Today Jonni and Maria talk about joy: All the ways we find it, it finds us, and how we need it in tough times. From game show addictions to leafing through old photo albums and building Chambers of Connection, we discuss the important role community, camaraderie, and laughter play in our lives and how you can find ways to stay involved while still embracing joy right now. And we share a few must-watch shows and must-listen podcasts to add some levity to your life.

Plus, improv, illness, a Night at the Museum, white noise, disposable cameras, Harry Potter, and more tomfoolery.

REFERENCES MENTIONED:

Love is Blind

Project Runway

Night at the Museum

SNL 50th Anniversary

Schitt's Creek

Loot

The Detectorists

Search Engine

No Such Thing

Chamber of Connection

California Academy of Sciences Penguins and Pajamas Program

Shutterfly

Artkive

CONNECT WITH US

We’d love your feedback and ideas about the show! Follow/DM us on Instagram:

@jonniandmaria

@redslicemaria

@jonniressler

Visit Maria’s website: www.red-slice.com

Visit Jonni’s website: www.eleven11solutions.com

Jonni and Maria discuss how we can balance what's happening around us and why building community will be the key to making it through, finding joy, and activating change. We discuss why we're all grieving something. We share about optimism, activism, the cycle of progress and retreat, and how we can find sanity and sanctuary while still staying involved. Listen in to think and laugh about how we're all dealing with change in work and in our personal lives and how we can find joy, link arms, and move forward.

We share resources and experts that will help you find joy and take action.

Plus, chicken coops, improv shows, love and loss, social media sanity, kids, and more tomfoolery.

References Mentioned:

Jonni's show Big Tech at Jet City Improv (February 2025)

Courage to Advance: Breaking the ‘Things Will Get Better’ Cycle with Aaron Delgaty, PhD

The Ezra Klein Show

Heather Cox Richardson

Ruth Bader Ginsburg on The Pendulum as the symbol of the United States

ResistBot app

1440

Tangle

All There Is podcast with Andersen Cooper, exploring grief

The Empathy Edge: Stephanie Sarazin: What Is Ambiguous Grief and How To Show Up

Life is Beautiful

The Parrot Tico Tango

Not mentioned but a great perspective!

Elisa Camahort Page: Where Do We Go From Here? (about social media usage)

Jonni and Maria talk about the differences between embarrassment and shame and spill the tea on some of our award-worthy embarrassing moments. Whether from middle school plays to brazen attempts to bond with the cool kids. Whether it’s attending the wrong party for almost 30 minutes (and drinking their wine) or the everyday embarrassments we all feel. Jonni and Maria share the laughs, physiological reactions and emotional scars that stay with us, how to take away the power of embarrassment, how sometimes embarrassment can lead to shame when handled badly - and explore the moments that remain with us. We break down an "official" difference between embarrassment and shame, and of course, cite Brene Brown.

Plus, kid updates, slumber parties, Alcatraz visits, what the hell is "snappy casual?, Maria's new book coming in September,, and more tomfoolery.

REFERENCES MENTIONED:

NIH National Library of Medicine, "The Neural Signatures of Shame, Embarrassment, and Guilt: A Voxel-Based Meta-Analysis on Functional Neuroimaging Studies"

Adding Shame, Guilt, Humiliation, Embarrassment, Empathy, and Self-Compassion to the Social Emotional Learning Vocabulary

CONNECT WITH US

We’d love your feedback and ideas about the show! Follow/DM us on Instagram:

@jonniandmaria

@redslicemaria

@jonniressler

Visit Maria’s website: www.red-slice.com

Visit Jonni’s website: www.eleven11solutions.com

Jonni and Maria talk about the evolution of language and how the heck we can understand each other better..From the ways we now refer to different groups to be more inclusive and respectful, and how this is constantly evolving - and should be, as we learn more and strive to be better to each other. We talk about generational slang, from the 50's to the 80's to Gen Z, "professional" talk versus casual talk, how we learned to write formal letters and emails, which phrases are keepers no matter what generation, and how we feel about swearing. We discuss how language can divide us but also connect us. And of course, we share our own adventures trying to understand what language our kids are speaking.

We'd love to hear what you think!

Plus, Halloween debrief, our take on when Christmas decorations can go up, helping our kids become more self-aware, plus more tomfoolery.

REFERENCES MENTIONED:

The Inclusive Language Field Guide by Dr. Suzanne Werheim

Language at work is becoming more casual- thanks to Gen Z - CNBC

Gen Z nurse video meme (watch all of Nurse John here, a nurse using humor to highlight serious challenges)

2023 Teen Slang includes current teen phrases 

Teen Talk and Linguistic Evolution - Psychology Today

Can you talk the latest talk? How slang divides and connects generations

At what age should you stop using contemporary slang? 

CONNECT WITH US

We’d love your feedback and ideas about the show! Follow/DM us on Instagram:

@jonniandmaria

@redslicemaria

@jonniressler

Visit Maria’s website: www.red-slice.com

Visit Jonni’s website: www.eleven11solutions.com

Jonni and Maria talk about the mayhem that is motherhood, especially for those who work outside the home, but for all of us dealing with raising humans. We share the ridiculous myths we all tell ourselves about motherhood should be, why every developmental stage is like getting used to a new kid all over again, why it's okay to admit your kid is being a jerk sometimes, and how to start the process of distancing yourself and your identity from your kids to let them fly. Jonni shares from her perspective with soon to be high school and college grads on the cusp of independence and Maria from the trenches of 9 year old sassiness and defiance. We chat about positive and conscious parenting techniques - and why we feel like we're doing it wrong, and the long game: What type of humans do we hope our kids turn out to be and what kind of relationship do we hope we have with them.

Plus, summer chaos, Barnes & Noble, board games, kids playing with knives (don't miss Jonni's story that you won't be able to get out of your head!) and more tomfoolery.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Sara Dean's Shameless Mom Academy Podcast (PS, Here's Maria's interview from a few years ago!)

Dr Shefali, Conscious Parenting expert

Dandelion Seeds Positive Parenting

Unscrew You with Rachel Duffy (podcast Maria mentioned but forgot to name)

Better Help to find the right therapist for you

Labor of Love- NPRs Throughline Podcast

Repair of a Broken Relationship (Parents and Adult Children)- Mel Robbins Podcast

If you are in mental crisis or having thoughts of suicide, please call 988 to get the immediate help you need - you are not alone. (US only)

CONNECT WITH US

We’d love your feedback and ideas about the show! Follow us on Instagram:

@jonniandmaria

@redslicemaria

@jonniressler

Visit Maria’s website: www.red-slice.com

Visit Jonni’s website: www.eleven11solutions.com

Jonni and Maria talk about the demise of malls and other "Third Places" in American culture. The term Third Place was coined in 1989 by sociologist Ray Oldenburg " describing a place beyond home and work where people could gather, relax and talk." Today,we share what's going on,, how such places shaped our culture and childhoods, where people go to connect outside of home and work, and what we think of the new Third Place frontier: Online. We share our memories (Barnes and Noble afternoons, teen girl mall-meetups), laughs, and surprising trends on how places such as malls, coffee shops and parks shape our social connections in a post-Pandemic world.

Plus, the big Seattle visit and live podcast recording, Jonni's improv workshops, stretching ourselves, British accents, Maria's theater audition, summer plans, and more tomfoolery.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Northeastern University

Getting Curious Podcast with Jonathan Van Ness: Where Did All the Malls Go with Alexandra Lange

Reimagining The Third Place: How Starbucks is Evolving its Store Experience

Malls.com: The Number of Malls in the US will Decline to 200 in 10-15 years: 

The Atlantic: Do Yourself a Favor and Go Find Yourself a Third Place

Yahoo! Finance: What is a Third Place, and Why Have They Practically Disappeared? 

San Diego Magazine: The Return of Malls Heralds Better Third Places for Teens

CONNECT WITH US

We’d love your feedback and ideas about the show! Follow us on Instagram:

@jonniandmaria

@redslicemaria

@jonniressler

Visit Maria’s website: www.red-slice.com

Visit Jonni’s website: www.eleven11solutions.com