Young-ish

Andrew Manuel Crespo is the Morris Wasserstein Public Interest Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where he teaches criminal law and procedure and serves as Executive Faculty Director of the Institute to End Mass Incarceration. His writing on the American penal system has appeared in The New York Times, Harvard Law Review, the Columbia Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal. He clerked for Justices Kagan and Breyer at the Supreme Court, worked as a public defender in D.C., and served on Biden's Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court. You might know him from the news, as most recently, he served as general counsel to the Harvard AAUP faculty chapter in its lawsuit against the Trump administration's demands that Harvard restrict speech or face cancellation of $8.7 billion in federal funding — a fight that ended with a federal court ruling that the administration's attacks flagrantly violated the Constitution.This was one of those conversations that could have gone anywhere and, luckily, went everywhere. We covered the many hats Andrew wears as he describes his day-to-day as a densely packed atom, and his life as a braid of identities and experiences — a father, a brother, a son, an educator, a lawyer, an organizer. And then it went to one particular place: how might we unearth what we truly stand for — our ‘political values’ as Andrew puts it — and how might we put these values into action in our everyday lives? Sprinkled throughout the conversation are personal stories, nuggets of wisdom, music and psychedelics(!), not in the ways you might think.

Rachel and Tanvi sit down with the brilliant Sade Curry, a Life, Love and Leadership Coach for Divorced Women. This is a conversation for anyone, in any type of relationship. While Sade and Rachel represent two very different spectrums of divorcée—Sade from a traditional Nigerian context where divorce is taboo; Rachel from a ‘divorce-forward’ Western context where she was ashamed she wasn’t ‘emancipated’ enough—Tanvi represents the happily married side of the spectrum. Fundamentally, this is a conversation about being moved by your own happiness and radical relationship (re)design. We hope you’ll find something useful in it, and true in it. We have a hunch you might.

To kick off the holiday season, Rachel and Tanvi dive deep into one of their favourite topics: rituals.Why rituals? Because they’re the secret sauce of a Big Life. As Professor Michael Norton puts it, “habits automate our lives; rituals animate our lives.” And honestly, we’re here for anything that brings more spark, intention and meaning to the everyday.We’re both deeply ritualistic people — the kind who can turn anything into a ritual. Morning coffee or chai? Done. Dinner parties? A full art form. Shopping? You should see us in a store together. We’ll caress all the different fabrics, dream aloud about the future places we’ll wear everything, and then celebrate our purchases over cold coffee.But we also talk about the bigger rituals — the ones that create pause, reflection and community. The moments where we gather, make sense of our lives, and turn experiences into chapters.Rituals shape who we are becoming. And in our young-ish years — these beautifully messy, transitional, experimental years — we’re all figuring out which ones will become our traditions.Let’s get into it.

Rachel & Tanvi sit down with Renata Soto, Founder & President of Mosaic Changemakers in an episode all about building intentional community in our adult lives - and what that actually looks like. Renata was born and raised in Costa Rica and then found herself setting up life in the US for graduate school, and for love (she fell in love with an American surfer, and the story involves a meet-cute on a Costa Rican beach followed by years of handwritten letters).Building real community as an adult is complex, and even more so when you’re an immigrant who has to build from scratch. Not only did Renata do this personally, but she made it her mission professionally, too (she co-founded and led Conexión Américas, which serves Tennessee’s Latinx and immigrant communities, and was asked to serve on the White House Hispanic Advisory Commission in 2022).This conversation was a true delight. Always a privilege to be in Renata’s orbit. We think you’ll think so, too.

Rachel & Tanvi sit down with Corynn Fowler, founder of How to Adult School, to discuss all things money mindsets and personal finance. It was the conversation we needed to have, so we hope it helps you, too. Money is one of those weird things in life. It’s tricky - and even tricker to talk about - yet getting your financial sh*t together is one of the most important things for any adult, young-ish or old-ish. We dive into money mindsets; share practical tips on how to understand and manage money better; and explore the shift that happens in your young-ish years - when needs change, the 0s get bigger and lifestyle gaps become more visible. We hold space for both the tactical and the emotional. And we kick things off by unpacking the lies we’ve told ourselves about money (that was fun). Check out Corynn's How to Adult School: https://howtoadultschool.com/Find us on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fortheyoungish/Hosted by Rachel Stephenson Sheff & Tanvi Girotra - [email protected]

Rachel & Tanvi sit down with Emily Collins-Ellis, CEO of I.G. Advisors. Emily is also Rachel’s boss, and as Rachel puts it: “working with Emily divided my career into a before and an after.” Emily is fierce, sharp, feminist, vibrant, wildly successful and deeply empathetic. She leads with her values of compassion and excellence in equal and astonishing measure.At a time when the world has few examples of successful, emotionally intelligent leadership, this conversation is a salve. It couldn’t be a better or more urgent time for us to explore a new paradigm.Find us on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fortheyoungish/Hosted by Rachel Stephenson Sheff & Tanvi Girotra - [email protected]

In the second instalment of this multi-part series, Rachel & Tanvi sit down with Helga Stephenson & Dorothy Davey to explore the template they've given us - one of deep friendship, interdependence and vibrancy in later life. At 77- and 97-years of age respectively, Helga and Dorothy both met each other single, satisfied and curious for everything that life had to offer. They fuel their big friendship with bowls of soup that they drop off at each other’s homes, doctor’s appointments that Helga takes Dorothy to, Costco runs and hosting gatherings of their favourite people where they laugh drink and make merry. Here’s our next episode in our Big Life series, dedicated to big friendships - may we have them, may we depend on them and may we nourish them so they keep us alive and curious.

In the first instalment of this multi-part series, Rachel & Tanvi sit down with Carlos & Alisha Miranda to focus on one of the more fundamental conditions of a Big Life - you can’t do it alone. You need to be well resourced with the right people around you. Those who won’t bet against you and who will pull their weight so you can chase dreams even they don’t understand. If you’re really lucky, you’ll have a partner for life that can do all of the above, as is the case with Carlos and Alisha Miranda.  Rachel has been working with this iconic power couple for almost a decade (she’s Managing Director of their business, I.G. Advisors). Between the two of them, they wear a dizzying number of hats: entrepreneur, founder, CEO, board chair, writer, author, art dealer, salesperson, fundraiser, tap dancer, ramen chef, barista, mother and father to twins, Latin American immigrants, as ‘American as apple pie’ - oh and married. (This is just a running list. They’re actively building new identities as we speak.)  This episode is a real peek into some of these many identities and they were so generous with their story. Did they create a big masterplan early on? What did they need from each other? And how do they navigate a marriage partnership, a parent partnership, a creative partnership and a business partnership, all in one?  Listen to find out! Find us on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fortheyoungish/Hosted by Rachel Stephenson Sheff & Tanvi Girotra - [email protected]

In this special New Year's episode - and after four (exceedingly fun) months of Young-ish - Tanvi and Rachel come together to discuss what exactly made them want to take this bet on themselves. What conditions needed to be true? What did readiness feel like? And why Young-ish of all topics? As we close out 2024 and prepare for another trip round the sun, we’re feeling extremely grateful. Our creative baby is thriving and we have big dreams up our sleeve for 2025. What about YOU? What’s the next bet you need to take on yourself? What do you finally feel ready for? Find us on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fortheyoungish/ Hosted by Rachel Stephenson Sheff & Tanvi Girotra - [email protected]

In the second instalment of this two-part series, Rachel & Tanvi sit down with Anita Krishnan to talk about the inevitable, awkward, earth shattering concept of our parents’ mortality. The anticipatory anxiety, the just before, the during, the after - and how to make meaning of it all.  Tanvi met Anita at a coaching training when they were both at Harvard, and quickly realised how comfortable Anita was talking about the taboo. Anita suddenly lost her older brother, Rajiv, when she was 20, and then spent her 30s caring for her mum, Meera, before her recent passing just after Anita turned 40.  If you are someone who has lost a parent or someone you love, we hope you find resonance, validation and new meaning from this conversation.  If you are someone who thinks about their parents’ aging and mortality as often as we do - solidarity. The only way we can think to make it slightly less scary is to talk about it.  If you are someone that was alarmed by the title of this episode, and isn’t ready to go there yet, come back when you feel ready. As Anita says, a healthy dose of denial is essential when it comes to dealing with grief. We’re sharing our ‘denial blanket’ with you.  “I imagined a sound system. Pain and grief are set at the level they are at – you can’t turn them down. So what do you do? You have to turn everything else up around them. And as you keep turning up the other knobs – of adventure and love and fulfilment and gratitude – your life becomes louder, more colourful, and more of an orchestrated beauty.” - Anita Krishnan Find us on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fortheyoungish/ Hosted by Rachel Stephenson Sheff & Tanvi Girotra - [email protected]