This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil

We all dream. Every night. Whether we remember them or not. And maybe — just maybe — those dreams aren’t random, ridiculous, or irrelevant. Maybe they’re trying to tell us something we’re too distracted, too busy, or too burned out to hear while we’re awake. Here to help us decode the language of dreams is Dr. Bonnie Buckner — founder of the International Institute for Dreaming and Imagery®, executive coach, faculty director at GWU’s Center for Excellence in Public Leadership, and author of The Secret Mind: Unlock the Power of Your Dreams to Transform Your Life. She’s spent her career teaching people how to use dreaming and imagery for personal growth, leadership, and creative breakthroughs. We explore: Why your dreams are worth paying attention to (even the weird ones) The science and strategy behind using dreams for personal development How feelings and subconscious wisdom can point to answers What to do if you don’t remember your dreams Why slowing down might be the key to speeding up your clarity Because what if the clarity you're chasing isn't out there — it's already in you, waiting for you to slow down, shut off, and tune in? Connect with Bonnie:  Website: https://bonniebuckner.com/ Book:  https://bonniebuckner.com/the-secret-mind/  IG: https://www.instagram.com/dreamwithiidi/ Related Podcast Episodes: How To Rewire Patterns That No Longer Serve You with Judy Wilkins-Smith | 323 The Icelandic Art of Intuition with Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir | 307 The Astrology Advantage with Tali Edut of The AstroTwins | 301 Share the Love: 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! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s talk about taking a break — on purpose. A career break that’s planned, powerful, and maybe even paid. Yep, we’re talking about sabbaticals, and no, they’re not just for burned-out professors or unicorn executives. In this episode, we’re joined by Katrina McGhee, a certified master coach, MBA, sabbatical strategist, and author of Taking a Career Break for Dummies. She’s also the co-founder of BreakSpace, a community for professionals designing intentional time off. After leaving her corporate job in 2013, Katrina traveled the world for 20 months and came back to five job offers in five weeks — so yeah, she knows what she’s talking about. We explore how a sabbatical can be: A strategic move for your career growth A burnout buster with real ROI The reset button you didn’t know you were allowed to hit A radical rejection of hustle culture  The gateway to more joy, clarity, and fulfillment — in work and life If you're constantly on empty, chasing a finish line that never comes, or wondering if there's more to life than back-to-back Zoom calls... this one's for you. Connect with Katrina:  Website: www.kmcgheecoaching.com/blueprint  Breakspace: https://www.gobreakspace.com/  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinamcghee222/  Related Podcast Episodes: 7 Questions For Living A Meaningful Life with Marni Battista | 322 How to Turn Job Seeking into Job Shopping with Madeline Mann | 318 The Ambition Trap with Amina AITai | 309 Share the Love: 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! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re diving headfirst into the chaos that is parental leave in the United States — and debunking the absurd notion that being a mom somehow makes you any less dedicated or productive at work. Here today to help us navigate the murky waters of parental leave is Daphne Delvaux, Esq, also known as The Mamattorney — a legal badass who’s made it her mission to fight pregnancy and postpartum discrimination and help women understand their rights at work. She’s the founder of Delvaux Law, the only firm in the country dedicated exclusively to women’s rights in the workplace. In this episode, Daphne breaks down what the law actually says, what your employer hopes you don’t know, and how to protect yourself — legally, financially, and emotionally — when you’re expecting (or recovering, or parenting, or just trying to stay employed while having a uterus). We cover: What to do if your HR department can’t (or won’t) help How to prep for maternity leave without sacrificing your career Legal protections you already have but probably haven’t been told about The gender double standard of parental expectations at work Why we need to stop treating parenthood like a liability Because here's the truth: being a parent isn’t the problem. The systems that punish you for it are. And if we’re going to ask women to work like men, then it’s time men start parenting like women. Connect with Daphne:  Website: https://www.themamattorney.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/themamattorney/?hl=en Related Podcast Episodes: Wages For Housework with Emily Callici | 325 The Good Mother Myth with Nancy Reddy | 274 Two Can Win (Helping Two-Career Families Move From Chaos To Connection) with Tiffany Sauder | 243 Share the Love: 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! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feeling scattered, anxious, or like your brain’s been hijacked by push notifications and endless scrolling? You’re not alone.  This week, we’re diving into the digital chaos with anxiety and OCD specialist Jennie Ketcham Crooks, founder of the West Coast Anxiety Clinic, who’s helping us understand what our devices are doing to our minds… and what we can do to reclaim our focus, peace, and power. Jennie brings clinical expertise, research experience, and guest spots on everything from Oprah to The View — and offers a smart, practical path to digital detoxing that doesn’t involve tossing your phone in a lake or moving to a cabin in the woods. We unpack: How your phone is rewiring your brain (yes, really) Signs it’s time for a digital reset — and how to actually do it Why tech isn’t the enemy (but your habits might be) What boundaries actually work — and what makes them stick How to return to you — the you that exists offline This isn’t about demonizing tech. It’s about creating space — space to think clearly, feel deeply, and live intentionally. And if that’s not woman’s work, then what is? Connect with Jennie:  Website: https://westcoastanxiety.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/becomingjennie/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/jennie.ketcham Related Podcast Episodes: Digital Decluttering: How to Make Tech Your Assistant, Not Your Adversary with Amanda Jefferson | 312 Your Guide to a More Organized & Intentional Life with Shira Gill | 304 Women, Addiction and Recovery with Patti Clark | 324 Share the Love: 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! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you know if your truth is really yours? In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, we’re diving into the murky waters of brainwashing, mind control, and hyper-persuasion—because your thoughts might not be as independent as you think. We're talking psychological manipulation, eerie government-funded experiments, and the sneaky, modern ways we’re influenced every damn day—by our feeds, our leaders, even our well-meaning friends. Our guest is Harvard historian Rebecca Lemov, author of The Instability of Truth. She brings the receipts—tracing the roots of brainwashing, the science (and pseudoscience) behind behavioral control, and why we’re more persuadable than we’d like to admit. From Cold War experiments to TikTok trends, Rebecca helps us understand how easily truth can be distorted—and what to do about it. Because if you’ve ever reposted without thinking, felt weirdly pressured to agree, or just wondered, “wait, is that true?”—this episode is for you. Connect with Rebecca:  Book: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324075264  IG: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccalemov/  X: https://x.com/rlemov?lang=en  Related Podcast Episodes: How To Rewire Patterns That No Longer Serve You with Judy Wilkins-Smith | 323 Unmasking AI with Dr. Joy Buolamwini | 259 Pants On Fire (The Truth About Lying) with Lauren Handel Zander | 219 Share the Love: 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! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maybe women aren’t bad at friendship — maybe we’ve just been handed a model that doesn’t actually work. One that expects perfection, constant connection, and a whole lot of emotional labor... without any room for evolution, conflict, or change. In this episode, we’re questioning that model and taking a deeper look at how friendship has changed — historically, culturally, and personally — with cultural historian Tiffany Watt Smith. Together, we explore how women have been portrayed as bad friends (by the media and by society), and how we’ve quietly been redefining friendship on our own terms. We talk about why friendship dips are normal, why disagreements aren’t deal-breakers, and why being a “bad friend” might actually be a sign that you’re showing up in a real, honest, human way. Because the goal isn’t friendship that looks perfect from the outside. It’s friendship that can bend, stretch, shift, and still hold. This conversation is part history lesson, part gut check, and all about rebuilding our relationships on something real. Connect with Tiffany:  Book: https://celadonbooks.com/book/bad-friend-tiffany-watt-smith/ Substack: https://thefuturefeeling.substack.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/tiffanywattsmith/  X: https://x.com/drtiffwattsmith?lang=en  Related Podcast Episodes: Normalize It: Breaking The Silence & Shame That Shape Women’s Lives with Dr. Jessica Zucker | 303 133 / Making Friends As An Adult with Danielle McCombs The Small And The Mighty with Sharon McMahon | 247 Share the Love: 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! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Burnout isn’t just a buzzword—it’s the sneaky saboteur that turns high-achieving women into crispy, joy-depleted zombies. And yes, I’ve been there (ask 2022 me, she was a whole damn dumpster fire). Cait Donovan was the voice of reason I didn’t know I needed then—and she’s BACK. Cait Donovan is one of the few voices in the burnout space who doesn’t just talk the talk—she’s done the deep work, and now helps others do the same. She blends biobehavioral sciences with the ancient wisdom of Chinese Medicine to address burnout at the root, not just slap a self-care bandaid on it. Cait is the host of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast, an in-demand keynote speaker, and the author of The Bouncebackability Factor, and she’s been helping high performers get honest with themselves for years. Whether you’re on the edge, fully engulfed, or just tired of white-knuckling it through your calendar—this one’s for you. Because you deserve to feel lit up... not burned out. Connect with Cait:  Website: https://caitdonovan.com Podcast: https://friedtheburnoutpodcast.com Freebie: https://caitdonovan.com/freebie-web Related Podcast Episodes: 107 / Burnout with Cait Donovan The Ambition Trap with Amina AITai | 309 Perfectionist Burnout with Dr. Tiffany Moon | 306 Share the Love: 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! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve ever been told to “fake it till you make it” or to “good things come to those who wait” and felt an overwhelming urge to roll your eyes… this one’s for you. In this episode, we’re calling BS on the workplace mantras that sound empowering but actually keep women small, silent, and spinning their wheels. Bonnie Hammer — Vice Chair of NBCUniversal, legendary executive behind hits like Suits and Mr. Robot, and author of 15 Lies Women Are Told At Work — joins us to break down the real cost of these so-called “truths.” From corporate clichés to career gaslighting, we talk about the lies that sound like wisdom, the advice that’s anything but helpful, and the power of rewriting the rules on your own terms. Because the workplace wasn’t built with women in mind — which means following the rules will only take you so far. And sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is unlearn everything you’ve been told. Connect with Bonnie:  Website: www.bonnie-hammer.com Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/15-Lies-Women-Are-Told-at-Work/Bonnie-Hammer/9781668027615 Related Podcast Episodes: The Broken Rung: When The Career Ladder Breaks For Women with Kweilin Ellingrud | 291 The Resilience Myth with Soraya Chemaly | 249 How To Know When It’s Time to Quit with Goli Kalkhoran | 266 Share the Love: 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! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this insightful discussion, Naketa Ren Thigpen, a Balance and Relationship Advisor and author of *Selfish: Permission to Pause*, challenges the stigma around selfishness, especially for women. She explores the importance of intentional self-care, emphasizing that setting boundaries is vital for well-being. Naketa shares practical strategies for reclaiming joy and personal fulfillment, advocating that prioritizing oneself fuels generosity towards others. The conversation highlights the transformative power of being 'selfish' in nurturing personal desires.

Let’s be honest — teamwork is hard. Especially when people have different communication styles, priorities, and let’s just say it... egos. But emotionally intelligent teams don’t just magically fall into place — they’re intentionally built, brick by sweaty brick. Dr. Vanessa Druskat joins us to break it all down. She’s a globally recognized expert on team performance and emotional intelligence, and her new book, The Emotionally Intelligent Team, is basically the manual we all should’ve been handed before our first group project… or leadership role. Vanessa explains why individual emotional intelligence isn’t enough — and why it’s the team’s collective practices that matter most. We talk about what high-performing, collaborative teams actually do differently, how to create group norms that drive trust and accountability, and why "getting along" is way less important than knowing how to navigate conflict. No more crossing fingers and hoping for chemistry. Want a team that performs and actually likes working together? This one’s for you. Connect with Vanessa:  Website: Vanessadruskat.com    LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-druskat-aa7822/ Book: https://www.vanessadruskat.com/books-1 Related Podcast Episodes: How To Build Emotionally Mature Leaders with Dr. Christie Smith | 272 The Sixth Level Of Leadership with Dr. Stacy Feiner | 236 196 / Energizing Your Team Through Radical Empathy with Erin Diehl Share the Love: 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! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices