Unmuted by Nola

We love a good “starting Monday” fantasy, don’t we? A gallon of water, a new Peloton plan, a fresh dose of delusion. And by Friday? We’re already promising to start again next week. In this episode of Unmuted by Nola, I’m talking about The Restart Spiral — that endless cycle of hope, hustle, and “maybe next time.” We’ll laugh about the comedy of it all, dig into why we keep hitting reset, and get...

What if your dream doesn’t need your full time — just your full heart? Most of us keep waiting for the right time — for life to slow down, for the money to line up, for the stars to cooperate. But the truth is, the “right time” rarely comes. In this episode, I sit down with my sister Kara — my built-in business buddy and creative consultant — to talk about what it really looks like to build a drea...

It’s 3 a.m., and the house is finally quiet — except for my thoughts. The dog’s sighing, my daughter’s asleep, and I’m lying here realizing the armor that used to protect me — the composure, the control, the calm — has started to pinch. This episode is about that moment when success stops feeling like peace. When the version of you that’s always been capable starts asking, “At what cost?” When the...

What started as a Des Moines Performing Arts donor trip to New York turned into something much deeper. ✨ Mojitos and music at Buena Vista Social Club 💔 The ache of the 9/11 Memorial 🎶 The breathtaking artistry of Ragtime 🌉 A Brooklyn rain break and 20,000-step wander 💪🏾 A Peloton miracle with Tunde Oyeneyin Through it all, one refrain echoed in me: it keeps happening. Unexpected grace. Open...

Season 2 of Unmuted by Nola is here — and we’re evolving. As I teased in the Season 1 finale with my sisters, this podcast won’t just be my reflections anymore. You’ll still get those, but now you’ll also hear conversations with guests I admire — people balancing life, work, leadership, and joy in their own way. To kick it off, I sat down with my friend Kat. She’s an accomplished attorney who made...

Every superhero has a lair. Ours just happens to be a group chat — and we call it the Bat Cave. In this extended episode — almost a full 60 minutes — I sit down with my sisters, my original built-in kitchen table, to let you eavesdrop on the daily FaceTime calls that hold us together. We talk about how the Bat Cave started, share our funniest “receipts,” and get real about the moments we’ve carrie...

Balance isn’t a perfect day. Or even a perfect week. Sometimes it’s not even a perfect year. In this episode, I get real about what balance actually looks like in my life — as a mom, a lawyer, an executive, and a person who still wants to do big things. I talk about leaving work at 5:00 for daycare pickup, why that doesn’t make me less committed, and why we should stop apologizing for our non-nego...

Some rooms were never built for us — but we still have to decide whether to speak up when the moment comes. In this episode, I talk about what it feels like to sit in that tension, how I decide when to use my voice, and why staying silent can sometimes feel like self-betrayal. It’s honest, a little chaotic (featuring a real-time kitchen/dog/toddler/pasta moment), and a reminder that your voice mat...

Sometimes faith isn’t loud. Sometimes it isn’t even articulate. Sometimes it’s just sitting in the quiet and remembering you’re not the one holding the whole world together. In this unedited and unpolished episode, I share the story behind my be still tattoo — why I got it after surviving one of the darkest seasons of my life, and why I’m clinging to it now as the world feels overwhelming again. T...

This week’s bonus episode isn’t about leadership or the workplace — it’s about my other full-time job: vacation planner. From coordinating safari-chic zoo outfits, to spiraling over San Diego vs. Anaheim hotels, to the Target runs, Amazon orders, and boutique splurges that somehow felt mandatory before we even left…the chaos was real. And then came the Harper mutiny — because of course my toddler...

For years, I believed hustle culture when it told me exhaustion was proof of my worth. Law school guilt. Billable hour pressure. Pinterest-worthy parenting. That little voice whispering: “Don’t really unplug. Stay productive. Prove your dedication and loyalty.” But here’s the truth: I was enough all along. And so are you. In this episode, I read my official break-up letter to hustle culture and re...

Making friends as an adult feels…complicated. Gone are the days of “wanna play?” on the playground. Now it looks more like drafting Facebook DMs with ChatGPT, holding on to old friendships across different life stages, or craving the kind of casual community your grandma had — where people just dropped by for coffee and donuts before church. In this episode, Nola gets candid about what friendship...

“Motherhood isn’t a rebrand” is just the starting point. In this episode, I dive into why we should stop making someone’s “no” for them — whether they’re a parent, a caregiver, or in a completely different season of life. You’ll hear the story of a friend passed over for a leadership opportunity because someone assumed she couldn’t handle it — despite her track record. We’ll unpack how those prote...

When you’re the default adult in every space — at home, at work, in your family — there’s no “escalation path” for the overwhelm. It all lands on you. In this episode of Unmuted by Nola, I’m talking about the emotional and logistical weight of being “the one” everyone depends on, the quiet toll it takes, and what softening looks like when you’re maxed out. From potty training negotiations to wasp...

People always ask me what Harvard Law was like. And I usually offer some polished version — say it was great, just not really my scene. That I’m not an East Coast person. But that’s not the whole truth. And until now, I’ve never really told it. In this episode, I open up about what it was actually like to survive one of the most elite institutions in the world — while grieving, unraveling, and try...

What starts as a sweet daycare story between two toddler besties turns into a deeper reflection on why representation still matters—at every age. In this episode, I share the quiet beauty of watching Harper form a friendship rooted in shared knowing, and I open up about my own friendships that have held me through grief, motherhood, and everything in between. We explore the difference between bein...

What happens when the world only sees your strength — and never your softness? In this episode of Unmuted by Nola, I’m reflecting on the quiet burden of being “the strong one.” I talk about where I learned it, how it nearly cost me my health, and the emotional toll it still takes in motherhood, leadership, and love. From law firm breakdowns to toddler meltdowns, I unpack what it means to hold it a...

In this episode of Unmuted by Nola, we’re unlearning the myth that being “low maintenance” makes us more lovable, more promotable, or more worthy. From middle child peacekeeping to workplace professionalism to romantic relationships where silence became a survival skill, Nola explores how shrinking ourselves—emotionally, energetically, and spiritually—can feel like safety but becomes erasure. She...

The Civil Rights Act was signed 61 years ago. It promised change. It offered keys. But a key is not the same as a welcome. And a hallway is not the same as a seat at the table. This isn’t a history lesson. It’s a personal one. About doors that stay closed. About merit that still isn’t enough. About the myth that hard work alone can carry you through. I wasn’t planning to speak this week. But silen...

What does it really mean to own your voice? In this episode, I share the quiet moment that followed a big keynote — a moment that didn’t happen on a stage, but in a text to my toddler’s teacher. It was about Harper’s hair. Her beads. Her boundaries. And the cultural nuance that often goes unspoken. This isn’t just about protecting one child. It’s about raising awareness, deepening understanding, a...

I didn’t lose my voice all at once. It happened slowly—piece by piece. In this first episode of Unmuted by Nola, I share the quiet unraveling that started long before I ever had a title, a platform, or a podcast. From being called a know-it-all as a kid to shrinking in professional spaces where I once felt powerful, this is the origin story of how I started muting myself—and how I’m finding my way...

This isn’t Episode 1 — it’s the moment I stopped muting myself. Welcome to Unmuted by Nola — a podcast for the layered, the honest, and the bold. From leadership to motherhood to the spaces where we shrink to survive, we’re naming it all — out loud.