits down with musician and artist Jon Bates, known as Big Black Delta, for one of the most expansive conversations the podcast has ever had. From sacred geometry and Jungian archetypes to ego, alchemy, and the nature of consciousness — this episode will make you see yourself, an...

What would your life look like if you stopped following someone else's blueprint and started living your own? In this solo episode, Denise announces the launch of the Too Much Workbook: Tools to Build a Life You Love — a 40-page, self-guided workbook designed to help you break free from societal timelines, discover your core values, and design a life that actually feels like yours. Born out of Den...

What if the secret to glowing, youthful skin had nothing to do with fillers, Botox, or the latest serums — and everything to do with your inner health, energy, and essence? In this episode, Denise sits down with Sandra Lanshin Chiu, licensed acupuncturist, TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioner, and founder of Treatment by Lanshin, to explore a transformative concept that's redefining bea...

What if the key to unlocking your fullest potential lies at the intersection of spiritual intelligence and trauma-informed coaching? In this episode, Denise sits down with Bonnie Wirth — transformative coach, medium, and spiritual mentor — to explore what it truly means to step into your personal power and close the gap between who you are and who you were meant to be. Bonnie shares her lifelong j...

What if your ambition is actually working against you? In this episode, host Denise sits down with executive coach and bestselling author Amina AlTai (The Ambition Trap: How to Stop Chasing and Start Living) to unpack one of the most misunderstood forces driving high achievers — ambition itself. Amina breaks down the difference between painful ambition (driven by unhealed core wounds) and purposef...

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of sexual abuse, child exploitation, and systemic misogyny. What do the Epstein files reveal about the world we actually live in and how do we rebuild something better? In this deeply honest and wide-ranging conversation, host Denise sits down with professor and PhD Dr. Nicole Haggard to unpack the systemic forces behind one of the most disturbing...

What does it actually take to break into a Hollywood writer's room — and how do you build a career when there's no clear roadmap? In this episode, host Denise sits down with Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Cynthia Adarkwa (HBO Max's The Pit, Legacies, Saint X, Emperor of Ocean Park) to pull back the curtain on one of entertainment's most opaque career paths: screenwriting. Cynthia shares th...

What does it mean to truly be present? In your body, in a space, in a story? In this episode of Too Much, Denise sits down with Vance Garrett, award-winning creative director, immersive experience pioneer, and founding team member behind Sleep No More, Museum of Ice Cream, and 29 Rooms — to explore how immersive storytelling, tactile design, and embodied experience are reshaping the way we connect...

 What if chasing work-life balance is actually setting you up to fail? In this solo episode, Denise breaks down why the traditional 50/50 framework is outdated — and introduces a more sustainable alternative: seasonal thinking. Drawing on the concepts of the harvest season (when opportunity is abundant and you go all in) and the fallow season (when rest and reinvention fuel your next big leap), De...

Ever wonder why some people execute effortlessly while others struggle with procrastination? In this episode, Denise sits down with neuroplasticity expert Amina Zamani to decode the brain of a non-procrastinator through neurological modeling. Discover how childhood experiences create neural pathways for execution, why motivation isn't about willpower or habits, and how to overcome limbic friction,...

What happens when getting fired transforms from a painful but growth-inducing experience into a tool of systemic oppression? Denise shares her personal journey through multiple job losses and firings, revealing how she initially viewed these experiences as a "female rite of passage" that ultimately pushed her toward entrepreneurship. But 2025 changed everything. In this solo episode, Denise unpack...

Ever wonder why millennials seem to be aging better than Gen Z? In this eye-opening episode, Denise explores the science of longevity with LA-based intuitive wellness expert Lynette Astaire, who specializes in nutrition, mindset, and metabolic health. With over 20 years of fasting experience, Lynette has worked with Grammy-winning musicians, visionary CEOs, and elite athletes to support sustainabl...

What happens when the story you built your life around no longer holds? This week, we sit down with Dr. Tasha Golden behavioral scientist, former touring musician, published poet, and one of the leading voices at the intersection of creativity, mental health, and systems change to explore what it means to outgrow an identity, confront burnout, and imagine new ways of being well in a world that oft...

What happens when you stop waiting to be “ready” and start trusting your curiosity? Denise sits down with podcast host, editor, and creative strategist Anna Howard, the creator of Wild Geese, a podcast inspired by Mary Oliver’s iconic poem and the liberating idea that you do not have to be good to begin. Anna’s work centers on curiosity as a creative force. After years working behind the scenes pr...