The Stories That Sparkle

Hella Rader
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Society & Culture
  • Biweekly

Long-form intimate conversations with women you have never heard of and could easily pass on the street about navigating grief, reclaiming their voice, starting over in life, inhabiting their bodies, building community and more. Each episode is a single conversation. One woman, one hour, one complete story. Hosted by Hella Rader, somatic coach and writer, this is for the woman who feels alone in it—whatever 'it' is. Because together, we bring light into dark places. 🪩 New episodes drop every other Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. For more info, visit: https://www.hellarader.com hellarader.substack.com

  1. 4d ago

    Experts in Their Own Lives (Alisha Donovan, Susan B. Anthony Project)

    Today’s conversation is the second of two this October for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Last time, Megan Sanchez-Warner told her story as a survivor. This time, I’m talking with Alisha Donovan, Executive Director of the Susan B. Anthony Project, a domestic violence and sexual assault crisis and advocacy center that serves 18 towns and two cities in Litchfield County, Connecticut. Alisha began as a volunteer in 2003, joined the staff in 2004, and has worked as an advocate in the shelter, in the courts and in housing programs. She has also worked at the national level, providing training and technical assistance to programs across the country. We talk about the whole range of services available, from a 24-hour hotline and court advocacy to medical accompaniment, shelter and prevention education in schools, workplaces and other touchpoints in the community. We talk about the complexitites of domestic violence, why most people who reach out may not be fleeing anywhere, and what to do when you’re worried about someone you love. And we talk about the quiet “uh-oh” feeling that something isn’t right, and why that, on its own, is more than reason enough to call. Content note: this episode discusses domestic and sexual violence in general terms, without graphic detail. Now, I invite you to listen in (or watch along on YouTube) to my conversation with Alisha. LINKS If you are in an (emotionally, physically, sexually, financially, spiritually) abusive situation, please know: you are not alone. Susan B. Anthony Project provides crisis and support services to victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence in Northwest Connecticut. All services are free, confidential, and available 24/7. Susan B. Anthony Project website Susan B. Anthony 24-hour hotline: 860-482-7133 (available to anyone regardless of where they are) Susan B. Anthony Project on Instagram Want to support the work? Donations on the SBA website can be designated for prevention, direct services or where needed most. Not in northwest Connecticut? Ask your local program how to help. Additional Domestic Violence Resources: National Domestic Violence Hotline: Visit: the hotline.org / Call: 800.799.SAFE (7233) / Text START to 88788 RAINN: Visit: rainn.org / Call: 800.656.HOPE / Text HOPE to 64673 And to learn ways to get in involved in ending domestic and sexual violence, reach out to NO MORE. Additional Resources that I have compiled are available here. All things Hella Rader: Every link in one place: linktr.ee/hellarader This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hellarader.substack.com/subscribe

    Experts in Their Own Lives (Alisha Donovan, Susan B. Anthony Project)

  2. Oct 14

    That’s Not Love: The Warning Signs (Megan’s Story)

    Today’s episode is the first of two conversations I am sharing this October for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It is one I have been holding close to my heart. My guest is Megan Sanchez-Warner, a woman who has spent her career shaping other people’s stories as an executive producer and showrunner with more than 250 hours of nonfiction television behind her. She is an award-winning filmmaker. And she is a survivor. In this conversation, Megan (pronounced MEE-gan) tells her own story, and she does it with a clarity that stopped me more than once. The warning signs were there for years and she walks us through them: the pattern, the escalation, the moment her young daughter and son saw what she couldn’t yet say out loud, and the day her body simply said, “Get out.” But she didn’t recognize any of those signs for what they were until afterward. Megan’s story is the story of so many survivors, especially the parts that are hard to understand looking from the outside in. For me personally, there is so much in Megan’s story that I relate to on a molecular level and so much of her experience that I share. Megan is now a volunteer victims advocate and serves on the Voices Committee at the New York City Mayor’s Office to End Gender-Based Violence. She shares her story publicly so that other women can recognize the warning signs sooner. And she is working on a film of her story, River of Denial. I am so grateful Megan and I met and that she shared her story with me, and all of us, with such honesty and detail. I hope it will help someone out there see the signs sooner and find a way to safety. Content Heads Up: Megan shares her story of domestic violence in detail, including strangulation and threats against her children. There is also discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation. Please take care of yourself. Pause, skip ahead, or come back to this another time if you need to. Resources are below. Now, I invite you to listen in (or watch along on YouTube) to Megan’s story. Share LINKS All things Megan Sanchez-Warner: LinkedIn: megansanchezwarner River of Denial film: riverofdenial.com NYC Mayor's Office to End Gender-Based Violence Domestic Violence Resource: If you are in an (emotionally, physically, sexually, financially, spiritually) abusive situation, please know: you are not alone. For help, reach out 24/7 by phone, text or chat to: National Domestic Violence Hotline: Visit: the hotline.org / Call: 800.799.SAFE (7233) / Text START to 88788 RAINN: Visit: rainn.org / Call: 800.656.HOPE / Text HOPE to 64673 And to learn ways to get in involved in ending domestic and sexual violence, reach out to NO MORE. If you or someone you love is considering suicide, text 988 or go to: 988Lifeline.com Additional Resources that I have compiled are available here. All things Hella Rader: Every link in one place: linktr.ee/hellarader Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every other Wednesday. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hellarader.substack.com/subscribe

    That’s Not Love: The Warning Signs (Megan’s Story)

  3. Sep 30

    From Podcast to Road Trip: Chasing Women’s Stories

    What happens when you stop waiting for the perfect setup and drive across the country with a car, two mics, and a mission? To mark the one-year anniversay of the Discoball Tour, I am joined by my dear friend and guest host Laura Sweeney (writer, actor, and director of the documentary short Tiny Movements) who asked me how I turned a dream into a 30-day, nearly 5,000-mile journey to record 18 women’s stories in person. Totgether we explore the deeper stakes behind the project: fear, shame, anxiety, overwork, and the realization that I had become my own worst boss. And the complexity of reconnecting with my chosen family, and confronting a chapter of my life I once ran away from...all while I was editing, posting, and filming every day with no crew and no safety net. NOTE: We discuss domestic violence, beginning around the 34-minute mark. Please take care of yourself, and skip or fast-forward if needed. So grateful to Laura for taking the time to hold the space for me as a fellow creator and storyteller. Made it easy to dig into some of the harder parts of what came up for me not only while I was on the drive, but also when I got home. And today, a year later, those lessons help me take the next ride differently. If you’ve ever wondered whether to wait until everything is perfect or to simply start now, this episode is for you. Now, I invite you to get comfortable, sit back, and listen in (or watch along on YouTube). LINKS All things Laura Sweeney: Laura Sweeney on Instagram: @laura_m_sweeney Tiny Movements film on Instagram: @tinymovementsfilm To learn about upcoming screenings and how to support the film Tiny Movements, click this link: Tiny Movements Domestic Violence Resource: If you are in an (emotionally, physically, sexually, financially, spiritually) abusive situation, please know: you are not alone. For help and resources, reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. They are available 24/7 by phone, text or chat. All things Hella Rader: Every link in one place: linktr.ee/hellarader Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every other Wednesday. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hellarader.substack.com/subscribe

    From Podcast to Road Trip: Chasing Women’s Stories

  4. Sep 23

    Unbind It (Patricia’s Story)

    Patricia Dalen, LMHC, CCEP, is a psychotherapist and Certified Core Energetics Practitioner who integrates relational psychotherapy with somatic and experiential approaches. Her work has a particular focus on chronic shame and the ways it can hide beneath anxiety, perfectionism, people-pleasing, withdrawal, and the fear of being seen. Drawing on both clinical practice and her own lived exploration of shame, Patricia helps people understand the protective patterns held in mind and body and move toward greater connection, authenticity, self-expression, and vitality. In my words: Patricia is a bada$$. I met her two years ago in my training at the Institute of Core Energetics and was immediately drawn to her. Patricia not only exudes unconditional care but also a fun-loving spirit. Which is why it was such a delight to record this conversation with her, to get to know her better, and to hear the ways she unbinds shame. Beyond grateful that this episode, chock full of Patricia’s wisdom, experience and care, is the one to close out The Quiet Part Out Loud, my 4-part series on shame. Double, triple, quadruple grateful to count Patricia as a friend, and to be able to share her leadership with you…something y’all will hear for yourselves from the get go. So, I invite you to get comfortable, sit back, and listen in. LINKS All things Patricia Dalen: Instagram: @patriciadalen Websites: Patrica Dalen and Listing on Psychology Today All things Hella Rader: Every link in one place: linktr.ee/hellarader Wan to share your story? Open to submissions: hellarader.com/submissions Follow me on Instagram, subscribe to my channel on YouTube.com/@hellarader and learn more about me on my Website. To help me record more women’s stories, and amplify more women’s voices, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to my Substack. Or buy me a cup of coffee. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every other Wednesday. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hellarader.substack.com/subscribe

    Unbind It (Patricia’s Story)

  5. Sep 9

    Name It (Callie's Story)

    My guest today is Callie Greenberg. Her pain started at thirteen. She did not receive a diagnosis until she was 37. For decades, despite countless doctor visits and emergency room trips, she endured the pain and sat with questions that deserved answers. It was crazy-making. Because when you’re dismissed long enough, when you’re told by enough people that nothing is wrong with you, you start to believe you’re the crazy one. Finally, after one more trip to the emergency room, and a years of watching other women be dismissed while she woreked in operating rooms as a medical device sales rep, Callie got her diagnosis: endometriosis. Now, her pain had a name. But that was just a start, What followed was more pain: excision surgery, failed IVF treatments, a hysterectomy, and menopause. This conversation is about more than medical trauma. Or the shame and grief. It’s about self-advocacy and the small steps that go into rebuilding a life. And it is about the power of what one woman can do when she starts with naming it all—not just for herself, but also for others. Callie now co-hosts the podcast Girls Room After Dark. She started The Girls Room Project with Jaime Silva. She works with other women one-on-one as a coach. And she shares her story as a keynote speaker. Because Callie decided to turn what she went through into advocacy. She wanted to make sure that other women and girls have the words for what they are experiencing in their bodies—and to find solutions and information that can help. Thrilled to have Callie join me for Part 3 of “The Quiet Part Out Loud” (four women, four kinds of shame, four ways of working through it). And grateful for the network of women that surrounds the Stories That Sparkle podcast, specifically Katya Eckert at A Domani Sleep (use this link and get 20% off first order) who introduced me to Callie because she knew we would have much to talk about—and boy, was she right. Callie is a straight shooter, something I appreciate, who is willing to say it the way she sees it. Now, I invite you to get comfortable, sit back, and listen in. LINKS All things Callie Greenberg: Instagram: @Callie_Greenberg and @girlsroomafterdark Websites: Callie Greenberg and The Girls Room Project All things Hella Rader: Every link in one place: linktr.ee/hellarader Wan to share your story? Open to submissions: hellarader.com/submissions Follow me on Instagram, subscribe to my channel on YouTube.com/@hellarader and learn more about me on my Website. To help me record more women’s stories, amplify more women’s voices and celebrate different women’s choices, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to my Substack or buy me a cup of coffee. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every other Wednesday. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hellarader.substack.com/subscribe

    Name It (Callie's Story)

  6. Aug 26

    Release It (Kayti's Story)

    Today’s episode continues the four-part podcast series “The Quiet Part Out Loud” (four women, four kinds of shame, four ways of working through it) with one of the most joyful women I have ever met—Kayti Grubstein. It was her joy that drew me to her the first time I met her when I took her Monday morning Core Power Fusion class at Queens Community Yoga in late 2025. Little did I know then what a journey it has been for Kayti to not only have that joy, but to inhabit her body the way she does today. In Kayti’s story, shame takes over, when, at age seventeen, she becomes pregnant. But it was already there before that moment and impacted her in many different ways for a long, long time. When we sat down to record this conversation, Kayti shared how she continues to grapple with shame right now, today. Her story takes us deeper into the ways shame builds walls, impacts how we feel in our bodies, and wreaks havoc on how see ourselves. Grateful to Kayti for sharing how she practices releasing that shame—through movement, in her body, with music. I love being with Kayti, not just in class…whether we’re haning out in person or virtually. Her joy is an ongoing inspiration to me. Just this past weekend, when I was tempted by the rabbit hole of shame, I thought of her words in this episode and danced it out. Could not think of a better person with whom to go deeper into this discussion around shame. So now, I invite you to get comfortable, sit back, and listen in. LINKS All things Kayti Grubstein: Instagram: @yure_yoga Kayti’s Current Class Schedule (check in for any changes or updates): Mondays 9:30am-10:30am Core Power Fusion (Queens Community Yoga)* Mondays 5:30pm-6:15pm Core Fusion (Suryaside Yoga) Fridays 9am-10am Power Flow (Queens Community Yoga)* *Classes at Queens Community Yoga available in person or virtual All things Hella Rader: Every link in one place: linktr.ee/hellarader Wan to share your story? Open to submissions: hellarader.com/submissions Follow me on Instagram, subscribe to my channel on YouTube.com/@hellarader and learn more about me on my Website. To help me record more women’s stories, amplify more women’s voices and celebrate different women’s choices, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to my Substack or buy me a cup of coffee. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every other Wednesday. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hellarader.substack.com/subscribe

    Release It (Kayti's Story)

  7. Aug 12

    Embrace It (Shawnna's Story)

    To kick off the four-part podcast series “The Quiet Part Out Loud” (four women, four kinds of shame, four ways of working through it), I bring you my conversation with Shawnna Journagan, artist and beautiful human, whom I met on Instagram because she reached out to me. And I’m so glad she did and thrilled she agreed to join me and share about the immense amount of loss (multiple people, relationships, work and identity), grief and transitions she went through in a very short amount of time. And in isolation during COVID. In her story, shame is most explicitly stated as one word in a longer list of things that Shawnna was willing to embrace in order to walk through and find her way out. But just because shame is not the healiner, doesn’t mean it’s not there. And now that Shawnna’s on the other side of things, she helps others find there way through their own transitions. It was a real delight to spend time with Shawna, to get to know her better, and to hear from her. Could not think of a better person with whom to ease us into a discussion around shame. So now, I invite you to get comfortable, sit back, and listen in. LINKS All things Shawnna Journagan: Website: shawnnajournaganart.com Instagram: @shawnnajournaganart (business) @shawnnalot (personal) Linktr.ee: Shawnna Journagan Art Exlcusive Free Guide: Embracing Your Seasons-Finding Calm Through Life’s Transitions All things Hella Rader: Every link in one place: linktr.ee/hellarader Wan to share your story? Open to submissions: hellarader.com/submissions Follow me on Instagram, subscribe to my channel on YouTube.com/@hellarader and learn more about me on my Website. To help me record more women’s stories, amplify more women’s voices and celebrate different women’s choices, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to my Substack or buy me a cup of coffee. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every other Wednesday. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hellarader.substack.com/subscribe

    Embrace It (Shawnna's Story)

  8. Jul 29

    I Won't Dance for You (with Jaclyn Dima)

    Jaclyn Dima is a NYC-based, nostalgic pop/rock artist blending 80s/90s-influenced songs that balance celebration, power, and purpose. Drawing from influences like Florence + The Machine and Erasure, Jaclyn delivers performances that feel both intimate and electric, inviting audiences into a world where mysticism, empowerment, and connection take center stage. And all of that came through when we got together to record a conversation on Zoom about her new single, I Won’t Dance for You. (Also on Apple Music). I so thoroughly enjoyed talking to Jaclyn about all the things—her early days pursuing music in NYC, her shift into children’s music, and her reclamation of a more fully expressed self by bringing her rebellion and her joy back into the very adult music scene. This conversation is full of lessons learned about performance, community, and adulting, shared by a woman who is in full possession of her voice—one who is willing to invest her time, her money, and her sparkle into expressing it far and wide. Now, I invite you sit back, get comfortable and listen in. LINKS All things Jaclyn Dima: Featured Single: I Won’t Dance for You (Spotify) Instagram: @mermaidjac Facebook: @jaclyndimamusicWebsites: Jaclyn Dima Jaclyn Dima on YouTube All things Hella Rader: Every link in one place: linktr.ee/hellarader Wan to share your story? Open to submissions: hellarader.com/submissions Follow me on Instagram, subscribe to my channel on YouTube.com/@hellarader and learn more about me on my Website. To help me record more women’s stories, amplify more women’s voices and celebrate different women’s choices, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to my Substack, follow me on Instagram, and/or, buy me a cup of coffee. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every other Wednesday. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hellarader.substack.com/subscribe

    I Won't Dance for You (with Jaclyn Dima)
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5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Long-form intimate conversations with women you have never heard of and could easily pass on the street about navigating grief, reclaiming their voice, starting over in life, inhabiting their bodies, building community and more. Each episode is a single conversation. One woman, one hour, one complete story. Hosted by Hella Rader, somatic coach and writer, this is for the woman who feels alone in it—whatever 'it' is. Because together, we bring light into dark places. 🪩 New episodes drop every other Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. For more info, visit: https://www.hellarader.com hellarader.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Hella Rader
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    62
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Rader Ventures
  • Show Website
    The Stories That Sparkle