Hello, my chaotic Yappers!

Today’s What Are You? episode is NOT in fact a full episode; it is a short and sweet and exciting quick update!

If you’ve been reading my posts or listening to the podcast, you have likely picked up that I care a lot about maintaining the quality, specificity, and intentionality of my work. With that in mind, I am working on caring just as much about avoiding burnout, as it is incredibly easy for me to run myself into the ground trying to keep up with a digital pace that was not built for human beings with nervous systems, relationships, responsibilities, and active job-hunting…(let me know if you know of anyone that’s hiring)…

So here’s what’s changing:

1) What Are You? is going biweekly!

Starting now, What Are You? is moving from a weekly release schedule to a biweekly release schedule.

This means that unfortunately, there won’t be a full episode dropping this week.

As loyal listeners, I know that you are simply DISTRAUGHT, but fear not!

With this schedule change, on the weeks without a full episode, I’m going to keep the conversation going in writing right here on just gotta YAP! This means that you still get my thoughts and yaps and words weekly, just in a wider variety of mediums.

Thank you for your understanding as I strive to maintain a semblance of sustainability (read: sanity).

2) The other update

Some of you have been asking for a simple way to support the show.

So today, I’m officially launching by.WAY!

by.WAY (by What Are You) is a paid subscription for listeners who want to support What Are You? by giving a little something, while also getting a little something in return.

For $3.50/month, by.WAY subscribers get:

• Early access to episodes on Wednesday evenings

• Ad-free listening

That said, full episodes will STILL drop in the public feed on Thursdays for non-subscribers.

If you are willing to help sustain What Are You?, the quality of my work, and all of the behind the scenes effort and time that goes into bringing these nuanced conversations about the multidimentionality of identity into your podcast feeds, please join by.WAY via https://whatareyou.captivate.fm/support.

If you’ve been here since season one, thank you. If you’re just finding me today, thank you. Thank you for listening to me, inspiring me, and motivating me to bring these messages of multiplicity + my neuroatypical thought spirals to this vast digital space.<3

Until next time, Yappers!

just gotta YAP! is a reader-supported publication. To support my work and allow me to be able to continue to create new content, please consider becoming a free subscriber or upgrading to a paid subscription👇

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Let’s give a HUGE welcome to today’s guest: podcasting superstar Alesia Galati.

Alesia is a podcast strategist and the founder of Galati Media, a full-service podcast management agency. In today’s episode, we go beyond podcasting logistics and into the many layers of identity, including what it means to move through the world while holding multiple truths at once.

In this conversation, Alesia discusses identifying as:

• an Afro-Latina

• an aromantic

• a bisexual woman married to a man

• & someone who grew up in a cult

This episode is as exciting as it sounds! Watch now on YouTube OR click the button below to listen on your browser or favorite podcast app⤵️

LISTEN NOW

Find more Alesia at the following links:

• Galati Media

• Substack @ Podcasting Unlocked by

• Instagram @alesia.galati

• TikTok @alesiagalati

• YouTube @alesiagalati

• LinkedIn

• Facebook

• Referenced episode: We Read Smut: Sexual & Romantic Spectrums

If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and leave a review! You can find more visuals from today’s episode on Instagram at @whatareyou_pod and @justgottayap.

Want to support my independently created content?

• Donate to What Are You?’s Tip Jar!

• Become a What Are You? Subscriber!

  • Starting Wednesday, April 8th, paid by.WAY subscribers will get early episode access, exclusive sponsor discount codes, and more for $3.50 per month. Stay tuned for additional details!

Questions, comments, or interested in being interviewed? Email hello@justgottayap.com

Thank you for listening and/or watching!

Listen On Your Favorite Podcast Apps!

Today’s episode is a What Are You? classic episode + Roman Empire-bonus episode fusion!

Emma is a font of knowledge and wisdom, a true confident queen, and the KINDEST person. In today’s episode, we discuss the reasons for her identity as “a lifelong learner with a broken arm” (topics that are oddly related). Simultaneously, we do a DEEP dive on the evolution of identity at large, aka her hyperfixation of the moment.

If you missed having a new episode in your feed last week, do not fret! Today’s episode is extra-long to make up for the lost time😘

Emma and I could talk for hours...and we did!

For more Emma, find her at the links below:

• HeyImEmmaReed.com

• Instagram @heyimemmareed

• Her article about culture and heritage through recipes!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, like, subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend. You can find more visuals from today’s episode (+ more!) on Instagram at ⁠⁠@whatareyou_pod ⁠⁠and ⁠⁠@justgottayap⁠⁠.

Want to support my independently created content? Donate and get access to more bonus content becoming a paid subscriber on my ⁠⁠Substack, just gotta YAP!,⁠⁠ or by visiting my⁠⁠ Buy Me a Coffee page⁠⁠.

Questions? Comments? Interested in being interviewed? Please email ⁠⁠hello@justgottayap.com⁠⁠.

Thank you for listening (and maybe watching)!

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We’re SO excited to have Lauren Roche (friend of the pod and in real life) on today’s episode! Lauren is the host of the podcast, The Naked Truth with Lauren, where she and guests destigmatize authentic discourse about mental health. She is also a badass solopreneur and runs⁠ The Naked Truth with Lauren LLC⁠, a community wellness platform helping ambitious individuals combat loneliness and define and pursue their dreams through structured conversations, guided workshops, career coaching, and more! BUT first and foremost, she is Leaza’s friend and neighbor :)

In today’s episode, Lauren defines what being a “goal-getter and living life with no regrets” means to her, how she realized that these ideologies were intrinsic facets of her identity, and why these passions inform her current business ventures. She and Angeleaza also chat about older-sisterhood, perfectionism, dance, mental health, this infographic...andddd ⁠Six Flags Looney Tooning (Leaza is Lola)⁠🐰

For more , find her at the links below:

• ⁠The Naked Truth with Lauren Website⁠

• ⁠Book a Clarity Call for GOALFLOW Coaching⁠:

  • for ambitious women planning to leave their job within the next year to build a strategic exit plan

• ⁠Community Gratitude Practice Newsletter⁠

• ⁠The Naked Truth with Lauren Instagram @thenakedtruth.pod⁠

• ⁠TikTok⁠

• ⁠The Naked Truth with Lauren YouTube⁠

• ⁠Podcast on Spotify⁠

• ⁠Podcast on Apple⁠

• ⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠

• ⁠LinkedIn⁠

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, like, subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend. You can find more visuals from today’s episode (+ more!) on Instagram at ⁠⁠@whatareyou_pod ⁠⁠and ⁠⁠@justgottayap⁠⁠.

Want to support my independently created content? Donate and get access to more bonus content becoming a paid subscriber on my ⁠⁠Substack, just gotta YAP!,⁠⁠ or by visiting my⁠⁠ Buy Me a Coffee page⁠⁠.

Questions? Comments? Interested in being interviewed? Please email ⁠⁠hello@justgottayap.com⁠⁠.

Thank you for listening (and maybe watching)!

What is she? is a transformation coach, a queer woman, a mother of four daughters, a Joy Warrior, a Projector in Human Design, an avid reader, and ⁠SO much more⁠.

In today’s conversation, we talk about her journey of discovering her truth, her self-awareness, her bravery, and her joy. She shares how she utilizes her experiences to guide others to claim radical responsibility, relinquish self-punishment and doubt, and intentionally create space for alignment, joy, and ease.

For more Heather, find her at the links below:

• Vickery and Co. Website: ⁠⁠https://vickeryandco.com/⁠

• Was it Chance? Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wasitchance.com/

• ⁠Book a Call: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.calendarpa.com/@heather⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• Social Media: ⁠⁠https://vickeryandco.com/social⁠⁠

  • ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠

  • ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠

  • ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠

  • ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠

  • ⁠⁠

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, like, subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend. You can find more visuals from today’s episode (+ more!) on Instagram at ⁠@whatareyou_pod ⁠and ⁠@justgottayap⁠.

Want to support my independently created content? Donate and get access to more bonus content becoming a paid subscriber on my ⁠Substack, just gotta YAP!,⁠ or by visiting my⁠ Buy Me a Coffee page⁠.

Questions? Comments? Interested in being interviewed? Please email ⁠hello@justgottayap.com⁠.

Thank you for listening (and maybe watching)!

My fiancé and I just returned from sunny and warm Miami last night and, aside from reuniting with my cat (aka my daughter), I am not especially excited to be back home in dreary, gloomy, cold DC.

However, sometimes we have to create our own sunshine! My sunshine of the day is releasing my newest What Are You? episode, starring my friend Adam.

Adam is truly such a light. He is one of the hardest working, friendly, and authentic people I know, and it was so wonderful getting to learn even more about him during his interview.

Be sure to listen and/or watch either here on Substack, on YouTube, on Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and leave a review for the show here and on your preferred podcast platform!

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Welcome to Season 2! We're starting this new season/new year on the pod with some bonus episodes where I talk about my hyperfixations of the moment.

In today's episode, I'm digging deep into the "2016 nostalgia" trend that is taking over my social media feeds at the moment...mostly because I don't understand why we would want to go back to THAT year in particular...

The media mentioned in today's episode (+ more):

• just gotta YAP! on Substack! PLEASE subscribe :)

• In pictures: the tumultuous year that was 2016, Alex Gray for the World Economic Forum

• Terror, Brexit and U.S. Election Have Made 2016 the Year of Yeats, Ed Ballard for the Wall Street Journal

• The Word of the Year for 2016 Isn’t a Word. It’s a Number, John Kelly for Slate

• Why 2016 Is Only the Most Recent Worst Year Ever, Lorraine Boissoneault for Smithsonian Magazine

• Should We All Just Stop Calling 2016 'The Worst'? Sam Sanders for NPR

• Why people in 2026 are hung up on 2016, Scottie Andrew for CNN

• Rose-tinted filter: Why 2016 is taking over social media in 2026, Naomi de Souza for BBC

• Was 2016 the last good year? Chance Townsend for Mashable

• I Think You’re All Remembering A Different 2016 Than I Am, Hunter Harris for Hung Up (her Substack publication)

• Fuck 2016, John Oliver

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, like, subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend. You can find more visuals from today's episode (+ more!) on Instagram at @whatareyou_pod and @justgottayap.

Want to support my independently created content? Donate and get access to more bonus content by visiting my Buy Me a Coffee page.

Questions? Comments? Interested in being interviewed? Please email hello@justgottayap.com.

Thank you for listening (and maybe watching)!