The Head Start: Embracing the Journey
iHeart Podcast Network
We’ve all had a moment where we arrived at the grocery store and can’t remember passing any of the stoplights along the way. We’re halfway down an aisle and scrambling to remember what we even needed. Our mind is in overdrive trying to sort through our ever-growing to-do list. We’ve been there when just making it through the next task is hard. But the normal stresses of life aren’t the only thing YOU have to deal with.
Nora McInerny hosts The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, a new podcast from iHeartRadio and AbbVie, a space to share open and honest conversations acknowledging the struggles we all face, while leaning into the hope and optimism we all share. We’ll hear from doctors, experts, and everyday people who will be sharing their experiences, migraine coping strategies, and major wins, all while building a community of support around an invisible disease that makes every day uncertain: Chronic Migraine.
Click here for Product Information, including Boxed Warning and Medication Guide, or visit https://bit.ly/3BlbaHG
Location:
United States
Genres:
Education Podcasts
Networks:
iHeart Podcast Network
Description:
We’ve all had a moment where we arrived at the grocery store and can’t remember passing any of the stoplights along the way. We’re halfway down an aisle and scrambling to remember what we even needed. Our mind is in overdrive trying to sort through our ever-growing to-do list. We’ve been there when just making it through the next task is hard. But the normal stresses of life aren’t the only thing YOU have to deal with. Nora McInerny hosts The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, a new podcast from iHeartRadio and AbbVie, a space to share open and honest conversations acknowledging the struggles we all face, while leaning into the hope and optimism we all share. We’ll hear from doctors, experts, and everyday people who will be sharing their experiences, migraine coping strategies, and major wins, all while building a community of support around an invisible disease that makes every day uncertain: Chronic Migraine. Click here for Product Information, including Boxed Warning and Medication Guide, or visit https://bit.ly/3BlbaHG
Language:
English
Website:
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/
Episodes
Chronic Migraine Through My Sister’s Eyes: A Conversation with Meghan McInerny
7/1/2025
We all carry more than we show—juggling roles, responsibilities, and realities that often go unseen, even by those closest to us. In this episode, Nora sits down with her big sister, Meghan, for an honest and vulnerable conversation about the reality of living with Chronic Migraine—a reality woven into their family history. Together, they reflect on how this shared thread has shaped their relationships with each other and with their father. Meghan shares how her symptoms have shifted over time, and the quiet resilience it takes to adapt, especially when those around her may not fully see or understand what she’s navigating.
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Duration:00:32:46
Strength Behind the Scenes: A Conversation with Lilly Singh
6/17/2025
Living in the public eye brings constant pressure, making it even more important for actress and host Lilly Singh to approach life with intentionality while managing her Chronic Migraine. In this episode, Nora sits down with Lilly to explore the daily routines, open communication, and wellbeing-first mindset that have helped her manage both personally and professionally. She shares strategies for setting boundaries, prioritizing wellness, and staying grounded - all tools that help her stay authentic while navigating a very public life.
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Duration:00:35:27
Intimacy and Chronic Migraine: A Conversation with Tom Picerno
6/3/2025
Talking about intimacy can be difficult, even with your partner. It’s nuanced. It’s often avoided. But it’s still very important. In this episode, Nora and guest Tom Picerno explore how he’s navigated these delicate conversations while living with Chronic Migraine. They’re joined by Tom’s wife, Cheryl, who adds an extra layer of perspective to how they’ve relied heavily on open communication, reframing what intimacy means to them while respecting each other’s boundaries.
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Duration:00:37:36
Sweat and Resilience: Balancing Chronic Migraine with Fitness Goals
5/20/2025
The healing power of fitness goes far beyond physical benefits—for today’s guest, it’s a form of self-expression and a celebration of what the body can do. In this episode, host Nora McInerny sits down with fitness personality Ivylis Rivera, who shares her deeply personal journey of navigating life with Chronic Migraine while holding onto her passion for movement. Ivylis opens up about the struggle of staying active while facing the fear of triggering a headache or migraine attack and the resilience it takes to keep pushing forward—a resilience that carried her through the challenging journey of finding a Chronic Migraine treatment plan that worked for her.
Join Nora and Ivylis as they explore the concept of “soft living,” a philosophy Ivylis embraces—staying active, listening to your body, and building trust in oneself.
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Duration:00:35:02
The Head Start: Embracing the Journey Season 3 is Here
5/6/2025
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Duration:00:03:05
Two Generations, One Shared Disease: A Conversation with Mother and Son
7/23/2024
It’s one thing, as a parent, to deal with your own struggles, but to watch your kid go through it - to see them face obstacles and struggles can be excruciating. It often feels like the parent’s job is to shield their child from hardships. In this episode, Nora shares the story of Angel and Xavier, a mother and son who are no strangers to Chronic Migraine, supporting each other through their respective journeys. They shine a light on their shared burden and how it may impact different generations. They push back on the pressure for parents to hide their struggles from their children, instead choosing to create a dynamic where it is ok to ask for help and need rest.
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Duration:00:35:07
Acting The Part Amidst Adversity: A Conversation with Aaron Matthew Atkisson
7/9/2024
Oftentimes the standard “I’m good!” response isn’t rooted in the truth. We often act our way through our struggles, so we don’t burden someone else with our problems. In this episode, Nora delves into how Aaron Matthew Atkisson balances the art of acting both on set and as the primary caregiver for his family. When a migraine attack hits, he can’t simply ask his family to wait, or call cut on set. Reflecting on his approach to boundaries and fatherhood, Aaron sheds light on the stigmas surrounding men with Chronic Migraine and shares how he adapts his many roles and responsibilities.
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Duration:00:30:39
Teaching Through the Struggle: A Conversation with Danielle Mandoza
6/25/2024
Navigating parenthood can be overwhelming all on its own, but Danielle Mandoza takes it a step further teaching young children at work, too. In this episode, Nora explores Danielle’s struggle to balance her roles as a parent and teacher with the ever-lingering threat of a migraine attack. Thanks to the experiences of her mother and grandmother who both lived with migraine, Danielle continues to face her own Chronic Migraine diagnosis head-on and confidently explores treatment options with her neurologist that might work for her. With the help of Dr. Rhyne, Nora debunks some common migraine treatment myths and takes a closer look at Danielle’s unrelenting juggling act.
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Duration:00:33:01
Healthcare Access & Affordability: A Conversation with Jaime Sanders
6/11/2024
“Knowledge is Power” may be an old cliche, but it is never more true than when talking about
living with a chronic illness, like Chronic Migraine. In this episode, Nora explores how writer and advocate Jaime Sanders found the right words to describe her migraine symptoms earlier than most, thanks to her access to healthcare education. Her community and support provided a springboard for her empowerment while navigating her Chronic Migraine journey. Otherwise known as The Migraine Diva, Jaime uses her story and experience to drive fierce advocacy and education for the Chronic Migraine community.
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Duration:00:33:03
The Silent Struggle Behind the Veteran Mindset: A Conversation with Ivan Perry
5/28/2024
Most of us have probably heard “Suck it up!” or “Get over it!” at some point. But when you’re living with Chronic Migraine, these phrases are far from helpful. In this episode, Nora talks to Air Force veteran Ivan Perry who is pushing back on a culture that measures strength by silence and a lack of struggle. He channels the resilience he developed while living with Chronic Migraine by founding Operation Aspire Group, guiding companies to build and create more inclusive environments. Ivan emphasizes the importance of recognizing diverse experiences and meeting people where they are in their journey.
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Duration:00:32:58
Living with Chronic Migraine in the Grind Culture: A Conversation with Lauren Browning
5/14/2024
The pressures of hustle culture can be nonstop. In this episode, Nora and guest, Lauren Browning, get vulnerable about navigating Chronic Migraine in the unforgiving and unrelenting world of entrepreneurship. Building a working environment that fits her life, Lauren shares what drove her to create the sustainable swimwear brand, Ricki Beach Club. She talks about bringing your authentic self to your work, even on the most challenging days, and managing her Chronic Migraine from the drawing board to the boardroom.
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Duration:00:29:28
The Head Start: Embracing the Journey is Back!
4/30/2024
Nora McInerny returns with all-new conversations exploring personal stories of people living with Chronic Migraine. If you’re new to the series, there are eight episodes of our first season worth binging. Let’s learn a little more about Chronic Migraine together.
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Duration:00:02:46
Being Real About Chronic Migraine: A Conversation with Paula Dumas
10/16/2023
In this episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora explores the impact and importance of storytelling and advocacy in people's lives and how it can help people feel seen and heard. She speaks with Paula Dumas about how her advocacy work in the migraine community is about more than just changing perception and policy. It's about connecting people living with migraine worldwide through their shared experiences. Being the producer and co-host of the Migraine World Summit and a former board member of the American Migraine Foundation, Paula has been able to see how sharing her own story has created a space to connect with hundreds of other people living with this disease. Nora shares how her own journey of storytelling as a writer and host has opened her eyes and changed her perspective on the importance of her work, and she learns from Paula the best ways to support someone living with Chronic Migraine.
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Duration:00:29:57
Finding Support Along Your Chronic Migraine Journey: A Conversation with Meg Donnelly
10/5/2023
In this episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora explores what a support network can look like and how to shape one that feels right to you. She has been connecting with people for years by sharing her personal journey to find support. Nora takes a look at the different types of support - interpersonal, creative, and even the more traditional medical support - and what that looks like for someone living with Chronic Migraine. She speaks with guest Meg Donnelly, a cinematographer working on the set of TV shows and movies, about how she has found a treatment plan and support network that works for her.
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Duration:00:33:09
Searching for Work-Life Balance with Chronic Migraine: A Conversation with Winnielyn Bautista
9/7/2023
In this episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora dives into the ever-blurring lines between work and life. Nora has made a career of sharing moments from her life to connect with others. That makes it nearly impossible to have any sort of separation between her work and life. She speaks with guest Winnielyn Bautista about how she tries to find and set boundaries between her career and personal goals amid the constant threat of a migraine attack. Winnielyn shares her thoughts on how to navigate difficult conversations with bosses and co-workers, especially when you might not feel comfortable sharing personal details - a situation those living with Chronic Migraine know all too well.
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Duration:00:30:29
Parenting Marked by Chronic Migraine: A Conversation with Marina Medved-Lentini
8/22/2023
In this episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora explores how modern-day parenting is made even more difficult for those living with Chronic Migraine, including guest Marina Medved-Lentini. Marina is the founder of the online community Parenting With Migraine, which creates content trying to educate, support and help parents who are already overloaded with information and pressures on how best to parent their kids. Nora and Marina take a closer look at the realities of being a “gentle parent” and what that may mean for those parents living with Chronic Migraine.
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Duration:00:31:57
Making Space for Creativity: A Conversation with Artist Priya Rama
8/1/2023
In this episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora tackles the idea of having a creative outlet to express your struggles which, as her experience shows, may not be as straightforward as expected. Nora is joined by artist Priya Rama who uses her art as a way to show what she is feeling during her migraine attacks. This has not only become an outlet for Priya to communicate her experience but also a way for other people to better understand the experience of someone living with Chronic Migraine. Nora and Priya dive into how creative outlets can be a necessity for some people with Chronic Migraine and how finding those outlets must be an organic journey.
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Duration:00:35:46
Migraine Attacks Triggered by the Food You Eat: A Conversation with Alicia Wolf
7/17/2023
In this episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora chats with Alicia Wolf, aka The Dizzy Cook, on how she has been able to use food as a way to help manage her migraine triggers. Some people have foods that can be triggers for headaches or even migraine attacks. Alicia Wolf is a cook, recipe developer, and cookbook author who has pushed through her own condition to find that healthier eating has helped. Rethinking the food you eat doesn’t need to include an all-consuming diet plan; that doesn’t work. Nora and Alicia discuss some realistic eating habit changes that can be easily worked into even the busiest schedule.
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Duration:00:32:28
Between Advocacy & Awareness: A Conversation with Qasim Amin Nathari
6/28/2023
On this episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora speaks with Qasim Amin Nathari about the stigma around men seeking help for physical andmental health issues, in particular men of color. Qasim is an author, scholar with Chronic Migraine and advocate for Black male representation within the migraine community. He openly shares his struggle balancing migraine attack triggers as he maintains a busy life, often flying to his speaking engagements throughout the country. Through this eye-opening conversation, Nora gets a new perspective on the migraine attacks she saw her dad endure and how she can be a better ally to people with Chronic Migraine around her.
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Duration:00:30:31
Pressure Under the Bright Lights: A Conversation with Kristin Chenoweth
6/13/2023
In the first episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora McInerny gets to talk to living legend Kristin Chenoweth about the pressure and power of living in the public eye. There is a push and pull between the nerves or fear of being judged and the addicting adrenaline rush of performing in front of a community of people that seems to understand you. Kristin and Nora share their stories of struggling with the pressure to work through their vulnerabilities in a public forum and how much harder Kristin’s journey has been because of battling Chronic Migraine. She’s had to literally lean on her co-stars for support, cancel gigs, and has even gotten sick on stage. But through all of that, she really just wants to help others find their inner strength and lean into a community that understands.
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Duration:00:34:33