Formerly Known As

Erika Diskancova
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You spend years becoming someone. Then one day you stop. Formerly Known As is a podcast about what happens next — to you, and to the identity you leave on the desk. Nobody warns you that a job title becomes part of your identity. It tells everyone else what to expect from you, and you what to expect from yourself. Take it away and you have the feeling that a part of you went with it. The question underneath is far bigger than what to do for a living: who am I now, if I'm not that? Ten episodes, each with a guest who stepped out of a role that once defined them — lawyers, bankers, executives, founders. Some walked out on their own terms, others were pushed by circumstances they never chose. All of them landed in the same strange gap: after the old version had ended but before the new one had formed. These are conversations about what never gets posted: the doubt, the uncertainty, the fear of irrelevance, the sneaking suspicion that you have made a terrible mistake — sitting alongside the freedom, the curiosity, and the pleasure of being bad at something again. What turns out to have been you all along? Because the people we used to be don't disappear. They just stop being witnessed. And remember: it only needs to make sense to you. Hosted on: https://riverside.com/ - T&Cs apply Follow on Instagram: @fka_podcast

Episodes

  1. 4d ago

    FKA Episode 3: So, what do you do?

    How do you introduce yourself in the period in between, when someone at a dinner table asks: “So, what do you do nowadays?” For years, a job title did that work for us. It explained where we spend our days, hinted at what we’re good at, and quietly told people how seriously to take us. Once it’s gone, the question lands differently, and the temptation is to grab the next label just to have something to say. My guest, Bernadett Gerhardt, has collected plenty of them, and each one carried her answer for a while. A few months ago she moved countries again with her family and chose to stay with the uncertainty instead of hurrying past it, building her own coaching business along the way. In this episode you'll hear: Chosen versus imposed change: one hurts before it happens, the other afterWhat was actually yours from the start, when the role falls awayGolden handcuffs, and the sign that you’re heading down the wrong pathFail or stay: thinking the worst case through until it loses its gripWhen doubt creeps in: doing everything in your control, then letting go of the outcomeTill the next time! https://fka.roleco.io/ Hosted on: https://riverside.com/ Follow on Instagram: @fka_podcast Till the next time 💫

  2. Oct 2

    FKA Episode 2: The "Gardener" Story

    This is the second episode of Formerly Known As. My guest is Marlene Johler, a long-time friend and the first mentor I ever had. Marlene built a career in corporate finance, the kind that comes with a salary and reputation that make leaving look unreasonable. She had the courage to leave anyway. This transition didn't come with rainbows and roses, it came with uncertainty, doubt, fear and the kind of discomfort only an important change brings. She found herself in the field of sustainability and circular economy, and became one of Austria's recognised experts before she pivoted again - not too far, yet enough for her to question her professional identity. In this episode we unpack: The uncertainty after the leap and how painful it is, set against the price of staying in a comfortable job that pays well and impresses people while quietly draining your happiness and fulfilmentWhy it's worth trying different things before you figure out what you wantHow society defines success, and how to stop that definition from talking you out of your ownThe gardener! :) Marlene's metaphor for the three identities that fought inside her (the banker, the advocate, and the leader who gets things done and grows everyone around her) and the image that finally made peace between themThe what-ifs, and why we regret the paths we never took far more than the ones that didn't work outMarlene gives us a lot to think about, but if you take one question away from this conversation, make it the one Marlene leaves us with: picture yourself a few years from now and ask whether you're happy with who you've become. https://fka.roleco.io/ Hosted on: https://riverside.com/ Follow on Instagram: @fka_podcast Till the next time 💫

  3. Sep 12

    FKA Episode 1: Somewhere In Between

    This is the first episode of Formerly Known As, and I am the guest. It covers the period that follows a big decision, before the next chapter has taken shape — the stretch where you can be certain you were right and still mourn who you used to be, often on the same day. I spent years building a career I loved, and then I left it to travel for a year with nothing lined up on the other side. What I didn't expect was how much of my sense of myself went with the title. I talk about: Why the goodbye was far easier than living without the structure around it. No Monday morning. No forecast. No number to tell me whether the week had gone well.What happened the last time I changed direction, from law into sales, a move I never intended, and why it barely registered at the time.How those two identities compounded rather than replaced each other, and what that means for anybody going through the same right now.Where ambition goes when the old measures of progress disappear. Mine stayed. It sat there like a sleeping dragon, waiting for me to point it somewhere.I'm recording this from the middle of it, without a tidy conclusion. If you're somewhere in between as well, this one is for you. And remember: it only needs to make sense to you.` Hosted on: https://riverside.com/ Follow on Instagram: @fka_podcast Till the next time 💫

  • 3 Episodes

About

You spend years becoming someone. Then one day you stop. Formerly Known As is a podcast about what happens next — to you, and to the identity you leave on the desk. Nobody warns you that a job title becomes part of your identity. It tells everyone else what to expect from you, and you what to expect from yourself. Take it away and you have the feeling that a part of you went with it. The question underneath is far bigger than what to do for a living: who am I now, if I'm not that? Ten episodes, each with a guest who stepped out of a role that once defined them — lawyers, bankers, executives, founders. Some walked out on their own terms, others were pushed by circumstances they never chose. All of them landed in the same strange gap: after the old version had ended but before the new one had formed. These are conversations about what never gets posted: the doubt, the uncertainty, the fear of irrelevance, the sneaking suspicion that you have made a terrible mistake — sitting alongside the freedom, the curiosity, and the pleasure of being bad at something again. What turns out to have been you all along? Because the people we used to be don't disappear. They just stop being witnessed. And remember: it only needs to make sense to you. Hosted on: https://riverside.com/ - T&Cs apply Follow on Instagram: @fka_podcast

Information

  • Creator
    Erika Diskancova
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Erika Diskancova