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.
Subscribe, Follow, and join our social media community here: https://linktr.ee/wecandohardthingsshow
Copyright: © Glennon Doyle. All Rights Reserved.
1. How to know when to dig deep–and when to quit digging.
2. The greatest blocker of connection–and how to remove it.
3. How to handle our fear (without obsessively controlling our people and our environment).
4. Why we all deserve a standing ovation for navigating relationships over the past two years.
About Brené:
Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Foundation Endowed Chair at The Graduate College of Social Work. She has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy, is the author of six #1 New York Times bestsellers, and is the host of the weekly podcasts Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead.
In her latest #1 New York Times bestseller, ATLAS OF THE HEART, which has been adapted for television and now streaming on HBO Max, she takes us on a journey through eighty-seven of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human.
Brené’s books have been translated into more than 30 languages and titles include: Dare to Lead, Braving the Wilderness, Rising Strong, Daring Greatly, and The Gifts of Imperfection. Most recently Brené collaborated with Tarana Burke to co-edit You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience.
Brené lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Steve. They have two children, Ellen and Charlie.
TW: @BreneBrown
IG: @BreneBrown
1. Why Hannah describes her later-in-life Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis as “an exfoliation of shame.”
2. How neurodiversity affects Hannah’s relationships–and how she connects to the world through what’s “interesting” instead of what’s “important.”
3. Hannah’s revolutionary commitment to stop using self-deprecating humor about her body, sexuality, and gender–and why we might all consider the same commitment.
4. Why it’s easier for Hannah to share her personal stories “in bulk” on stage instead of one-on-one.
5. What it takes for Hannah to prepare for conversations–like ours on We Can Do Hard Things.
About Hannah:
Tasmania’s own Hannah Gadsby stopped stand-up comedy in its tracks with her multi-award-winning show, Nanette. When it premiered on Netflix in 2018, it left audiences captivated by her blistering honesty and her singular ability to take them from rolling laughter to devastated silence. Its release and subsequent Emmy and Peabody wins took Nanette (and Hannah) to the world. Hannah’s difficult second album (which was also her eleventh solo show) was named Douglas after her dog. Hannah walked Douglas around the world, selling out the Royal Festival Hall in London, the Opera House in Sydney and the Kennedy Center in DC, a sit-down run in New York and shows across the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Douglas covered Hannah’s autism diagnosis, moving beyond the trauma at the centre of Nanette and instead letting the world see the view from Hannah’s brain – one that sees the world differently but with breathtaking clarity. The show was an Emmy-nominated smash hit and is available throughout the world on Netflix, recorded in Los Angeles.
Hannah Gadsby’s “overnight” success was more than ten years in the making, with her award-winning stand-up shows having been a fixture in festivals across Australia and the UK since 2009. She played a character called “Hannah” on the TV series Please Like Me and has hosted multiple art documentaries, inspired by her comedy art lectures. In 2022, Hannah’s first book Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation was published by Ballantine, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in the United States, Atlantic in the UK, and Allen & Unwin in Australia.
Hannah has done plenty of other things over the course of more than a decade in comedy, but that will do for now.
IG: hannah_gadsby
TW: HannahGadsby
1. Why we’ve been sold a lie–and the truth that we actually get happier the older we get!
2. The two most important–and shocking–predictors of aging well.
3. Busting the most prevalent misconceptions and about getting older.
4. How believing the myths about aging literally harms our health and makes us more vulnerable to the fears we hold about aging.
5. Glennon paints a mental picture of her older self–and encourages the Pod Squad to do the same.
About Ashton:
The author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, Ashton Applewhite is a leading spokesperson for the emerging movement to raise awareness of ageism and to dismantle it. A co-founder of the Old School Anti-Ageism Clearinghouse, she has been recognized by the New York Times, the New Yorker, National Public Radio, and the American Society on Aging as an expert on ageism. Ashton has written for Harper’s, the Guardian, and the New York Times, blogs at This Chair Rocks, and is the voice of Yo, Is This Ageist? She speaks widely at venues that have ranged from colleges and symposia to the TED mainstage and the United Nations. In 2022 she appeared on HelpAgeUSA’s inaugural 60 Over 60 List and on Fe:maleOneZero’s first international edition of 40 over 40 – The World’s Most Inspiring Women.
Twitter: @thischairrocks
Instagram: @thischairrocks
1. How Glennon is using her 46th birthday as an intermission–to slow down and decide what to bring with her into Act 2.
2. The counterculture power of knowing what is enough, and letting ourselves go.
3. The way to transition from Role Living to Soul Living–and why Glennon has Joni Mitchell on repeat.
4. The real meaning of “crisis”–and the idea that living well now means reimagining everything we learned in the first half of life.
5. Amanda’ s good news that if you don’t feel like Glennon does at this moment in life, it is very, very normal.
1. Why the construct of beauty is oppressive, but the essence of beauty is freedom.
2. What living with integrity looks like.
3. Why Dr. Blay doesn’t need any more allies—and what she really wants from an accomplice.
4. How “Karens” have been around for centuries—and the direct line from “Miss Anne to Karen.”
5. Dr. Blay’s greatest hope for her granddaughters—even if she doesn’t like it.
1. Amanda shares the biggest regret of her life: the one that still wakes her up in the middle of the night.
2. The five biggest regrets of the dying—and how to make the necessary changes to avoid them.
3. Why we should reframe regret as proof of a life well-lived.
In this hilarious and heartwarming in-person double date with Abby and Glennon—and their dear friends and brilliant artists Brandi and Catherine Carlile—we learn:
1. Why Brandi was completely dismayed the first time she met Catherine;
2. Who made the first move—and why it made Catherine sweat;
3. All about the Carlile family compound—where they are raising their girls surrounded by family, band members, and exes;
4. How they communicate and deal with jealousy; and
5. Why Brandi believes this conversation—two queer couples sitting on a couch publicly discussing marriage, family, and domesticity—is revolutionary.
About Brandi:
Brandi Carlile is a six-time GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter, performer, producer, #1 New York Times Bestselling author and activist, who is known as one of music's most respected voices.
Her new album, In These Silent Days, recently debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk Albums chart, Top Rock Albums chart and Tastemaker Albums chart and continues to receive overwhelming acclaim. The New York Times praises, “Larger than life and achingly human…she empathizes, apologizes and lays out accusations. She’s righteous and she’s self-doubting. She proffers fond lullabies and she unleashes full-throated screams," while NPR Music declares, “absolutely breathtaking, across the whole album Brandi Carlile pulls out all the stops. It’s just extraordinary…she’s just claiming rock god status." Carlile recently received five nominations at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards including Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance for the album's lead single, "Right On Time."
Following a breakthrough debut on "Saturday Night Live," Carlile and her band will embark on a series of landmark concerts next year including stops at Washington’s Gorge Amphitheatre, Los Angeles’ The Greek Theatre and New York’s Madison Square Garden among many others. In addition to her 6 GRAMMY Awards, Carlile has been recognized with Billboard’s Women In Music “Trailblazer Award,” CMT’s Next Women of Country “Impact Award" and received multiple recognitions from the Americana Music Association Honors & Awards including Artist of the Year for the past two years.
TW: @brandicarlile
IG: @brandicarlile
About Catherine:
Catherine Carlile has devoted her life to the intersection of music and activism with over 20 years of experience. Since 2012, she has served as the Executive Director of the Looking Out Foundation, which has raised over $3 million for a variety of grassroots causes including close work with Children In Conflict/War Child. She also serves as creative director for Phantom 309 Productions. Prior to her current work, Catherine worked with Sir Paul McCartney in coordinating his charitable interests and endeavors. Originally from London, Catherine now lives outside of Seattle, WA with her wife, Brandi Carlile, and their two daughters, Evangeline and Elijah.
1. The two disagreements between Brandi and Glennon that started, and cemented, their friendship.
2. Brandi’s lifelong quest to continuously “calibrate” herself so that her outsides are in tune with her insides.
3. The trait Brandi loves most about Catherine—and the sticky note on Glennon’s desk with the same message.
About Brandi:
Brandi Carlile is a six-time GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter, performer, producer, #1 New York Times Bestselling author and activist, who is known as one of music's most respected voices.
Her new album, In These Silent Days, recently debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk Albums chart, Top Rock Albums chart and Tastemaker Albums chart and continues to receive overwhelming acclaim. The New York Times praises, “Larger than life and achingly human…she empathizes, apologizes and lays out accusations. She’s righteous and she’s self-doubting. She proffers fond lullabies and she unleashes full-throated screams," while NPR Music declares, “absolutely breathtaking, across the whole album Brandi Carlile pulls out all the stops. It’s just extraordinary…she’s just claiming rock god status." Carlile recently received five nominations at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards including Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance for the album's lead single, "Right On Time."
Following a breakthrough debut on "Saturday Night Live," Carlile and her band will embark on a series of landmark concerts including stops at Washington’s Gorge Amphitheatre, Los Angeles’ The Greek Theatre and New York’s Madison Square Garden among many others. In addition to her 6 GRAMMY Awards, Carlile has been recognized with Billboard’s Women In Music “Trailblazer Award,” CMT’s Next Women of Country “Impact Award" and received multiple recognitions from the Americana Music Association Honors & Awards including Artist of the Year for the past two years.
TW: @brandicarlile
IG: @brandicarlile
1. How do we make a new thing with our life?
2. What is your fingerprint on the world?
3. Who does history try to erase and why?
4. What does pain do to our bodies?
5 .What is our capacity for transformation?
About ALOK:
ALOK (they/them) is an internationally acclaimed writer, performer, and public speaker. As a mixed-media artist their work explores themes of trauma, belonging, and the human condition. They are the author of Femme in Public (2017), Beyond the Gender Binary (2020), and Your Wound/My Garden (2021). They are the creator of #DeGenderFashion: a movement to degender fashion and beauty industries and have been honored as one of HuffPo’s Culture Shifters, NBC’s Pride 50, and Business Insider’s Doers.
Instagram: @alokvmenon
“The days that I feel most beautiful are the days that I am most afraid.”
“What feminine part of yourself did you have to destroy in order to survive in this world?”
“Why have we been taught to fear the very things that can set us free?”
About ALOK:
ALOK (they/them) is an internationally acclaimed writer, performer, and public speaker. As a mixed-media artist their work explores themes of trauma, belonging, and the human condition. They are the author of Femme in Public (2017), Beyond the Gender Binary (2020), and Your Wound/My Garden (2021). They are the creator of #DeGenderFashion: a movement to degender fashion and beauty industries and have been honored as one of HuffPo’s Culture Shifters, NBC’s Pride 50, and Business Insider’s Doers.
Instagram: @alokvmenon
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
