We Should Talk About That

Latest Episodes:

Why Being OKAY is the Heart of Authentic Resiliency with Psychologist, Author and Resiliency Expert, Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe Nov 29, 2021

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Dr. Robyn Hanley-Dafoe joins The Two Jess(es) for an authentic and vulnerable conversation about survival, and how equipped we as human beings are, to do hard things. Robyne did one of the hardest things she will ever have to do, and kicked her way out of a sinking car in the middle of a frozen lake during a blizzard outside of Ontario, Canada when she was 16 years old.
It was in those final moments that Dr. Robyne decided life was worth fighting for, and it changed the trajectory of her life, laying the groundwork for her research around resiliency and why people really can do hard things. Her Five Pillars of Every Day Resiliency help us frame the way we can show up in the world as authentic to ourselves and each other with intention to make the best decision we can in the moment, even if it is hard.
Meet Dr. Robyne:
Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe is a multi-award-winning psychology and education instructor who specializes in resiliency, navigating stress and change, leadership, and personal wellness in the workplace. Described as transformational, engaging, and thought-provoking, Robyne’s keynotes provide practical strategies grounded in global research and case studies that help foster resiliency within others and ourselves. Robyne is available for consultation, training and professional development opportunities ranging from one-to-one to company-wide initiatives.
https://robynehd.ca/

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I Keep Trying To Catch His Eye: Grief as Love with Author and Vice President/Editorial at On3.com, Ivan Maisel Nov 22, 2021

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A deeply emotional memoir by a longtime ESPN writer about the suicide of his son Max and how their complicated relationship led him to see grief as love.

In February 2015, Ivan Maisel received a call that would alter his life forever: his son Max’s car was found abandoned in a parking lot next to Lake Ontario. Two months and countless harrowing hours later, Max’s body was found in the lake. There’d been no note or obvious indication that Max wanted to harm himself; he’d signed up for a year-long subscription to a dating service; he’d spent the day he disappeared doing photography work for school. And this uncertainty became part of his father’s grief.

Taking its title from Max’s love of photography—and his tendency to only love the camera when he was behind it, looking away whenever his picture was taken—I KEEP TRYING TO CATCH HIS EYE tells the deeply human and empathetic story of a father’s relationship with his son, of its complications, and of Max and Ivan’s struggle—as is the case for so many parents and their children—to connect. And of how our tendency to overlook men’s mental health can have devastating consequences, and how ultimately letting those who grieve do so openly and freely can lead to greater healing.
The Two Jess(es) have the unique opportunity to talk with Ivan about grief, and how, at its most stripped down state, it is really born out of love.
Meet Ivan:
Ivan Maisel is Vice President/Editorial and Senior Writer at on3.com. He has covered college football for nearly four decades, from 2002-2021 as a senior writer for ESPN, where he wrote for ESPN.com, appearing on television, ESPN Radio and on podcasts. He also served as Editor-at-Large for ESPN College Football 150. Prior to joining ESPN.com, Maisel covered national college football for Sports Illustrated, Newsday, and The Dallas Morning News. He has been honored eight times for Best Story by the Football Writers Association of America, and twice by The Associated Press Sports Editors, which in 2019 named him one of the 10 best sports columnists. Maisel earned a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Stanford University.

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The Healing Power of Story and Reimagining Recovery with Of Substance Founder, Alex Kaplan Nov 15, 2021

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What if...we turned immersive entertainment into our greatest tool for healing and growth? This is the question that drives Alex Kaplan every day, and what led him to form the non-profit Of Substance. By using story telling in the form of mini movies to deliver an immersive experience that heals through depicting addiction- the struggle and triumph- around it
Alex shares with The Two Jess(es) his journey of addiction, and how he has used his passion for movie making and his commitment to vulnerability to propel him forward and turn his mess into his message. His belief is that we have ALL felt that we are not good enough, we all deal with the experiences of embarrassment, shame and unworthiness and the answer is connection and belonging.
Meet Alex!
Alex Kaplan, a Philadelphia native and LA transplant, was trained as an actor in the University of Miami’s conservatory and transitioned to a career behind the camera as a producer and director for the past decade.
Today, Alex is the Co-founder & Executive Director of Of Substance, an innovative non-profit revolutionizing addiction and mental health treatment, education, and support, using premium entertaining short films as a tool for deeper healing, growth, and transformation.
After surviving his own battles with addiction, Alex recognized the power of story as a tool in his recovery and found an exciting way to use his filmmaking experience to help others on their paths of overcoming struggles of shame & isolation.
The biggest thing he learned on his journey is that his issue was far less about using substances than it was about WHY he used substances; It was about shame, isolation, a fear of not belonging, and a fear of not being good enough.
Alex and his co-founder Brian Gallagher built Of Substance to help us all recognize that we’re not alone in these feelings and to positively transform people's relationships with themselves, others, and their beliefs in what's possible.
Most importantly, Alex is now a proud husband, supportive member of his family, and a friend on whom others can lean, having risen from his struggles with addiction and refusing to give up.

Of Substance.

Of Substance is a nonprofit revolutionizing addiction, mental health, and suicide prevention, education, treatment, and support thought movies!

We make premium entertaining short films, mini-movies you really like watching, that tackle all of our struggles in a way that helps us overcome the shame, blame, and stigma we all experience, reminding us that we're not crazy, we're not alone, and we're already doing great!

We're turning movies into an approachable and captivating tool for transformation, that expedites and enhances the journey through healing and growth.

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We Should Talk About Type 1 Diabetes and Our Kids with Nurse Practitioner and Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, Ellie Kagan Nov 08, 2021

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November is National Diabetes Awareness Month and in order to raise more awareness around the rising diagnosis of type I diabetes in children. The Two Jess(es) sit down with Nurse Practioner and certified diabetes care and education specialist, Ellie Kagan, for an incredibly informative conversation on type 1 diabetes and how it affects children with a diagnosis. Ellie breaks down the road to diagnosis, what families will face, and how they should expect to navigate such a life altering situation, for the entire family. Ellie outlines the symptoms you might encounter, what to look for, and when to seek professional help. This episode is incredibly eye opening and a must for every parent.
Meet Ellie:
As a Nurse Practitioner and certified diabetes care and education specialist, Ellie Kagan has been helping children with type 1 and their families manage their diabetes for the past 13 years. She worked as part of the outpatient clinical practice at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins Hospital and University of Maryland Hospital from 2008-2021. Ellie is a certified insulin pump trainer for Tandem, Insulet and Medtonic as well as a certified continuous glucose monitor trainer for Dexcom. Ellie saw the need for more personalized diabetes education and recently opened Diabetes Education Solutions, a private diabetes coaching and consulting business. She provides families with the tools they need to help their child succeed and thrive with diabetes. She currently serves as an advisor and research moderator for Seagrove Partners, LLC, an independent consulting firm concentrating on diabetes research and technology. Ellie is a frequent guest speaker and educator for school nurses at public and private schools and is called on to speak about diabetes management at school conferences. To find out more about Ellie and her work go to: http://diabetesesolutions.com

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Believe Her. A Discussion on Criminalized Survivors, True Crime Podcasts and Nikki Addimando with Investigative Journalist, Justine van der Leun. Nov 01, 2021

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In follow up of their first conversation with representatives from the Nicole Addimando Community Defense Committee, The Two Jess(es) talk with Justine van der Leun, investigative journalist and host of the true crime podcast, Believe Her, produced by Lemonada Media.
Through this six part series, Justine explores true crime as it comes to us, upside down — she presents a story about survival, punishment, and a push for change through rare access to police audio, official documents, and rare conversations with criminalized survivor, Nikki Adamando, from prison. Justine is on a mission to unravel this complex, layered case of criminalized survival, and ask: How can we stop cycles of trauma and violence? What does true justice look like?

Jess and Jess, as close followers of Nikki's case, ask a few of their own difficult questions and the three women have a very open and honest discussion about the systemic work that still needs to be done so that victims of abuse may truly live free.
Meet Justine:
Justine van der Leun is an award-winning journalist and an Emerson fellow at the New America Foundation. She is currently writing Unreasonable Women: Survival, Punishment, and Mass Incarceration in America, which will blend narrative stories with original nationwide data to explore the links between trauma, systemic failures, and the criminalization of women’s acts of survival from physical and sexual abuse. The book will be published by Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins. Follow her @justinevdl.
About Lemonada Media:
Lemonada is a podcast network founded in 2019 by Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. The company’s podcasts share an unfiltered version of the human experience in a time of increasing polarization, in an effort to make life suck less. Lemonada provides a robust advertising platform, one that is nonpartisan and deeply engaging, with uniquely amiable host-read ads. For sponsorship opportunities, contact: dawn@lemonadamedia.com. For press inquiries, contact: lemonada@metropublicrelations.com.

Listen to Believe Her here.

For more information on the Nikki Addimando case reference WeSTAT season 2, episode 38 (air date April 18)

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Give Up or Get Up. A Conversation on Surviving Grief and Perfectionism with author and 100% Human Founder, Karen Allen Oct 25, 2021

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When Karen Allen was 29 years old, she was a wife, a mother of a two year old, and had the whole wide world ahead of her. And then, it all fell apart- and in the space of a breath, her life was completely derailed, and a new one began, when an armed shooter walked into her husband's Crossfit studio, and shot him in the head, killing him instantly.
A widow before she turned 30, it was when her 2 year old wandered into her bedroom and wanted to know if she was going to get out of bed- that she realized she had two choices. She could either give up, or get up. And then she realized, she always had more than one choice in life. And the best choice is always going to be to embrace the messy middle of being 100% human.
A conversation on perfectionism and recovery- on authenticity and excellence- the fullness of the human experience- Karen breaks down how to have a more meaningful connection with their own humanity with the Two Jess(es).
Meet Karen:
Karen is proud to be a...
✔ Super-mom and totally figuring it out as I go
✔ Keynote speaker who still gets bubbly butterflies (learn my trick to turn those anxious nerves into uplifting excitement)
✔ Healthy eater who also loves pizza and greasy burgers
✔ Super organized person who can never find her Airpods
✔ Amateur musician who sings off-key sometimes while cooking, cleaning and driving
who helps people all over the world get out of a rut and wholeheartedly pursue their biggest goals; because she knows first hand that when you choose to be better, you make the people and the world around you better, too. Karen turned her epiphany into a clear, actionable mindset that provides a “get out of perfection free” card for all of the beautiful, imperfect humans out there . 100% Human™ is about developing the mindset and tools to stop feeling tossed around by life and start focusing on the joy and abundance that is actually under your control.
https://www.karenallen.co/about

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The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence with NYT Bestselling Author, Jessica Lahey Oct 18, 2021

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In this supportive, life-saving resource, the New York Times bestselling author of The Gift of Failure helps parents and educators understand the roots of substance abuse and identify who is most at risk for addiction, and offers practical steps for prevention.

Jessica Lahey was born into a family with a long history of alcoholism and drug abuse. Despite her desire to thwart her genetic legacy, she became an alcoholic and didn’t find her way out until her early forties. Jessica has worked as a teacher in substance abuse programs for teens, and was determined to inoculate her two adolescent sons against their most dangerous inheritance. All children, regardless of their genetics, are at some risk for substance abuse. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, teen drug addiction is the nation’s largest preventable and costly health problem. Despite the existence of proven preventive strategies, nine out of ten adults with substance use disorder report they began drinking and taking drugs before age eighteen.

The Two Jess(es) welcome this incredible third Jess, once again, for another rattling WeSTAT conversation on the topic of alcohol, your kids, substance abuse disorder, and how our relationship to ALL of it, desperately needs to be examined- for the sake of our children's brain development.

Meet Jessica!
Jessica Lahey writes about education, parenting, and child welfare for The Washington Post, the New York Times, and The Atlantic and is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed. She is a member of the Amazon Studios Thought Leader Board and wrote the curriculum for Amazon Kids’ The Stinky and Dirty Show. She lives in Vermont with her husband and two sons.
To learn more, go to: https://www.jessicalahey.com/
Link to FB Video mentioned at end of show:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?extid=NS-UNK-UNK-UNK-IOS_GK0T-GK1C&v=382651633389095

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We Should Talk about Teens and Their Mental Health with Influencer & MH Advocate (and 10th Grader!) Zach Gottlieb Oct 11, 2021

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Meet Zach Gottlieb, the "TEEN Instagrammer" who is getting guys and other teens to talk about their mental health, in particular those issues related to male feelings and toxic masculinity. In this episode, the Two Jess(es) are blown away by this teen's articulate way of expressing his experiences and observations around his own mental health, as he shares WHY he started his Instagram page (@talkwithzach) and how teens all over the world and looking to him for advice to source answers to their questions that most teens are not talking about openly, but should.
To find out more about Zach, you can read about him here:
https://katiecouric.com/health/teen-wants-to-get-guys-to-talk-about-their-feelings-end-toxic-masculinity/

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PRE-Viving Breast Cancer and Early Detection Advocacy with Author and Humorist, Gila Pfeffer Oct 04, 2021

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Gila Pfeffer is more than just the mom who knew too much, she takes the bull by the horns in every part of life, including her health- and she was going to make damned sure she was going to laugh the whole time too! While in the throes of motherhood, Gila, who lost her mother and grandmother in their 40's from breast cancer, found out she did indeed carry the Brca gene, and decided she was going to face impending cancer head on, and do it in the funniest way possible.
A huge advocate for early detection, Gila's humorous spin on the "Feel it on the First" campaign is one that should not be missed! In this episode, TTJ(es) talk about motherhood, cancer and laughing through it all with one of London's funniest moms!
Meet Gila!
Gila Pfeffer is a Jewish American writer and humorist currently living in the UK with her husband and four teenaged children. She writes relatable personal essays in the parenting and breast cancer space and recently co-authored a book called I Just Want to Hang Out With You which is part of a NYT best selling series.

Gila is a 12-year breast cancer pre-vivor AND survivor (like Angelia Jolie but with less press coverage) and she uses her social media platforms to promote breast cancer prevention. She posts an attention-grabbing “Feel It On The First” post every first of the month on her Instagram which prompts women to take their breast health seriously. Several have written to her saying that these reminders have led to diagnosis of early stage breast cancer.

Her work can be found on Grown & Flown, Momtastic, AARP among others, as well as the humor publications Points In Case, The Haven, Greener Pasteurs and more.

Gila is currently at work on a collection of personal essays about how to sail through the worst life throws at you with the help of humor, perspective and maintaining strong ties to her faith.

Connect with Gila on her social channels:

IG: @gilapfeffer

Twitter: @gilapfeffer

Tik Tok: @gilapfeffer

Medium: @gila.pfeffer

Facebook: The Mom Who Knew Too Much

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We Should Talk About Neuroversity and Podcasting with Jessica Kidwell Sep 20, 2021

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Yep, that's right. The WeSTAT guest this week is JessK- and she is sharing her heart behind her newest project, Neuroversity Podcast- a solo podcast that aims to dive deeper into the areas of neurodivergence, giving a voice to those who might not normally get to speak up and speak out about neurodiversity and all that entails.
This episode is informative, as well as inspirational, as The Two Jess(es) discuss the terrifying and exhilarating time leading up to the launch of this passion project, and the dream of what it could truly be.
To learn more about Neuroversity Podcast visit her on instagram at @neuroversitypod

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