Morning Person Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.morningpersonnewsletter.comThe Sunday Edition is Tuesday's little sister—off-the-cuff updates I'd bring up over a coffee catch-up with a friend.As soon as I hit “publish” on last week's post on being consumed by little to-dos, I noticed a similar sentiment everywhere . We are dying to slow down! (Susie | Talking Since Tuesday) We are tired! (Becca Freeman) We are finished optimizing! (Azora Zoe Paknad) We are over running on this endless treadmill! (sam baker) We're exhausted from an inability to keep up that which, I'm sure many of us felt, was compounded by a broader sense of helplessness this week. The site where I'm doing my clinical internship is a nonprofit funded largely by state grants, but many of our clients depend on federally funded programs to support their medical and housing needs. It's been infuriating to watch some of the world's richest men try to take away these basic rights from those who are most vulnerable, not to mention freeze global aid programs. How do we guard against compassion-fatigue and burnout, while living under an administration that's taking a wrecking ball to humanitarian efforts?? This all brings me to my decision to publish an update on my own home when so many people are at risk of losing theirs.

This podcast episode is a companion to “Issue #177: Practical Tips for Staying Healthy Over Colder Months.”Helen Spieth is an expert in acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, and contains a wealth of information about women's health and immunity. I've been seeing her since 2023, and she has a way of breaking down complex topics—like the immune system!—into understandable parts. Since working with her, I've gained an entirely new understanding of my immune system, which she likens to a castle, and ways in which we can strengthen it. Of course, this episode isn't a replacement for your doctor's recommendations, or meant to serve as any sort of miracle cure-all, but I do think you'll find some of Helen's wisdom helpful, as I have. Thanks for listening! You can access the original issue here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.morningpersonnewsletter.com/subscribe

This podcast episode is a companion to “Issue #166: 36 Hours in Seoul and a Primer on Korean Beauty.”When Elise Hu, host of TED Talks Daily and Forever 35 podcasts, moved from America to Seoul in 2015, as the Korea and Japan bureau chief for NPR, she experienced a similar “amplification” of her flaws. She documented her experience, as well as her research into the history and future of Korea's beauty industry in her book, Flawless. In this episode, Hu and I talk about K-beauty's geopolitical impact and the ways in which it serves as a window into the future—and how we see ourselves.Thanks for listening! You can access the original issue here. Get full access to morning person at www.morningpersonnewsletter.com/subscribe

This podcast episode is a preview of “Issue #106: A Conversation with My Mom About Our Relationship and My Divorce.”A couple weeks ago, when I was back home in Reno, I asked my mom, Tracy Fairhurst, if she would be open to sitting down to a recorded conversation. It was, on the surface, an interview for Morning Person, but it meant far more to both of us, given our history. For years, my mom and I had a close, but tumultuous, relationship. When I was in high school, we fought endlessly and in my 20s, we went an entire year without talking. Even this year, we stopped speaking for several months. That most recent argument, which began in April and lasted until June, felt like a tipping point: We could go on this way forever, or we could change. Thankfully, we chose the latter and began to have openhearted conversations and be more aware of each others' boundaries and sensitivities.Mother-daughter relationships are some of the most complicated. I hope our honest conversation below provides you with some clarity toward your own or, at the very least, normalizes the fact that not every pair is Lorelai and Rory.Thanks for listening! You can access the original issue here. Get full access to morning person at www.morningpersonnewsletter.com/subscribe

This podcast episode is a companion to “Issue #95: Why I'm Still (Mostly) Sober After a Year of Not Drinking.”Sarah Levyis the author of bestselling memoir Drinking Games and the newsletterSeltzer Rocks, where she documents her experience since getting sober nearly six years ago. In a recent conversation, we talked about her own experience with AA, collecting “sober references,” and why it's so much easier to write vulnerably than reach out to a friend. We also fully fell down a manifestation rabbit hole.Thanks for listening! You can access the original issue here. Get full access to morning person at www.morningpersonnewsletter.com/subscribe

This podcast episode is a companion to “Issue #92: Healing Grief Through Food with Hetty McKinnon.”Few people understand the healing qualities of food better than cookbook author Hetty McKinnon. All of her cookbooks are deeply personal and her latest, Tenderheart (out today), serves as an ode to her father, who she lost as a teenager, through vegetables.When I spoke to her recently, she told me, “Food is the way I make sense of my life and the things I've experienced and seen and gone through.” Writing the recipes in this cookbook allowed her to consider the impact her father—who brought crates of fruits and vegetables home from his job—had on her, while celebrating his life and legacy. I spoke to Hetty about healing through food, the importance of chile oil, and how food can connect us to our cultures and each other. Thanks for listening! This is one of my favorite issues ever and includes two of Hetty's recipes—you can access the original here. Get full access to morning person at www.morningpersonnewsletter.com/subscribe

This podcast episode is a companion to “Issue #90: How to Ignite and Foster Creativity When You're Busy AF.”Betsy has been designing for fifteen years, creating both custom work and standalone collections while running her successful (and expanding!) Portland-based company Betsy & Iya alongside her husband, Will. When I met Betsy at her shop over coffee and brioche from St. Honore, we chatted straight through the hour we'd scheduled with the ease of old friends. We picked back up a week later—this time hitting “record”—to chat about how to foster creativity, put it to work, and how we each define a creative life.Thanks for listening! You can access the original issue here. Get full access to morning person at www.morningpersonnewsletter.com/subscribe

This podcast episode is a companion to “Issue #81: Should I Have Kids? Considering the Big Question.”I recently spoke with Ruby Warrington, whose new book Women Without Kids explores the taboo, but increasingly popular, decision to not have children. With over 20 years of experience as a lifestyle journalist and editor, Ruby has a knack for being on the cusp of major societal shifts (she coined the term “sober curious” in 2018, which I covered here) and her latest book deftly explores the life-altering decision around becoming a mother—or not. Thanks for listening! You can access the original issue here. Get full access to morning person at www.morningpersonnewsletter.com/subscribe

This podcast episode is a companion to “Issue #58: No More Bad Dinner Parties.”Coming together as a community has the potential to be the most important thing we do—gatherings are supposed to make us feel something, but the uninspiring dinner party I attended is far from an exceptional anecdote. It's why Priya Parker starts off her book The Art of Gathering with the observation, “The way we gather matters. And yet most of us spend very little time thinking about the actual ways in which we gather.”Last week, I spoke to Priya about how to do just that. We chatted about utilizing “generous authority,” how creating a guest list can be a cleansing ritual, and the importance of a purpose and “moment of focus.” I love what she shared, near the end, when I asked her about hosting my first dinner party in my studio apartment. You can listen to our full conversation here:Two quick episode notes:* The article Priya quotes in her book is “Chill is a Garbage Virtue” by Alana Massey.* The memory expert Priya references is Ed Cooke.Thanks for listening! You can access the original issue here. Get full access to morning person at www.morningpersonnewsletter.com/subscribe

This podcast episode is a companion to “Issue #68: In Defense of Spending 'Twixmas Solo.”When I separated from my husband at the end of 2022 and moved into my first solo apartment, it took me a long time to be okay with being alone—let alone practice what Francesca Specter calls alonement, or time spent alone that feels like the opposite of loneliness.I recently spoke to Francesca who, as if to illustrate her point, was in the middle of two months of solo traveling in Portugal. We chatted about the importance of being intentional with alone time, regardless of one's relationship status or family size. This is never more important than during the holidays, when we are overrun with social obligations that may call for a recharge. In fact, Francesca argues, the time between Christmas and New Year's is the perfect time to be selfish with your solo time to reflect and prepare for the year ahead. Below is our full conversation:Thanks for listening! You can access the original issue here. Get full access to morning person at www.morningpersonnewsletter.com/subscribe

This podcast episode is a companion to “Issue #63: Opening Up About My Quarterlife Crisis.”Four months ago, I began the process of methodically unravelling the life I've spent my entire adulthood building. I moved out of my house into a studio apartment, separated from my husband, and began living with my dog only part-time. The urge to rebuild seemed to come out of nowhere after a decade of following all the rules. It wasn't until I came across Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood by Portland-based Psychotherapist Satya Doyle Byock that I finally felt like I had the diagnostic language to describe what I was going through.Satya argues that midlife crises are happening earlier, during a stage she calls “Quarterlife,” or the first part of adulthood between the ages of sixteen and thirty-six. According to her, this crisis often stems from an imbalance when a quarterlifer is either too much of a “Meaning Type” or a “Stability Type.” People can find themselves anywhere along the spectrum between the two types, but it became immediately clear which category I fell into…Thanks for listening! You can access the original issue here. Get full access to morning person at www.morningpersonnewsletter.com/subscribe

This podcast episode is a companion to “Issue #60: How to Form Better Habits.”There's an optimized version of myself that exists only in my imagination: She wakes up every morning refreshed from eight quality hours of sleep, cooks nutritious meals, never skips a workout, always looks put-together, and always shows up for herself and others. Naturally, she keeps her inbox at zero and is prompt to reply to texts. New Yorkers are read the moment they arrive. In reality, I regularly find myself falling short of the lofty goals and expectations I set for myself despite the pressure I put on myself. It's why Priyanka Aribindi is a proponent on focusing on just one self-improvement goal each month.It really came down to: I was feeling bad about myself for not doing every thing that I thought I should be. - Priyanka AribindiPriyanka is the co-host of Crooked Media's nightly ‘What A Day' podcast, author of the newsletter S**t I Bought And Liked, and the best-dressed guest at every wedding she attends (not to mention an all-around generous and kind person). Earlier this year, when she began to feel down on herself for not having this “perfect life,” she decided to slow down and focus on forming one habit at a time. I sat down to chat with Priyanka recently about how she made the leap from marketing to hosting a hugely popular nightly news podcast, what her days look like now, and sleeping more and drinking less.Thanks for listening! You can access the original issue here. Get full access to morning person at www.morningpersonnewsletter.com/subscribe