Tell Me What It's Like

Stacy Raine
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Personal Journals
  • Updated Weekly

– Season 3 starts Fall 2026 – What's it like to be a tween therapist? To switch careers and begin photographing toys? To have Guillain-Barré? To be the first female chess grandmaster? Tell Me What It’s Like is a podcast about uncommon experiences and what they teach us about the world. Host Stacy Raine talks with people who have spent years in roles and life situations most of us don’t experience to understand what it’s actually like, what they’ve seen over time, and what those experiences reveal.

  1. 1d ago

    Raising a Child with Disabilities: Jane Fischer on Pushing Past “Never”

    When Jane Fischer’s daughter Suzy was born in 1974, doctors said she would never walk, talk, or learn. Suzy spent the next five decades proving them wrong. It wasn’t until Suzy was in her late 30s that the family finally learned the name for what she’d been living with all along: Joubert syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. Today, Suzy works in a preschool and lives on her own with support. In this episode, Jane discusses what it was like to raise a daughter with disabilities, push past the doctors’ predictions, and help Suzy build a life of her own. “ Predictions are not promises. Nobody knows your child like you."- Jane Fischer on Tell Me What It’s Like Hear Jane talk about:The day Suzy was born, and the doctors’ advice to send her awayFinding help for a child with disabilities before GoogleHow raising Suzy tested her marriageShadowing Suzy at school, and the difference between inclusion and toleranceWhy doctors call Suzy a medical miracleHow a decades-long mystery was finally named Joubert syndromeWhat she’d go back and tell herself in that hospital room Mentioned in this episode:If You Knew Suzy: Pushing Past the Boundaries of Never by Jane FischerJoubert syndromeECLC of New JerseyMaplebrook SchoolJespy House Support This Show: Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast appLeave a rating & review — it helps others find the showShare the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media

    Raising a Child with Disabilities: Jane Fischer on Pushing Past “Never”

  2. Oct 14

    Treating Women With Cancer: Dr. Tiffany Troso-Sandoval on Empowering Patients

    For more than 25 years, Dr. Tiffany Troso-Sandoval has treated women with breast and gynecological cancers. Throughout her practice, she’s realized that women going through cancer need more than treatment. They need to understand their care, stay organized, and have the right support around them so they can be active participants in their own care. In this episode, she talks about why she became an oncologist, what it’s really like on the doctor’s side of the room, and how she’s helping patients feel empowered. "I call this becoming the CEO of your cancer care. You need to be the one in charge."Hear Dr. Troso discuss:How watching her mother’s frustration with her grandmother’s doctors shaped her pathWalking out of the LSAT and choosing medical school insteadWhat it’s like to deliver hard news, and how she handles the emotional weightHow cancer treatment has changed over 25 years, and is like “night and day”The day she spent her lunch hour organizing a patient’s records into a binder – and whyWhy telling a friend or family member to “call me if you need anything” doesn’t work, and a better way patients can ask for help Mentioned in this episode:Calming the Cancer Chaos by Dr. Tiffany Troso-SandovalDr. Troso's websiteMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Support This Show: Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast appLeave a rating & review — it helps others find the showShare the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media Mentioned in this episode: Help Others Discover the Show Enjoying Tell Me What It’s Like? Leaving a rating and review in your podcast app helps more listeners discover the show. Thanks for supporting thoughtful conversations and perspective-driven storytelling.

    Treating Women With Cancer: Dr. Tiffany Troso-Sandoval on Empowering Patients

  3. Oct 7

    Tracking Mountain Lions: Dr. Winston Vickers on Saving California's Big Cats

    Dr. Winston Vickers has spent decades studying one of America's big cats, the mountain lion. He's tracked them, collared them, and even studied their poop, all to help Southern California's mountain lions survive. A veterinarian who went back to school mid-career to study big cats, he shares what it's like to come face to face with a mountain lion, why highways are pushing some populations toward extinction, and why killing one lion doesn't solve the problem. “There was concern that mountain lions in some parts of Southern California were making it harder for these bighorns to recover. So that's why we started putting collars on the mountain lions." Hear Dr. Vickers discuss: How he went back to school to study mountain lions after a 20 year vet careerHow you trap a mountain lion (it involves roadkill)The diseases threatening them, from avian flu to feline leukemiaHow one freeway split a population and led to dangerous inbreedingWhat scat-sniffing dogs reveal about what lions eatWhat it was like to collar his first mountain lionClose encounters with mountain lionsWhy "you can't kill your way out of the problem"Why there seem to be more lions in the suburbsWhy mountain lions keep whole ecosystems in balance Mentioned in this episode: Learn more about the California Mountain Lion Project at UC Davis Listen to A Path for Mountain Lions by The Nature Conservancy, featuring Dr. VickersView the mountain lion tracker About Dr. Vickers: Dr. T. Winston Vickers is a wildlife research veterinarian with the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center and the Institute for Wildlife Studies. For 20 years he directed or co-directed mountain lion studies across California, and he has studied mountain lions and other wildlife for 23 years. His work focuses on why mountain lions die, how they move, road crossings, genetics, and how they interact with people. "Just the sheer muscle that's there when you feel their bodies is just amazing. "- Dr. Winston Vickers on Tell Me What It’s Like

    Tracking Mountain Lions: Dr. Winston Vickers on Saving California's Big Cats

  4. Jun 24

    Building Community Wherever You Go: Kandi Hart on What She's Learned as a Military Spouse

    In the Season 2 finale, military spouse Kandi Hart joins the show to discuss what she's learned about building community after decades of moves. She and Stacy talk about what it takes to thrive in every new place, including the mindset you need, the tactics that can work, and how sometimes community starts with just one person. "I will immediately walk up to somebody, and I will ask them about themselves. I'll say, 'Tell me about your family.'" Hear Kandi talk about:Why Twentynine Palms — a base most people dread — became a place her whole family asked to go back toThe party mistake that humbled her and changed how she thinks about inclusivityHow she went from a shy kindergartner who cried every morning to the first person to grab the microphone in any roomWhy she thinks showing up at someone's door still matters more than any Facebook groupHow to build your community when you're not in a military bubble Mentioned in this episode: Twentynine Palms, California Support This Show: Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast appLeave a rating & review — it helps others find the showShare the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media

    Building Community Wherever You Go: Kandi Hart on What She's Learned as a Military Spouse

  5. Jun 17

    Diagnosed with Asperger's at 65: Charles Grimes on Finally Understanding Himself

    Charles Grimes has spent nearly 30 years as a business psychologist, helping leaders understand themselves so they could lead others well. But he’s also been trying to understand himself, with therapy, courses, and numerous self-assessment tools. But it wasn't until he was 65 — when a friend made a casual, throwaway comment — that the missing piece finally clicked into place. He had Asperger's. The diagnosis didn't feel like bad news. It felt like freedom. "It's okay to be Charles. And that's something which I hadn't felt. And I'm 65. This is very late in life to suddenly feel it's okay to be me."Hear Charles talk about:What his friend said that set the whole thing in motion and why he didn't dismiss itWhat "masking" is, and the exhausting work of hiding in plain sight for decadesThe conductor who walked into rehearsal and transformed a mediocre choir without saying a word - and what this has to do with leadershipWhat fell into place when he looked back at his life through the new lens of his diagnosisLearning about love and connection later in life — and why he thinks it's never too late Mentioned in this episode:A Question of Leadership by Charles GrimesThe National Autistic Society — where Charles went for his formal assessment Support This Show: Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast appLeave a rating & review — it helps others find the showShare the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media Mentioned in this episode: Help Others Discover the Show Enjoying Tell Me What It’s Like? Leaving a rating and review in your podcast app helps more listeners discover the show. Thanks for supporting thoughtful conversations and perspective-driven storytelling.

    Diagnosed with Asperger's at 65: Charles Grimes on Finally Understanding Himself

  6. Jun 10

    Coming Back to the Game: A Quad Amputee Soccer Coach on Reclaiming His Confidence

    When soccer coach Scott Martin contracted a rare illness that took his hands and parts of his feet, it took the way he coached the game as well as his confidence. What followed was years of depression, discrimination, and self-doubt, until he finally found his way back to the game that he loves. "I was faking it. I was doing a pretty darn good job of faking me being me. But everyone else avoided it too. We never talked about it."Hear Scott talk about:What it was like to wake up from a month-long coma and learn what had happened to his bodyWhy he skipped past the emotional reality of his illness and what that cost himThe discrimination he faced trying to return to coachingWhat it was like to address his disability with his new team of 12-year-oldsHow he rebuilt his confidence, and what playing from the heart really means Mentioned in this episode:Play From Your Heart by Scott MartinThe Five Stages of Grief by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Support This Show: Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast appLeave a rating & review — it helps others find the showShare the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media Mentioned in this episode: Help Others Discover the Show Enjoying Tell Me What It’s Like? Leaving a rating and review in your podcast app helps more listeners discover the show. Thanks for supporting thoughtful conversations and perspective-driven storytelling.

    Coming Back to the Game: A Quad Amputee Soccer Coach on Reclaiming His Confidence

  7. Jun 3

    Inside Fertility Medicine: Dr. Yemi Famuyiwa on Birth, Loss, and the Science of Having Babies

    Dr. Yemi Famuyiwa knew she wanted to be a doctor long before she knew what kind. It was during her third-year rotations at Emory that the answer became obvious. She'd had “a roaring blast” in her OBGYN rotation and couldn't imagine anything else. She went on to specialize in reproductive endocrinology and infertility, and has spent decades helping people navigate one of the most emotional experiences a person or couple can face. In this episode, she talks about what she's noticed inside that world — the science, the cultural pressures that leave women suffering in silence, and the grief that has no name.Nullam id diam metus. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Nullam interdum est erat, rutrum tristique ipsum cursus a. " I hope I never get over it. It's just such a magical moment."Hear Dr. Famuyiwa talk about:What it was like to guide her first baby into the world and how she hopes she never gets over itThe cultural pressure on women in paternalistic societies to conceive, and what can happen when they can'tWhy men suffer in silence too, and how infertility can challenge a marriageAmbiguous loss: the grief that never ends and has no body to weep overWhy infertility is rising worldwide — and why delaying childbearing is only part of the storyWhat she wishes people understood about their own biology before it's too late Mentioned in this episode:The Quest for Fertility by Dr. Yemi FamuyiwaDr. Nanette Wenger, cardiologist at Emory, who influenced her during medical schoolGrady Memorial Hospital, AtlantaEmory University School of Medicine Support This Show: Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast appLeave a rating & review — it helps others find the showShare the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media Mentioned in this episode: Help Others Discover the Show Enjoying Tell Me What It’s Like? Leaving a rating and review in your podcast app helps more listeners discover the show. Thanks for supporting thoughtful conversations and perspective-driven storytelling.

    Inside Fertility Medicine: Dr. Yemi Famuyiwa on Birth, Loss, and the Science of Having Babies

  8. May 27

    Why This Blogger-Turned-Influencer Quit the Creator Economy: Chelsea Coulston

    In 2012, Chelsea Coulston had just moved to a new house in a new city with a newborn while her husband was deployed. She turned her focus to decorating her new rental home, and turned to the internet for help. But she wasn’t finding much to inspire her, since most of what existed was meant for people who could make permanent changes. So she started a blog called Making Home Base to share renter-friendly decorating ideas for military families. What followed was a 13-year front-row seat to how the internet went from a wholesome, free exchange of ideas to a massively profitable influencer industry — and why she ultimately walked away. " I think we're to this place where social media doesn't feel good. The content that we see doesn't feel real or authentic a lot of times. "Hear Chelsea talk about:How home bloggers were among the first to use Instagram — not to sell, but to send people back to their sitesHow the money worked: sidebar ads to Google AdSense to brand deals to sponsored posts, and what that means for authenticityWhy Chelsea calls the creator economy the Wild West, and what it actually takes to keep upWhy everyone with a following is an influencer now and why that comes with responsibilityWhat made her walk away, and why she'd reset the whole thing to the early blogging days if she could Mentioned in this episode:Making Home Base — Chelsea's blogMaking Home Base on InstagramBrick— an app designed to help people limit their time on social media Support This Show: Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast appLeave a rating & review — it helps others find the showShare the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media Mentioned in this episode: Help Others Discover the Show Enjoying Tell Me What It’s Like? Leaving a rating and review in your podcast app helps more listeners discover the show. Thanks for supporting thoughtful conversations and perspective-driven storytelling.

    Why This Blogger-Turned-Influencer Quit the Creator Economy: Chelsea Coulston
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About

– Season 3 starts Fall 2026 – What's it like to be a tween therapist? To switch careers and begin photographing toys? To have Guillain-Barré? To be the first female chess grandmaster? Tell Me What It’s Like is a podcast about uncommon experiences and what they teach us about the world. Host Stacy Raine talks with people who have spent years in roles and life situations most of us don’t experience to understand what it’s actually like, what they’ve seen over time, and what those experiences reveal.

Information

  • Creator
    Stacy Raine
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    51
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Stacy Raine
  • Show Website
    Tell Me What It's Like

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