In December 2024, my first book -- The Present Professor: Authenticity and Transformational Teaching -- was released. There's an audiobook of that available, but in this new series, I share some of the deeply personal stories that informed the book in my own voice. Buy The Present Professor from the University of Oklahoma Press . The audiobook is available from all major audiobook vendors and produced by Tantor Media. Older episodes of this podcast are available wherever you get your podcasts or...
Mar 29, 2025•10 min•Ep. 45
I'm back with another installment of What Liz Has Been Reading Lately, featuring Thomas King's excellent book, The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America , and Michael Lewis's latest book, The Premonition . Both are definitely recommended! To find out more about Thomas King, check out this profile from CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/books/thomas-king-is-hopeful-that-his-writing-has-changed-the-world-but-he-s-still-not-sure-1.5795015 And be sure to look up the book I di...
Nov 29, 2021•11 min•Ep. 44
In this week's episode of What Did Liz Read This Week? I talk about Aubrey Gordon's book What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat and Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste . Y'know. Some light reading. Aubrey Gordon formerly wrote exclusively under her internet handle Your Fat Friend. She's a fat activist and co-host of the incredibly popular podcast Maintenance Phase, along with Michael Hobbes. Isabel Wilkerson won the Pulitzer Prize for her previous book, The Warmth of Other Suns . Her latest b...
Nov 07, 2021•23 min•Ep. 43
This week, I talk about key insights from the second half of Kim Scott's revised edition of Radical Candor: How to Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity . See the four quadrants that undergird Scott's arguments here: https://www.radicalcandor.com/our-approach/ And read more about Kim Scott here: https://www.radicalcandor.com/ I also share thoughts from Angela Y. Davis's 2003 book, Are Prisons Obsolete? I'm so often reminded of the saying: "hurt people ... hurt people." Unless and until...
Nov 01, 2021•12 min•Ep. 42
It's been a long time since my last episode, mostly because COVID sucks and my anxiety has been spiraling for a while. But I'm back! And starting what I hope will become a regular (or semi-regular) Sunday offering -- a short episode each week (ish) recapping what I've been reading that week. This week, I talk about key insights from the first third of Kim Scott's revised edition of Radical Candor: How to Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity . See the four quadrants that undergird Scot...
Oct 24, 2021•17 min•Ep. 41
This is the fifth in a special series of "covid convos" -- conversations with women about how they've been navigating the coronavirus over the last few months. In this episode, I talk to Gaytha in Dallas, Tex., about how working from home and taking care of her three-year-old daughter Blanche has had a positive impact on her family. Gaytha has learned that "work-life balance" is something that's both easier and harder to achieve in a work-from-home lifestyle, in that she is often working much la...
Jul 19, 2020•26 min•Ep. 40
This is the fourth in a special series of "covid convos" -- conversations with women about how they've been navigating the coronavirus over the last couple of months. In this episode, I chat with Stephanie about how her work as an event coordinator at a retreat center in Monteagle, Tenn., has changed since March. (Hint: It's A LOT.) We also talk about a wellness retreat she's planning in July 2020, as well as her thoughts on identity and this moment as a woman of color. Find out more about the c...
Jul 09, 2020•28 min•Ep. 39
This is the third in a special series of "covid convos" -- conversations with women about how they've been navigating the coronavirus over the last couple of months. In this episode, I chat with Rachel, who has weathered -- along with covid-19 -- a tornado and a bee infestation...! While it's been a topsy-turvy couple of months, she reflects back on this time with refreshing perspective and equanimity. I looooooove this episode!
Jun 14, 2020•48 min•Ep. 38
This is the second episode in a special series of "covid convos" -- conversations with women about how they've been navigating the coronavirus over the last couple of months. In this episode, I chat with my fabulous friend Amanda, a single mom of two curious and energetic kids (both under 10, eeps!), who have been keeping her on her toes during this quarantine life. She talks about missing hugs, reading poetry, and also missing hugs ... did we mention? Amanda's not the only person who has found ...
Jun 07, 2020•43 min•Ep. 37
Covid Convos with Katie S. Hall & Julie B. I'm kicking off a special series of "covid convos" -- conversations with women about how they've been navigating the coronavirus over the last couple of months. In this first episode, I chat with two dear friends while we escaped to Savannah for a responsibly-planned retreat, Katie S. Hall and fellow teacher Julie B. Find out how the three of us have been thinking about this slowing down of life, and tune in soon for the next installment of Covid Co...
Jun 04, 2020•28 min•Ep. 36
What if one question could change your life? Author Jen Louden has been helping women care for themselves and achieve their creative goals for decades. Her latest book, Why Bother? Discover the Desire for What's Next is out April 21st. Listen to this episode to hear why life wants you to get your bother on, what Jen calls the alien invaders , the why bother canaries , and the time monsters , and why creativity happens in the gap between what you want to do and what you can do. Pre-order the book...
Apr 08, 2020•41 min•Ep. 35
Yogi Sho Higuchi (E-RYT) generously allowed me to share this 35-minute yoga nidra practice with you, in the hopes that it might bring you some peace in this challenging time of social distancing and stay-at-home quarantining. Listen anytime you want to calm your mind and soothe your nervous system. Along with two dear friends, I attended one of Sho's Yoga Nidra trainings in New York City last September. It was a weekend of profound rest (well, during the training, anyway) and inspiration. I've n...
Mar 25, 2020•35 min•Ep. 34
As all of higher education, basically, prepares to move its operations online, our students are struggling with life challenges, anxiety, and pressures. In this rapid-response episode, recorded hastily on the precipice of my own classes starting March 23, I talk to two students and a support center professional about things faculty should keep in mind as we make this seismic change. A few resources mentioned in this episode: The Happiness Lab podcast: https://www.happinesslab.fm/ The specific ep...
Mar 23, 2020•32 min•Ep. 33
After seeing Glennon Doyle (and her wife, Abby Wambach) on book tour earlier this week, I wanted to share something that I can't stop mulling over, from an audience question about body image. A few things from this episode: Buy her book! It's available using this link (which supports this podcast): https://amzn.to/3b4vGgP (I read from her chapter called "erikas") Find alllllll the body image resources worthy of a mention on Jes Baker's site: http://www.themilitantbaker.com/p/resources.html Get i...
Mar 13, 2020•21 min•Ep. 32
Chris Emdin says, "You can't teach who you don't love. You can't teach who you don't respect." I couldn't agree more. In this solo episode, I rant about where my mind is vis-a-vis my teaching lately. I'm ready to start a revolution. Who's with me? Brene' Brown's actual quote, which I somewhat butcher in this episode: "Stop walking through the world looking for confirmation that you don't belong. You will always find it because you've made that your mission." (from Braving the Wilderness ) Resour...
Jan 18, 2020•28 min•Ep. 31
Four women, including host Liz Norell, gather to discuss their different relationships to mental health. Topics discussed include depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, taking medication for mental health, side effects of doing so, stigma/shame, addiction, dealing with doctors, and more. You'll hear in this episode Andrea (who deals with anxiety and depression), Amanda (who deals with bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression, and has dealt with addiction), Mollee (who deals with anxiety), and L...
Jan 09, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 30
A former student, Mikaila, stopped by to talk to me while she was home on her summer vacation. This conversation has stayed with me for every moment since we talked then... and I'm so proud to share it with you now. My big takeaway: BE KIND. TO EVERYONE. ALWAYS. Spread love, not hate. <3 To support people like Mikaila, I encourage you to support the Trevor Project, an organization that raises money and awareness for LGBTQ+ youth at risk: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/ If you are an LGBTQ+ ...
Oct 24, 2019•51 min•Ep. 29
Joined by friends and fellow political junkies Scott Foster and David Mabry, we dive into the hottest topic around right now -- IMPEACHMENT ! Three normal (well, normal-ish) people, talking politics. If you want more politics talk, let me know! A few resources we recommend: Scott/Liz recommend "Predisposed," by John Alford, John Hibbing, and Peter Smith (https://amzn.to/2ojxY8w); "The Religious Mind," by Jonathan Haidt (https://amzn.to/2nCTmpa); and the Heterodox Academy, a project co-founded by...
Oct 02, 2019•34 min•Ep. 28
Two former students, Colin McCormick and Itzel Garcia, were visiting just before classes started up again in August. I hustled them into a recording studio and made Colin tell me about his incredible experiences this summer. While Colin studies international relations at DePaul University in Chicago during the school year, he makes a compelling case in this conversation that to REALLY understand what's happening somewhere in the world, you really need to go there and meet the people. Colin menti...
Oct 01, 2019•42 min•Ep. 27
Welcome to season 2 of my podcast, which I've renamed The Liz Cast. Why the change? Mostly because I wanted to widen the circle of topics I can talk about ... because it's just becoming TOO hard not to talk about politics, books, travel, etc. In this very brief re-introduction to my podcast sphere, I preview some of the episodes to come in this season. If you'd like to be on the pod, let me know! You can get in touch at www.liznorell.com. Next week, you'll be hearing from a former student, Colin...
Sep 24, 2019•4 min•Ep. 26
Do you ever cringe when the topic of money comes up in conversation? (Not that it does often, because YES ... we ALL cringe...!) In this solo episode, I do some deep diving around my own stories about and relationship with money. Here are some resources I brought up in the episode: The Chattery: 2019 book club at The Chattery: https://www.thechattery.org/bookclub The Becoming Me Project: https://www.liznorell.com/becoming-me-2019/ Art of Money, the book (use this link to support the podcast!): h...
Aug 12, 2019•33 min•Ep. 25
If you listen to this in real time, I'm currently at a week-long writing retreat in Taos, New Mexico! Eeps! In this solo episode, I talk about the project I'll be working on while away, why I care about it so much, and then dish up a whole lot of brutal honesty as I process the many ways I might sabotage my own success. Here are some resources I mentioned in this episode: Jen Louden's homepage: https://jenniferlouden.com/ Jen's retreats: https://jenniferlouden.com/workshops-retreats/ Jen's YouTu...
Jul 29, 2019•23 min•Ep. 24
In this solo episode, I talk through realizing that teaching yoga just isn't filling my bucket anymore... and how guilty, afraid, and sad that I feel about that. Check out Katie Hall's yoga offerings in Murfreesboro, TN: http://katieshall.com/ Buy Elle Luna's book, The Crossroads of Should & Must: https://amzn.to/2lkxnC3 Get in touch and let me know what you're thinking! liznorell@gmail.com || www.liznorell.com
Jul 14, 2019•23 min•Ep. 23
Matt was feeling kind of run down and had some weird bruises, so he went to his doctor ... and very quickly his life went sideways as he began treatment for leukemia. In this conversation, he shares that story with us, with all its ups and downs. Be sure to check out bonus content at www.liznorell.com/ep22/ for photos that share some of the funnier moments of his treatment adventure. Sign up to be a bone marrow donor at www.bethematch.org. Want to go indoor skydiving in Frisco, Texas? Here's the...
May 15, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 22
Heather Staples is a pediatrician in Houston who shares her measured and sage advice on how to manage our fears about our kids' health. She recommends seeking the advice of your own medical care team whenever you have specific fears, but she gives us some good perspective on some of the more common fears of parents -- fears, by the way, that she shares as a parent herself. Heather also shares a great resource, the American Academy of Pediatrics web site, www.healthychildren.org, where you can ge...
May 11, 2019•45 min•Ep. 21
Hospice nurse Karen joins me to talk about health concerns, in our ongoing series of facing our health fears. But then Karen drops this incredible bit of knowledge about caring for those at the end of life, a job you might expect is one of the saddest: "I come home with my heart filled. People are just amazing." In this episode, we talk about heart and brain health, the importance of getting regular check-ups and screenings, and making sure you stay attentive to what's happening in your body. No...
Apr 17, 2019•34 min•Ep. 20
Jen G., who works as a nurse in a neurological unit, joins us to talk through some of the health scares that feel most common ... or, at least, that Liz worries about most. She serves up pretty fantastic nuggets of calm-yourself-down wisdom, such as this one: "Sometimes, the body just does weird things, and most of the time, it's just trying to compensate for something else that's happening." Preach! Nothing in this episode is meant to provide specific medical advice; we're just two friends talk...
Apr 09, 2019•49 min•Ep. 19
It started with a cold he couldn't shake ... and ended with a miracle in the nick of time that saved his life. In more ways than one, Scott Foster found a new heart, just when he needed it the most. In this conversation, he shares why he now says, "We don't realize how powerful we are." Scott and I have been friends since 1999 -- twenty years (!?!?!) -- and I'm proud to call him a friend, an ally, and a survivor. Everyone who listens to this, do me a favor: Check and make sure you are a register...
Apr 02, 2019•43 min•Ep. 18
You know what they say about the best laid plans... Yeah, they don't tend to go so well. That's kind of the story of my EVERY SINGLE March and October ... the midway point of the academic semester. You'd think that after more than a decade in teaching college, I would've learned to anticipate this. Alas, though, I need twice-annual reminders. And that's why you haven't seen this podcast feed update in a little while. But the fog will lift soon, and I'll be back with all-new episodes. Scheduled (...
Mar 26, 2019•14 min•Ep. 17
When Amanda Lipnack planned her solo trip to Paris, she was feeling pretty "meh" about it ... because, honestly, wouldn't it be better to go with someone special? Once she landed in Paris, though, the excitement hit her and she had an amazing experience! She now fully embraces the virtues of solo adventuring and imagines a day when, even with a partner, she might choose to go have a solo adventure somewhere exciting. Amanda shares her favorite things to do in Paris, why she can't really apprecia...
Feb 26, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 16
