Episodes

Rockstar-turned-preschool teacher joins us in the Speaker’s Chair this week to discuss his adventures in molding the minds of 3-4 year olds.  We had some preconceived notions of what it might be like to be a male daycare teacher, but Chris gave us the re...

We love interviewing our friends! We get to spend time learning about them and understanding a little more what makes them tick. This week in the Speaker’s Chair is Leigh Steffy, one of Shailushi’s closest friends.  Leigh life never has been split into b...

Dr. Javier Gomez is a cardiologist at John H.  Stroger Hospital, also known as Cook County Hospital. He immigrated to the US from Colombia to train and specialize, and then he stayed. His story of how he came to Cook County Hospital is fascinating. The r...

Being a flight attendant is not all about handing out peanuts and making sure people have their tray tables up. Not even close. Every day at work, Mike takes on much of the responsibility for the safety of the passengers on the flights that he is working...

A well-known scene from the movie, Meet the Parents: Jack: Greg's in medicine too.Bob: What field?Greg: NursingBob: Ha ha ha ha. No, really, what field are you in?Greg: Nursing. And now, meet Ares Collins, a nurse who happens to be male (and African-Amer...

We are loving our I Am Speaking with Expert Voices series, and this week’s guest is no exception. We think you’ll love him as much as we did: Mr. Joel Hubbard, cofounder of The Art of Growth and a certified Enneagram Coach.  You might have heard about En...

I Am Speaking’s brilliant and thoughtful resident therapist is back for another session with Shailushi and Kosha. This time, we talk about gender stereotypes in the workplace, how toxic masculinity starts early, and how Karen thinks we might be able to e...

“I mean, I was king shit of changing a diaper.” - Jason Krebs.  Friends with Shailushi for three decades, a clinical psychologist, and a Stay-at-Home-Dad  Being a SHAP is hard. No matter what. But what happens when the world isn’t used to seeing man in t...

Happy Holidays! We wanted to wrap the year talking about holiday traditions, holiday favorites and holiday wishes. See you all in 2022! Merry Everything, and thank you for joining us on this ride. It is not over. We have so many more stories to hear, sha...

If you’ve ever been curious about the inner workings of the Baxi Sisters, welcome to at least their brother’s side of the story.  Chirayu Baxi is Shailushi and Kosha’s youngest sibling and only brother. Growing up in small-town central IL, one of the onl...

Health Mehta is an author, an activist, and a blogger. Oh, and he’s also an atheist. He has been the force behind The Friendly Atheist blog, podcast, website and social media platforms for years. But before you think Hemant’s sole purpose is to convert p...

"You don't have to go to the best of the best to be the best." - Dawn Munson How do you respond when your professor says “that’s what I get for calling on the woman in the room”? There are plenty of ways one *could* respond. The way Dawn Munson did, you’...

What an incredible ride this conversation was with MIchael Vadacchino. Throughout his life, Michael has fought against gender norms and expectations - sometimes just being a badass gymnast or dancer and sometimes actively as he leads male dancers in a ju...

Dr. Sheetal Kircher is a GI oncologist at Northwestern Medicine. She’s brilliant. She’s insightful. She’s kind. And Shailushi and Kosha are so lucky that she’s also their cousin.  Your co-hosts talk to Dr Sheetal Kircher on their first episode of I Am Sp...

What is toxic masculinity? How do you recognize this toxicity in yourself and be open to change? How do you impact change around you? Shailushi and Kosha sit down with their good friend, Dr Greg Tinkler, to hear his take on these issues. Adopted as an in...

And just like that, we enter Season 3.  Season 3 of I Am Speaking with Shailushi and Kosha will focus on bucking gender norms and expectations. Just as in every aspect of life, there are a billion ways to do that. And we are going to explore some of thos...

Your cohosts have a conversation together as they close out Season 2 of I Am Speaking with Shailushi and Kosha.  This last season has been filled with joy, proverbial gut punches, words of wisdom from our incredible guests, and moments of validation that...

Darien Marion-Burton. He/him. HBIC. Wondering what HBIC stands for? You won’t question it once you listen to this episode.  Darien is a young Black gay man who has navigated life in the intersections. He speaks to us about that intersectionality, what is...

We are so lucky to have found Gretchen.  Gretchen is a young woman from a very small conservative town where she could not be herself. She spent years hiding who she was, denying her identity and dodging homophobic slurs. Until she did a very scary and b...

EPISODE REVISIT - listen to one of our first episodes with Rekha Rajkumar.  What a joy it was to talk with our good friend, Rekha (well, Shailushi's good friend. Kosha poached her. You learn about Kosha's friend-poaching habits in this episode.) Rekha Ra...

What a joy it was to spend some time talking to Mark Perry. Mark and Kosha went to high school together - 2 years apart in grade but connected through theater. Mark is a lawyer, a dramaturgist (Google that, or just listen to the episode), a brother, a so...

A huge part of the joy of doing this podcasting is listening and sharing the stories of our guests. And when one of those guests is Kelsey, the joy comes fairly easily.  You have heard ABOUT Kelsey, if you listened to Dave Is Speaking. Kelsey is Dave’s w...

“We deserve.” Anna DeShawn is a powerhouse and a poet, on her way to becoming a media mogul.  Born and raised in Chicago’s south side, Anna didn’t allow herself to question her sexuality until college. Living her truth as a queer Black woman meant also r...

Dave is a teacher, a friend, a husband, a director. He loves bridges. He also happens to be polyamorous and demisexual.  Polyamory is such a misunderstood part of the sexuality spectrum that it often gets represented poorly, fetishized or just completely...