Culture Changers with Allison Hare

My father died last week. He was 97. What a gangster, making it that far.

Milad Rizk survived World War Two as a kid in Lebanon, immigrated to America with nothing but a Lebanese passport and a plan, raised six kids across two marriages, and spent his whole career as an auditor jumping from Iraq to Saudi Arabia to Chicago to New York. He had dementia for the last several years of his life. Toward the end he couldn't really talk to us anymore.

Then I remembered something. Fifteen years ago, before I had a podcast, before I even knew what a podcast was, I used to run a music blog and interview artists with a little handheld recorder. One day I pointed it at my dad instead and asked him to tell me his whole life story.

I hadn't listened to it since. I wasn't even sure the file still existed. So last week I dug an old recorder out of a closet, popped in the SD card, and the very first file I opened was him.

I think about how close I came to never finding this. And I think about how many of us have a parent sitting right there, willing to talk, and we just haven't asked yet.

This is Milad Youssef Rizk. Born December 20th, 1928 in Tripoli, Lebanon. Died July 30th of this year. He spoke five languages, picked up hitchhikers with all six of his kids in the car (#superdad), and told stories so freaking captivating. In this interview he talks about growing up poor during the war, what it was like starting over in America in his late twenties, and near the end, whether he thinks he was a good father. His answer surprised me (he said no).

If you still have a parent (or loved one) who would sit down and talk to you, record it. You can thank me later!

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As a woman who deeply cares about women's rights, I am obsessed with a show that is totally problematic. America's Sweethearts Season 3 just dropped on Netflix. I grabbed fellow DCC-obsessed Mara Davis, an Atlanta radio legend who has been watching the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders since the 1970s, sat through all 17 seasons on CMT, and has opinions about every single cheerleader, judge, and PR move in that building. We get into Reece's early retirement and the trad wife speculation swirling on Reddit, Faith's breakout season and the ponytail situation, whether the coordinated cheerleader solidarity online is real or engineered, what Kelli's exit meeting with Faith reveals about leadership under serious pressure, and why two feminists who probably shouldn't love this show absolutely cannot stop watching it. 

Timestamps:

00:00 Why Allison is obsessed with a show she admits is totally problematic

02:35 Mara's DCC origin story: 17 seasons of CMT and what changed when Netflix arrived

05:10 The arc of all three seasons: severely underpaid athletes, pay equity fight, social media scrutiny

06:45 Mara's feminist paradox: "It doesn't make sense that I love this show so much"

08:36 Reece: the darling who appeared in all three seasons and why her early exit is more complicated than an injury

11:13 Reece's husband, the trad wife speculation, and what Reddit has been saying

14:44 Faith as the Season 3 breakout: "You cannot take your eyes off that girl"

15:31 The moment that made Mara fully Team Kelli: the exit meeting and what Kelli said to Faith

16:43 Kelli's "re-earn my trust," Victoria from Season 1, and whether the cheerleader solidarity online is coordinated

21:53 "It's Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. It's not Victoria. It's just not."

23:00 Kelli watches back every season and critiques her own leadership

23:18 Mara: "I want her to run the country."

26:13 What Season 3 may have hidden about body image and why seven episodes isn't enough

33:13 Mara used to judge Atlanta Falcons cheerleader auditions

35:31 Why the DCC sisterhood is actually one of the most feminist things on television

37:20 Who would replace Kelli and Judy if they ever retired?

38:37 Glow-ups, ageism, and how people talk about women over 60 online

40:28 Season 4 is confirmed and we already know who's back at training camp

43:09 Dayton and Dayton's mom

44:32 Judy Trammell choreographed Thunderstruck and the music licensing conversation

Resources and Links Mentioned

Mara Davis on Instagram: https://instagram.com/maradavis2000

"Be There in Five" podcast by Kate Kennedy (Victoria's appearance on this episode is discussed): https://open.spotify.com/episode/2brpAlYGUffbYekHU1PqMR?si=f3d45a467f444032

Book a free podcast strategy call: allisonhare.com/freecall

Be sure to rate, review, and follow this podcast on your player and also, connect with me IRL for more goodness and life-changing stuff.
Schedule a FREE podcast clarity call with me - Your future audience is out there. Talk to them!
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AllisonHare.com
Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
DOWNLOAD the free podcast equipment guide- No guesswork, no google rabbit holes, start recording today
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Feedback and Contact:: allison@allisonhare.com

Kevin Calhoun spent years doing HR and DEI work from inside some of the biggest corporations in the world. He watched those programs get built. Then he watched them get dismantled — and found himself displaced in the process. In this conversation, recorded in honor of Juneteenth, Kevin introduces the concept of James Crow: Jim Crow's more dangerous, more invisible cousin. The one with a hiring algorithm instead of a shotgun.

Notable Timestamps (verify against final audio before publishing)

03:03 — Kevin reads from his article "James Crow and Visa, Everywhere You Want to Be" — the line that stopped Allison cold

04:37 — How corporate culture shifted from servant leadership to "we're going in a different direction"

07:40 — The grief nobody talks about: losing your corporate identity in a 30-minute meeting

09:05 — The stats: DEI fell 98% in Fortune 100 communications; Black unemployment now twice white unemployment

11:47 — Performative DEI vs. real DEI — how to tell the difference

13:49 — Costco held the line against 19 attorney generals. Why some companies stay and others fold.

15:15 — What Kevin learned about not seeking validation from your organization

17:15 — The pendulum: why organizations that hold their values win long-term

20:38 — Jim Crow vs. James Crow — Kevin defines the difference

28:15 — Code switching, agency, and choosing when to show up fully as yourself

33:24 — How to find your way forward when the system has failed you

36:56 — "No company loves you." What Kevin knows that he wishes more people understood

38:58 — If you know the rules of the game before you start playing, you can't be mad if you don't win

Rather watch on YouTube? https://youtu.be/ixqV4X5EqJ8

Resources & Links Mentioned

Kevin's article: "James Crow and Visa, Everywhere You Want to Be" - available on Substack and Medium

Kevin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-calhoun-0808882/

Kevin's email: jkevin.calhoun@gmail.com

Book a free podcast clarity call with Allison: allisonhare.com/freecall

Be sure to rate, review, and follow this podcast on your player and also, connect with me IRL for more goodness and life-changing stuff.
Schedule a FREE podcast clarity call with me - Your future audience is out there. Talk to them!
Sign up for the free weekly email
AllisonHare.com
Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
DOWNLOAD the free podcast equipment guide- No guesswork, no google rabbit holes, start recording today
Reb3l Dance Fitness - Try it at home! Free month with this link.
Feedback and Contact:: allison@allisonhare.com

My mother died on June 11th, five years ago. This is the episode I recorded right after she passed. It's episode 300, and it's dedicated to her.

What I didn't expect was what her last six months would teach me. About the matriarchy. About worthiness. About the hypermasculine drive that so many of us — myself very much included — run on until we can't anymore. And about what happens when you finally let yourself receive love instead of earn it.

If you still have your mother here, you will want to call her after this one.

In this episode:

The real history of the matriarchy — and why it matters that it existed before the patriarchy

How watching a parent die dismantles the story you've been living

What hypermasculine burnout actually looks like from the inside

What her last six months looked like — and why she was happier than she'd been in decades

What "being enough" feels like when someone you love shows you it's true

Timestamps:

00:00 — Dedication and why this episode exists

02:44 — The matriarchy: history, power, and what we lost

05:05 — Who my mother was

09:53 — What her life became my cautionary tale

12:16 — The hypermasculine drive and the burnout

14:37 — Her last six months and the miracle in them

17:05 — The room where she died

20:36 — What the matriarchy is asking of us now

Links and Resources:

Episode 3 with Kelly Knight on the Age of Aquarius: [link to episode 3]

Free podcast strategy call: https://allisonhare.com/freecall

Be sure to rate, review, and follow this podcast on your player and also, connect with me IRL for more goodness and life-changing stuff.
Schedule a FREE podcast clarity call with me - Your future audience is out there. Talk to them!
Sign up for the free weekly email
AllisonHare.com
Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
DOWNLOAD the free podcast equipment guide- No guesswork, no google rabbit holes, start recording today
Reb3l Dance Fitness - Try it at home! Free month with this link.
Feedback and Contact:: allison@allisonhare.com

Bryan Green and Krissy Hoadley of The Commercial Break built a #1 comedy podcast with over 50 million downloads and absolutely no plan. Over a thousand episodes in, they're finally spilling the behind-the-scenes. What makes a show last? What's the actual creative process? And who on earth is Frankie B? Fun fact, Bryan was in my very first podcast launch cohort in 2019 which is how this show began.

What listeners will take away:

The mindset shift that separates podcasters who last from the ones who quit at episode twelve

A simple way to choose a co-host that actually works — it has nothing to do with who makes you laugh

The full, ridiculous, endearing origin story of Frankie B and why Bryan thinks he might be the secret engine of the whole show

Why chasing trends, polish, and strategy is exactly backwards

The 20/80 rule for showing up on days when you have nothing

Notable Timestamps:

07:07 — Bryan on the "big fuck this" moments every podcaster hits and why you keep going anyway

09:59 — "Perfection is the enemy of consistency" — the line that will stick with you

13:06 — Why Bryan doesn't care if you think his podcast has too many ums

15:42 — The 20/80 rule: what to do when you walk in with nothing

17:29 — The Apple review that finally told Bryan what his show actually was

25:52 — The full Frankie B origin story (12 views, Ruby Tuesday's, and a text from Jason)

35:52 — The line Bryan won't cross, even when something is funny

37:26 — His read on the Manosphere and why most of those guys are running a grift

43:46 — The whole strategy, summed up in one sentence

Links and Resources:

The Commercial Break: thecommercialbreak.com

Bryan Green on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bryanwgreen

Frankie B on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@frankbennardo6063

Book a free clarity call with Allison: allisonhare.com/freecall

Prefer to watch on YouTube? Voila! https://youtu.be/kFmVtTnBsjw

Be sure to rate, review, and follow this podcast on your player and also, connect with me IRL for more goodness and life-changing stuff.
Schedule a FREE podcast clarity call with me - Your future audience is out there. Talk to them!
Sign up for the free weekly email
AllisonHare.com
Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
DOWNLOAD the free podcast equipment guide- No guesswork, no google rabbit holes, start recording today
Reb3l Dance Fitness - Try it at home! Free month with this link.
Feedback and Contact:: allison@allisonhare.com