LET IT OUT Katie Dalebout

This week I spoke to President Obama’s Social Secretary, Deesha Dyer. She recently published her memoir, Undiplomatic, which dives into how a hip-hop journalist without credentials, connections, or a college degree conquered imposter syndrome while landing one of the most sought-after positions in the White House. Moved by the election of the country's first Black president, she applied for a White House internship at 31, taking a leap that carried her through being hired in a full-time position that landed her at the epicenter of politics. 

I loved her book and was stoked to get to talk to her. We covered: the importance of following curiosity and acting on it, what she learned from spending time with Michelle and Barack Obama, redefining societal timelines, throwing parties at the White House, the Obama years overall, and the connection between pop culture and politics. As well as: the importance of cross-learning in mentorship and having customer service experience. Let us know if you listen!

This week is the second half of my conversation with secondhand-fashion-obsessed writer Erika Veurink. She’s written everywhere from NY Magazine to Vogue to WSJ, and currently writes the newsletter Long Live. She grew up in Iowa, has lived in NYC for nearly a decade, and recently visited LA so we spoke about how places become part of our identities. In Part 2, she shares how she met her husband and offers advice on romantic relationships. And of course, personal style, including her go-to outfit. We talk more about her Substack publication, where she covers everything from her advice on scoring vintage gems on Ebay to to body image. I even get an exclusive when I ask if she’d write a Substack on her favorite athletic shorts recs and she shares a few. If you missed Part 1 last week, we covered spirituality and rest and spoke about writing at length, including her love for the personal essay and how she structures her daily writing practice. Let us know if you listen!

This week is the first half of my conversation with secondhand-fashion-obsessed writer Erika Veurink. She’s written everywhere from NY Magazine to Vogue to WSJ, and currently writes the newsletter Long Live. She grew up in Iowa, has lived in NYC for nearly a decade, and recently visited LA so we spoke about how places become part of our identities. In Part 1, she shares how her religious upbringing led to her work ethic and ability to maintain multiple projects and jobs, but also impacted her thoughts on spirituality and rest. We cover writing at length including: her love of the personal essay and why publications are no longer running them, and where she sees the future of that style and media in general. She shares the best writing advice she’s been given and breaks down exactly how she structures her daily writing practice. We cover her Substack publication, where she covers everything from her advice on scoring vintage gems on Ebay to to body image.

This is a conversation with Kerrilynn Pamer, founder of CAP Beauty. It was recorded recently at her kitchen table with the scent of a walnut cake in the oven filling the room. She was first on in 2021 where we talked about starting CAP, cooking, and personal style, and I’ve been dying to have her back ever since. This episode covers updates on topics discussed last time plus we talk about: having a fixed vs. growth mindset, feeling left out, friendship vs. acquaintances, taking a psychological approach to aging, beauty, developing taste, interiors (including how to make your home feel like a supportive friend), and much more. She’s one of my all-time favorite guests. Let us know if you listen!

This is a conversation is with Kerrilynn Pamer, co-founder of the wellness company CAP Beauty. We recorded this at her kitchen table overlooking the mountains drinking espresso. She talks about starting CAP, being in the "unsexy" middle of a project, her love of cooking and sharing food, her evolving personal style, how to build and sustain positive relationships, and a whole lot more. This was recorded in 2022 but I'm re-airing it today because she's returning to the show next week. I recorded a brand new interview with her where we reference some of the topics we discussed here and she gives updates of what happened since, so stay tuned for that next week!

This week I spoke to my close friend, chef, author, and screenwriter Phoebe Lapine. She is one of the most creative and self-aware people I know, and I deeply admire her and her work. We met years ago when I interviewed her when her book The Wellness Project came out and then again for her last book which was about SIBO. She has a new cookbook out now, called Carbivore, which I have been learning to cook from. We catch up in this episode about the topic of this new project which is, of course, carbs: we get into what led to carbs being demonized by the diet industry, what sugar and carbs actually mean for our blood sugar, food sequencing, digestion, how overthinking all of this can be damaging, and how we’ve both been on the extreme ends and how to navigate that. Let us know if you listen.