There’s no two ways about it–gun violence in America is a public health problem. Gun violence kills over 110 Americans every single day, and is now the number one cause of death in children. It’s a huge problem that we owe it to our children to solve. And yet, it’s a huge problem. What can one person even do? That’s what you’re going to learn on today’s episode. I’m interviewing Jennifer Boylan, who is the volunteer, legislative and elections lead of the Rhode Island chapter of Moms Demand Action–the volunteer organization devoted to passing common sense gun laws and reducing gun violence that has over 8 million supporters nationwide, with a chapter in all 50 states.Join Moms Demand--text ACT to 644-33 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just a warning, I’m talking about upsetting subjects in this episode, such as gun violence, so if you’re listening with kids around, or you’re in a place where you need to take care of yourself and what you’re exposed to, come back tomorrow, when I’m sharing three ways to make activism less overwhelming, intense, and/or scary. Gandhi said to be the change you wish to see, and of course, he’s right–we can’t wait for others to do things differently, we have to start with ourselves. But, if you only ever think about issues in terms of what you yourself want, well…it’s not actually all that helpful. Because one person only has one experience, and issues affect multiple people, sometimes millions or even billions of people. Wanting to get involved and create change is noble and good and I hope you act on that desire. But I also hope that you use that desire to break out of your bubble and consider how other people are impacted by that same issue–especially those people who have the most at stake. That’s what we’re talking about today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just a heads up that the episodes this week were inspired by the upset so many of us, myself included, felt after the events in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York. So if you’re listening with kids around, or you’re in a tender place, take care while listening as we will be talking about tough topics. It’s easy to numb out. And it may seem easy for other people to move on. But if in your heart, you haven’t moved on--maybe you’re nervous to send your kids to school, or maybe you're feeling helpless and sad--this episode is for you. Because wrapped inside that upset is a desire for change. And that desire is here for a reason. I hope this episode will help you open the door to that desire, because your origin story as an agent of change is on the other side.Join Moms Demand--text ACT to 644-33 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is a unique kind of control that a lot of mothers–myself included–display. It's called maternal gatekeeping, where we think no one else (including our partners in parenting) is as good a caretaker as we are. And while it’s understandable why we seek this level of control, it’s also not helping anyone. So let’s see what we can do to loosen our grip. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes there are things that you feel like you've let go, or that you should have let go already, when in truth it still feels like they’re clinging to you, like cigarette smoke gets in your hair and you can smell it the next morning, if you’re old enough to remember going to restaurants and bars where smoking was permitted. Here are three practices you can do in those instances to wash that smoke right outta your hair--three practices that work on the energetic level.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If anyone’s ever told you to let something go, you may have thought about telling them where they can stick it; or you may have thought–I wish I could! I don’t know how. Today I’m interviewing Nina Purewal, co-author of the international bestseller Let that Sh*t Go. We talk about how you have to let shit out before you can let it go, and how to let go of things that might actually seem like they're constructive--like being uber-productive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Expectations are a real bugger.They make us feel like if things don't happen the way we think they will, that there's something wrong with us. But of course, things rarely happen the way we think they will.So how can we start to let those buggers go? Especially when we're not always aware that we have them in the first place? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"You've got to let it go." It's something we're told, and say to others, all the time. But it. Ain't. Easy!This week we're talking about how to really let go of all kinds of stuff. Including, today, stale old ideas. Because if being a better person is important to you, better implies change. It means progress. And progress does not come from putting your fingers in your ears and saying 'la la la, I already know everything!'Today’s episode was inspired by a listener named Chris, who DM’d me on Twitter to suggest this topic. So if you have a topic you’d like me to cover in the future, hit me up! I’m katewhanley on Twitter, or you can email me at kate@katehanley.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We each have our own unique pace–some of us are hares, and naturally move quickly, while others of us are more tortoises, and we move a little bit more slowly and just tend to have less urgency. And sometimes we’re a mash-up of the two–I call those tor-tares, where sometimes you’re fast, and sometimes you’re slow. Do you know which one you are? Let’s find out, and why it matters.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can do all the careful planning you want, and set goals for your time. But you can still get distracted and fritter the time you so thoughtfully planned away faster than rice through a colander. Today, I’m sharing 5 ways to automate some guardrails around your own attention, by tweaking your tech settings.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices