Low to Grow

Third Culture Kid, presenter and life transitions authority Nikki Müller joins Annie Wenmiao Yu to unpack what it means to grow up as a Swiss-Filipino Third Culture Kid and to navigate change as an adult. Nikki shares how COVID sparked an identity reckoning, why change is an event but transition is an internal journey, and how she processed decades of unacknowledged grief while moving from Singapore back to Switzerland. The conversation explores belonging, the 'messy middle' of transition, self-editing as a chameleon, and finding community when the ground keeps shifting.

Former National Geographic writer Rachel Hartigan joins Annie Wenmiao Yu to discuss her debut book 'Lost,' a deep dive into the enduring mystery of Amelia Earhart. She recounts joining a Pacific expedition with human remains detection dogs, working alongside Titanic discoverer Bob Ballard, and building a career from a Nevada cowboy magazine to the Washington Post's Book World. Rachel reflects on saying yes to opportunities, living with uncertainty, AI in journalism, and why unsolved mysteries still captivate ordinary people.

Bayo Adelaja MBE, founder and CEO of Do It Now, Now, joins Annie Wenmiao Yu to trace her journey from LSE researcher to redundancy, life on benefits, and rebuilding as a freelancer before founding a London-based organization that has granted over £3.5 million to Black-led organizations across the UK. She discusses structural racism in funding, the difference between intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs, autonomy and mental health at work, receiving an MBE, and how she learned to rest and set boundaries as a leader.

Writer, podcaster and comedian Courtney Kocak joins Annie Wenmiao Yu to unpack her memoir Girl Gone Wild, from her small-town Minnesota roots to reinventing herself as a writer at 27 after leaving acting. She opens up about shedding shame around sexual assault, an abortion at 23, and selling t-shirts on the Girls Gone Wild tour, plus the long road to publishing with a small press. Courtney also shares her flow-state productivity approach, the power of journaling, and why it's never too late to chase a creative dream.

Psychological researcher Alice Sibelli, PhD joins Annie Wenmiao Yu to share how her own long medical journey with digestive symptoms reshaped her work in digital health. She unpacks the biopsychosocial model and brain-gut connection, how disorders of the gut-brain interaction are diagnosed, and how evidence-based digital therapies like gut-directed CBT and hypnotherapy can speed access to care. Alice also reflects on helping bring the first FDA-cleared digital therapeutic for IBS to market at Mahana, moving from academia to startups, and launching her own consultancy.