Maybe We CAN Be Loved w/o Being Known: Ashley C. Ford

Ashley C. Ford returns to the pod today for a deeply personal, raw, and revelatory conversation about how we can love the world, our people, and ourselves through this trying moment. We explore:  - Why we’re no longer certain that “to be loved is to be known”;  - Why we resent our people when they don’t understand us—and how to find more love, peace, and acceptance in our relationships;  - Abby’s realization that she doesn’t need to “fix” Glennon’s sadness; sometimes partnership looks like staying steady while your person feels it all.  For those of us who feel lost, afraid, or alone: Ashley’s wisdom and clarity are exactly what we need. Snuggle in, open your minds and your hearts. We love you.  For more of Ashley on We Can Do Hard Things:  52. FORGIVING & FINDING PEACE with ASHLEY C. FORD 53. How to Love Yourself & Let Yourself be Loved with Ashley C. Ford About Ashley:  Ashley C. Ford is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER: A MEMOIR. She is also the former co-host of The HBO companion podcast Lovecraft Country Radio, and of Ben & Jerry’s Into The Mix. Ford lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with her husband, poet and fiction writer, Kelly Stacy, and their chocolate lab Astro Renegade Ford-Stacy.

The legendary, hilarious, and ferociously tender Rosie O’Donnell is here for an unfiltered conversation about how to survive the world while feeling it all. We discuss: - Why she left the U.S.—and how her new life in Ireland is healing her for the very first time;   - How to be a mother when you’ve lost your mother; and - The letter Rosie wrote right after Abby’s DUI—and how it helped her heal.   Pod Squad: Keep going hard and staying soft. We love you.  About Rosie O’Donnell:  Rosie O’Donnell is an Emmy Award–winning comedian, actor, producer, and cultural force who has shaped American entertainment for more than four decades. She first rose to national prominence as a stand-up comic and film actor before hosting The Rosie O’Donnell Show, which became one of the most celebrated daytime programs of its era and earned multiple Daytime Emmy Awards. Rosie’s film and television career has spanned everything from A League of Their Own and Sleepless in Seattle to acclaimed roles on The L Word, Curb Your Enthusiasm, SMILF, and And Just Like That. A passionate advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, children and families, and gun violence prevention, she founded Rosie’s Theater Kids and has raised millions for charitable causes throughout her career. Now living in Ireland, Rosie continues to write, paint, make art, and use her voice for justice.

How do we ever know what is enough – or feel like enough – in a world that pushes us to incessantly perform, perfect, collect, and earn?  The extraordinary duo Suleika Jaouad and Jon Batiste are here for one of the richest conversations we’ve had about art, love, ambition, spirituality, and what it takes to remain ourselves.  Together, we explore:  - The “beast” we all carry: fear, perfectionism, control, or ambition—and how facing it is the only way out;  - How we can all begin to alchemize our pain into creativity; and  - How to hold onto the integrity of art, beauty, and love in a world that’s always searching for “more.”  This conversation will help you take a deep breath and finally feel like it’s all enough – including you.  .  And check out our prior conversations we had with Suleika, the brilliant author of The Book of Alchemy: How to Stay Human; and How to Turn a Mistake into Magic.  About Jon Batiste:  Jon Batiste is a seven-time Grammy and Academy Award–winning artist whose music moves between jazz, soul, classical, and pop.  His ninth studio album, Big Money, was released on August 22nd, and is supported by a national headlining tour with more than 30 stops. Audiences also know Jon from his Oscar-winning score for his chart-topping album Beethoven Blues and the acclaimed documentary American Symphony, which celebrates his artistry, resilience, and love with his wife Suleika at the height of his creative powers.  About Suleika Jaouad: Suleika Jaouad is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoirs The Book of Alchemy and Between Two Kingdoms. She writes The Isolation Journals, the #1 Literature newsletter on Substack, and wrote the New York Times “Life, Interrupted” column. A three-time cancer survivor and visual artist, she appears with her husband Jon Batiste in the Oscar-nominated documentary American Symphony.

Who is your Inner Child, and what are they (still) saying? It’s amazing how strongly our little selves show up in our adult lives.   Buckle Up – in this hilarious, profound conversation, Glennon, Abby, and Amanda invite their inner children to come forward and share their delights, blessings, and curses with the Pod Squad.  Together, we spiral around:  - Why some of us become the family “feeler” and others the “fixer,” and how we can all become more whole;  - How to honor the part of you who planned, dreamed, or disassociated to survive, without letting that little kid run your whole adult life; and  - How Abby is using music, dancing, and play as an antidote to her anxiety.

Did you know that gospels of women leaders were in the Bible — and then in the Fourth Century, they were literally torn out of all Bibles and destroyed??? Except a few of them were buried and discovered a thousand years later.   This conversation is about those stories … and why they are so powerful – and so dangerous to power – that they were almost erased forever. If you’ve ever felt like something is missing from the stories you were given about God, the Bible, or your own worth—you’re right.  The stories of women’s lives, hearts, and desires have been stolen from us. Now, the brilliant feminist theologian Meggan Watterson is here to help us reclaim them – and it changes everything we know about connecting to ourselves, to faith, and to our own power.  Join us now.  About Meggan:  Meggan Watterson is a Harvard-trained feminist theologian and the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Mary Magdalene Revealed. Meggan’s most recent book, The Girl Who Baptized Herself, is about the first century saint Thecla, and how the scripture that contains her story reads like a manual for defying the patriarchy, and following the voice of our own soul. Follow We Can Do Hard Things on: Youtube — @wecandohardthingsshow   Instagram — @wecandohardthingsTikTok — @wecandohardthingshow

Pod Squad: It’s just us this episode. Glennon, Abby, and Amanda are snuggling up on the metaphorical couch to answer your questions and spiral together about:  – Is writing about yourself self-indulgent? – Is camping a vacation or a trip? (and why lesbians can’t seem to figure that out); and – How Amanda is finally setting down the plates she’s been spinning for decades.  Snuggle up—you won’t want to miss this one.  Follow We Can Do Hard Things on: Youtube — @wecandohardthingsshow   Instagram — @wecandohardthings TikTok — @wecandohardthingshow

At last, the brilliant force of nature, Cynthia Erivo, joins us for a deeply personal, mind-blowing, and heart-swelling conversation about dignity and belonging. We discuss:  - How to survive betrayal and learn to fully trust again;  - How to build a circle of people who will always get on the broom with you;  - How Cynthia chooses and prepares for roles like Elphaba—and why she doesn’t believe in method acting; and - How to find light, joy, and creativity in our darkest moments.  Hold onto your witch hats, Pod Squad. This conversation is a ride—and an offering. Enjoy.  About Cynthia:  Cynthia Erivo is a Grammy Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress, singer and producer. She burst onto West End and Broadway stages in THE COLOR PURPLE and has since taken the world by storm. Erivo most recently starred as Elphaba opposite Ariana Grande’s Glinda in Part 1 of the record-breaking film adaptation of the hit musical WICKED. WICKED: For Good is being released THIS WEEK on November 21st. And Erivo’s brand new book SIMPLY MORE is available today.   Follow We Can Do Hard Things on: Youtube — @wecandohardthingsshow   Instagram — @wecandohardthings TikTok — @wecandohardthingshow

We made a movie. You can watch it now.  Our first film – COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT– is now available for you to watch on Apple TV starting this Friday, November 14.  Winner of the Sundance Festival Favorite Award, and hailed by critics as “unforgettable,” “luminous” and “revelatory” – COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT – about our beloved friends Andrea Gibson and Meg Falley, and their love story with each other and with life, is exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. It will make the world gentler, braver, and more beautiful. Today, Meg Falley is sharing the brutal, beautiful story of Andrea’s “alleged death,” how Andrea continues to show up in lightning, music, and everyday miracles, and how this gorgeous film is helping her walk through her grief.   Listen to this soul-shifting conversation – and see why it sent Glennon and Meg directly to the tattoo shop for piercings. And witness Andrea and Meg’s life-changing love story for yourself: Watch COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT on Apple TV starting this Fri, 11/14. #ComeSeeMeInTheGoodLight About Meg:  Megan Falley is a nationally-ranked slam poet and the author of three full-length collections of poetry – most recently her book “Drive Here and Devastate Me”. Since transitioning to writing prose, excerpts from her memoir-in-progress have won several first- and second-place national prizes. She runs an online writing workshop called “Poems That Don’t Suck” which has been heralded as “a degree’s worth of education in 5 short weeks.” Premiering at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival—where it went on to win the Festival Favorite Award—Come See Me in the Good Light was quickly embraced by audiences and soon after picked up for distribution by Apple TV+ where it will be released globally on November 14, 2025. Follow We Can Do Hard Things on: Youtube — @wecandohardthingsshow   Instagram — @wecandohardthings TikTok — @wecandohardthingshow

Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom – MacArthur Genius award winner and brilliant chronicler of our times – unmasks the American stories that got us to this place—and explains, with amazing precision and clarity, how we can imagine our way out.  We discuss:  - How the MAGA story broke through and became the winning story; - How money hijacked democracy;  - The little-known history of the Black Panther party of the American South;  - Why Responsibility is Freedom; - How to frame and reclaim the American story through radical humanity: art, truth, creativity, and community.  Join us for this riveting, smart, funny conversation about power, hope, and writing a freer future.  About Tressie:  Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom is a professor and principal investigator with the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, NY Times columnist, and 2020 MacArthur Fellow. Her work has earned national and international recognition for the urgency and depth of its incisive critical analysis of technology, higher education, culture, media, class, race, and gender. Recent accolades include being named the 2023 winner of the Joseph B. and Toby Gittler Prize by Brandeis University for her “critical perspective and analysis to some of the greatest social challenges we face today,” the recipient of the 2025 Thomas Wolfe Prize, and a 2025-26 National Humanities Center Fellow. Her most recent book, THICK: And Other Essays was listed as one the 30 best nonfiction books of the last 30 years by the L.A. Times Festival of Books. Two books are forthcoming with Random House Books. Follow Tressie:  @tressiemcphd on Instagram  @tressiemcphd.bsky.social on Bluesky  Follow We Can Do Hard Things on: Youtube — @wecandohardthingsshow   Instagram — @wecandohardthingsTikTok — @wecandohardthingshow

In this delightful, hilarious, and deeply honest conversation, our friends (and neighbors!) Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney tell us: - What really happened the night the Jimmy Kimmel Live show was suspended,  - How they told their kids,  - How they loved each other through the crisis;  - How we can stay brave, be steady, love each other, and love our country—even during the worst of times; and - Of course, Jimmy’s favorite recent pranks. This conversation is a gift. You won’t want to miss it.  About Jimmy and Molly:   About Molly:  Molly McNearney is an Emmy winning writer, producer, and actor. She began her career as an assistant for JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE in 2004 and has since worked her way up to become Head Writer and Executive Producer which she has served for the last decade. McNearney has been a writer for THE OSCAR AWARDS four times and THE EMMY AWARDS three times. She can also be seen acting in DUMPLIN’ & MURDER MYSTERY for Netflix. McNearney, her husband Jimmy, and their two children live in Los Angeles. About Jimmy Jimmy Kimmel is the host and executive producer of the Emmy® Award-winning “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” With over 22 years on the air, the show produces some of the most popular comedy bits, and features a star-studded guest lineup including actors, musicians, athletes, comedians, authors, politicians and newsmakers. In 2019, Jimmy wrote and illustrated a children’s book titled “The Serious Goose.” All of Jimmy’s profits were donated to children’s hospitals across the United States. Kimmel lives in Los Angeles with his wife Molly McNearney and their children, Oprah and Steadman.  Follow We Can Do Hard Things on: Youtube — @wecandohardthingsshow   Instagram — @wecandohardthings TikTok — @wecandohardthingshow