In this week's episode of What Did Liz Read This Week? I talk about Aubrey Gordon's book What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat and Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste. Y'know. Some light reading. Aubrey Gordon formerly wrote exclusively under her internet handle Your Fat Friend. She's a fat activist and co-host of the incredibly popular podcast…

This week, I talk about key insights from the second half of Kim Scott's revised edition of Radical Candor: How to Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity. See the four quadrants that undergird Scott's arguments here: https://www.radicalcandor.com/our-approach/ And read more about Kim Scott here: https://www.radicalcandor.com/ I also share …

It's been a long time since my last episode, mostly because COVID sucks and my anxiety has been spiraling for a while. But I'm back! And starting what I hope will become a regular (or semi-regular) Sunday offering -- a short episode each week (ish) recapping what I've been reading that week. This week, I talk about key insights from the first third…

This is the fifth in a special series of "covid convos" -- conversations with women about how they've been navigating the coronavirus over the last few months. In this episode, I talk to Gaytha in Dallas, Tex., about how working from home and taking care of her three-year-old daughter Blanche has had a positive impact on her family. Gaytha has lear…

This is the fourth in a special series of "covid convos" -- conversations with women about how they've been navigating the coronavirus over the last couple of months. In this episode, I chat with Stephanie about how her work as an event coordinator at a retreat center in Monteagle, Tenn., has changed since March. (Hint: It's A LOT.) We also talk ab…

This is the third in a special series of "covid convos" -- conversations with women about how they've been navigating the coronavirus over the last couple of months. In this episode, I chat with Rachel, who has weathered -- along with covid-19 -- a tornado and a bee infestation...! While it's been a topsy-turvy couple of months, she reflects back o…

This is the second episode in a special series of "covid convos" -- conversations with women about how they've been navigating the coronavirus over the last couple of months. In this episode, I chat with my fabulous friend Amanda, a single mom of two curious and energetic kids (both under 10, eeps!), who have been keeping her on her toes during thi…

Covid Convos with Katie S. Hall & Julie B. I'm kicking off a special series of "covid convos" -- conversations with women about how they've been navigating the coronavirus over the last couple of months. In this first episode, I chat with two dear friends while we escaped to Savannah for a responsibly-planned retreat, Katie S. Hall and fellow teach…

What if one question could change your life? Author Jen Louden has been helping women care for themselves and achieve their creative goals for decades. Her latest book, Why Bother? Discover the Desire for What's Next is out April 21st. Listen to this episode to hear why life wants you to get your bother on, what Jen calls the alien invaders, the wh…

Yogi Sho Higuchi (E-RYT) generously allowed me to share this 35-minute yoga nidra practice with you, in the hopes that it might bring you some peace in this challenging time of social distancing and stay-at-home quarantining. Listen anytime you want to calm your mind and soothe your nervous system. Along with two dear friends, I attended one of Sho…

As all of higher education, basically, prepares to move its operations online, our students are struggling with life challenges, anxiety, and pressures. In this rapid-response episode, recorded hastily on the precipice of my own classes starting March 23, I talk to two students and a support center professional about things faculty should keep in m…

Von Liz Norell

Von Liz Norell

Von Liz Norell

A former student, Mikaila, stopped by to talk to me while she was home on her summer vacation. This conversation has stayed with me for every moment since we talked then... and I'm so proud to share it with you now. My big takeaway: BE KIND. TO EVERYONE. ALWAYS. Spread love, not hate. <3 To support people like Mikaila, I encourage you to support th…

Joined by friends and fellow political junkies Scott Foster and David Mabry, we dive into the hottest topic around right now -- IMPEACHMENT! Three normal (well, normal-ish) people, talking politics. If you want more politics talk, let me know! A few resources we recommend: Scott/Liz recommend "Predisposed," by John Alford, John Hibbing, and Peter S…

Two former students, Colin McCormick and Itzel Garcia, were visiting just before classes started up again in August. I hustled them into a recording studio and made Colin tell me about his incredible experiences this summer. While Colin studies international relations at DePaul University in Chicago during the school year, he makes a compelling cas…

Welcome to season 2 of my podcast, which I've renamed The Liz Cast. Why the change? Mostly because I wanted to widen the circle of topics I can talk about ... because it's just becoming TOO hard not to talk about politics, books, travel, etc. In this very brief re-introduction to my podcast sphere, I preview some of the episodes to come in this sea…

Do you ever cringe when the topic of money comes up in conversation? (Not that it does often, because YES ... we ALL cringe...!) In this solo episode, I do some deep diving around my own stories about and relationship with money. Here are some resources I brought up in the episode: The Chattery: 2019 book club at The Chattery: https://www.thechatte…

If you listen to this in real time, I'm currently at a week-long writing retreat in Taos, New Mexico! Eeps! In this solo episode, I talk about the project I'll be working on while away, why I care about it so much, and then dish up a whole lot of brutal honesty as I process the many ways I might sabotage my own success. Here are some resources I me…

In this solo episode, I talk through realizing that teaching yoga just isn't filling my bucket anymore... and how guilty, afraid, and sad that I feel about that. Check out Katie Hall's yoga offerings in Murfreesboro, TN: http://katieshall.com/ Buy Elle Luna's book, The Crossroads of Should & Must: https://amzn.to/2lkxnC3 Get in touch and let me kno…

Matt was feeling kind of run down and had some weird bruises, so he went to his doctor ... and very quickly his life went sideways as he began treatment for leukemia. In this conversation, he shares that story with us, with all its ups and downs. Be sure to check out bonus content at www.liznorell.com/ep22/ for photos that share some of the funnier…

Heather Staples is a pediatrician in Houston who shares her measured and sage advice on how to manage our fears about our kids' health. She recommends seeking the advice of your own medical care team whenever you have specific fears, but she gives us some good perspective on some of the more common fears of parents -- fears, by the way, that she sh…

Hospice nurse Karen joins me to talk about health concerns, in our ongoing series of facing our health fears. But then Karen drops this incredible bit of knowledge about caring for those at the end of life, a job you might expect is one of the saddest: "I come home with my heart filled. People are just amazing." In this episode, we talk about heart…

Jen G., who works as a nurse in a neurological unit, joins us to talk through some of the health scares that feel most common ... or, at least, that Liz worries about most. She serves up pretty fantastic nuggets of calm-yourself-down wisdom, such as this one: "Sometimes, the body just does weird things, and most of the time, it's just trying to com…

It started with a cold he couldn't shake ... and ended with a miracle in the nick of time that saved his life. In more ways than one, Scott Foster found a new heart, just when he needed it the most. In this conversation, he shares why he now says, "We don't realize how powerful we are." Scott and I have been friends since 1999 -- twenty years (!?!?…

You know what they say about the best laid plans... Yeah, they don't tend to go so well. That's kind of the story of my EVERY SINGLE March and October ... the midway point of the academic semester. You'd think that after more than a decade in teaching college, I would've learned to anticipate this. Alas, though, I need twice-annual reminders. And t…

When Amanda Lipnack planned her solo trip to Paris, she was feeling pretty "meh" about it ... because, honestly, wouldn't it be better to go with someone special? Once she landed in Paris, though, the excitement hit her and she had an amazing experience! She now fully embraces the virtues of solo adventuring and imagines a day when, even with a par…

As an Enneagram 2, I have an ESPECIALLY hard time saying 'no' ... especially if it's something that feels like someone else might really want me to help them with. In this short solo episode, I talk about the "three-point test to 'yes'" I came up with last August ... and then pretty much forgot about. Now feeling overwhelmed by allllll the things, …

When her husband got a job in Australia, Elayne figured moving down under would be a fun challenge -- and she's always enjoyed travel, so why not? Turns out, intercontinental moves are kind of ... hard. In this light-hearted conversation, Elayne shares lessons learned, all with a good deal of humor and honesty. She's still figuring it out. Find out…

After training to be a yoga teacher and starting to teach classes, Anna Guest-Jelley realized that there was a real need for yoga teachers who knew how to work with a wider variety of body shapes and sizes. Without knowing where the path would take her, she took small steps forward to start Curvy Yoga and watch it grow. Now as she prepares for moth…

The idea of being away from home and not knowing how to deal with something unexpected was a pretty terrifying prospect for Rachelle. After she divorced, though, she took the tentative (and rarely comfortable) steps to travel internationally by herself. Her first trip? Three months in Europe. Now in a trans-Atlantic relationship, Rachelle has had t…

What do you do when you realize that you're miserable? Often, we just keep plugging along and hoping something gets better. But when her boss suggested maybe she should be working 16-hour weeks, Amanda snapped. She quit her job, sold tickets at Sundance, then took a group of kids to Germany. The lessons she learned in the process are relevant in so…

Beth Moore grew up in a religious environment and worked at a church for two years after college. And then ... she and her husband got pregnant, moved to Las Vegas for a few months, and stopped attending church. She shares her "messy middle" in this thoughtful, brave conversation about the role of religion in her life today, as she navigates becomi…

After each struggling with negative body image (and generally negative relationships with their bodies), these three soul sisters each charted their own paths toward a more positive relationship to their bodies. In the process? They got back a whole lot of happiness, a whole lot more time to do truly meaningful things ... and a passion for helping …

“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning. ” — GLORIA STEINEM Laura Russell has a deep-seeded fear of change, particularly when it comes to her career ... and then, her corporate employer started regular layoffs, and she realized that she'd better figure out what …

I can't remember a time of my life where I didn't feel a fear of missing out (FOMO). In this solo episode, I talk about what I'm STILL learning about this fear, as well as a new way to frame the fear that I'm still experimenting with. But I'm still a work in progress. For more on FOMO, check out Sherry Turkle's TED Talk, "Connected, but Alone": htt…

What is your fear saying to you? How Kristin talks about her fear is a study in creating a dialogue with those parts of her that want to keep her safe by never jumping out of her comfort zone. She now uses fear as a motivator and a tool, rather than a roadblock. Her lively spirit will inspire you to think through what your fear sidekick is trying t…

When Kim Kimball's parents divorced, she wasn't sure whether she'd ever be able to trust a relationship enough to get married. Then... the universe intervened and sent Paul her way. He knew he was going to marry her the day they met. She learned that opening herself up to being seen and truly being vulnerable brought more love into her life than sh…

I was married for about three years, and almost all of that time was dominated by fear of the man I'd married. In this episode, I tell that story, start to finish. It's one of the experiences that defines how I see myself today. Spousal abuse takes many forms. While my ex-husband never hit me, I lived in a state of constant fear that he would throw…

Three soul sisters sit down to talk about relationship fears, specifically letting themselves be seen in a relationship. What happens when you let your guard down? It's terrifying ... and, sometimes, completely magical. Thanks to Skye Mercer and Amanda Lipnack (https://www.amandalipnack.com/) for joining me in this fun, laughter-filled conversation…

In this episode, I talk with Iris Cullinan, a career and business coach based in Asheville, North Carolina. Iris shares how she faced her fear of failure in a non-obvious way ... namely, by resolving to quit her job and travel the world for two months! In the process, she found herself stuck in traffic on a bus in Nepal for the better part of a who…

In this first episode, I talk about my hopes for the podcast and the kinds of fears I hope we'll tackle ... and I share a story from the first time I remember making a conscious decision to push through my fear on something that SCARED THE DAYLIGHTS out of me. What happened? Have a listen.Von Liz Norell