Messy Liberation: Feminist Conversations about Politics and Pop Culture

This conversation is specifically for people who practice coaching or run coaching businesses (no certification required). Becky and Taina unpack how well-meaning coaches can unintentionally repeat patterns of harm rooted in capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy — even when they genuinely care about their clients.They introduce a framework for building a liberatory coaching practice that centers identity, power, privilege, community, and care — not just goals, outcomes, or productivity. The episode also previews the interactive workshop happening February 25, where participants will begin building their own Liberatory Coaching Manifesto.This isn’t about gatekeeping, hustle, or “fixing” clients. It’s about practicing coaching in a way that expands choice, agency, and humanity — for both coaches and the people they serve.What liberatory coaching actually meansHow coaching can unintentionally reinforce harmful systemsWhy phrases like “limiting beliefs” and “we all have the same 24 hours” can cause harmThe role of identity, power, and privilege in coaching spacesWhy community is essential to sustainable coaching workWhat a Liberatory Coaching Manifesto is — and why you’ll build oneHow to practice coaching without gatekeeping or hustle cultureWhy this work can’t be done aloneBuild Your Liberatory Coaching Manifesto (free, live workshop)February 25 at 12pm Eastern on ZoomReplay available only to those who sign upSign-up for free at messyliberation.com.🎤 PROUD MEMBERS OF THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE: http://feministpodcastcollective.com/

From neighbors shoveling driveways to the quiet labor of holding community spaces, this episode explores how care becomes invisible, and how naming it can be radical. Becky shares a story about hosting invitation-only “secret salons” and grappling with the discomfort of being compensated for community-building work. Taina reflects on moments when emotional labor was unexpectedly acknowledged—and how powerful that recognition can be.The conversation expands into privilege, power, and relationships: what it means when someone checks their privilege out loud, how that can change the nervous system in a room, and why pretending we’re “past” bias is far more dangerous than admitting it exists. They also talk about gendered entitlement, “support husbands,” emotional safety, and the exhausting reality of always wondering when contempt might surface.What mutual aid looks like in everyday life (and why it’s not charity)Snowstorms, disability, aging, and who gets left behindThe invisible labor of care, organizing, and community-buildingWhy being seen matters as much as being paidEmotional labor, race, gender, and power dynamicsChecking privilege—and why it changes the roomSupportive partnerships vs. entitled masculinityWhy “I’d never do that” is a red flagCapitalism, commodification, and collective responsibilityHow acknowledgment can be an act of liberationResource:"Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)" by Dean Spade🎤 WE ARE PROUD MEMBERS OF THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE

Check out the Season 10 trailer for Here’s What I Learned with Jacki Hayes, a fellow member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.This season is built around real experiments. Jacki isn’t just talking about ideas. She’s inviting coaches and service providers to assign her an actual experiment from their area of expertise. She runs it in her business, then they come back together to break down what worked, what didn’t, and what the results actually show.If you like practical insight, honest reflection, and learning from real-world tests instead of polished theories, this season is worth a listen.Find the show wherever you listen to podcasts or visit https://www.jackihayes.co/podcast

NOTE: This episode was recorded before the murder of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Our hearts are with his family and we share your outrage about his murder. Abolish ICE.In this episode of Messy Liberation, Becky and Taina sit inside two overlapping kinds of grief: personal loss and collective unraveling. Becky names the heavy, destabilizing grief of watching U.S. power erode on the global stage—and what it means to confront the loss of privilege, safety, and certainty in real time. Taina shares the complicated aftermath of her mother’s death, including the anger, relief, and dissonance that come from being told a story about someone that doesn’t match your lived experience.Together, they explore grief as a political and embodied experience, the difference between healthy and harmful anger, and why being “aware” isn’t enough without guardrails, resourcing, and community. This episode is about naming the mess without rushing to fix it—and learning how to stay human when the world makes it very tempting not to.🧠 Discussed in This Episode• The grief of losing global privilege—and why it still matters even when privilege is complicated• Why awareness without action (or guardrails) can keep us stuck• Seasonal depression, political despair, and “who gives a shit” energy• Resource mapping as a tool for emotional regulation and capacity• Healthy anger vs. destructive anger—and why movements can’t survive on rage alone• Parenting, power dynamics, and what under-resourcing does to relationships• Complicated grief after the death of an abusive or estranged parent• The dissonance of hearing glowing stories about someone who harmed you• Relief as a valid response to death—and why that doesn’t mean you didn’t love them• Dehumanization, polarization, and the cost of refusing to seek understanding• Why systems benefit when we fight each other instead of looking up🎤 WE ARE PROUD MEMBERS OF THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE: http://feministpodcastcollective.com/

In this episode of Messy Liberation, Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown dive into a layered, messy, and necessary conversation about storytelling, race, motherhood, power, and who gets centered when Hollywood tells “political” stories.Using three recent releases as our jumping-off point — Sinners, One Battle After Another, and His and Hers — we unpack what happens when art claims to be subversive… and whether it actually is.We talk about:Why Sinners feels intentionally campy, unapologetically political, and rooted in Black culture, music, ancestry, and collective survivalHow One Battle After Another leans on harmful tropes about Black motherhood, revolutionary violence, and white male centrality — and why “satire” isn’t a get-out-of-harm-free cardThe racial reframing of His and Hers and how changing the main characters to Black women fundamentally shifts the story’s meaning, stakes, and powerWho gets empathy, who gets invisibility, and who’s expected to carry the labor — on screen and offWhy representation alone isn’t enough, and why who tells the story matters just as much as what story gets toldThis is a spoiler-heavy episode that assumes you’ve either watched these films or are okay hearing the full critique. It’s also an honest conversation about discomfort, trigger warnings, and the exhaustion of watching your lived experience turned into “prestige art” for someone else’s enlightenment.If you care about media literacy, liberatory storytelling, and calling bullshit when “art” punches down — this one’s for you.🎤 WE'RE PROUD MEMBERS OF THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE

Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown dig into the U.S. military action in Venezuela, and why calling it “surprising” misses the point entirely. What’s happening in Venezuela isn’t new. What is new is how little the U.S. is pretending anymore.Discussed in this episode:Why the U.S. arrest and removal of Venezuela’s leader is colonialism, not “law enforcement”How oil, capitalism, and empire are always the through-lineThe danger of pretending America is a neutral or moral global authorityWhy “how you do anything is how you do everything” applies to geopoliticsThe direct connection between capitalism, rape culture, and power grabsWhy nuance matters—and why refusing false binaries is not the same as defending dictatorsHow white discomfort gets mislabeled as “lack of safety”Why joking about colonization isn’t harmless (and what listening actually looks like)What it means to be able to critique U.S. actions without claiming expertise over other nationsRESOURCE: Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism by Eve L. EwingThey also wrestle in real time with fear, grief, learning out loud, and the possibility that America’s increasing global isolation may be both terrifying and inevitable.This conversation isn’t tidy. It’s not optimistic. But it is honest—and rooted in the belief that refusing empire starts with telling the truth about it.Next episode preview: Becky and Taina shift gears (a little) to talk about Sinners and One Battle After Another during awards season—with opinions they already know won’t be universally loved.🎤 WE'RE PROUD MEMBERS OF THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE

New year, same bullshit? In this first episode of the year, Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown tear into the pressure cooker that is “New Year, New You”—and why it’s a capitalist scam designed to make you feel broken so someone else can profit.They talk honestly about aging, bodies, wrinkles, weight loss drugs, and the impossible beauty standards women are asked to carry—especially as hyper-thin culture makes its deeply unwelcomed comeback. Becky and Taina reflect on what it means to age in public, to feel tenderness toward softness, greys, and change, and to reject the idea that looking older is a personal failure.The conversation also widens to business: the pressure to “start fresh” every January, the myth of endless growth, and the exhausting reality that there is no finish line—just maintenance, repetition, and showing up again. They share how they’re approaching the year differently: slower, more collaboratively, more honestly, and more in tune with their actual capacity.This episode is a permission slip to stop reinventing yourself on capitalism’s timeline and start listening to your own body, rhythms, and seasons instead.🎤 WE ARE PROUD MEMBERS OF THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE

Our friend Nicole just dropped the trailer for her new podcast Just Rest — and we're SOOO excited! We’re both part of the Feminist Podcast Collective, and watching this show come to life has been such a joy. Just Rest is for people who care deeply, work hard, and are tired of being told burnout is just the price of caring.This podcast is all about rest as resistance, sustainable change, and staying human in a grind-obsessed world. It’s thoughtful, grounded, and deeply compassionate — the kind of show that feels like a long exhale.Give the trailer a listen, then rate & review if it resonates. It makes a huge difference for indie, values-driven podcasts.🎧 https://justrest.buzzsprout.com

As 2025 winds down, Becky and Taina sit with the mess—grief, burnout, political devastation, small joys, and the complicated work of staying human inside it all. This isn’t an episode about toxic optimism or shiny New Year’s resolutions. It’s about telling the truth: some years are brutal. Some losses are enormous. And still, we have to find ways to keep living.In this end-of-year reflection, they talk candidly about personal and collective loss, fluctuating capacity, negativity bias, and the practice of holding multiple truths at once. They explore what it means to scale expectations down (way down), to let “10% better” be enough, and to build rituals that help us remember that not everything is awful—even when the world feels like it is.This episode is an invitation to stop demanding perfection from yourself, to release the fantasy of static capacity, and to enter the new year with honesty, presence, and gentleness.In this episode, we talk about:Why 2025 felt like a year of loss—personally, politically, and collectivelyGrief, privilege, and the discomfort of holding both at the same timeThe myth of static capacity and why fluctuating energy is deeply humanSpoon theory, disability wisdom, and why you can’t “borrow” energy from the futureNegativity bias and why our brains remember the worst moments most clearlyMicro vs. macro living: how daily life is different from the headlinesPractices for tracking how days actually feel (not how we assume they felt)Holding multiple emotions at once—anger and love, grief and joyWhy “10% better” might be the most radical New Year’s intention availableCreating spaciousness during the holidays without disappearing entirely🎤 WE'RE PROUD MEMBERS OF THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE: http://feministpodcastcollective.com/

Some days aren’t fixable. They aren’t mindset problems. They aren’t invitations to “reframe.” They’re just heavy, painful, vulnerable days—and pretending otherwise only makes them worse.In this episode, Becky and Taina talk honestly about what it looks like to live inside a bad day instead of trying to hustle your way out of it. From chronic pain and perimenopause to caregiving, grief, financial stress, and the impossible emotional math of deciding when it’s time to let go, this conversation holds the mess without trying to clean it up too fast.This is an episode about asking for help when it feels like failure. About how self-gaslighting drains more energy than rest ever could. About the quiet power of naming your limits—and letting them be real.If you’re feeling raw, overwhelmed, or stretched thin right now, this one’s for you.In this episode, we talk about:• Why some days can’t be “turned around” without doing more harm• Chronic pain, perimenopause, and the emotional toll of living in a body that hurts• The vulnerability hangover that comes after creating something meaningful• How comparison and money talk can activate shame—even in values-aligned spaces• Why asking for help can feel like failure, concession, or loss of power• Parenting, partnership, and the guilt of needing rest• Caregiving grief: loving someone (or a pet) while knowing the end is coming• The impossible responsibility of deciding when to say goodbye• Avoidance, coping, and why comfort isn’t the same thing as denial• Letting a day be bad—and why that can actually prevent a spiralIf today feels heavy, you’re not broken—and you’re definitely not alone. Sometimes the most radical thing you can do is call it a bad day, ask for help, and let yourself rest without earning it.🎧 Messy Liberation is a proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective, supporting independent, values-aligned shows and the people who make them. Learn more at: https://feministpodcasterscollective.com

This week’s episode goes straight for the tender spots—disability, guilt, surrender, messy healing, cultural expectations, accountability, and, yes… Beyoncé. It’s one of those conversations that reminds you why we started this show in the first place: to tell the truth about being human in a world that keeps demanding performance.Taina opens with a vulnerable (and infuriatingly relatable) mess about navigating life with a disability while recovering from intense medical trauma, and the complicated guilt that comes with needing care instead of giving it. Becky names what’s underneath it all: grief for the life we thought we’d have. What follows is a wide-open, nuanced conversation about surrender, agency, capitalism’s lies about productivity, and the lifelong work of unlearning parentification. From there, we spiral beautifully into:What accountability actually looks like (BD Wong, RF Kuang, publishing vs. Hollywood power, and why identity + industry shape what’s possible)How nuance gets flattened on the internet, and why that harms marginalized people mostJay-Z and Beyoncé attending a Brandy concert and the absolutely chaotic discourse about whether they “should” have said hi (Ray J… buddy… please log off)Spotify Wrapped: joy, community, surveillance capitalism, FOMO, manipulation, and why we’ll still post ours anywayThe ways pop culture reveals our own longing to belong—and the pressure to be ethically perfect inside systems built on exploitationIt’s tender. It’s political. It’s petty. It’s deeply liberatory. In other words: peak Messy Liberation.🎤 WE'RE PROUD MEMBERS OF THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE

We didn't record a new show this week, but we're happy to share this episode of The Empowered & Embodied Show with Taina Brown. It's so good! Enjoy!

This week’s episode of Messy Liberation is exactly what the name promises: deeply human, a little chaotic, politically charged, creatively fueled, and threaded with the kind of vulnerability most people only share with their therapist.Becky opens up about the messy joy and stomach-turning self-doubt of writing her first book — including imposter syndrome, fears of co-opting liberatory work, the ethics of citation, and the tension between wanting to be seen and fearing the inevitable rejection that visibility invites.Then Taina dives into her own mess: the viral rumor about Donald Trump allegedly performing a sexual act on Bill Clinton (yes, really), the cultural fallout, the misogyny underneath homophobia, and the horrifying normalization of sexual violence in politics and media.It’s an episode that moves from book-writing anxiety… to Brene Brown… to Epstein… to consent… to cult dynamics… to “underage women” as a media phrase… to slow-burn lesbian jokes… to the existential absurdity of trying to hold nuance in a collapsing empire.In This Episode, We Discuss:The behind-the-scenes process of writing Becky’s liberatory business bookImposter syndrome, power, privilege, and the fear of getting it wrongThe ethics of citation, accountability, and writing through a white lensWhy visibility feels both intoxicating and terrifyingHow to engage in liberatory work without replicating harmThe alleged Trump/Clinton sexual scandal and why it’s blowing up onlineMisogyny, homophobia, femininity-as-weakness, and power dynamicsWhy the phrase “underage women” is a dangerous media trapThe GOP’s terrifying attempt to normalize sexual violenceLaughing at the absurdity as a survival strategyUpdates from last week’s messes (the school-board situation + relationship boundaries)The difference between mess that moves us forward and mess that destroys democracyResources + Mentions"Emergent Strategy" by adrienne maree brownThe Messy Liberation Coaches Circle🎤 Proud members of The Feminist Podcasters Collective; join us if you have a podcast at http://feministpodcastcollective.com/

In this week’s episode, Becky and Taina dive straight into the deep end of real-life mess: school-district politics, equity vs. “equality,” the exhausting reality of advocating inside systems designed to fail kids, and the tender, complicated terrain of queer marriage, desire, and boundaries. This one is personal, raw, a little chaotic, and very us. Becky shares what it’s like preparing to speak at a school board meeting about inequitable resource distribution in her son’s district — while naming the discomfort of doing that work as a white parent in a predominantly white room. Then Taina opens up about the complexities of being pansexual, married to a lesbian wife, and navigating attraction, boundaries, and emotional intimacy when your partner is also your best friend.In This Episode, We Discuss:• The messy reality of advocating for equity in a school system still clinging to “equal” funding• Why diversity in schools matters — and what’s at risk when privileged families leave• The tension of being a group of white moms pushing for equity without falling into saviorism• How to strategically communicate about equity in political spaces• The emotional labor of teachers and staff in under-resou🎤rced schools• Taina’s coming-out journey, late blooming, and the truth about queer identity development• What happens when you marry the first person you date (and why that’s not the red flag people think it is)• Navigating attraction, boundaries, and “is this appropriate to say to my wife?” moments• Why partners cannot and should not be expected to meet every emotional need• Cheesecake, green beans, and other metaphors we’ll never be able to forget🎤 Proud members of the Feminist Podcasters Collective — join us at: https://feministpodcasterscollective.com

This week, Becky and Taina sit down with client experience designer and “business cousin” Portia Michele Osumaré for a liberatory conversation about the beauty of being “messy”—and why it’s not something to fix. Together they explore what it means to live outside the boxes that capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy build for us.From being multi-hyphenate creatives to dismantling productivity culture, this conversation dives into queerness, control, and community—and how letting yourself be delightfully, unapologetically human can actually make your work (and your joy) more sustainable.Portia reminds us that liberation isn’t theoretical; it’s something we practice every day—in our businesses, our relationships, and even the way we talk about money, success, and each other.Connect with Portia:The Business Cousins CollectiveFollow Portia on InstagramDiscussed in this episode:Redefining “messy” as freedom, not failureThe power of multi-hyphenate creativityQueerness as a practice of expansion and self-creationHow control, order, and “clean” systems uphold oppressionBuilding liberatory business models rooted in joy and humanityCommunity as a messy, necessary space for collective growthResources mentioned:Lucille Clifton, “won’t you celebrate with me”Maya Angelou, “Be a rainbow in someone’s cloud”Ocean Vuong on how being queer saved his life🎤 WE’RE PROUD MEMBERS OF THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE

Becky and Taina try something new in this episode—a looser, more conversational format inspired by their friends from BRB, Crying. Each host brings a “messy situation” to unpack together.Taina starts with a real-life scare: police chasing a man through her backyard in Baltimore. The conversation unfolds into a raw discussion about policing, white conditioning, racialized fear, and what “abolish the police” really means. Together, they pull apart the myths of “good cops” and community safety, tracing policing back to its roots in slavery and exploring what real care-centered community safety could look like.Then Becky brings her own messy topic: a threads debate about whether all landlords are unethical. As a small-scale landlord herself, she wrestles with her own complicity in a capitalist system while still trying to do right by her tenant. The pair examine how housing, like policing, reflects deeper systemic issues—and why nuance matters when we talk about ethics and liberation.The conversation winds into reflections on whiteness, masculinity, and how even our attempts to “opt out” of oppressive systems (like calling yourself a “non-practicing white”) can be another form of avoidance. This one is layered, uncomfortable, and exactly the kind of conversation Messy Liberation is built for.🧠 ThemesThe conditioning of fear and trust around policingHow racialized power shows up even in “liberal” white responsesThe difference between policing and community accountabilityEthical gray areas in housing and capitalismWhy abolition is about care, not chaosReckoning with privilege, whiteness, and the myth of neutrality🔗 Resources MentionedDesigner Terrence WilliamsThe BRB, Crying podcast🎤 WE ARE PROUD MEMBFRS OF THE FEMINIST PODCAST COLLECTIVE

Becky and Taina are joined by fitness coach Laura Thomas for a brutally honest conversation about body image, aging, and what it really means to feel at home in your body.They unpack how diet culture is a tool of patriarchy and capitalism, how the “male gaze” shapes even the most “empowering” wellness trends, and how we can start to reclaim movement as a way to care for ourselves rather than control ourselves.This episode invites all of us, especially those socialized as women, to stop outsourcing our worth and start listening to our bodies againDiscussed in this episode:Why gyms can feel unsafe (and how to reclaim movement on your own terms)How diet culture and anti-fatness are rooted in anti-BlacknessDecentering men and re-defining beauty on your own termsThe emotional labor of unlearning body shameHow patriarchy, racism, and capitalism keep us disconnected from our bodiesWhy movement is resistance, not punishmentResources mentioned:“Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia” by Sabrina Strings“The Body Liberation Project” by Chrissy King“The Body Is Not an Apology” by Sonya Renee Taylor“Why Does Patriarchy Persist?” by Carol Gilligan and Naomi Snider“More Than a Body: Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament” by Lindsay and Lexie Kite💪 Learn More About Laura ThomasWebsite: laurathomasfitness.comInstagram: @laurathomasfitness🎤 PROUD MEMBERS OF THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE

What happens when two podcasts built on honesty, healing, and humor come together?In this special crossover between Messy Liberation and brb crying, Becky and Taina sit down with Angela (“Nins”) and Ariana (“Arns”), lifelong best friends and co-hosts of brb crying, for a heartfelt, hilarious, and deeply real conversation about what it means to feel your feelings in a world that rewards suppression.They unpack why crying is a radical act of self-trust, how vulnerability is a muscle that takes practice, and what it looks like to de-armor yourself in a culture that treats emotions like weakness. They also talk about creative rebirth through fan fiction (yes, really), the burnout cycle of podcasting, and how anti-capitalist rest practices can help us find joy again.This one’s equal parts therapy session, slumber party, and masterclass in liberation.Check out brb, crying:Website: https://www.brbcryingpodcast.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brbcrying.podcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB3O5-2SWBN4AYpb061iipgDiscussed in this episode:The power of crying as emotional liberationWhy vulnerability is a practice — not a personality traitCreative healing through fan fiction and rediscovering joyThe burnout cycle of podcasting under capitalismSafety, embodiment, and learning to feel at home in your bodyThe balance between vulnerability and humorPartnership, community, and the importance of feeling seenRest and joy as acts of resistanceHuman Design, astrology, and honoring your energy typeReleasing capitalist urgency and redefining success🎤 PROUD MEMBERS OF THE FEMINIST PODCAST COLLECTIVE: http://feministpodcastcollective.com/

In this fiery, messy conversation, Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown dive headfirst into celebrity culture, capitalism’s endless hunger, and the idea of enough. What started as a chat about Taylor Swift’s latest grift spirals—naturally—into reflections on fascism, fire-hose overwhelm, and why local action matters more than ever.They talk about:• Why celebrity “side hustles” and billionaire branding keep us chasing more• How capitalism turns “enough” into failure• The illusion of American exceptionalism and what fascism actually looks like• Why your local school board might matter more than Congress• What iteration (not hustle) really means for liberation• How collective care—and choosing one or two issues you actually have energy for—is the real resistanceResource mentioned:• Deepa Iyer’s Social Change Ecosystem Map🎤 PROUD MEMBERS OF THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE

👉 On October 9, 2025, Feminist Founders is hosting The Weight We Carry, a free, focus-group-style conversation on invisible labor. We’ll share stories, hold space, and imagine what collective relief might look like. And your stories will directly shape a white paper we’re writing to push this issue into wider conversations where it belongs. ✨ Reserve your free spot hereIn this episode of Messy Liberation, Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown are joined by their dear friend and collaborator Faith Clarke. Faith is a workplace culture strategist who challenges extractive systems and works to build restorative, liberatory environments rooted in belonging.Together, the three dig into what “belonging” really means—not as a buzzword, but as an embodied experience of communal care, shared responsibility, and accountability. Faith shares stories from her corporate and nonprofit experiences, connects belonging to invisible labor, and explains why true belonging requires honesty about what spaces can and can’t hold.This is a conversation about work, family, faith, identity, power, and the hard truth that belonging isn’t something leaders “create”—it’s something communities must practice together.In this episode, we discuss:What belonging feels like and how to recognize its absenceWhy extractive work systems can never truly foster belongingThe violence of having to self-advocate in spaces that won’t meet your needsInvisible labor and how marginalized folks often hold it all togetherWhy belonging must be a community responsibility and not left to leaders aloneSigns your workplace or organization lacks true belongingHow Faith and Becky are partnering on an upcoming container to address invisible labor🎤PROUD MEMBERS OF THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE