Raquel Willis is an activist, author, and media strategist whose work focuses on Black transgender liberation. Willis joins Cleo Wade today to talk about her debut memoir, The Risk It Takes to Bloom, and making peace with her younger self while chipping away at the idea of wanting to tell a "pristine" story. They also talk about the moment Willis' path into activism became clear, and her advice for those who are afraid of saying the wrong thing in the journey toward collective liberation. (To hear more from Willis, tune into her new podcast series, Afterlives.)
 
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The Risk It Takes to Bloom

goop CEO and founder Gwyneth Paltrow and author Cleo Wade take turns hosting the brightest thinkers and culture changers.

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Self-Improvement

The founder of Brown Girl Therapy and the author of But What Will People Say? joins Cleo Wade to talk about belonging, family, and identity. Kohli examines her own experiences as a child of South Asian immigrants, and the pressure to present different versions of herself across different cultural contexts.
 
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Examining Our Stories (with therapist Sahaj Kaur Kohli)

Sue Varma, author of Practical Optimism, served as the first medical director and attending psychiatrist at the World Trade Center Mental Health Program, treating civilian and first-responder survivors in the aftermath of 9/11. She shares how her work there led her to develop a framework for practical optimism. She explains what it means to be a practical optimist (and why it's different than blind optimism), ways for moving forward if you're feeling stuck, and how small intentional changes have the power to impact our physical and emotional health.
 
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How to Be a Practical Optimist (with psychiatrist Sue Varma)

Legendary author Anne Lamott discusses the many ways love can transform us. She shares how she learned to break free from perfectionism, the spiritual value of crying, the mantras that help ground her in self-love, and her new book Somehow.
 
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Thoughts on Love (with author Anne Lamott)

Katara McCarty is the founder of Exhale, an app focused on the mental wellness of Black women. Today, she shares her personal life story with Gwyneth. They talk about how McCarty’s work has been informed by a unique survey she conducted in 2023. And what it means to hold space: “I think that holding space takes acknowledging the fullness of the person you’re holding space for,” McCarty says.
 
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Systems of Self-Care (with founder Katara McCarty)

Gwyneth is joined by Lisa Mosconi, author of The Menopause Brain. Mosconi is an associate professor of neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine and the director of its Women’s Brain Initiative and the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program. Today, Mosconi explains how hormonal shifts during perimenopause and menopause can impact cognitive health and shares some of the clinical trials and brain-imaging work her lab is doing to better understand this stage of life. They about the foods that can support brain health at any stage of life and Mosconi’s perspective on why menopause can be seen as an opportunity, particularly from an evolutionary standpoint.
 
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The Risk It Takes to Bloom

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