Toni King was at a Medicare workshop when she realized how easy it is for someone to misunderstand the system—and how difficult it can be to fix those misunderstandings once they happen.

She’s spent years helping people navigate Medicare, a process shaped by rules, timelines, and decisions that aren’t always intuitive. She shares what it’s like to guide people through it, how the system works, and why it can be so challenging to understand from the outside.

1. How she got started helping people navigate Medicare
2. Why the system can be difficult for people to understand
3. The structure of Medicare and how the different parts fit together
4. The role of private insurance within Medicare
5. What people need to think about as they approach enrollment

1. Learn more about Toni King
2. Medicare
3. Social Security
4. Medicare Advantage (Part C)
5. Prescription Drug Plans (Part D)

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Cities don’t just develop over time — they’re shaped by decisions about transportation, where we build, and what gets prioritized.

Urban planner Jahnavi Kirtane explains how those decisions come together, why so many places in the U.S. are built around cars, and how walkability affects independence, access, and everyday life in ways most people don’t realize.

1. The difference between growing up in a car-dependent suburb and navigating New York City
2. What “walkability” actually means and how it shows up in daily life
3. Why many U.S. communities are designed around cars
4. The kinds of decisions that shape how cities function
5. How design influences independence, access, and connection

1. Walkable City by Jeff Speck
2. Speck Dempsey, the planning and design firm where Jahnavi works
3. Jeff Speck's TED talk, The Walkable City

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Suzanne Smith has spent her career working with nonprofits and has witnessed a reality many people outside the field don’t see: solving big social problems requires more than passion and good intentions. It requires organizations strong enough to grow and build long-term sustainability.

In this episode, Suzanne shares what it’s like to work in the social impact world, and what she’s learned from working with organizations trying to turn big ideas for change into lasting results and stronger communities.

1. Growing up in a family that talked about social issues at the dinner table
2. Her early career working in lobbying and the nonprofit sector
3. Why many nonprofits struggle to scale their impact
4. The intersection of nonprofit, business, and government in creating change
5. Why she believes social change work is a calling, not just a job

1. Social Impact Architects
2. Suzanne Smith’s Substack blog, Social Trendspotter

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When Laurie Jacobson was 43, she found herself in a deeply unhappy marriage and increasingly isolated and depressed. After years of trying conventional therapies and self-help approaches without relief, she made a decision that felt radical at the time: she signed up for a silent retreat at a Buddhist monastery she’d discovered through a pamphlet in a coffee shop. Over the next 22 days of meditation and silence, Laurie experienced a profound shift in perspective that helped her see her life differently, and ultimately gave her the clarity she needed to make a difficult life decision.

1. What daily life was like during a silent meditation retreat
2. Why she decided to go to a Buddhist monastery after trying many other forms of help
3. The surprising mental clarity that can come from long periods of silence and meditation
4. How the experience changed the way she saw her marriage and gave her the strength to leave it
5. The lessons she carried forward about openness, desire, and letting go

Mentioned in this episode:

1. Theravada Buddhism
2. Laurie's book, Unexpected Awakening: 22 Days at a Buddhist Monastery Freed Me from Abuse

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As a teenager, Christina King looked like she was doing everything right — she had good grades, played sports, took advanced classes. But when her mom paused during an argument and asked, “Are you happy?” it changed the course of her life. Today, Christina is a therapist specializing in tween and teen girls, and she shares what’s really happening in the teenage brain, why emotional ups and downs are often developmentally normal, and how parents can stay connected during one of the most intense seasons of growing up.

Note: This episode is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. It includes discussion of teen mental health, including self-harm, in the context of helping parents understand and respond.

1. The question that led her to therapy as a teen
2. What "all gas, no brakes" means for the adolescent brain
3. Why emotional volatility can be a healthy sign
4. Tween girl friendship dynamics and indirect aggression
5. Social media, comparison culture, and feeling left out
6. The difference between venting mode and problem-solving mode
7. Why parents should depersonalize their teen's emotions

1. Christina King Family Therapy
2. Find Christina on Instagram
3. Inside Out 2 (when discussing adolescent emotions)

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Kristen Mardis was 21 years old, fresh out of college, and had just been accepted into graduate school when she found out she was pregnant. With no financial safety net and no health insurance, she had to quickly figure out how she would care for a baby while still pursuing her dream of becoming a speech pathologist. In this episode, Kristen shares what it was like to navigate Medicaid, SNAP benefits, and childcare assistance — and how those programs gave her the foundation she needed to build the life she has today.

1. Finding out she was pregnant just weeks after being accepted into graduate school
2. How Medicaid and SNAP helped her access prenatal care and feed her baby
3. Navigating childcare assistance so she could finish her master’s degree
4. The stigma around government assistance — and the dignity everyone deserves
5. How her experience shaped the way she now serves families in her work as a speech pathologist

1. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
2. Medicaid
3. Childcare assistance programs

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Carol Lin spent her career inside newsrooms built for breaking news. She covered some of the most difficult moments in recent history, including being the first person to report the attacks on September 11. In this conversation, she reflects on her career in journalism and the behind-the-scenes moments that shaped her life. She also discusses what it was like to revisit those experiences while writing her memoir.

Hear Carol talk about:

1. What it’s like inside a newsroom built for breaking news
2. The moment she realized she was going live on September 11 without a script
3. How anchors rely on producers, reporters, and unseen teams during national crises
4. The emotional discipline required to deliver information in uncertain moments
5. The intersection of her career with major personal turning points
6. Why writing her memoir required revisiting both professional and private pain
7. What she hopes readers — and her daughter — take away from her story

Mentioned in this episode:

1. The first moments reporting 9/11 (viewer discretion advised)
2. Carol Lin’s memoir, When News Breaks

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What’s it like to spend weeks inside a monastery in complete silence?

What’s it like to find out you’re pregnant with no idea how you’re going to support yourself?

And what’s it like to be the first person to tell the world a plane has just hit the World Trade Center?

Season two of Tell Me What It’s Like gives you a window into someone else’s world - the moments that challenge us, scare us, and shape who we become.

Join host Stacy Raine as she uncovers what each experience was like, and the lessons learned along the way.

1. Breaking historic news and facing profound loss
2. A silent retreat inside a monastery, and what happens when the outside world falls away
3. Navigating unexpected pregnancy without a safety net
4. Helping nonprofits do meaningful work in complex systems
5. Making sense of Medicare and aging in a system few people truly understand
6. Supporting girls in their tween and teen years
7. Finding connection, confidence, and love again later in life

Season two of Tell Me What It’s Like is coming soon.

Support This Show:

• Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast app
• Leave a rating & review — it helps others find the show
• Share the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media