Episodi

  • How Cringe Becomes Art (Lauren Weedman)

    How Cringe Becomes Art (Lauren Weedman)
    Feb 17 2026
    Lauren Weedman is an Emmy-nominated writer, comedian, and actor known her roles in HBO’s Looking, Hung and Hacks. She is also a renowned solo performer whose work is built on fearless honesty and dark humor. In this episode, Lauren gives Amanda a candid masterclass in solo storytelling, from why audiences hesitate to laugh at trauma, to how musical numbers, silence, and even a well timed cartwheel can unlock tension onstage. Along the way, they trade unforgettable moments about prison mugshots, shame, loneliness, and how a mother can balance the intense energy of a theatrical run with the demands of family life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 ora e 6 min
  • How Television Shapes Public Truth (Warren Littlefield)

    How Television Shapes Public Truth (Warren Littlefield)
    Feb 10 2026
    Warren Littlefield is an award winning television producer and former NBC network president whose career spans landmark shows from Cheers to The Handmaid’s Tale and The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox. In this candid and behind the scenes conversation, Warren and Amanda revisit the making of the series together, sharing stories about freezing fog in Vancouver, impossible production schedules, and the tiny details like suitcases and pastries that carry enormous emotional weight. Along the way, Warren reflects on firefighting in the entertainment industry, replacing Johnny Carson, embracing change, and why protecting creative vision, listening to your gut, and questioning official narratives matter far beyond television. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    59 min
  • Ask Amanda Anything: Pivots, Joy, Dance Floors

    Ask Amanda Anything: Pivots, Joy, Dance Floors
    Feb 3 2026
    In this Ask Amanda Anything episode, Amanda and Chris tackle big, tender questions about career pivots, privacy, creativity, and what it means to live openly without losing yourself. They share raw and funny stories about quitting “soul sucking” jobs, being the first person on the dance floor, and relearning joy after it was taken away. The conversation moves from Taoist ideas about following life’s current to the ethics of oversharing, offering a look at how curiosity, connection, and courage help us begin again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 ora e 2 min
  • Why Adaptation Is a Human Superpower (Maya Shankar)

    Why Adaptation Is a Human Superpower (Maya Shankar)
    Jan 27 2026
    Maya Shankar is a cognitive scientist, writer, and host of the podcast A Slight Change of Plans, whose new book The Other Side of Change explores who we become when life takes an unexpected turn. In this rich and intimate conversation, Maya and Amanda dig into moments ranging from Juilliard dreams cut short by injury to miscarriage. They talk about locked-in syndrome, prison poetry, and the surprising psychology of why uncertainty can feel worse than pain. Along the way, Maya shares practical tools offering listeners a hopeful and deeply human guide to navigating change without platitudes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    56 min
  • Tending Your Garden in a Burning World

    Tending Your Garden in a Burning World
    Jan 20 2026
    In a moment when the news feels relentless and outrage is often treated as a moral obligation, Amanda reflects on what meditation is really for. Is sitting quietly a form of disengagement, or a way of learning how to respond without making things worse? Drawing on Zen practice, Buddhist history, and her own experience of trauma, activism, and family life, Amanda explores the false choice between rage and withdrawal, and makes the case for tending the quality of our own minds as a prerequisite for meaningful engagement. In a world on fire, this is an argument for care, clarity, and action that doesn’t multiply harm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    26 min
  • Why Being Right Won't Set You Free (Michael Semanchik and Scott McMahon)

    Why Being Right Won't Set You Free (Michael Semanchik and Scott McMahon)
    Jan 13 2026
    Mike Semanchik is the executive director of the Innocence Center, and Scott McMahon is an American who spent more than five years imprisoned in the Philippines for a crime he did not commit. In this episode, Amanda, Mike, and Scott unpack how a justice system built on delay, corruption, and extortion can turn a single accusation into a life sentence without a verdict, how patience and tenacity become survival skills when truth is systematically ignored, and why refusing to pay for freedom can cost everything and still be worth it. Michael Semanchik is also the host of the podcast For The Innocent, where he tells the stories of those who have been unjustly imprisoned and the tireless efforts to bring them home. Read more about Scott's case here https://theinnocencecenter.org/case/scott-mcmahon/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 ora e 16 min
  • New Beginnings

    New Beginnings
    Jan 6 2026
    In this episode of Hard Knox, Amanda is joined by her husband Chris for an intimate and surprisingly funny conversation about the practice of beginning again. Drawing from Zen practice, a New Year’s fight, and a walk in the woods, they explore how noticing momentum in our thoughts, moods, and arguments can interrupt downward spirals, how compassion and physical connection can reset conflict, and why beginning again is not about erasing the past but choosing wisely in the present. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 ora e 2 min
  • Why Hope Is Learnable (Scott Barry Kaufman)

    Why Hope Is Learnable (Scott Barry Kaufman)
    Dec 30 2025
    Scott Barry Kaufman is a cognitive scientist and bestselling author whose work explores creativity, intelligence, and what helps people grow after hardship. In this episode, Amanda and Scott talk about how we get stuck in stories about ourselves, how to tell the difference between honoring pain and letting it run the show, and why growth often starts with a small shift in perspective rather than a dramatic breakthrough. Along the way, they explore why curiosity beats self judgment, how hope can be learned, and why becoming more whole does not require erasing what you have been through. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 ora e 4 min