The Radiant Badass with Elizabeth Holmes

Епізоди

• 
  invisible to whom, exactly? 25.09.2026 19хв

  Elizabeth showed up to this one running on fumes (maybe it was the equinox?), so she led with book recs instead of righteous fury: The Correspondent, a Cannon Beach impulse buy called Sipsworth that apparently defrosted something in her chest, and Ann Patchett’s Whistler, devoured in a single 24-hour fugue state.Then she got to the actual reason you’re here. A woman on Threads posted her list of everything she no longer gives a f**k about now that she’s in her 60s — DNF-ing bad books was a highlight — and Elizabeth loved it, stole it, made her own version, and then had the audacity to actually think about it for five seconds. Which ruined everything. Because every one of these lists, hers included, is secretly the same tired plotline as “passing the torch”: you get old, you get tired, you gracefully fade into a beige cardigan and stop taking up space. Congratulations on your subtraction era.So she goes to war with the words “invisible” and “irrelevant,” asking the extremely reasonable question of invisible to whom, exactly, because her kids see her fine, her clients pay her actual money to see her, and the neighborhood dogs are big fans. Turns out the whole invisibility thing was never a law of nature — it was marketing, aimed at an audience that was never worth auditioning for in the first place. There’s also a detour into the grandmother hypothesis, which is a real anthropological theory about women in Tanzania whose foraging may have single-handedly kept humanity alive, deployed here as evidence that older women aren’t fading extras, they’re the load-bearing wall of the whole operation.She wraps by flipping the script entirely: instead of another list of what she’s given up, she runs through everything she’s making more room for now that she’s stopped performing for an audience that was never real — opinions, pleasure, ambition, curiosity, her own intuition — and asks you to send yours.Sign up. No audition required. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  Keep Your Torch 18.09.2026 14хв

  Elizabeth is still basking in the verdict from last episode: crying while singing along to Bikini Kill is, per popular vote, the most punk rock thing she’s ever done. She’ll take it.But that same day at Bumbershoot left a second souvenir: an offhand comment from her husband about “passing the torch,” which she responded to by kinda biting his head off and now she’s spending an entire episode explaining why. (Sorry, babe. Also — thank you, babe.)The comment sent her spiraling back to 2023 and the Barbie movie, specifically the scene where Ruth Handler tells Barbie that motherhood is a self-sacrificing relay race, one generation shoving the next one forward forever, never getting to see the finish line. Elizabeth finds this... a lot.Very Sisyphean.Not exactly marketing material for motherhood.From there she goes on a tear about how “pass the torch” gets said to every woman who’s ever accomplished anything — feminists, activists, pop stars, anyone who’s cracked (not shattered, that thing is basically Kevlar) a glass ceiling — while men just quietly keep their torches until they’re holding a smoking nub and a Senate seat.Exhibit A, straight from her old career in the legal field: law firms that let male partners “retire” into cushy of-counsel status, keeping the office, the letterhead, and everyone’s undying respect, indefinitely.Her official ruling: nobody’s torch is getting passed. You keep yours. You can just illuminate somewhere new.She lands the plane on something personal — the ongoing tug-of-war in her own head about whether it’s time to slow down since there’s been a retirement in her household, and the flash of rage his comment set off that told her, in no uncertain terms, absolutely not yet.get more torch-hoarding, patriarchy-side-eyeing, occasionally-crying-at-punk-shows content in your inbox. Subscribe. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  there’s no crying at a bikini kill show 11.09.2026 14хв

  Second summer showed up in the Pacific Northwest this week, which — fine, we all know the drill by now. Rain, then one last blast of heat before the cardigans come out.Elizabeth is ready for the cardigans.But before fall officially lands, there was Bumbershoot.Elizabeth’s youngest texted to ask if she wanted to go see Bikini Kill together, and the answer was obviously yes, even though Elizabeth hasn’t set foot in a music festival crowd in roughly two decades. She reports back: the festival is smaller than its wild ‘90s self, but well-run, clean, and safe, with a full weekend (she went for the day, gotta ease back in) of music, vintage fashion, comedy, wrestling, and — yes — a cat circus.Highlights from the day include a band called XCOMM that made Elizabeth want to punch someone (a compliment, from her), and Joey Valence & Brae, who she assumed from the name alone would be a Christian rap duo and who turned out to be gloriously Beastie Boys–coded instead.Then Bikini Kill took the stage, her kid disappeared into the pit to make their own memories, and Elizabeth — planted safely halfway back with a couple of women her own age — started crying while singing along.Not exactly punk.Except it kind of was.She gets into why: the girl-punk bands of her youth weren’t singing from the guy’s point of view, they were singing her whole messy experience back to her, and hearing it again cracked something open about the person she used to be before “the warm blanket of conformity” settled over her shoulders.She closes with a small, sincere thank-you to her kid for the reminder that Bikini Kill heals — and a quick, weary aside about sharing a name with a certain notorious tech founder. This Elizabeth is currently not in prison, actually.join the mosh pit (email edition).crowd surf this to a friend - it’s free This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  9 to 5 was a documentary 04.09.2026 12хв

  Rewatched 9 to 5 this weekend for the first time since I was a kid. Turns out I only remembered the pot-smoking revenge fantasy part. The actual radical bit — equal pay, job sharing, on-site daycare — is still fiction 46 years later. New episode on that, plus why Warner Bros shelving the Coyote vs. Acme movie is basically a real-life sequel to the plot.Subscribe for the rants the HR department would flag. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  remembering the OG Radiant Badass 28.08.2026 15хв

  We lost Dolly Parton this week, and then Tim Curry followed right behind her. It’s the kind of loss that makes you feel the eclipse energy in your bones — a little bit 2016, a little bit too much all at once. This episode starts there: the grief, the parasocial ache of losing someone you never met but somehow knew, and a genuine send-off for the woman who refused to stay in her lane.Then, because sad doesn’t cancel out good things happening, a couple of glimmers: a wonderfully un-heckled night watching Chelsea Peretti work out new material at Solaris Hall, and a surprise new favorite album from an artist recommendation that actually stuck.And because sometimes the best way through sad is mad, the episode closes on a rant. Cory Doctorow’s new book has confirmed every suspicion about the tech and finance sectors being built on inflated valuations and borrowed credibility, and there’s a real conversation here about pedestals, participation, and what happens when we stop supplying both.In honor of Dolly: be kind, wear what you want, and think for yourself.Vince Staples - Cry Baby Free therapy, minus the couch and the copay. Subscribe. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  Kinda Chic, Actually Cooked 21.08.2026 11хв

  Okay so one of my friends suggested maybe I might want to rant about social medial’s “kinda chic” trend (thank Jesus if you don’t know what I’m talking about) and I felt an Aries rage rise up my spine like a fire alarm going off in my soul. She was right. You know the trend — “kinda chic to know your barista’s name,” kind of stuff.Ma’am.That’s not chic. That’s a caption generator having a stroke.New episode is me working out why this specific flavor of online garbage got under my skin, and it turns into a whole thing about the fourth guy at the party who tries to add one more joke to a bit that already died a natural death.RIP that joke. Let it rest.Anyway I have thoughts.If you've ever wanted to cc yourself on my internal monologue, this is the button for that. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  Relatable Is a Scam 14.08.2026 14хв

  Black Diamond watermelon gets the hero's welcome it deserves, and then things get real. This week Elizabeth serves up a summer check-in — the watermelon, an HBO show she refuses to synopsize, an analog-life manifesto — before pivoting hard into a real-time dispatch from the enshittification files: apartment-hunting hellscapes, a rent algorithm that smells suspiciously like price fixing, and a Nordstrom Anniversary Sale that has lost the plot entirely. It ends where it should: with a mic drop on the word "relatable" and an order to keep shining anyway.New episodes land in your inbox instead of some app's algorithm deciding you deserve them. Subscribe to the Radiant Badass — free, no cashier's check required. 🍉 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  Flipping the Channel 07.08.2026 14хв

  This week Elizabeth is riding out oppressive heat and apocalyptic wildfire smoke with real 2020 Flashback Energy, also included: a heroic 31-movies-in-31-days finish (two on the last day, no regrets), and the triumphant return of “cable,” which is not cable, but she’ll take it. Turns out the real prize isn’t the shows — it’s getting to flip mindlessly between them again instead of Committing to a Title, our girl finds her rebellion in unique ways these days. Don’t try to tell her what to watch in what order. Then she opens an unofficial case file on House Hunters and Beachfront Bargain Hunt: the couples who narrate their own house tours like they’ve never seen a bathroom before, and the husbands who will torch a family’s actual bedroom count for a fancy grill they can “see themselves” using. The wives are holding it together by a thread and Elizabeth is, frankly, here for the drama. Wraps up getting the ick from our weird celebrity culture and making the call now: cable’s coming back, baby.doom-loop weather, chaotic cable, and zero patience left for celebrities. subscribe because it’s likely going to get weirder. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  She's Not Sweet. She's Skilled. 31.07.2026 15хв

  A Martin Short documentary introduced me to a new word — tummler — and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.It’s a Yiddish word commonly used during the Catskills-era for the person whose actual job was turning a hotel of strangers into a temporary community.Not the performer on stage. The one actually out working the room — at breakfast, the pool, the lobby — making sure nobody’s left standing alone.This week I’m making the case that a huge number of the women in our lives are doing this work constantly, for free, and calling it “being nice” instead of what it is: a real, underrated skill.We get into what it looks like, whether it’s dying out or just migrating into group chats, and why you should text the tummler in your life and tell her you appreciate her.Also this week: a quick check-in on my July whimsy movie project. Darby O’Gill and the Little People is a glorious practical-effects mess (Sean Connery’s Irish accent, less glorious). And A Fish Called Wanda — my first time watching, four decades late — reminded me that Jamie Lee Curtis is stunning, and her wardrobe, whew, I’m still envious of those dresses today. Well, maybe not the bright florals. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  Somebody Has To Say It: Our Lifestyle Choices Show Up Earlier Than You Think 24.07.2026 17хв

  Elizabeth had one of those weird, overloaded months where the past just kept knocking. The astrology girlies gave her fair warning. Old coworkers popped back up out of nowhere. Then an obituary for the woman who mentored her early in her career (who was also kind of brutal about her dating life back then — honestly, fair). Then another obituary, this one for her childhood best friend’s dad, which meant reconnecting with someone she hadn’t really connected with in over 30 years.And because the universe has a sense of humor, the memorial service landed on the exact same day as her class reunion. She called her sister looking for permission to skip both. Her sister gave her a whole thing about examining old narratives instead. Rude, but not wrong.She went to both. One was a 10 out of 10 — genuinely really lovely. The other, not so much. This week: which was which, and what she actually learned about the stories we carry that were never fully ours to begin with. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  The July Plan I'll Probably Abandon (and That's Fine) 17.07.2026 13хв

  Elizabeth is, by her own admission, an indoor cat in summer — sunburns in 15 seconds, prefers her outside time at dawn or dusk. This July she built a whimsy plan: 31 movies, a boundaried digital detox, and a running list of little things that delight her, to make sure her summer felt “summery”. In this episode:* The 31-movies-in-July project: a fast no on Fitzwilly, a charming surprise in The Reluctant Debutante, and a full roller-skating Xanadu spiral (plus a Kenny Ortega fact that connects way more dots than expected)* Two documentary recs: Martin Short and Billy Idol* What “boundaried” digital detox actually looks like — camera on for whimsical walk photos, podcasts off* Curating a weekly soundtrack with zero logic required* A soft, nostalgic detour into sprinkler summers, pajama dinners, and slipping into bed with nothing left to optimizeWhat’s she’s found so far is that plan was never really about the movies. It was about letting rest be simple again. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  I Almost Skipped This Week 10.07.2026 13хв

  I almost didn’t record this week. Told myself it was fine to skip, that everyone needs a little vacation. Then I read two stories in one morning that changed my mind.A saliva test for endometriosis is finally in development — now that scientists know men can get it too. Same morning, a retired guy turned “cleaning up the highway” into a personal discovery project, unaware of how the state’s existing program has been running this the whole time, I guess.Different headlines. Same mechanism. Legitimacy doesn’t show up with the problem — it shows up with whoever walks into the room last and gets noticed first.This week I’m mad, I’m bitter about healthcare I didn’t get, and I’m not smoothing any of it out for you. Come sit in it with me. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  1976 03.07.2026 13хв

  Before I was cynical, I was a kid with a Miss America lunchbox and a genuine belief I’d grow up to wear a red, white, and blue hoop skirt.This week: the full machinery of the 1976 Bicentennial — Little House on the Prairie priming me for pioneer life, a Martha Washington biography that rerouted me straight into colonial gowns, the Miss America pageant’s bicentennial opening number, and every variety show in America doing a patriotic sketch — and how thoroughly it worked on a kid whose brain wasn’t even fully cooked yet.Then: the adult reckoning.Turns out all that flag-waving was engineered a few years after Watergate and the fall of Saigon, which tracks less like organic pride and more like parents plowing ahead with the family reunion while the marriage quietly falls apart.I talk about what it’s like to hold the nostalgia and the disillusionment at the same time, why this year’s 250th anniversary is coasting on fumes by comparison — no commemorative Grimace cups in sight, no theme packaging, no Oreos, nothing — and why I’m still doing the bar-b-que and the red-white-and-blue this year anyway.Subscribe. Do it for little me and her Miss America lunchbox. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  The Chickens Are Already Home 26.06.2026 12хв

  It started with a Toy Story 5 trailer and a hunch that the tablet is the villain. It ended somewhere more serious.This episode, Elizabeth follows the thread from a Leap Frog product placement rabbit hole to something that's been sitting with her: for the first time in history, there will be kids who grow up barely playing with toys — not because they don't have them, but because something more addictive got there first.This isn't a "kids today" rant. It's an honest look at what screen saturation actually costs — in empathy, in development, in the small moments that sneak up on you in a carpool line. Elizabeth reflects on what she would have done differently had tablets existed when she was raising her own kids (spoiler: she would have handed them over constantly and never forgiven herself), and why the fact that she couldn't is one of the things she's most grateful for.Also: Edith Wharton predicted the Kardashians. The Custom of the Country is this episode's Radiant Recommends, and the case is airtight.The alarm has been sounded. It hasn't taken hold. So we sound it again. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  The Habit of Feeling It Later 19.06.2026 16хв

  My youngest graduated last week. I insisted it wasn't bothering me — even as I lost the ability to focus, retain any information, or sleep like a person with a working nervous system. Real goldfish situation.Turns out smooshing down grief doesn't make it disappear. It just relocates.This week: what happened when the relief finally hit, a decluttering project that turned into a reread of Gretchen Rubin's Better Than Before, and what I'm learning about which of my habits actually serve me — including my habit of expecting bad outcomes, and my slow project of shifting that.Plus: two college graduations, two totally different vibes, and why the contrast moved me more than I expected. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  They've Never Been Alive Before 15.06.2026 18хв

  It's grad season and I am in my feels — which means this week I'm sharing some actual stuff that worked for me as a parent. Not advice. Just stuff.I talk about getting off the treadmill of aspiration, why parenting is a verb and not a status, and the one thing my aesthetician said to me when my kids were teenagers that completely changed my approach.That line? It applies to every relationship in your life. Not just the ones with your kids.My youngest graduates from college on Friday. I am a mess. This episode is, in part, a love letter to that.New episode is live. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  Do It 05.06.2026 6хв

  Get the bangs. Write the play. Drop the volunteer gig you've been dreading. Move to Europe if you want to. Elizabeth's answer to the creative impulse is the same every time: do it. This episode is one long permission slip — and she's not subtle about it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  Riot Crone Crane Bag 29.05.2026 17хв

  For all the reasons, a quick trip to British Columbia resulted in Elizabeth’s media feeds being jammed with all kinds of indigenous art and culture content. Not mad about it, she was curious about the medicine bundles and if she could find something similar derived from Celtic ancestry. And there was, a crane bag. What might you find in Elizabeth’s Riot Crone Crane bag? Tune in to find out.Also, playlist - feed your ears while feeding your soul.Riot Crone Playlist #1 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  First Day on Earth 22.05.2026 12хв

  A quick trip to a foreign country has Elizabeth exhausted and wondering how it works out that on her travel days the airports are always full of people who are experiencing their first ever day on earth. That has to be the explanation for all these behaviors, right?She's also talking about glimmers and joy, so it's kind of a ride. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com
• 
  JB 4 Life 15.05.2026 15хв

  Always on the hunt for a glimmer of joy, Elizabeth’s found a consistent source in the mid 80s/early 90s show, Murder She Wrote. In a world where there’s a dearth of healthy role models for women of a certain age living fully into their whole life, but there IS Jessica Fletcher. Passing the Bechtel Test before it was a thing, MSW is an excellent choice as a comfort watch. Listen in and see if it might be for you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radiantbadass.com