Death isn’t just a dark thought we save for funerals. It’s a quiet force that can steer our calendars, our relationships, and the risks we’re willing to take, especially as we realize time is finite. We start with a blunt question, how much do we actually think about death, and quickly get into what scares us most: not “being dead,” but the transition, the loss of control, and the unbearable uncertainty of not knowing what happens next.

From there, we unpack the different ways people cope. One of us treats mortality like a lifelong philosophical question. Another admits to shelving it until life forces it back into view through work, family, or sudden reminders. We talk about aging, pressure, and the fear of regret, plus the beliefs that help people make peace, whether that’s “nothing happens,” “we return to minerals,” or the idea that our energy keeps moving through the universe. These aren’t tidy answers. They’re tools we use to keep living.

Then Vancouver becomes the real center of the story. A walk through visible addiction and poverty hits harder than any conference session, raising uncomfortable questions about privilege, empathy, and how easily circumstances could have gone another way. We also debate whether mortality should make us more serious or more joyful, and why laughter can be its own kind of honesty. Stick around for a side rant on AI design templates and what they’re doing to creativity.

If this conversation made you think of someone, share it with them, and if you want more honest talks about meaning, fear, and how to spend your one life, subscribe and leave a review.

Stay Connected with The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast

Hosted by Karen Koehler and Mo Hamoudi, trial lawyers at Stritmatter Law, a nationally recognized plaintiff's personal injury and civil rights law firm based in Washington State.

Featuring Mike Todd, producer, audio engineer, and the Disembodied Voice of Wisdom & Reason.

Produced by Mike Todd and Kassie Slugić.

New episodes every Wednesday.

The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast is where trial law meets real life. Trial stories, hard lessons, unexpected laughs, and honest conversations about life inside and outside the courtroom.

Podcast Hub:
https://thevelvethammer.buzzsprout.com

Karen Koehler
https://karenkoehler.com
https://www.instagram.com/k3thevelvethammer/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-koehler-thevelvethammer/

Mo Hamoudi
https://www.instagram.com/mo.hamoudi/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mo-hamoudi-77a38733/

Stritmatter Law
https://www.stritmatter.com

A packed Seattle festival. A shooting. And then, for hours, the city is left wondering who is actually steering the response. We dig into the Bite of Seattle tragedy and the leadership test it created, focusing on the part that can either prevent more harm or multiply it fast: crisis communication and public safety coordination.

We talk about Seattle’s long-running instability at the top of the Seattle Police Department, the pattern of interim leadership, and what that churn does to emergency response when seconds matter. From there, we get specific about expectations in a public crisis: when thousands of people are moving in and out of Seattle Center, what should the mayor’s office and police leadership communicate, how quickly, and through which channels? We also wrestle with the hard tradeoffs officials face, including how to warn the public without causing more chaos.

You’ll hear our take on why politics cannot be an excuse for silence, why the mayor’s office has to lead like an executive, and why “waiting to know more” can read like paralysis to a frightened city. We also compare open, free events like the Bite with gated festivals like Bumbershoot to spotlight practical event security planning and risk reduction.

If you care about Seattle public safety, emergency management, transparency, and what real leadership looks like under pressure, listen through and join the debate. Subscribe, share with a neighbor, and leave a review with your take on who should own crisis communication when lives are on the line.

Stay Connected with The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast

Hosted by Karen Koehler and Mo Hamoudi, trial lawyers at Stritmatter Law, a nationally recognized plaintiff's personal injury and civil rights law firm based in Washington State.

Featuring Mike Todd, producer, audio engineer, and the Disembodied Voice of Wisdom & Reason.

Produced by Mike Todd and Kassie Slugić.

New episodes every Wednesday.

The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast is where trial law meets real life. Trial stories, hard lessons, unexpected laughs, and honest conversations about life inside and outside the courtroom.

Podcast Hub:
https://thevelvethammer.buzzsprout.com

Karen Koehler
https://karenkoehler.com
https://www.instagram.com/k3thevelvethammer/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-koehler-thevelvethammer/

Mo Hamoudi
https://www.instagram.com/mo.hamoudi/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mo-hamoudi-77a38733/

Stritmatter Law
https://www.stritmatter.com

A door plug blows out mid-flight, passengers think they’re going to die, and suddenly the legal system asks them to relive it all again, for hours, on the record. We get into what plaintiff depositions look like when the defendant is a giant like Boeing, and why “just tell your story” can turn into seven hours of scripted preamble, invasive questions, and page after page of transcripts that nobody will ever use at trial.

We also talk candidly about the economics behind civil discovery. When defense counsel is billing at institutional rates, staffing multiple lawyers per deposition, and building a budget meant to satisfy a corporate general counsel and an insurance carrier, the incentives can reward length over clarity. We break down why defendants still chase medical records, work history, and private communications in emotional distress claims, and how deposition tactics can quietly push plaintiffs toward “make this end” settlements.

Along the way, we touch on the rules of the road for speaking publicly about ongoing litigation, including protective orders, ethics, and the fair trial balance, plus why we still choose to sit through depositions ourselves. If you’ve ever wondered whether litigation is really an even playing field before you hit the courtroom, this conversation puts the power dynamics in plain English.

Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves legal strategy, and leave a review if it helped you see depositions differently. Do you think courts should impose tighter time limits on depositions?

Stay Connected with The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast

Hosted by Karen Koehler and Mo Hamoudi, trial lawyers at Stritmatter Law, a nationally recognized plaintiff's personal injury and civil rights law firm based in Washington State.

Featuring Mike Todd, producer, audio engineer, and the Disembodied Voice of Wisdom & Reason.

Produced by Mike Todd and Kassie Slugić.

New episodes every Wednesday.

The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast is where trial law meets real life. Trial stories, hard lessons, unexpected laughs, and honest conversations about life inside and outside the courtroom.

Podcast Hub:
https://thevelvethammer.buzzsprout.com

Karen Koehler
https://karenkoehler.com
https://www.instagram.com/k3thevelvethammer/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-koehler-thevelvethammer/

Mo Hamoudi
https://www.instagram.com/mo.hamoudi/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mo-hamoudi-77a38733/

Stritmatter Law
https://www.stritmatter.com

A face that does not move can cost you a verdict. We get candid about plastic surgery, Botox, and why looking “younger” is not always an upgrade when your job is to persuade a jury that you’re real, present, and trustworthy.

Karen tells two close-to-home stories: the nose job she seriously considered and then quickly rejected, and the moment her own child asked if she’d had Botox. From there, we zoom out to the culture of affluence and peer pressure where cosmetic work becomes normal, even expected, and why that can turn into a slippery slope. One tweak makes the next one feel necessary, and before you know it you’re chasing a version of your face that no longer matches your life.

Then we bring it back to the courtroom. Trial lawyers live and die on credibility, and jurors read micro expressions constantly: the crinkle at the eyes, the lift of the brow, the shape of a real smile. When procedures freeze or flatten those signals, you may look polished in a photo but strangely unreadable in real time. We talk “uncanny valley,” why obvious work can become a distraction, and why even subtle changes can backfire if they interfere with connection. We also draw a sharp contrast between entertainers, whose appearance is part of the product, and lawyers, whose product is trust.

If you care about trial advocacy, persuasion, and courtroom communication, this one will make you rethink what “looking good” actually means. Subscribe, share with a lawyer friend, and leave a review, then tell us: what makes someone’s face feel trustworthy to you?

Stay Connected with The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast

Hosted by Karen Koehler and Mo Hamoudi, trial lawyers at Stritmatter Law, a nationally recognized plaintiff's personal injury and civil rights law firm based in Washington State.

Featuring Mike Todd, producer, audio engineer, and the Disembodied Voice of Wisdom & Reason.

Produced by Mike Todd and Kassie Slugić.

New episodes every Wednesday.

The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast is where trial law meets real life. Trial stories, hard lessons, unexpected laughs, and honest conversations about life inside and outside the courtroom.

Podcast Hub:
https://thevelvethammer.buzzsprout.com

Karen Koehler
https://karenkoehler.com
https://www.instagram.com/k3thevelvethammer/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-koehler-thevelvethammer/

Mo Hamoudi
https://www.instagram.com/mo.hamoudi/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mo-hamoudi-77a38733/

Stritmatter Law
https://www.stritmatter.com

The fastest way to test your identity is to remove the crutch you didn’t know you were using. We sit down for a messy, honest “psychology session” about change: who we’ve become over the past couple of years, why Mo can flip big switches like going vegan and quitting alcohol, and why Karen still thinks the story people tell about willpower leaves out the real work.

We break down behavior change as habits, motivation, and repetition, then zoom in on the uncomfortable parts nobody puts on a vision board. What happens when your friends are still ordering steak and bourbon? Why do social events feel weirder when you’re holding a club soda? And why does sobriety sometimes reveal a truth that has nothing to do with drinks at all: you might not even want to be there. Mike brings in the long view, including what it’s like to quit, relapse years later, and quit again, plus how alcohol quietly shapes friendship, belonging, and confidence.

We also widen the lens to addiction vs habit, the role of dopamine and pleasure-seeking, and how tools like GLP-1 drugs complicate the usual “just change your diet” advice. Then we get blunt about drinking culture, including how common alcohol use disorder is, why “gift alcohol to everyone” can be irresponsible, and how concerns about brain health and impaired driving change the conversation around both alcohol and marijuana.

If you care about personal growth, habit change, sobriety, or just understanding what really drives your choices, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s trying to change something big, and leave a review with the habit you’re working on right now.

Stay Connected with The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast

Hosted by Karen Koehler and Mo Hamoudi, trial lawyers at Stritmatter Law, a nationally recognized plaintiff's personal injury and civil rights law firm based in Washington State.

Featuring Mike Todd, producer, audio engineer, and the Disembodied Voice of Wisdom & Reason.

Produced by Mike Todd and Kassie Slugić.

New episodes every Wednesday.

The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast is where trial law meets real life. Trial stories, hard lessons, unexpected laughs, and honest conversations about life inside and outside the courtroom.

Podcast Hub:
https://thevelvethammer.buzzsprout.com

Karen Koehler
https://karenkoehler.com
https://www.instagram.com/k3thevelvethammer/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-koehler-thevelvethammer/

Mo Hamoudi
https://www.instagram.com/mo.hamoudi/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mo-hamoudi-77a38733/

Stritmatter Law
https://www.stritmatter.com

A new partner walks in and you can feel the room change. That’s what it’s like when Elizabeth Hanley joins us, and we’re not going to pretend we can introduce her without telling the Maui story first: a big convention crowd, a poolside setup spiraling, a missing bartender, and Liz showing up injured and still asking one simple question, “What can I do to help?” That’s the kind of attitude you can’t train, and it’s exactly what we want in a trial team.

From there, we get into the craft. We talk about what we’ve seen from Liz in the courtroom and why “command” matters as much as intelligence. We break down presence, emotional control, and knowing the rules of evidence cold, plus the subtle skills that separate good litigators from lawyers who truly occupy the space. If you care about trial advocacy, personal injury litigation, and what makes a modern law firm culture work, this one is packed with real, unfiltered detail.

We also zoom out to leadership and the bigger shift happening inside our firm: three strong women trial attorneys at the top, each with a different style, and what that means for the future. And we don’t dodge the hard part, either the guilt, the missed moments, and the real tradeoffs of parenting while trying big cases.

Subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next, share this with a lawyer who cares about craft and culture, and leave a review with your take: what matters more in a great trial lawyer, presence or preparation?

Stay Connected with The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast

Hosted by Karen Koehler and Mo Hamoudi, trial lawyers at Stritmatter Law, a nationally recognized plaintiff's personal injury and civil rights law firm based in Washington State.

Featuring Mike Todd, producer, audio engineer, and the Disembodied Voice of Wisdom & Reason.

Produced by Mike Todd and Kassie Slugić.

New episodes every Wednesday.

The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast is where trial law meets real life. Trial stories, hard lessons, unexpected laughs, and honest conversations about life inside and outside the courtroom.

Podcast Hub:
https://thevelvethammer.buzzsprout.com

Karen Koehler
https://karenkoehler.com
https://www.instagram.com/k3thevelvethammer/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-koehler-thevelvethammer/

Mo Hamoudi
https://www.instagram.com/mo.hamoudi/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mo-hamoudi-77a38733/

Stritmatter Law
https://www.stritmatter.com

A four-year-old can’t cross the street alone, can’t understand contracts, and can’t grasp what fame costs, yet our culture keeps placing kids into adult rooms with adult incentives. We sit with a recent tragedy as a starting point and then zoom out to the bigger pattern: child actors, child musicians, and now child influencers being turned into products long before they can choose a life.

We talk honestly about responsibility and we don’t let the industry off the hook. Parents make the initial decision, but producers, studios, advertisers, and platforms create the demand, set the pace, and collect the profits. That leads to hard questions about child labor in entertainment, financial control of a minor’s earnings, the real role of unions, and why “they had tutors” doesn’t fix the loss of routine, friendships, and safety.

We also dig into what makes acting especially complicated for a developing brain. Performing intense emotions on command, living inside realistic storylines, and spending formative years around rotating adults can blur boundaries and increase vulnerability to exploitation, addiction, and long-term mental health struggles. We discuss why independent child advocates and meaningful on-set protections matter, why mandatory reporting is necessary but not sufficient, and how the sexualization of minors becomes “acceptable” when it sells.

If you care about Hollywood, pop culture, and child welfare, this conversation will stick with you. Subscribe for more, share this with someone who needs to hear it, and leave a review with your take: what protections should be non-negotiable for child performers?

Stay Connected with The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast

Hosted by Karen Koehler and Mo Hamoudi, trial lawyers at Stritmatter Law, a nationally recognized plaintiff's personal injury and civil rights law firm based in Washington State.

Featuring Mike Todd, producer, audio engineer, and the Disembodied Voice of Wisdom & Reason.

Produced by Mike Todd and Kassie Slugić.

New episodes every Wednesday.

The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast is where trial law meets real life. Trial stories, hard lessons, unexpected laughs, and honest conversations about life inside and outside the courtroom.

Podcast Hub:
https://thevelvethammer.buzzsprout.com

Karen Koehler
https://karenkoehler.com
https://www.instagram.com/k3thevelvethammer/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-koehler-thevelvethammer/

Mo Hamoudi
https://www.instagram.com/mo.hamoudi/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mo-hamoudi-77a38733/

Stritmatter Law
https://www.stritmatter.com