Monocycle with Leandra Medine

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #9 celebrates a communal anticipation of summer, buoyed by better times ahead.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #8 examines approaching an equilibrium in your daily routine that allows for your multitudes.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #7 follows an incident with Laura that summoned Leandra to map out her parenthood.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #6 ponders spring’s bestowal of new blooms, reminding us current times will also pass.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #5 navigates internal feelings of stress and anxiety while remaining conscious of your co-quarantiners.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #4 explores getting yourself unstuck from the quarantine hamster wheel.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #3 welcomes wholly embracing whatever feels right for you right now.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #2 enters a new quarantine phase that probes the question of who you are versus who you want to be.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #1 grapples with finding balance while adjusting to a new pace.

This episode starts starts with an encounter that has me sitting outside a coffee shop on the Upper East Side, age 21, when a purported mystic who can see the future approaches. "You're going to be a big star," she extolls. I smile kindly, rolling my eyes so as to play it cool, deep down wondering if she is right -- and kind of believing she is. Fast forward seven years and I am met with a question: Would I have developed the courage, gumption, fervor to chase my dreams had she not given me that unwitting push?

Gucci commissioned 15 artists to create a series of pieces with images and copy that tell a story about the fragrance. Leandra chatted with three of them — Emma Allegretti, Joy Miessi and Amber Vittoria — about their process for a podcast episode which means [sweetly scented drumroll please]…Monocycle hath returned!!!!!! In partnership with Gucci.

When I was nine years old, my dad told me that everyone has an interesting story if you are willing to listen to it. Over the past month, I have really enjoyed treating Monocycle like a bicycle, listening to the stories of particularly interesting people, some more public than others, and getting into the thick of what it means to be a person in the world, whether in the context of being a woman, owning your vanity or experiencing grief. But for old times' sake (and because sometimes talking is more satisfying than writing), here's an episode of Monocycle that features no one but me, my sound booth and that background music you probably wish never to hear again but that is probably not going anywhere any time soon. The choice topic is self-esteem, a human condition that has come up in so many of my conversations as of late because it seemingly impairs me, but see the thing is that I've been masquerading it as otherwise-titled experiences (self love, self respect, compassion and so on) for at least the last year. Sometimes it is so liberating to finally land on a spade and to be able to call it one even if you don't have a next step, or solution in place. We're only running six minutes and 40 seconds long this week, so enjoy this episode while you take a coffee break, or sit on the toilet, or braid your pubic hair. HAPPY FRIDAY! T-minus 10...

Bozoma Saint John wears her flair on her sleeve: beads, rhinestones, gold accents; you name it, she's got it. As for the clothes, there is no color too bold, print too loud or silhouette too challenging for Uber's Chief Brand Officer to try. On traditional executive uniforms, she asks with genuine wonder in her voice, "Who made these rules, and why do we listen to them?" But there's more to Bozoma Saint John than the impressive way in which she carries herself, the seemingly effortless confidence that she holds and espouses, the degree to which she believes in herself and wants to be the best, do the best and perpetuate the best: She is also incredibly empathetic. You almost get the sense that she's lived multiple lives, and this is why, for whatever reason, when she speaks to you, it is almost like she is speaking directly to your soul. Please enjoy a very candid conversation in this week's episode of Monocycle. There's a bit of everything: advice for the grieving, a sound way to reconcile hardship, how she has become such an unflinching cheerleader for herself (and how, too, we can learn from this), and a little something about the persistence, reliance and beauty in the way the sun rises, day in and out. Just like, you know, we do.

In this week’s episode of Monocycle, unofficially called Bicycle every time I have an interview subject, Karla Welch — celebrity stylist to the likes of Ruth Negga, Karlie Kloss, Justin Bieber, Olivia Wilde, Tracee Ellis Ross and so on and so forth — shares a number of important facts that are as revealing as they are sentimental. At one point, when I try to prod on how she manages burn out, she rejects my assertion that everyone experiences burn out, proclaims perennial gratefulness for her role in Hollywood (she is originally from Canada, and moved to L.A. not for work, but for love) and suggests that perhaps those who burn out don’t yet quite have strong enough relationships with themselves manufactured to perfection. “I never have FOMO because I like my own company,” she said. Enjoy a listen and should you feel so inclined, do too, buy a t-shirt from her remarkably successful collaboration with Hanes. Amelia gushed about them earlier this fall. I’m just going to say co-sign.

This week's episode of Monocycle is more like an episode of Bicycle because there are two stakeholders (wheels?) present in the conversation: myself and Lena Dunham. When I set out to interview her, I had a fairly strong sense of what we might talk about, like the evolution of Lenny Letter, life after Girls, New York vs. Los Angeles. What unfolded was a genuinely organic conversation about life, failing and succeeding and how similar they are, self esteem, family and love. While listening back to this episode, I realized it sounds less like a podcast recording and more like an intimate conversation, which, to me, is really the goal of an interview. I very much hope you enjoy the structure as we plan to continue rolling out various interviews over the course of the next couple of months. As always, any and all feedback is welcome, so sock it to me in the comment depository below. Happy birthday, btw!!! (What? It could be...)

This month's theme on Man Repeller is family, which is so all-encompassing it can seem overwhelming. Where do you start with a family dynamic? Where do you begin with the complicated relationships that engulf the word's meaning? Are we even talking about the biological literals of a "family?" If we're not, what constitutes a family? If we are, why are we doing that? Our theme of the month announcement was met with some very intelligent content recommendations from you (the community!), which ran a gamut from the lighthearted and farfetched to the convoluted and deep-seated but one particular remark regarding a reader's relationship with her mother and wanting to, essentially, emancipate herself/make sure not to become her really stuck with me: I've been at that rodeo for the greater half of at least the past two years. I've written about it at length. And spoken a Monocycle episode that touched upon it. Hell, we even dedicated an entire month's theme to it. So here we are, back again, talking about our moms because one relationship that will never not be interesting to dissect as it evolves at the wildly rapid pace it does is the one between girl and woman, woman and woman, daughter and mother.

Welcome back to Fridays with Monocycle. Today's episode is about purpose. I've talked about purpose before, but this time it's different. This time it's about how to identify it, why it's important, how you know when you've lost it and how to nurture it when it's back. I tried something different for this episode and wrote it out before I spoke it, so if I sound like I'm reading off a teleprompter, that's because I am. Can't wait to hear what you think!

INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW! Are we capable of change, or what? Is it terrible if we don't -- can't -- change? What if the expectations were to learn how to better manage the qualities we dislike in ourselves instead of to do away with them completely? Would we feel more whole as individuals, knowing that we're not supposed to do 180s, and that on the contrary, we just have to be who we are? In this week's episode of Monocycle, I take you on a psychological trip (which is different from a vacation) that poses these questions, sets out to answer some of them and utilizes the trenches of my memory to navigate all of the above. At one point, we're in 11th grade, and at another, we're back in the present. There is some dilly dallying, some questioning of whether there is such thing as an original thought, but the majority of the content revolves around the titular question and doesn't really answer it but does offer a respite from Fashion Week, so...enjoy at your own risk!

Helloooooooooo ladies and gentlemen of the jury! How are you doing? How has your week been? Your month? Your quarter? Your whole damn year? Mine has been weird, which doesn't say much because I have concluded that weird is the least effective adjective one can use as an illuminating descriptor in the entire dictionary. It can mean anything, good or bad. How does this ice cream taste? "Weird." How are you feeling? "Weird." Do you see how by answering these questions I'm not answering them at all? If you are wondering whether I have lost it, the jig is up, I probably have. But I'm digressing. Man, I feel like a kid of 21, blogging into a computer with reckless abandon. Will THEY edit me? Will they not? It's been like, three days since I hit my finger tips to this keyboard and let the words flow out of my brain. It's also been like, days, since the words flowing out of my brain have sounded like anything more than BLOO BLEEP BLA BLING KRING TING LING SHANTI. (In case you didn't pick up on that, those words don't actually mean anything, at least not in my native Language of the Hidden Temple.) What? Nothing. Never mind. Let's stop beating around the bush -- the point is that Monocycle is back and so long as I don't accidentally fuck up my life or it doesn't accidentally fuck me up (see: December 2016), my anticipation is that we (Monocycle, Malcolm Gladwell and me) are back for the long haul. The long haul! So sit back, relax, grab a coffee and enjoy the next 11 minutes.

You're probably wondering about what my ideal outfit is, right? But you would only know why I'm asking this question if you have started listening to the episode already. Before I continue forward with this intro, let me just explain said outfit: this kimono, these shorts, these shoes. Dress like a lady of leisure, but don't actually be one. That's my mantra for the summer of 2017. Glad that's out of the way! Now that we are engaged to be married, let me continue on topic: this week's episode of Monocycle is part of the theme of the month in that it's about what it's like to work with your best pal. When you think best pal, often you think of the women (or men!) you've known since they were girls (or boys!). The people you grew up with, or who you met in a social environment. While Amelia and I met in a work setting (we were interns together at the same start up in 2009), we became fast, personal friends. This process of burgeoning friendship was accelerated when she creepily booked a ticket to Paris and came to visit me when I was abroad just two months after we met, but you can hear more about that act of a true serial killer in the episode. Between then and the time she started at Man Repeller, there were about 4 years of unadulterated friendship colored by love and heartbreak and pillow talk and one very strange blog idea (it was called Pony Tales and Broken Nails) which frankly, made me want to work with her more. A lot of people warned us about what could happen to a friendship when soiled by the transactional nature of a business partnership, but so far, we're doing okay.