On my podcast It’s a Lot this week, I teamed up with Magnus Champlin, host of Mind of Magnus, to interview fine art photographer Adam Eaton. Adam recently self published a stunning photography book called Black is Beautiful. We chat about his inspiration for the book, the work that went into creating it, how he’s striving to shift cultural norms about dark skin through his art, and more.
Read MoreFor the second It’s a Lot episode of Rare Disease Month, I spoke with Tyler Lima-Roope, a content creator and advocate who has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). I’ve followed (and admired!) Tyler for years and was so excited when he said yes to chatting. Tyler was one of the first people I thought of after my son was diagnosed with SMA, and I’ve used his content as an example of fantastic storytelling in the college level social media course I teach.
We talked about the joy of opening new baseball cards, what it was like growing up with a disability, falling in love and being in an inter-abled relationship, the ridiculous limits on income and assets for folks on SSI, and lots more. In the second half of the episode, we explored his career as a content creator, the temptation to make a fool of yourself just to go viral, the feeling of being stuck in a box because people expect a certain type of content from you, and brand partnerships Tyler would love to do.
Read MoreFebruary is Rare Disease Month, so on It’s a Lot, we’re doing a mini series focused on spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). My son was diagnosed with SMA a few days after he was born, and then received an incredible gene therapy treatment less than a month later. The experience was a lot to go through, as you might imagine. I’m grateful I can share our story and hopefully help other people.
For the first episode of the mini series, I talked to my son’s neurologist, Sam Mackenzie, M.D., Ph.D. I was super curious about what it’s like delivering a life-changing diagnosis to a family, what you learn in med school about empathy and bedside manner, and how Sam ended up a child neurologist in the first place. We also discussed our flawed healthcare system and his hopes for a better one as well as what people can do to help disabled folks in the U.S. If this episode makes you want to support research, the TANGO2 Research Foundation is a great option! And if you want to go more in depth on child neurology, make sure to check out Sam’s podcast, Immature Brains.
In the second half of the episode, we chat about Sam’s experiences as a father of three. He shares his thoughts on parent guilt, his existential fears about how AI will impact his kids’ lives, why risk can actually be a good thing, and lots more.
Lastly, to learn more about SMA and how you can support the community, check out Cure SMA.
Read MoreFor a fun little mini episode of my podcast It’s a Lot, I sat down with my producer, Chris Lindstrom, for a chat about how things are going with the show so far, some of our favorite episodes, and the bizarre 2016 trend that’s been everywhere on social media lately. Yes, 2016 was different, but it was not better. And neither were we! We both reflect on how we’ve grown and changed over the past 10 years—and how Rochester has changed too. It’s a fun discussion; I hope you’ll give it a listen!
Read MoreOn the latest episode of It’s a Lot, I spoke with fellow toddler mom Leanne Toshiko Simpson about figuring out when you’re ready to have kids, the joys of slow walks with curious toddlers, and the insidious productivity culture depicted in Thomas the Tank Engine. Leanne is also a writer, mental health advocate, and educator, so in the first half of the show, we dive into her bipolar diagnosis, navigating the mental health system, writing characters with mental illness, the joys of mad friendship, and how to write funny. It was a fun conversation and I learned a lot from Leanne’s insights on mental illness and mad community!
Read MoreYou know what’s a lot? Figuring out that you’re trans and then trying to navigate what the heck to do about it. You know what else is hard? Living authentically, whether you’re trans or cis. We talk about all this and more in the latest episode of It’s a Lot, featuring Chloe Corcoran, a speaker, advocate, and higher ed professional. Our conversation explores how Chloe’s competitive streak and sense of humor have helped her survive hard times, the importance of just trusting trans people, how far $20 can go when it comes to mutual aid, and more.
Read More2025 flew by! This year, I launched a podcast called It’s a Lot, where we dive deep on social media, parenthood, and things that are a lot. I had a blast interviewing 15 different guests about the complex, weird, and wonderful things that are a lot in their lives. If you’re reading this blog post because you’re a bookworm, don’t miss my episode with Ella Dawson, author of But How Are You Really or my interview with Kristen Felicetti, author of Log Off.
This year, I celebrated 6 years of Serve Me the Sky Digital, gave a talk about a book I love at the local library, taught writing for digital media at Nazareth in the spring and two sections of my social media course in the fall, and worked with several new clients, all while raising a very active toddler. Every day is fast-paced, fun, and tiring. Somehow, I managed to read 107 books (as of this writing). Many of my favorite reads this year were ARCs! I’m grateful to the publishers who send me advance copies of books so I can rave about them to the world.
Read MoreFor something fun and different on my podcast It’s a Lot this week, I invited Chris Lindstrom, my producer, the host of Food About Town, and co-founder of the Lunchador Podcast Network, and my partner and co-parent Tim Lynch, to join me on a journey of sampling 24 different toddler snacks. It was a goofy good time all around! Chris and Tim offer lots of thoughtful analysis (and speculation) about the flavor profile, manufacturing process, and more, while I tend to just chime in with “it’s SO expensive” or “that was awful.” Whether or not you’re a parent, this is an entertaining listen!
Read MoreKat Eddy, mom and owner of Katboocha, returns to It’s a Lot for a follow up about the reality of life with two kids under two! Spoiler alert: it’s really damn hard. We talked about crying in Wegmans (apparently a theme on this podcast now), getting help for postpartum anxiety, the struggles of having patience with your partner during the sleepless newborn era, and more.
We played back clips from part one of our conversation and reacted to them, which was lots of fun! Part two can be listened to as a standalone, but part one is great, so I recommend listening to that if you haven’t yet.
Read MoreThis week on It’s a Lot, librarian and bonus mom Eboni Jones Stewart joins me for a very honest conversation about her path to becoming a bonus mom and her long journey of trying to get pregnant with a biological child of her own. We discuss the scourge that is Roblox, how special (and overstimulating) it is to have living room kids, the atrocious things people (medical professionals included) say to you after a pregnancy loss, and more.
In the second half of the episode, we explore how techno-optimists have ruined social media (and possibly the world) by never considering the consequences of their actions, and discuss how Ella has learned to use her privilege to speak up and uplift others’ voices.
Read MoreDigital, Social, & Creative by Emily Hessney Lynch.
