Many women spend years building successful careers, raising families, checking every box, and creating lives they can be proud of—only to realize something important is missing: community. Somewhere along the way, connection becomes something to get to later, replaced by busyness, productivity, and the belief that meaningful relationships will somehow happen on their own. In this episode of This Is Woman's Work, Nicole Kalil sits down with journalist, podcast creator, and author Katherine Goldstein to explore why friendship isn't enough, why community requires intention, and how small acts of neighboring can create the kind of meaningful support so many women are longing for. Together, they challenge the idea that connection is reserved for extroverts or people with unlimited free time, offering practical ways to build deeper relationships through everyday interactions. In This Episode, Nicole and Katherine Discuss: The difference between friendship and community—and why both matter. Why so many women are missing the "middle ring" of meaningful relationships. How modern life has made building community more difficult. Why community often becomes most important during times of crisis. How to shift from waiting to "find your people" to intentionally building connection. Why no community will ever meet 100% of your needs—and why that's okay. Katherine's definition of "neighboring" and why small actions matter. The concept of "deep casual" gatherings and how low-pressure hosting creates stronger relationships. Why lowering the bar for entertaining actually leads to deeper connection. The importance of protecting community from logistical burnout. The surprising types of groups Katherine recommends not relying on to build lasting community. Why investing in nearby relationships can create the support systems we all need. Together, these insights offer a practical and refreshing roadmap for building the kind of community that sustains us in everyday life.  Thank you to our sponsors! To see what Scribe could look like for your team, head to https://scribe.how/TIWW  and mention TIWW for your first month of Scribe Capture free on select plans Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Katherine: Substack: https://thedoubleshift.substack.com/  Website: katherinegoldstein.com   Pre-order the Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/796461/neighboring-by-katherine-goldstein/  Related Podcast Episodes: The Connection Cure: Social Prescribing, Loneliness, and Why Belonging Is Medicine with Julia Hotz | 373 The Power of Conscious Connection with Talia Fox | 263 Creating A Connected Community to Grow Your Business with Kami Guildner | 221 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We tell women to speak up, set boundaries, advocate for themselves, negotiate for more, and stop waiting for permission. Great advice. But there's one tiny problem: What the hell are we actually supposed to say? Because knowing what you want and knowing how to ask for it are two very different skills. Especially when your brain decides to take an unscheduled vacation right when you need it most. Joining This Is Woman's Work is Emily Lampkin, author of Duct Tape and White Lies, founder of the Women Leader series, and a speaker and advisor with more than 25 years of experience helping women lead, succeed, and get what they want. In this episode, we explore: How to ask for what you want without overexplaining, oversharing, or apologizing What to say when you freeze in a difficult conversation and can't find the right words How to set boundaries and say no without feeling guilty or needing to justify yourself Why self-advocacy and self-promotion aren't bragging, and how to confidently communicate your value Practical strategies for asking for a raise, negotiating a promotion, and creating career opportunities Why every woman needs a "swimsuit friend" who will tell her the truth How to handle rejection, follow up when you're ghosted, and stop taking every no personally Why taking action before you feel ready is the secret to building confidence and getting what you want Because confidence doesn't come from getting every conversation right. It comes from trusting yourself enough to have the conversation. Thank you to our sponsors! To see what Scribe could look like for your team, head to https://scribe.how/TIWW  and mention TIWW for your first month of Scribe Capture free on select plans Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Emily:  Website: https://www.emilylampkin.com/  Book: https://www.emilylampkin.com/author  FB: https://www.facebook.com/emily.k.lampkin  LI: linkedin.com/in/emilylampkin  Related Podcast Episodes The 3 N’s - Negotiation, Networking & No with Kathryn Valentine | 327 201 / How To Find The Right Words When Creating Boundaries with Amy Green Smith Powerfully Likeable with Dr. Kate Mason | 364 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Women are taught to be agreeable, accommodating, self-sacrificing, and well-behaved. To stay quiet, make everyone comfortable, and take up as little space as possible. Yeah, no thanks. What if the goal isn't to become a better-behaved woman, but to reclaim who we were before the world taught us to shrink? Avril Millar, author of Feral: A Grown Woman's Guide to a Free and Ferocious Life, joins Nicole Kalil to challenge societal expectations keeping women small. After five careers, losing everything in her 40s, and starting over at 50, Avril is now 74 and has plenty to say about confidence, self-love, reinvention, and refusing to be tamed. We explore: What it means to be feral and reclaim your authentic self How societal conditioning teaches women to be agreeable and self-sacrificing Why midlife and menopause can be opportunities for reinvention How to recognize the expectations and "shoulds" holding us back Why trusting your intuition starts with learning to pause How to stop worrying about what other people think Why self-awareness is essential to confidence and personal growth How to build a healthier relationship with yourself and practice unconditional self-love What Avril has learned about resilience, starting over, and embracing life at 74 Being feral isn't about being reckless or selfish. It's about questioning the rules we've been following, trusting ourselves, and deciding which expectations no longer deserve our obedience. Perhaps the most important relationship we'll ever have is the one we have with ourselves. So it's time to stop becoming who everyone else needs us to be and start embracing who we actually are. We were never meant to become less of ourselves. We were meant to become more. Thank you to our sponsors! To see what Scribe could look like for your team, head to https://scribe.how/TIWW  and mention TIWW for your first month of Scribe Capture free on select plans Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Avril:  Website: https://www.avrilmillar.com  Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Avril-Millar/author/B00DCLLFUS  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrilmillar  IG: https://www.instagram.com/avrilmillar/  Related Podcast Episodes: On Our Best Behavior: The Price Women Pay to Be “Good” with Elise Loehnen | 388 Aging Out of F*cks (Your Confidence Upgrade) with Ellen Scherr | 394 Reinventing Your Career (Again and Again) with Ilana Golan | 374 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've traded ancient oracles and crystal balls for algorithms, but our desire to predict the future hasn't changed. Today, AI predictions influence everything from hiring and healthcare to loans and personal decisions. But predictions aren't facts, and prophecy isn't destiny. So who's really in control? Carissa Véliz, Oxford AI ethics expert and author of Privacy Is Power and Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI, joins Nicole Kalil to explore the intersection of prophecy, artificial intelligence, privacy, and power — and why we should think twice before letting algorithms decide our future. We explore: Why AI is a prediction machine, not a truth machine How AI predictions influence hiring, healthcare, loans, and major life decisions What ancient prophecies can teach us about modern algorithms How algorithmic bias and self-fulfilling prophecies threaten fairness and freedom Why ChatGPT can sound convincing while being completely wrong The hidden privacy risks of using AI tools How to protect critical thinking, personal agency, and decision-making in an AI-driven world AI can make life easier, but that doesn't mean it should make our decisions. Understanding how these systems work helps us question their predictions, protect our privacy, and reclaim our power. Prediction is not destiny. Data is not the whole story. And an algorithm doesn't get to decide what's possible for us. The future isn't something we wait to have predicted. It's something we create. Thank you to our sponsors! To see what Scribe could look like for your team, head to https://scribe.how/TIWW  and mention TIWW for your first month of Scribe Capture free on select plans Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Carissa:  Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/759692/prophecy-by-carissa-veliz/   LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carissa-v%C3%A9liz-a5781555/  Related Podcast Episodes: Unmasking AI with Dr. Joy Buolamwini | 259 AI, Hiring, and the Future of Work (Without Selling Your Soul) with Katie Fortunato | 395  THE INSTABILITY OF TRUTH: Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-Persuasion with Rebecca Lemov | 333  Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when a confidence expert has a wardrobe malfunction in front of hundreds of women? One hell of a lesson in self-trust. After an 11-week European sabbatical, Nicole Kalil returned to the keynote stage feeling rusty, nervous, and full of self-doubt. Despite 20 years of teaching confidence, her brain was busy imagining everything that could go wrong. Turns out, none of those things happened. Instead, her left boob decided to make its own keynote presentation. In this unfiltered and unhinged solo episode, Nicole shares what an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction taught her about overcoming self-doubt, letting go of perfectionism, and trusting herself when life doesn't go according to plan. We explore: Why even confidence experts struggle with self-doubt How overthinking and catastrophizing fuel fear of failure Why perfectionism can't protect us from embarrassment The power of vulnerability, humor, and embracing imperfection How to build real confidence by trusting yourself through the unexpected Confidence isn't knowing everything will work out. It's trusting that we'll be okay even if it doesn't. And sometimes, that lesson comes with a little unexpected exposure. Thank you to our sponsors! To see what Scribe could look like for your team, head to https://scribe.how/TIWW  and mention TIWW for your first month of Scribe Capture free on select plans Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Start your risk-free Greenlight trial today at Greenlight.com/TIWW. Don't wait to teach your kids real-world money skills! Connect with Nicole: Subscribe to Nicole’s Substack: https://nicolekalil.substack.com/  Related Podcast Episode: On Sabbaticals, Reinvention, and Getting Older | Unfiltered & Unhinged When a One-Star Review Means You’ve Officially Arrived | Unfiltered & Unhinged Am I Being a Bitch… Or Just Finally Being Honest? | Unfiltered & Unhinged Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comparison is the thief of joy. Or so we've been told. But what if comparison isn't the problem? What if the real problem is what we do with it? We compare everything. Careers, salaries, bodies, relationships, parenting, success, and whose kids somehow unload the dishwasher without being threatened. And thanks to social media, we can feel inadequate about all of it before we've even had our morning coffee. But here's where things get interesting: What if envy isn't something to overcome, but something we can actually use? Dr. Stacy Kim is a social scientist, life coach, founder of Life Junctions, and author of Envy: Why Wanting What They Have Is the Key to Getting What You Want. She's challenging everything we've been taught about envy, jealousy, and comparison, revealing how these uncomfortable emotions can become powerful tools for self-discovery, personal growth, and building confidence. We explore: The difference between envy and jealousy — and why understanding it matters How to recognize benign envy versus malicious envy, and turn comparison into motivation instead of resentment What the Korean approach to envy can teach us about admiration, ambition, and wanting more How the SIREN framework helps uncover what envy is really trying to tell us Why what we envy isn't always what we actually want, and how to identify the deeper desire How social media comparison can impact confidence and self-worth Why some feelings of envy disappear quickly while others deserve our attention Practical ways to turn envy into action, personal growth, and meaningful change Envy is information, not instruction. It can point us toward what matters, but we still get to decide what we want and what we're willing to do about it. So instead of letting someone else's success derail our confidence, let's get curious about what it's telling us — and use it to build a life that actually feels like our own. Thank you to our sponsors! To see what Scribe could look like for your team, head to https://scribe.how/TIWW  and mention TIWW for your first month of Scribe Capture free on select plans Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Stacy:  Website: https://stacyskim.com Book: https://www.amazon.com/Envy-Wanting-What-They-Getting/dp/1538776715;   IG: https://www.instagram.com/stacykim.phd/;  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacyskim/ Related Podcast Episodes: On Our Best Behavior: The Price Women Pay to Be “Good” with Elise Loehnen | 388 UNCOMPETE: Rejecting Competition to Unlock Success with Ruchika T. Malhotra | 398   VI4P - Comparison, Judgement, and Choosing Confidence (Chapter 9)  Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've all done it. Avoided the conversation, hoped the problem would magically disappear, or convinced ourselves that someone should just know what we need without us having to actually say it. And how's that working out? The truth is, the conversations we avoid don't go away. They take up space, create resentment, damage relationships, and sometimes turn a relatively small issue into a full-blown shitshow. In this episode of This Is Woman's Work, Nicole Kalil sits down with Christina Wing, Harvard Business School senior lecturer and author of Unspeakable: The Taboo Topics We Avoid and How to Talk About Them, to explore why we're so damn uncomfortable talking about the things that matter most. In this episode, they discuss: Why avoiding uncomfortable conversations often creates bigger problems than having them. How talking about someone instead of to them can fuel resentment and unnecessary drama. Why money conversations feel so personal and how to separate financial circumstances from self-worth. The difference between a difficult conversation and a difficult moment. How to recognize when it's your place to speak up and when it's better to stay out of it. What to do when someone becomes defensive or refuses to engage. Why everyday annoyances can turn into major relationship problems when left unaddressed. The two biggest mistakes people make when approaching difficult conversations. Why conversations about estate planning, death, and our final wishes need to happen sooner rather than later. Having the conversation doesn't guarantee we'll get the outcome we want. But avoiding it almost guarantees we won't have a voice in what happens next. Because sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is stop overthinking, stop rehearsing, and just say the damn thing. Thank you to our sponsors! To see what Scribe could look like for your team, head to https://scribe.how/TIWW  and mention TIWW for your first month of Scribe Capture free on select plans Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Christina:  Website: https://www.christinawing.com/  Book: https://www.christinawing.com/book/  IG: https://www.instagram.com/christina.r.wing/  Related Podcast Episodes: How to Push Back: From People-Pleasing to Power with Tonya Lester | 369 Love, Money & Aging Parents: How to Plan Care (Before the Crisis) with Beth Pinsker | 359  195 / Finding (And Using) Your Voice with Amy Green Smith  Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, remote work has felt like a win. No commute, more flexibility, fewer pointless hours spent proving we're working simply because someone can see us. And for women, especially caregivers, that flexibility can be a game changer. But what if there's a downside we're not talking about enough? In this episode of This Is Woman's Work, Nicole Kalil sits down with economist Natalia Emanuel, co-author of In Person: How Working Together Fuels Creativity, Productivity, and Growth, to challenge some deeply held beliefs about remote work. In this episode, they discuss: Why working face-to-face can improve learning, creativity, and career advancement. The surprising connection between remote work, isolation, and mental health. Why being in the office isn't the same as meaningful in-person collaboration. How remote work can disadvantage younger employees and those starting new roles. Why mentorship and workplace culture need to be valued and rewarded. The complicated trade-offs between workplace flexibility and caregiving responsibilities. Five factors organizations should consider when deciding how much in-person work is necessary. Why predictable schedules and workday social activities matter, especially for women. How AI could make human connection even more valuable. The answer isn't all remote or all in person. It's about being intentional with our time, challenging outdated workplace expectations, and creating environments where people can actually thrive. Thank you to our sponsors! To see what Scribe could look like for your team, head to https://scribe.how/TIWW  and mention TIWW for your first month of Scribe Capture free on select plans Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Natalia:  Website:https://www.nataliaemanuel.com/  Book: https://inpersonbook.com/  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliaemanuel?trk=public_post_feed-actor-name  Related Podcast Episodes The Connection Cure: Social Prescribing, Loneliness, and Why Belonging Is Medicine with Julia Hotz | 373 The Power of Conscious Connection with Talia Fox | 263 Work Doesn’t Have to Suck: The Case for Fun, Joy, and Better Results with Bree Groff | 382 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Somewhere along the way, emergency preparedness got hijacked by doomsday prepping, conspiracy theories, stockpiles of ammo, and a truly unnecessary amount of camouflage. But emergencies themselves? Not exactly far-fetched. Power outages, extreme weather, wildfires, floods, earthquakes, pandemics - shit happens. Being prepared for it isn’t paranoid. It’s practical. Amy Edelman and Chris Begley are the co-authors of The Emergency Playbook: A Bunker-Free Guide to Disaster Preparation. Amy is the founder of IndieReader and Pretty Prepared, while Chris is an archaeologist, professor, wilderness survival instructor, National Geographic Explorer, and author of The Next Apocalypse. Together, they’re making emergency preparedness less about fear and more about confidence, common sense. We explore: How to create an emergency preparedness plan without spiraling into worst-case-scenario anxiety The most likely emergencies households should actually prepare for Why the best first step costs absolutely nothing: make a plan What every household should have on hand for power outages and natural disasters and what belongs in a go bag Why knowing your neighbors and building community may matter more than stockpiling gear The survival skills that can be more valuable than expensive emergency equipment How to prepare for pets, children, older family members, disabilities, and different mobility needs Why freaking out and failing to plan are two of the biggest mistakes people make during an emergency The surprisingly important role of chocolate, coffee, candy, and other morale boosters The goal isn’t to prepare for every single terrible thing that could possibly happen. The goal is to prepare for what’s reasonably likely, build useful skills, communicate with the people who matter, and create enough of a plan that fear doesn’t get to run the show. Thank you to our sponsors! To see what Scribe could look like for your team, head to https://scribe.how/TIWW  and mention TIWW for your first month of Scribe Capture free on select plans Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Amy & Chris: Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/781838/the-emergency-playbook-by-amy-edelman-and-chris-begley/  Amy’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/pretty.prepared/  Amy’s Substack: https://prettyprepared.substack.com/p/how-to-stop-feeling-anxious-about  Chris’ Website: https://explorationfound.wixsite.com/chrisbegley  Related Podcast Episodes: Survival Is Woman’s Work with Kathy Giusti | 391 Confidence Isn’t Born, It’s Built — Lessons from the Cockpit to Real Life with Michelle “MACE” Curran | 343 The Fourth Trauma Response You’ve Never Heard Of (And How It’s Running Your Life) with Dr. Ingrid Clayton | 342 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Domestic violence doesn’t always start with a punch. It often starts quietly, with control disguised as concern, isolation disguised as love, and boundaries being chipped away so slowly that it can be hard to recognize what’s happening until the danger is very real. Denise Brown knows this in the most devastating way possible. Her sister, Nicole Brown Simpson, was murdered in 1994 after experiencing domestic violence in her marriage. For more than 30 years, Denise has dedicated her life to domestic violence awareness, victim advocacy, education, and helping women recognize the warning signs she wishes she had understood then. Her new book, For My Sister Nicole: Love Shouldn’t Hurt, shares Nicole’s story while giving victims, survivors, families, and friends resources that could save lives. In this episode, Nicole and Denise discuss: Why domestic violence is about power and control—and why it can happen to strong, independent women The early warning signs of an abusive relationship that are easy to dismiss or explain away Why victims may hide abuse to protect their children, family, friends, pets—or even their abuser The hope, shame, and fear that can make leaving an abusive relationship incredibly complicated How friends and family can support someone experiencing domestic violence without trying to control their decisions The importance of safety planning and working with domestic violence shelters when preparing to leave Why calling 911, documenting abuse, and creating a paper trail can matter The Domestic Violence Bill of Rights—and the reminder that everyone has the right to safety, respect, their own opinions, and the word “no” This is a hard conversation, but it’s an important one. Because love should never require someone to live in fear, walk on eggshells, surrender their autonomy, or make themselves smaller to stay safe. The National Domestic Violence Hotline has trained advocates available 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE, by texting START to 88788, or at TheHotline.org. Thank you to our sponsors! To see what Scribe could look like for your team, head to https://scribe.how/TIWW  and mention TIWW for your first month of Scribe Capture free on select plans Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Denise: Website: https://denisebrown.com/  Book: https://www.amazon.com/My-Sister-Nicole-Julie-McCarron/dp/B0FXYCGS99  FB: https://www.facebook.com/DeniseBrownToo  IG: https://www.instagram.com/DeniseBrownToo  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denise-brown-6644762  Related Podcast Episodes What Does a Woman Have to Do to Be Believed? Sexual Assault, Accountability & Double Standards with E. Jean Carroll | 363 High-Functioning Codependency: When Being “The Strong One” Is Slowly Killing You with Terri Cole | 341 What a “Good Divorce” Can Look Like with Erin Levine | 426 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charisma. Some people seem to walk into a room and just have it. People lean in, listen, remember them, and want more time with them. And for those of us who are introverts? Well, it can be easy to assume we were simply left out of the charisma lottery. But what if charisma isn’t something we’re born with? What if it’s something we can actually learn? In this episode, Nicole sits down with Olivia Fox Cabane, one of the world’s leading authorities on the science of charisma and bestselling author of The Charisma Myth. Olivia has taught and lectured at Stanford, Harvard, Yale, MIT, and the United Nations and has worked with leaders at companies including Google, Deloitte, TikTok, and Airbnb. They discuss: Why charisma is different from charm and likability The science showing that charisma can actually be learned Why there isn’t one “right” kind of charisma The potential downsides of becoming more charismatic Why introverts may have a major charisma advantage The three components of charisma: presence, power, and warmth Why self-criticism makes it harder to stay present and connected How instant self-forgiveness can help us recover from awkward moments Why mistakes can actually make us more relatable Why taking up space matters when communicating power How vocal patterns like uptalk can affect perceived authority and credibility The difference between being nice and being kind Why the harsher the message, the warmer the delivery should be How intent and impact can help distinguish influence from harmful manipulation How charisma can exist without likability Why learning charisma doesn’t require becoming someone else The goal isn’t to walk into a room and make everyone think, Wow, she’s charismatic. It’s to stop borrowing somebody else’s magnetism and start trusting our own. Thank you to our sponsors! Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to HeyPolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Olivia: Website: https://www.oliviafoxcabane.com/  Book: https://www.charismamyth.com/  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ofc/  Related Podcast Episodes 165 / The Introvert Who Could with Andreea Sandu Be A Likeable Badass with Alison Fragale | 230 Powerfully Likeable with Dr. Kate Mason | 364 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We spend a whole lot of time thinking about how other people perceive us. How we communicate, present, negotiate, network, make a good impression, say the right thing at the right time. Basically, we put a lot of effort into being interesting. But what if we spent more time being interested? Because entire conversations are happening around us that have nothing to do with what anyone is actually saying. And we might be missing all of it because we’re too busy planning the next brilliant thing we’re going to say. In this episode, Nicole sits down with Pamela Meyer, a leading expert on deception detection who trains executives and institutional leaders on information elicitation, social observation, and insider threat mitigation. She’s also the author of How to Read the Room: The Art and Science of Social Observation. They discuss: Why being confident in our ability to read a room doesn’t mean we’re actually good at it Why talking less can help us notice more How our own ego, biases, and needs distort what we observe Why asking “How can I make this room better?” can change an interaction Pamela’s “Triple B” method: background, behavior, and beliefs What to watch immediately after conflict happens How to identify informal power and influence in a room The back-pocket questions that can reveal what people are really thinking Why crossed arms, eye contact, and other body language “rules” can mislead us Why clusters of behavior matter more than individual gestures Verbal and nonverbal signals that may warrant closer attention when deception is suspected How to avoid confusing anxiety or nervousness with dishonesty Why context, curiosity, and giving people the benefit of the doubt matter Maybe the most powerful person in the room isn’t the one talking the most. Maybe it’s the one paying attention. Thank you to our sponsors! Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to HeyPolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Pamela: Website: https://PamelaMeyer.com  Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250378230?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback  X: https://x.com/Pamela_Meyer  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelameyer  Related Podcast Episodes How To Listen with Emily Kasriel | 321 Pants On Fire (The Truth About Lying) with Lauren Handel Zander | 219 131 / Maximize Your Success By Managing Your Ego with Christie Garcia Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if the problem isn’t that there aren’t enough hours in the day, but that we’re giving too many of them away? For a long time, doing more was practically a badge of honor. More meetings. More preparation. More polishing. More yeses. More proving. And while all that effort might get results, it can also leave us burnt out, resentful, and wondering why the hell we’re working this hard when technology was supposed to make our lives easier. In this episode, Nicole sits down with Fran Hauser, leading career expert, champion of women in the workplace, former President of Digital at Time Inc., startup investor, and acclaimed author of 20 Minutes Is the New Hour: The Ambitious Woman’s Guide to Doing Less and Achieving More. They discuss: Why 20 minutes might actually be enough for that hour-long meeting The four P’s stealing our time: perfectionism, people pleasing, procrastination, and padding How people pleasing creates overwhelm, burnout, and resentment The power of pausing before automatically saying yes Why saying yes to every opportunity can actually work against women professionally How to recognize what’s underneath procrastination Why starting messy can create momentum How shorter timelines can force clarity and keep perfectionism from taking over The difference between Chronos and Kairos How leaders can experiment with shorter meetings and meeting-free time Why doing less isn’t about caring less—it’s about being intentional with our most precious resource The goal isn’t to reclaim 40 minutes from a meeting just to squeeze two more meetings into the space. It’s to stop giving away so much of our time to habits, expectations, and systems that don’t deserve it. Thank you to our sponsors! Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to HeyPolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Fran: Website: https://www.franhauser.com/  Book: https://www.franhauser.com/twentyminutes  IG: https://www.instagram.com/fran_hauser/  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franhauser/  Related Podcast Episodes CLASSIC EPISODE: The 15-Minute Method To Getting It Done with Sam Bennett The Ambition Trap with Amina AITai | 309 119. Realistic Time Management for High-Performing Women Entrepreneurs Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Just stay positive” might be some of the most useless advice ever given when life is falling apart. Because resilient optimism isn’t pretending everything is fine, ignoring reality, or slapping a silver lining on something that just plain sucks. It’s believing that even when we can’t control what happens, we still have agency over what we do next. Michelle Gielan is a positive psychology researcher, bestselling author of Broadcasting Happiness, former CBS Morning News anchor, and author of Resilient Optimism: The Science of Sustaining a Positive Mindset in Tough Times. Her research explores how optimism impacts happiness, resilience, performance, productivity, and our ability to navigate stress, uncertainty, setbacks, and change. In this episode, Michelle and Nicole unpack why optimism isn’t just a feeling — it’s a behavior.  We explore: What resilient optimism is — and how it differs from toxic positivity Why optimism is a behavior we can practice, not just a personality trait How to hold two truths at once with a “yes, and” mindset Why our brains naturally focus on threats and negative information The five trainable behaviors of resilient optimists How to recalibrate perspective without ignoring reality Why strategic rest and recovery can improve performance The impact of negative news, social media, and our information diet Why relationships and social connection are critical to happiness and optimism Optimism isn’t believing everything will work out exactly the way we want. It’s believing there’s still something worth doing before we know how the story ends. Thank you to our sponsors! Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to HeyPolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Michelle: Book: https://www.resilientoptimism.com/  Substack: https://michellegielan.substack.com/  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellegielan/  Related Podcast Episodes Your Brain Is a Filthy Liar with Bizzie Gold | 361 The Stress Paradox: Why We Need Stress (and How to Make It Work for Us) with Dr. Sharon Horesh Bergquist | 294 Invite the Tiger to Tea: How to Turn Stress Into Strength with Dr. Rebecca Heiss | 340 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Work isn’t exactly working for women. We have more opportunities, more impressive titles, more responsibility, and more ways to succeed than generations before us. And yet, a whole lot of successful women are exhausted, overwhelmed, underutilized, and wondering: Is this really as good as it gets? Dr. Helen Krug von Nidda is an executive coach, licensed career counselor, Stanford University instructor, and author of Closing the Fulfillment Gap. She’s spent more than 20 years helping women navigate their careers and create work lives that actually fit who they are today — not who they were when they started climbing the damn ladder. In this episode, Helen and Nicole unpack the “fulfillment gap” — the distance between what women expected successful careers to feel like and what they’re actually experiencing.  We explore: Why women can be successful at work and still feel deeply unfulfilled How autonomy, connection, and competence influence fulfillment Why what fulfills women changes throughout different career and life stages The MOVE framework for creating a more fulfilling career How values can serve as breadcrumbs when the bigger vision isn’t clear Why knowing what you don’t want can help clarify what you do The surprising power of “weak ties” and expanding professional networks Small career changes women can make now to start closing the fulfillment gap Fulfillment isn’t something waiting at the top of the ladder, and it probably isn’t hiding inside the next promotion either. Women may not control every workplace, leader, system, or outcome — but they do have power over what they pursue, tolerate, change, and choose. Thank you to our sponsors! Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to HeyPolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Helen: IG: https://www.instagram.com/with.dr.helen/  Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GT9YPC9C/  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkrugvonnidda/  Substack: https://substack.com/@withhelen https://www.with-helen.com/  Related Podcast Episodes: Work Shouldn’t Suck: How to Make It Good with Moe Carrick | 356 How To Know When It’s Time to Quit with Goli Kalkhoran | 266 How To Live A Fulfilling Life with Dr. Edith Eger | 251 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We love a comeback story. The recovery after the diagnosis. The victory after the struggle. The inspiring lesson wrapped up with a pretty bow and, preferably, some flattering lighting. But what about when you’re still in it? Allison Sweet Grant was barely 40, a mother of three, and just beginning her literary career when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her memoir, Lump: A Memoir in Ineloquent Reflections, tells the truth about breast cancer treatment and recovery without cleaning it up for public consumption. There’s fear and hope. Gratitude and anger. Humor and grief.  In this episode, Allison and Nicole talk about the messy emotional reality of a breast cancer diagnosis, chemotherapy and cancer recovery, including the pressure to stay positive, the complicated role of caregivers, and why gratitude doesn’t cancel out grief. We explore: Why gratitude, grief, fear, anger, humor, and hope can all exist at once The pressure cancer patients can feel to stay positive or find the “silver lining” How cancer affects spouses, children, caregivers, and the entire family Why humor and sarcasm can be powerful coping mechanisms during difficult experiences How the need to be liked or seen as a “good patient” can keep women from asking important questions Why bringing an advocate to medical appointments can make a difference How fear influences major healthcare decisions — and why Allison wishes she had paused more The ongoing fear of cancer recurrence and what it means to live in the complicated space between patient and survivor Because the truth doesn’t need to be positive, polished, perfect, or profound to be worth telling. Thank you to our sponsors! Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to HeyPolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Allison: Website: https://www.allisonsweetgrant.com/  Book: https://www.amazon.com/Lump-Reflections-Allison-Sweet-Grant-ebook/dp/B0GL1H4FJL/  Related Podcast Episodes: Survival Is Woman’s Work with Kathy Giusti | 391 Joan Lunden on Reinvention, Leadership & Life Beyond the Script | 392 161 / Survivorship and Breast Cancer with Virginia Carnesale Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Society doesn’t just tell girls who they’re supposed to be. It tells boys who they’re supposed to be too. Different rules, different consequences—but they’re still boxes asking our kids to perform who they’re supposed to be instead of discovering who they actually are. In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil welcomes back Dr. Shefali, world-renowned clinical psychologist, multiple New York Times bestselling author, founder of the Conscious Parenting Movement, and author of two new books, Raising Conscious Daughters and Raising Conscious Sons. And while there’s plenty to say about raising confident girls, this conversation spends significant time on what boys need from parents in a culture sending them increasingly confusing messages about masculinity. They explore: What parents are getting wrong about raising boys today What “integrated masculinity” looks like and why boys need healthier models of manhood How parents can help boys navigate social media, pornography, the manosphere, and toxic masculinity Why mentorship and positive male role models matter What boys may be seeking through video games, online communities, and bro culture How movement, purpose, contribution, and connection can support boys’ emotional health How to help boys experience and express anger without shaming their emotions or allowing harmful behavior How girls are still being taught to seek approval—even when it’s packaged as empowerment Why parents need to examine their own emotional baggage and achievement expectations Because raising kids who know who they are—and get to decide who they become—that’s the work of a parent. Thank you to our sponsors! Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to HeyPolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 40% off your first year Connect with Dr. Shefali: Website: https://www.drshefali.com/raisingconscious-daughters-sons/  IG: https://www.instagram.com/doctorshefali/?hl=en  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@doctorshefali  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doctorshefali  Related Podcast Episodes FACTS About Raising Emotionally Intelligent Kids with Alyssa Blask Campbell M.Ed | 345 126 / The Parenting Map with Dr. Shefali 056 / A Radical Awakening with Dr. Shefali Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if midlife isn’t the beginning of the decline, but the beginning of something entirely new? We’ve been sold a pretty outdated life plan: learn, work, climb, achieve, retire. Preferably while raising children, maintaining friendships, exercising, drinking enough water, keeping our relationships interesting, remembering everyone’s birthdays, and figuring out what the fuck is happening to our hormones. Yeah. That plan could use an update. In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil talks with Lynda Gratton, one of the world’s leading experts on the future of work, professor of management practice at London Business School, and author of Living the Hundred Year Life: How to Build a Career That Lasts and a Life You Love. They explore: Why the traditional learn-work-retire model no longer fits a 100-year life How longer lifespans are changing careers, retirement, and the future of work Why women have been living multi-stage careers long before workplaces caught up The eight “threads” that help create a fulfilling, sustainable life and career Why relationships, friendship, adventure, and calm are essential to avoiding burnout Why calm may be one of the most neglected resources in women’s lives How to create more calm without pretending we suddenly have hours of free time The difference between the future self you hope for, expect, and fear Why adventure doesn’t require blowing up your life or booking a trip around the world Why you might want to take a little piece of retirement now instead of saving all of it for someday So if you’re asking, “What’s next for me?” maybe you don’t need the entire answer yet. Maybe you get to keep weaving, experimenting, and choosing as you go. Thank you to our sponsors! Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to HeyPolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 40% off your first year Connect with Lynda: Website: https://www.livingthe100yearlife.com/  Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Living-100-Year-Life-build-career/dp/1399432966/ref=sr_1_1  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynda-gratton-3b179813/    Assessment: https://www.livingthe100yearlife.com/assessment  Related Podcast Episodes: On Sabbaticals, Reinvention, and Getting Older | Unfiltered & Unhinged JoySpan: A Smarter Way To Age Well (And Break Free From Anti-Aging Culture) with Dr. Kerry Burnight | 425 Why “Rewirement” Beats Retirement (and How to Do It Right) with Anne Chow | 350 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Somewhere along the way, a lot of us got way too practical. We learned what’s realistic, reasonable, and likely to work. We became responsible adults who pay the mortgage and don’t launch every half-baked idea that hits us in the shower. Great. But what if being “realistic” is sometimes just fear with better branding? In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil talks with Dr. Salima Bhimani, moonshot architect, entrepreneur, former Alphabet Chief Strategist for Responsible Technology, CEO of 10x Responsible Tech, and author of Invent Now: The Next Leap in Moonshots. Salima challenges the idea that innovation, AI, emerging technology, and moonshot thinking belong exclusively to Silicon Valley geniuses with billion-dollar budgets. Instead, she argues that human ingenuity exists everywhere—and that the future gets a hell of a lot more interesting when everyday people stop being passive recipients of technology and start participating in what gets built. They explore: What a moonshot idea actually is—and why it’s not just for tech billionaires Why Salima believes we’re wasting enormous amounts of human genius and potential How AI and emerging technology are lowering the barriers to innovation Why humanity—not technology—is the real moonshot How to stop underestimating your own ability to create change and make an impact The importance of community and collaboration when solving complex problems Why we tend to underestimate our own impact while wildly overestimating everyone else’s How purpose and creativity can emerge during messy, uncertain seasons of life Why friction, frustration, and problems may be exactly where the best ideas are hiding What Salima calls the “third space,” where human ingenuity and technology come together This isn’t about convincing everyone to cure cancer, build the next Google, or become an inventor. It’s about getting a little less impressed by what’s “realistic” and a lot more curious about what could be possible. Thank you to our sponsors! Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to HeyPolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 40% off your first year Connect with Salima: Website: https://salimabhimani.com/  Book: https://www.amazon.com/Invent-Now-Next-Leap-Moonshots/dp/1394394020  IG: https://www.instagram.com/moonshotmaven_salimabhimani/  Related Podcast Episodes Pioneers: 8 Principles for Building a Business That Lasts with Neri Karra Sillaman | 383 AI, Hiring, and the Future of Work (Without Selling Your Soul) with Katie Fortunato | 395 AQ: The Intelligence You Actually Need (And Why IQ & EQ Aren’t Enough) with Liz Tran | 386 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re living in the age of the quick fix. Three steps to happiness. One habit to eliminate anxiety. A supplement for every symptom. Enough already. Because grief is complicated. Mental health is complicated. Relationships are complicated. We are complicated. And when we reduce deeply human experiences into easy solutions, we don’t just oversimplify the problem—we risk making people believe they’re the problem. In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil talks with Dr. Celeste Birkhofer, clinical psychologist, adjunct clinical faculty member at Stanford Medical School, and author of Beyond Quick Fixes. Together, they explore the five inner resources that support mental health, emotional resilience, healthy relationships, and personal growth—and why strengthening ourselves from the inside out matters more than finding the next hack. They explore: The five inner resources that create a stronger foundation for mental health and well-being How to develop a healthy sense of self, self-esteem, agency, and self-compassion Why coping strategies learned in childhood may no longer serve us as adults The difference between healthy coping and patterns of over-control, avoidance, numbing, or perfectionism Why strong relationships—and learning to tolerate disappointment and repair ruptures—are essential to well-being How to ask for the kind of support you actually need instead of expecting people to magically know Why self-compassion and personal growth can (and should) exist at the same time What the “wise self” is and how to strengthen and trust that internal voice Why professional mental health support matters when life becomes painful or overwhelming The work isn’t to constantly fix ourselves. It’s to know ourselves, strengthen ourselves, and build the inner resources that help us meet whatever life hands us with more capacity, compassion, resilience, and trust. Thank you to our sponsors! Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to HeyPolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 40% off your first year Connect with Celeste: Website: https://www.celestebirkhofer.com/  Book: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Quick-Fixes-Ingredients-Fulfilling/dp/B0GRWSRJLK  IG: https://www.instagram.com/celestebirkhofer  FB: https://www.facebook.com/celeste.birkhofer   LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celeste-birkhofer-phd-psyd-85525a9/  Substack: https://drcelestebirkhofer.substack.com/  Brainzmagazine: https://www.brainzmagazine.com/executive-contributor/celeste-birkhofer  Related Podcast Episodes: Stop Saying “I’m Fine”: Nervous System Regulation for High-Achieving Women with Michelle Grosser | 372 The Biology Of Trauma - And How To Heal It with Dr. Aimie Apigian | 346 Grown-Up Goals: The 5 Pillars Of Being A Healthy Adult with Michelle Chalfant | 317 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices