š November News: Brand new project drops & School of Thot š
For the past six months, Iāve been hard at work on the reboot ofĀ PayPalās Never Stand Still podcast, and season four finally launched this week!Ā The first in our A-list lineup is Tory Burch; other fascinating guests include Matthew McConaughey, Mark Cuban, Maria Sharapova, and Ibram X. Kendi. I learned A LOT making this show, and Iām really proud of how it turned out.
With just a few weeks and a handful of episodes left to finish, Iām on the home stretch of production. Then Iām taking some time āoffā to develop a couple of passion projects. Watch this space!
Mid-November, I startedĀ School of Thot with Stasia PatwellĀ to get my butt in better shape.Ā I've gotten softer over the pandemic thanks to spending more time at home, andĀ oh, I don't knowĀ ā maybe the FULL YEAR or so I couldn't attend workout classes. Anyway, I want to be a hardbody again. One of Stasia's rules is that we have to get 10K steps a day, a habit I'm eager to regain; I've been 100 percent on that. But I'm not so good about macrosā¦ I spent a lot of time googling protein powder recipes over the holiday. If you have any good ones for masking the taste, let me know!
This month, I launchedĀ Podcast Bestie, my newsletter with meditations on craft and marketing, industry news, pod jobs, and more.Ā Itās only been out for two issues, but the podcasting community is already embracing it.
1ļøā£ The first edition featured an interview with Arielle Nissenblatt about her experience with the #tweet100 challenge (spoiler alert: she gained 2,000 followers in 80 days).
2ļøā£ The second edition dropped on Thanksgiving, so in honor of Native American Heritage Month, I wanted to highlight Native voices and stories in the podcasting world. Podcasts likeĀ This Land,Ā All My Relations,Ā Toasted Sister, and more bring modern Indigenous issues to the forefront while educating listeners on history, law, and policy that hasnāt been whitewashed.
š Sign up for the next newsletter!
New Private Parts Unknown Episodesš
Our latest episode on Private Parts Unknown is the perfect primer on genetic counseling, its role in breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and more. And while breast cancer is one of her specialties, Dena works to spread awareness about all types of genetic counseling through her fun and informativeĀ social media channels. This was such an empowering conversation about healthcare options.
October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so I interviewed my bestie and co-host Sofiya about her experience as a breast cancer survivor. This episode unpacks what it was like to battle Stage 1 ātriple positiveā breast cancer, including finding a lump and getting the diagnosis, some tips for making chemotherapy feel more manageable, how to be a supportive friend to someone with breast cancer, an unexpected silver lining, and more.
Lastly, earlier this month, I was a guest on The Daily Zeitgeist (my first appearance back since the before times). I was so excited to see Miles and Jack that I forgot to do my AKA during the intro ā AKA biggest ditz in Zeitgeist history!
Iām thankful that I get to make media for my job! xx
Follow me @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.