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Conversations That Don't Suck

Conversations That Don't Suck

Kyla Sokoll-Ward

In a world that is collectively starved for connection, why does it feel so hard to cultivate? Join Kyla Sokoll-Ward, millennial loneliness thought leader, in truth-telling conversations with community builders, professional empaths, and communication experts as we build a world where expressing your emotions is normal, having meaningful community is non-negotiable, and empathic communication is practiced on the daily. If you’re tired of the “What do you do?” and otherwise shitty conversations you keep finding yourself trapped in, you’ll love these deep-dive discussions around topics including connection, communication, community, and how to bring more realness to the world in a way that creates more belonging, not separation.
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Top 10 Conversations That Don't Suck Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Conversations That Don't Suck episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Conversations That Don't Suck for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Conversations That Don't Suck episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Conversations That Don't Suck - The Healing of Hearing and Being Heard with Kyle Zamcheck
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05/18/20 • 69 min

Kyle Zamcheck, my sister from another mister, is on the podcast this week! Kyle is truly a remarkable human being and I'm so super duper grateful for this epic, raw conversation we had. In this episode, we discuss: the death of Toni Lane Casserly, how to make an impact, femininity in intellectual spaces, the humanity in Zoom calls, intimate communication in everyday life, the ego in altruistic work, the dark side of caregiving and “showing up” for others, healing our wounds through our work, my own shadow side with my work and my fears of judgement in that, and the Enneagram (duh). Kyle Zamcheck is the co-founder of Listenly, teaching cutting edge communication tools and matching people for listening sessions through a digital platform, in-person meetups, and remote workshops. She is a technology industry leader and an executive communication coach with the Speech Improvement Company. She is the former COO of Jackrabbit Mobile, where she led the team to become one of Inc’s 5000 fastest growing companies. She is currently working on healing the world through impactful communication. She trains leaders, startup CEOs, fortune 500 companies such as Google, and main stage speakers from Silicon Valley to the National Security Agency. Her work focuses on the intersection of humans and technology. Listenly website: www.listenly.co The Connection Institute open house 5/18-5/24: http://www.theconnectioninstitute.net/open-house-week?fbclid=IwAR1CZfzNZmN8edGVzx0rySAXXAdP6v_da3Qq4qDZnNuY6wTOTEfZ7OWxGQQ
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Conversations That Don't Suck - Welcome to Conversations That Don't Suck

Welcome to Conversations That Don't Suck

Conversations That Don't Suck

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12/27/19 • 7 min

Welcome to Conversations That Don't Suck and my world of more meaningful connection. In this super short intro episode, you'll hear about your fabulous host Kyla Sokoll-Ward (that's me) and what sparked the desire to bring this podcast into the world. If you also love having conversations that don't suck, you can rate, review, and subscribe on iTunes.
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Conversations That Don't Suck - Exploring Mental Health in Community with Sasha Raskin
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10/12/20 • 50 min

Sasha Raskin is on the podcast this week! Sasha and I met through the magic of Facebook (mild sarcasm, but also, amazing). In this episode, we discuss: - How she started her community A Beautiful Mess, her mental health journey, her experience checking herself into a mental hospital, paradoxes in emotions, the impact of vulnerability, the difference between real vulnerability and oversharing in leadership, and “safe spaces”. Sasha Raskin is the Founder of A BEAUTIFUL MESS (ABM), a mental health organization that runs corporate talks and events to combat loneliness, depression and stigma. Before that, she was a Hollywood literary agent representing dozens of bestsellers across the globe and even briefly ran a tech company, all the while struggling with debilitating depression. She started ABM to be the resource she wished she had when she was struggling the most. Additional links: Check out the COLLECTIVE UNKNOWN here: www.collectiveunknown.com Website: www.abeautifulmess.org Facebook Group (private and confidential) https://www.facebook.com/groups/3261029013925953/ Subscribe to her email list here https://rb.gy/4kd1tr Instagram https://www.instagram.com/abeautifulmess_org/ Follow Sasha’s Writing on Medium: https://blog.usejournal.com/@sashaalexraskin DONATE: No one is turned away for lack of funds to our events so many people attend for free. Please support our mission financially. Tax Deductible Donations can be made here https://abeautifulmess.gvng.org/ You can book a free exploratory call here: https://calendly.com/sraskin/15min
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Conversations That Don't Suck - The Podcast is Pausing!

The Podcast is Pausing!

Conversations That Don't Suck

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12/16/20 • 17 min

The podcast is taking an indefinite break, because the world is hard and weird and I need to hermit. I love you each. Listen for an explanation. I'll be back!
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Conversations That Don't Suck - Friendcast! with Jordan

Friendcast! with Jordan

Conversations That Don't Suck

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10/05/20 • 49 min

My roommate, dear friend, and fellow connection lover Jordan is on the podcast this week. And we’re using Convers(ate) cards! Convers(ate) Conversation Cards spark conversation about an interesting and universal topic using a unique set of question prompts. I LOVE these cards and highly recommend checking them out. Shout out to Taylor at Convers(ate) for reaching out and for enlightening me to these amazing cards! In this episode, we discuss: tattoos, relishing change vs resisting it, death and how memories last, responsibility in being free, how we understand the passing of time, the Backstreet Boys (always), and much more. I love doing these friendcasts and being able to hit record while having an amazing conversation with someone I love. Enjoy, y’all. A bit about Jord: Jordan Edelheit believes in the power of a story and that conversations that change perspectives have the ability to change the world. She became a TEDx organizer nearly a decade ago and has spent the time since often at the intersection of storytelling and exploring ideas that are central to our humanness. Alongside a talented team of incarcerated men, she co-produced the first major TEDx event in a correctional facility, TEDxMarionCorrectional, using the TEDx platform to promote conversations on justice and social change. Always fascinated by the human experience, her work has now led her to be both a birth doula and working with the nonprofit You're Going to Die, launching a program in prisons centered around creative expression and conversations surrounding death and our shared mortality. www.collectiveunknown.com www.convers-ate.com
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Conversations That Don't Suck - Social Wellbeing During a Pandemic with Kasley Killam
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08/03/20 • 52 min

Kasley is on the pod this week! Kasley was introduced to me by a mutual friend and let's just say it was intellectual love at first sight. Kasley specializes in the science of and strategies for social well-being: the dimension of health that comes from connection and community. She holds a master's in public health from Harvard University and is a writer, speaker, consultant, and member of local, state, and national coalitions working to address the loneliness epidemic. Based in San Francisco, Kasley led community engagement and strategic partnerships at Verily, the spin-out of Google focused on health tech, and previously conducted research on mental health and positive psychology. In this conversation, we discuss: loneliness stats in the pandemic (that you may be surprised to hear), the importance of relationships on our physical health, our experiences with loneliness and connection, Kasley’s public health research on social health, chronic vs. situational loneliness, why more friends is not the answer to loneliness, the shifting needs of social capital, and the future of loneliness and connection with physical distancing. Website: http://kasleykillam.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KasleyKillam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/killam.with.kindness/ Scientific American articles: https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/kasley-killam/ Psychology Today blog: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/social-health
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Conversations That Don't Suck - Accessing Vulnerability Through Poetry with Alisha Yi & David Xiang
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07/13/20 • 54 min

Alisha Yi and David Xiang are on the podcast this week - the first DOUBLE GUEST episode in the podcast's short history. Alisha and David are the creators of the Hope Storytelling Project, a virtual series of poetry workshops designed to discuss themes of hope and vulnerability. Alisha M. Yi is a rising junior at Harvard University, studying History and Science and is a 2018 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts for Writing. David Xiang graduated this year magna cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in History and Science, and is an incoming medical student at Harvard Medical School. In 2015, he was selected as a National Student Poet, the nation’s highest honor for youth poets. In this conversation, we discuss: How poetry helps make vulnerability accessible, how intergenerational spaces create more opportunities for connection and empathy, what we don’t know about others, how Alisha and David each got started writing poetry, loneliness, competition, and connection on college campuses, coming to terms with leaving college during the pandemic, AND POETRY SHARES!!! Scientific American article: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/using-poetry-to-combat-loneliness-and-social-isolation/ Join their last session of the storytelling project here!: https://www.cambridgema.gov/en/cpl/calendarofevents/2020/05/27/thehopestorytellingprojectfindingcomfort https://lvccld.bibliocommons.com/events/5ec41a3e171b7a24001534e1
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Conversations That Don't Suck - Connecting through Storytelling with Yochai Maital
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03/16/20 • 55 min

Today we have Yochai Maital on the podcast! Yochai Maital is the Co-creator Editor and Senior producer of Israel Story - a Hebrew and English storytelling podcast that is sometimes dubbed 'the Israeli This American Life'. Born in Haifa, he served eight years as an officer in the Israeli army before embarking on a new trajectory, studying creative writing at Tel Aviv’s Minshar College for Arts. Yochai has built multiple eco-houses, co-founded Tel Aviv’s first organic food co-op, worked at a hostel for youth offenders and was involved with the African refugee community. He currently lives in New-York with his wife and three kids. Beside producing Israel Story Yochai writes, creates audio and sound installations and produces documentary audio guides. We discuss: How Israel Story got started by 4 childhood friends and a lot of chutzpah, how working on this project has allowed its producers to step outside of their bubble, seeing the world through the lens of stories, how this work has been influential on Yochai’s identity, the future of Israel Story, why they shied away at first of being considered a “Jewish podcast” and who they have influenced through bringing human stories about Israel to the world, why storytelling is the most powerful medium to bridge divides, and what most people don’t understand about Israel. https://linktr.ee/israelstory https://www.facebook.com/sipurisraeli/ https://www.instagram.com/israel.story/
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Jillian is on the pod! Jillian is committed to creating connection and community by organizing places where people feel seen, heard, and valued. As a professional community builder, public speaker, and writer, Jillian is most known for being the founder of The Joy List, a weekly newsletter with the mission of reducing loneliness in New York City and eventually the world. She's been sending it out every Monday morning for three years, helping thousands of people build connection to both place and each other. In addition to her successful career in community consulting and event design, Jillian has just released her first book and #1 Amazon new release, Unlonely Planet. We get into: Jillian’s work, The Joy List, her new book, dealing with imposter syndrome, how the world is missing out on community and belonging, what highly connected relationships look like in my life and Jillian’s life, the balance between going to facilitated events and spending 1:1 time in connection with others, our issues with Burning Man, why leadership is lonely and you should stop calling people “special” and “strong”, and the power of having the right people in your corner. www.joylist.nyc https://www.amazon.com/Unlonely-Planet-Healthy-Congregations-Change/dp/1641372605/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=unlonely+planet&qid=1569863103&s=books&sr=1-1 www.facebook.com/joylistnyc www.instagram.com/joylistnyc www.instagram.com/thatJillian
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Conversations That Don't Suck - Solocast: In Defense of Rage

Solocast: In Defense of Rage

Conversations That Don't Suck

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09/14/20 • 32 min

This is episode 3 of 5 in a series on emotions that are often under-felt, under-appreciated, and under-processed. RAGE is a big one!! If you're not feeling rage this year, I'm not sure where you're living, but if you're anything like me, rage is a feeling that has followed you for more than a year. Especially for people socialized as women, rage is something we're rarely permissioned to experience, let alone actually embody or express. But there is SO MUCH WISDOM in rage, and in this episode I dive into some of my own experiences with it (just a lifetime or more), what we think rage is based on how it typically gets expressed (through aggression or violence), and how to move rage through the body in a healthy and clean way. Much love!
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FAQ

How many episodes does Conversations That Don't Suck have?

Conversations That Don't Suck currently has 38 episodes available.

What topics does Conversations That Don't Suck cover?

The podcast is about Podcasts, Self-Improvement and Education.

What is the most popular episode on Conversations That Don't Suck?

The episode title 'Exploring Mental Health in Community with Sasha Raskin' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Conversations That Don't Suck?

The average episode length on Conversations That Don't Suck is 47 minutes.

How often are episodes of Conversations That Don't Suck released?

Episodes of Conversations That Don't Suck are typically released every 6 days, 23 hours.

When was the first episode of Conversations That Don't Suck?

The first episode of Conversations That Don't Suck was released on Dec 27, 2019.

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