At My Kitchen Table

Every once in a while, I’ll have a topic idea that I’ll float by a potential guest because it’s something I’m curious about and want new perspectives.  And sometimes the lesson I learn is that the universe doesn’t care what I want, and instead it gives me a gift.

Today I welcome my niece, Melia Myers, to my kitchen table.  My goal was to have a yap about the changes in how we market colleges and the promise of jobs to kids differently now than when I went to college.  But her story is far...

Teabags, pull up a seat and join me in welcoming Ali Collier back to my kitchen table!  A few of you reached out after Ali’s episode early in the year to let me know that you’d like to hear more about Mini Baja, a topic that came up randomly during our first episode.  Today, Ali obliges us and dives into the life lessons she learned from her time on RIT’s Mini Baja team. 

In addition to Mini Baja, Ali chats about the dawn of Pro/E and cell phones during her college years, the challenge...

Welcome to Wednesday, teabags!  The absolutely delightful Monica Cwynar pulls up a seat at my kitchen table to talk about her path to becoming a social worker and clinical therapist.  But that’s only the tip of the iceberg, as she highlights some of the many things she’s done in her life that make her call herself the “Forrest Gump of Pittsburgh.”

Monica chats about the orgy that is this allergy season, how her activism is closely tied to social work, how she doesn’t want to (but will) be the therapist who avenges your death, and the impo...

Teabags, this episode has me locked in on all things music as I welcome Robbie Meixner to my kitchen table to shoot the shit about music and art being the throughline of life.  Robbie also talks about cool cobra drum pedals, why making art for money sucks, friendships rooted in a mutual love of ninja turtles, and how concerts are a connection of souls.

During our yap, Robbie and I go back to our MTV days.  And because of MTV and my own musical throughline, I have what I call “lyric brain” which means my brain autofills song l...

Welcome to Wednesday, Teabags!  The At My Kitchen Table team finally met the demands of Andrew Mandzy’s team (green M&Ms only) to make podcast magic happen.  Andrew joins me today to talk about what it took for a risk averse Jersey boy to leave his corporate job this year and pursue something new, and to explore his Ukrainian roots and bicultural upbringing.

He also chats about other stuff – like how he became instant BFFs with my sister, having a shiner for his first presentation in a new role, his business associates Chat & Claude, and how his mu...

She's back at the kitchen table (which is also technically her kitchen table, too)!  This week, Kenzie Shaak returns for what started out as a yap about over-the-top parent behaviors, but unraveled into topics like the impact of social media on player image, how parents probably do way too much for their kids, the many referees called Jerry, instituting a hell week, and four good things about a very shitty week.

Welcome to Kenzie's Corner!  Get cozy!

This week's small business spotlight is on Umber Chocolates.

Find Umber Chocolates on Instagram / Threads: @umberchocolatespgh

Welcome to today’s delicious episode where Veronica Molitor, Owner & Chief Executive Chocolatier of Umber Chocolates, pulls up a chair at my kitchen table to talk about how she started her own chocolate business, despite being the one member of her family who didn’t really care for chocolate!

Veronica also chats about being from Texas but loving the snow and cold, the benefits of having the gift of gab, that box of stuff that goes in the cabinets above the fridge through every move, and how we all owe her husband Adam a big thank you for...

Teabags, I’m so excited for this week’s guest because I have so much respect for librarians.  They are, in my opinion, the final level adults in the room.  Today at my kitchen table I'm joined by Suzy Waldo, who is a librarian, among many other things.

Suzy is the city kid to my suburban kid, and joins me to talk about the evolution of Pittsburgh neighborhoods, her days a bike messenger, and her path to becoming a librarian for the Carnegie Libraries of Pittsburgh.  She also chats about being passionate about her neighborhood and community, long di...

Hey everyone!  I had this fun idea and my guest was game.

This week on At My Kitchen Table, I joined Hadley Haas at her kitchen table to have a get-to-know-you discussion with her.

Hadley is deeply devoted to her family, she’s a fierce advocate, a friend, a hands-on community builder, and an activist. And, oh yeah, she's running for the PA State House of Representatives for District 44.

We get into the importance of service, being a servant leader, and her path to politics.  Hadley also chats about how she got her name...

It’s Wednesday, so we're heading to the kitchen!  At my kitchen table this week is Heather Capezio.  I knew Heather in the way back of middle and high school, and while we haven’t seen each other much IRL, we’ve stayed connected through socials.

Today, Heather talks about tapping into her creativity, starting her own business, and ultimately leaving her corporate job.  But she chats about a lot of other things well, including her love of theater, her preference of the Mexican dialect of Spanish that we learned in high school (RIP Mrs. Kreeger, 2023), and what it m...

It's another wild Wednesday as I'm joined at my kitchen table by Steven Janofsky. Steven is my former co-worker who became a close friend of the family.  He tends to be relatively private, so when he said he’d come have a yap on the podcast, I thought he'd have some pretty strict guardrails.  He surprised the hell out of me by keeping nothing back.  He talks about things like his ADD (he's old, and that's what it was called back in the 1900s), the solid and nurturing foundation of the Jewish community in his childhood, and being alone versu...

Welcome to At My Kitchen Table where I’m joined this week by my friend and Snap-streak partner in crime, Annette Reitano!  Annette is a creative in her core and she nurtures that part of herself both professionally and personally.  She joins me to talk about the importance of creativity and allowing yourself space to play in managing your body's stress response.  She also chats about how her parents used her love of theater as a motivational tool for school, how the messy middle is where you grow, mortality awareness syndrome, and why she's chosen to make her creative conte...

It's been a half a year, you guys!  Week 26 of connecting with people and bringing their stories to you.  So I took a pause to talk about the path to the pod, how we got here to week 26 of a passion project, and what's coming up next for At My Kitchen Table.  I also mention how I loathe the sound of my own voice, my takeaways from a bar meeting with Jason & CJ, and my regular listener in Singapore!  The message of this episode is that like Lumiere in Beauty & the Beast, I just want you to be my gues...

We’re flying high with Michelle Sedlak at my kitchen table this week!  Michelle is a flight attendant and she joins me to talk about all things air travel.  We dive into a bunch of topics, though, including the many jobs she had before the flight attendant gig, her passenger pet peeves (they mostly involve people who do not listen), how a girls trip with 10 ladies on one catamaran inspired her to apply to become a flight attendant, and how fast she can evacuate a plane that’s on fire with half of the exits blocked.  She spills some tea abo...

Amy Becker, the best thing to come from my time at the University of Pittsburgh aside from my husband, sits down at my kitchen table today.  She talks about how our friendship shouldn't have worked, how becoming a parent helped her navigate her own parent-child trauma bonds, learning how to be a duck, and giving herself permission to stop giving a fuck.  We giggle a lot in this episode because Becker's joy is infectious.  Pull up a seat while we spill some tea!

Intro riff by Dale Lytle (concert husband).

All content edited (I use tha...

Today I sit down with Heather Papiernik to talk about some of the things she did to find her people after relocating to the Pittsburgh area.  Heather grew up in Youngstown, OH, living in her hometown for about 40 years before she moved away.  Turns out, it can be difficult to get close to people who have known each other for most of their lives.  As she talks about some of the ways she put herself out there to find people with common interests, she also chats about bourbon, drinking Alabama Slammers & playing Euchre in college, bourbon, working for a big...

Kayla Rennie pulls up a chair at my kitchen table this week, bringing a lot of energy and humor to her story about her son, Samson, and his early diagnosis of adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD).  In simplest terms, ALD is caused by a genetic mutation that causes an accumulation of very long chain fatty acids which can then affect the brain, spinal cord, and adrenal cortex.

We get into the science of it all, and Kayla also chats about COVID derailing her goal to become a Spanish educator, the janky part of Children’s Hospital that houses the rare dis...

Hey, hey everyone! I am joined at my kitchen table this week by my bonus son, Ian Stone, and my actual son, Patrick Shaak to chat about loneliness.  When we noodled on topics, this one kept coming back around for me as I think it needs to be discussed with the demographic most typically affected (depending on which definition of "male loneliness" you're using).

These two are bffs since college and have been there for each other through some rough times emotionally.  They talk to me about racing, gaming, how toxic masculinity and male loneliness often go ha...

At my kitchen table this week is my former co-worker, current friend, and fellow GenXer, Tim.  Tim joins me to discuss his journey to an OCD diagnosis.

I took AMKT on the road and recorded with Tim in Connecticut during the holidays for our annual "therapy session" with other former co-workers.  We chat about our shared love of music, the imminence of annihilation we experienced as kids in the 80s, the importance of having buddies, and how some of his obsessions seriously fucked with his ability to listen to Slayer.  He also covers why we aren’t using...

Welcome to my third episode that features Glen Rock, PA! At my kitchen table this week is Ali Collier, owner of Brabble Hill Farms and owner / proprietor of Main Street Market in Glen Rock.

My chat with Ali marks the first time that I sought a guest because of a topic – she and her husband own a micro farm, and I’ve become very interested in learning more about small, sustainable farming. Ali has worn many hats in her life, which is something she's done with intention.  Her curiosity and ability to solve problems has led her to co...

Welcome to 2026, teabags! I’m back at my kitchen table this week with Rollin Apgar!  This is the second episode in what is becoming a short series of episodes that feature Glen Rock, Pennsylvania either as its center or as its backdrop.

Local, small-town politics is fascinating to me because it feels like it's often ignored, but is the most impactful politics to our day-to-day lives. Rollin and I chat about being drawn to service, the story of how he became involved with borough council, why it’s important to give people the space to be heard, and h...

Back at the kitchen table to say good riddance to the dumpster fire that was 2025 is my sister and first ever podcast guest, Angela Myers.  We tried to talk shit about the New Year’s holiday in a kind of minisode.  But we had a lot to cover, so it became a full episode.

We send 2025 out with a whimper, yapping about what we think of this past year (it’s askew) and how we feel about things like New Year’s resolutions (they’re dumb as hell).  We also chat about how 6th grade Ange wanted to marry De...

It’s almost Christmas, and having Adam Wright join me at my kitchen table this week is a gift!  I connected with Adam through our mutual friend (and friend of the pod), Jenn.  He’s the kind of person you feel like you’ve known forever when you’re five minutes into a conversation with him.

Adam lost both of his parents to cancer, and we discovered that we have a mutual bond in that we both lost our moms in our late thirties and experienced delayed grief.  But our talk is far from sad...it’s full of wonde...

We love a good passion project at the pod because we love it when someone says "fuck it" and tries something new on for size.  Today, I welcome back friend of the pod, Jason Hill, to my kitchen table to talk about his passion project, which is training to become a professional wrestler at the age of 43.  This was a lot of fun to get to be nerdy about particularly 90s Attitdue Era wrestling, but also about Jason being an elder statesman for the younger trainees, and why his lack of fear might mean he's a sociopath.  

Int...

Jenn Rennie pulls up a seat at my kitchen table today, and chatting with her is like having both the tea *and* a sweet treat!  Jenn is a damn delight as she shares the story of how her experiences with cancer treatment and her care team brought the out the closeted writer in her and changed her career path to oncology nursing.  Jenn is one of those people who always tells the real-real of a story, and today is no different as the conversation takes us to the importance of having a local "therapy" bar, how she has a fr...

Content warning: contains descriptions or mentions of drug use, OD, and suicidal ideations.

Get ready for Hayley Reyes to join me at my kitchen table today! I'm really fortunate that Hayley trusted me enough to speak frankly about how she became addicted to drugs, what led to her recovery, and why it's important to challenge our perceptions of people who become addicted.  While her story is heavy at times, Hayley keeps it real with wry humor and realistic descriptions, and I get to throw in some "mom perspective." We talk about druggie buggies, the angels guiding her, a...

It's Thanksgiving week, teabags!  I decided to do something a little different with the pod this week, so this won’t be a typical episode.  Since I’m not gonna have my three kids together for the holiday, I Zoomed with my family and did a twist on the At My Kitchen Table 3 good things about your week.  You get our bonus hot takes of best and worst Thanksgiving foods, you'll hear a couple of hidden gem Grandma’s Boy quotes, and you'll get to hear my kids' dark humor because it turns out that we raised sarcassholes.

I’m so...

It pays to be a nepo baby this week, as I welcome my offspring to my kitchen table (which is obviously her kitchen table as well)!  For anyone who follows my blog, you’ll know her as Kid 3; for those who follow my socials, you’ll recognize her as the Toots to my Bub in our #BubandToots.  My frequent travel buddy has been going through it lately and we talk about how she finally got through her doctor avoidance to start to figure out wtf was going on with her.  We also yap about her first cellphone (the Rant), her dis...

Welcome back to my kitchen table, CJ McDermott!  CJ has a ton of wild stories about his childhood and growing up the middle child of parents who were addicted to drugs.  We barely scratched the surface, but we talk about the feral 80s, the life lessons his parents taught him, and the beautiful and diverse people he's met along the way.  CJ talks about his family with a lot of humor and sarcasm, but that's a result of the deep love his family has for each other.  While addiction is so often stigmatized, CJ's story humanizes it.

Intr...

Welcome back to my kitchen table, CJ McDermott!  CJs has a ton of wild stories about his childhood and growing up the middle child of parents who were addicted to drugs.  We barely scratched the surface, but we talk about the feral 80s, the life lessons his parents taught him, and the beautiful and diverse people he's met along the way.  CJ talks about his family and trauma with a lot of humor and sarcasm, but that's a result of the deep love his family has for each other.  While addiction is so often stigmatized, CJ's story humanizes it.

Today's guest at my kitchen table is a friend of the pod and my friend in real life, Victoria Ribeiro.  Vic is a community builder.  She genuinely likes people and in her own words, just wants her epitaph to read "friend."  She loves to collect and connect friends, build community, and make the world around her better.  We talk about that and more as we cover a pretty fraught chapter in her life, when she end up on the receiving end of online hate and vitriol that spilled over into fear and intimidation in the real world.  And despite that...

My friend and former colleague Kristin Estrella joins me at my kitchen table today to take me on a journey through her autoimmune diagnosis of Antisynthetase Syndrome and the ripples of impact it's had along the way.  We chat about how she does NOT give youngest sibling vibes, her ASS disease, and the "yes, and" of women powering through hard things as she tells her story with equal parts grace and f-bombs.

Intro riff by Dale Lytle (concert husband).

All content edited (I use that term very loosely) by Karen Shaak.