Tell Me What It's Like

When Sarah Teresinski was a single mom, she couldn’t afford the beautiful little dresses she saw in stores for her daughter. So she decided to teach herself how to sew. That simple decision sparked a movement — and eventually, Redeux Style, where Sarah transforms old, unused items into something new and beautiful. Today, she helps people see the potential in what they already have or what they might find at the thrift stores — proving that sustainable can be stylish too. “If everyone who follows me did just one upcycle a year, we could keep 60,000 pounds of waste out of landfills — that’s 5,600 garbage trucks saved.”Hear Sarah talk about:How teaching herself to sew turned into a full-time creative businessWhat it was like to face criticism early on — and why it fueled her missionThe difference between fast fashion, fast furniture, and true sustainable styleHer viral ceiling fan upcycle that caught the attention of The Drew Barrymore Show and Architectural DigestHow small, beautiful changes can make a big impact — for your home and the planetMentioned in this episode:Find Sarah on TikTok, Instagram, and FacebookSee Sarah's appearance on The Drew Barrymore ShowUnited Nations Fashion & Lifestyle NetworkSarah's placemat upcycleSarah's fan blade upcycleFire starter upcycle15 ways to use silica packetsOrganizing a pantry on a budgetSarah's friend Dan the Organizer ManSupport This Show:Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast appLeave a rating & review — it helps others find the showShare the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media

Susan Polgar’s father believed geniuses weren’t born, they were made. So when his three-year-old daughter found an old chess set in their Budapest apartment, he saw an opportunity to prove it. Susan quickly learned the game, but soon realized the real challenge: convincing the world that girls could play just as well as boys - which she did by becoming the first woman to earn the Grandmaster title under the same standards as men. In this episode, she shares how she rewrote the gender norms of chess, overcame deeply rooted sexism, and helped redefine what young girls believe they can achieve."You need to set a goal. And in this case, you need to set the highest goal possible. So even if we fall short somewhat, we still get further than if we set a lower goal."Hear Susan talk about:How, at six, she decided to specialize in chess (and not math)The sexism she faced as a young girl rising in a male-dominated fieldWhy her grandmother's words shaped her sense of perseveranceWhat came after winning world championshipsThe lessons chess teaches about focus, decision-making, and resilienceMentioned in this episode:Rebel Queen: The Cold War, Misogyny, and the Making of a Grandmaster by Susan PolgarThe Susan Polgar Foundation - scholarships, training, and outreach for young chess playersIntroduction: Learn Chess in 30 Minutes (first instructional video for beginners)Support This Show:Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast appLeave a rating & review — it helps others find the showShare the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media

After decades of chasing success as a tech entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and even a candidate for Utah governor, Jeff Burningham found himself questioning what it all meant.When the governor’s race ended in 2020, Jeff finally had space to pause—and that pause changed everything. It led him to write The Last Book Written by a Human, a deeply personal reflection on consciousness, connection, and wisdom in an age increasingly defined by artificial intelligence.“As our machines become smarter, we have to become wiser.”Hear Jeff talk about:What it was like to step back from chasing success and re-evaluate what mattersWhy he believes AI is a mirror showing us who we areThe four stages he sees as part of every human and technological evolution: disruption, reflection, transformation, and evolutionWhy slowing down might be the most human thing we can doMentioned in this episode:The Last Book Written by a Human by Jeff BurninghamRead more about JeffThe Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle Support This Show:Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast appLeave a rating & review — it helps others find the showShare the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media

Journalist Charlie Wells is a Millennial — and by now, something of an expert on the Millennial generation, too. In his debut book, What Happened to Millennials: In Defense of a Generation, he shares the stories of five people whose lives reveal what it’s really been like to grow up Millennial — through the early optimism, the crises that shaped us, and all the change we’ve weathered along the way."We're adults and we've overcome a lot of obstacles as this group of people. It's okay to celebrate that."Hear Charlie talk about:Why he wanted to explore what it’s really been like to grow up as a MillennialHow he chose the five people whose lives he shares in the bookHow major moments like 9/11 and the rise of the internet shaped Millennial identityThe nostalgia objects — from Tamagotchis to AIM screen names — that connect us across dividesWhy he feels proud of Millennials, and what he hopes we carry forward into the next chapter of adulthoodMentioned in this episode:What Happened to Millennials: In Defense of a Generation by Charlie WellsCharlie Wells on Instagram and X (Twitter)Support this show:Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast appLeave a rating and reviewShare on social media and tag @rainemediaco

Cori Burns had always loved running, but eventually pregnancy pushed her to walking for exercise. She found she loved it, but quickly realized there weren't any shoes made for women who walked for fitness. So, she set out to create them herself.In 2023 she launched Raesyn, a technical shoe company making shoes “for women who walk to sweat.” Cori shares how she spotted a gap in the shoe industry, what went into designing a shoe for women who walk for exercise, and the determination it took to turn her idea into Raesyn.“I wanted something that made me feel effortless in my motion forward. It’s a different movement than running – it’s constant ground contact. So I thought to myself, there's truly a gap in the market."Hear Cori talk about:What makes walking for exercise different from runningWhen she noticed there was a need for walking shoesWhat she looked for in the ideal women’s walking shoeThe process to get from prototype to a shoe ready for marketMentioned in this episode:Raesyn Shoes — Cori’s footwear brandGirls Who Walk Baltimore, the walking group Cori mentionedCori’s walking workouts and SubstackSupport this show:Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast appLeave a rating and reviewShare on social media and tag @rainemediaco