The Release Podcast

The Bravery & Beauty Of Single Motherhood, with Single Mom Society Founder Jennifer Muscatel

What's your gut reaction to learning somebody is a single mom? Sympathy? Curiosity? Judgement? Or maybe a mix? You wouldn’t be alone. But we are not homogenous; the face of single motherhood is changing, and not necessarily in the ways you might think.
 
Some 10 million US households are headed by a single mom, almost 40% of births in 2022 were to unmarried women, and there has been a huge growth in the ranks of the single moms by choice (via IVF or adoption).
 
This week's guest is Jennifer Muscatel, and instagram influencer and founder of The Single Mom Society who knows more than you would ever want to…about the reality of it all. On today's podcast, we are talking about the trolls who target her for shining a light on deadbeat and absentee dads (and also by the way for having the audacity of post-divorce dating standards). We are talking about the candid yet sarcastic post that took her viral to her own surprise, the most common questions in her DMs, and when she is the hardest on herself.
 
Like all the single, or divorced, or widowed, or never married, or by IVF or adoption mamas out there living without anyone to share the moments, without backup in the middle of the night, without any milk in the fridge unless you put it there yourself…ever…Jennifer is just putting one foot in front of the other, on the good days as well as the less good ones. Because our babies are worth it. And from where I sit...Jennifer is doing an absolutely knockout job.
 
For More on Jennifer Muscatel: https://www.instagram.com/singlemomsociety_/
For more on The Release Podcast:
https://thereleasepodcast.com
https://www.poonam.info
#singlemom #singlemomlife #podcast #datingafterdivorce #singleparent #custody #inspiration #divorce

Lessons From A Banker Turned Matchmaker, From Ancient Wisdom To Modern Love, with Cassindy Chao

Cassindy Chao is a former Goldman Sachs banker turned ultra-high-end matchmaker who we can all learn a lot from, whether we’re partnered or not. Because unlike some matchmakers, she’s focused on building relationships that last, rather than just on making matches that click. 


 
On this week’s podcast we are talking about her book (Ancient Wisdom Modern Love) and her marriage of 25 years and counting to the man she was truly compatible with…after the engagement she was smart enough to break off, with the guy that was just perfect on paper. We are looking at what people misunderstand about matchmakers, getting the gossip on the client that SHE had to fire…and circling insights into the clients that she just cannot help. Matchmakers are not magicians, she says.
 
Cassindy is in this for the satisfaction of partnering people for life; so be forewarned: if you hire her, she will investigate the difference between what you want and what you actually need. Even by calling up all of your friends and family to get the skinny on you if that’s what it takes.
 
So if you think you’re ready for the platinum level matchmaking services of somebody like Cassindy, consider first: Just how much will you really commit…to finding love? For More on Cassindy Chao:
https://www.awmlove.com/speaking
For more on The Release Podcast:
https://thereleasepodcast.com
https://www.poonam.info
 @CassindyChao  #cassindychao  @MatchmakerCassindy  #matchmaking #modernlove #dating #datingadvice #love #valentinesday #moderndating #relationshippodcast

Healing From Relationship Trauma By Forgiving Yourself, with Trauma Therapist Esther Goldstein

Does choosing more wisely with a future partner require that we fully process why we chose poorly in the past?
 
Meet Esther Goldstein, a New York based LCSW and trauma therapist, or as I now see her, the trauma therapist’s therapist. Based on an article she wrote entitled The Allure Of The Dangerous Man, I reached out to ask Esther about healing after traumatic relationships, and whether forgiving oneself for accepting hurtful behavior is a requirement before we can trust ourselves to choose better next time. 
 
On this week's podcast, we explored how much of feeling safe is about the partner we choose, versus re-trusting ourselves. How does a trauma therapist differentiate between a person who has healed from, versus a person who has internalized, the abuse? Goldstein has thoughts on all of this and more….and it’s no surprise she is not the kind of therapist who will sit and nod at her clients. She dug deep into a childhood family tragedy and how it affected her willingness to face deep pain.
 
Many of her clients are the therapists themselves. And according to her philosophy, a therapist can only take their client….as far as she has been willing to travel herself.

The Ethics Of Insurance Denials & The Murder Of UHC's CEO, with patient advocate Dr. Daniel Block

What was your gut reaction to the news of the murder of United HC CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione last month? Was it perhaps a little more heartless than you’d care to admit?
 
While many were personally horrified at the murder, it got me thinking about the ethics of insurance denials, and the overall health of our health insurance system in this country.
 
So today I’m talking with Dr Daniel Block, a psychiatrist and patient advocate who has been a Department Chair, CoChair of a hospital ethics committee, and Medical Director of an addiction recover center, and who is also currently a review board member for the publication VeryWellMind.
 
Since earning his medical degree at Temple University, he has become a staunch patient advocate particularly in the area of insurance denials as well as patient education. Today we are covering everything from the affect of AI on health insurance to the labyrinth of prior authorization to the extra lengths many good doctors must go.
 
According to Dr. Block, the health insurance system is not broken…its working, unfortunately….exactly the way that it was designed to.
 
For More on Dr. Daniel Block: http://www.danielblockpsychiatry.com/
https://www.verywellmind.com/daniel-block-md-4779186
 
For more on The Release Podcast:
https://thereleasepodcast.com
https://www.poonam.info
#uhc #luigimangione #healthcaretips #healthcareindustry #insurancedecisions #healthinsurance #medicalethics #podcast #priorauthorization #preexistingconditions #unitedhealthcareceo #unitedhealthcare #healthcarereform #mangione #brianthompson #insuranceclaimspecialist #patientadvocate #patientadvocacy #templeuniversity #verywell

Gender Stereotypes & The Power Of Dolls, with Jodi Bondi Norgaard (Author of MORE THAN A DOLL)

How much thought do you put into the dolls in your daughter’s bedroom, or into how those dolls affect the way she sees herself? One woman took a gasp-worthy moment in a toy aisle full of hyper-sexualized dolls, and turned it into a fight we should all get behind; Because our daughters and our sons are watching.
 
Jodi Bondi Norgaard is the author of MORE THAN A DOLL: How creating a sports doll turned into a fight to end gender stereotypes, available TODAY wherever you get your books. Jodi is an entrepreneur, author, keynote speaker, TEDx speaker, and a feminist activist pushing media and retail to do a better job portraying girls beyond stereotypes.
 
She is the creator of the award-winning Go! Go! Sports Girls line of dolls, books, and apps, encouraging healthy and active play over beauty and body image. She has been featured on the Today show, The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson, Forbes, Parents, and Huffington Post among other media outlets, and was invited by the Biden Administration to be part of the groundbreaking Gender Policy Council and thought leaders on policy as it relates to children’s toys, content, and publishing.
 
On today’s podcast we are digging in to what the statistics tell us about when girls fall out of sports and into the race for unattainable perfection. We are looking at what Jodi learned when she tried to launch a realistic line of dolls for girls. And we are diving in to why it is in fact…never…"just a doll."
 
For More on Jodi Bondi Norgaard: https://www.jodibondinorgaard.com/books
 
For more on The Release Podcast:
https://thereleasepodcast.com
#podcast #inspiration #booktube #genderequality #genderstudies #consumerchoice #dolls #selfesteem #selfesteembuilding #perfection #seekingperfection #bodyimage #empowerment #girlsempowerment #raisinggirls #empathy #girlsinsports #womenssports #womeninsports

Life After Mass Media Humiliation, with Author & Former Sexworker Melissa Petro

Melissa Petro was working a NYC elementary school teacher in 2011 when she authored a 700 word essay for the Huffington Post that changed her life. In it, she argued that Craigslist should not take down its sex services page based on the assumption that all callgirls on CL were underage or trafficked; she could attest to this, she wrote, having been a former callgirl on Craigslist herself. It wasn’t long before a reporter connected her name on that article with her job as a NYC public elementary school teacher, and over night, she was a mass media pariah.
 
Forced to resign by the DOE, the aspiring writer experienced humiliation on a life changing scale. And while she had never actually hidden it, Melissa also had not yet fully processed the violent backdrop of her childhood, the slippery slope from stripping to actual prostitution, or the escalating substance abuse that numbed her just enough. Today, Melissa has placed her moment in the unwanted spotlight largely in the rearview mirror, she is a journalist with a family of her own, and she has authored a book called SHAME: HOW TO BE A WOMAN IN THE AGE OF MORTIFICATION.
On today’s podcast we are diving right in. Does feeling sympathy for sexworkers made you a bad feminist? What exactly was empowering for Melissa about sexwork? How did she dissociate at her lowest? How did she ultimately reckon with the NY POST journalist who outed her in the first place? And what were the powerful words of her estranged brother that arrived just when the media hounds were at her door? What will she  tell her own now elementary school aged kids…as they grow up…about their mother's path to the life she now loves so much?
 
Melissa is no more immune to shame now than she was when, but she’s also no longer naive enough to think that a callgirl-turned-teacher would be a remotely resistible target. The good news is that  unlike many others who have been traumatized beyond resurrection by their mass media humiliations…Melissa Petro has just kept on going. And once you hear her story…you will see, just like I now do…why.
For More on Melissa Petro:
hhttps://www.melissa-petro.com/
https://www.instagram.com/melissa.petro/
For more on The Release Podcast:
https://thereleasepodcast.com 
https://www.tiktok.com/@thereleasewithpoonam 
https://www.poonam.info 
@MELISSA.PETRO @MELISSAPETRO @MELISSAPETROWRITER

The Myth Of Solitary Resilience with Soraya Chemaly (Author Of The Resilience Myth)

Soraya Chemaly is the author of THE RESILIENCE MYTH: NEW THINKING ON GRIT, STRENGTH AND GROWTH AFTER TRAUMA.A Bahamian-American author, activist and feminist, she’s written as a freelance journalist for The Atlantic, Time, The Guardian, Huffington Post and Ms. Magazine, among others, on topics ranging from freedom of expression, to women's rights, to media and technology. Among other accolades, she's been named one of Elle Magazine’s 25 most inspiring women to follow on Twitter.
 
To date, she is best known as the author of RAGE BECOMES HER, which was the topic of a prior episode of this podcast.
 
In her new book, The Resilience Myth, Chemaly has delivered a powerful manifesto for communal resilience based on in-depth investigations into history, social science, and psychology. We are often urged to rely only on ourselves for strength, mental fortitude, and positivity. But Chemaly challenges us to adapt our thinking about how we survive in a world of sustained, overlapping crises.
 
We will need each other now, to embody true resilience…now as much as ever. And looking back at history makes it clear that the reasons why are not up for debate. But the sooner we rid ourselves of this myth of solitary resilience, the sooner we can truly get ahead, as a team. Here’s hoping that we can admit it.
 
For more on Soraya: https://www.sorayachemaly.com/
For more on Poonam & The Release Podcast: https://thereleasepodcast.com/
https://poonam.info/
https://www.tiktok.com/@thereleasewithpoonam
To subscribe: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-release-podcast/id1746133355
Spotify Podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/show/19OIBZMjxtHCyl94CBrZBa
 

TikTok's Pey.Pey33 On The Other Side Of Internet Celebrity

Have you ever imagined what overnight internet celebrity might feel like? Wonder no more. Having a worldwide following of people who think they know you, can be exhilarating, and daunting. Take it from Peyman (AKA TikTok's sensation Pey.Pey33), who has been a mystery wrapped in a soundtrack, twirling a handkerchief over his head while dancing through life across the world on social media to the delight of his some 800,000 followers for years. But today the mystery is over, starting with his real name. Meet Peyman. He's ethnically Afghani, was raised in Germany after being smuggled across the border by his mother at only 7 months old, and is finally ready to share his story with the world. From a very conservative childhood to the 14-year relationship that defined much of his life before the pandemic. From the early sudden loss of his father, to the years when he cared for his mom as she descended, sadly, into dementia. To the legacy of being the only brown kid in a small town German classroom along with his twin brother, to finally landing in New York, where on some deep level, he finally feels like he belongs. Peyman is ready to share who he is and who he hopes to become. So far, his followers have been nothing but kind, and if you watch his reels you'll see why. The depth that underlies this happy-go-lucky dancing video persona is much more palpable in real life. He is a gentle soul, and to date the internet has been both welcoming and kind. Let's all hope he just keeps dancing.
For More on Peyman aka PeyPey33:
https://www.tiktok.com/@pey.pey.33?lang=en
https://www.instagram.com/pey.pey.33/
For more on The Release Podcast:
https://thereleasepodcast.com 
https://www.tiktok.com/@thereleasewithpoonam 
https://www.poonam.info 
 

Adam Dorsay On Discontent & The Art Of Living SuperPsyched

Constantly achieving but still find yourself feeling empty? Join the club. It’s growing. Luckily, Dr. Adam Dorsay has a roadmap for that.
 
In his book, Super Psyched, he breaks down the roots of this underlying discontent that so many clients in his therapy practice present, along with ways to fight it. Dorsay is a licensed psychologist, executive coach and TEDx speaker, as well as the Host of the Award Winning podcast, Super Psyched.
 
On this week's podcast, we are talking about what Adam has learned about the roots…and the remedies for our collective discontent. It’s more than just connection, to hear him explain it. Although there are four types of connection which he utilizes him his framework for building a life you can be psyched about. And he came by his knowledge honestly, not just through his therapy practice, but through the journey to find his own diagnosis. It paved the path to pursue his calling.
 
And just as connecting with himself helped him to find his version of a life that’s super psyched…he makes pretty strong case for why the same is also possible…for you.
 
For more on Adam Dorsay and SuperPsyched: https://dradamdorsay.com/super-psyched-book-page/
For more on The Release Podcast: https://thereleasepodcast.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@thereleasewithpoonam
https://www.poonam.info
#adhd #discontent #unfulfilled #psychology #podcast #mentalhealth

Professor Zachary Neal on the Growth of "The ChildFree By Choice"

By some estimates the portion of America’s population categorized as "child-free" by choice is as high as 25%. These people are defined as adults who have actively chosen not to become parents (biologically, through marriage or through adoption).
 
The ranks of the child-free are going, not just in this country but worldwide, and Professor Zachary Neal of Michigan State University is one of the few researchers focused on documenting and understanding that trend.
 
On today’s podcast, we are talking about the categories of adults, from parents, to not-yet-parents, to the ambivalent, to the childless despite trying, to the childfree by choice. Society is changing, but is that what we’re seeing in these numbers, or are we finally seeing numbers that reveal the truth? Is the concern over the growing ranks of the childfree really about the population replacement rates, or is it something far more puritanical than that? What are our misconceptions about those who choose not to have children, and what do they say about us? Do the people who chose not to have children…live to regret it later?
 
And what does it mean for the country…and the world….when birth rates are plummeting while the aging are living longer? Stay tuned.
 
For more on Professor Zachary P Neal and the Childfree: https://www.zacharyneal.com/childfree
 
For more on The Release Podcast: https://thereleasepodcast.com/  https://www.instagram.com/thereleasewithpoonam/ https://www.poonam.info
 
#podcast #childfreebychoice #childfreelife #childfree #identity