Feeling out of control? Stressed? Overwhelmed? What if relief was just one question away? My guest today is the fantastic and delightful Marc Champagne. Marc is a mental fitness strategist, host of the Behind the Human podcastan, and best selling author of Personal Socrates: Questions That Will Upgrade Your Life from Legends & World-Class Performers. Marc is a connoisseur of questions that will change you. He has gathered juicy questions and prompts from legends as wide ranging as Pablo Pica...
Mar 28, 2023•37 min•Ep. 103
Friends, today you are going to meet Grace. Grace is struggling with something a LOT of us can relate to: How do you become your most powerful Self when you are recovering from a long season of stress, crisis, and debilitating fear. How do you bring calm, creativity and clarity of thinking when you have been in survival mode for so long, you feel like you're constantly being shot out of a cannon? In other words, how do you function in peace time when your body has been geared for war? This conve...
Mar 22, 2023•59 min•Ep. 102
There are two types of people in the world … Those who secretly wonder if there’s a book inside them waiting to be written, and those who would never in a million years wonder such a thing. This episode is 100% dedicated to people in the former category. My guest today is Linda Sivertsen, aka “book mama,” though she could just as easily be called “book doula,” such is her gift. LINDA is an author, ghostwriter, and coauthor of eleven books (including two NYT bestsellers), is the host of the top-r...
Feb 28, 2023•43 min•Ep. 101
Captivating. Isn’t that a great word? When someone is captivating, the audience is 100% on their side, and 100% engrossed with whatever it is they are saying. Today, you are going to meet "Jess." Jess is on a quest to become more captivating in the courtroom. Jess is a criminal defense lawyer, and her ability to win over a jury can mean the difference between incarceration and freedom. But here’s the thing—she is a seasoned professional. She’s already good at what she does. But she wants to beco...
Feb 14, 2023•50 min•Ep. 100
Some people just shine. Human beings who radiate from an inner light do so because of what they’ve overcome, and the meaning they’ve made of their life experiences thus far. My guest today is truly a luminous being. My friends, please meet Martha Niño . Martha is a 25-year Silicon Valley technology professional who has worked at large corporations ranging from mobile, to hardware, to software. She recently celebrated over 15 years as a Senior Marketing Manager at tech giant Adobe (the Photoshop ...
Jan 24, 2023•48 min•Ep. 99
BIG NEWS, my friends!! Season 5 of 20 Minutes with Bronwyn is now LIVE and this season I decided to experiment with format. Instead of recording myself solo speaking into the ether, I have found some truly incredible human beings willing to be coached and RECORDED (albeit anonymously), as they work to become their most powerful selves, speaking from that place of power. In this week’s episode, you will meet “Claire.” 🧚 🧚 Claire’s goal was clear. She wanted to go … from being nervous, tongue-ti...
Jan 10, 2023•30 min•Ep. 98
THIS is the last episode of 20 Minutes with Bronwyn for Season 4, and it is dedicated to recent college grads, wondering what the hell to do next. This episode is also dedicated to the parents of those grads who may be wringing their hands, also wondering, What the hell is this kid gonna do next?? Today, our guide for this conversation is the amazing, delightful, divine Ms. Andrea Koppel. Andrea is an award winning former CNN journalist, who has dedicated her life to helping college students fin...
Jun 29, 2022•37 min•Ep. 97
Hello Friend! It’s hard to believe that my podcast is turning 4 this year. To say I’m proud is an understatement. To say I have it all figured out is an overstatement. Having said that, I’ve learned a thing or two, and last summer I did a live webinar to offer what knowledge I possess about making (and maintaining!) a podcast. Over 100 people joined, and I loved every minute of it. I am often asked for advice for those hoping to start a podcast (or those wanting to turbo charge an existing show!...
Jun 15, 2022•53 min•Ep. 96
My guest this week is someone I have wanted to interview on my podcast since the FIRST SEASON. This someone is not only a groundbreaking researcher and scientist , he is also my dear friend, Dr. Alexander Marson . Alex is the Director of Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, a senior investigator at Gladstone Institute, and an Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology at UCSF. Alex is interested in how DNA controls the behavior of cells in the h...
May 25, 2022•43 min•Ep. 95
I was NOT planning on dropping this episode until much later in the summer, but within a few days of recording this conversation, a draft opinion on the overturning of Roe vs. Wade was leaked to Politico . My intention from the beginning was to talk with an expert about the language around reproductive freedom. Because here’s what I know for sure: Women cannot compete economically and/or provide for our families if we lose our right to determine when (or whether) to have children. I don’t know a...
May 11, 2022•42 min•Ep. 94
WOW, are you in for a treat with this week’s podcast guest. You are about to meet the LUMINOUS Elizabeth Jameson . Who is this luminous being, you ask? Well, lemme tell ya … Elizabeth Jameson is an artist and writer who explores what it means to live in an imperfect body as part of the universal human experience. Before her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, she served as a public interest lawyer representing incarcerated children; she later represented children living with chronic illnesses and d...
Apr 06, 2022•40 min•Ep. 93
Have you ever been in a conversation, or in a meeting, and someone says something that feels like a slap? You start asking yourself questions like: “Wait, did she/he just say something mean, or am I imagining this?” I call these moments psychic attacks not because I mean “psychic” in the woo-woo, crystal ball sense, but because these are attacks on our psyches. Psychologists call them “passive aggressive” or “covert aggressive” comments. But call them what you want … they turn our inner world up...
Mar 16, 2022•26 min•Ep. 92
Well, my friends. In this week’s podcast episode, I had a rather surreal experience. I got to interview someone very special, and “special” not just because of who she is and how much she has accomplished in her life, but “special” because she and I are both named … BRONWYN. People, I am beside myself with joy to be able to introduce to you the marvelous Bronwyn Morgan. Bronwyn is the founder and CEO of the tech startup Xeo Air , which is an AI based, drones-on-demand platform for mission manage...
Feb 23, 2022•33 min•Ep. 91
As you may know, Season 4 of this podcast is all about responding to YOUR questions. Your interests. And lately, I have been asked a LOT about my parenting philosophy. Which honestly, I think is RICH because I really don’t know what the hell I’m doing. BUT, I do have 15 years+ of experience of being a parent, and I have worked EXTREMELY hard at being the best version of myself as a mother, without being weird about it. So this episode is my attempt to offer parents of all stripes (this isn’t jus...
Feb 09, 2022•37 min•Ep. 90
If you’ve been with me for a while, you will recognize my guest on this week’s episode— the amazing Ben Kiker. I talk about Ben a LOT, because he is one of my sanity secrets. He helps keep the overwhelm at bay, and the energy high. I wanted to create an episode that gives you some thought provoking questions … ways to shape your year. There is just so much we can’t control in this life, but we can control our intentions, creating practices that set us up for successful and fulfilling 2022.
Jan 26, 2022•47 min•Ep. 89
In the “before times” (AKA pre-Covid), the month of January always brought with it a kind of open-hearted optimism, which acted as fuel propelling us into a new year. But the past two Januaries have been less open-hearted for many of us. Less optimistic. Maybe like me, you spent the holidays with Omicron. Or maybe you avoided Covid, but are still carrying the weight of all the uncertainty and burn-out of the past 2 years. Either way, my friend, this episode is calling out to you from a place of ...
Jan 12, 2022•40 min•Ep. 88
It’s the final countdown … and this week’s podcast episode (the last of 2021!) is dedicated to ONE category of listener: Those who struggle with tricky family dynamics during the Holidays. For many people, the holidays conjure feelings of closeness and long standing traditions that bring joy. But for a whole lot of people, the holidays carry the energy signatures of dread. Anxiety. Avoidance. Not every family can be the Huxtables. (I mean jeeze, not even the Huxtables were the Huxtables as it tu...
Dec 22, 2021•24 min•Ep. 87
I think it’s safe to say that the politics of the past several years has made us cynical. That’s definitely been my experience. But recently, I attended a fundraiser for an organization called the Service First Women’s Victory Fund. They are on “campaign to elevate the collective voice of elected women leaders who have dedicated their lives to serving our country and who know what it means to put service and country over partisan politics. Together, we are building a new normal where service lea...
Dec 08, 2021•33 min•Ep. 86
One of my FAVORITE songs of the last few years is a little ditty called My Type by a band called Saint Motel . My daughter Stella turned me onto it, and it has been on heavy, heavy rotation in my house (and car) ever since. So imagine my delight when lead singer A/J Jackson’s team reached out to see if I’d be open to having him on my show to talk about his new project. You will be able to hear my barely concealed fan-girling in this episode, but I did manage to ask him several questions I had to...
Nov 17, 2021•27 min•Ep. 85
In Russian, the word for procrastination is: “provolochka“ In Arabic, they say, “taswif an” In Spanish, it’s aplazar. In other words, procrastination transcends culture, race, gender, and even transcends time. Seneca was talking about procrastination during the ROMAN Imperial Period, and famously said: “The fool, with all his other faults, has this also, he is always getting ready to live.” The tendency to procrastinate seems to be baked into our behavioral DNA as homo sapiens. Which seems like ...
Nov 03, 2021•22 min•Ep. 84
I have historically had a VERY fraught relationship with eating. I grew up in Orange County, California, where eating disorders were a rite of passage. And I don’t say that flippantly—almost everyone I knew growing up had a disordered relationship to eating, myself included. I remember pulling into the student parking lot at my high school and seeing some kid’s Volkswagen decorated with a bumper sticker that read, “No Fat Chicks, my Bug will Scrape.” I remember feeling a sense of alarm … like, I...
Oct 27, 2021•37 min•Ep. 83
A few weeks ago, I was giving one of my favorite talks to a team of professionals at one of my favorite clients. The talk is all about how to build a powerful morning ritual. Something that sets you up for excellence, all day long. At one point, a woman in the session asked me a question … as a mother, how do you get over the feeling of guilt that comes with taking all that time for yourself? I nearly tore my skin off when she asked this. Why? For about a million different reasons … Because I to...
Oct 13, 2021•16 min•Ep. 82
The past 18 months have brought a LOT of change and adaptation. Some of the ways we adapted during the pandemic have been incredibly useful. We took a long, hard look at what we say yes to. What we say no to. If we weren’t already great at washing our hands, we sure as hell are now. But there is one adaptation that makes me nervous. That my friends … is our increased consumption of alcohol. And when I say “our” I really mean MY relationship to alcohol, and perhaps you can relate. It went from a ...
Sep 29, 2021•41 min•Ep. 81
Welcome to Season 4! To kick things off, I wanted to focus on the toxic communication pattern of martyrdom. Why? Because as communication patterns go, few are as unnerving and damaging to our relationships as martyrdom, AND as communication patterns go, few are as EFFECTIVE in a twisted sense as playing the role of martyr. As they say, we repeat behaviors because on some level, they WORK. Which is why it is so difficult to STOP. So why is martyrdom so powerful? And what can we do about it when i...
Sep 15, 2021•29 min•Ep. 80
As you may already know, authenticity is kind of a big deal to me. It’s the cornerstone of my work in the world. As a communication coach, I’m NEVER interested in “polishing” someone as a communicator. I’m interested in revealing someone in their truest most beautiful form. And I’ve been doing this for a LONG time. The good thing about being devoted to a practice, to a craft, is that you feel quite confident, and quite sure of yourself. The bad thing about being devoted to a craft is that someti...
Jul 28, 2021•31 min•Season 3Ep. 79
This episode is dedicated 100% to pulling back the curtain of my journaling practice, not because I think it’s unique or special, but because it is probably the single most important ritual I have. My journaling practice is more important to me than therapy. Exercise. Diet. Even church. Truly, if you asked me to sacrifice any of my rituals, you would have to pry journaling from my cold dead hands. Why? Because my journaling practice is the “room of one’s own” that Virginia Wolf talked about … a ...
Jul 14, 2021•37 min•Season 3Ep. 78
June of 2014, for the first time in its history, a trans woman—the luminous Laverne Cox— was featured on the cover of Time Magazine, with the headline: The Transgender Tipping Point. Just this April, Elliot Page became the first trans man to grace the cover of the magazine. Whether 2014 marked the “tipping point” for popular culture’s reckoning with the transgender community is debatable … because here we are 7 years later, still trying to tip. Still trying to understand. In 2014, I would say th...
Jun 23, 2021•44 min•Season 3Ep. 77
In a post-vaccinated population, it's open season for socializing and it's ... awkward. Wonderful. Exhausting. And also terribly anxiety producing for some of us. As a communication coach, I’m fascinated by all of it, and have been taking field notes on what is the most challenging, the most excruciating parts of "peopling," and why. In this episode I offer solutions to the three biggest communication problems I've encountered post vaccination, and I offer three solutions to make it all a bit le...
Jun 09, 2021•25 min•Season 3Ep. 76
We talk a lot on this show about the power of story. But what we haven’t yet covered is storytelling in the context of how we talk about our businesses. If you are an entrepreneur running a startup, or trying to raise money in the venture capital community ... If you are a solo-preneur or coach building your business ... If you are someone trying to create momentum and generate more revenue in your business, this is the episode for you. My guest today has some words of wisdom that could just cha...
May 19, 2021•43 min•Season 3Ep. 75
Our capacity to handle tough moments at work can mean the difference between upward mobility and infuriating stagnation. But for too many of us, conflict is our kryptonite. In this episode, I will walk you through my favorite exercise for transforming our relationship to conflict.
May 05, 2021•17 min•Season 3Ep. 74
