The Pop-Up Pod

What if we lived in a world where personal security didn't require vast individual savings? Erin Axelrod (she/her) is a partner and worker-owner at LIFT Economy, where she accelerates ecological and justice-centered businesses. We talk about reimagining what retirement could mean and look like, including what Erin believes to be the 5 unsafe assumptions about retirement investing as it currently operates (here in the US) and some alternative ways we could measure wealth. We also discuss some of the fears that are currently holding us both back from living in full alignment with our values when it comes to saving, investing, and retirement. You can find Erin at lifteconomy.com and thenextegg.org

We’re halfway through season 2 now—six deep, thoughtful, and honest conversations have been released, and there are six more episodes still to come. But… not yet! The Pop-Up Pod will now begin a mid-season hiatus, through the holidays and the end of the year. The second half of this season will begin the first Wednesday in January. In the meantime: For folks in my Patreon community, November will be Money Month! We’ll come together for money discussions, digging into what has come up for...

How can we orient around making enough money instead of trying to make an ever-increasing amount more? What does it look like to live a good life under capitalism, while also working toward a more equitable world? Bear Hebert (they/them) is an anti-capitalist business coach and social justice educator who joins us to share some of the most common misconceptions people have about anti-capitalism. We talk about why we need to be critiquing the system and not the indiviual, and Bear shares their process for determining your "enough" number, as well as the benefit of having both a survival budget and a thriving budget. You can find Bear at bearcoaches.com and on IG: @bearhebert_ ** This show is 100% listener-supported on Patreon, which ensures that every single person involved gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and guests)—come join us! We'd love to have you in our fun, sliding-scale community. [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

How does social media influence our money habits? Which purchases do we tend to regret? How can we better align our spending with our personal values and our joy? Sarah Von Bargen (she/her) is an educator, coach, and speaker who helps people spend their time, money, and energy on purpose. She joins us to talk about leaving the internet, the experience of changing careers, and what she’s learned about how her media consumption influences her spending. Sarah is the queen of tactical tips, and she shares some really useful exercises to help align your spending with your happiness, and to also understand why you're buying things. You can find Sarah at yesandyes.org ** This show is 100% listener-supported on Patreon, which ensures that every single person involved gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and guests)—come join us! We'd love to have you in our fun, sliding-scale community. [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

Why are we striving to be millionaires? How does individualism hold us back? What if we put less of our time and energy into money and more of it into friendships, into having comrades, and into collective care? Toi Smith (she/her) is a Growth + Impact Strategist whose work centers on doing life, business, and motherhood differently. This conversation is absolutely packed with honesty, as well as with uplifting examples of countercultural and liberatory ways of how to think and act when it comes to money. You can find Toi at toimarie.com and on IG: @toimarie ** This show is 100% listener-supported on Patreon, which ensures that every single person involved gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and guests)—come join us! We'd love to have you in our fun, sliding-scale community. [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

Why do we avoid doing the things we know we need to do with our money? How does debt make you feel? How can you learn to save money when you were raised to believe that money is bad? What happens when we out-earn the people around us? Cody Cook-Parrott* (they/them) is a dancer and writer who joins us today to talk so freakin honestly (with real numbers!) about debt, not paying taxes for many years, how much they earn, the guilt of out-earning their parents, the ramifications of growing up believing that rich people are bad, the fear of being judged for the amount they earn, and so much more. You can find Cody at codycookparrott.com *Note: Cody changed their name in early 2024 (they were formerly known as Marlee Grace) which is why there is a discrepancy between the updated episode title/description and the actual audio intro and conversation

Where does spirituality intersect with money? How might we approach manifestation if the idea of manifesting makes us roll our eyes? What does it mean to be in the flow of money? How can we be unapologetic about wanting a life of ease, freedom, luxury, and wealth? L'Erin Alta (she/her) joins us to talk about all of this and more. She is one of my absolute favorite people to be in conversation with, and this episode is no exception! You can find L'Erin at blackgirlmystic.com and on IG: @lerinalta ** This show is 100% listener-supported on Patreon, which ensures that every single person involved gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and guests)—come join us! We'd love to have you in our fun, sliding-scale community. [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

Does retirement even seem like a real possibility? What if you know you'll never pay off your debt? How does it feel when most people in your social circle grew up in a higher class bracket than you? Where can money cause resentment? What are your illogical money behaviors? Muffy J. Davis (she/her) joins us to discuss all of this and more, transparently sharing the specific numbers of her financial life. Heck yes to honest conversations about money! You can find Muffy at muffyjdavis.com and on IG: @muffyjdavis ** This show is 100% listener-supported on Patreon, which ensures that every single person involved gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and guests)—come join us! We'd love to have you in our fun, sliding-scale community. [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

Welcome back to The Pop-Up Pod: a show where each sporadically released 12-episode season explores one big and juicy question. Our question for season 2 is this: how much money is enough? ** This show is 100% listener-supported on Patreon, which ensures that every single person involved gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and guests)—come join us! We'd love to have you in our fun, sliding-scale community.

Today I’m bringing you the final episode of our first season. And who better to interview to close out this 12-part conversation on marriage than my own partner, Tom Grossmith (he/him), who many of you know by his trail name: Gent. In this episode we answer a bunch of listener questions about money, kids, conflict, jealousy, alone time—and, of course, marriage! You can find Gent on IG: @tomgrossmith, and the fundraiser he mentions at the end of the episode is right here. ** The Pop-Up Pod is 100% listener-supported via our sliding scale Patreon (thanks, ya'll!) which ensures that everyone involved in the show's creation & production gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and all guests!) [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

What if you really want a partner, but don't yet have one? Why do we think it "means" something about us if we aren't yet in the relationships we thought we would be by a certain age? Holly Whitaker (she/her) joins us today to talk about her experience of being mostly single over the past 10 years. She shares honestly about what it’s like to really want something, to feel like you’re missing out by not having it, and yet to also somehow also know that you aren’t ready. This conversation is filled with such wonderful nuance, and Holly and I do our best to each hold space for the both/ands of life—where seemingly contradictory things are true at the same exact time. You can find Holly at hollywhitaker.substack.com and on IG: @holly ** The Pop-Up Pod is 100% listener-supported via our sliding scale Patreon (thanks, ya'll!) which ensures that everyone involved in the show's creation & production gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and all guests!) [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

How can our boundaries support deeper intimacy? What do we lose when we're stuck in a loop of people-pleasing? Natalie Lue (she/her) joins us to share stories about some of the obstacles to intimacy she’s had to navigate—such as people-pleasing and poor boundaries. In the realm of boundaries she also shares about her experience of needing to creating healthier boundaries with extended family, especially when they overstep with your partner. So real, right? I love it. You can find Natalie at baggagereclaim.co.uk and on IG: @natlue ** The Pop-Up Pod is 100% listener-supported via our sliding scale Patreon (thanks, ya'll!) which ensures that everyone involved in the show's creation & production gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and all guests!) [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

How do you heal on purpose? What might help to bring you back to yourself after a life-changingly hard experience? Cait Flanders (she/her) joins us to talk about healing. More specifically, she shares what the past 2.5 years have been like while healing from a sex-related trauma. (So yes, this is a gentle content warning for you about the conversation ahead, but know that Cait does not go into any detail at all about the experience, and instead this is a beautifully honest and thoughtful accounting of what helped to bring her back to herself as well as what she wants from dating and sex now that she is open to those things again.) She shares about therapy, about how the commitment to no longer accepting harmful treatment in one relationship wound up changing pretty much all of her relationships, why she bought herself all new sex toys, how she is romancing herself, and more. You can find Cait at caitflanders.com and on IG @caitflanders ** The Pop-Up Pod is 100% listener-supported via our sliding scale Patreon (thanks, ya'll!) which ensures that everyone involved in the show's creation & production gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and all guests!) [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

What role might therapy play in our relationships? How do we support a partner through a tough mental health time? What if both people are having a hard time at the same time? Grizel Williams (she/her) joins us to talk about being a newlywed, and about her experiences at the intersection of marriage and mental health. You can find Grizel at grizelcaminas.com and on IG @_grizel_ ** The Pop-Up Pod is 100% listener-supported via our sliding scale Patreon (thanks, ya'll!) which ensures that everyone involved in the show's creation & production gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and all guests!) [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

How do you know if (or when) you want to have kids? What happens to your marriage after having a baby? Becca Piastrelli (she/her) joins us to talk about her experiences with marriage and motherhood, and in particular how having a baby was like dropping a bomb right into the center of her relationship with her husband. She talks about the decision to have a baby amidst climate grief, her experiences with miscarriage, and so much more. You can find Becca at beccapiastrelli.com and on IG @beccapiastrelli ** The Pop-Up Pod is 100% listener-supported via our sliding scale Patreon (thanks, ya'll!) which ensures that everyone involved in the show's creation & production gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and all guests!) [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

How do you divide up chores within a partnership? How much money is shared money? What are the daily friction points of being together for many years? Katelin Bannan (she/her) joins us to dig into all the minutia of her 11-year marriage: money, sex, chores, whether a relationship needs to stay exciting over time, and more. You can find Katelin on IG @katelinb and on Twitter @katelin ** The Pop-Up Pod is 100% listener-supported via our sliding scale Patreon (thanks, ya'll!) which ensures that everyone involved in the show's creation & production gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and all guests!) [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

Today I’m here with a little minisode for you, a peek behind the scenes if you will, which is a chance for me to answer two questions I’ve been getting from folks since this show started back in January. The first question is why I chose a pop-up style and what that will mean for new seasons going forward. And the second question is about how my listener-funded actually model works, and what it looks like to join our Patreon community. ** The Pop-Up Pod is 100% listener-supported via our sliding scale Patreon (thanks, ya'll!) which ensures that everyone involved in the show's creation & production gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and all guests!) [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

How do you know when it's time to leave a relationship? What if leaving means breaking your own heart? Sasha Glasgow (she/her) joins us to share about her own tender experience of navigating heartbreak, about the doubts and fears that kept her in a relationship longer than she maybe should have stayed, and about the fact that grief has no timeline. You can find Sasha at frankandfeel.com and on IG @frankandfeel ** The Pop-Up Pod is 100% listener-supported via our sliding scale Patreon (thanks, ya'll!) which ensures that everyone involved in the show's creation & production gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and all guests!) [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

In what ways do you have an invisible job description for your partner? Which stories are alive in your relationship that keep each other in certain roles? Calvin Michael West (he/they) joins us to talk about the roles we play in our relationships, as well as weddings, boundaries and requests, and how to get more comfortable hearing a “no” from your partner. You can find Calvin at inhealingwetrust.com ** The Pop-Up Pod is 100% listener-supported via our sliding scale Patreon (thanks, ya'll!) which ensures that everyone involved in the show's creation & production gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and all guests!) [Full transcript of this episode is available here]

What happens when one person wants to get married and the other person doesn’t? How can we maintain relationships with folks who have totally different needs (and ways of being) than us? Caroline Zook (she/her) joins us to talk about the evolution of her romantic partnership, as well as the journey of getting her needs met (or, more specifically, how to ask for what you need when you're not getting it from the other person, without trying to change them or make them feel like they aren’t enough). You can find Caroline (and her husband, Jason) at wanderingaimfully.com and on IG: @ckelso ** The Pop-Up Pod is 100% listener-supported via our sliding scale Patreon (thanks, ya'll!) which ensures that everyone involved in the show's creation & production gets paid (host, sound engineer, transcriptionist, and all guests!) [Full transcript of this episode is available here]