Episode #101: Isidra Mencos on Lust and Pleasure as a Pathway to Self-Discovery
Release Date: 08/20/2023
Episode #120: Betsy By Herself on Launching a Personal Sanctuary for Her Edges
The Discomfort Practice
In this very personal 20-minute solo episode, Betsy steps into her own edge. She announces the launch of a new offering: Voice Notes from the Edge, her Substack home for the people who want deeper access to her world, her thoughts, her voice. This episode is a transmission - an intimate reflection on sovereignty, devotion, and the kind of people who choose to walk with you not because they “follow” you, but because they recognise themselves in your voice and work. She shares why she’s creating a paid sanctuary, because she's ready to be witnessed more deeply in order to help others...
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Episode #119: Isa Noyola Returns to Talk About Joy, Justice and Survival When Walking the Edge
The Discomfort Practice
In this deeply moving conversation, host Betsy Reed welcomes back longtime friend and activist Isa Noyola, Director of the Border Butterflies Project at the Transgender Law Center, to explore what it means to live, love, and lead on the frontlines of collective liberation. Recorded in October 2025, their conversation travels from shared memories of queer resistance and joy in the American South to the stark realities of immigrant detention and the rising tide of authoritarianism. Through it all, Isa reminds us that trans joy, softness, and connection are radical acts of resistance, and that...
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Episode #118: Betsy By Herself on Post-Capitalist Prosperity - Redefining Abundance, Enoughness and Trust
The Discomfort Practice
In this solo episode of The Discomfort Practice, Betsy reflects on what it means to live and prosper beyond capitalism’s conditioning. She’s been recently moving through a deep personal detox and life transition and explores how WildFit, a nutritional and emotional reset, has become a catalyst for examining - well, everything. Her relationship with productivity, prosperity, and self-worth as well as with why and what she eats. Betsy talks about how capitalist systems teach us to see ourselves and others as “human resources,” valued only for what we produce, and how unlearning...
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Episode #117: Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic on how to stay human in the age of AI
The Discomfort Practice
What does it mean to stay human in the age of AI? In this episode ,BetsyI welcomse back Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic - psychologist, author, and provocateur - to explore how technology is reshaping not just what we do, but who we are becoming as humans. From dating-app algorithms to digital narcissism, Tomas explains how AI mirrors our worst tendencies—bias, impatience, distraction—and why true curiosity always involves discomfort. Together they look at how efficiency can be inhumane, what “realistic optimism” about AI sounds like, and how we can reclaim what makes us unique: connection,...
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Episode #116: Relaunching Season 5 after a year off
The Discomfort Practice
In this episode, Betsy reflects on the question she’s been pondering deeply: “The world is changing fast. Are you changing with it? Are you being the change you want to see in the world?” She explores how we can shift from being stuck in the narratives of fear and decline to consciously creating our own story and living a life that reflects joy, love, and curiosity. Betsy shares her own experiences with metaphysical study and coaching, offering both inspiration and relief for anyone struggling with the idea of “purpose.” Instead of worrying about finding your one purpose, she...
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Episode #115: Betsy By Herself - The World is Evolving. Are You?
The Discomfort Practice
In this episode, Betsy dives deep into the transformative power of small, everyday actions. Drawing on personal experiences, she talks about how individual action can actually drive collective impact. What's your role in creating change? From environmental stewardship to social justice, the episode explores the interconnectedness of personal responsibility and bigger collective change. Betsy shares her own experience of leading change, on a personal and on a bigger level. The episode concludes with a powerful call to action, encouraging you to take a step toward 'being the change you...
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Episode #114: Embracing the Edge - Shifting Communication Norms with Thea May
The Discomfort Practice
Welcome to Season 5 of The Discomfort Practice! In this first interview of the new season, Betsy Reed is joined by Thea May, a communication coach for ‘Edgewalkers and soul-led leaders.’ Together, they explore the theme of ‘edginess’ and dive deep into the discomfort of breaking away from outdated communication norms to create a world where we can all thrive. Thea shares her journey, the power of embodying discomfort, and how to ‘scale ourselves to meet the messages that move through us.’ This episode is packed with insights that will inspire you to embrace your own edges...
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Episode #113: Betsy by Herself Introducing Season 5
The Discomfort Practice
She's baaaack. Well, I'm back. If you don't know me yet, I'm Betsy Reed, and I'm obsessed with the value of discomfort. The juicy, hot, cold, annoying, uncomfortable feeling of being outside of our comfort zones... and pushed to expand. Pushed to perhaps discover things about ourselves that are getting in our way. Or forced to innovate, to forge new pathways, to walk away from the things we thought were forever and create a new reality. Over the past four seasons, I've talked to some truly inspiring guests about the value of discomfort in shaping them and what they do in the world. And I've...
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Episode #112: Season 4 Wrap-Up
The Discomfort Practice
In this final episode of Season 4 of The Discomfort Practice, Betsy looks back at some themes that arose over the course of the year+ it has spanned, before taking a brief hiatus to prep the launch of Season 5 in March 2024. What she found in looking back was some striking themes - the greatest of which was love. This has woven its way into many episodes, including: with Kim Polman, founder of Reboot the Future, whose ethos is based on the Golden Rule with Daze Aghaji, who talked about creating change from a place of love with Pilar Garrido, Minister for the Economy in Costa Rica during...
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Episode #111: Betsy By Herself on What You're Meant to Bring to the World
The Discomfort Practice
In this solo episode, Betsy journeys her way through a personal question at the moment: 'What am I meant to be a channel for on this earth? What is meant to come through me?' It's a very personal question, and there are no wrong answers. She talks about experimenting with being a channel for love, and how that has transformed her life in just a short span of a few months. As with most of Betsy's solo episodes, she leads listeners through practical steps to uncover their own answer to the question she's pondering. What 'special sauce' are you meant to bring to whatever is meant to flow through...
info_outlineIn this episode of The Discomfort Practice, I speak to Isidra Mencos, who was born and raised in Barcelona, Spain, about her journey through life as a young woman who grew up under Franco, a repressive dictator, and came of age as Spain was massively changing after his death.
We talk about what happens when a young woman who grew up in a place where kissing in public was illegal finds herself suddenly free to explore whatever she wants.
Speaking to Isidra was something of a bridge between my US past and my Spanish present. There are definite parallels in our backgrounds. Isidra moved to the US in 1992 to complete a PhD at UC Berkeley in California. Following that, she established herself as a teacher at Berkeley, a writer and editor, and a corporate executive. In 2016 she quit her plush corporate job to finally focus on her lifelong dream of being a creative writer. She has been widely published in literary journals and general interest magazines, but what drew me to Isidra was the recent publication of her memoir, Promenade of Desire, which narrates the journey of the shy María Isidra as she experiments and evolves.
We talk about the beauty of desire and the freedom that exploration - sexual and otherwise - can give all of us to become who we truly are and to love our full selves. Our conversation took us to some uncomfortable yet juicy and important topics. So come get uncomfortable with us… and find pleasure in the episode if you can!
Connect with Isidra:
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Buy and read Isidra’s book, Promenade of Desire
Connect with Betsy:
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