In this episode of Being Different, I sit down with Michaela Barnett for one of the most honest political conversations I have had on this podcast.

I have voted Republican my entire adult life, but lately, I have felt increasingly frustrated, politically homeless, and ready to question the people and systems I once supported without hesitation. Michaela is a Democrat running against Congressman Tim Burchett, and while we do not agree on everything, I wanted to hear directly from her about why she is running and what she believes needs to change.

We talk about what she witnessed while working in Washington, why Congress struggles to accomplish even the things most Americans agree on, and whether leaders can ever put the people they represent ahead of their party. We also get into term limits, corporate PAC money, campaign finance reform, foreign wars, AI regulation, hyperscale data centers, job displacement, and the very broken state of healthcare in America.

This conversation did not magically answer every question I have or change every opinion I hold. But it reminded me that it is possible to disagree about the solution while still recognizing the same problems—and that our leaders should have to earn our votes instead of simply assuming they have them.

Michaela and I had far more to discuss than we could fit into one conversation, so I have already asked her to come back. For now, this is a candid conversation about political frustration, finding common ground, and whether meaningful change is still possible.

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Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

In this episode of Being Different, I’m revisiting the infamous summer packet.

Last year, I got a lot of people fired up when I said I threw Mac’s kindergarten summer packet in the trash. So today, I’m talking through what I meant, what I still stand by, what I probably could have said better, and how I’m thinking about it now that he’s heading into first grade.

This isn’t about doing nothing all summer. It’s about asking what actually matters for our kids. For me, that looks like reading books they’re interested in, learning how to help around the house, cooking, gardening, taking care of animals, practicing independence, and giving them space to follow their curiosity.

I also talk about what I liked in this year’s packet, what I’ll probably skip, why I still don’t love busywork. Plus, why I think kids need more autonomy, more outdoor play, and more room to be different.

And yes, I also share one of my finer parenting fails involving Charlie’s eyebrow. So there’s that too.

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Liz Durham Instagram | Website
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Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

This week, I sat down with two of my very good friends and two longtime Knoxville real estate agents, Debaran Hughes and Lucas Haun, to talk about how much the real estate business has changed—and what has not changed at all.

We talk about the old days of magazine ads, postcards, and cold calls, the rise of social media, the Selling Sunset-ification of real estate, and whether AI is going to change the way people buy and sell homes. Spoiler: it already is. But this conversation is really about something much bigger than marketing.

Debaran and Lucas get honest about what actually makes someone good at this job: relationships, experience, availability, hard conversations, knowing the market, and being able to handle the messy stuff before it turns into a disaster. We also talk about pricing homes in a changing market, why not every agent is equipped for this business, and why the human piece still matters more than any drone video, Instagram reel, or AI-generated listing presentation.

Plus, we get into work-life balance, motherhood, mentorship, my strong feelings about realtor content, and a few real estate stories that probably explain why I needed to have this conversation in the first place.

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Liz Durham Instagram | Website
Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify

Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production