What Teachers Today Face & How To Support Them—Author & Teacher Shannon McLeod
Release Date: 03/21/2023
Tuesdays With Tashi: Help Confronting Death
Help Existing
This week I'm joined again by Buddhist Monk Tashi Nyima, who you might recognize from past episodes, and . Tashi had a near-death experience recently, and I wanted to have him on to talk about it, and what it illustrates about death from a Buddhist perspective. In this episode we talk about: --Tashi's brush with death and what it taught him --Buddhist teachings on death and dying --How to confront the fear of death and prepare for death ahead of time And much more! I hope you find it helpful. . Help Existing is listener supported. Please consider donating to my Venmo...
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What Teachers Today Face & How To Support Them—Author & Teacher Shannon McLeod
Help Existing
This week I'm joined by one of my closest friends in the world, author and teacher Shannon McLeod. Shannon is the author of the wonderful new story collection , as well as the novella . She's also taught English at a high school and elementary school level and works as a reading specialist. In this episode, I wanted to talk to Shannon about the realities that teachers today are facing. We talked about: --How to be a better ally for teachers. --What teachers today face, from shooting threats to phones in classrooms --Her tips and experience with burnout --The...
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Planning For Aging When You're Unconventional--Author & Counselor Kathy Labriola
Help Existing
Continuing on a similar theme as , I wanted to have a conversation about what aging while child-free (and/or unmarried, and/or nonmonogamous, and/or without a stable job) might look like. I'm joined again by the counselor and author , who you might recognize from last season's episode, as well as from my book, . Not only does Kathy have an excellent new book out about aging while nonmonogamous, , but she is herself a badass example of aging while unconventional. She is queer, child-free, and has multiple partners-- but is married to none. In this super practical conversation, we...
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The Baby Decision (Part 2): Help From Therapist & Author Merle Bombardieri
Help Existing
In Part 2 of this super-personal series, I'm speaking again with author and therapist Merle Bombardieri about the decision of whether or not to have kids. Merle is the author of THE BABY DECISION, which I found to be refreshing in its lack of agenda for or against having children. In this follow-up episode, which was more coaching-heavy than the last one, we address: --How to process this decision with your partner --A new exercise that might help you embrace a decision --How my being nonmonogamous might factor into the decision --The pressures of pronatalist culture --Lots...
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Tips For Online Dating, No Matter Your Orientation—Coach & Author Myisha Battle
Help Existing
This week I'm talking with sex educator and author of the new and inclusive dating guide , We're talking specifically about online dating: ways that both non-monogamous and monogamous people can better coexist on these apps, common mistakes people make, and tips around messaging and disclosure. She also got into a little bit of personal dating advice for me...I hope this is a helpful conversation for those of you who are dating or looking to get back out there. You can find Myisha Battle, her book, and her monthly zine at Please take a moment if you can to rate and...
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The Baby Decision (Part 1): Help From Therapist & Author Merle Bombardieri
Help Existing
In this super-personal episode, I'm talking with author and therapist Merle Bombardieri about the decision of whether or not to have kids. Merle is the author of which I found to be refreshing in its lack of agenda for or against having children. In this episode, which is a blend of interview and free therapy (for me and, hopefully, listeners), we address: --Why it's important to declare a decision --How to mourn the path you won't be taking --What this decision has to do with death --An exercise to help the conflicting sides of you fight it out, and why the one who 'loses' can tell you...
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What Speciesism Has To Do With Racism, Sexism & Homophobia—Writer & Academic Christopher Sebastian McJetters
Help Existing
This week I'm joined by writer and academic We're talking about what speciesism—the view that certain species should have more rights to freedom and life than others—has to do with racism, sexism, and homophobia. Following our recent episode with about help being more vegan-friendly, I was thrilled to hear some of you were inspired to try eating more plant-based. It's a resolution that a lot of people are making in the month of January, as we try on those New Year's resolutions. (There's even a campaign called But I wanted to have this broader conversation with Christopher about why...
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And The Most Popular Episode of the Year Is...
Help Existing
I'll be back in 2023 with all-new episodes of Help Existing, but for our last episode of 2022, I wanted to celebrate the most-listened-to episode of the year: Help Understanding Bisexuality Better, with author Jen Winston. (By the way, a close second was , further cementing my suspicion that Help Existing's audience is cool AF). I was so happy to see this was the most listened-to episode because it was one of my favorite conversations, and with a dear friend at that: Jen Winston, author of . Their memoir, and our conversations since, have helped me understand what “bisexuality”...
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Encore Birthday Episode: Help Viewing Aging As Sexy
Help Existing
It's my 35th birthday today, so I figured it was the perfect time to reissue one of the most popular episodes of Help Existing: my conversation with self-esteem icon Cindy Gallop about viewing aging as sexy. This episode got the most responses from listeners and is an all-around treat. Cindy Gallop is the founder of MakeLoveNotPorn, a businesswoman, coach, and all-around self-esteem icon. She's in her sixties and openly dates younger men, and recently had a StyleLikeU video that went viral about viewing aging as sexy and forging a different path. We don't see enough media representation of...
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Help Facing Fatphobia, Workaholism & Chronic Illness—Author & Journalist Evette Dionne
Help Existing
This week I'm joined by Evette Dionne, author of the excellent new memoir in essays, . Her new book is about many things: the prejudiced way fat Black women are treated in our culture, her personal experience facing serious chronic illness, fatness in pop culture, and much more. Our conversation was wide-ranging, starting with the story of how doctors' anti-fat bias nearly cost Evette her life, her own subsequent reexamining of work-life balance, and the micro and macro effects of fatphobia—both externalized and internalized. Evette is such a smart, kind person. She speaks in a way that...
info_outlineThis week I'm joined by one of my closest friends in the world, author and teacher Shannon McLeod. Shannon is the author of the wonderful new story collection Nature Trail Stories, as well as the novella Whimsy. She's also taught English at a high school and elementary school level and works as a reading specialist.
In this episode, I wanted to talk to Shannon about the realities that teachers today are facing.
We talked about:
--How to be a better ally for teachers.
--What teachers today face, from shooting threats to phones in classrooms
--Her tips and experience with burnout
--The pandemic and remote teaching, and how she's seen kids change since
--How technology and trauma are impacting students' ability to read and write
--How her teaching life informs her creative life
--And much more!
As always, I hope it's helpful.
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You can donate to Help Existing on my Venmo @rachel-krantz. Every bit helps!