Tell Me What It's Like

For more than 25 years, Dr. Tiffany Troso-Sandoval has treated women with breast and gynecological cancers. Throughout her practice, she’s realized that women going through cancer need more than treatment. They need to understand their care, stay organized, and have the right support around them so they can be active participants in their own care. In this episode, she talks about why she became an oncologist, what it’s really like on the doctor’s side of the room, and how she’s helping patients feel empowered. "I call this becoming the CEO of your cancer care. You need to be the one in charge." Hear Dr. Troso discuss: How watching her mother’s frustration with her grandmother’s doctors shaped her path Walking out of the LSAT and choosing medical school instead What it’s like to deliver hard news, and how she handles the emotional weight How cancer treatment has changed over 25 years, and is like “night and day” The day she spent her lunch hour organizing a patient’s records into a binder – and why Why telling a friend or family member to “call me if you need anything” doesn’t work, and a better way patients can ask for help Mentioned in this episode: Calming the Cancer Chaos by Dr. Tiffany Troso-Sandoval Dr. Troso's website Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Support This Show: Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast app Leave a rating & review — it helps others find the show Share the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media Mentioned in this episode: Help Others Discover the Show Enjoying Tell Me What It’s Like? Leaving a rating and review in your podcast app helps more listeners discover the show. Thanks for supporting thoughtful conversations and perspective-driven storytelling.

Dr. Winston Vickers has spent decades studying one of America's big cats, the mountain lion. He's tracked them, collared them, and even studied their poop, all to help Southern California's mountain lions survive. A veterinarian who went back to school mid-career to study big cats, he shares what it's like to come face to face with a mountain lion, why highways are pushing some populations toward extinction, and why killing one lion doesn't solve the problem. “There was concern that mountain lions in some parts of Southern California were making it harder for these bighorns to recover. So that's why we started putting collars on the mountain lions." Hear Dr. Vickers discuss: How he went back to school to study mountain lions after a 20 year vet career How you trap a mountain lion (it involves roadkill) The diseases threatening them, from avian flu to feline leukemia How one freeway split a population and led to dangerous inbreeding What scat-sniffing dogs reveal about what lions eat What it was like to collar his first mountain lion Close encounters with mountain lions Why "you can't kill your way out of the problem" Why there seem to be more lions in the suburbs Why mountain lions keep whole ecosystems in balance Mentioned in this episode: Learn more about the California Mountain Lion Project at UC Davis Listen to A Path for Mountain Lions by The Nature Conservancy, featuring Dr. Vickers View the mountain lion tracker About Dr. Vickers: Dr. T. Winston Vickers is a wildlife research veterinarian with the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center and the Institute for Wildlife Studies. For 20 years he directed or co-directed mountain lion studies across California, and he has studied mountain lions and other wildlife for 23 years. His work focuses on why mountain lions die, how they move, road crossings, genetics, and how they interact with people. "Just the sheer muscle that's there when you feel their bodies is just amazing. " - Dr. Winston Vickers on Tell Me What It’s Like

In the Season 2 finale, military spouse Kandi Hart joins the show to discuss what she's learned about building community after decades of moves. She and Stacy talk about what it takes to thrive in every new place, including the mindset you need, the tactics that can work, and how sometimes community starts with just one person. "I will immediately walk up to somebody, and I will ask them about themselves. I'll say, 'Tell me about your family.'" Hear Kandi talk about: Why Twentynine Palms — a base most people dread — became a place her whole family asked to go back to The party mistake that humbled her and changed how she thinks about inclusivity How she went from a shy kindergartner who cried every morning to the first person to grab the microphone in any room Why she thinks showing up at someone's door still matters more than any Facebook group How to build your community when you're not in a military bubble Mentioned in this episode: Twentynine Palms, California Support This Show: Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast app Leave a rating & review — it helps others find the show Share the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media

Charles Grimes has spent nearly 30 years as a business psychologist, helping leaders understand themselves so they could lead others well. But he’s also been trying to understand himself, with therapy, courses, and numerous self-assessment tools. But it wasn't until he was 65 — when a friend made a casual, throwaway comment — that the missing piece finally clicked into place. He had Asperger's. The diagnosis didn't feel like bad news. It felt like freedom. "It's okay to be Charles. And that's something which I hadn't felt. And I'm 65. This is very late in life to suddenly feel it's okay to be me." Hear Charles talk about: What his friend said that set the whole thing in motion and why he didn't dismiss it What "masking" is, and the exhausting work of hiding in plain sight for decades The conductor who walked into rehearsal and transformed a mediocre choir without saying a word - and what this has to do with leadership What fell into place when he looked back at his life through the new lens of his diagnosis Learning about love and connection later in life — and why he thinks it's never too late Mentioned in this episode: A Question of Leadership by Charles Grimes The National Autistic Society — where Charles went for his formal assessment Support This Show: Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast app Leave a rating & review — it helps others find the show Share the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media Mentioned in this episode: Help Others Discover the Show Enjoying Tell Me What It’s Like? Leaving a rating and review in your podcast app helps more listeners discover the show. Thanks for supporting thoughtful conversations and perspective-driven storytelling.

When soccer coach Scott Martin contracted a rare illness that took his hands and parts of his feet, it took the way he coached the game as well as his confidence. What followed was years of depression, discrimination, and self-doubt, until he finally found his way back to the game that he loves. "I was faking it. I was doing a pretty darn good job of faking me being me. But everyone else avoided it too. We never talked about it." Hear Scott talk about: What it was like to wake up from a month-long coma and learn what had happened to his body Why he skipped past the emotional reality of his illness and what that cost him The discrimination he faced trying to return to coaching What it was like to address his disability with his new team of 12-year-olds How he rebuilt his confidence, and what playing from the heart really means Mentioned in this episode: Play From Your Heart by Scott Martin The Five Stages of Grief by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Support This Show: Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast app Leave a rating & review — it helps others find the show Share the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media Mentioned in this episode: Help Others Discover the Show Enjoying Tell Me What It’s Like? Leaving a rating and review in your podcast app helps more listeners discover the show. Thanks for supporting thoughtful conversations and perspective-driven storytelling.