This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil

Six years. 375 episodes. Nearly 2 million downloads in 2025 alone. This episode is a sweaty, unfiltered victory lap — celebrating what worked, what stretched us, what scared the hell out of us, and what clearly mattered most to you, the listener.

Every year, we look at the numbers and let you decide. These aren’t just popular episodes — they’re a reflection of what women were wrestling with, questioning, building, and boldly reimagining in 2025. From spiritual health to entrepreneurship, belief, boundaries, death, defiance, and codependency — this list tells a story.

If you’re new here, welcome — any one of these episodes is a great place to start. If you’ve been here a while, this is your reminder to go back and re-listen. Trust me — they hit differently the second time.

🏆 The Top 6 Most-Listened-To Episodes of 2025

#6 – How Is Your Spiritual Health? with Dr. Lisa Miller | Episode 287 A grounded, research-backed conversation about spirituality that isn’t preachy, dogmatic, or exclusionary — even when the audio wasn’t perfect. Proof that meaningful content beats perfection every time. Connect with Lisa

#5 – How to Defy Expectations with Dr. Sunita Sah | Episode 271 Defiance reframed as values-driven courage, not rebellion for rebellion’s sake. For every woman who’s been conditioned to comply, accommodate, and stay quiet — this one hit hard. Connect with Sunita

#4 – How to Have a Good Death with Suzanne B O’Brien, RN | Episode 292 A calm, compassionate, no-BS conversation about death — and why planning for the end can actually help you live better now. Heavy topic. Powerful impact. Connect with Suzanne

#3 – The Hard Truths of Entrepreneurship with Dr. Darnyelle Jervey Harmon  | Episode 313Entrepreneurship without the hustle porn. Honest, funny, deeply validating — even if you’re not building a business. Also: yes, sand-in-the-crotch made the list. Connect with Darnyelle

#2 – What Does a Woman Have to Do to Be Believed? Sexual Assault, Accountability & Double Standards with E. Jean Carroll | Episode 363 

Human, sharp, and unexpectedly funny. A conversation about power, credibility, money, belief, and backbone — without turning it into a political shouting match. Connect with E. Jean

#1 – High-Functioning Codependency: When Being the Strong One Is Slowly Killing You with Terri Cole | Episode 341 This episode didn’t just perform — it changed people. Including me. If you’ve ever been “the capable one,” “the reliable one,” or “the one who handles everything,” this is your wake-up call. Connect with Terri

Thank you to our sponsors!

Get 20% off your first order at curehydration.com/WOMANSWORK with code WOMANSWORK — and if you get a post-purchase survey, mention you heard about Cure here to help support the show! 

Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass.

JOIN NICOLE’S COMMUNITY & GET HER WEEKLY EMAIL! - https://nicolekalil.myflodesk.com/newsletter 

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If you grew up thinking adulthood meant “figure it out once and then coast,” this episode is your loving wake-up call. Reinvention isn’t a plot twist anymore — it is the plot. Careers shift, relationships change, industries get AI’d, and your dreams evolve faster than your LinkedIn headline.

In this conversation, I sit down with Ilana Golan — F-16 flight instructor turned tech exec turned founder & CEO of Leap Academy, a career reinvention platform that helps driven professionals leap into leadership, entrepreneurship, and portfolio careers. 

We talk about what it actually takes to reinvent yourself (again and again), build a portfolio career that doesn’t burn you out, and turn your hardest seasons into rocket fuel instead of reasons to shrink.

Because staying stuck isn’t a personality trait. It’s a habit. And you’re allowed to outgrow it.

Reinvention as a life skill, not a crisis – why you’ll need to reinvent every 1–2 years in today’s world, and how to stop making that mean you did something wrong.

IQ, EQ, and now AQ (Adaptability Quotient) – the new metric that matters

Breadcrumbs & clues – how to spot your zone of genius in the patterns, feedback, and “random” skills you’ve picked up along the way.

From failure to fuel – how Ilana rebuilt after being kicked out of her own company, and how to move from spiral to experiment when life blows up. 

The 5 days / 5 weeks / 5 months framework – a simple, non-scary way to test new directions without burning your life to the ground.

Portfolio careers 101 – what they are, why one job won’t meet all your needs, and how to add new income/impact streams without looking like a confused hot mess. 

Stability and possibility – how to choose a “baseline” role or revenue stream so you feel safe enough to play, experiment, and leap.

Reinvention after rejection, grief, or trauma – why you can’t tell your story from the open wound, and how to move from bleeding to scar to superpower.

Because the moment you stop chasing the life you think you should want, you finally make space for the one that was meant for you all along.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Get 20% off your first order at curehydration.com/WOMANSWORK with code WOMANSWORK — and if you get a post-purchase survey, mention you heard about Cure here to help support the show! 

Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass.

Connect with Ilana:

Website: https://www.ilanagolan.com

Leap Academy: https://www.leapacademy.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/ilanagolanleap

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilanagolan/

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ilanagolan-leap-academy

LeapCon (free gift and discount code): http://leapacademy.com/tiww (Code: TIWW)

If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform!

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We’re calling BS on the idea that “health” is only pills, trackers, and willpower. In this conversation with journalist and TEDx speaker Julia Hotz, author of The Connection Cure, we dig into social prescribing—evidence-based referrals to movement, nature, art, service, and belonging—that can lower stress, boost mood, and make our lives feel human again. 

Edgy truth: we’ve replaced community with convenience. The remedy? Re-connect to what matters to you and let your nervous system exhale. Julia advises Social Prescribing USA and Walk with a Doc, collaborates with the Solutions Journalism Network, and teaches in medical schools—turning research on connection into care that actually changes lives.

We cover:

What social prescribing actually is (no, your doctor isn’t forcing you to make friends) and why up to 80% of health is socially determined—think stress, access to green space, and community, not just clinic time.

The five social-Rx categories: Movement, Nature, Art, Service, Belonging—and how most prescriptions blend at least two.

A nature-based case study: how a 10-week outdoors program reduced insomnia, rumination, and stress—plus why time in nature can feel like it gives you time back.

From “shoulds” to want to: questions that surface your personal Rx (awe/flow/glimmers, what lit you up as a kid, and where you’d spend two extra hours a week).

Turning workouts into joy: travel-style discovery walks at home, walking groups, or pickup games that deliver cardio and connection.

Blue-zones energy without the gym membership: everyday movement, long chats, shared meals, and community as longevity multipliers.

The U.S. landscape: why social prescriptions can complement meds (not replace them), and how orgs like Social Prescribing USA and Walk with a Doc are moving this forward.

So whether your version of medicine looks like a morning hike, a pottery class, or finally joining that book club, the point isn’t perfection—it’s participation. Because when we choose connection over isolation and curiosity over compliance, we’re not just improving our health—we’re reclaiming our humanity.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Get 20% off your first order at curehydration.com/WOMANSWORK with code WOMANSWORK — and if you get a post-purchase survey, mention you heard about Cure here to help support the show! 

Visit beducate.me/womanswork69 and use code womanswork69 for 65% off the annual pass. 

Black Friday has come early at Cozy Earth! Right now, you can stack my code WOMANSWORK on top of their sitewide sale — giving you up to 40% off in savings.

Connect with Julia:

Website: https://www.hotzthoughts.com/ 

Social Prescribing: https://www.socialprescribing.co/ 

Book:https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Connection-Cure/Julia-Hotz/9781668030349?utm_source=chatgpt.com 

The Power of Conscious Connection with Talia Fox | 263 

The Power Of Connection with Tory Archbold | 105 

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If your default answer to “How are you?” is “I’m fine, it’s just a busy season” (and that “season” has started to feel like winter in Alaska), this one’s for you. In this episode, we’re talking nervous system regulation for high-achieving women — the ones juggling all the things, smiling through the stress, and low-key running on fumes.

I’m joined by Michelle Grosser — nervous system strategist, podcast host, and former trial attorney — who now helps high-achieving women regulate from the inside out. We dig into why you can’t mindset your way out of burnout, how your body is sending four times more messages to your brain than the other way around, and what it actually means to live and lead from a grounded state instead of constant fight-or-flight chaos.

In this episode, we get into:

The difference between playing an outside-in game (chasing success for validation) vs. an inside-out game (being who you want to be first, then acting from that place)

Why your nervous system only cares about one thing — safety — and how that impacts your ability to create success, confidence, and fulfillment

What really happens in your brain when you’re in fight, flight, or freeze

The three daily nervous system regulators every woman needs: movement, stillness, and play — and why “high-intensity workout” isn’t always the flex you think it is

How emotional suppression, weak boundaries, and crappy coping mechanisms quietly shrink your bandwidth and fast-track you to burnout

What it actually feels like to be grounded 

Back-pocket, in-the-moment tools for when shit hits the fan: the physiological breath, temperature shifts, and full-body shaking (yes, like your dog) to help your system reset

How to stop confusing over-functioning with being “driven,” and start leading from a regulated, resourced version of you

Because you can read all the leadership books and take all the courses, but if your nervous system is fried, you’ll keep defaulting to hustle, panic, and perfectionism instead of clarity, creativity, and calm power.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Get 20% off your first order at curehydration.com/WOMANSWORK with code WOMANSWORK — and if you get a post-purchase survey, mention you heard about Cure here to help support the show! 

Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass.

Connect with Michelle:

Website: www.michellegrosser.com

Nervous System Reset guide: www.michellegrosser.com/reset 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/itsmichellegrosser/ 

FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/themotherhoodvillage 

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Friend, we obsess over steps, macros, and workout streaks… but when was the last time you checked in on your emotional fitness? In this episode, Nicole sits down with clinical psychologist, emotional fitness expert, and Coa co-founder Dr. Emily Anhalt to talk about what it actually looks like to “train your brain” — no toxic positivity, no “just meditate more,” and definitely no pretending everything’s fine when it’s very much not. 

Emily breaks down her 7 traits of emotional fitness (think mindfulness, curiosity, boundaries, resilience, empathy, communication, and play) and how to build them like muscles over time — one emotional push-up at a time. We get into why empathy without boundaries will burn you all the way out, how to ask for feedback without spiraling into defensiveness, and why trusting your future self might be the most confidence-building thing you do this year. 

If you’ve ever felt resentful because you said “yes” when every cell in your body wanted to say “no,” if you’re tired of carrying everyone else’s emotions like luggage, or if anxiety and uncertainty have been driving the bus lately, this one’s for you. Emotional fitness won’t stop life from throwing heavy shit your way — but it will make you strong enough to carry it, move it, and eventually put it down.

We explore:

What emotional fitness actually means (and how it’s different from “fixing yourself”)

The 7 traits of emotional fitness — and why you don’t have to master all of them at once

How to spot the cost of avoiding discomfort (hello, resentment and burnout)The “emotional push-up” exercise you can start doing today

How to hold empathy and boundaries so caring for others doesn’t drain you dry

The best advice Emily ever got for dealing with anxiety and uncertainty

Why trusting your future self is a deeply confident way to live

Because when you trust your future self, you stop living in panic about what might happen and start living with confidence in who you’re becoming — and that shifts everything. 

Thank you to our sponsors!

Get 20% off your first order at curehydration.com/WOMANSWORK with code WOMANSWORK — and if you get a post-purchase survey, mention you heard about Cure here to help support the show! 

Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass.

Connect with Emily:

Website: https://www.dremilyanhalt.com/

Book: https://a.co/d/couFOLN

IG: https://www.instagram.com/dremilyanhalt/

X: https://x.com/dremilyanhalt

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dremilyanhalt/

If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform!

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If your “business development strategy” is do great work + hope clients stay loyal, I have bad news: that strategy has been officially declared dead on arrival.

In this episode, Nicole sits down with Karen Freeman, Chief Product Officer at DCM Insights and co-author of The Activator Advantage, to break down why client loyalty is collapsing—and what the best “rainmakers” are doing instead. Spoiler: they’re not waiting around to be chosen. They’re activating. 

Why client loyalty is shrinking (even when you are excellent at your job)

The buyer behavior shift: from “we trust you” to “we’re still taking calls, though”

The Activator playbook (aka: stop crossing your fingers)

Commit: plan BD weekly (yes, even when you’re busy)

Connect: treat your network like an asset, not a dusty LinkedIn list

Create value: show up before the ask with insight, context, and solutions

Because “doing good work” is table stakes. Activating is how you win, retain, and grow today.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Get 20% off your first order at curehydration.com/WOMANSWORK with code WOMANSWORK — and if you get a post-purchase survey, mention you heard about Cure here to help support the show! 

Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass.

Connect with Karen:

Book: https://www.dcminsights.com/activator-advantage 

Karen’s LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenefreeman/

DCM insights’s LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dcm-insights/

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If you’ve ever swallowed your needs, kept the peace, and then randomly lost your shit over something tiny (hi, dirty spoon in the sink), this episode is for you. Therapist and author Tonya Lester is here to talk about conflict, boundaries, and what it really means to be “difficult” in a world that still rewards women for being nice, accommodating, and endlessly available. Tonya is the therapist women call when they’re done being walked on. A Brooklyn-based psychotherapist with decades of clinical experience, she specializes in women’s emotional health, conflict skills, and relationships.

We dig into why so many women default to do nothing → do nothing → do nothing → FREAK OUT, how to stop building silent resentment brick by brick, and what it looks like to push back early and often—in love, in work, and in every relationship that actually matters. This is real-talk conflict management for women who are done disappearing to keep everyone else comfortable.

In this episode, we get into:

Why “being difficult” is actually a compliment when it means being honest, boundaried, and real

The subtle ways women suppress their needs in relationships, families, and at work (while telling themselves “it’s not a big deal”)

The do-nothing-do-nothing-freak-out pattern—and how to catch yourself before you emotionally flip a table

How to say hard things clearly and calmly: phrases you can steal for your next conflict at home or in the office

The difference between healthy anger and full-on rage (and why anger is often a sign you still care)

When ultimatums do have a place—and when they’re just emotional terrorism

How to stop over-functioning in your relationships (aka rowing both oars while the other person “rests”)

What to do when your partner, boss, or friend refuses to collaborate—and how to decide if it’s time to stay, shift, or go

Tiny, doable ways to practice pushing back if you’re conflict-avoidant but deeply over people-pleasing

If standing up for yourself has ever been labeled “too much,” this conversation will help you see that maybe the problem isn’t you—it’s the system that benefits from you staying small. Let’s fix that.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Get 20% off your first order at curehydration.com/WOMANSWORK with code WOMANSWORK — and if you get a post-purchase survey, mention you heard about Cure here to help support the show! 

Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass.

Connect with Tonya:

Website: http://www.TonyaLester.com

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Push-Back-Others-Without-Yourself/dp/1608689468.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/tonya.lester.58/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tonyalesterpsychotherapy/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonya-lester-b9a3ab14/ 

If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform!

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We’re getting unapologetically muscular today. Former Wall Street Journal reporter turned professional bodybuilder Anne-Marie Chaker joins us to talk about why women’s strength training is not a vanity play—it’s a longevity strategy, a confidence accelerator, and a rebellion against “shrink yourself” culture.

In this episode, we dig into:

🏋️‍♀️ Why strength training is self-care that actually works—and how lifting transforms more than your body

🧠 The mental health perks of moving heavy things (spoiler: it’s better than a bubble bath)

🚫 Breaking up with “skinny culture” and redefining beauty, power, and health on our own terms

💪 Motivation vs. discipline—how showing up matters more than feeling ready

👩‍👧 Raising the next generation to value strength over smallness and confidence over comparison

📚 Insights from Anne-Marie’s book Lift: How Women Can Reclaim Their Physical Power and Transform Their Lives—a call to take up more space, in every sense of the word.

This conversation is funny, real, and a powerful reminder that stronger is better than smaller—because it’s for you, not for them.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Get 20% off your first order at curehydration.com/WOMANSWORK with code WOMANSWORK — and if you get a post-purchase survey, mention you heard about Cure here to help support the show! 

Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass.

Connect with Anne:

Website: https://annemariechaker.com/  

Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2268426/anne-marie-chaker/

Substack: https://annemariechaker.substack.com/ 

 How To Breathe: Breathwork, Intuition and Flow State with Francesca Sipma | 267 Apple Podcasts

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If you’ve ever thought, “I’m not a leader, I just have 47 people depending on me and zero time to pee” — this one’s for you.

In this episode, we’re pulling back the curtain on what really gets in the way of women leading at work, at home, and in our own lives. Spoiler: it’s not your title, your org chart, or your calendar. It’s the invisible beliefs, the perfectionism, the “I’ll just do it myself,” and the “if I say no everything will fall apart” stories running in the background.

Executive coach, author, and Harvard Business Review podcast host Muriel Wilkins joins Nicole to unpack the seven hidden leadership blockers that quietly cap our potential — especially for women who’ve been praised their whole lives for doing it all, doing it perfectly, and never dropping a ball. Together, they dig into how to actually lead yourself first, rewrite old scripts like “I can’t make a mistake” and “I don’t belong here,” and create a version of leadership that doesn’t require burnout, over-functioning, or pretending to be someone you’re not.

Because leadership isn’t just about managing people. It’s about managing you — your beliefs, your boundaries, and your response when things go sideways.

Why leadership isn’t a title, it’s how you show up in every area of your life

The 7 hidden leadership blockers that keep high-achieving women stuck and exhausted

How “I need to be involved” and “I can’t say no” destroy your capacity and your team’s growth

The quiet cost of perfectionism and the belief “I can’t make a mistake”

The difference between being a leader and actually leading (yes, there’s a big one)

Why real confidence isn’t knowing you’ll get it right — it’s trusting you can handle whatever happens

Because at the end of the day, leadership isn’t about having all the answers — it’s about having the inner steadiness to face whatever comes next without abandoning yourself in the process.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Get 20% off your first order at curehydration.com/WOMANSWORK with code WOMANSWORK — and if you get a post-purchase survey, mention you heard about Cure here to help support the show! 

Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass.

Connect with Muriel:

Website: https://murielwilkins.com/

Book: https://www.murielwilkins.com/books

Podcast: https://www.murielwilkins.com/podcast-coaching-real-leaders  

If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform!

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We love to talk about authenticity at work… right up until someone actually shows up as their full, messy, human self and makes everyone clutch their pearls. In this episode, we unpack what it really means to be yourself at work with Claude Silver — the world’s first Chief Heart Officer at VaynerX and author of Be Yourself at Work: The Groundbreaking Power of Showing Up, Standing Out, and Leading from the Heart.

We get into the difference between authentic presence vs. executive presence, why “that’s just who I am” is usually “fear” in a cute outfit, and how to stop armoring up at work without turning every meeting into group therapy. We talk about perfectionism, people-pleasing, power dynamics, calling people in (instead of just calling them out), and what it actually costs you and your company when you leave the real you at home.

If you’ve ever wondered how to bring your heart into a workplace that’s still obsessed with your hustle, or how to belong without shrinking or pretending, this conversation is your permission slip to stop faking it and start leading from the heart.

What authenticity at work really means (and why it’s not “I say whatever I want, whenever I want”)

The difference between confidence and authenticity – and why you need both

How Claude defines authentic presence and why “executive presence” is starting to feel outdated

Perfectionism as a confidence derailer and how it quietly kills trust, connection, and creativity

How to share your real life (kids, chaos, hard mornings) at work without oversharing or dumping

Navigating power dynamics when a client, boss, or leader says something that goes against your values

How to find “your people” at work

Gen Z and Gen Alpha aren’t being “difficult” — they’re just done with workplaces that value performance over personhood. They expect companies to evolve, not the other way around. If leaders want to keep and motivate this generation, they need to ditch command-and-control and lead with humanity. Authenticity isn’t a bonus anymore — it’s the baseline.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Get 20% off your first order at curehydration.com/WOMANSWORK with code WOMANSWORK — and if you get a post-purchase survey, mention you heard about Cure here to help support the show! 

Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass.

Connect with Claude:

Book Website: https://www.beyourselfbook.com/ 

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/casilver/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/claudesilver/?hl=en 

If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform!

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