LET IT OUT

This week, a conversation with iconic designer Norma Kamali. Recorded over Zoom from her office in Manhattan, we cover her 50-year career, from graduating from FIT with a degree in illustration to working for Northwest Airlines—which allowed her to fly to London on the weekends for only $29. It felt like a time capsule to hear her talk about the cultural revolution in London in the 1960s and how she would bring back pieces for friends, which led her to start a store, and eventually design her own pieces. Soon her designs were worn by Bianca Jagger, Bette Midler, and Cher. But at 29 Norma left her marriage, which meant walking away from the brand she’d quietly built with only $98 in her pocket. But starting over ultimately led her to create a brand with longevity and panache. From her unique sleeping bag coat design (worn by the doormen at Studio 54 and by those standing outside hoping it would increase their chances of getting in) to the now-iconic red swimsuit Farrah Fawcett wore on that famous poster, Norma has dressed generations. She’s full of wisdom and perspective and gently gives me advice on everything from aging, to dating (she fell in love again ten years ago at 65), to how she views busyness—she says “the more you do, the more you can do.” We get into her thoughts on her industry’s evolution and on upcoming generations. I hope I did her career and story justice in this conversation with a real icon. Show notes:- Find Norma on the Web | Instagram- Norma's book, I Am Invincible- Kayleen Schaefer's episode- Kayleen's book, Text Me When You Get Home- Take the "We Don't Talk Anymore" survey on friend breakups- Learn more about "Soft Stories"- Learn more about my creative consulting & if you'd like to book a free session, book here!- Subscribe to our newsletter to get show notes + essays, etc. sent to your inbox- Follow @letitouttt on Instagram. I'm @katiedalebout Sponsors:Asian Boss Girl: a podcast for the modern day Asian professional woman hosted by Melody Cheng, Helen Wu, & Janet Wang.  Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows!Credit Karma: find low-interest personal loans to bring down credit card debt and save you money. Ready to apply? Head to creditkarma.com/loanoffers to see personalized offers.

I'm sharing a special preview of A Slight Change of Plans, a podcast all about who we are and who we become in the face of change. Dr. Maya Shankar is a cognitive scientist who is an expert on human behavior, and she’s here to help us navigate the changes we all experience in our lives. She sits in intimate conversations with celebrity guests like Tiffany Haddish and Kacey Musgraves as well as everyday inspirations, like journalist Euna Lee, who was held captive in North Korea for 140 days, and Doctor Richard Harris, who rescued a boy's soccer team trapped deep in a cave in Thailand. You'll also meet change experts — including leading grief therapist Julia Samuel, psychologist Adam Grant, and author Michael Pollan— whose scientific insights will help us make better decisions and live happier, more fulfilling lives. In this preview, you’ll hear Maya in conversation with Christine Ha, the first blind contestant and winner of the reality TV show MasterChef. Christine talks about losing her vision and how she had to re-learn how to navigate many aspects of her life, including her passion — cooking. You can listen to A Slight Change of Plans, from Pushkin Industries, at https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/scpout. 

This week I spoke with herbalist and author Vanessa Chakour. At 17, a life-threatening accident led Vanessa to heal her eating disorder and work through sexual assault trauma, which in turn led to her becoming a professional boxer, eventually bringing her to New York City where she began studying herbalism. Now, she’s an author and educator who trains others in her field of helping people to connect to their environments. Her work is rooted in the natural world and what she calls our own inner-wild, or our intuitive connection to ourselves.   In this episode we cover the connection between eating disorder recovery and our bodies connecting to nature as well as how consent and anger relate to weeds like dandelion. We get into making herbal infusions and the creative process; writing for emotional wellness; navigating highs such as new relationships and career successes (Vanessa's in one of those highs now); and how to manage the nervous system during both highs and lows. We also discuss her new book, Awakening Artemis. Show notes:- Find Vanessa on the Web | Instagram- Subscribe to Vanessa's newsletter- Check out Vanessa's book, Awakening Artemis- Take the "We Don't Talk Anymore" survey on friend breakups- Want to do a @letitouttt instagram takeover? Fill out this survey- There is one spot open in my creative clinic -- if you'd like to book a free session, book here!- Subscribe to our newsletter to get show notes + essays, etc. sent to your inbox- Follow @letitouttt on Instagram. I'm @katiedalebout If you liked this episode, try out:Episode 369: Space Between the Space: Erin Lovell Verinder & Noah Checkle on Leaving Places Better Than You Found Them, The Plant Clinic Book, Change, Friendship, Beauty & More Sponsors:- Credit Karma: apply for low-interest, personal loans today at creditkarma.com/loanoffers- ThirdLove: Get 20% off your first order of comfortable, quality undergarments at thirdlove.com/LETITOUT!- AthleticGreens: complete daily nutrition in one tasty scoop! Get a year's supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D and five free travel pouches with your first order of AthleticGreens when you visit athleticgreens.com/letitout!

Back for the first time in 7 years is my good friend Valerie Chaney. Val is a meditation and mindfulness educator, writer and the co-host of the We Made It Weird podcast with her husband, comedian Pete Holmes. Val is hilarious, gentle, wise, incredibly smart and one of my favorite people. It was no surprise when we talked for over three hours, so I’m splitting up this episode into two parts.Val trained with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield, who both have informed her work within healing trauma, mindfulness, meditation, and embodiment, which we spoke about at length in part 1 last week. This second half of our conversation is a bit sillier! We talk more about therapy, what we were like as teens, mean girls, finding your hobbies and creative process, as well as the rom coms and style trends we love from the early 2000s.In addition to her mindfulness work, Val is one of the most talented and creative people I know: she teaches dance, sings in a choir and, most recently, wrote a screenplay, which she discussed at the end of part 1. If you haven't listened to part 1, be sure to tune in to hear us discuss anger—and our problem with expressing it. We also cover Internal Family Systems, learning to inhabit your body, embodiment vs. dissociating, attachment styles, fear of being alone, and how to approach all these insights with gentleness. Show notes:- Follow Val on Instagram- Listen to We Made It Weird podcast on Apple Podcasts | Spotify- There is one spot open in my creative clinic -- if you'd like to book a free session, book here!- Subscribe to our newsletter to get show notes + essays, etc. sent to your inbox- Follow @letitouttt on Instagram. I'm @katiedalebout Sponsors:ThirdLove: Get 20% off your first order of comfortable, quality undergarments at thirdlove.com/LETITOUT!AthleticGreens: complete daily nutrition in one tasty scoop! Get a year's supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D and five free travel pouches with your first order of AthleticGreens when you visit athleticgreens.com/letitout!

Back for the first time in 7 years is my good friend Valerie Chaney. Val is a meditation and mindfulness educator, writer and the co-host of the We Made It Weird podcast with her husband, comedian Pete Holmes. Val is hilarious, gentle, wise, incredibly smart and one of my favorite people. It was no surprise when we talked for over three hours, so I’m splitting up this episode into two parts.Val trained with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield, who both have informed her work within healing trauma, mindfulness, meditation, and embodiment, which we speak about at length in this first part. We begin part one by discussing anger—and our problem with expressing it. We cover Internal Family Systems, learning to inhabit your body, embodiment vs. dissociating, attachment styles, fear of being alone, and how to approach all these insights with gentleness. In addition to her mindfulness work, Val is one of the most talented and creative people I know: she teaches dance, sings in a choir and, most recently, wrote a screenplay, which she discusses at the end of part one. Believe it or not, there’s a part two (next week)! It's a bit sillier and we cover more about therapy, what we were like as teens, mean girls, finding your hobbies and creative process, as well as the rom coms and style trends we love from the early 2000s. Show notes:- Follow Val on Instagram- Listen to the We Made It Weird podcast with Val and Pete on Apple Podcasts | Spotify- There is one spot open in my creative clinic -- if you'd like to book a free session, book here!- Subscribe to our newsletter to get show notes + essays, etc. sent to your inbox- Follow @letitouttt on Instagram. I'm @katiedalebout Sponsors:- Wondery: Call Me Curious - listen early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery app!- Find the best prices on prescriptions now by joining GoodRx. Go to goodrx.com/letitout to see how much you might be overpaying!- Start smelling amazing with Native's lineup of natural deodorants, soaps, body wash, and more! Get 20% off your first order at nativedeo.com/letitout and enter code letitout at checkout!

Today’s conversation is with author and mindfulness teacher Rosie Acosta. Growing up in East LA in the 90s as a first-generation Mexican-American, Rosie suffered from agoraphobia, panic attacks, and anxiety. After being arrested a few times, at 16, she began to feel disillusioned with her family’s unwavering Catholic faith and soon after discovered meditation and yoga, eventually leading her to her career as a yoga and meditation teacher. Since then, she’s been featured in Yoga Journal, Forbes, The New York Post and more. Rosie and I met over five years ago when she visited Detroit with Yoga Journal Magazine. Recently, we spent a morning catching up, first in an episode of her weekly podcast, then in this conversation, where we cover navigating cycles in relationships, disillusionment and faith, and her new book and the process of writing it. Show notes:- Listen to my episode on Rosie's podcast on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Youtube- Follow Rosie on Instagram- There is one spot open in my creative clinic -- if you'd like to book a free session, book here!- Subscribe to our newsletter to get show notes + essays, etc. sent to your inbox- Follow @letitouttt on Instagram. I'm @katiedalebout Sponsors:Bombas: With every purchase of ridiculously comfy socks, underwear, and clothing, an equal item is donated to people in need. Get 20% off at bombas.com/letitoutMasterworks: Investing in fine art is accessible with Masterworks! Get priority access by going to masterworks.io and using promo code: letitoutStart smelling amazing with Native's lineup of natural deodorants, soaps, body wash, and more! Get 20% off your first order at nativedeo.com/letitout and enter code letitout at checkout!

This week I spoke to New York Times journalist and author of Blood, Sweat & Chrome, Kyle Buchanan. He reports on pop culture and writes the NYT awards season column, The Projectionist, which he took over from the late great journalist David Carr. Prior to joining The Times in 2018, Kyle was a senior editor at Vulture, where he covered the movie industry. Appropriately, he gives advice on writing and we talk about the craft of interviewing, creating safety in conversation, connection, movies, returning to theaters, and the upcoming Oscars. And of course, we talk about his new book on Mad Max and the process of writing an oral history. Since the episode is shorter than some, I tee it up with a helpful piece of advice from Kyle's predecessor, David Carr. I loved this conversation about connection, pop culture, writing, and collaboration. Show notes:- Check out The Projectionist and follow @kylethomasbuchanan- Order Blood, Sweat, and Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road- Terry Gross interview with David Carr's daughter, Erin Lee Carr- David Carr's Fresh Air interview archive- There is one spot open in my creative clinic -- if you'd like to book a free session, book here!- Subscribe to our newsletter to get show notes + essays, etc. sent to your inbox- Follow @letitouttt on Instagram. I'm @katiedalebout If you liked this episode, try out:Episode 371: Perfection Means Dead: Actor Joshua Jackson on Young Fame, Nostalgia, Fatherhood, Worthiness, and Lingering in the Uncomfortable Places Sponsors: Bombas: With every purchase of ridiculously comfy socks, underwear, and clothing, an equal item is donated to people in need. Get 20% off at bombas.com/letitoutThrive Market: Get 40% off your first order and a free gift worth over $50 at thrivemarket.com/letitout

Today's guest, Nadine Artemis, is known for talking and writing about beauty. Her latest book is Renegade Beauty though she’s probably best known as the founder of natural beauty brand Living Libations. Nadine's journey began by combining vials of essential oils to recreate a perfume she liked for a school science fair. In 1994, she opened North America’s first full concept aromatherapy store, Osmosis, in Toronto. In this conversation, Nadine shares how, during her years of waitressing in grad school, she made products for her coworkers to try, and how she studied the female body in depth, eventually writing her dissertation on the female orgasm. We also get into aging and whether she feels extra pressure to sustain beauty and youth as the face of her brand. Show notes:- Get 10% off your order at Living Libations with code LETITOUT- Get 10% off your order of Primeadine spermidine supplement with code LETITOUT- Find Nadine on Instagram- There are a couple of spots open in my one-on-one creative consulting! If you want to work with me, learn more here and book a free session with me to see if it's a correct fit - Subscribe to our newsletter to get show notes + essays, etc. sent to your inbox- Follow @letitouttt on Instagram. I'm @katiedalebout Sponsors:Everlywell: Get 20% off your first at-home lab test at everlywell.com/letitout!ThirdLove: Get 20% off your first order of comfortable, quality undergarments at thirdlove.com/LETITOUT!Masterworks: Investing in fine art is accessible with Masterworks! Get priority access by going to masterworks.io and using promo code: letitout

This week's episode is a conversation with artist Derick Melander. He's a sculptor who works with secondhand clothing to create clothing sculptures that explore the intersection between global consumerism and the intimate relationship we have with what we wear. My dear friend Sacha Jones has known Derick for years through being core members of their Record Club, which started in the late nineties as a place to share music with friends and friends-of-friends.We begin by setting up how we met at a record club on Sacha's roof in the East Village, and the conversation goes on to cover his work, creative habits, navigating change, and much more. We talk about  music nostalgia, clothing, textiles, sharing clothing, consumerism, leaving traces, art school, dream work, friendship, family, relationships, connection, socializing and the power of the neighborhood. Show notes:- Find Derick on the Web | Instagram- Heidi Baker's brand Ozma and her episode on the podcast- The Fresh Air episode with Kirsten Dunst I mention- My posts about Sister Corita Kent and her Rules for Students and Teachers- There are a couple of spots open in my one-on-one creative consulting! If you want to work with me, learn more here and book a free session with me to see if it's a correct fit - Subscribe to our newsletter to get show notes + essays, etc. sent to your inbox- Follow @letitouttt on Instagram. I'm @katiedalebout If you liked this episode, try out:Episode 351: Riding Waves: Surfing, Design, and Change with Heidi Baker, Founder of Ozma of California

Today's episode is part 2 of my conversation with Natasha Zoë Garrett. Genuine, wise, thoughtful and truly one of the most effortlessly stylish people I’ve ever met, Natasha (founder of Roam Vintage) is one of a kind, just like the vintage gems she discovers. She’s incredibly honest, open and vulnerable about her challenges and wins in everything from her career to her mental health. She begins by sharing how she’s feeling now—embodied—which is particularly positive in the context of her history with eating disorders, panic attacks, anxiety and depression, as well as her winding path to sobriety. Natasha lights up a room with her curiosity, kindness and softness. She is beautiful in all ways and I’m happy to call her a friend. In this second half of our conversation, we cover the origin of Roam, inclusivity and the importance of role models, connection, shifting out of her styling career to focus on her business, travel, finding purpose, and more. Last week, we talked about how her family and upbringing informed her, her modeling career, finding the good in the difficult, and non-attachment. Show notes:- Follow @natashazoe and check out @roamvintage- Our Breakup Kits are 22% off this month with offer code: valentine- There are a couple of spots open in my one-on-one creative consulting! If you want to work with me, learn more here and book a free session with me to see if it's a correct fit - Subscribe to our newsletter to get show notes + essays, etc. sent to your inbox- Follow @letitouttt on Instagram. I'm @katiedalebout If you liked this episode, try out:Episodes 367 & 368: Seasons of Overwhelm with Christy Harrison (Parts 1 & 2) Sponsors:FitOn: Download the #1 free fitness app and join the 10 million people getting their FitOn by texting OUT to 64-000Start smelling amazing with Native's lineup of natural deodorants, soaps, body wash, and more! Get 20% off your first order at nativedeo.com/letitout and enter code letitout at checkout!Truebill: take control of your subscriptions and save up to thousands of dollars a year at truebill.com/letitout