Wait - What Do You Do Again?

Meghan DeFord
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Weekly

Hosted by Meghan DeFord, the show blends solo episodes and candid conversations to help women stop performing their lives instead of living them, make clearer decisions, build confidence, and follow through on what they actually want to create lives that feel as good on the inside as they look on paper. Follow along on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube @megdeford More at: www.megdeford.com

  1. 1d ago

    Why We Can’t Stop Watching True Crime And What It’s Doing to Our Brains with Dr. Whitney Phillips

    Media ethics scholar Whitney Phillips has spent nearly 20 years studying the darkest corners of the internet, starting in 2008 when her little brother trolled her into visiting 4chan. In her words, she studies “the hell.” Meghan and Whitney get into why humans have always told scary stories and what our monsters reveal about us. (The word “monster” comes from the Latin for “to reveal.”) They trace the line from the telegraph and the rise of American spiritualism to today’s algorithm-fed true crime, from the Black Dahlia to the Lindsay Clancy trial, and look at whether Michelle McNamara’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and online sleuthing on the Golden State Killer case did real good, or just made more content. (Spoiler: both.) Plus: why most people say they don’t believe in ghosts but have absolutely had a weird feeling in an empty room, the Catholic-to-crystals pipeline, and why an overwhelmed brain keeps finding more monsters.

  2. Oct 25

    Edward Cullen Is a Red Flag: What Vampires Reveal About Us with Dr. Karen Winstead

    Why do vampires scare us, attract us, and somehow keep winning us over? For our spooky season series, Meghan DeFord talks with Dr. Karen Winstead, professor of English at The Ohio State University, who teaches courses on vampires and monsters. They cover two centuries of vampire stories, from Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Twilight, Interview with the Vampire, What We Do in the Shadows, and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. Karen explains why Dracula might not have a vampire in it at all. She also covers how John Polidori’s 1818 novella The Vampyre, written during the same ghost story contest that produced Frankenstein, modeled the first seductive vampire on Lord Byron. And she makes the case that Edward Cullen is the most dangerous vampire in pop culture. They also get into: How Sinners uses vampires and music to explore white supremacy, assimilation, and false alliesVampires as metaphors for desire, queerness, outsiders, and our fear of agingEnergy vampires, from Colin Robinson to the forgotten 1897 novel The Blood of the VampireWhy the oldest vampire rule is that you have to invite them inWhat vampire stories teach us about eternity and loneliness, and what we’d do with forever Plus a reading and watch list for going past the Halloween classics: Books: Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez, The Lost Girls by Sonia Hartl, and Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu Movies: Let the Right One In, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, and Only Lovers Left Alive Follow the show so you never miss an episode, and support it ad-free with a mug at megdeford.com/shop

  3. Oct 15

    Why We're Still Haunted By Witchcraft with Dr. Mikki Brock

    Why was a woman in early modern Scotland twelve times more likely to be accused of witchcraft than a woman in England? How could a dead cow land you in court, and what did the Puritans carry across the Atlantic to Salem? For spooky season, we’re re-releasing one of our favorite conversations ever. Dr. Mikki Brock is a Professor of History and head of the History Department at Washington and Lee University. She studies witchcraft, demonology, religion, and gender in early modern Scotland. She’s the author of Satan and the Scots and Plagues of the Heart, and she co-edited The Routledge History of the Devil in the Western Tradition. In this episode, we get into: How a 1990s Dallas kid raised on Left Behind and WWJD bracelets ended up studying the devilThe Scottish witch hunts: King James VI, Calvinism, Kirk sessions, and how accusations moved from neighbor disputes to the high courtHow witch trials “proved” guilt through confessions, torture, and witness testimonyThe perfect storm behind the Salem witch trials, plus the book she recommends above all othersSpiritual warfare and “us vs. them” thinking, from the early Church to the Satanic Panic, QAnon, and Christian nationalismWhy demonizing a group always leads to dehumanizing themThe devil in pop culture, from Sabrina and Buffy to Lucifer and South Park, plus Etsy witches and witch-tokWhy more of her students have believed in ghosts since COVID-19Her book, Half-Hangit Maggie: The Remarkable Lives of Margaret Dickson. It tells the story of a woman hanged in Edinburgh in 1724 who sat up in her coffin and lived another 40 years. 🔮 Connect with Dr. Mikki Brock:Washington and Lee faculty page: https://www.wlu.edu/profile/brock-michelle-d ☕ Want to support the show? Grab a Wait – What Do You Do Again? mug 🎧 If you liked this episode, follow Wait – What Do You Do Again? so you never miss one. Wait – What Do You Do Again? is hosted by Meghan DeFord. Connect on Instagram + TikTok: @megdeford | megdeford.com

  4. Oct 8

    From Hereditary to Get Out: What Horror Reveals About American Culture

    Why does horror keep putting the danger inside the house: the basement, the attic, the nursery, the baby monitor? Film scholar Dr. Dahlia Schweitzer, professor and chair of Film and Media Studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and author of Haunted Homes, joins Meghan DeFord for a spooky season conversation about what haunted house movies reveal about family, gender, race, money, and the American dream. From Hereditary, The Babadook, Sinister, and The Conjuring to Get Out, Sinners, and Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, Dahlia breaks down the tropes that show up again and again, and what they say about us. In this episode: Why the home, the place we're supposed to feel safest, is where horror does its best workWhat goes in the basement vs. the attic (repressed trauma vs. preserved memories)The "Cassandra effect": why the mom always senses the evil first and the husband asks if she's taken her medsHow the suburbs and the American dream keep families trapped in haunted houses they can't afford to leaveWhy haunted house movies spiked after the 2008 housing crashRace, representation, and why the genre is so white and heteronormative, plus Get Out, The Haunted Mansion, and SpiralHow technology became the new way evil gets in, from Poltergeist and The Ring to Zoom horror like HostThe 1997 cult film Office Killer and why it deserves a second lookWhy horror is cathartic, and why studying pop culture mattersWhether you love horror or watch it through your fingers (hi, it's me), you'll never look at a basement door the same way again. Find Dr. Dahlia Schweitzer: thisisdahlia.comHer books include Haunted Homes, Going Viral, L.A. Private Eyes, and Office Killer. She's also co-creating a Haunted Homes documentary; reach out through her site if you want to be interviewed. If this one gave you chills (the good kind), follow the show on Spotify or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, leave a rating, and send it to the friend who still sleeps with the lights on. Hosted by Meghan DeFord | megdeford.com | @megdeford

  5. Oct 1

    You’re the Haunted House: Ghosts, Energy Vampires & the Things We Avoid

    What’s haunting you, draining you, or getting scarier the longer you avoid it? To kick off spooky season, Meghan is turning the haunted house into a life audit. We’re talking ghosts from the past that still get a vote, goals that might need a funeral instead of another plan, energy vampires with way too much access to you, and the things we avoid because we’re afraid of what we’ll find when we finally turn on the light. Grab a notebook. We’re going room by room. Insta | TikTok| YouTube: @megdeford Want to work with Meghan? Learn more about coaching, consulting, workshops, and upcoming events at megdeford.com. Wait — What Do You Do Again? merch. Grab a mug and support the show ☕

  6. Sep 24

    Email or Lion? Concussions, Your Nervous System & Leadership with Natasha Wilch

    What if the way we think about concussions, burnout, and even nervous system regulation is too simplistic? Natasha Wilch is a physiotherapist, entrepreneur, and founder of Symphony Brain Performance, a nationally recognized brain health clinic, as well as the creator of Concussion Nerds, an international education community helping clinicians better understand and treat brain injury. In this conversation, Natasha breaks down what a concussion actually is, why so much common advice about concussion recovery is outdated, and why treating symptoms without looking at the whole person can miss what’s really going on. But this conversation goes far beyond concussion care. We talk about what it actually means to have a regulated nervous system, why “calm” isn’t always the goal, how stress and trauma can show up in leadership, the difference between tools and deeper treatment, and why successful people can sometimes use work and overfunctioning as a coping mechanism. We get into burnout, boundaries, protecting your capacity, and the calendar question that changed how Natasha thought about her time: How much of your life are you spending helping other people build their dreams instead of building your own? If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re managing stress or simply getting better at functioning through it, this conversation is worth hearing. Connect with Natasha:Instagram: @natasha.wilchConcussion Nerds: concussionnerds.comWebsite: natasha-wilch.comListen: The Concussion Nerds PodcastClinicians: the Concussion Nerds Fellowship (a 6-month online mentorship program) relaunches October 1.Connect with Meghan:Instagram/TikTok/YouTube: @megdefordmegdeford.com

  7. Sep 10

    Meditation for People Who Can’t Turn Their Brain Off

    How do you meditate when your brain won’t stop thinking? This beginner-friendly introduction to meditation dispels common myths and offers a simple guided meditation for busy minds. Meghan explains what meditation actually is, why you don’t need to empty your mind, and how mindfulness can fit into everyday life (even if you only have two minutes) The episode ends with a short guided practice featuring mindful breathing, a body scan, awareness of your surroundings, a new-moon intention-setting visualization, and loving-kindness meditation. Perfect for beginners, busy minds, or anyone looking for a simple way to feel more present and grounded. Merch available at: https://www.megdeford.com/shop

  8. Sep 4

    Why "Finding Your Purpose" Is a Myth (And What Actually Works) with Suneet Bhatt

    "You don't find your purpose. That's clickbait." Suneet Bhatt, author of Making Sense of Purpose and creator of the Rutgers course Find and Evolve Your Purpose, is making the case for why purpose isn't a destination, it's a practice. In this episode, we get into what it actually takes to build a life that feels as good on the inside as it looks on paper: the difference between authenticity and performance, why so many high-achieving women carry guilt they've never been taught to put down, and the exact three-part formula for feedback that lands instead of landing badly. Suneet also shares the moment his wife told him the truth he'd been avoiding for years and how that conversation changed everything. This is a conversation about ambition, self-awareness, and what it really means to evolve instead of just change. In this episode: Why "finding your purpose" is the wrong frame (and what to do instead)Authenticity vs. performance, and how to close the gapGuilt, shame, and self-forgiveness: what the research actually showsHow to give feedback that people can actually hearWhy purpose matters most when life takes a hard turn, not when everything's smooth Connect with Suneet: makingsenseofpurpose.com Instagram @suneetonpurpose LinkedIn: Suneet Bhatt Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you're listening. And share this episode with a friend! Thanks xx

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Hosted by Meghan DeFord, the show blends solo episodes and candid conversations to help women stop performing their lives instead of living them, make clearer decisions, build confidence, and follow through on what they actually want to create lives that feel as good on the inside as they look on paper. Follow along on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube @megdeford More at: www.megdeford.com

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