The Truth Is

This week on The Truth Is, Kathryn sits down with Jennifer Swartley—her coach and a leadership, mindset, and career coach whose work helps people return to themselves, rebuild compassion within, and move through change with clarity and agency.Together, they talk about the moment we’re in—one where distraction can masquerade as progress, and where even self-work can keep us from truly listening to ourselves. Jen offers language and perspective for what it means to get beneath the noise: noticing the pulls that are actually yours, meeting yourself with compassion, and creating space for what’s next to take shape.She also shares her own journey—the moment she realized how much work had become an over-indexed aspect of her identity, the experience of being at a wellness company while not being well, and how that awareness led her toward her own “what’s next,” built from the inside out.In a world constantly competing for our attention, this work isn’t a one-time realization—it’s a continuous commitment. Throughout the conversation, Kathryn and Jen walk through real examples of her work in action: how fear transforms when met with understanding, how clarity comes through the body before the mind, and how slowing down can reveal what’s true and ready to emerge.A conversation about discernment, compassion, and the ongoing practice of returning to yourself in a world that’s always asking you to look away.In this episode, we talk about:How distraction can masquerade as progressWhy even self-work can keep us from listening to ourselvesThe difference between mental noise and embodied knowingMeeting yourself with compassion instead of judgmentThe relatable experience of being at a wellness company but not being wellHow slowing down helps us move from control to clarityLinks & ResourcesConnect with Jen → @jenswartleyLearn more about her coaching and group programs → jenniferswartley.comConnect with The Truth IsInstagram → @thetruthis_podcastYouTube → @thetruthis_podTikTok → @thetruthispodCreditsHosted by Kathryn FlaschnerEdited by Dan CrollMusic by Will Savino → wsavino.comVisual Identity by Sarah Gainer & Jonathan BushAdvised by Natalie Tulloch

This week on The Truth Is, Kathryn sits down with her sister, Alyssa Flaschner, for a conversation about paying attention to what makes us feel alive, and how change really happens: not all at once, but through tiny degree shifts that slowly realign our lives toward what feels true.In the stillness of COVID, Alyssa began to notice a quiet pull toward something else. What started as weeknights with her cookbook collection soon turned into a decision to take herself—and her curiosity—seriously. That choice led to nine months of commuting to New York City for culinary school—twenty-seven weekends in a row—couch surfing with friends and family and rolling a little suitcase full of knives through the city. Nine months later, that curiosity had become a craft—and eventually, a full-time role on the team at Philadelphia’s acclaimed restaurant My Loup.Together, we talk about what it means to find the thing that makes you come alive—and to keep following it, even when it asks you to rewrite the life you thought you were building.In this episode, we talk about: How perfectionism shaped Alyssa as a competitive dancer—and the ways it still shows up in the kitchenThe difference between chasing achievement and feeling aliveHow small degree shifts add up over time—where slowly, you start to take yourself seriously, and the things that once felt impossible begin to feel realThe awkward, necessary process of being a beginner againWhat it’s like to work in an environment where you can’t fake it—and how that kind of honesty builds confidenceThe people who remind us of our own strength, and why support systems matter more than we thinkIt’s an intimate, sister-to-sister conversation about curiosity, courage, and learning to trust the pull toward what makes you come alive.Links & ResourcesVisit My Loup, where Alyssa is part of the culinary teamRead Alyssa’s essays on SubstackFollow Alyssa on Instagram → @alyssaflashConnect with The Truth IsInstagram → @thetruthis_podcastYouTube → @thetruthis_podTikTok → @thetruthispodCreditsHosted by Kathryn FlaschnerEdited by Dan CrollMusic by Will Savino → wsavino.comVisual Identity by Sarah Gainer & Jonathan BushAdvised by Natalie Tulloch

This week, I sit down with James and Michael Gallagher—brothers from the Midwest who spent years on different career paths before choosing to create something together. James built a career in design, while Michael worked in recruiting. Their journeys eventually came together in this new chapter with Rituil, a brand and community devoted to the rituals that keep us grounded in daily life.What I love about this conversation is the idea that creation is born out of stillness. For James and Michael, that stillness took shape in an unexpected way—when James called his brother to join him on a trip to Portugal, and Michael said yes. That “yes” became a doorway: an opportunity to rediscover themselves and each other, and the seed of what would become Rituil. It’s a reminder that sometimes the most important paths reveal themselves not through control, but through surrender and openness.We talk about loosening our grip on our preconceived expectations for how life “should” unfold, and in return, what the concept of “vertical timing” can reveal to us. In their work as founders, James and Michael see themselves as stewards—listening, and building something co-created with their community. It’s a very different model than the one most of us grow up with around success and building—where we’re taught to plan, push, and control. Here, they offer another option: trust, presence, and allowing.At its core, this is a conversation about how truth reveals itself when we stop forcing and start listening.We Talk AboutWhat it's like to say yes to something unexpected (like a brother asking you to come to Portugal less than a week out) and where it can leadThe concept of vertical timing vs. our linear expectations for our lives–and how it offers us a sense of grace and groundednessRituals as simple, everyday anchors—gardening, cooking, and golfing barefootCreation as something born out of stillness and alignmentActing as stewards: listening, surrendering, and letting the community shape what unfoldsLinks & ResourcesExplore Rituil (& sign up for their newsletter!) → rituil.comFollow Rituil on Instagram → @dailyrituilUse code THETRUTHIS for 10% off your first order from RituilMentioned in this episodeThe Surrender Experiment by Michael A. SingerEckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings PodcastConnect with The Truth IsInstagram → @thetruthis_podYouTube → @thetruthis_podTikTok → @thetruthis_podCreditsHosted by Kathryn FlaschnerEdited by Dan CrollMusic by Will Savino → wsavino.comVisual Identity by Sarah Gainer & Jonathan BushAdvised by Natalie Tulloch

In this week’s episode, I sit down with Sarah Spoto, founder of Badii, a bathing culture brand inspired by her transformational experience living in Baden, Switzerland. After nearly a decade in corporate America, Sarah made the leap to create something of her own — a shift fueled by burnout, hard lessons about politics and bias, and a deep desire to center wellbeing, community, and the joy of everyday rituals.What I’ve always admired about Sarah — even back in business school — is how rooted she seemed in her own lane, without bending to others’ definitions of success. She’s carried that through to Badii, a business built on nourishing relationship to self, to nature, and to one another. Along the way, she’s discovered principles that feel missing in the U.S.: ways of caring for ourselves that are inseparable from how we care for each other.Our conversation moves between the realities of corporate life and the possibility of something different — one that asks us to stop perpetuating what isn’t working and instead return to what’s essential: health, connection, and a deeper sense of care.We talk about:Making sense of people, systems, and where accountability fitsHow anger can lead to clarity — and why it’s worth paying attention toWellness as an everyday ritual, not a luxuryHow experience deepens intuition and self-trustRelatable advice for navigating big career transitionsLinks & ResourcesLearn more about Badii → badii.lifeSign up for the Badii newsletter → badii.life/subscribeListen to the Badii Talk podcast → Spotify | AppleFollow Badii on Instagram → @badii.lifeFollow The Truth Is on Instagram → @thetruthispodFollow The Truth Is on TikTok → @thetruthispodCreditsHosted by Kathryn Flaschner  Edited by Dan Croll  Music by Will Savino → wsavino.com  Visual Identity by Sarah Gainer & Jonathan Bush  Advised by Natalie Tulloch

In this first episode of the new season, I sit down with Katherine Naylor Pullman, Founder & CEO of Our Third Place. What began as a single dinner has grown into a global community of more than 1,600 members across 37 cities — proof that in a hyperconnected world, what we’re really craving is friendship and true togetherness. Built on the idea that when we come as we are, real bonds become possible, Katherine’s own path — from theater kid to accidental CEO — shows how vulnerability and truth can lead us toward deeper community and a more authentic way forward.We talk about:How dinner as a ritual becomes a place to exhale and show up as you areThe difference between surface-level connections and real friendshipsLetting every part of ourselves show up — not just the curated versionsHow getting honest with yourself (even through the occasional meltdown) clears the way for what’s nextRedefining networking as energizing instead of transactionalLinks & ResourcesLearn more about Our Third Place → www.o3p.com*Use code TRUTHIS for one free month of membership at Our Third Place!Follow Our Third Place on Instagram → @ourthirdplacehq Connect with Katherine Naylor Pullman → @katherinenaylorpullmanFollow the podcast → @thetruthis_podcastMentioned in this episode:The Way of Integrity by Martha BeckDirectional Living by Megan HellererCreditsHosted by Kathryn FlaschnerEdited by Dan CrollMusic by Will Savino → wsavino.comVisual Identity by Sarah Gainer & Jonathan BushAdvised by Natalie Tulloch