Behind the Mic

Season 5 Finale SOP Podcast Art

There’s a moment in every year when reflection feels unavoidable. The calendar shifts, expectations creep in, and we quietly ask ourselves what worked — and what didn’t. In this episode of Speaking of Phenomenal , my conversation with Taylor Elyse Morrison landed squarely in that space between looking back and choosing what comes next. Taylor describes herself as a portfolio careerist, someone whose work lives across multiple lanes at once. Coaching. Facilitating. Research.

I had to pause, rewind and hit play again when I heard Ellen Wilcox describe her job as the “head of listening” at the consumer venture capital firm Listen during the latest episode of the Speaking of Phenomenal podcast. I’m not very well-versed in business jargon, and wanted to make sure I wasn’t confounding her role with the company’s name. Yes, Ellen listens for a living. But what might seem like a simple human trait, for her, is an activity that demands preparation

Kari Fagin was having lunch with one of her mentors when he pushed a piece of paper across the table in her direction. She read 10 names...

Tonika Lewis Johnson on Speaking of Phenomenal Podcast As a teenager in the 90s, Tonika Lewis Johnson faced a 15-mile daily commute from...

photo of Mary Schmich and Melissa Harris by Alex Garcia In this week’s Speaking of Phenomenal episode, I sat down with two...