debrief

What is the perfect wedding? Who is the perfect bride, the perfect daughter? In this episode, I unpack the push-pull of wanting to honor my family's customs while also staying true to myself. Interludes include the meaning of marriage in the modern world, friendship, and navigating one's own identity amidst familial roles and expectations.

VIDEO PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/oqw49mbvB2Y

FULL ESSAY ON SUBSTACK: https://cecexie.substack.com/p/i-had-a-beautiful-chinese-wedding

Men have asked me, "When are you going to have kids? You don't have much time left." To which I say: ALL THIS!! In this episode, I explore my complex feelings around the decision to have children. I draw from philosophy, the pro- and anti-natalist movements, and my own recent experience with the embryo freezing (IVF) process. Segues include climate change, personal identity as a parent, and the influence of late-stage capitalism on the modern baby question. Am I overthinking this? Probably! But I wouldn't have it any other way.

VIDEO PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/1vtGqEzxDkc

FULL ESSAY ON SUBSTACK: https://cecexie.substack.com/p/educated-partnered-and-financially

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

04:06 - Procreation as Morality

07:28 - Climate Change & Identity

11:07 - Late-Stage Capitalism

13:21 - Doubt

Don't know what to do with your life? Me neither! In this episode, I reflect on my own path of pursuing a stable career first and passion second. I examine the allure of "stability," the risks of over-prioritizing passion, and whether it's possible to have both in contemporary life. Tangents include Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Elizabeth Gilbert's advice, and the parable of the Sword of Damocles.

VIDEO PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/IvZduiKtGO8

FULL ESSAY ON SUBSTACK: https://cecexie.substack.com/p/a-good-job-or-your-dream-career

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

07:41 - Stability

11:14 - Passion

13:10 - Both?

Why are the world's most powerful and wealthiest lawyers abandoning the rule of law? In this episode, I go over the chaos wrought by the Trump Administration on the legal profession and the cowardice I see from elite law firms--Paul Weiss, Skadden, Willkie Farr, Milbank, Cadwalader, Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, A&O Shearman, and Simpson Thacher. I discuss how much money these firms actually make, how their leaders are weaponizing fear for their own greed (and fears), and what it means to live your values as a lawyer. Stay tuned until the end for concrete actions you can take to uphold the rule of law.

VIDEO PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/Y1t7ytUojFg

FULL ESSAY ON SUBSTACK: https://cecexie.substack.com/p/the-fall-of-biglaw

☎️ chat with me about your firm & the executive orders/EEOC letter ➪ https://forms.gle/muvDuY7Fk4yizYPJ9 (or email me at hello[at]cecexie.com)

LAW STUDENT TOOLKIT: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14CNZozCrjCTs_e06fSoldZYaReJPqNWe?usp=sharing

LAW FIRM ASSOCIATE TOOLKIT: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Hy7Mo9xhUpsDFcBu5ujN3iY7Ehcaw8qc

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Intro

03:20 - The Executive Orders Targeting Law Firms

05:32 - Biglaw Money

07:16 - A Masterclass in Fear-Mongering

11:45 - Living Your Values

15:51 - What You Can Do

This is the most embarrassing announcement I've ever had to make, but I'm still making it.

VIDEO PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/C37UkGJLI8E

FULL ESSAY ON SUBSTACK: https://cecexie.substack.com/p/my-publisher-and-i-got-divorced

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

02:02 - How It Started

04:09 - Getting Orphaned

08:43 - What Did I Do Wrong?

09:47 - Shame

15:45 - What's Next?

Surprise (episode)! I talk to Jenny Wood about our workplace anxieties—am I too weird? too bossy? too shameless when I promote my work? or *gulp* manipulative when I fake run-ins with my bosses?—and how she overcame them during her 18-year tenure at Google, where she went from an entry-level employee to an executive who ran a team that helped drive tens of billions of dollars in revenue. We go into specific advice about internal and external networking, knowing when to leave a role/company, how to figure out who you *really* need to impress, and more—all while comparing and contrasting our respective experiences in Big Tech vs. Biglaw.

You can preorder Jenny’s book WILD COURAGE: Go After What You Want and Get It at https://itsjennywood.com/book

Preorders before November 1 receive special bonuses like a live Q&A and the chance to be coached by Jenny!

FIND JENNY ELSEWHERE

Big Small Things newsletter: https://itsjennywood.com/newsletter

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsjennywood

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyilles

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsjennywood/

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Surprise!

02:43 Be Proactive about Scheduling Time with Your Boss (and their Boss)

11:56 When to FLIP (i.e., leave) Roles/Organizations

14:50 Embrace Your Weirdness

22:52 Informational Interviews

25:17 Work-Life Balance

34:05 Increase Your Failure Rate

37:29 Figure Out Who to Impress at Work

Happy Tax Day! Or if you’re like me and navigating taxes while self-employed for the first time: condolences. I thought that being in a lower tax bracket meant that I would pay a lower percentage of my income in taxes (because that would make sense, right?), but it turns out this is just further evidence that I am terrible with money and finances. In this video accompaniment to my newsletter, I talk about the shock of seeing my tax bill, why high-salaried people can still be terrible at personal finance, and how I think through whether to apply to jobs again or liquidate my investments/withdraw early from my 401(k). When do you call, when do you fold, and when do you raise?

Read the full essay on my newsletter, debrief: https://cecexie.substack.com/p/the-irs-cleaned-out-my-savings

Let’s get meta, baby! In this episode, I explore why it seems like every influencer and their mom is starting a podcast. Surprise—it’s not for the money! (Or it might be, but most influencers are going to be sorely disappointed if that’s the case.) I also reflect on my own podcasting journey since I started in October 2022.

Barside (my new podcast with Alex Su and Matt Margolis) covers the latest and greatest (and sometimes not-so-greatest) in the legal industry and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and wherever else you listen.

I’ll be doing a reading at the New York Public Library on Friday, December 15, in partnership with Substack! Come hang out with me :)

References

* Goodreads publishing drama

* Pew Research Center Fact Sheet: Audio and Podcasting

* Media 2023: Podcasting After The Hype, By The Numbers

* Buzzsprout stats (scroll down for episode downloads in first seven days)

* Study reveals that podcasters are now more influential than traditional influencers

* Share of weekly podcast listeners influenced by podcast hosts and social media influencers in the United States as of May 2023, by generation

* FTC sends warning to trade associations and individual health influencers

* Mikayla Nogueira mascara ad controversy

* Supreme Court lawyer Paul Clement is representing an Indiana school district to prohibit transgender children from using their gender identity’s restroom. He’s offered a flat fee for his firm’s legal services—$100,000 to petition the Supreme Court to hear the case and another $100,000 to argue the case in front of the Supreme Court (if the first $100,000 petition is granted).

* Around 1,200 Israelis and more than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed since the October 7 attacks by Hamas. These numbers are particularly jarring after learning more in March about apartheid in South Africa and wondering, How exactly does apartheid happen? How did the world just let it happen? The answer, it seems, is exactly what is happening now. I found a recent episode of The Daily especially thought-provoking and very, very sad, contending that these casualties can be seen as calculated losses to advance a Hamas goal—drawing attention again to the Palestinian cause.

* I’ve seen the names Tanya Zuckerbrot and Emily Gellis around but have never understood the full magnitude of their feud, dubbed Fiber Feud (no, really). The Daily Beast goes into the full strangeness of this feud in a two-part series, which reminded me of the Bad Art Friend saga but with influencers instead of writers. Totally worth the read!

* Are You the One? Season 9 on Paramount+ (which I got because one of my former colleagues is on this season of Survivor!)

* The Golden Bachelor on Hulu + this Reddit thread shows how outdated Gerry’s dating behavior is

Welcome to homeroom, the secret episodes where we get to talk about events both in the world and in our lives—just like we would back in homeroom (obviously).

Here are the links and resources mentioned in this episode:

The Honourable Woman (BBC miniseries)

The Daily (Golan’s Story): Interview with a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, where more than 100 civilians were killed.

The Daily (Voices from Gaza): Interviews with Gaza residents about the evacuations and what they expect next.

Pocky Boy (Yeule)

sulky baby (Yeule) (my favorite of hers)