Welcome to Old School, where we revisit some of our best episodes from previous years with some current reflections on why these episodes are still fascinating.

Chris Ballew never expected or even particularly wanted mainstream success. But when his band, the Presidents of the United States of America, hit it big, he had to reckon with what success meant to him and figure out how to say no when everyone around him wanted him to say yes.

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⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠

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In this episode, Amanda explores how to navigate conflict without getting trapped in outrage cycles, and why responding with intention matters more than always being right. She shares how power dynamics shape the way we speak up, and why the choice to let something go can be just as meaningful as the decision to push back.

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Rick Steves is a renowned travel writer, television host, and guidebook author known for turning tourism into a tool for cultural connection, personal growth, and global citizenship. In this episode, Rick Steves shares how decades of exploring the world have shaped his values, his politics, and his understanding of what makes life meaningful. He and Amanda talk about finding joy in discomfort, why venturing outside your comfort zone builds resilience, and how travel can be a spiritual act—not because it offers answers, but because it teaches you how to ask better questions.

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Simon Tam shares how naming his band “The Slants” launched him into a decade-long legal battle over identity, free speech, and what it means to reclaim power. He and Amanda explore why owning the narrative is a form of resistance and what happens when activism becomes art—and vice versa.

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How do you let go of control when survival once depended on it? In this candid and searching conversation, world-renowned mountaineer Melissa Arnot talks with Amanda about the tension between self-reliance and vulnerability, what Everest taught her about fear and identity, and why the real challenge begins after the climb. Together they explore the limits of resilience, the myth of mastery, and how to make peace with the parts of yourself you can't outwork.

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Welcome to Old School, where we revisit some of our best episodes from previous years with some current reflections on why these episodes are still fascinating.

Twenty years ago, Roz Savage was a management consultant living in London with her husband. From the outside, it looked like a good life, but Roz was miserable. Until she blew up that life and found a new one on the other side of the ocean. She'd just have to row for three and half months to get there. 

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Amanda reflects on what it really means to be an adult, how to foster trust without control, and why setting boundaries that keep kids safe doesn't mean clipping their wings. She also shares her “thrift store mindset” for navigating life that explains why letting go of rigid expectations makes room for surprise, gratitude, and a mushroom-shaped lamp you didn’t know you needed.

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Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠

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Why are Iranian women leading the fight for freedom—and how have they sustained that fight for over four decades? In this powerful conversation, Zahra Amanpour shares how her life was shaped by the Iranian resistance after her father was executed by the regime, and why she believes women must be at the forefront of revolution. Amanda and Zahra explore how faith can be both weaponized and reclaimed, why choice—not conformity—is the heart of feminism, and how global solidarity can be a tool for real political change.

NCRI Women's Committee : @womenncri : https://wncri.org/

Zahra's LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/zahraamanpour/

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In this episode of Ask Amanda Anything, Amanda discusses Rudy Guede's new trial and why she no longer needs to confront her friend’s killer to find peace. She also shares how learning Italian in prison—from a Harry Potter book and a borrowed dictionary—became an unlikely act of agency and self-preservation. Along the way, Amanda explains why police deception undermines justice, how storytelling can turn pain into meaning, and why accepting the apology you’ll never receive is a way to stop living in deficit.

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Sex advice legend Dan Savage joins Amanda for a conversation about desire, trauma, and why our culture still freaks out over butt stuff. They dig into why shame is boring, why marriage isn’t sacred, and how telling the truth about your sex life might just be the most liberating thing you can do.

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⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠

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