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Careers don’t usually collapse in a single moment—but sometimes one day tells you the truth. A fever, a bank alert, and a creeping sense of “how did I get here?” pushed Dana Bowling, a former Disney/Nick casting director, to reimagine everything. What followed wasn’t a highlight reel pivot; it was a practical rebuild rooted in skills, relationships, and a promise to stop chasing someone else’s definition of success.

We walk through her LA origins, the thrill of discovering talent, and the harsh reality of working inside massive studio systems where credit rarely meets contribution. Motherhood complicated the picture, exposing the darker edges of kid casting and making space for hard boundaries. When the agency detour made things worse, Dana engineered a comeback: coaching young actors, using Instagram Stories before it was cool for service businesses, and turning consistent value into steady demand. Then the next turn: helping creators on video and podcasting, and finally launching Daily Dose of Dana—a daily pop culture show built on curiosity, cadence, and community.

Expect real numbers and real talk about creator economics. Dana breaks down how revenue actually works—host-read ads, programmatic, Patreon, YouTube AdSense, and the fickle bonuses of TikTok and Meta—and why a portfolio of income streams beats any single algorithm bet. We also get frank about identity online. Dana shares what it means to be unapologetically Jewish amid rising antisemitism, how polarization shows up in comments and subreddits, and why telling the truth still wins with the right audience. Rounding it out: parenting lines she won’t cross, the ethics of kids in content, and no‑fluff advice for moms building something from home.

If you’ve wondered how to pivot without burning down your life, how creators really get paid, or how to build a voice that lasts, this conversation is your blueprint. Listen, subscribe, and drop a review with the one skill you’ll repurpose this week—we’ll feature our favorites next show.

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Parenthood didn’t just change our guest’s calendar; it rewired her relationship with work. Kaleana Quibell spent years inside Bay Area benefits, rolling out wellness, mental health, and family programs for marquee tech companies. Then two kids, an eight-minute delivery room sprint, and a parade of sick days revealed what the slide decks missed: policies don’t parent; people do. She chose a different path—part-time caregiving, part-time consulting, and a new platform, Both And, that maps real options for working families.

We dig into the practical moves that make flexibility real. Kaleana explains why to set up an LLC before you “need” it, why a simple website and scope template save hours, and how to quote your first “pick your brain” call without flinching. We unpack health insurance for independents, state leave programs, and the growing set of platforms bundling coverage with invoicing. If benefits have kept you tethered to a job that no longer fits, this is your permission slip—and your playbook—to build a safety net outside the org chart.

Care gets reimagined, too. Instead of outsourcing the moments that matter, Kaleana shows how to offload everything else: a mother’s helper for two hours, a retired neighbor for errands, targeted help for laundry or car seats. That patchwork approach turns invisible labor visible, lowers stress, and catches the inevitable surprises—school closures, coughs, and last‑minute travel—without blowing up your week. We also confront culture head-on: how “above and beyond” rewards availability over outcomes, how moms are judged on extras, and why consulting can flip the power dynamic to pay for results.

By the end, you’ll have a clearer map for stay, shift, or step away: negotiating part-time or IC roles, keeping a toe in your craft, and measuring success by time, health, and presence—not just salary. Ready to design a career that fits your family and your ambition? Listen, share with a friend who needs options, and subscribe for more real‑world playbooks. Then tell us: what’s the first lever you’ll pull to reclaim your time?

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Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

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Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

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The cracks in the system aren’t hairline—they’re chasms you feel every school morning and late-night Slack. We sit down with filmmaker and producer Melissa Panzer (WABE’s The Work Behind the Work) to unpack why so many women who could be leading are instead leaving, and what it would take to make work and family actually coexist without breaking us.

Melissa traces her path from ESPN’s storytelling culture to a decade documenting the labor market, then into the frontline of pandemic-era motherhood. She interviewed 200 moms and kept hearing the same theme: corporate structures weren’t made for two demanding careers and kids, and the nine-to-five still assumes a spouse in the shadows. We explore universal design—solve for moms and you lower friction for everyone—and why Fair Play-style rebalancing at home fails without top-down policy that respects soccer drop-offs as much as sales calls.

We go there on return-to-office mandates, the quiet exodus from leadership, and the real economics behind “flexibility.” The conversation pulls apart social media’s romanticized stay-at-home aesthetic and how MLMs exploit a genuine desire for income and independence. We examine the childcare math that eats entire salaries, the public vs private school squeeze, aftercare lotteries, and what kids actually learn from what we model—who uses the broom, who makes lunch, who gets to rest. Melissa shares how research changed her marriage: loosening control, letting help in, and learning kids do just fine when care is shared, even if the sandwiches look different.

This is a candid, data-aware, and deeply human look at work, caregiving, and the small wins that keep us going—the bedtime finally won, the book finally read, the moment a child says, I did it, and we whisper back, so did I. If this conversation moves you, subscribe, share with a friend who needs the solidarity, and leave a review with the one policy change you think would move the needle. We’re listening.

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/