We are: Your favorite blonde identical twin sister duo. We are also: Christians, photographers, designers, singers, readers, homebodies, and night owls. What you'll hear: Topics ranging from recommendations and favorites to random challenges and our pet peeves.
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Conversations about growing up, getting wise and trying to live a good life.
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Your intrepid host is no longer a twenty-something trying to figure stuff out--as of this past July, I'm now a thirty-something trying to figure stuff out! To mark the occasion, this past summer I asked previous Perennials guests to share some wisdom about the third decade of life. They delivered reflections on what they let go of when leaving thei…
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Episode 70: Exploring the Enneagram with Maria Bowler
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In today's episode, I'm talking to Maria Bowler, a contemplative artist, spiritual director, and enneagram guide. We discuss the mysterious roots of the enneagram, and Maria shares her unique way of differentiating the nine different types, as well as ways to think about identifying our own type. I ask Maria some of my most burning questions about …
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Episode 69: Couples Therapy with Dr. Nadia Nieves
1:14:24
1:14:24
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Today, I'm talking about couples therapy with Dr. Nadia Nieves, PhD, a limited license therapist in New York City. Nadia works with couples using an integrated approach of relational psychodynamic, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) interventions. She prioritizes supporting her clients in learning how to understand…
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Episode 68: Exploring The Midnight Library with Danica Browne
1:14:12
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In today's episode, my friend Danica Browne and I are unpacking themes from the novel The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. This is a book about unlived lives, regret, possibility, and hope. In this episode, Danica and I are talking about how these themes play out in our own lives. We discuss living vicariously through fictional characters, the subtle…
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Episode 67: On Disappointment and Patience
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In today's shorter, solo episode, I'm talking about wanting something, trying and striving for something, sitting with uncertainty, anxiety and excitement, entertaining romantic ideas and fantasies about greener grass, and ultimately, being disappointed. It's so common in early adulthood, with so much uncertainty coming from all angles, to feel res…
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Episode 66: Wisdom from Folklore with Felicia Russell, Part 2
1:09:08
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My sister Felicia Russell and I are continuing and concluding our conversation about Taylor Swift's album Folklore with an exploration of themes like commitment, communication, betrayal, and escape. We share personal stories from our own lives about things falling apart and coming together, just like they do in the songs we're unpacking today. And,…
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Episode 65: Wisdom from Folklore with Felicia Russell
1:12:35
1:12:35
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In today's episode, my sister Felicia Russell and I are unpacking wisdom from a little-known indie album we found in the back of a dusty old record shop...okay, just kidding. We're close-reading one of the most talked-about albums of 2020, Taylor Swift's Folklore. Our little romantic English and History-loving hearts skip a beat as we unpack each t…
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Episode 64: Spring Cleaning with Melissa Adamo and Jessica Gaeta
1:02:57
1:02:57
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There's something about springtime that can bring a renewed sense of energy and a desire to declutter, freshen up, make space, and look forward with hopefulness. That's why I decided to talk to Monica Geller and Danny Tanner--I mean, sorry, my cleanest and most organized friends and previous Perennials guests Melissa Adamo and Jessica Gaeta. Join u…
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Episode 63: Parenting Ourselves with Sheryl Paul, Part 2
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31:23
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In Part 2 of our conversation about learning to parent ourselves, Sheryl Paul and I get into even deeper and richer territory--the territory of heart and soul. We talk about tuning into what's happening in our bodies and in our hearts, and having patience and compassion for whatever we find. We talk about both reaching out for connection and streng…
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Episode 62: Parenting Ourselves with Sheryl Paul, Part 1
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My first-ever Perennials guest is back! This time, beloved therapist and author (whom I'm lucky to call my aunt!) Sheryl Paul and I are talking about learning to parent ourselves. This topic comes up a lot in Sheryl's work as a therapist: the practice of strengthening the part of ourselves that can hold space for big feelings, offer ourselves and o…
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Episode 61: Embracing Weakness with Shannon K Evans
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In today's episode, I'm talking to Shannon K Evans about themes from her book Embracing Weakness: The Unlikely Secret to Changing the World. Shannon is an author, speaker, contemplative and advocate who demonstrates how embracing our need for each other can lead us to greater connection, freedom and love. We talk about how she met her edges in miss…
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Today’s episode is a reflection on seasons and being in between seasons. In the month of March here in New Jersey, we have one foot in winter, one in spring. Similarly, I began this podcast out of a sense of feeling in between life seasons in the decade of my 20s--not quite an adolescent, not quite an adult. This episode is an exploration of how ou…
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Episode 59: What Friends Are For with Jessica Kradjel Part 2
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46:21
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Jessica Kradjel and I continue our conversation about friendship in today's episode. Jess describes her experience of creating a close chosen family and living community with two of her college friends in their early-mid 20s, and what it’s been like to maintain that friendship once they moved to different places. We also talk about rekindling frien…
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Episode 58: What Friends Are For with Jessica Kradjel
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In today’s episode, I’m talking to my friend of almost twenty years, Jessica Kradjel. We trace the trajectory of our friendship from light rivalry in sixth grade Chorus class to long distance love throughout college and beyond. During this trip down memory lane, we explore some of the common experiences we and many others have faced in the realm of…
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Episode 57: Resilient Kindness with Zachary Cox
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Today, I'm talking to Zachary Cox. Zac is a Ph.D. student in the Disaster Science and Management program at The University of Delaware, and since April 2020 he has interviewed almost 100 people from different walks of life to find out how they've been affected by and are responding to the disaster of the covid-19 pandemic. In our conversation today…
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Episode 56: Money Matters with Megan deBoer
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Today's episode is about the very grown-up topic of money. So many young adults, like myself, enter into a tough job market with a ton of student debt, little financial education, and no idea how to afford rent. It's easy to feel completely overwhelmed, and to avoid looking at or making a plan for your finances, or to obsessively worry about any sp…
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Episode 55: Happiness is an Inside Job with Lizzie Finn
59:09
59:09
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Today's guest is my aunt, Lizzie Finn. We're talking about how Lizzie has grown through some difficult experiences in midlife (including chronic illness, divorce and empty nest syndrome) and the commonality she finds with young adults asking questions about identity, purpose and true happiness. Lizzie talks about attending to past wounds and trauma…
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Episode 54: Being More Human with Amber Haines
55:22
55:22
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Amber Haines is the author of Wild in the Hollow: On Chasing Desire and Finding the Broken Way Home (2015), a spiritual memoir about her search for freedom, belonging and true intimacy with God. Amber's book traces her path from an Evangelical childhood in Alabama to her rebellious teen years and into marriage and motherhood, all while trying to fi…
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Episode 53: A Self-Care Visualization Inspired by Queer Eye
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This special episode invites you to think about how you can use your imagination to tap into different parts of yourself, parts that can see your gifts and strengths and offer you compassion and care. In the first half of the episode, I give some background and context about my own resistance to visualizations and why I used to get angry when thera…
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Episode 52: What Was Missing with Khay Muhammad
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Recently, Khay Muhammad called me up to ask if we could do a follow-up to our conversation for Episode 45: Belonging in Yoga. Khay explained to me that something important was missing from that episode, and she wanted to make it right. This episode is for Khay to explain what (or rather, who) was missing--and why. It's a conversation about patriarc…
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Episode 51: How You Matter with Maya Sanyal, Part 2
53:37
53:37
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Maya Sanyal and I continue our conversation about purpose by getting a little deeper and more philosophical. Maya talks about how she responds to questions that many of us ask ourselves at some point in our lives when we are faced with trying for something: “Who cares?” “Why does it matter?” and “Who do I think I am?” Maya believes it is possible t…
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Episode 50: How You Matter with Maya Sanyal, Part 1
1:09:31
1:09:31
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Maya Sanyal is many things: a career and academic counselor; a mentor and teacher; a writer; a friend; a loving dog mom; a passion skeptic; a purveyor of hope; a business woman. In Part 1 of our conversation, Maya and I talk about her career trajectory, which includes navigating the communal culture she comes from and the individualistic culture of…
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Episode 49: Wild Invocations with Ysabel Gonzalez, Part 2
37:41
37:41
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Ysabel Gonzalez and I continue our conversation about the poems in her collection Wild Invocations, which traces her journey from girlhood to womanhood. With fire and tenderness, these poems explore relationships and identity, expectations and disappointments, vulnerability and strength. Ysabel shares how poems help her express different parts of h…
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Episode 48: Wild Invocations with Ysabel Gonzalez, Part 1
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Ysabel Gonzalez's full-length collection of poetry, Wild Invocations (published by Get Fresh Books in 2019), is a juicy, earthy, sparkly, raw, raucous, contemplative gem. I'm lucky to call Ysabel my friend as well as my colleague at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, where she is Assistant Director of the Poetry Program. In Part 1, Ysabel and I tal…
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Episode 47: Building a Life with Florence Hamer
1:13:56
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Today's episode features a truly delightful guest: Florence Hamer, a woodworker who lives in her self-built tiny house, and spends her time carving spoons, turning bowls, enjoying nature and baking cakes. In our conversation, Flo describes the path that led her to her beautiful tiny home, from growing up on her mother's woodland, to learning to car…
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Episode 46: Creativity in Quarantine with Marina Carreira
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Multimedia artist (and previous Perennials guest!) Marina Carreira is here to talk about creativity during covid-19. We discuss who gets to claim the title "creative," the importance of carving out creative time and rest time, and the practice of finding beauty in the mundane. Marina reminds us that if all we have energy for right now is survival, …
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Episode 45: Belonging in Yoga with Khay Muhammad
1:01:00
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Khay Muhammad is a yoga teacher who deeply understands the importance of creating true inclusion and belonging in her classes -- for her students and for herself. Khay and I talk about her childhood growing up in the city of Newark, New Jersey, spending long days with her father in Branch Brook Park and learning about her connection to nature. She …
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Episode 44: Bonnets at Dawn with Lauren Burke and Hannah K Chapman
1:27:33
1:27:33
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Today's guests Lauren Burke and Hannah K Chapman are hosts of the podcast Bonnets at Dawn, which explores the lives, work and fandom of women writers from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Lauren and Hannah share some of the wisdom they've taken from authors like Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell and Louisa May Alcott. You'll hear a…
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Episode 43: Holding Space with Zoe Gillis
1:08:02
1:08:02
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I'm so grateful for this conversation with Zoe Gillis, a licensed marriage and family therapist who in today's episode is helping us to get as grounded as we can and try to stay present during a time of great global anxiety. There's a lot of uncertainty right now, and a lot that we can't control. Zoe reminds us to focus on what we can control; to m…
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Episode 42: Perennials Book Club, Chapter 1, Anne of Green Gables
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During this difficult and strange time of social distancing amidst a pandemic, I wanted to offer some extra comfort and connection. So I decided to start a Perennials Podcast Book Club! Thanks to all who voted on Instagram and via e-mail for our first Book Club pick: Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery. In addition to my typical conversation e…
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Episode 41: Enjoying the Climb with Gillian Herbert
1:08:36
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Gillian Herbert is an avid hiker and rock climber who hiked the Appalachian Trail after high school graduation, which led her to reassess her plans for college and inspired her to study biology. Gillian is now a fourth year veterinary student. Gillian and I talk about how the AT helped her gain more confidence in herself and widen her ideas about w…
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Episode 40: Stories that Change Us with Lily Percy
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In episode 40, one of my dreams comes true--I get to have a conversation with a producer for the podcast that made me fall in love with podcasts, On Being with Krista Tippett. Lily Percy is one of the founding members who brought On Being to independence in 2013; she's also the host of the delightful podcast This Movie Changed Me, and formerly work…
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Episode 39: True Love with Sarah Koestner
1:11:18
1:11:18
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Some of the most common myths about love that we hear over and over again can create real anxiety and distress for people who begin to believe that there's something wrong with them, their partner, or their relationship when their experience doesn't match those myths. Today's episode is about unpacking some of our false beliefs and confronting the …
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Episode 38: Spiritual Direction for Christmas with Karen Florance
1:06:56
1:06:56
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As we in the Northern Hemisphere contend with shorter, darker days and the coming of winter, as well as the busy end-of-year and holiday season, it can be easy to become overwhelmed. With just about a week left until Christmas, I'm talking to Spiritual Director Karen Florance about the season of advent and how we can take time to slow down, check i…
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Episode 37: Let's Save the Planet with Ananya Singh
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At just sixteen years old, Ananya Singh is the CEO of Greening Forward, a youth-led environmental organization, and is Partnerships Coordinator for the New Jersey Student Sustainability Coalition. Ananya’s passion for activism ignited when she was twelve years old and attended the Youth Empowered Action Camp. Since then, she’s learned a lot about w…
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Episode 36: Grown Ups Vote with Lauren Roberts
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This episode is for anyone (like myself) who cares about humanity and wants to get more informed about how our government works and how to be more civically active, but who has struggled with feeling overwhelmed or even repulsed by our political system and the process of voting. In the U.S. this week, there are 49,000 elections happening across 34 …
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Episode 35: The Psychology of Harry Potter with Dr. Jill Cermele (Live Show!)
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For the first ever Perennials Podcast live show, I sat down with Dr. Jill Cermele, professor of Psychology at Drew University, who teaches a course called "The Psychology of Harry Potter." We talked all about what J.K. Rowling's fantasy series can teach us about growing up, getting wise and trying to live a good life. What can we learn about identi…
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Episode 34: Lights Up with Felicia Russell
1:11:36
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In today’s episode, I’m talking with my (nine years younger, nine inches taller) sister Felicia Russell about what she’s learned from ten years in the world of theater. Felicia has performed in nineteen musicals or plays over the course of the past ten years, and has auditioned for somewhere around 40 or 50. Her first public performance was at our …
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Do you get anxiety about traveling? Me too! But that's okay, because we can manage it. Anxiety doesn't have to keep us locked in our homes all the time. In addition to whatever treatment methods we're using to manage anxiety in our everyday lives, there are some basic practices that we can take with us wherever we go. In today's episode, I'm sharin…
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Episode 32: Ditching Diets and Ripping Off Halos with Jessie Haims: Part Two
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In Part Two of our conversation, Jessie and I are talking about how obsession with purity and perfection leads to destructive thoughts and behaviors. We talk about common motivations behind restrictive diets and how food can get wrapped up with a person's sense of self-worth and belonging. We also discuss how fatphobia and judgment show up everywhe…
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Episode 31 Ditching Diets and Ripping Off Halos with Jessie Haims: Part One
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Jessie Haims is an incredible woman--a survivor of cancer and orthorexia, a yoga teacher and student of exercise and nutrition, she has become a fearless voice against diet culture. Jessie developed a disordered relationship to food at just eight years old, a relationship that continued for nearly two decades. Last year, at age 26, she was diagnose…
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Episode 30 Not Babysitting with Alex Baron
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Alex Baron is not a babysitter. When he wakes up with his daughter at 5:30 a.m., when he changes her diapers or feeds her, he’s not doing it because he has to or because his wife asked him to--he’s doing it because he wants to. Because he loves being Addison’s dad. Recent studies from the Pew Research Center show that American fathers who live with…
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Episode 29: The Mystery of the Missing Statue with Mallory Mortillaro
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A few years ago, Mallory Mortillaro was a 22-year-old college graduate and middle school English teacher putting her Art History degree to good use doing part-time archival work. One day on the job, she discovered, tucked in the corner of a town council chamber, a lost Rodin statue. So began a one-year journey to officially authenticating the marbl…
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Episode 28: A Perennials Birth Story
1:21:12
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In today's episode, the tables have been turned--I'm the one answering questions! Lauren Roberts, previously my guest in Episode 23, is interviewing me about the origins of the podcast, and my current take on the themes of "growing up, getting wise and trying to live a good life." We talk about my post-grad quarter life crisis, slowly shedding the …
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Episode 27: And How Does That Make You Feel? with Jessica Gaeta
1:23:14
1:23:14
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Jessica Gaeta is your new favorite Jersey Italian mom. She's loud, she's funny, she makes a mean lasagna, and she's got the biggest heart. I sat down with Jess to pick her brain about her relationship to resiliency and adversity, how she coped after losing both of her parents by the time she was 20 years old, and how humor helps her find light even…
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Episode 26: The Nature of Presence with David Crews
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David Crews is author of Wander-Thrush: Lyric Essays of the Adirondacks and High Peaks, a poetry collection that catalogs his hiking of the “Adirondack 46ers” in upstate New York. David talks about his passion for wild and rugged terrain, why he doesn’t bring a phone or camera on his hikes, and how he strives to become more present in nature and in…
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Episode 25: Belonging in Our Bodies with Cindy Goncalves
1:12:26
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Cindy Goncalves is a Luso-American queer, feminist twenty-something, the daughter of immigrants currently working as a school counselor. In today's episode, she and I talk about her experience of sex education growing up, and what she later learned as a sex-positive educator. We talk about how she “stumbled upon” her own sexuality as a teenager, th…
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Episode 24: Containing Multitudes with Grisel Acosta
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Dr. Grisel Y. Acosta is a woman containing multitudes. She’s an Afro-Latina tattooed professor-poet, a leader and a loner, a fighter and lover who evades easy categorization. In today's episode, we're talking about the influence of Grisel's activist parents and what it was like to grow up in Chicago as a minister's daughter and a punk rocker who lo…
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Episode 23: Spirals of Healing with Lauren Roberts
1:21:24
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I don't know about you, but when I hear the word "healing" I often think of serene images: meditating on a beach at sunrise, receiving a gentle massage, drinking a cup of herbal tea. But as Lauren Roberts says in today's episode, healing is not pretty. It's not linear, it's not easy, and it can be downright confusing, especially in the realms we're…
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Twin Questions Answered By Twins - Episode 011
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Wait, we're twins?! Who knew! Haha! Since we are a more uncommon thing, we talk about being twins and answer some common questions! Are we identical? Who can cook better? Who's more attractive? Tune in to find out. Forgot to mention this in the episode, but Danica can somewhat whistle while Victoria cannot. Send us a voice message: https://anchor.f…
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