Franckly...

This episode was originally recorded in October 2020, and I have not touched the recording since then. Speaking some of the words aloud in this episode helped me realize how much I despise the word “should” in terms of the creation of false, unrealistic, and detrimental expectations. It was also the first time I came up with one of the analogies I used in orientation and I have continued to use since then. I hope this offers some perspective so that you can keep your focus and your mental health where they need to be. Not where someone tells you they “should” be. 

As "Out of the Woods" was their personal anthem for the Pandemic, Prof. Franck is grateful to Taylor Swift (who now owns the masters and 'Taylor's Version') of this song for its use in connection with student mental health and the limited educational purpose of keeping students moving forward. Prof. Franck encourages all students (or other listeners of this podcast) to peruse the TS website to purchase merch and music to thank Taylor Swift for their contribution to their education: https://www.taylorswift.com/. 

Thanks also to the Rolling Stones for the classic song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” from their 1969 album, Let it Bleed, as well as ABKCO Records who owns the master recordings for the Rolling Stones’ pre-1971 catalog, for the fair use of a limited aspect of the song provided to my 1L students for limited educational purposes only.

In this episode, created especially for Civil Procedure 2025 students and in recognition of constructive conversations with students during Breakfast Clubs, Professor Franck explores concepts of fear, acceptance, growth, bravery, and professional development. The acceptance of fear is one of Professor Franck's most treasured possessions in this lifetime, as it reflects their willingness to adapt and grow in the face of major life events and serves as a reminder that past strength offers future protection. Or, in the words of WCL grad Bailey Roe (https://www.orrick.com/en/People/A/6/0/Bailey-Roe): "I can do hard things."

As "Out of the Woods" was their personal anthem for the Pandemic, Prof. Franck is grateful to Taylor Swift (who now owns the masters and 'Taylor's Version') of this song for its use in connection with student mental health and the limited educational purpose of keeping students moving forward. Prof. Franck encourages all students (or other listeners of this podcast) to peruse the TS website to purchase merch and music to thank Taylor Swift for their contribution to their education: https://www.taylorswift.com/. 

Thanks also go to Sara Bareilles (https://www.sarabmusic.com/), her co-songwriter Jack Antonoff, and her recording label Epic Records (https://www.epicrecords.com/) (and entities within their corporate chain) for the fair use of her song Brave from the 2013 album The Blessed Unrest, which was nominated for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards Album of the Year. 

In this original, pilot podcast recorded during September 2020, Professor Franck responded to multiple student requests--when law school was being taught 100% online for the first time ever and students were scattered around the USA (and a few were even out of the country)--to create a podcast offering some of her real life perspectives. This initial podcast, Resistance, was popular enough that students asked her to continue the series.  

Brought back for 2025-2026 academic term, this episode offers some thoughts about resistance and personal integrity. 

As "Out of the Woods" was their personal anthem for the Pandemic, Prof. Franck is grateful to Taylor Swift (who now owns the masters and 'Taylor's Version') of this song for its use in connection with student mental health and the limited educational purpose of keeping students moving forward. Prof. Franck encourages all students (or other listeners of this podcast) to peruse the TS website to purchase merch and music to thank Taylor Swift for their contribution to their education: https://www.taylorswift.com/.  

Thanks also go to R.E.M. and their album Document, recorded with I.R.S. Records (which is part of Universal Music Group - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I.R.S._Records) for the fair use of a limited aspect of the song provided to 1L students for limited educational purposes only.

This episode on Gratitude is being released just in time for Thanksgiving. This podcast was originally recorded on Election Day in 2020 and not re-released until now. Although five years have passed, the message of this podcast about learning to focus on gratitude, rather than focusing on loss and trauma, is more relevant than ever.  

This podcast builds upon my research exploring cognitive illusions, decision-making, and about reframing losses and gains. It suggests some tips for new law students while also considering the larger professional context as humans remain human, which means you will be interacting with predictably irrational people for the rest of your life and professional career. It also offers a special “thank you” for the students who have helped me grow and improve.

As "Out of the Woods" was their personal anthem for the Pandemic, Prof. Franck is grateful to Taylor Swift (who now owns the masters and 'Taylor's Version') of this song for its use in connection with student mental health and the limited educational purpose of keeping students moving forward. Prof. Franck encourages all students (or other listeners of this podcast) to peruse the TS website to purchase merch and music to thank Taylor Swift for their contribution to their education: https://www.taylorswift.com/. 

Thanks also to Dido for their song Thank You on their album “No Angel,” and the recording labels Artista Records and Cheeky (a/k/a Rollo Armstrong) for the fair use of a limited aspect of the song provided to my 1L students for limited educational purposes only. Her official video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TO48Cnl66w. And in case it helps, here’s another tip. Enjoy the self-care app, Finch: https://finchcare.com.  

This episode, from Spring 2025, is a follow-up hot take on a 2020 podcast on skincare—both on the “outside” skincare or “inside” appreciation of who you are at your core and remember the value you bring to the table. It offers some perspectives about both personal and professional external factors that have impacted Professor Franck’s choices and may, perhaps, to be useful for your journey. Yet, the more important element is about ensuring that you: value yourself, understand the unique value your personal life experiences bring to the table for professional skills, and encourage focus on joy and kindness.     

As "Out of the Woods" was their personal anthem for the Pandemic, Prof. Franck is grateful to Taylor Swift (who now owns the masters and 'Taylor's Version') of this song for its use in connection with student mental health and the limited educational purpose of keeping students moving forward during a stressful period. Prof. Franck encourages all students (or other listeners of this podcast) to peruse the TS website to purchase merch and music to thank Taylor Swift for their contribution to their education: https://www.taylorswift.com/. 

Thanks also P!nk for their song, Courage to Change, and their album Hurts 2B Human, as well as their label Atlantic Recording Corporation and Monkey Puzzle for the fair use of a limited aspect of the song provided to my 1L students for limited educational purposes only (for the purpose of promoting mental health during the end of their first semester in law school). The official video for the single is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbGOfep7Mgc.

This episode was created at the specific request of Civil Procedure students in 2021. In the days before the phrase "crash out" was popular, the students asked me to create a podcast on the topic of burnout. That was also a semester when students got a Thanksgiving break – but had to come back in December to finish classes. This year, as a precursor to the Thanksgiving season and beginning to prep for finals, this episode is designed to help students explore manage how best to balance the intensity of life as a 1L. You may also be able to see, how the pacing of Civil Procedure all semester has reflected the general approach of balancing a hard workout that then leads to a short recovery period, and then doing a “rinse and repeat.”  The episode also explores some reframing some professional development opportunities and offers some unique insights they have gained from managing challenging situations, including a tabata workout. 

As "Out of the Woods" was their personal anthem for the Pandemic, Prof. Franck is grateful to Taylor Swift (who now owns the masters and 'Taylor's Version') of this song for its use in connection with student mental health and the limited educational purpose of keeping students moving forward. Prof. Franck encourages all students (or other listeners of this podcast) to peruse the TS website to purchase merch and music to thank Taylor Swift for their contribution to their education: https://www.taylorswift.com/. 

Thanks also to Demi Lovato, and their song, Skyscraper, on the album “Unbroken,” which was recorded at Strawberry Studios with the Hollywood Records label, for the fair use of a limited aspect of the song provided to my 1L students for limited educational purposes only. The official video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_8ydghbGSg.

This episode explores some examples from Prof. Franck’s life, as stories of specific people can often provide profound and memorable examples for our lives. It is, in many ways, a tribute to their law school mentor, Laura Cooper, who they were honored to recommend for a lifetime achievement award, which she won: https://law.umn.edu/profiles/laura-cooper. The core is to remember that both positive and negative examples can be profound learning opportunities for both our professional and personal evolution.

As "Out of the Woods" was their personal anthem for the Pandemic, Prof. Franck is grateful to Taylor Swift (who now owns the masters and 'Taylor's Version') of this song for its use in connection with student mental health and the limited educational purpose of keeping students moving forward. Prof. Franck encourages all students (or other listeners of this podcast) to peruse the TS website to purchase merch and music to thank Taylor Swift for their contribution to their education: https://www.taylorswift.com/. 

Thanks also Ben Lee, and his amazing song “We are all in this Together” and his amazing album, Awake is the New Sleep, which was recorded in Seagrass Studios under the recording label New West Records (USA), for the fair use of a limited aspect of the song provided to my 1L students for limited educational purposes only. The official video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkw7gl0cWYo.

Focusing on themes of resilience and strength, this episode focuses on the theme of “Winning.” Using a favorite quote from Richard Bach’s book, Illusions, it kick starts a conversation that 1Ls (and others) can use to decide how to understand, frame, and react to challenges in your life. Rather than viewing adversity as a basis for trauma and helplessness, it showcases the power of persistence and helping you see how one of Professor Franck’s favorite quotes has provided them with a basis for thriving in the midst of adversity. 

As "Out of the Woods" was their personal anthem for the Pandemic, Prof. Franck is grateful to Taylor Swift (who now owns the masters and 'Taylor's Version') of this song for its use in connection with student mental health and the limited educational purpose of keeping students moving forward. Prof. Franck encourages all students (or other listeners of this podcast) to peruse the TS website to purchase merch and music to thank Taylor Swift for their contribution to their education: https://www.taylorswift.com/. 

Thanks also to the cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Season 12, for their album, and the song Losing is the New Winning, and World of Wonder Productions, Inc. (who are the producers of Ru Paul’s Drag Race and appear to be the copyright holder for the song based upon my research) for the fair use of a limited aspect of the song provided to my 1L students for limited educational purposes only. If you’d like to watch the YouTube video, you can access it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRZEUaGBbCA.

This episode offers a chance to consider how you want to maximize your efforts during the Fall Break, this episode has a two-fold purpose. On one hand, it focuses on how using walking to maximize your memory retention and time, as walking can be the ultimate “double dip,” in terms of work life balance. On the other hand, it is also about how to move forward in times of personal and professional challenges. If you’re finding this point in the semester, it helps to stop for a moment, take a deep breath, recognize where you are, remember what you have accomplished, and know that you can and will manage to get through the challenges you are facing. And in case it helps, here’s another tip. Enjoy the self-care app, Finch: https://finchcare.com.  

As "Out of the Woods" was their personal anthem for the Pandemic, Prof. Franck is grateful to Taylor Swift (who now owns the masters and 'Taylor's Version') of this song for its use in connection with student mental health and the limited educational purpose of keeping students moving forward. Prof. Franck encourages all students (or other listeners of this podcast) to peruse the TS website to purchase merch and music to thank Taylor Swift for their contribution to their education: https://www.taylorswift.com/. 

Thanks also Mary Mary for their song, Walking, on their album Something Big, with their label Columbia Records for the fair use of a limited aspect of the song provided to my 1L students for limited educational purposes only.  These amazing sisters have a YouTube channel where you can see their video for the song, which is amazing in its own right: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-baoSWy8jY.

You might remember that I talked about the value of sleep and the strategic use of sleep to maximize the hard work that you are doing to transform your brain and build long-term memory to help you maximize the effort that you are making in your professional development and promoting your core competence. Acetylcholine (ACh) is the order of the day to promote learning and memory retention: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2659740/. The idea is to use sleep for replenishment of neurotransmitter to maximize memory retention and promote the regulation of your hippocampus: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2324242622000985.

As "Out of the Woods" was their personal anthem for the Pandemic, Prof. Franck is grateful to Taylor Swift (who now owns the masters and 'Taylor's Version') of this song for its use in connection with student mental health and the limited educational purpose of keeping students moving forward. Prof. Franck encourages all students (or other listeners of this podcast) to peruse the TS website to purchase merch and music to thank Taylor Swift for their contribution to their education: https://www.taylorswift.com/. 

Thanks also Azure Ray and their self-titled debut album, recorded with WARM Recording Studio (in Athens, Georgia) and their labels Flower Moon Records and Warm Electronic for the fair use of a limited aspect of the song provided to my 1L students for limited educational purposes only. You can find this song on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qrK6IxWu2Q. And, fun fact: Sleep also appeared in the classic movie The Devil Wears Prada.