Most leadership advice skips the body entirely. Scott Eblin doesn't. The executive coach and author of Overworked and Overwhelmed has spent 25 years helping C-suite leaders perform better, and his starting point isn't strategy. It's neurobiology.

The reason so many leaders feel reactive, depleted, and like they have no agency isn't a character flaw. It's physiology. When you're running on chronic fight or flight, your frontal lobe (the part responsible for values, discernment, and intentional response) is competing with your amygdala. And the amygdala usually wins.

If you manage people, work with people who manage people, or you're the person in the C-suite wondering why everything feels like a threat, this conversation is for you.

In this episode, you'll hear:

Why self-management comes before everything else in leadership

What chronic fight or flight actually does to your decision-making

How the parasympathetic nervous system works and how rhythmic movement activates it

The Life GPS framework Scott and his wife built in the 90s

Why knowing your 100% optimal makes a 25% day easier to navigate

What Scott's MS diagnosis in 2009 taught him about temporary states

The dance floor vs. the balcony concept, and why leaders need both

Martin Seligman's disputation technique for breaking a pessimistic thought loop

Amari Leigh didn't plan any of this. She volunteered at sex worker charities and women's health organizations, sent her CV to every reproductive justice charity she could find, and stumbled into freelance virtual assistant (VA) work. Now she runs a global agency that's worked with over 100 businesses across 17 countries, all of them sex-positive and queer-affirming.

Sex positivity is rooted in consent, body autonomy, and non-judgment. Amari makes the case that a more sex positive, queer-positive world could genuinely save lives and make us all more productive and humane in the process.

If you've ever built a business around your values, wondered whether to stick it out with difficult people or just walk away, or wanted to hear someone talk plainly about censorship, shadow banning, and what it actually costs to work in stigmatized industries, this one's for you.

In this episode, you'll hear:

How Amari accidentally launched a VA agency while emailing every sex positive and queer-affirming charity she could find

What running a sex positive, queer-affirming business actually looks like across 17 countries and 19 U.S. states

How censorship and shadow banning target sexual health and reproductive justice content while harassment gets a pass

Why your social media following is not an asset, and what is

Her honest answer on whether she'd try to educate a bigoted coworker (spoiler: absolutely not)

Why a sex positive, queer-positive world would reduce unintended pregnancies, maternal deaths, and pressure on the foster care system

Yolanda Fraction, organizational development consultant, doctoral student in IO psychology, and author of Joyful Workplaces, joins Punk Rock HR to make the case that joy at work is a strategy, not a perk. And for the leaders who bristle at the word "joy," she has a reframe: call it effectiveness. The outcome is the same either way.

Bad bosses. Turnover. Absenteeism. Mental health days taken just to survive the workload. Yolanda argues these are not culture problems. They are performance problems. And they are solvable, often for free.

If you lead people, support leaders in HR, or want to build workplaces that actually work, this conversation is for you.

In this episode, you'll hear:

Why joy is the outcome of a high-performing organization, not a mood

What the opposite of joy actually looks like on a balance sheet

How Yolanda builds joyful workplaces without a budget

Why toxic managers are a performance problem, not just a culture problem

What self-determination theory has to do with performance reviews

Why an 82-slide deck won't change executive behavior, and what Yolanda does instead

Why Yolanda asks leaders to imagine their 7-year-old self watching them make a difficult call.

What actually helps people live longer, healthier lives? According to longevity expert Ken Stern, it’s not just diet, exercise, or the latest health trend. The biggest factor might surprise you: Your relationships.

Ken Stern, author of Healthy to 100, joins Punk Rock HR to talk about what the longest-lived countries in the world are doing differently. Drawing from research and reporting in Japan, Singapore, Italy, Spain, and South Korea, Ken explains how social connection, community design, and policy shape how long (and how well) we live.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

Why loneliness is a serious health risk, comparable to smoking

What the world’s longest-lived countries do differently than the United States

How social connection impacts longevity more than diet or exercise

Why the traditional life stages of school, work, and retirement were invented — and can be reinvented

What Japan’s older workforce reveals about purpose and longevity

How housing policy and urban design influence healthy aging

Why the future of work will require rethinking retirement

How communities and public policy shape how long we live

Karen Fleshman joins Punk Rock HR to talk about race, power, and the uncomfortable yet necessary work white women must do to build trust across differences. As the founder of the Interracial Sisterhood Coalition, Karen works with white women who are past the beginner stage of anti-racism and ready to examine how conditioning, proximity to power, and workplace dynamics reinforce racial hierarchy.

This conversation moves beyond theory. It explores accountability, institutional protection, intergenerational trauma, and what it actually takes to build solidarity in today’s workplace.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

Why Karen shifted from preparing young people of color for corporate America to preparing workplaces for them

What the “messy middle” of anti-racism work looks like

How white women’s proximity to power shapes HR and leadership roles

The tension between protecting institutions and protecting people

Why Karen prefers solidarity over performative allyship

How intergenerational trauma influences workplace behavior

What it takes to build trust across racial differences

Ashley Herd, founder and CEO of Manager Method and co-host of HR Besties, joins Punk Rock HR to talk about what it actually takes to lead people well. A lawyer turned HR executive, Ashley shares how mentorship, recognition, and practical judgment shape better managers — and why “common sense” leadership isn’t common at all.

If you manage people, support managers in HR, or sit in the C-suite and want employees to function like humans instead of headcount, this conversation is for you.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

Why mentors can sit anywhere on the org chart — including below you

The hidden human cost of how and when we terminate employees

Why recognition isn’t “fluffy” — it’s fuel

How Ashley’s Pause–Consider–Act framework changes everyday decisions

What HR Besties gets right about nuance in the profession

Why managers must stop thinking about people as spreadsheets

Mary Ellen Slayter and Steve Smith of Rep Cap join Punk Rock HR to talk about the state of the job market, the reality behind AI hype, and what’s actually changing in work tech and HR tech. Drawing on decades as journalists turned operators, they break down why this moment feels uniquely disorienting and where real opportunity still exists.

From capital shifts and consolidation to brand, people investment, and human connection, Mary Ellen and Steve share what’s breaking, what’s quietly working, and why 2026 may mark a turning point for companies willing to think long term.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

Scott Stratten, speaker and author joins Punk Rock HR to talk about the hype, fear, and noise around AI in HR. Instead of focusing on tools, he asks why they exist in the first place and what they mean for the future of work. From AI bots in interviews to the risk of HR jobs disappearing in the next 24 months, Scott brings the truth. He calls for the act of slowing down, asking better questions, and remembering that HR’s role is to defend humanity at work.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

Why interviews with AI bots are dehumanizing for candidates

The biggest red flags HR should watch for with AI adoption

How “efficiency” is often a cover for economic cruelty

Why HR jobs may vanish in 24–36 months without reinvention

What a pre-mortem can teach us about slowing down AI adoption

How referrals and relationships still drive most hiring

Why universal basic income is entering the conversation

The true value of HR: advocacy and human connection

Laura Maffucci, Head of HR at G-P, joins Punk Rock HR to explore how AI and global employment solutions are reshaping the HR landscape. From “agentic AI” and compliance challenges to the human side of leadership, Laura shares what HR leaders need to know about embracing AI responsibly while unlocking global talent with Employer of Record services.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

What an Employer of Record (EOR) is and why it matters in today’s global labor market

The difference between generic AI and “agentic AI” built for safe, HR-specific use

Why HR jobs aren’t going away, but the work is changing

How leaders can create safe AI adoption practices at work

Real HR use cases for AI, from summarizing investigations to tracking compliance changes

The risks of over-relying on AI and why human judgment remains essential

Why global talent strategy is becoming a must-have for companies

Blair Whitman, VP of Client Success at Homethrive, joins Punk Rock HR to talk about the stigma around caregiving, why it’s a workforce issue, and how companies can move beyond performative support. From personal caregiving stories to the ROI of real benefits, Blair shares how employers can create cultures that support both productivity and compassion.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

Why many people don’t identify as caregivers and why it matters

How caregiving impacts careers, especially for women

What managers can do to support employees under strain

The difference between EAPs and deeper caregiving support

How caregiving benefits deliver real ROI for companies

Why including men in the caregiving conversation is essential

The unexpected joy and beauty that come with caregiving