Finally Some Wisdom to Move Forward! Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom
Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom – MacArthur Genius award winner and brilliant chronicler of our times – unmasks the American stories that got us to this place—and explains, with amazing precision and clarity, how we can imagine our way out.
We discuss:
- How the MAGA story broke through and became the winning story;
- How money hijacked democracy;
- The little-known history of the Black Panther party of the American South;
- Why Responsibility is Freedom;
- How to frame and reclaim the American story through radical humanity: art, truth, creativity, and community.
Join us for this riveting, smart, funny conversation about power, hope, and writing a freer future.
About Tressie:
Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom is a professor and principal investigator with the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, NY Times columnist, and 2020 MacArthur Fellow. Her work has earned national and international recognition for the urgency and depth of its incisive critical analysis of technology, higher education, culture, media, class, race, and gender. Recent accolades include being named the 2023 winner of the Joseph B. and Toby Gittler Prize by Brandeis University for her “critical perspective and analysis to some of the greatest social challenges we face today,” the recipient of the 2025 Thomas Wolfe Prize, and a 2025-26 National Humanities Center Fellow. Her most recent book, THICK: And Other Essays was listed as one the 30 best nonfiction books of the last 30 years by the L.A. Times Festival of Books. Two books are forthcoming with Random House Books.
Follow Tressie:
@tressiemcphd on Instagram
@tressiemcphd.bsky.social on Bluesky
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1:31:00
Jimmy Kimmel & Molly McNearney: What Really Happened
In this delightful, hilarious, and deeply honest conversation, our friends (and neighbors!) Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney tell us:
- What really happened the night the Jimmy Kimmel Live show was suspended,
- How they told their kids,
- How they loved each other through the crisis;
- How we can stay brave, be steady, love each other, and love our country—even during the worst of times; and
- Of course, Jimmy’s favorite recent pranks.
This conversation is a gift. You won’t want to miss it.
About Jimmy and Molly:
About Molly:
Molly McNearney is an Emmy winning writer, producer, and actor. She began her career as an assistant for JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE in 2004 and has since worked her way up to become Head Writer and Executive Producer which she has served for the last decade. McNearney has been a writer for THE OSCAR AWARDS four times and THE EMMY AWARDS three times. She can also be seen acting in DUMPLIN’ & MURDER MYSTERY for Netflix. McNearney, her husband Jimmy, and their two children live in Los Angeles.
About Jimmy
Jimmy Kimmel is the host and executive producer of the Emmy® Award-winning “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” With over 22 years on the air, the show produces some of the most popular comedy bits, and features a star-studded guest lineup including actors, musicians, athletes, comedians, authors, politicians and newsmakers. In 2019, Jimmy wrote and illustrated a children’s book titled “The Serious Goose.” All of Jimmy’s profits were donated to children’s hospitals across the United States. Kimmel lives in Los Angeles with his wife Molly McNearney and their children, Oprah and Steadman.
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1:11:21
The 90 Second Rule: Feel Your Feelings
Glennon, Abby, and Amanda are getting cozy and diving deep into what it means to actually feel your feelings. They discuss:
- How they’re getting through the awkward, messy “middle school of middle age”;
- Why feelings are 90-second-waves—and why thinking about them keeps you stuck in anxiety;
- How to stop using other people to regulate your nervous system; and
- The radical truth that your body already knows what to do—you just have to let it.
We don’t need to think, process, or solve our way out of our feelings. We just need to feel them.
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1:09:11
Let’s Help Care for Gaza’s Orphans w/ Our Friend Akram Ibrahim
We’re coming together today to support Gaza’s wounded children with no surviving parents — Donate whatever you can now: https://pcrf1.app.neoncrm.com/forms/pcrf-laocie-orphan-sponsorship-2025
There is no such thing as other people’s children.
We must care for the children of Gaza like they’re our own—because they are.
Our friend Akram Ibrahim is a Palestinian American volunteer with the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF). He and his family have worked tirelessly for decades to raise awareness of the plight and beauty of the Palestinian people.
Akram shares what ceasefire means to him as someone who has spent his life fighting for Palestine and Palestinian lives.
TO SUPPORT THE WOUNDED ORPHANED CHILDREN OF GAZA TODAY, DONATE NOW:
https://pcrf1.app.neoncrm.com/forms/pcrf-laocie-orphan-sponsorship-2025
Donations will go directly to PCRF, with Glennon and Abby matching the first $100,000.
Together, we can channel our heartbreak into action, and care for our children.
Akram’s list of Palestinian artists and businesses to follow and support:
- @houseofpalestine: resource sharing Palestinian culture, heritage, and traditions to visitors in San Diego. If you would like to find a Palestinian restaurant/business/creator/etc in your area, you can reach out to them directly.
- @hintoftatreez: studio for Palestinian embroidery apparel, called Tatreez, plus how-to kits and workshops
- @jenanmatari: Palestinian author who just released her children's book, "Everything Grows in Jiddo's Garden"
- @elfunoun_troupe: one of the most famous Palestinian dance troupes in Palestine. Follow their page @friendsofelfunoun to support them and learn Dabke (folk dance) around the US when they come for their 2026 tour.
- @paliroots and @paliapparel: studios designing and selling Palestine-inspired clothing
- @knafehqueens: shop for award-winning Knafeh (Palestinian dessert)
- @sababafalafelshop: authentic falafel shop based out of Anaheim, with a clothing brand that donates 50% of proceeds to humanitarian relief in Gaza: @westbankhoodie
- @jerusalemroastery: destination for nuts, spices, snacks, desserts straight from Palestine
- @sawasocal: SoCal-based organization for Palestine cultural events & workshops
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1:36:26
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1:36:26
Menopause: W.T.F?!?! (Stay till the end for a surprise guest!)
Dearly Beloved Pod Squad: We are gathered here today to rage about menopause.
Glennon details how perimenopause is wrecking havoc on her body, mind, and relationships—and how maddening it is that our medical professionals give us no real information about what’s going on. We discuss night sweats, beehive brain, fire-ant itching, and Ms. Frizzle hair.
Plus, Glennon is joined by Melani Sanders (@justbeingmelani)—the founder of the We Do Not Care Club (WDNC)—and maybe the only hope we have left.
About Melani:
Melani Sanders is a digital creator and the fearless founder of the We Do Not Care Movement™. Her viral WDNC reels and posts capture the humor, heart, and chaos of perimenopause and menopause, midlife in general, motherhood, and real life. Melani lives in West Palm Beach, Florida with her husband, three sons, and dog.
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Come do life with Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle.
With more than half a billion plays, We Can Do Hard Things is a hilarious, raw, comforting “support system for braving the everyday.” The Pod Squad goes hard ($56 Million raised in global aid) and stays soft (we meet Tuesdays and Thursdays to laugh, talk, and cry our way through the pain and magic of being human).
Join us and WATCH now on the @WeCanDoHardThingsShow Youtube Channel. We’ve got you!
Watch, Subscribe, and Follow us here: https://linktr.ee/wecandohardthingsshow
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