What tiny shifts could create more spaciousness and satisfaction in your academic life?  The breathing space between semesters is a great time to get a bird’s-eye view of your everyday life, on and off campus.  In this episode, I guide you through my “Wheel of Academic Life” tool for figuringout your own tiny change, and I share some examples of gentle and meaningful kaleidoscope shifts.

Find the transcript for Episode 17, “Kaleidoscope Shift” here.

Mentioned in this episode:

--Download my Wheel of Academic Life here.

--I’m always inspired by Natalie M. Houston’s coaching!

--Find more details on Kaleidoscope Shift sessions, or schedule your session here.

Sign up here to get on the list for my email newsletter!  Connect with me on my website / ⁠Instagram⁠ / or ⁠LinkedIn.

A conversation with Liz Norell about her new book, The Present Professor:  Authenticity and Transformational Teaching.  We talk about why presence matters in our teaching, how trauma disrupts learning (for our students and for us), and what might unfold when we soften in our academic lives.  Liz shares her playful approach to building communities, and her commitment to practicing yoga as a tool for presence.

Find the transcript for Episode 16, “Finding Presence with Liz Norell” here.

Mentioned in this episode: 

--Find Liz’s new book here:  The Present Professor:  Authenticity and Transformational Teaching.

--Follow Liz on social media @liznorell:  LinkedIn, Bluesky, Instagram, and at her website, www.liznorell.com.

Sign up here for my email newsletter!   Connect with me on my website / ⁠Instagram⁠ / or ⁠LinkedIn.

A discussion with Chinasa Elue, grief researcher and grief coach, about the many ways that grief shows up in academic life.  We talk about assuming that grief is present on campus and embracing the awkwardness of tending to grief, and we explore what grief leadership could look like on campus (and why academic leaders should cry if they feel like it).  Chinasa shares the small actions we can take to create more grief-conscious academic spaces. And throughout it all, we laugh a lot!    

Find the transcript for Episode 15, “Academic Grief with Chinasa Elue” here.

What could be possible for us if we let go of productivity as a goal?  In this episode, I reframe productivity in

Find the transcript for Episode 14, “What could we be instead of productive?” here.

Mentioned in this episode: 

Sign up here to get on the list for my newly-redesigned email newsletter!   Connect with me on my website / ⁠Instagram⁠ / or ⁠LinkedIn.

A conversation about expansion, exploration, and honesty at mid-career with fashion professor Arti Sandhu.  Arti’s Instagram @sideways_toupee is a playful personal project and a serious scholarly discourse on embodiment, image-making, globalism, and place in contemporary fashion.

We talk about how the work of @sideways_toupee has raised uncomfortable tensions around mid-career, the urge to create beyond traditional boundaries while navigating fears around legitimacy, and the radical possibilities of honesty in academia.

Plus, as a @sideways_toupee fan, I get to ask my burning question:  what does Arti’s closet look like?    

Find the transcript for Episode 13, “Creativity and Risk in Academic Life” here.

Mentioned in this episode: 

Sign up here to get on the list for my newly-redesigned email newsletter!   Connect with me on my

Thoughts on the inevitable awkwardness of returning to campus and feeling a little too visible at the beginning of Fall semester.

Find the Transcript for Episode 12, “Visibility & Vulnerability in the New Semester” here. 

A few more ideas for sensory rest, adapted for academics from Saundra Dalton-Smith’s Sacred Rest.  

Sign up here to get on the list for my newly-redesigned email newsletter!   Connect with me on my website / ⁠Instagram⁠ / or ⁠LinkedIn.

In this season of institutional annual reports, let’s focus instead on our lived experiences of academic life this year.  In your Shadow Annual Report, we’ll use the framework of empathy, embodiment, and empowerment

Find the Transcript for Episode 11, “Your Shadow Annual Report” here.  

Mentioned in this episode: 

Sign up here to get on the list for my newly-redesigned email newsletter!   Connect with me on my website / ⁠Instagram⁠ / or ⁠LinkedIn.

An honest and hopeful conversation with Brooke Hofsess, artist, scholar, and leadership coach.  We talk, laugh, and dream about re-making academia, the deep power of choice, the fun of chairing (really!), and finding our brilliance amid the scarcity and burnout of higher education.  And I get a mini-coaching session from Brooke

Find the Transcript for Episode 10, “Expansive Leadership with Brooke Hofsess” here. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

Sign up here to get on the list for my newly-redesigned email newsletter!   Connect with me on my

What would it be like to approach overwhelming times of the semester with self-compassion?  How might we experience overwhelm differently if we supported our basic needs and gently questioned expectations?  Today we explore what to do when you’re overwhelmed:  how to set aside self-blame, expand our capacity, reduce our obligations, and pause to reflect.  Plus, I discuss what I did when I got overwhelmed working on this episode!

Find the Transcript for Episode 09, “What To Do When You’re Overwhelmed” here. 

Mentioned in this episode:    

Connect with me on my website / ⁠Instagram⁠ / or ⁠LinkedIn.

Today I’m taking on academic grind culture through the lens of anti-dieting. I explore how we can mobilize the anti-diet critique of diet culture to better understand how the values, promises, and practices of academic grind culture keep us stuck in cycles of overwork. Based on anti-diet principles, I offer three alternatives for creating new ways of being in academia.

Find the Transcript for Episode 08, “Let’s Un-Diet Academia!” here. 

Links mentioned in this episode: 

Sign up for my email list or connect with me on my