Building Healthy Workplaces Through Law and Leadership | The Ripple Effect Podcast
The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper
Release Date: 10/07/2025
Honest Thoughts on Surviving Online Hate (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Ileana Garcia: Part Two)
The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper
If you listened to Part 1, you already know Ileana Garcia doesn’t hold back. Part 2 goes somewhere I honestly didn’t expect when we sat down to record it. We start with something that still visibly stings a little: the Wall Street Journal feature that was supposed to be a proud moment for her and instead turned into something else entirely. Ileana walks me through what actually happened behind that headline, and by the end of that story, I understood exactly what her brother meant when he called it “engagement by enragement.” Ileana tells me about the anonymous accounts that stitched...
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What Dating Looks Like After 50 (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Ileana Garcia)
The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper
Have you ever had that moment where you realize the life you built isn’t actually the one you want anymore? Today’s guest knows that feeling better than almost anyone I’ve talked to on this show. Ileana Garcia (you probably know her as Illy in the Streets on TikTok) has spent the last few years turning her gray divorce and everything that followed into some of the most honest and funniest content out there. If you’ve ever gone through a divorce after 50, or you’re staring down starting over at 50 and wondering if you have it in you, this conversation is going to feel like sitting...
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An AI That Answers Leads Before You Even Wake Up (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Austin Willman)
The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper
If you run a business and have ever lost a customer because you didn’t call them back fast enough, this one is going to sting. A lead comes in, life happens, and by the time someone picks up the phone, that customer has already booked with whoever responded first. My guest, Austin Willman, built his entire business around fixing that exact problem. He started in door-to-door solar sales, learned the home services world from the ground up, and turned that experience into an AI voice agent that helps contractors and roofers respond to leads the moment they come in, rather than 2 days later. ...
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Your Phone Is Making You Lonely (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Julie Sands)
The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper
You already know the feeling. You put your phone down after an hour of scrolling and somehow feel more drained than before you picked it up. Maybe you’re in a room full of people you love, and everyone’s looking at their screen instead of each other. Maybe you’ve been quietly wondering if the way you’ve been living and connecting is actually working for you anymore. If any of that sounds familiar, this conversation is going to feel like coming up for air. I brought Julie Sands back into The Ripple Effect Podcast, and I’ll be honest with you: time completely disappeared during this...
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How to Network Without Feeling Fake (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Sasha Grinshpun: Part Two)
The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper
Have you ever walked into a room and felt like everyone else already knew how to network, how to pitch themselves, how to sound confident, and how to make the right connections? Here is the much-awaited part two of my conversation with Sasha Grinshpun on The Ripple Effect Podcast. We get into the real stuff that so many professionals, founders, entrepreneurs, and leaders are wrestling with right now. - How do you build meaningful connections without feeling fake? - How do you stop being the world’s best-kept secret? - How do you turn feedback, rejection, and even those frustrating...
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The Skill AI Can’t Replace (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Sasha Grinshpun: Part One)
The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper
This one felt personal. If you’ve ever walked into a room and felt like everyone else had it figured out, or you’ve ever watched somebody get an opportunity and thought, “Wait, how did that happen for them?” then you’re going to connect with this conversation. It was such an honor to have Sasha Grinshpun on The Ripple Effect Podcast. Sasha is an executive coach, career strategist, and facilitator who has spent more than 15 years helping people get honest about what they actually want and how they’ll get there. She has worked with Fortune 500 executives, founders, and professionals...
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What Games Teach Us About Better Leadership (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. David Lowe-Rogstad)
The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper
There’s a strange pressure a lot of us feel right now. We’re supposed to be innovative, strategic, emotionally intelligent, creative, calm under pressure, and still have enough left at the end of the day for the people we love. That’s a lot. And that’s why I appreciated this conversation with David Lowe-Rogstad. David has spent more than 25 years at the forefront of creative technology, building teams, companies, and brands through constant change. On paper, he has a history degree. In practice, he’s been helping people and organizations stay relevant since 1997. But what really...
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The Stories Future Generations Need to Hear (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Mike O'Krent)
The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper
This episode is something special. Our special guest is none other than Mike O’Krent, founder of LifeStories Alive, a company devoted to helping families preserve the voices, memories, and life lessons of the people they love most. Mike’s journey is incredible: from interviewing Holocaust survivors for Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation to building a business that turns family stories into lasting video heirlooms for future generations. And trust me, once you hear why he does this work, it’s going to hit you right in the heart. You’ll hear why stories matter more than ever, how...
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How to Deal With a Narcissist Without Losing Your Mind | The Ripple Effect Podcast
The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper
You walk into the conversation feeling clear, calm, and even confident. Then, somehow, you walk out, replaying every sentence, wondering if you said it wrong, if you overreacted, if you are the problem. If that sounds familiar, there’s a good chance you just tried communicating with a narcissist, or you’re dealing with narcissistic tendencies up close at work or at home. Maybe it’s a narcissistic boss who turns every meeting into a scoreboard. Maybe it’s a narcissistic coworker who can’t share credit. Maybe it’s a client, a partner, a friend, the person you cannot fully avoid. You...
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The “Not Enough” Trap (The Ripple Effect Podcast ft. Barbara Burgess)
The Ripple Effect Podcast with Steve Harper
Welcome back to The Ripple Effect Podcast. Today, you’re getting a conversation that hits where it counts. Barbara Burgess joins us for a powerful interview that goes way beyond career talk and straight into what it really takes to move from corporate America to entrepreneurship. Barbara Burgess is an author, mother, executive, and unapologetic dark-chocolate lover who’s embraced the beautiful messiness of life. She founded Corluma (cor = heart, luma = light), a Chicago-based consulting firm; wrote and performed a one-woman show, “The Extraordinary Experience of Being Ordinary”; and...
info_outlineWelcome back to The Ripple Effect Podcast.
Today, we are joined by my good friend and special guest Karen Ansen, an extraordinary entrepreneur and employment lawyer from Australia. Karen is the founder of Ignite HR and Employment Law, where she assists businesses and individuals in navigating Fair Work, workplace bullying claims, adverse action cases, and wage underpayment issues in Australia. She also leads Ignite Your Purpose, a coaching and retreat platform that combines mindfulness, breathwork, meditation, and leadership training to help people reduce stress, build resilience, and lead with authenticity.
Karen and I discuss her courageous leap from the corporate world to starting her own law firm, how she balances her career with her passion for helping others, and the unique way she combines employment law with personal growth. We delve into workplace culture, the importance of onboarding, how to provide feedback without causing defensiveness, and why healthy conflict is crucial for strong teams.
Karen Ansen is proof that you can be both a top employment lawyer and a heart-led leader who helps others ignite their purpose. Whether you are an HR professional, a business owner, or simply someone who wants to create more purpose in your career and life, this episode is packed with inspiration and practical wisdom.
Ripple with Karen Ansen:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/karenansen
Ignite HR and Employment Law: ignitehr.com.au
Ignite Your Purpose: igniteyourpurpose.au
Ripple with Steve Harper
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