Welcome back to More Better! This week, Stephanie and Melissa tackle the art of saying no: from people-pleasing tendencies to pregnancy as the ultimate excuse. Melissa opens up about how she learned to say NO by watching Steph during the Brooklyn Nine-Nine years ("You can just say that?!"), while Steph reveals her ancestors' low-key panic about her daughter going skiing (absolutely not). Featuring: teaching your kids to use you as the fall guy, polite lying as a valid boundary tool, a thrilling round of guilt-o-meter roulette, gaggles of girls that aren't your gaggle and Steph’s groundbreaking theory that West Coast snow is soft while East Coast snow is hard, just like their people. Ooooo. Ahhhhh.

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When listener Lucia asks the ladies for thoughts on nightmares, sleepwalking and building a better bedtime routine this week, Steph and Mel have a lot to say. Melissa opens up about her childhood sleepwalking hijinks watching cartoons at 3 a.m. and shares about her son Enzo's more recent night terrors. What works for them? Cold rooms, weighted blankets and image rehearsal therapy, dream-world machete in hand. Also, Steph shares about her secret sleep weapon — Tony's Sleepy Cocktail and why she prefers it over melatonin (heinous dreams alert!). Plus: why we should maybe get back into the medieval habit of biphasic sleep (two sleeps per night!!!! the dream!! literally!!!!).

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On this week's episode, med student Katie calls in to the ladies and asks for networking advice. *record scratch* NETWORKING?! YIKES! Mel and Steph wince at the word but give Katie advice and share their experiences with what they like to call "Fostering Relationships". From reframing "What are you doing?" as a question for someone to discussing the art of the follow-up text, the ladies get real about building genuine connections in a world that seemingly runs on who you know. Mel shares how genuinely complimenting Phil Augusta Jackson's work led to years of collaboration, Steph reminds us about the importance of "small talk" and they both tackle the old boys club conundrum. So have a listen and remember... sometimes you just gotta be brave enough to ask. *Check out this week's episode in full-length video on the official Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MyCulturaPodcasts

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