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Are you really an introvert or an extrovert, or does it depend on who you're around? How much of our personality is truly us, and how much changes depending on the people and environments we’re in?

In this episode of Brains Gone Bold, we dive into self-awareness, confidence, and the way we show up around others. Are we truly comfortable with who we are, or does our confidence change when we feel out of place? And can we grow without recognizing our own blind spots?

Self-awareness is more than a personality trait... it’s a life skill. The better we understand ourselves, the more intentionally we can show up in the world.

So, how well do you really know yourself?

🎧 Listen to Brains Gone Bold! New episodes drop every other Wednesday!

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Please welcome Chad, a NASA Engineer and longtime listener of the show, who joins Maria and Jeanine to share the wild story of how a plan to score a legendary rejection letter led him to a career in rocket science!

In this hilariously honest episode, Chad pulls back the curtain on the very human side of monumental success, sharing what it’s like to build lunar rockets while battling imposter syndrome, and even diving into some conspiracies along the way. Chad's journey is such an inspiring reminder that you don’t have to have everything figured out to do something extraordinary. Sometimes, trusting your experience, staying curious, and having the courage to go for it can take you farther than you ever imagined.

Tune in for the inside scoop of Chad's interview process, a few laughs, and get inspired to shoot for the moon!

Listen to Brains Gone Bold! New episodes drop every other Wednesday!

Follow Brains Gone Bold!
Instagram: @brainsgoneboldpodcast
Facebook: @brainsgoneboldpodcast

BGB wants to hear from you! Send us a text!

Are we too busy living to truly live?
…read that again.

In this episode of Brains Gone Bold, Maria and Jeanine are joined by two special guests and longtime friends, Alice and Judy, for an honest conversation about something we don’t always give ourselves permission to talk about: joy.

What does joy actually feel like as an adult? And have we gotten so caught up in being responsible that we’ve forgotten how to experience it?

When was the last time you did something just because it was fun?

Not because it was productive.
Not because it checked something off your list.
Not because it benefited your career, your family, or your future.

Just because it made you happy.

Maybe joy doesn’t always have to be the big, life-changing feeling we remember from childhood. Maybe it’s a good laugh, trying something new, a card game with the family, or simply allowing yourself to pause.

There aren’t neat answers in this episode... and that’s kind of the point. It’s an open, honest conversation about something many of us feel but don’t always know how to articulate.

Maybe the question isn’t “How do I find more joy?” but “Am I actually allowing myself to experience the joy that’s already around me?”

So...are we too busy living to truly live?

Help us end the adult joy epidemic. Listen in, see what resonates with you, and maybe give yourself permission to have a little more fun!

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Remember when getting ready to go out was half the fun? When you could dance without wondering who was watching, your kids still needed you for everything, and a random object from childhood could instantly transport you back in time?

Yeah. We remember too.

This week, Maria brings up the unexpected connection between nostalgia and grief - and somehow that takes us from childhood memories to losing parents, watching our kids grow up, getting older, missing versions of ourselves we used to know, and wondering when some of the freedom we once had quietly disappeared.

We talk about the things we'd do differently, the things we wouldn't change at all, and why Jeanine believes even the hard parts of life brought her exactly where she was supposed to be.

And somewhere along the way, Maria gets an impromptu therapy session, Jeanine discovers she may actually be a goldfish, and were both left wondering:

When did we stop dancing?

It's a conversation about grief - but probably not the kind you're expecting. It's also about nostalgia, aging, regret, acceptance, and learning to appreciate where you are without pretending you don't sometimes miss where you've been.

As usual, we solve absolutely nothing. But we had one hell of a conversation.

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This isn't our usual conversation, but it's one we wanted to have.

Maria has been closely following the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, a case that has sparked difficult questions about mental health, postpartum illness, accountability, the healthcare system, and our ability to hold more than one truth at the same time.

In this bonus episode, Jeanine comes to the conversation having followed very little of the trial, while Maria shares what has kept her watching - and why the case has challenged some of her own initial assumptions.

We're not legal or mental-health experts, and we're not here to tell you what to think. This is what Brains Gone Bold has always been: two friends talking through something complicated, asking questions, challenging assumptions, and sometimes ending with more questions than answers.

We'd genuinely like to hear what you think - and we ask that the conversation remain thoughtful and respectful.

BGB wants to hear from you! Send us a text!

When did being an adult get so serious?

After 20 episodes of Brains Gone Bold, Maria and Jeanine take a look back at what this whole podcast experiment has become. What started as two friends thinking, “People might actually enjoy listening to our conversations,” has turned into something neither of them completely expected.

They talk about the weirdness of seeing yourself on camera, wanting people to join the conversation, handling disagreement, and realizing that sometimes the quiet people listening are connecting more than you know.

Then the conversation lands somewhere unexpected: play.

Maria shares that recording the podcast brought out a side of herself she hadn't felt connected to in a while: Playful Maria. That leads to a bigger question. When did adults stop making room for fun just because it's fun?

Maybe adventure doesn't have to mean jumping out of a plane. Maybe it's trying a new place, going to a festival, taking a ridiculous adult sleepaway camp trip, or simply doing something that makes you feel a little more like yourself again.

There are also roller coasters, margarita afternoons, an accidental “Marie,” a possible podcast breakup, and the realization that maybe Brains Gone Bold has become Maria and Jeanine's own little playground.

This one is funny, reflective, and a reminder that life doesn't always have to be so damn serious.

Listen in, then ask yourself: Where could you use a little more play?

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Some conversations start with a simple question and somehow end with a story about underwear falling off at a funeral.

This is one of those conversations.

Maria and Jeanine kick things off with a powerful idea they stumbled across: if someone can't fix something in 30 seconds, should you say anything at all? That simple rule opens the door to a much bigger discussion about kindness, honesty, body image, feedback, and the comments people remember for decades.

Along the way, they explore why words matter so much, why good intentions don't always soften the impact, and whether we've forgotten how to communicate with empathy.

Then, because this is Brains Gone Bold, the conversation takes a few unexpected turns. They dive into their love of language, debate whether AI is changing the way we write and think, laugh about made-up words, and somehow end up sharing one of the funniest, and most embarrassing, stories you'll ever hear.

It's thoughtful. It's hilarious. It's deeply human.

If you've ever wondered whether to speak up...or if you've held onto a comment someone made years ago... or if you've questioned what authentic communication looks like in a world full of AI, this episode is for you.

Come for the 30-second rule. Stay for the laughs, the honesty, and a conversation that just might make you think a little differently about the words you choose every day.

This is that Instagram clip we talked about! Watch here: https://www.instagram.com/reels/C8ey7i7OKGJ/

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What if the next generation isn't as fragile as we think...what if they're carrying burdens we never had to?

This week on Brains Gone Bold, Maria and Jeanine sit down with Jeanine's 19-year-old niece, Katie, for a conversation that neither of us expected to be quite so eye-opening.

We asked her what it's really like to grow up in a world where your life is always online, everyone has an opinion, and comparison never seems to take a day off. What followed wasn't a lecture about Gen Z, it was an honest conversation about pressure, loneliness, identity, relationships, and what young adults wish the rest of us understood.

One thing Katie said that really sunk in:

"Sometimes I don't need you to fix it. I just need you to hear me."

That simple sentence changed the direction of the conversation.

We talked about social media, dating, body image, confidence, friendships, and the constant pressure to have everything figured out. Along the way, Katie challenged a few assumptions we didn't even realize we were making.

This episode isn't about deciding which generation has it harder.

It's about what becomes possible when we stop comparing experiences long enough to truly listen to one another.

Whether you're raising teenagers, mentoring young adults, or just trying to make sense of the world they're growing up in, we think this conversation will leave you with a little more understanding, and maybe even a little more hope.