This week, we're joined by writer, editor, and audiobook evangelist Natalie Ponte ask a simple question:

Is reading really disappearing, or are we simply redefining what it means to be a reader?

Because if someone devours audiobooks while folding laundry, inhales graphic novels in a weekend, or spends hours reading newsletters, essays, and long-form journalism... are they really not a reader?

Maybe (just maybe) there are people out there clinging to a very specific and outdated idea of what reading is supposed to look like ;)

The Trash Talk Hotline

Tell us about a cliche that bothers you every time you hear it.

Leave a message on the Trash Talk hotline at (719) 819-2175—your voice could end up in a future episode.

And while you’re at it, do us a solid: subscribe, drop a review, and share this episode with your fellow Trashies.

Natalie’s Links

https://www.natalieponte.com/

https://www.schmendricks.shop/

https://linktr.ee/schmendricks

Other Links & Resource

Access our curated Libro.fm reading playlist featuring recommendations from voices we actually trust—including Roxane Gay, Layne Moore, John Waters, Mary Oliver, and Dean Spade:

https://libro.fm/playlists/trashtalk

Libro.fm is an audiobook platform that lets you listen to great books while supporting your favorite independent bookstore.

Get three audiobooks for the price of one with a new membership:

Use code TRASHTALK

https://libro.fm/membership?mp=TRASHTALK

Follow Erica Breuer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericabreuer/

Follow Erin Thomas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamerinthomas/

Visit Trash Talk Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2451264

“Let Them” Round II / Mel Robbins

In this episode, we close out our guru series by circling back to the origin story: Mel Robbins and the “Let Them” phenomenon; specifically, we get into domain “leakage” and the uncomfortable truth about expertise that travels well.

We also recap patterns we’ve charted over the course of these episodes, a few things became hard to ignore:

The reality is, that we help construct gurus as much as we consume them.

Stay in Touch During Summer Break

We’re heading into a summer break to step back and resist the urge to immediately turn every insight into content. If you miss us in the meantime, we’re still having these conversations, just in slightly different corners of the internet:

Follow Erin Thomas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamerinthomas/

Erin’s newsletter: https://erinthomascommunications.com/

Follow Erica Breuer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericabreuer/

Erica’s virtual meetup:

Visit Trash Talk Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2451264

Other items we mentioned during this episode

Blanding, M. (2025, February 20). Women are avoiding AI. Will their careers suffer?: Working Knowledge. Harvard Business School. https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/women-are-avoiding-using-artificial-intelligence-can-that-hurt-their-careers

“We can do hard things.” Cute. Catchy. But somewhere along the way, it shape-shifted from a comforting reminder into a borderline threat.

This conversation starts with Glennon Doyle’s cultural footprint: her phrase, her storytelling style, and why her work landed so strongly in a moment when everyone was already maxed out. From here, Erica and Erin explore how their definition of “hard things” has evolved to include something less celebrated: ease.

And as we approach the end of our “All the Gurus” series, this conversation also examines what we want and need from the people we allow to shape us.

The Trash Talk Hotline

Tell us about a cliche that bothers you every time you hear it.

Leave a message on the Trash Talk hotline at (719) 819-2175—your voice could end up in a future episode.

And while you’re at it, do us a solid: subscribe, drop a review, and share this episode with your fellow Trashies.

Other Links & Resources

Libro.fm is an audiobook platform that lets you listen to great books while supporting your favorite independent bookstore.

Get three audiobooks for the price of one with a new membership:

Use code TRASHTALK

https://libro.fm/membership

Follow Erica Breuer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericabreuer/

Follow Erin Thomas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamerinthomas/

Visit Trash Talk Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2451264