Lead to Gold

When most of us hear the word "grief," we immediately associate it with physical human death. But the real definition and use case expands far beyond that - even when we don't consciously recognize it, our bodies certainly do.

So in this episode, we're widening the scope on what counts as grief and why we desperately need to get in touch with it, longer than anyone will give you official permission to. Whether you have lost someone recently, or you're mourning a former version of yourself, or you're going through a friendship breakup, OR the grief you know you have won't surface at all...this one is for you.

We're not talking about healing today. We're talking about staying with the stuff that hurts long enough to actually feel it.

Show notes: 

• I've written a lot about this.
  • Nobody wants to grieve these days
  • America has a problem
  • I'm tired of fixing myself
  • The controlled burn
  • A matter of "when"
• I'm on Substack now!
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  • Subscribe to the paid tier for an extra podcast episode every month where we get to talk about things I normally can't here 👀
• Subscribe to the blog
• Support me & the show through my art :)
• Follow me on Instagram
• Thanks to DayFox for the intro/outro song!

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This week broke something open. Between the news - the Cornell 57, the city-wide bomb threats, the daily fresh hell of this particular moment in history - and a week at work that tested my patience and my faith in people in equal measure, I found myself sitting with a question I couldn’t shake: what happens when people just stop caring? Not dramatically, not all at once, but quietly: in classrooms, at homecoming dances, in comment sections, and in the halls of power. 

In this episode we're talking about apathy as a civilizational problem, why I think care is not a soft skill but a survival one, and what it actually looks like to keep showing up for things that matter when you are exhausted and the world seems hell-bent on giving you reasons not to. This one is a little heavy (a real lead-to-gold moment), but I think it’s necessary. And I think you'll already know exactly what I mean. 

Show notes:

• A very relevant blog post: I'm teaching my ninth graders about integrity - but everyone could use a refresher
• I'm on Substack now!
  • Subscribe to the free tier for the same blog posts, podcast episodes, and monthly newsletter all in one place
  • Subscribe to the paid tier for an extra podcast episode every month where we get to talk about things I normally can't here 👀
• Follow me on Instagram
• Thanks to DayFox for the intro/outro song!

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The wellness internet has a money problem, and it's dressed up in the language of liberation. 

In this episode, I'm getting into something that has been bothering me for a long time: the quiet but pervasive trend of spiritual bypassing around finances in online wellness culture, and how it gets repackaged and sold to women under the banner of feminism. We talk about why the "money is neutral" conversation is not only wrong but actively harmful, and why the framework of abundance mindsets and manifestation only works for a very specific and already-privileged slice of the women it claims to serve. We get into the very real and very documented reality that it is expensive to be poor, and what it means to ask women who are already paying that tax to also reframe their relationship with money instead of demanding the system change. 

To round it all out and avoid feeling like there's no one to turn to, I also want to give you a practical guide for identifying whether a creator is genuinely advocating for all women or just selling a dream to the ones who can already afford it. 

Show notes:

• A very relevant blog post: Why "money coaching" gives me the ick
• More Perfect Union: The total failure of our healthcare system is not a feel good story
• I'm on Substack now!
  • Subscribe to the free tier for the same blog posts, podcast episodes, and monthly newsletter all in one place
  • Subscribe to the paid tier for an extra podcast episode every month where we get to talk about things I normally can't here 👀
• Follow me on Instagram
• Thanks to DayFox for the intro/outro song!

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I cursed a lot in this one.

This week, we're getting into everything that's been keeping us up at night about AI, starting with the news that broke this week around Jacob Coxon and the growing chorus of whistleblowers sounding the alarm on superintelligence. We talk about why this fear isn't new, why the environmental, moral, and educational damage has been accumulating for years, and why I think AI is categorically different from every other disruptive technology in human history. We also get into the "you'll get left behind" argument that AI proponents love to make, and why, honestly, I've always been okay with that. 

I'm not here to tell you we're all doomed. I'm here to tell you that people are already fighting back, it's working, and there are concrete things you can do. Show notes with legislation, resources, and action steps are linked below. Please be a part of the solution.

Show notes:

• I'm on Substack now!
  • Subscribe to the free tier for the same blog posts, podcast episodes, and monthly newsletter all in one place
  • Subscribe to the paid tier for an extra podcast episode every month where we get to talk about things I normally can't here 👀
• Follow me on Instagram
• Thanks to DayFox for the intro/outro song!

Legislation to know about:

• Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act Introduced September 4, 2026 by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Greg Casar (D-TX). Would permanently ban the development and deployment of superintelligent AI, pause advanced AI development until a federal regulatory agency establishes safety rules, and pursue international agreements to prevent superintelligence from being developed anywhere in the world. Penalties for violation are on par with illegal nuclear weapons development: up to 20 years in prison for individuals and the corporate death penalty for entities.
  •  → sanders.senate.gov
• AI Data Center Moratorium Act (S.4214) Also introduced by Sanders, March 2026. Would prohibit building or upgrading AI data centers until laws regulating AI and AI data centers are enacted. Currently referred to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.
  •  → congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4214
• Stop Rogue AI Act Introduced September 9, 2026 by Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ) and Mike Lawler (NY), notably bipartisan. Rather than an outright ban, this bill directs NIST to develop standards for identifying, tracking, and controlling AI agents operating inside networks, with requirements for real-time monitoring and the ability to revoke an agent's access at any time. The framing: humans should always have the final say over what AI can access or do.
  •  → gottheimer.house.gov
• AI Civil Rights Act Led by Representative Yvette Clarke and Senator Ron Wyden. Would treat algorithmic discrimination in hiring, housing, credit, healthcare, and policing as a civil rights violation, with federal audits, disclosures, and penalties. This one is the most tangible for everyday people - AI is already being used to deny mortgages, jobs, and healthcare. Has 29 cosponsors but has not cleared Congress.
  •  → Search "AI Civil Rights Act Yvette Clarke" at congress.gov
• The Great American AI Act (bad!!!) A 269-page bipartisan draft released June 2026 by Representatives Obernolte and Trahan. On the surface it establishes federal AI oversight, but buried inside is a preemption clause that would freeze every state-level AI law enacted after January 1, 2024 for three years. This would suspend existing state protections in California, Colorado, Illinois, and Texas while the federal government - currently not especially friendly to regulation - takes over the conversation. Civil society groups including Public Citizen and the AFL-CIO have raised serious concerns. Worth contacting your representatives about.
  •  → Search "Great American AI Act 2026" at congress.gov

How to take action:

• Contact your representatives: The single highest-impact thing you can do. Call, don't just email! Find your representatives at congress.gov/members, or use the 5Calls app. Tell them you support the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act and the AI Civil Rights Act, and express concern about the Great American AI Act's preemption clause. If you live in Texas, contacting Greg Casar's office directly is especially meaningful.
• If there's a data center proposed near you: Community opposition has already blocked or stalled $156 billion worth of data center projects. 69-75% of Americans now oppose data center construction near their homes. You are not alone and your voice matters.
• → servercountry.org/resources/legal-actions — a step-by-step guide to zoning challenges, public hearings, and organizing neighbors. Includes documented success stories.
• → datacenter-playbook.netlify.app — a free community resource updated in 2026, used across 40 states. Covers what to do if you just heard about a proposal, if a vote is coming up, or even if the vote already went the wrong way.
• → commonslibrary.org — search "How to Stop a Data Centre" for the full toolkit, including the Brockovich AI Data Center Reporting map showing operational and under-construction facilities with community-reported concerns.
• Grassroots organizing — stopai.info is Oakland-based activist organization seeking to ban the development of artificial general intelligence, for those who want to connect with organized opposition beyond the legislative route.

Further reading:

• A very relevant blog post: That's enough transhumanism for me, thanks
• CNN: 'Gambling with our lives': Another AI employee quits over safety concerns
• Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic: We Must Pace the Frontier
• Engadget: How to Fight a Data Center
• Project Censored: Communities Push Back Against AI Data Center Expansion
• Center for Democracy and Technology 2026 AI Legislation Updates: cdt.org
• AI bill tracker with current status: https://legisletter.org/issues/ai-regulation

As always, thank you for listening. The world is a lot right now — but people are showing up, and it's working. Start where you are.

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Last week, I published a blog post asking the question that had been sitting with me for months: where are the women? Specifically, the older women who are still fully themselves, still curious, still having fun, still becoming. The response surprised me, and the conversation it started didn't feel finished. So I called one of my best friends.

In this episode, I sit down with my colleague-turned-bestie, one of my favorite people to think out loud with, and we go deep on the question together. We get into the kinds of things we want to see women feel more comfortable doing and claiming in their own lives, without apology and without waiting for permission. And she shares the women who have genuinely inspired her - the real ones, in her real life - which might be the key to what we all need to look for as we age.

I walked away from this one thinking about the topic from angles I hadn't considered before, which is my favorite thing a conversation can do. I can't wait for you to have it 🖤

Show notes:

• A very relevant blog post: Where are the women?
• I'm on Substack now!
  • Subscribe to the free tier for the same blog posts, podcast episodes, and monthly newsletter all in one place
  • Subscribe to the paid tier for an extra podcast episode every month where we get to talk about things I normally can't here 👀
• Follow me on Instagram
• Thanks to DayFox for the intro/outro song!

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Let's be honest: some of us would rather reorganize our entire lives than have one uncomfortable conversation. 

In this episode, I'm coming clean about my own deeply avoidant tendencies and making the case that conflict resolution is actually a learnable skill, not a personality trait you either have or don't (I would know, I've been working hard). Starting with two personal stories where, notably, the other person had to be the one to come to me first, I'll walk through five things I've learned to practice when it comes to navigating hard conversations.

Show notes: 

• Very relevant blog posts: The art of revealing pt. I and pt. II
• I'm on Substack now!
  • Subscribe to the free tier for the same blog posts, podcast episodes, and monthly newsletter all in one place
  • Subscribe to the paid tier for an extra podcast episode every month where we get to talk about things I normally can't here 👀
• Follow me on Instagram
• Thanks to DayFox for the intro/outro song!

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In episode 44, we talked all about why being a "serial hobbyist" is actually a great problem. It expands your skills, your range, your social networks, and your self confidence. But what we didn't quite touch on is just how existential it can be when you start to understand that the things you spend your time doing actually matter quite a lot. 

So what do we do about that? I don't know if I have the answer, but I definitely have the lived experience.

Show notes: 

• Listen to episode 44 if you haven't already!
• I'm on Substack now!
  • Subscribe to the free tier for the same blog posts, podcast episodes, and monthly newsletter all in one place
  • Subscribe to the paid tier for an extra podcast episode every month where we get to talk about things I normally can't here 👀
• Follow me on Instagram
• Thanks to DayFox for the intro/outro song!

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This one is for those of us who are chronically overwhelmed and experiencing the woes of "Good Girl Syndrome" (and no, you do not need to be a woman or a girl to get it). If you constantly tell yourself or have outside influences telling you that you should be able to achieve more, and you simply aren't, maybe the solution isn't to try harder. Maybe it's to take a step back, regulate, and realign with what feels restorative to you. 

Today, it's all about why and how to do exactly that.

Show notes:

• A very relevant blog post: Be careful, she bites.
• Subscribe to the Time Capsule newsletter
• Support me & the show through my art :)
• Follow me on Instagram
• Thanks to DayFox for the intro/outro song!

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Most of us are craving a deeper sense of meaning, and one of the best ways to achieve that is to experience an "altered state" where we feel more present, more aware, and more appreciative of our surroundings. But in a culture where we are spiritually illiterate, it's easy to assume we can only get there through drugs or intense meditation.

Not true. We can experience this stone-cold sober.

Today, I want to share my own experiences with altered states of consciousness, the easiest (and often overlooked) ways of getting there, and why I believe this is extremely necessary for a more peaceful and blissful existence. 

Show notes:

• Read (or maybe don't read...) The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
• Subscribe to the Time Capsule newsletter
• Support me & the show through my art :)
• Follow me on Instagram
• Thanks to DayFox for the intro/outro song!

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Paul Lagerstedt has always been drawn to fixing things and understanding how systems work. When he began to notice his own adverse reaction to alcohol without an explanation, he got curious: what’s actually in alcoholic beverages beyond ethanol, and why do people respond so differently? He began researching the trace compounds that can be present in wine, beer, spirits, and cocktails, and whether it was possible to reduce exposure to some of them before drinking. 

That research led to ALKAA: a patented, in-glass sachet designed to reduce certain trace compounds in alcoholic beverages. ALKAA treats the drink, not the body. And today, Paul is here with us to explain how the product has led to an entirely new way of relating to alcohol and how it makes us feel, what a change its already made, and how it may even shape the future of drinking culture.

Show notes: 

• Meet Paul (and his lovely wife and co-founder, Sara)
• Read the official patent for ALKAA
• Shop ALKAA
• Subscribe to the blog
• Follow me on Instagram
• Thanks to DayFox for the intro/outro song!

Send us Fan Mail