Make Light: Recent Episodes
Karen Walrond
Join leadership coach and bestselling author Karen Walrond as she talks about how to infuse your work and life with meaning. Karen and her guests will teach you to work your purpose, change your world, and make light.
Join Karen as she shares her best ideas for creating a home office that is both efficient and luxurious
Join Karen while she shares why she thinks it’s important to look for the good news — and proof that it exists.
Karen shares her thoughts on how the philosophy of famed interior designer Ilse Crawford can have a powerful impact on your own work, whatever it may be.
Travel write Pam Mandel joins Karen to discuss what first inspired her to travel, why travel is addicting, and why she doesn't believe everyone must travel.
Join Karen as she shares tips for creating an art habit to help you stay on top of your new year's resolution game -- and become an artist in the process.
Join Karen as she speaks with wellness coach Laura Conely about walking -- not for physical fitness, but for mental and spiritual health.
Join Karen as she shares strategies for making sense of the past year, and set your coming year up for success.
Join Karen as she shares her top tips for reducing holiday stress. Because you owe it to yourself to have happy holidays.
Nancy Davis Kho, host of the podcast Midlife Mixtape, joins Karen to talk about the subject of her brand new book, The Thank You Project.
Planning on taking a big leap -- from a safe gig to a more risky one? Join Karen as she shares her top 5 tips for making a big leap feel like a walk in the park.
Play Evangelist Jeff Harry joins Karen to talk about why he's passionate about play -- and why you should be, too.
We're back! Join Karen as she shares hers and her friends' tips on how to stay encouraged when the world is discouraging.
Karen returns from her European vacation to visit family, and shares her thoughts on what "home" means.
What does it mean to find your purpose? Join Karen on her walk in the woods, as she shares the questions she asks to discover her purpose.
Join Karen in Savannah, as she there's her thoughts about fighting aging by learning something new
Summer is all about relaxing. Meet André Sam-Sin, aka DJ Sun, and his soular grooves -- perfect for chilling with friends on a warms summer evening.
"War council"? Sounds aggressive. Karen shares what a war council is, why everyone should have one, and how to set one up.
Karen shares her thoughts on why we shouldn't focus on growing old, but instead, growing up.
Author Mira Jacob returns to the Make Light Show to talk about her amazing new graphic memoir, race and colorism, and why we're all afraid to talk about it.
Join Karen as she shares why giving yourself permission to be happy might just save the world.
Join Karen as she shares ways to ensure that you reach your goals -- no matter how out-there they seem to be.
Does your workspace feel like how you want to show up in the world? Join Karen as she shares her tips for designing a workspace that represents your values, your story, and inspires you to perform at your very best.
Follow your bliss, follow your curiosity -- which is better? Join Karen as she shares how she follows her curiosity, and shares some exercises to pique your own sense of adventure.
Making the decision to quit a job is stressful -- is there a right way to do it? Join Karen as she shares her top 5 tips for making separating from your employer as positive as possible.
Activist and found of Indrani's Light, Indrani Goradia, joins Karen to talk about how her difficult life and coming in dead last in a triathlon inspired her to change the world
Join Karen as she shares her tips and tricks for cultivating resilience on a daily basis. Because resilience might be the key to everything.
Join Karen as she talks about impostor syndrome -- what it is, and how she fights it to the death.
Join Karen as she welcomes special guest Stasia Savasuk, the founder of Style School. Together they discuss what it means when men and women use clothing as an expression of your authenticity -- what Stasia calls "inside-out congruency."
There's something incredibly comforting about routine and ritual -- in fact, it's a privilege. Join Karen as she discusses how to infuse more ritual into your life, and become more efficient, effective & productive in the process.
This is it, friends — the final episode of the Make Light Show for Season 3! It’s also almost exactly a year since my family and I escaped our home destroyed by Hurricane Harvey flooding. For this last episode,
This week we have a great question from Danielle — she’s about to change careers, but she’s not exactly sure how or to what. Take a listen as I talk about how I handled the very same situation, including three journaling prompts to help you make a piv...
I don’t know about you, but I love food — and I’m completely overwhelmed by it. Who can make sense of all the “wisdom” out there around food — should we be eating Paleo? Whole 30? Gluten-free? Keto? Should we eat more red meat? Less? This week,
My parents have lived all over the world, and for a time, they lived in Azerbaijan, the former Soviet republic. While they lived there, they purchased a number of Persian carpets (Azerbaijan borders Iran), which decorate their house now. One day while I was admiring one of their rugs, my father walked over and said, “You know, the Persian carpetmakers have a tradition: it can take years to weave the details into these rugs, but they always make one intentional mistake as they work. The reason is they believe only Allah is perfect, and therefore only Allah has the right to create perfectly.” I love this, and thought how freeing it would be if we believed this about not just rugs, but our lives. What if it was downright heretical to expect perfection out of ourselves? What if we believed that perfection was the purview of gods, not humans? I explore this question today on the Make Light Show. Join me as I discuss how to let go of perfectionism, the difference between perfectionism and healthy striving, and how to get happy now. Links mentioned in this episode:
- Make Light Episode 9 — on Self-Care
- Two great books by Brené Brown that touch on perfectionism: The Gifts of Imperfection and Daring Greatly
- Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset
- Shawn Achor’s fantastic TED talk, The Happy Secret to Better Work
______________________ Karen Walrond is a leadership consultant, speaker, bestselling author and award-winning photographer, whose work is all about leadership, self-determination and making light. You can learn more about her at KarenWalrond.com.
This week, Jill asks about my journaling practice — I’m an avid journaler, and journaling is part of the way I organize my life, not to mention a huge part of my self-care practice. So join us today as I talk about the techniques I incorporate in my jo...
This week we have a great question from Yvette, about how to silence that inner critic in our head — you know the one. This required bringing in the big guns: I’m joined by the lovely Katie Horwitch, the founder of Women Against Negative Talk,
This week, instead of addressing a question that was sent in, I wanted to talk about self-care. Take a listen to hear why self-care and self-compassion aren’t just feel-good things to do, but actually imperative if we’re planning on changing the world ...
This week’s episode is a great one: Kimmy asks how to make light when you really, truly hate your job. So join me as I talk about how to set yourself up to find your next job that moves you toward a fulfilling life,
Ah, friendship. Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether a friendship has run its course, am I right? This week’s question comes from Dayni, and she’s wondering when it’s time to call it quits with folks around her who insist on being negative.
You might think it wouldn’t be hard to make light on a vacation, but for some folks, there’s stress involved. This week’s question comes from Adrienne, and it’s all about how to take a stress-free holiday. So join me as we talk about how to manage the ...
This week we have a great question from Ginny, asking about what it takes to thrive after divorce. For this question, I brought in expert advice: my friend, certified divorce coach Jessica Ashley, who is also the founder,
Natalie wrote in to ask what I meant when I use the phrase “quiet activism” — she’s intrigued, but just isn’t the grab-a-megaphone-get-arrested-for-civil-disobedience type. Take a listen, and learn what I mean about the phrase,
This week, I have a special guest: my friend, actor and author Stephanie Wittels Wachs. Her amazing new book, Everything is Horrible and Wonderful: A Tragicomic Memoir of Genius, Heroin, Love, and Loss, is the story of her heartbreak as she supported ...
I loved delving into Nicole’s question this week, about being kind in a world that often doesn’t seem to value kindness. Take a listen, to learn tips and tricks on how and why to keep kindness at the forefront,
Welcome back to Season 3 of the Make Light Show! This season we’re going to be mixing things up a bit: we’ll be answering your questions about how to make light when life get occasionally dark — things like how to make light when you’re overwhelmed at...
For this final episode of Season 2 of the Make Light Show, Karen speaks with Laura Mayes, a public relations dynamo. She’s best known for being the cofounder of the Mom 2.0 Summit, one of the premiere conferences in the United States for folks who cre...
Stacy Nadeau is an expert on body positivity, leading workshops to young girls, college students, and even working women, by helping them delve into how their body image can affect the way they move through their careers.
My friend Kate Inglis lives the kind of life you imagine all talented writers of fantastical children’s books live: in an old sea captain’s house on a wild, windy coast with a history of rumrunners. And that’s where Kate joins me to today,
My friend Christine Koh is a neuroscientist, and graphic designer, and a marathoner. She actually came quite late to movement and exercise, and views her movement as a holistic part of her self-care (which also happens to include copious amounts of cak...
Mike Reynolds is a new friend who is an artist and a writer, and he so impresses me – especially his thoughts on feminism, masculinity, and how they deeply influence his parenting style, and the way he moves through the world. Also?
Malaka Gharib is the deputy editor and digital strategist at NPR’s Goats and Soda global development blog. But she’s also currently in the process of writing her graphic memoir about being a first generation American, and biracial: she’s half-Filipino and half-Egyptian. So join us today as we talk about what it’s like to grow up in a multiracial, multinational family, struggling with what it means to be American, and why a hookah and mint tea on the patio is one of the pleasures of life. Links mentioned in this episode:
- Malaka Gharib at Goats and Soda
- Malaka’s Instagram, I Was Their American Dream
Today’s guest is brand professional, catalyst and rebel, Aimee Woodall. Aimee is the founder and president of The Black Sheep Agency, a cause-driven branding shop. But she’s also fearless when it comes to making a difference — so much so,
Today’s amazing guest is an old friend, media professional and world-traveling mom, Carmen Sognonvi. Carmen is the brainchild behind the amazing site, Top Flight Family — a destination all about luxury travel with kids (which isn’t as difficult to do a...
(Pardon our pause, friends — today we’re going to re-broadcasting an audience favourite, my inteview with the lovely Mira Jacob, who is a brilliant writer and a master at creativity. We’ll be back next week with all-new programming. Enjoy!
Author and internet marketer Morra Aarons-Mele knows a thing or two about being a successful entrepreneur — and despite what you might think, it doesn’t require extroversion to make it happen. Today she talks to Karen about introversion,
Author and entrepreneur Nilofer Merchant is also known as the “Jane Bond of Innovation,” helping organizations innovate through seemingly impossible odds. Today she talks to Karen about “the power of onlyness”: what “onlyness” means,
Explorer Ernest White, also known as the Fly Brother, joins Karen to talk about why it’s important to get out and see the world, as well as how being authentic and vulnerable gives the people you’re connecting with the opportunity to show their best se...
Social media expert and language and communications rockstar Roxanna Sarmiento joins Karen to talk about we talk about looking forward to growing up, red hats, and how different cultures view aging. Links mentioned in this episode: Roxanna’s amazing po...
Thanks so much for an amazing Season 1! Karen wraps up some of the highlights of the season … we’ll be back very soon for Season 2! Links mentioned in this episode: Karen’s Facebook Page Karen’s Instagram Page Karen’s Twitter Page And feel free to con...
CEO and fitness enthusiast Stefania Pomponi joins Karen to talk movement: how to start moving, how to fall in love with it, and how zombies can help. Links mentioned in this episode:
- Clever, Stefania’s company
- Popsugar Fitness, one of Stefania’s go-to destinations for workouts
- Couch-to-5K
- Zombies, Run!
- Uforia Studios, where Stefania does her dance classes
Artist and storyteller Lucrecer Braxton joins Karen to talk about why it’s important to control your own narrative, how to discover your own medium for storytelling, and how that career as a radio DJ worked out for her..
CEO, cultural changemaker and body-image activist Jess Weiner joins Karen to talk about how to cultivate confidence, why we’re each the CEO of our media empires, and the reason it’s a good thing she never got that talk show.
Designer and artist Laurie Smithwick joins Karen to talk about how she curated her designer life, what she learned when she stepped away from her screen, and how she earned a Grammy nomination for her work.
Consultant and Environmentalist Susan Mann joins Karen to talk about what courage is all about, why caring for the environment is such a passion of hers, and what it’s like to follow your dreams to some of the harshest climates on the planet.
Community builder Ana Flores, the creative mind behind We All Grow Latina, joins Karen to talk about growing up bicultural, the importance of knowing your roots, and why stalking the boy band Menudo was one of the best decisions she ever made.
Hurricane Harvey roared into Texas, and its resulting flooding destroyed Karen’s home. Listen to hear the lessons she’s learned — and is still learning — from the experience. Links mentioned in this episode: Karen’s thoughts on the importance of a gra...
Artist and activist Kesha Bruce, whose powerful work is featured at the Smithsonian, joins Karen to talk about how to curate an intentional life, the importance of art telling your story, and the best way to keep rats from touching your skin.
Cindy Whitehead is an entrepreneur and women’s health advocate who will blow your mind with her brilliance and business savvy. Join Karen and Cindy for a talk about entrepreneurship, courage, pink clothing, and — it was inevitable — sex.
Tech pioneer and entrepreneur extraordinaire Lisa Stone, cofounder of BlogHer, joins Karen for a talk about pivoting, how she powered through some of the most stressful times of her life, and which she thinks is better — Harvard or Oxford.
Welcome back to Make Light, friends! Today’s wonderful guest is author and accidental artist Mira Jacob, one of the most creative people I know. Join us as we talk about how she tends to her own creative spirit,
Hi, everyone, and welcome to Make Light! I’m thrilled to have you join me — especially since my very first guest is author, activist and persistent optimist Asha Dornfest, one of the most gentle-yet-determined people I know. Join us as we talk about #fiercelove, why anger is a great motivator, and why she won’t be chasing people with bubbles anytime soon. Links mentioned in this episode:
- Asha Dornfest’s site
- Asha’s book, ParentHacks: 134 Genius Shortcuts for Life with Kids
- Asha’s podcast, The Edit Your Life Show