Perennials Podcast

Episode 41: Enjoying the Climb with Gillian Herbert

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 what she's capable of. We also discussed how rock climbing helps her to get out of her head and work with fear in a new way.

To learn more about topics covered and references made in this episode, visit the Shownotes page.

Episode 40: Stories that Change Us with Lily Percy

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 worked for StoryCorps and NPR's All Things Considered. 

In today's episode, Lily and I talk about what she's learned from her years of loving movies and listening in on conversations with incredible people reflecting on what it means to be human.

We talk about some of the movies Lily loves, how romantic movies always end at the beginning, and our sensitivity when it comes to watching films that are violent or disturbing. We also talk about the wisdom Lily has gleaned from both younger and older generations, from unfixed ideas about identity, to realizing some of the wisest people also face deep struggles throughout their lives.

To learn more about today's episode, visit the Shownotes page.

Episode 39: True Love with Sarah Koestner

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 reality that love, like everything else in life, includes an element of uncertainty--and that it's way more expansive than perhaps we've been led to believe.

Join me and coach Sarah Koestner as we consider questions like "If I experience doubt in my relationship, does that mean something is wrong?" "How do I know if I love my partner enough?" and "Can you love someone else before you've learned to love yourself?" 

Visit the Shownotes page to learn more about Sarah and the episode.

Episode 38: Spiritual Direction for Christmas with Karen Florance

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 in with ourselves and cultivate greater gentleness, compassion and acceptance during this time of darkness and light.

For those like me who struggle with religion and God, who aren't sure what we believe but who are drawn to spiritual people like Karen, I hope this episode encourages you to have patience with yourself, to accept yourself wherever you are, to embrace your own goodness and look for the good in others.

You can learn more about topics covered and references made in this episode on the Shownotes page.

Episode 37: Let's Save the Planet with Ananya Singh

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 what it means to organize and lead, and in today's episode, she's sharing some of those lessons. We discuss how Ananya keeps her activist fire going, how to overcome barriers to action, and how Ananya responds to despair and burnout. Plus, Ananya talks about different types of environmentalism, intersectionality in environmental movements, and what she's learning as a leader about balancing authenticity with compassion. 

Visit the Shownotes page to learn more about Ananya and today's episode.

Episode 36: Grown Ups Vote with Lauren Roberts

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 states. U.S. citizens are granted the right to vote at age 18, just as we're becoming adults. It's an important part of growing up, and yet many people (myself included) don’t always exercise this privilege and responsibility. In today’s episode, I’m talking with Lauren Roberts, who has worked in the U.S. Senate, collaborates with CTZNWELL and founded INDY YOGA VOTES, a campaign to bridge her local yoga community with political action. We’re discussing why it’s important to vote even though the system is broken, the power of local elections, some common obstacles to voting and civic participation and how we can overcome those obstacles. 

You can check on your voter registration status and learn more about your local elections at Vote.org or Vote411.org

And learn more about today's episode on the Shownotes page.

Episode 35: The Psychology of Harry Potter with Dr. Jill Cermele (Live Show!)

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 identity exploration from the Sorting Hat and Hogwarts houses? How can we laugh at our own boggarts, conjure protective patronuses, and avoid counterproductive magical thinking? What makes some people join Dumbledore's Army while others become Death Eaters? Why is it important for us to see ourselves and others in all our complexity, not as all-good or all-bad?

Find out in today's episode! 

Thank you to Short Stories Book Shop & Community Hub in Madison, NJ for hosting and to Andy Feldman for running sound and mixing this episode!

References:

References made:

• The Psychology of Harry Potter, edited by Neil Mullholland
• Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
• Magical thinking
• The Milgram Shock Experiment
• Dr. Kristin Neff’s work on self-compassion vs. self-esteem
• The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker

You can learn more about today's episode over at the Shownotes page.

Episode 34: Lights Up with Felicia Russell

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 town’s talent show when she was five years old, and later that same year she went on her first audition for a local community theater production of The Sound of Music.

I used to watch in awe as my little sister, who was still just a kid, went to auditions and rehearsals with a sense of professionalism, dedication, passion and love way beyond her years. It’s been incredible to watch her relationship to this art form deepen and evolve as she’s grown up.

Today, Felicia is sharing wisdom she’s gleaned from ten years of auditions, rejections, rehearsals, and live shows. Whether you like to be onstage, backstage or in the audience, there's a lesson here for you: about trusting your instincts, grappling with rejection and critique, retaining hope, learning how to care but not cling, the importance of responsibility and respect, and what it means to take something and leave something from each important experience you have.

You can learn more about Felicia and today's episode on the Shownotes page.

Episode 33: Traveling with Anxiety

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 sharing 10 tips, tricks and tools for managing travel anxiety that I used on my recent trip to Montana, complete with stories about irrational obsessing over footwear, an almost-ill-fated camping trip, and the playlists that get me through long flights. 

If you're in the mood to travel, why not come visit lovely Madison, New Jersey for the very first Perennials Podcast live show?? I'll be having a conversation about the psychology of Harry Potter with Dr. Jill Cermele, professor of Psychology at Drew University, at Short Stories Bookshop & Community Hub from 7-9 pm on Friday, October 25. Head to the Facebook event to learn more and RSVP to this free, sure-to-be-super-fun event!

Episode 32: Ditching Diets and Ripping Off Halos with Jessie Haims: Part Two

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 everywhere from yoga studios to doctor's offices. And we share our struggles with body image and trying to untangle our sense of value and lovability from our age and looks. 

You can learn more about Jessie and today's episode by visiting the Shownotes page.