I Don't Know How You Do It
Meet the people who stretch the limits of what we think is possible and hear "I don't know how you do it" every single day. Each week we talk with a guest whose life seems unimaginable from the outside. Some of our guests were thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Others chose them voluntarily.
People like:
The athlete who learned to walk again and became a paralympic gold medalist after being in a coma for four years…
The woman who left the security of her job and home to live full-time on a small sailboat...
The child-welfare advocate who grew up homeless and turned his gut-wrenching childhood into a lifetime of making a difference...
The mother who worked with scientists to develop a custom treatment for her daughter’s rare disease…
They share their stories of challenge and success and dive into what makes them able to do things that look undoable. Where do they find their drive? Their resilience? Their purpose and passion?
You'll leave each candid conversation with new insights, ideas, and the inspiration to say, "I can do it too," whatever your "it" is.
Episodes
107 episodes
Owning Your Voice: Shame, Resilience, and Truth-Telling with Allison Lane
What if the story you’re most afraid to tell is the one that holds the key to healing—not just for you, but for others too?Allison Lane has built a career helping authors, leaders, and everyday truth-tellers shape their stories an...
The Work That Found Her: Helping Children Navigate Grief, with Jen Noonan
Most people freeze in the face of grief. Jen Noonan walks toward it.As a licensed clinical social worker at The Children’s Room, Jen supports children, teens, and families after the death of a parent, sibling, or child. Her work...
Beyond The Nanny Diaries: Nicola Kraus on Joy, Caregiving, and Getting it Done
Nicola Kraus burst onto the literary scene as co-author of the global sensation The Nanny Diaries. But her story didn’t stop there—and in this episode, she opens up about what came next. From ghostwriting and caregiving to lead parenti...
Justice For My Sister, with Susan Altman: Part 2
In this powerful conclusion to our two-part series, we uncover the shocking truth behind Stacy's murder and follow Susan's extraordinary seven-year fight for justice.After three years of relentless investigation, Susan finally received v...
Justice For My Sister, with Susan Altman: Part 1
In this gripping first installment of a two-part series, we meet Susan Altman, whose extraordinary story of sisterly devotion transformed into a seven-year quest for justice. When Susan's sister Stacy was found dead in her bathtub w...
100th Episode: Gender, Genetics, and Good Grief, with Ben Morton
In this milestone 100th episode of "I Don't Know How You Do It," host Jessica Fein welcomes writer Ben Morton, whose powerful HuffPost essay about discovering he's intersex through a routine ancestry test captivated readers nationwide....
Writing Your Own Rules: Reinvention, Rebellion, and Reclaiming Your Voice with Lynne Golodner
In this powerful episode, we sit down with Lynne Golodner, author of eleven books across multiple genres, who found her voice in midlife.When Lynn chose Orthodox Judaism in her twenties, she was drawn to its structure and meaning—but yea...
Harnessing Courage: The 3G Resilience Formula, with Laura Bratton
In this powerful episode, we sit down with Laura Bratton, author of Harnessing Courage, who transformed her journey of vision loss into a framework for resilience that anyone can apply to life's challenges.When Laura was diagnos...
Dragons at the Gate: Advocacy, Community, and Getting Your Shit Together, with Laura Lang-Ree
What if there were a roadmap for everything you need to know to take care of yourself and your family when you get a serious diagnosis for your child or someone you love? Now there is. In this powerful episode, we sit down with Laur...
Be The Change: Living Like Gandhi, with Perry Garfinkel
What would happen if you tried to live by Gandhi's principles in today's world?In this episode, we welcome journalist and author Perry Garfinkel, who embarked on an extraordinary 18-month journey to follow Mahatma Gandhi's six pri...
How to Become Resilient AF: Grief, Gratitude, and Growth, with Blair Kaplan Venables and Alana Kaplan
In this irreverent, informative, and inspiring episode, Blair and Alana Kaplan of The Global Resilience Project share their journey through profound loss and how it sparked a global movement to help others strengthen their "resilience muscle." ...
Why You Should Buy the Balloon: Rare Disease, Hard Truths, and Beautiful Moments, with Erin Paterson and Laura Will
In this powerful episode marking Rare Disease Awareness Day, we bring together two remarkable guests whose lives have been profoundly shaped by rare diseases. Erin Paterson, who carries the gene for Huntington's disease and cares for her father...
The Full Catastrophe: Loss, Love, and Finding Your F*ck You, with Casey Mulligan Walsh
How do you rebuild your life after devastating loss? At age 12, Casey Mulligan Walsh lost both parents within months of each other. Relocated from suburban New Jersey to upstate New York, she spent years dreaming of creating the perfect family ...
High-Frequency Living: Love, Loss, and My Meditation Homework, with Amanda McKoy Flanagan
In this episode, Amanda McKoy Flanagan shares her journey through multiple losses, spiritual awakenings, and discovering how to break generational patterns of emotional protection. A New Yorker turned Colorado resident, Amanda opens up about lo...
Two Moms Get Real: Grief, Hope, and Fierce Joy, with Morgan Motsinger and Jessica Fein
On a TEDx stage in Concord, Massachusetts, two mothers met and discovered they shared a deep bond – both had lost teenage daughters. In this intimate conversation, Morgan Motsinger and I explore what happens when life's bubble of safety gets pu...
The Unexpected Adventure: Athletes, Access, and Inspiration Porn, with Tim Brown
What does adventure mean to you? For Tim Brown, it once meant charging down ski slopes as a patrol member and catching waves as a dedicated surfer. But on February 13th, 2011, a devastating accident on the slopes left him quadriplegic at age 25...
Hope is Dope: Grief, Growth, and Extraordinary Parents, with Larry Carlat
When Larry Carlat's 28-year-old son Rob died by suicide six years ago, Larry never imagined it would lead him to find his life's calling as a grief counselor, or to become, in his words, "the Pied Piper of psychedelics for grieving parents"
Nearly Departed: Cancer, Kids, and Courage, with Gila Pfeffer
What do you do when by age 30 you're the oldest living member of your family? Do you live in fear or take action?In this powerful and humorous episode, author Gila Pfeffer shares her journey as both a "previvor" and survivor of breast c...
Faith, Medicine, and Fatherhood: Where Terror and Wonder Meet, with James Robinson
Where do faith, terror, and wonder intersect? In this powerful episode, author James G. Robinson takes us on an extraordinary journey across continents as he fights to save his son's life, sharing the profound lessons he learned about faith, re...
Happiness, Hope, and Crazy Socks: Reimagining What's Possible, with John and Mark Cronin
When John Cronin, a young man with Down syndrome, was graduating high school, didn't know what would come next. So he made what turned out to be a life-changing decision -- to start a business with his father. What started with loc...
My Brother's Keeper: Sibling Loss and the Forgotten Mourners, with Annie Sklaver Orenstein
After her brother was killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan in 2009, Annie Sklaver Orenstein was heartbroken and unmoored. Standing in the grief section of her local bookstore, she searched for guides on how to work through her grief as a m...
Infertility, Adoption, and Baby Steps To Guatemala: How I Found my Family
When my husband and started trying to have a baby, we never imagined our path to parenthood would include 25 fertility procedures, two gestational carriers, and multiple journeys to Guatemala.In this deeply personal episode, I share an ...
Radical Bravery: Living and Ending Well with Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider
In a world where most of us run from difficult conversations, Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider is running towards them. A physician, science journalist, public health advocate, and acclaimed film producer, Shoshana brings her unique multid...
Fair is a Four Letter Word, The Fall and Recovery of Joanne De Simone
Sometimes our life experiences are preparing us for what comes next in ways we'd never imagine.That's what happened to Joanne De Simone, a former professional dancer who used lessons from her dance training to help her navigate the chal...
From Medical Gaslighting to Empowered Advocate: Mackenzie Abramson's Rare Odyssey
Rare disease advocate Mackenzie Abramson spent more than 20 years searching for her own diagnosis, facing intense medical gaslighting along the way. She endured 30 surgeries, a mental health crisis, and endless battles to be heard and taken ser...