Stay ConnectedCome do life with Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle.
With more than half a billion plays, We Can Do Hard Things is a hilarious, raw, comforting “support system for braving the everyday.” The Pod Squad goes hard ($56 Million raised in global aid) and stays soft: meet here on Tuesdays to laugh, talk, and cry our way through the pain and magic of being human.
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Copyright: © Glennon Doyle. All Rights Reserved.
In this special episode, Glennon, Abby, and Amanda sit down with icon Dolly Parton for a heartfelt conversation about how to start something new at 77, how she mothers the world, and how she broke her own heart when Elvis asked to record her hit song.
Plus, the advice Dolly would give to Glennon and Abby’s daughter, Tish, as she enters the music business.
About Dolly:
Dolly Parton is the most honored and revered female country singer-songwriter of all time and was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Achieving 27 RIAA-certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards, she has had 26 songs reach #1 on the Billboard country charts, a record for a female artist. Parton became the first country artist honored as Grammy MusiCares Person of the Year.
She has 48 career Top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 110 career-charted singles over the past 50+ years. On October 17th she is releasing her second coffee table book in a trilogy called “Behind The Seams: My Life in Rhinestones” and on November 17th her highly anticipated 30-song rock album, “Rockstar.”
To date, Parton has donated over 213 million books to children around the world with her Imagination Library. Her children's book, Coat of Many Colors, was dedicated to the Library of Congress to honor the Imagination Library's 100 millionth book donation.
TW: @DollyParton
IG: @dollyparton
Brilliant life coach, Martha Beck, works her magic for our Pod Squad.
In this treasure trove of profound insight and practical guidance, Martha teaches us how to find purpose in midlife, how to use our longing as a map, and how to know for sure if what we have is real love.
If you’d like to go back and listen to the episodes mentioned in today’s conversation, check out episodes:
252. Martha Beck Helps Amanda Let Go
238. How to De-Stress: Relaxation Intervention for Amanda (and You)!
121. Martha Beck & Rowan Mangan: Polyamory & Throuple Life
67. How to Get More Joy with Martha Beck
66. How to Come Home to Yourself with Martha Beck
About Martha:
Dr. Martha Beck is a bestselling author, life coach, and speaker – offering powerful, practical, and entertaining teachings that help people improve every aspect of their lives. She is known for her unique combination of science, humor, and spirituality.
For over two decades she has been, in the words of NPR and USA Today, “the best-known life coach in America.” Her published works include several self-help books and memoirs, including New York Times and international bestsellers Finding Your Own North Star, The Joy Diet, and Expecting Adam.
Martha’s most recent book, The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self, was an instant New York Times Best Seller.
TW: @TheMarthaBeck
IG: @themarthabeck
In this incredibly raw episode, Martha Beck coaches Amanda through a transformative, therapeutic session to help heal her overfunctioning, resentment, and burnout. Martha uncovers the different parts of Amanda that have existed inside her since childhood – and invites them to speak and then finally rest into peace, joy, and enoughness.
If you’d like to go back and listen to episodes referenced in today’s conversation, check out:
238. How to De-Stress: Relaxation Intervention for Amanda (and You)!.
170. The Most Radical Way to Heal: Internal Family Systems with Dr. Becky Kennedy
67. How to Get More Joy with Martha Beck
66. How to Come Home to Yourself with Martha Beck
About Martha:
Dr. Martha Beck is a bestselling author, life coach, and speaker – offering powerful, practical, and entertaining teachings that help people improve every aspect of their lives. She is known for her unique combination of science, humor, and spirituality.
For over two decades she has been, in the words of NPR and USA Today, “the best-known life coach in America.” Her published works include several self-help books and memoirs, including New York Times and international bestsellers Finding Your Own North Star, and Expecting Adam.
Martha’s most recent book, The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self, was an instant New York Times Best Seller.
TW: @TheMarthaBeck
IG: @themarthabeck
Singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Allison Russell, shares her incredible life story and teaches us how she healed from abuse through music, sisterhood, and returning to her body. This hour is a soul-stirring reminder of the life-saving, cycle-breaking power of truth telling, art, and love.
About Allison:
Allison Russell has spent her career in multiple bands, including Po’ Girl, Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago. After a career spent as a gifted multi-instrumentalist, backing numerous other artists, she finally dared to release her solo project in 2021. She made her Opry debut and appeared at the Country Music Hall of Fame and performed at the 2022 GRAMMY’s Premiere Ceremony.
In addition to her four GRAMMY nominations, she has earned three 2022 Americana Award nominations and a win for Album of the Year, two International Folk Music Award wins, a 2022 Juno nomination for ‘Songwriter of the Year,’ and her first-ever Juno Award win for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year. Russell received two 2021 Americana Awards nominations, won three Canadian Folk Music Awards, two UK Americana Music Awards, and more. She was recently nominated for Song of the Year and Artist of the Year for the 2023 Americana Awards.
TW: @outsidechild13
Today, Angela Chen teaches us how understanding asexuality helps us understand ourselves and the true meaning of sex. Angela describes:
And a question for anyone seeing themselves in asexuality: What would this label free you from?
About Angela:
Angela Chen is a journalist and editor. She is the author of Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex, which was named one of the best books of 2020 by NPR, Electric Literature, and Them. Her reporting and essays have also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Guardian, National Geographic, Paris Review, and more.
TW: @chengela
IG: @angelaetcetera
Who do we go to for advice? And do we really even WANT advice — or just a good listener?
Glennon, Abby, and Amanda tell us who they each go to when they don’t know what to do next — and offer their best advice to Pod Squaders dealing with loneliness and the unexpected jealousy of their partner's affection for a pet.
Amanda shares the one proven way to get the truth from someone – plus:
For the first part of our conversation, check out 242. We’re All Liars: What’s Your Lying Style?.
Kerry Washington shares the deeply personal story of what happened when her parents finally told her the truth about a long-held and shocking family secret:
About Kerry:
Kerry Washington is an Emmy-winning, SAG, and Golden Globe-nominated actor, director, producer, and activist. Washington received widespread recognition for her role as Olivia Pope in the hit drama Scandal. In 2016, Washington launched her production company Simpson Street, whose projects include Confirmation, “American Son”, Emmy award-winning, “Live in Front of a Studio Audience”, The Fight, and Little Fires Everywhere. Washington is a lifelong activist and founder of Influence Change (IC21), an initiative that partners with nonprofits to increase voter turnout. For her efforts, Washington has been honored as one of TIME Magazine’s 2022 Women of The Year.
Washington released her first memoir, Thicker Than Water, which is on sale now!
TW: @kerrywashington
IG: @kerrywashington
Calling all Caregivers!
Today is a tribute to the everyday efforts of all caregivers who are holding up the sky for everyone else.
Ai-jen Poo is here shining a light on why caregivers are exhausted, unsupported, and overwhelmed – all while doing the work that makes everything else possible.
We talk about how to give the people we love the care they deserve without neglecting our own needs, and what can be done to right the systemic failures that leave caregivers fending for themselves. Plus, we hear a heartfelt message from a Pod Squader who represents so many of us in the sandwich (or “panini”) generation.
About Ai-jen:
Ai-jen Poo is an award-winning organizer, author, and a leading voice in the women’s movement. She is the President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Executive Director of Caring Across Generations, Senior Advisor to Care in Action, Co-Founder of SuperMajority, and a Trustee of the Ford Foundation.
Ai-jen is a nationally recognized expert on caregiving, the future of work, and what’s at stake for women of color. She is the author of the celebrated book, The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America.
TW: @aijenpoo
IG: @aijenp
Andrea Gibson returns with their partner, Megan Falley, for a gorgeous, hilarious double date with Glennon and Abby:
For our previous conversation with Andrea Gibson, check out: Ep 215 The Bravest Conversation We’ve Had: Andrea Gibson.
About Andrea:
Andrea Gibson is one of the most celebrated and influential spoken word artists of our time. Best known for their live performances, Andrea has changed the landscape of what it means to attend a “poetry show”. Andrea’s poems center around LGBTQ issues, spirituality, feminism, mental health, and the dismantling of oppressive social systems. Andrea is the author of seven books, most recently “You Better Be Lightning”.
TW: @andreagibson
IG: @andreagibson
About Megan:
Megan Falley is a queer femme writer and a full-time touring spoken word poet, author, and teaching artist. Her works include “Drive Here and Devastate Me”; “How Poetry Can Change Your Heart”; and the chapbook “Bad Girls, Honey: Poems About Lana Del Rey.” In addition to other accolades, Falley’s essays have been shortlisted for The Disquiet International Prize in 2021 and the Malahat Review Open Season Awards in 2022.
TW: @megan_falley
IG: @meganfalley
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