20 Minutes with Bronwyn

How to Think Like a Poet : My Interview with Tina Chang

While we may be smack dab in the middle of the busiest time of year, this episode is all about slowing down and savoring. What are we savoring? The magnificent words of Tina Chang. Tina is Poet Laureate of Brooklyn—the first woman EVER to be given that title—and is the author of a new collection of poems called Hybrida. NPR calls it "one of the most important books of poetry to come along in years." Tina teaches poetry at Sarah Lawrence College, and she’s all ours for the next half hour or so. So pour yourself a cup of tea (or a steaming mug of coffee) and get cozy. This conversation is just what you need.

Think You're a Good Communicator? Go Home for the Holidays

For some of us, the holidays entail drama of the logistical sort—missed flight connections, suitcases that are just over the weight limit, gifts to be purchased and passed around.

But for a lot of us, the holiday drama is entirely relational, playing out in conversations and in unspoken energy transmitted from one human heart to another. For some of us, the Holidays mean someone’s gonna end up in tears or gonna storm off early, or both. All before dessert.

But what if this time it’s different? What if THIS holiday season, we try something new?

This episode is for anyone who's ever wished for a less drama-fueled experience of the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

Does Elitism Need Defending? My Interview with Joel Stein

If you were in any way surprised by Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 or if you feel even slightly freaked out by the current state of affairs as we live through this next election cycle, you will love meeting my guest Joel Stein.

 

Joel Stein has written one of the funniest books I’ve ever read— In Defense of Elitism: Why I’m Better Than You and You Are Better Than Someone Who Didn’t Buy This Book.

 

I was beyond grateful that in between interviews with Vanity Fair, NPR, and Goop, Joel Skyped in to talk about his new book. But don’t let the title fool you. In Defense of Elitism is not parody or satire, it’s a whole-hearted, intellectually curious, clear-eyed exploration of why populism vs. elitism (or gut-instinct vs. expertise) has become the ultimate philosophical cage fight.

Consciously Uncoupling from Facebook

I’ve been an active Facebook user for a very long time.I have loved it for the most part. I’ve been lifted up and supported by my Facebook family. They’ve supported me in my grief, in my success, in my curiosity and pursuit of all kinds of different questions—big and small.

But it’s time. It’s time to consciously uncouple, as Gwyneth Paltrow once so famously said.

This episode is a kind of reckoning. I'm not storming off of Facebook. I'm taking control of my media and information consumption. If Truth in Advertising law doesn't apply to that platform, I can't in good conscience participate. Because there's a lot at stake ... for better or worse, Facebook influences how we vote, which means it impacts the way our democracy functions. This episode is my attempt to explain how I'm grappling with something we should all be thinking about.

"I'm overwhelmed, and I can't stop beating myself up ... " My 9-1-1 Moment with Performance Coach Ben Kiker

Have you ever felt the panic and shame of total overwhelm? I have. But guess what else I have? Support from one of the great coaches of our time, Ben Kiker. I recorded this for you so that you would have access to him too in your moments of overwhelm. In this conversation, we talk about how I got over the proverbial wall, got out of my own way, and back onto a path of growth and expansion.

Teach Your Children (to Communicate) Well

I interact with teenagers and young people on a fairly regular basis, and I’ve observed that some of the old-fashioned arts of basic communication are fading, and it makes me sad, but it also makes me worried. Are we raising a generation of kids that don’t know the power of eye contact? Who are unskilled at talking to adult strangers? Who struggle with handshakes? In our pursuit of material excellence, are we forgetting the value of understanding and developing skills around human connection and the art of self-advocacy? That connection is worth exploring for its own sake, not just because it allows us to perform well in a job interview (although let’s be honest, if two equally qualified people walk into a job interview, and one knows how to make a good first impression and the other doesn’t, who’s gonna get that gig …)? This episode is my attempt as a communication coach, to offer some tips, some ideas and some fascinating stories I’ve been gathering.

What If You Decided to Play Big? My Interview with Dr. Chris Heilman

Extreme sports and elite athletes have always fascinated me. How do they do what they do? How do they talk themselves into finishing a 50 mile race? How do you help coach a climber through a moment of terror on the side of a mountain? How important is meditation? And is that the same thing as mindset? Dr. Chris Heilman is a coach who joins us to answer these questions. Dr. Chris has a PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology and a double board-certification as an Athletic Trainer (ATC) and a Strength and Conditioning Coach (CSCS) and she’s been an athletic trainer to collegiate and Olympic athletes. She’s written a book called Elevate Your Excellence: The Mindset and Methods That Make Champions. But she’s also done cool stuff like worked as an outdoor educator in Joshua Tree, did ski patrol at Grand Targhee, and was a backpack guide for NOLS & other organizers in the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Tetons. She’s here to answer these questions and more on this week's episode.

Postcards From the Edge: My 30 Day Digital Detox

According to a report last year from eMarketer, US adults spent an average of 3 hours, 35 minutes per day on mobile devices in 2018. That's over 25 hours a week! It's like each of us having a second (or third) UNPAID job. For 30 days, I decided to investigate what I might be missing during those 25 hours using Cal Newport's plan based on his new book Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World. What I learned surprised me, and could inspire you to make your own journey into the wilds of a digital detox.

The Greatest Story You Ever Told: My Interview with Corey Rosen

To me, the most terrifying, death-defying act I can possibly imagine isn’t bungie jumping or free solo climbing. It’s stand up comedy. It’s improv. Today, my guest is someone who teaches stand up comedy and improv. Corey Rosen has hosted 105 live events for The Moth, including The Moth StorySlams and GrandSlams, since winning the first ever Bay Area Moth StorySlam in 2014. He is an award winning writer, actor, and storytelling teacher. 

Corey has been featured on The Moth Radio Hour, Backfence PDX, “The Finch Files” and “The B-Sider” podcasts and is an on-air personality for Alice Radio’s “The Sarah and Vinnie Show,” the #1-rated commercial morning show in the San Francisco area. 

You can see Corey perform at BATS Improv, one of the world’s foremost centers for improvisational theater. He has written for Comedy Central, Jim Henson Productions, and Lucasfilm. He is also creative director at Tippett Studio, a 2-time Oscar-winning media production company, writing screenplays for seven theme park attractions around the world. There are some communication GEMS to be mined from the standup and improv worlds, and Corey has brought them to you in this conversation.

Applied Empathy: My Interview with Michael Ventura

“If you want to connect with the people you work with and for, you first have to understand them. In order to do that effectively, you must understand yourself.” 

My guest this week is Michael Ventura, CEO and founder of Sub Rosa, a strategy and design firm that has worked with names like Johnson & Johnson, Pantone, and Adobe to the TED Conference, Delta Airlines and The Daily Show. Michael has served as a board member and adviser to a variety of organizations, including Behance, the Burning Man Project, Cooper-Hewitt, and the U.N.'s Tribal Link Foundation. He is also a visiting lecturer at institutions like Princeton University and the United States Military Academy at West Point. But get this, Michael somehow also has time for a thriving indigenous medicine practice, where he helps patients address illness and injury of all types on the road to better well-being. 

I am thrilled to bring you this conversation as we discuss Michael's book Applied Empathy. Michael's message about empathy isn’t just for designers, it is for anyone solving problems involving other humans. And whether you are a stay-at-home mom or dad, or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, these ideas are game changing.