Unfixed Podcast

Kimberly Warner

Unfixed: The Podcast What if the very thing that unmoored you became the thread that held you together? Unfixed is a podcast about living—and learning to love—the question. In each season, we explore the unpredictable terrain of adversity, creativity, and transformation through intimate, unguarded conversations with people who are reshaping their lives in the wake of what they didn't choose. Season One pairs individuals living with chronic illness or disability with artists, clinicians, and thinkers who bring their own experience of challenge to the table. These duets are invitations to listen with curiosity and compassion, revealing how presence—not perfection—makes a life powerful. Season Two ventures into the literary world of Substack, where Kimberly Warner speaks with writers whose fiction, memoir, and essays illuminate the "unfixed" condition in its many forms—grief, gender, aging, family rupture, economic uncertainty, and environmental collapse. Together, they unearth the wisdom hidden inside complexity and remind us that the mess is often the message. Season Three introduces Unfixed: Uncut—shorter, spontaneous conversations recorded live. In just 30 minutes, guests respond to one central inquiry: What's something in your life that's come undone—and how might it be exactly what you needed? Whether chronic illness or heartbreak, identity or ecological grief, each episode is a practice in staying open, in finding meaning without resolution. Because sometimes, the very thing we fear is the thing that saves us. unfixed.substack.com

  1. LIVE! Unfixed: Uncut with acclaimed author Rachel Weaver

    53M AGO

    LIVE! Unfixed: Uncut with acclaimed author Rachel Weaver

    In this episode, Kimberly Warner sits down with novelist-turned-memoirist Rachel Weaver to talk about what it really means to live inside a body that won’t cooperate—and how you keep building a life anyway. Rachel shares what it felt like to release her memoir Dizzy after years of writing fiction (“it felt like I left my diary out”), and why hearing “me too” from strangers has made the exposure worth it. Together, Kimberly and Rachel trace the brutal, invisible reality of long-term dizziness and vestibular migraine: the brain fog, the relentless appointments, the medical gaslighting, and the deep loneliness of suffering that doesn’t show up on a scan. They also explore what illness clarified rather than simply took away—especially around self-reliance, relationships, and the slow, vulnerable practice of letting other people in. Rachel talks about the rare doctor who could read subtext, see her suffering, and keep treating her even when insurance refused to pay—restoring her faith in clinicians and in care. Threaded through it all is Alaska: the wild, quiet vastness Rachel returned to in her mind when her nervous system was overloaded, and the way landscape can become a kind of medicine. She shares how she kept writing through the worst years—literally training herself to write with her eyes closed on yellow pads as an act of survival and escape. Finally, Rachel describes the metabolic migraine research that helped change her life after COVID knocked her symptoms back to square one: glucose testing, continuous glucose monitoring, and a medically supervised keto-to-carb-threshold protocol that helped move many participants from chronic to episodic migraine—bringing her own symptoms down to just a few days a month. A candid, funny, and fiercely tender conversation about illness, hope (and how it can hurt), resilience, and the surprising ways suffering can spin you—“in the most arduous of ways”—into a world of kindness. Thank you Francesca Bossert, Kaylene Johnson-Sullivan, Lor, and many others for tuning into my live video with Rachel Weaver! Join me for my next live video in the app. Get full access to Unfixed at unfixed.substack.com/subscribe

    54 min
  2. You Might Also Like: On Purpose with Jay Shetty

    1H AGO · BONUS

    You Might Also Like: On Purpose with Jay Shetty

    Introducing LUKE COMBS: The Man Behind The Success (Marriage, Fatherhood & Life With OCD) from On Purpose with Jay Shetty. Follow the show: On Purpose with Jay Shetty You can achieve everything you set out to and still feel empty. So what actually makes a truly successful life? Jay sits down with global country superstar Luke Combs for an honest conversation about life beyond the sold-out stadiums and awards. Luke shares what it’s really been like navigating success while still trying to stay grounded and feel like himself. He shares what it was like growing up with OCD, the intrusive thoughts that once controlled his days, and the quiet battles he faced long before fame. Luke also reflects on love, marriage, and fatherhood and how those roles mean more to him than any chart position ever could. He talks candidly about missing the birth of his son while on tour, the guilt that followed, and the ongoing effort to show up as the best husband and dad he can be. Jay and Luke explore the tension so many of us feel between chasing ambition and protecting what matters most, asking the question: What does success really mean if you’re not present for the people you love? Luke speaks about money, fame, and gratitude with humility, admitting that while financial success makes life easier, it can’t buy the feeling of a perfect day with your family or the peace of knowing you’re living in alignment with your values. In this interview, you'll learn: How to Stay Grounded When Success Changes Your Life How to Manage Intrusive Thoughts Without Letting Them Control You How to Be Present for Your Family While Chasing Big Dreams How to Strengthen Your Marriage Through Growth and Challenge How to Support Your Mental Health Without Shame How to Give Back When You’ve Been Given More How to Stay True to Who You Are as Your World Expands We all wrestle with doubt, guilt, fear, and the quiet pressure to be more than we think we are. But growth doesn’t come from pretending those struggles aren’t there, it comes from facing them with honesty and compassion. Luke Combs’ The Way I Am is an honest reflection on identity, love, and personal growth, a grounded collection of songs that explore what it means to show up as your true self. Get your copy here: https://twia.lukecombs.com 📷 Courtesy of David Bergman With Love and Gratitude, Jay Shetty JAY’S DAILY WISDOM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX Join 900,000+ readers discovering how small daily shifts create big life change with my free newsletter. Subscribe here: https://news.jayshetty.me/subscribe   Check out our Apple subscription to unlock bonus content of On Purpose! https://lnk.to/JayShettyPodcast  What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro 01:05 Staying Grounded in the Face of Fame 03:34 The Life He Never Imagined 06:28 Finding the Calling That Changed Everything 07:45 Growing Up with Undiagnosed OCD 10:23 Inside the Battle with Intrusive Thoughts 17:26 When You Don’t Know Who You Are Yet 20:37 The Work Ethic That Shaped Him 24:27 The Hustle Before the Breakthrough 30:19 Making Music That Truly Connects 32:21 The Quiet Fears of Fatherhood 40:15 What Does It Mean to Be Truly Rich? 46:28 Why Giving Back Matters 51:48 Showing Up for Fans on Your Hardest Days 58:48 The Unexpected Way He Met His Wife 01:03:04 Was It Love at First Sight? 01:07:12 When You Stop Needing All the Answers 01:12:08 The Power of Being Deeply Understood 01:17:16 Why Avoidance Makes It Worse 01:18:02 Stepping Back and Coming Back Stronger 01:25:55 The "Everyday Guy" Test 01:32:10 Finish This Sentence... 01:38:41 Luke on Final Five  Episode Resources: Website | https://www.lukecombs.com/home/  YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOSIXyYdT93OzpRnAuWaKjQ  Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/LukeCombs/  Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/lukecombs  TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@lukecombs  X | https://www.tiktok.com/@lukecombs See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to team@podroll.fm.

  3. LIVE! Unfixed: Uncut with Monica Ticknor

    4D AGO

    LIVE! Unfixed: Uncut with Monica Ticknor

    A tiny Wi-Fi glitch tried to take us out at the start… but we left it unfixed (obviously) and rolled right into one of the sweetest, funniest conversations. This episode of Unfixed: Uncut is with Monica Ticknor , the founder of Charter Book Club Adventures—aka the woman who casually slid into my DMs with an idea that was basically: “Want to do a virtual book club… and then end it on a freaking sailboat?” And yes, I immediately said: are you kidding me, YES! We talk about Monica’s roots as a junior high teacher and coach, the kind who made books feel like doorways and classrooms feel like circles you actually want to sit in. She shares the story that lit her up as a kid (The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle), the teachers who shaped her, and the way she now designs book clubs as immersive, personal voyages—not “read chapters 1–4 and report back,” but slow down, reflect, and let the book meet your real life. Monica walks us through her R.E.A.D. framework—Reflect, Explore, Adventure, Discover—including captain’s logs, “catching the wind” action steps, and a final-week love letter to yourself (which… yes, made me a little shivery). But why should that surprise me? Monica is an honest-to-god angel. Also: it’s my birthday in this episode, so there’s an orange Crush cake to honor my beloved Tang—who, for the record, is thriving in his new home. If you’ve ever wanted reading to feel more like belonging… welcome aboard. Get full access to Unfixed at unfixed.substack.com/subscribe

    48 min
  4. LIVE! Unfixed: Uncut with Elizabeth Jameson

    FEB 4

    LIVE! Unfixed: Uncut with Elizabeth Jameson

    In this joyful, intimate conversation, Kimberly Warner reunites with artist and writer Elizabeth Jameson—whose work many listeners may remember from the original Unfixed docu-series and their later collaboration, MS Confidential. Together, they explore what it means to live inside an “imperfect body” without reducing that life to tragedy or inspiration. Elizabeth shares how she once refused to look at her MRIs—“horrifying” proof of a progressive disease—until she made a radical pivot: transforming those clinical images into art, reclaiming her medical data and finding unexpected beauty in brain folds that resemble calligraphy. As MS progressed and she became quadriplegic, she adapted again, turning toward writing, speaking, and the ongoing practice of “making friends” with her body. The conversation moves through reinvention, intimacy, and agency: how to articulate what you need when your body changes; how caregiving reshapes relationships; how swearing can be its own kind of medicine; and how aging, in a strange way, can become a homecoming—“I love getting older because I’m now normal.” What emerges is not a neat lesson, but a lived philosophy: let it suck when it sucks, stay curious, keep redefining intimacy, and notice the people around you who make your life possible. A gathering full of grit, tenderness, laughter—and the kind of gratitude that feels like oxygen. Thank you Nan Tepper, Francesca Bossert, Maura, Jay, Kathleen Kiddo, Monica Ticknor and many others for tuning into my live video with Elizabeth! More about Elizabeth: Elizabeth is a vibrant illustration of grace and grit, real chutzpah, turning lump of coal into diamonds and MRI’s into works of art. In other words, she is an artist and writer exploring what it means to live in an imperfect body as part of the shared human experience. Elizabeth Jameson’s journey with multiple sclerosis has spanned over three decades, but before being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she worked as a public interest lawyer, representing incarcerated children and later advocating for kids with chronic illnesses and disabilities to receive the medical care they needed. As her own disease progressed, she began transforming her MRIs into art — reclaiming her medical data and turning those clinical images into invitations for deeper, more human conversations about illness and disability. Her work now lives in permanent collections across the U.S. and internationally, including the National Institutes of Health, major universities, and medical schools. Due to the progression of MS, she is now quadriplegic and can no longer create visual art without assistance. She writes and speaks widely about living with illness and disability. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, The British Medical Journal, WIRED, and MIT’s Leonardo Journal. Her piece “Losing Touch, Finding Intimacy” was also included in the New York Times anthology About Us. She gives talks around the country — including a TEDx talk called “Learning to Celebrate and Embrace Our Imperfect Bodies” — and her new book, An Intimate Journey, comes out later this spring that chronicles the various art methods the artist has used to understand her relationship with a disease that continues to advance: textile paintings, solar plate etchings, embroideries, and digital renderings created from the clinical data that she initially refused to face. Jameson has often referred to her MRIs as containing a secret language she yearns to comprehend. You can view her expansive, extensive art and writing collections here. Get full access to Unfixed at unfixed.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 1m
4.9
out of 5
53 Ratings

About

Unfixed: The Podcast What if the very thing that unmoored you became the thread that held you together? Unfixed is a podcast about living—and learning to love—the question. In each season, we explore the unpredictable terrain of adversity, creativity, and transformation through intimate, unguarded conversations with people who are reshaping their lives in the wake of what they didn't choose. Season One pairs individuals living with chronic illness or disability with artists, clinicians, and thinkers who bring their own experience of challenge to the table. These duets are invitations to listen with curiosity and compassion, revealing how presence—not perfection—makes a life powerful. Season Two ventures into the literary world of Substack, where Kimberly Warner speaks with writers whose fiction, memoir, and essays illuminate the "unfixed" condition in its many forms—grief, gender, aging, family rupture, economic uncertainty, and environmental collapse. Together, they unearth the wisdom hidden inside complexity and remind us that the mess is often the message. Season Three introduces Unfixed: Uncut—shorter, spontaneous conversations recorded live. In just 30 minutes, guests respond to one central inquiry: What's something in your life that's come undone—and how might it be exactly what you needed? Whether chronic illness or heartbreak, identity or ecological grief, each episode is a practice in staying open, in finding meaning without resolution. Because sometimes, the very thing we fear is the thing that saves us. unfixed.substack.com

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