Better Me

Епизоди

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  The Better Me Podcast Farewell 16.03.2026 40мин

  After six years and more than 180 episodes, I've decided that it's time to put the Better Me Podcast to bed. Three of my favourite people, who were also guests on previous episodes, joined me to say farewell. My dear friend Jennifer Diehr, who was a guest multiple times to talk about books, and author Kelly S. Thompson, whom I met because she was a guest in 2023 joined me. Also, my daughter Sydney Burns joined us for this special episode.Thank you for listening these past six years. I hope that found something valuable, or at least entertaining in those many episodes. As always, please, take care of yourself.
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  EP 181 When Does Winter Start? 24.11.2025 6мин

  Fall is a good busy time, and snow has arrived, but when exactly does winter start?
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  EP 180 Generational Autism (with guest Julie M. Green) 10.11.2025 22мин

  Julie M. Green was diagnosed with autism when her autistic son, Carson, was ten years old. She joined me to talk about her experience as a mom with autism and how her own diagnosis helped her to better understand and care for herself. Her new book Motherhood: A Memoir of Generational Autism, Parenthood and Radical Acceptance, is out from ECW Press.Julie's website - https://juliemgreen.ca/homeJulie's Substack page - https://theautisticmom.substack.comECW Press page on the book - https://ecwpress.com/products/motherness
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  EP 179 Buddies, Books, and Baseball (with guest Jennifer Diehr) 27.10.2025 46мин

  My dear friend Jennifer Diehr returned to the podcast to talk about the World Series, what we've been reading, and the terrible algebra course we met in a long, long time ago.
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  EP 178 Adoption, Culture, and Identity (with guest Dr. Brittany Penner) 13.10.2025 19мин

  Dr. Brittany Penner, an author and practicing family physician in Manitoba, joined me to talk about her new memoir, "Children Like Us: A Métis Woman's Memoir of Family, Identity and Walking Herself Home," growing up as an Indigenous woman in a non-Indigenous family, the 60s Scoop, and how her experiences growing up, including multiple traumatic events, shaped who she is as a person and a doctor.A note of warning, in this episode, we're going to talk about sexual assault and suicide. I'll include some support information in the show notes, but if this is going to be triggering for you, you may not want to listen to this episode.Canada - Sexual Assault Centres, Crisis Lines, and Support Services -https://endingviolencecanada.org/sexual-assault-centres-crisis-lines-and-support-services/U.S.A. - National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence - Hotlines - https://www.ncdsv.org/hotlines.html
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  EP 177 Writing for the LGBTQ+ Community and Having Your Books Banned 29.09.2025 29мин

  Author Ashley Herring Blake joined me to talk about her writing process and what it's like to have her books banned.
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  EP 176 Welcome to Fall 17.09.2025 16мин

  Here we are with the start of another season of the Better Me Podcast. In this episode, you'll hear about some of the upcoming episodes, self-care, and my impending experience with empty-nest syndrome.
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  EP 175 Patience With Yourself 21.07.2025 12мин

  It's time to take some time off for the summer, but before I go, I recorded this episode on having patience with yourself and setting up your supports and tools before you need them.
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  EP 174 Chronic Pain, Identity, and Mental Health (with guest Gabrielle Drolet) 07.07.2025 24мин

  Writer and illustrator Gabrielle Drolet joined me to talk about her struggles with chronic pain, its effects on her ability to write and draw, and what that has meant for her identity and mental health.
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  EP 173 The Unexpected 23.06.2025 15мин

  Unexpected things happen all the time in our typical days. We need to keep an eye out for the ones that will make us smile or laugh. I also talk about the parody film Hardware Wars (1978), which I was reminded of when I recently saw the trailer for the sequel to Spaceballs.
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  EP 172 Feeling Grief for People and Places (with guest Tessa McWatt) 09.06.2025 18мин

  Award-winning author Tessa McWatt and I had a lovely chat about the role that elders, whether human or trees, play in the world. We spoke about her latest book, The Snag: A Mother, A Forest and Wild Grief, and about the joy and peace we both find in writing.
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  EP 171 The Bad and The Ugly of GenAI (with guest Terry Greene) 26.05.2025 22мин

  Friend and fellow educator and podcaster Terry Greene joined me to discuss our concerns regarding generative artificial intelligence (GenAI).
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  EP 170 Changing Perspectives on Bears and Life (with guest Claire Cameron) 12.05.2025 25мин

  Best-selling author Claire Cameron joined me to discuss her latest book, How to Survive a Bear Attack. We talked about an infamous bear attack, how much bears and humans are alike, and how her life has changed since a cancer diagnosis.
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  EP 169 Self-care as Community (with guest Renee Hess) 29.04.2025 45мин

  Once Renee Hess discovered the game of Hockey, she was hooked. But as a black woman, she found that she and women and girls like her weren’t always welcomed into that space as fans, players, or the families of players. Out of that came the founding of the Black Girls Hockey Club. Renee joined me to talk about her journey into the hockey world, what BGHC is and does, and the role that individual self-care has on a community.
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  EP 168 Being True to Yourself (with guest Noelle Podar) 14.04.2025 37мин

  Noelle Podar was finally living as the person she truly is, but as a trans woman, she couldn’t keep silent anymore about what the U.S. government and others are doing to the trans community. She joined me to talk about her journey and becoming a reluctant activist.
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  EP 167 Trying to Regain Some of What Depression Has Taken 31.03.2025 6мин

  Depression can mean missing out on years or experiences. In this episode, I talk about that and how I’m trying to make up for some of what I missed out on.
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  EP 166 5 Years of Better Me 17.03.2025 3мин

  Welcome to the new season! It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years and 166 episodes. Here’s a bit of a preview of what’s coming up. Oh, and be sure to follow me on Bluesky: @mctoonish
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  EP 165 Caring For Yourself During the Holidays 23.12.2024 14мин

  This is the final episode of 2024. In it, I shared some of the things I’m trying to keep in mind to care for myself and things I’m hoping you will take to heart as well.
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  EP 164 Why is Change So Hard (with guest Najwa Zebian) 16.12.2024 39мин

  Dr. Najwa Zebian, my guest for episode 64, joins me 100 episodes later to talk about her latest book The Only Constant and to talk about why change can be so challenging for people.
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  EP 163 Choice, Consequences, and Comfort Zones (with guest Oliver Burkeman) 27.11.2024 23мин

  Best-selling author Oliver Burkeman and I discussed the fact that we all have choices in life as long as we’re willing to deal with the consequences and that what is often called our "comfort zone” may not be all that comfortable.