The Release Podcast

By Poonam SharmaSociety & Culture

The Release Podcast episodes

October 29, 2024 NASA Astronaut Cady Coleman on Mission, Motherhood & Lessons From Space
Cady Coleman is a NASA astronaut who retired as a colonel in the US Air Force, flew twice on the Space Shuttle Columbia, is a Chemist by trade. She departed the International Space Station in 2011 as a crew member of Expedition 27 after logging 159 days in space.

Her new book is called "SHARING SPACE: An astronauts guide to mission, wonder & making change." On today’s podcast, we are talking about fear, bravery and the courage it takes to leave your 10 year old child on earth…in order to fulfill a dream. When does a little girl’s fascination with astronauts transform into a mission to get off the planet? What has living in zero gravity taught Cady about control? And how did Cady manage to reach the height of a system that was not designed…literally or figuratively for her?

Well, if the space suit didn’t fit…Cady made it fit. If the mission was at stake…she found a way. And she's the first to say that the allies outnumbered anybody who ever tried to hold her back. In the end, she's one of a small handful of humanity who knows what it's like to wake up on the space station, and an even smaller portion that has the experience of startling awake because they heard someone up on the roof IN SPACE.

Ever wondered if the astronauts with delayed returns really consider themselves stranded? Ever imagined what’s the most disgusting thing about life in space? Ever thought about what it might be like to coparent when you're not even on the same planet?

You’ll have to listen to the end, to find out.

More on Cady Coleman, the book & the documentary: https://www.cadycoleman.com/film-space-the-longest-goodbye

55 min
October 22, 2024 Dr. Dan Yadegar, On Intentionality, Gay Single Fatherhood & Daily Micro-Contracts With Our DNA
What can a gay, Persian, cardiologist and single father teach us about how to take care of ourselves? Turns out quite a lot. Dr. Dan Yadegar is a trusted voice in integrating medical innovation and science with the art of wellbeing. After fleeing Iran with his family as an infant he spent his early years in the Dominican Republic, before they settled in Long Island, New York, where he mainly grew up. After Harvard college and Cornell Medical School he has spent his career serving the wealthiest as well as the most disadvantaged, has worked in healthcare venture capital, launched a wellness startup called Wellbel, and served on various boards. But when he’s not engaged in moving the needle of wholistic wellness forward, he’s focused on his two children he is raising on his own, after an IVF journey which he feels he was destined for. And he could not be a more grateful papa.
On today’s podcast we are looking at how our choices and attitudes can affect our health outcomes, and how our daily micro-contracts with our own health can add up over time. We’re diving in to his journey as a gay man in a traditional culture, and the unique challenges and benefits of being a solo gay parent…via IVF and by choice.

It’s possible that being gay has made him a better dad, that being a dad has made him a better doctor, and that being on this podcast, hopefully…has made Dr Dan feel just a little bit seen.
34 min
October 15, 2024 Denise Conroy aka The Queenmaker, on Trauma-Turned-Fuel
Have you ever heard the term Kingmaker? Well, meet the Queenmaker. Denise Conroy. A former 4X founder, 3X CEO, Fortune 500 CMO, and board director, she has been defying expectations her entire life, and she wants to help other women (and men) who are her executive coaching clients do the same. By looking inward.

Denise did that herself when, nearly four decades later, she finally reckoned with, and got therapy for…the impact of the gang rape she suffered when she was only five years old.

On today’s podcast we are looking at the cultural dynamics that created an environment where so many girls growing up in the 80s learned to turn their trauma into fuel. Denise’s attackers stole her sense of security, but not her compassion, including for her self, which came roaring back to her in the midst of a painful divorce while she was at a professional height she never thought she would reach. To hear her tell it, girls like her, on welfare, from small town Appalachia…weren’t destined for the C-suite.

But guess what? She proved herself wrong. And now, she’s helping clients of her executive coaching practice do the same. There’s just one hurdle: you’ve gotta have been in therapy first. Denise is not messing around with her clients’ potential…and she won’t allow them to, either.

More about Denise Conroy:
https://www.themyllc.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@denise_conroy
https://www.linkedin.com/in/conroydenise

More about The Release Podcast:
https://thereleasepodcast.com/

More about the host, Poonam Sharma:
https://poonam.info/

44 min
October 08, 2024 Neil Shyminsky, aka Tiktok's Professor Neil, On The Manosphere, Mixed Messaging And The Future Of Masculinity
Given all the mixed messaging about what defines healthy masculinity these days, where will the next generation of young men ultimately land?

Our guest this week is Neil Shyminsky, better known as TikTok's popular Professor Neil. Neil addresses cultural misunderstandings on a wide variety of hot topics.

A Professor of English in the School of Justice, Community Services, and General Studies at Cambrian College, his work on superheroes has been published in journals such as the International Journal of Comic Art and Men and Masculinities.
On todays podcast we are talking about the impact of mixed messaging in masculinity on the next generation, and the history of the manosphere.

The "manosphere" is a broad collection of websites, blogs, and online forums promoting masculinity and opposition to feminism. Included communities are men's rights activists (MRAs), incels (involuntary celibates),pick up artists (PUA), and father's rights groups. The specifics of each group's beliefs may conflict, but they are generally united in the belief that society is biased against men, and that feminists promote a hatred of men.

Neil is one of the louder and more trusted voices in the fray, trying to promote healthy masculinity. And that battle brings its own very special set of challenges.
39 min
October 01, 2024 Anna Goldfarb, The NY Times Friendship Correspondent & Author of "Modern Friendship"
Studies say we lose half of our friendships every seven years. Does that make you consider who you will move on from…or who’s gonna dump you?

Friendship is complicated, as detailed in the book MODERN FRIENDSHIP; How to Nurture our most valued connections by Anna Goldfarb. Anna is a journalist, author and speaker, known as “The New York Times' friendship correspondent.” On today’s podcast we look at why it’s so hard to communicate disappointment to our friends, how mourning the loss of a friendship differs from mourning a romantic relationship, and why being considered somebody’s best friend is so much more valuable…than having one. Anna says we must renegotiate our friendships as life changes their shape, rather than thinking it will all work out magically.

The connective tissue of long-term friendships used to be shared community, but most modern friendships no longer work that way…so in each friendship Anna explains that there has to be a WHY. And lest you think that new friends come easily enough…keep in mind that it takes about 200 hours to build a new best friendship. Do you really think you have that kind of time?
31 min
September 24, 2024 Frederic Luskin, Director of Stanford's 'Forgiveness Project,' and Author of 'Forgive For Good'
Forgiving someone who apologizes and changes their behavior is one thing. Or forgiving someone you can remove from your life.
But how do you forgive someone who keeps hurting you?

As the Director of Stanford University’s Forgiveness Project, and Author of Forgive for Good, Frederic Luskin has dedicated himself to answering these questions. Frederic has his Phd, is the Department Chair for Clinical Psych at Sofia University, and is one of the world’s leading researchers and speakers on the topic of forgiveness. He came by the topic honestly, as you’ll hear on today’s podcast, when he puzzled through difficult relationship situations with a friend, as well as with his mother in law. It was Fred’s wife who gets the credit for ultimately waking him up to how his own unforgiveness was a choice.

On today’s episode we define forgiveness, identify how we know when we have forgiven…and look at the 9 stages of forgiveness which Fred identifies. Nobody wants to hold on to the stress of the past. Nobody wants to admit they are unforgiving of others, or of themselves. But according to Fred, we are all to blame for how refusing to forgive hurts us. And in every single moment of our lives, if we can accept what forgiveness really means about accepting reality…we have the power to be free.
39 min
September 10, 2024 Carlos Andres Gomez, Author of MAN UP, Student of Modern Masculinity
What is the correct way to do modern masculinity…and how can we teach our sons to get it right? CARLOS ANDRÉS GÓMEZ is the author of the memoir Man Up: Reimagining Modern Manhood. On today’s episode we talk about why the phrase toxic masculinity is so triggering, how to guide our sons towards healthy masculinity without overcorrecting…and how loneliness could be the root of most of humanity’s problems.
48 min
September 03, 2024 Julia Hotz, Author of THE CONNECTION CURE: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging
Julia Hotz, Author of THE CONNECTION CURE: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging
How over-medicated are we? How much of what ails us could be healed by going back to the ways we evolved to live? 
Julia Hotz is the author of a book looking to answer questions like these. "The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging" is the very first book to make the case for social prescribing.
Hotz is a solutions focused journalist whose stories have appeared in The New York Times, WIRED, Scientific American, The Boston Globe, Time, and more. In The Connection Cure, she presents the history of how we came to rely on medical intervention for mental health challenges in the first place, and outlines how we are neglecting ourselves deeper into unrest nearly every day. Without discounting the validity of pharmaceutical medicine in some cases, she is making a case for a much more complete picture of what the cure for our collectively rising anxiety and depression might actually look like, and how much of it we may actually be able to control. On today’s episode we are talking about the origins of SSRIs, the definition of social prescribing, and the perils of isolation, in all its forms. From directed attention fatigue to quiet fascination, Hotz is full of suggestions for how we can better manage our minds, with and without medication. To hear her tell it…there may just be hope for all of us…yet.
Subscribe today! www.TheReleasePodcast.com
40 min
August 27, 2024 Mark Bowden, Voted The World’s #1 Body Language Expert, on The Presidential Election
How many repetitions of a targeted new body language gesture does it take to win over a swing voter?
Mark Bowden has been voted the #1 Body Language Professional in the world. Born in England and building off an early career as an actor on screen and stage, Mark pioneered nonverbal analysis of human behaviors intended to persuade. His techniques are trusted by business leaders, Fortune 500 companies, politicians, and G7 prime ministers, as well as the millions who have watched his TEDx talk, his Youtube Channel, his media commentary and his appearances with Dr Phil, or read his bestselling books including Winning Body Language, Tame the Primitive Brain, or TRUTH & LIES: What People are Really Thinking.
On today’s podcast we’re talking about body language in the election, and in particular with regards to winning over so-called swing voters. How can Kamala Harris set her self up for success? And what misperceptions specifically is she trying to outrun? Similarly for Trump, what’s the best strategy for winning over swing voters who might be won over…as long as they’re not subconsciously turned off? 
What is the impact of voice register on voters when coming from a woman versus a man?
How powerful can a candidate’s hand gestures really be? What was Mark’s impression of Trump’s body language following the assassination attempt? And how many repetitions of a carefully constructed new gesture does it take to change a voter’s perception?
Listen to the end for insight into how Mark manages to win over thousands of people at once while giving his keynotes…because their results, and his business, depend on it.
36 min
August 20, 2024 Pete Earley, Pulitzer Finalist and Author of NO HUMAN CONTACT: Based on personal access to Terrible Tom Silverstein (the most isolated prisoner in US ...
Pete Earley is a Pulitzer-finalist, a mental health advocate, a Washington Post journalist turned bestselling author of 15 books including Family of Spies (inside the John walker spy ring), The Hot House (Life inside Leavenworth prison), and Crazy (A father’s search through americas mental health madness). Earley also wrote a series of novels including Duplicity, Treason, and Vengeance along with Newt Gingrich.
Diagnosed earlier this year with stage 4 cancer, Earley has become a little philosophical about “whether being with each other is what makes us human”, among other things.
Early's latest and accordion to him, final book, is NO HUMAN CONTACT: SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, MAXIMUM SECURITY AND TWO INMATES WHO CHANGED THE SYSTEM. The book was based on the rare access Earlery was granted to notorious inmate Terrible Tom Silverstein. Silverstein was convicted of armed robbery among other things and sentenced to life, rose to become a leader of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, and then brutally murdered a CO, stabbing him 40 times inside of a federal prison. Convinced that he and another inmate who’d killed a CO on the same day were beyond redemption….the bureau of prisons sentenced Sivlerstein to NO HUMAN CONTACT, which began his stay as the most isolated prisoner in US history. No TV, no magazines, no letters, no phone calls, no window, no hot water, no paper, no pencils, and no darkness to indicate whether it was day or night. Inside of a cell as wide as a king-sized bed, where Silverstein would touch the ceiling. Pete Earley was the only journalist ever granted personal access to Terrible Tom, and the two developed a friendship which lasted for three decades. That kind of experience could draw the philosopher out of any man.
On today’s podcast we dig in to the motivations of a journalist, the heart of a murderer, and the nature of humanity. Without ever excusing his actions….Peter and I talk about how Silversteins childhood might have trained the humanity out of him, and whether Earley thinks he ever had a chance at functioning in society at all. The through line in Earley’s work is that he wants to see how other people live, and that has flowed from his work with inmates through his battle to support his bipolar son, to his insights into America’s homeless. Together we consider whether it is the need to connect that is most core to the human condition…or whether it is the need to believe we can be seen.
The most surprising part of our interview is not that Early spoke with a mass murderer who reached the same conclusion about love as the late great Elie Weisel. The most surprising part of our interview, for me…is how easy it was to believe that Terrible Tom Silverstein…leader of the Aryan Brotherhood…famed murderer…lifelong criminal…and America’s most isolated prisoner….could turn into a divorce counselor for his visitor, biographer…and eventual friend…Pete Early.
You’ve really gotta read NO HUMAN CONTACT.
40 min

About The Release Podcast

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A master-class in personal and professional development, The Release is a series of conversations with fascinating people (thought leaders, explorers, authors, healers and world record holders to name…