All the Cool Girls

Getting fired is a blow to the ego. But getting canned with no savings? That's the real nightmare. This week, New York Times money columnist Ron Lieber joins Laura and Kristina to talk about what to do when the paychecks stop. Ron argues that the best time to prepare for getting fired is when you still have a job—and gives us an invaluable roadmap to build the ultimate career safety net.

What if rage isn’t something to suppress—but something to use?

Laura Brown and Kristina O’Neill sit down with Tarana Burke, legendary activist and founder of the ‘me too.’ movement, for a conversation about grace, getting fired, and the cathartic power of rage.

Tarana talks about losing her job (which, fatefully, super-charged the ‘me too.’ movement), the financial anxiety that followed, and the sisterhood that helped pull her through. She argues that hope is a strategy, shame is self-sabotage, and shares where, after a decade, her revolutionary movement is heading. 

How do you learn to trust your instincts - and keep trusting them once everyone else starts paying attention?

Laura Brown and Kristina O’Neill sit down with designer and entrepreneur Gabriela Hearst for a candid conversation about intuition, ambition, success, setbacks, and staying grounded through all of it. From following her instincts when the path ahead wasn’t obvious to knowing when to tune out the noise, she opens up about ambition, setbacks, and how to ignore the bullshit.

CNN Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward has built an extraordinary career reporting from some of the most dangerous places in the world. She knows fear intimately — and believes that learning to listen to it, rather than run from it, can save your life.

But this conversation isn’t just about war zones. Clarissa joins Laura Brown and Kristina O’Neill to talk about the fears we all face: failure, shame, uncertainty, other people’s opinions, and the scary business of trusting yourself when you don’t know what comes next.

What’s the difference between 15 seconds of viral fame and an audience that actually sticks around? This week, Laura and Kristina sit down with Kevin Allocca—author of Videocracy and Global Director of Culture & Trends at YouTube—to talk about the real math behind modern internet attention.

Before he was tracking global trends at YouTube, Kevin faced his own career derailment: getting let go from The Huffington Post. He shares what that setback taught him, how he pivoted into tech, and why getting fired might just be the best prerequisite for finding your true lane. Plus, Kevin breaks down the vital distinction between chasing viral hits and building a loyal, long-term audience, sharing what creators and brand-builders get wrong about online longevity.

Stacey Duguid had decades of experience at the highest levels of fashion and media. Then she found herself unemployed.

After 16 months and more than 150 job applications—many met with silence—Stacey began to wonder if she was the problem. Then a friend gave her some shocking advice: “Botox your CV.” Take off the years of experience. Lose the senior titles. Make yourself look younger. Instead, Stacey got angry—and went public.

Stacey joins Laura and Kristina to talk about the shame of unemployment, the brutal reality of ageism, how AI controls who gets seen by employers, and why so many accomplished women in midlife suddenly feel invisible. 

And she explains what happened when she told the truth and thousands of women answered: Me too.

Rob Thomas knows what it’s like to be on top—and what it’s like when the industry suddenly decides you’re not. After selling millions of records with Matchbox Twenty, becoming one of the defining voices of the late ’90s and 2000s and building a hugely successful solo career, Rob found himself dropped by his label and facing a question familiar to anyone whose career has taken an unexpected turn: What now?

Rob joins Kristina and Laura to talk about the strange afterlife of success, learning not to confuse your job with your identity and why getting comfortable with uncertainty might be the secret to staying in the game.

Financial independence and the currency of personality are just some of the impactful ways Tan France has navigated his personal journey. 

Subscribe to All The Cool Girls on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-the-cool-girls/id1896879040

Subscribe to All The Cool Girls on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/033syDPsFetgml4RAU7WAk

Follow us on Instagram:

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Follow us on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-brown-20020573/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-oneill/

Send us your thoughts and feelings at [email protected]

Jess Rona never felt satisfied working for someone else. Getting fired fueled that mindset, and set her on a path to continue her passion of grooming dogs. But it was a single spark of creativity along that entrepreneurial journey that changed everything.

Charity Weeden on getting fired from NASA, letting go of the career ladder, and why following her curiosity led her from space policy to AI and an entirely new definition of success.

Subscribe to All The Cool Girls on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-the-cool-girls/id1896879040

Subscribe to All The Cool Girls on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/033syDPsFetgml4RAU7WAk

Follow us on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/allthecoolgirlsgetfired

Follow us on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-brown-20020573/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-oneill/

Send us your thoughts and feelings at [email protected]