In unstable times like these, it’s easy to harden, retreat, or get swept up in fear and shouting. Instead of being part of destructive narratives, find clarity and perspective in stories—in books, poetry, theater, film, TV, music, and your own life.

I reflect on my childhood and the values my parents instilled—curiosity, compassion, asking questions, and imagining life through someone else’s eyes. My mom and dad encouraged storytelling as a way to explore challenging ideas without needing certainty or agreement. In adulthood, stories help me hold confusion and overwhelm, understand my experience and those of others, and connect with what matters most.

Inviting us into lives we haven’t lived and perspectives we don’t yet understand, stories invite us to practice empathy toward understanding. Connecting with characters and situations soften our certainty, and remind us of our shared humanity.

In this episode, I share recent experiences that have done that for me. From a Jacob Collier concert that turned thousands of strangers into willing collaborators, to shows like Schitt’s Creek and Heated Rivalry that remind us of our capacity to connect with people who are not like us.

Be invested in the diversity of stories, including your own. Stay curious and risk talking with people who think differently, even if it provokes their hostility. Hear them out. Dare to be wrong. Allow yourself to be surprised, not by their views, but their willingness to have a civil conversation. Storytelling can soften your edges, and those of others.

Someone has to make the first move. Decide—It Has To Be Me.

TESS’S TAKEAWAYS

Stories invite empathy and understanding without force or persuasion.

Stories help us hold complexity without shutting down.

Curiosity keeps us connected. It changes our minds and perspectives.

Listening is an act of resistance to outrage.

Share your stories and take in the stories of those who think differently.

Be kind as a quiet form of courage.

You can learn from someone without agreeing with them.

We build community through shared humanity, not shared opinions.

MEET TESS MASTERS:

Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies, and The Perfect Blend, published by Penguin Random House. She is also the creator of the Skinny60® health programs.

Health tips and recipes by Tess have been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, InStyle, Prevention, Shape, Glamour, Real Simple, Yoga Journal, Yahoo Health, Hallmark Channel, The Today Show, and many others.

Tess’s magnetic personality, infectious enthusiasm, and down-to-earth approach have made her a go-to personality for people of all dietary stripes who share her conviction that healthy living can be easy and fun. Get delicious recipes at TheBlenderGirl.com.

CONNECT WITH TESS:

Website: https://tessmasters.com/

Podcast: https://ithastobeme.com/

Health Programs: https://www.skinny60.com/

Delicious Recipes: https://www.theblendergirl.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theblendergirl/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theblendergirl/

YouTube:

It’s the Year of the Horse. Are you going to be a rocking horse, going back and forth and staying in the same place? Or a champion—sharp and focused, determined to win the race?

Easier said than done. In this episode, I share how I had decided to shut the podcast down, because I felt like an imposter, that I’d been too ambitious, and bitten off more than I could chew!

I recall tools shared by our guests to combat fear and overwhelm, and which ones worked for me. In the end, I realized we don’t always need to spend time and money correcting course. Often, it just takes the right person saying the right thing at the right time to shift your perspective.

What got me back in the game was trusting myself to do my own triage, and choosing the strategies that felt right. Two mantras I embraced help me enjoy the work, not just obsess about the result.

Just because you don’t know how it’s going to happen, doesn’t mean it’s not possible.

Spoiler: Self-doubt and self-belief are both needed to create anything of value.

If you’re waiting for the perfect time to go after your It Has To Be Me, you’ll be waiting forever.

TESS’S TAKEAWAYS

It’s a puzzle, not a problem. If you want to, you can figure it out.

Don’t be overwhelmed or depleted by your “to do” list—be energized by it.

When faced with an overwhelming task, imagine the feeling of having done it.

Worrying is like a rocking horse. It has motion, but gets you nowhere.

There are a finite amount of yes’s and an infinite amount of no’s. Choose them wisely.

A compassionate no is a gift for you and the other person.

Stay in the race. Most people give up right before they cross the finish line.

Give your imperfect offering. The right people can handle it. The wrong people never will.

MEET TESS MASTERS:

Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies, and The Perfect Blend, published by Penguin Random House. She is also the creator of the Skinny60® health programs.

Health tips and recipes by Tess have been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, InStyle, Prevention, Shape, Glamour, Real Simple, Yoga Journal, Yahoo Health, Hallmark Channel, The Today Show, and many others.

Tess’s magnetic personality, infectious enthusiasm, and down-to-earth approach have made her a go-to personality for people of all dietary stripes who share her conviction that healthy living can be easy and fun. Get delicious recipes at TheBlenderGirl.com.

CONNECT WITH TESS:

Website: https://tessmasters.com/

Podcast: https://ithastobeme.com/

Health Programs: https://www.skinny60.com/

Delicious Recipes: https://www.theblendergirl.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theblendergirl/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theblendergirl/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/theblendergirl

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessmasters/

Thanks for listening!...

Fatty Liver Disease is an epidemic—1 in 3 people has it and many don’t know they do. Dr. Ibrahim Hanouneh, leading hepatologist and co-author of Skinny Liver and Regenerative Health, tells us what we need to know so we can avoid fatty liver or reverse it.

We track his career from early medical training in Syria and England to cutting-edge work at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Hanouneh shares how the liver’s extraordinary ability to regenerate brought him into the study of the liver, then breaks down the progression of liver disease in an accessible—and hopeful—way.

We discuss the critical role of the liver, the metabolic health crisis affecting 90% of people, the root causes of fatty liver in both adults and children, and how the disease is linked to heart attacks and strokes. From there, we cover risk factors we can control, those we can’t, and why women over 40 and adults with obesity, diabetes, and sleep apnea are at particularly high risk.

Dr. Hanouneh explains the non-specific symptoms of “the silent disease,” the five criteria for metabolic syndrome, and how to get tested for fatty liver. He addresses the four metabolic types, why BMI is outdated, and how “skinny fat” is the real medical risk.

Stressing the importance of prevention and early detection, Dr. Hanouneh shares the impact of diet, sleep, and stress, the best exercise to reduce fat in your liver, and proven food and lifestyle strategies. Next up: the common supplements, detox products, and over-the-counter medications that are causing liver damage, and why a daily cup of black coffee may be exactly what you need.

For those diagnosed with liver disease: We get into the latest studies, what we need to know about the two FDA-approved medications, timelines for recovery, and exciting new developments with transplants.

The key takeaway: When you catch it early and make strategic lifestyle changes, fatty liver is 100% reversible. Don’t miss this episode so you know exactly what to do.

TESS’S TAKEAWAYS

Fatty liver has surpassed alcohol as the leading cause of liver disease and liver cancer.

What causes fatty liver is a high intake of carbs and sugar—not necessarily fat.

Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver are linked—having one increases risk for the other.

Sleep apnea and chronic stress both accelerate fatty liver through inflammation.

Children are developing fatty liver due to diet and sugary drinks, obesity, and diabetes.

Fatty Liver was renamed from NAFLD to MASLD to reflect its metabolic origins.

Knowing your metabolic type enables detection and tailored treatment for fatty liver.

Rezdiffra and Wegovy are FDA-approved drugs for treating fatty liver disease.

ABOUT DR. IBRAHIM HANOUNEH

Dr. Hanouneh completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at the Cleveland Clinic, and served on staff there before attending patients at the Mayo Clinic and joining the Board Of Directors at MNGI Digestive Health.

Co-author of the books Skinny Liver and Regenerative Health, Dr. Hanouneh has spent much of his career working with liver disease, with particular expertise in studies relating to fatty liver. He has presented at national and international conferences, and authored over 70 papers and numerous abstracts.

CONNECT WITH DR. HANOUNEH

Website: https://www.mngi.com/provider/ibrahim-hanouneh-md

Skinny Liver book: https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Liver-Program-Prevent-Epidemic-Fatty/dp/0738234648/

Regenerative Health book: