Miss Understood with Rachel Uchitel

Earlier this year, Rachel sat down with Ann Marie Farino for an unforgettable conversation about her son Richard, addiction, suicide, grief and the difficult journey toward finding joy again. Today, we’re bringing that conversation back for a very special reason. Ann Marie’s memoir, Chronic Chaos: A Son’s Addiction, A Mother’s Love, and Her Quest to Find Joy, is now available. Rachel was honored to provide an endorsement for the book, and with its release, we wanted to revisit the conversation that introduced so many Miss Understood listeners to Ann Marie and Richard’s story. Richard was funny, charming, rebellious and endlessly capable of creating what Ann Marie affectionately calls “shenanigans.” But underneath that larger-than-life personality was a young man struggling with his mental health and addiction. His journey took his family through marijuana, opioids, heroin, treatment programs, wilderness programs, an overdose, the criminal justice system and even an unbelievable encounter in which the FBI approached Richard about going undercover with an anarchy group. Eventually, Richard got sober. For the final three years of his life, he remained sober, built a career, fell in love and became engaged. From the outside, things finally seemed to be moving in the right direction. “There were no red flags. There were green flags,” Ann Marie tells Rachel. The night before his death, Richard sent his mother a photo and told her, “It’s a great day.” The following day, at 24 years old, Richard died by suicide. Ann Marie opens up about the call that changed her life, the guilt and questions that can follow suicide, the work of grief therapy, learning how to get out of bed again, the signs she believes Richard continues to send her and the moment she began allowing herself to experience joy without guilt. She also explains how helping other people through loss became part of her own healing and ultimately part of her purpose. That journey is now told in full in Chronic Chaos, a memoir about a son’s addiction, a mother’s enduring love and what it means to build a life after unimaginable loss. This is an encore presentation of Rachel Uchitel’s conversation with Ann Marie Farino, released in celebration of Chronic Chaos, available now. BUY CHRONIC CHAOS: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H7YNBT8J Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chronic-chaos-ann-marie-farino/1150783670?ean=9798900260112 Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/chronic-chaos-a-son-s-addiction-a-mother-s-love-and-her-quest-to-find-joy/c5c3949e990255b5?ean=9798900260112&bkshp-astro=t Amplify Publishing: https://amplifypublishinggroup.com/product/nonfiction/health-medicine-and-wellness/mental-health/chronic-chaos/ If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 in the United States to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. --- --- --- Want some more BTS bonus content of Miss Understood? Join our patreon for Post Show Podcasts, Monthly Merch Giveaways and Weekly Bonus Episodes! https://www.patreon.com/c/MissUnderstoodwithRachelUchitel Shop Miss Understood Merch https://missunderstoodpodcast.com/shop/ PLEASE LIKE, SHARE, SUBSCRIBE, AND GIVE US A 5-STAR REVIEW!: ratethispodcast.com/missunderstood ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Rachel on Instagram!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/racheluchitelnyc/?hl=en Follow Rachel on TikTok! https://www.tiktok.com/@itsracheluchitel Email us [email protected] Executive Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠George Carmona Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Matt Easton knows how to sell. But this conversation is not really about sales. It’s about the tiny interactions that can change your career, your relationships and the way people respond to you. Matt joins Rachel Uchitel to explain the “cheat codes” he believes most people are missing when it comes to confidence, communication and getting what you want without manipulating anyone. His philosophy started long before he became a sales coach. Matt grew up with a single mother who made roughly $4,000 a year. As a child, he struggled to read and believed he wasn’t smart. Then a chance interaction with a salesman driving the exact Porsche Matt dreamed about changed the way he saw the world. From buying business cards for companies that didn’t exist, to throwing a rave despite never having attended one, to figuring out how to get into a nightclub every weekend without owning a car, Matt built his life around one question: how can I make someone else’s life better while solving the problem in front of me? Rachel and Matt talk about why ego can destroy opportunity, the difference between confidence and arrogance, why most people have forgotten how to communicate, how simply asking can change your dating life, why small everyday interactions matter more than we realize and how Matt believes AI should actually be used. And yes, there are sales lessons. But Matt’s bigger argument is that every interaction is an opportunity to practice how you move through the world. Because life may not be fair. But according to Matt, there are cheat codes. Easton University: https://www.eastonuniversity.com/ WavyTalk: https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=105835&awinaffid=2619464&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwavytalk.com%2F --- --- --- Want some more BTS bonus content of Miss Understood? Join our patreon for Post Show Podcasts, Monthly Merch Giveaways and Weekly Bonus Episodes! https://www.patreon.com/c/MissUnderstoodwithRachelUchitel Shop Miss Understood Merch https://missunderstoodpodcast.com/shop/ PLEASE LIKE, SHARE, SUBSCRIBE, AND GIVE US A 5-STAR REVIEW!: ratethispodcast.com/missunderstood ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Rachel on Instagram!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/racheluchitelnyc/?hl=en Follow Rachel on TikTok! https://www.tiktok.com/@itsracheluchitel Email us [email protected] Executive Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠George Carmona Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Cornell is all over the news right now — a former student alleges she was drugged and assaulted by fraternity brothers two years ago, and it's only coming out now. But nobody's talking about Maddie Kowalski. And it just happened to her. Just last year Maddie was a sophomore at the University of Florida, when she says she was heavily intoxicated — in no position to consent — as intimate videos of her were filmed and posted online without her knowledge. Five million views. Memes. AI edits. Strangers saying she asked for it, that she deserved it. Her family harassed. She withdrew from school and stopped leaving her apartment. She told her story to Rachel, exclusively. Different school, different girl — same questions. Who do you believe? Why didn't the school take a stand? Did she deserve it because of her reputation? And the person who filmed it and put it online — should they face legal punishment? This is an encore presentation of Rachel's conversation with Maddie Kowalski. --- --- --- Want some more BTS bonus content of Miss Understood? Join our patreon for Post Show Podcasts, Monthly Merch Giveaways and Weekly Bonus Episodes! https://www.patreon.com/c/MissUnderstoodwithRachelUchitel Shop Miss Understood Merch https://missunderstoodpodcast.com/shop/ PLEASE LIKE, SHARE, SUBSCRIBE, AND GIVE US A 5-STAR REVIEW!: ratethispodcast.com/missunderstood ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Rachel on Instagram!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/racheluchitelnyc/?hl=en Follow Rachel on TikTok! https://www.tiktok.com/@itsracheluchitel Email us [email protected] Executive Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠George Carmona Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From the outside, Venus Griffin appeared to have the perfect life. She and her husband were raising six children in Augusta, Georgia. They were PTA presidents, sat front row at church every Sunday, and were known around town as the “Ken and Barbie of Augusta.” Behind closed doors, Venus says her marriage was becoming increasingly abusive. Then a phone call in the middle of the night began unraveling everything. A woman told Venus she was involved with her husband. Venus went to meet her convinced she could prove his innocence. Instead, it became the beginning of a series of revelations that would ultimately end her marriage and lead to her husband being convicted and sentenced to 45 years in prison. Suddenly, Venus was raising six children, living in a two-bedroom house and trying to rebuild a family dealing with trauma, shame and financial uncertainty. Her first year selling real estate, Venus made $20,000 while working 70-hour weeks. Seven years later, she was grossing seven figures. Rachel Uchitel sits down with Venus to unpack the story behind the life that once looked perfect, why she stayed as long as she did, the guilt she carried afterward, the extraordinary way she rebuilt financially, and why she believes forgiving herself was harder than forgiving anyone else. Her new book, The Other Side of Perfect, turns the story she once worked desperately to hide into a roadmap for women who feel trapped, ashamed or convinced there is no way forward. https://www.venusmorrisgriffin.com/book --- --- --- Want some more BTS bonus content of Miss Understood? Join our patreon for Post Show Podcasts, Monthly Merch Giveaways and Weekly Bonus Episodes! https://www.patreon.com/c/MissUnderstoodwithRachelUchitel Shop Miss Understood Merch https://missunderstoodpodcast.com/shop/ PLEASE LIKE, SHARE, SUBSCRIBE, AND GIVE US A 5-STAR REVIEW!: ratethispodcast.com/missunderstood ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Rachel on Instagram!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/racheluchitelnyc/?hl=en Follow Rachel on TikTok! https://www.tiktok.com/@itsracheluchitel Email us [email protected] Executive Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠George Carmona Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

She has millions of followers who say she saved their lives — and critics who say she's running a cult. Teal Swan is one of the most polarizing spiritual teachers on the internet. She built an empire on YouTube talking about trauma, depression, and healing, with no formal training in psychology — and thousands of followers who traveled to her retreats in Costa Rica. Then came the 2018 investigation accusing her of targeting people with suicidal thoughts, and the 2022 docuseries The Deep End, which put cameras inside her inner circle for three years and turned the whispers into a question the whole internet was asking: is this a cult? In this conversation, Rachel asks Teal the questions her critics never stop asking — and Teal answers all of them herself, including the moment she admits she structured her company almost exactly the way a notorious cult leader structured his. This is an encore presentation of our January 2024 conversation. If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available 24/7 — call or text 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline). --- --- --- Want some more BTS bonus content of Miss Understood? Join our patreon for Post Show Podcasts, Monthly Merch Giveaways and Weekly Bonus Episodes! https://www.patreon.com/c/MissUnderstoodwithRachelUchitel Shop Miss Understood Merch https://missunderstoodpodcast.com/shop/ PLEASE LIKE, SHARE, SUBSCRIBE, AND GIVE US A 5-STAR REVIEW!: ratethispodcast.com/missunderstood ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Rachel on Instagram!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/racheluchitelnyc/?hl=en Follow Rachel on TikTok! https://www.tiktok.com/@itsracheluchitel Email us [email protected] Executive Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠George Carmona Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.