We Can Do Hard Things

342. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson!

Today is a big day! Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson joins Glennon and Amanda to share her deeply personal journey to becoming the first Black woman Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.  

Discover:

Justice Jackson’s beautiful new memoir, Lovely One, is out today!

On the Guest: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson received her undergraduate and law degrees, both with honors, from Harvard University, then served as a law clerk for three federal judges, practiced law in the private sector, worked as Commissioner of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and served as an assistant federal public defender. President Obama nominated Justice Jackson to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2021, Justice Jackson made history in 2022 when President Biden nominated her as an Associate Justice. One of only 115 people in history to have the job – and the Black woman ever to have the job – she was confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States, and took her seat on June 30, 2022.

341. Abby: How to Move On after Grief 

In part two of Abby’s sharing about the loss of her eldest brother, Peter – she opens up more about the revelations that her journey with grief has taught her about life.

To hear the first part of our conversation on grief, check out Episode 340. How Abby Survived Her Biggest Loss

Discover: 

-Why Abby now looks at grief like a friend;

-The beautiful story of how Peter saved Abby’s life and how that hits her now; and

-What was truly underneath Abby’s outsized fear of death this whole time.

Today, we're revisiting one of our favorites. Enneagram Godmother Suzanne Stabile guides us through: What the hell is the Enneagram and why does it matter? 

-The gifts and struggles each Enneagram type faces;

-Why the worst part of you is also the BEST part of you;

-The core desire / fear that explains your behavior; and 

-Why, if Suzanne ever needs brain surgery, she’s finding a doctor who’s an Enneagram 1

And we FINALLY answer the question: Is Amanda a 3 or a 1?  

To continue with follow up episode to this one, check out:

About Suzanne:

Suzanne Stabile is an internationally-recognized Enneagram teacher. She is the co-author of The Road Back to You, and the author of The Path Between Us and The Journey Toward Wholeness.

With backgrounds in sociology and theology, Suzanne has served as a high school professor; the first women’s basketball coach at SMU after Title IX; and as the founding Director of Shared Housing, a social service agency in Dallas.

Suzanne lives in Dallas with her husband Rev. Joseph Stabile. She is the mother of four children and grandmother of nine.

TW: @SuzanneStabile

IG: @suzannestabile

340. How Abby Survived Her Biggest Loss 

Abby shares an intimate account of the loss of her eldest brother, Peter, at the end of 2023. She describes the emotional turmoil she’s experienced and how she’s coping with her family's grief, the planning of the service, and the overwhelming mix of emotions she continues to feel surrounding grief and death.

339. Gov. Whitmer: How to Be Happy AND Win 

Glennon, Abby and Amanda are joined by Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer during this historic Democratic National Convention to discuss the plot to kill her; her best leadership lessons, why she’s “wompergasted” (and what that means); and the hope she holds for our country. 

Discover: 

-Why Governor Whitmer believes the American people are ready for a two women on the presidential ticket; 

-Her top leadership tools and how you can use them in your own life;

-How to be an activist as a sensitive person; and

-How to stay positive and win.

1. Brené and Barrett share their parenting strategy that Brené calls “the opposite of raising a child that’s full of shame.”

2. The family of origin roles that Brené (the Protector) and Barrett (the Peacekeeper) had to adjust in order to work together – and the two keys to working well with family.  

3. The ways in which a child who grows up living on eggshells becomes an adult who is fearful – and how that fear shows up differently for Brené, Barrett, Glennon, and Amanda.   

4. The hilarious moment when each sister confesses a secret that they fear the other believes about them–and we find out whether or not it’s true. 

5. How Brené and Barrett are walking through the grief of their mother’s sudden decline, and how they circle back when the stress of that grief makes them shitty to each other.  

About Brené: 

Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Foundation Endowed Chair at The Graduate College of Social Work.She has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy, is the author of six #1 New York Times bestsellers, and is the host of the weekly podcasts Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead. 

Brené’s books have been translated into more than 30 languages and titles include:  Dare to Lead, Braving the Wilderness, Rising Strong, Daring Greatly, and The Gifts of Imperfection. Most recently Brené collaborated with Tarana Burke to co-edit You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience. 

In her latest #1 New York Times bestseller, ATLAS OF THE HEART, which has been adapted for television and now streaming on HBO Max, she takes us on a journey through eighty-seven of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. 

Brené lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Steve. They have two children, Ellen and Charlie.

TW: @BreneBrown

IG: @BreneBrown

About Barrett: 

Barrett Guillen is Chief of Staff for Brené Brown Education and Research Group. With her team, Barrett supports both Brené and the organization by helping to prioritize competing demands, managing relationships, and building connective tissue and strategy across all business initiatives. Barrett holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Kinesiology from the University of Houston. After more than a decade in education in the Texas Panhandle, Barrett and her family moved back to the Houston area to join Brene’s team in making the world a braver place. Having the opportunity to work with her sisters every day has been one of the great joys of her life. Outside the office, you can find Barrett spending time with her family (immediate and extended), enjoying her daughter’s games, eating her husband’s famous burgers, floating in the water (any water!), or on the pickle ball court.

Amanda, Abby, and Glennon take your questions on raising teenagers, managing your child’s (and your own) anxiety, and decision fatigue.

Discover: 

-The delicate trapeze of parenting teens and how to create openness so your teens come to you when they’re in trouble; 

-Why Glennon believes we should ditch the ‘story’ of our kids; and

-Abby’s take on why the saying, “I’m proud of you,” can be harmful.

337. How to Heal Unhealthy Relationship Patterns + Glennon & Abby On Marriage

Glennon and Abby are talking about relationships, including the relationship to self, marriage, and how to start dating again post-divorce. 

Discover: 

-The three vital steps to heal an unhealthy pattern in your life;

-How Glennon truly feels about taking your spouse’s last name; and

-Advice on where queer people can go in real life to meet each other!

Today, we bring you an encore presentation of one of our favorite episodes of ALL time! Get ready to laugh as you hear the episode originally titled, 116. Our Most Embarrassing Stories!

1. Glennon, Abby, and Amanda share the most mortifying moments of their lives.

2. Pod Squaders’ hilarious voicemail confessions, which had Glennon, Abby, and Amanda cry-laughing in solidarity.

3. Our new go-to strategy when humiliated (it involves prosthetic penises).

4. We test our hypothesis that sharing our most embarrassing experiences makes us feel less alone.

336. How to Create Unbreakable Bonds with Brittany Packnett Cunningham

Activist, producer, and on-air political analyst, Brittany Packnett Cunningham joins us to talk about community, sisterhood, and progress in the upcoming election – and in life.

Discover:

-How we can jump off the invisible “people mover” and into community;

-The five different ways to deal with bigotry and the one that works; 

-Why individualism is the enemy of progress; and

-How white women can embrace the power of sisterhood to create change.

On Brittany: Brittany Packnett Cunningham is a leader at the intersection of culture and justice. Brittany is Founder of the social impact agency Love & Power Works, Host and Executive Producer of the news and justice podcast UNDISTRACTED, and an on-air political analyst. She has been an elementary teacher, policy advisor, Presidential appointee, and will forever be an activist. You can find her @MsPackyetti on all social media, and subscribe to her podcast wherever you listen to your favorite shows.