Going Thru It

Super Bowl Sunday is an actual holiday in the Shakoor family. This week we’re talking hosting, nostalgia, the collective viewing experience, and why the West Coast kickoff time just hits different.

Jill’s back at work with mat leave officially in the rearview mirror and the whiplash is real. Holly starts a writing class and immediately spirals after reading something very personal out loud. Vulnerability hangovers are real.

We get into evolving friend groups, mommy-and-me leveling up, and why Take On Me, specifically the acoustic version, will never sound the same again.

Still going thru it. Still taking it on. 

Take On Me (acoustic) 

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We recorded this on January 9th, when things in our world already felt heavy. But by the time this episode airs (January 29th), it somehow feels even heavier… so we’re really grateful for conversations like this one.

We’re joined by Sophie Ragir, a coach and creative who’s lived through major loss and came out the other side with a clarity we honestly found inspiring. We talk about grief (the messy, non-Hallmark version), the beauty and sometimes even the humor in the transition and how loss can sometimes become the thing that pushes you toward the life you actually want.

And yes.....we talk Heated Rivalry. So if you didn’t fully get your Ilya/Shane fix at the top of the month, consider this your bonus round. 

Meet Sophie Ragir 

Permission Slip and other Sophie musings. *This one really hit. 

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Christmas in Hawaii was actual magic—rainbows, beach days, family chaos, and a surprise Grandma touchdown. Then came the brutal part: leaving. We talk about why saying goodbye to a trip can feel like grief (even when it’s technically just a vacation) and how different our lives look on the other side of it. We unpack the post-trip comedown, the same-family-different-lives dynamic, and what it looks like when one of us is solo-parenting while the other heads back to work. Also in the mix: our rediscovered love of The Office, our shared hatred of Dry January, and a surprise visit from our in-house pop culture correspondent Jack, who weighs in on all things Hollywood—including who she thinks is taking it all this awards season: Leo or Timothée.

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The Office Superfan Episodes 

It’s our 52nd episode (WHAT?!?)—and our last one of 2025.

In this episode, we check in from two very different places: Jill is finally seeing the light at the end of her solo-parenting tunnel, while Holly is just stepping into hers (again). They recap Thanksgiving, debate holiday cards (to send or not to send… also, who cares?), unpack Christmas villages, and revisit family trauma from the HomeGoods parking lot. Most importantly, they talk about what it’s like to do the holidays differently since losing their brother Adam.

They get into Shakoor guilt™️, being away from family during the holidays, and how traditions shift when life doesn’t look the way it used to.

And with that… wheels up, 2025.

You've Got Mail Zabar's scene 

50% off at Shutterfly!!!!.... just kidding, it actually takes you to our website which is really cute

Life doesn’t give you a map for the moments that matter most - birth, loss, and everything in between. So when Jill had Luca, she called in a professional: postpartum doula and all-around force, Laura Veras. While the term "doula" tends to get thrown around a lot (especially in LA), Laura is special. Her journey to becoming a postpartum healer came at a time in her life when death and birth collided. She brings generational Guatemalan wisdom, serious newborn expertise, and a work ethic that doesn’t clock out. She helped Jill survive those first weeks — not because parenting needs to be precious, but because nobody should have to go through a major life transition alone.

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This week, we’re joined by Stephanie Wittels Wachs—author of Everything Is Horrible and Wonderful and co-founder/Chief Creative Officer of Lemonada Media (home of her own podcast Last Day and Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus). We talk about losing her brother, Harris Wittels, the anger that showed up early in her grief, and how learning more about addiction as a disease changed everything. Stephanie shares what it’s like to parent while grieving, why humor is “not disrespectful—it’s oxygen,” and how legacy lives on in tiny family moments (yes, we are referring to dinner at Chilis or Benihana). It’s a conversation about love, identity, and finding actual joy again....without pretending the hard parts didn’t happen.

Everything is Horrible and Wonderful: A Tragicomic Memoir of Genius, Heroin, Love and Loss by Stephanie Wittels Wachs

Lemonada Media Make life suck less

Last Day Podcast 

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Bonus Drop! Inspired by our recent conversation with Jenna Sackman, we decided to talk to kids about grief.....so we let Jack and Goldie take the mics for this episode. There are Knicks takes, Uncle Adam memories, and a few surprisingly wise moments we did not see coming.

It’s loose, a little chaotic, and extremely on brand. Kids just get it in ways we adults tend to overcomplicate.

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We weren’t a therapy family.....until that time we had to be. This week we’re joined by Peace of Mind NYC Founder, Jenna Sackman. Jenna is a holistic and integrative therapist who helped our family through one of the hardest, most complex, and deeply meaningful times of our lives. We talk about family grief, how to talk to kids about loss, and what it means to keep moving forward when someone you love is gone.

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Peace of Mind Therapy NYC 

When we were seeing Jenna, she recommended this incredible book to our family. The Beauty of What Remains by Rabbi Steve Leder. It quickly became one of our favorite books and one we highly recommend for anyone going thru losing a loved one. 

We are back after Hollys 10 day stint in LA serving as Jill’s Chief of Staff. We catch up on everything from the onboarding process with husbands, inappropriate yet brilliant baby Halloween costumes, to our dad’s unique verbiage surrounding death. We may not have had our A24/Fox Searchlight movie moment this trip, but at least Adam found a way to make sure we knew he was right there with us for it all.

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In this episode, Holly sits down with her longtime friend, artist and creative Jared Ryan Shaw. Jared and Holly grew up together in Wayne, NJ (07470 YOU KNOW!!), and every time they talk it feels like stepping into a time capsule — from middle school memories to their love of Saved by the Bell. They get into separation anxiety, addiction, and the loss of Jared’s father, and how creativity has woven in and out of his journey with grief. Through it all, Jared has remained unapologetically himself. It’s an honest, funny, and deeply real conversation between two friends who’ve shared over 30 years of history.

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Jared Ryan Shaw Original Artwork 

Gary Shaw