Welcome back to the ACT OUT podcast! In this solo mini-episode, host Adam Tomlin takes a moment to pause, reflect, and reset as Season 1 heads into a well-earned holiday break. With his signature humor and heart, Adam looks back on the first dozen episodes and revisits the core question listeners keep asking: What does it mean to ACT OUT? Together, he explores the ethos behind the show—pursuing happiness, elevating passion, and changing the narratives that shape our communities and our country.

Adam reflects on why the podcast was created in the first place: to champion compassion as strength, vulnerability as courage, and storytelling as a bridge between divided places. He dives into the narratives he’s committed to shifting—especially around mental health and politics—unpacking why polarization feels so deep and why it doesn’t have to be. Using the metaphor of Benjamin Franklin’s rising (or setting) sun, Adam reminds us that the future is collective: we rise together, or not at all.

Listeners will gain insight into the mission guiding the ACT OUT podcast, what’s coming next after the holiday recording sprint, and how individual conversations can spark cultural change. Adam also shares a simple, audacious plan for moving forward: keep acting out—keep choosing joy, curiosity, and connection, especially when the world says “pick a side.”

As Season 1 wraps, we’re so grateful you’ve been here. We’ll return in January with fresh episodes that inspire, challenge, and entertain. Until then, keep pursuing your happiness and acting out your purpose—right alongside us.

Other ways to follow and connect with the ACT OUT podcast:
Learn more at:https://www.theactoutpodcast.com/
Subscribe to the show on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@theACTOUTpodcast
Follow the show on Instagram: @‌actoutpodcast & TikTok: @‌actoutpodcast

Credits:
Mural: Tara E. @‌taradiiiise and @‌tarayakisauce
Music: Matt Hobbs @‌matthobbs & Puppy Songs @‌puppysongs

Welcome back to the ACT OUT podcast! In this episode, host Adam sits down with his favorite co-conspirator—wife and resident “chaos wrangler” Kaylin—to revisit a decade of decisive leaps, heartbreak, healing, and building a life on purpose. Together, they trace the arc from a right-swipe on Tinder to cross-country travel with a toddler, from law-school masks to authentic partnership, and from Atlanta roots to a new home in Norfolk, VA. Expect humor, heart, and hard-won clarity on what it really takes to keep moving—together.

Kaylin shares stories from behind the camera and on the road: producing a traveling podcast with a two-year-old, the whirlwind filming blitz across multiple cities, and the season of caregiving that reshaped everything. She and Adam get candid about grief (G’s cancer and passing), the logistics and love inside family estates, back surgery and recovery, and why COVID became a surprising reset. They also unpack the Norfolk leap, life in a 1910 house, and Kaylin’s much-talked-about “dino dig”—a practice in intuition, pattern-spotting, and trusting your own voice.

Listeners will gain insights into making big decisions fast (and kindly), carrying loss without letting it define the story, communicating through mental-health lows and shame, and finding the good moments inside hard years. Adam and Kaylin also offer practical takeaways for partnership under pressure—how to divide roles, invite community, and keep choosing the life you want.

Tune in every Thursday for episodes that inspire, challenge, and entertain. Whether you’re here for laughs, lived wisdom, or action steps, the ACT OUT podcast is your space to rethink growth, embrace self-awareness, and act out your passions.

Other ways to follow and connect with the ACT OUT podcast:
Learn more at:https://www.theactoutpodcast.com/
Subscribe to the show on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@theACTOUTpodcast
Follow the show on Instagram: @‌actoutpodcast & TikTok: @‌actoutpodcast

Credits:
Mural: Tara E. @‌taradiiiise and @‌tarayakisauce
Music: Matt Hobbs @‌matthobbs & Puppy Songs @‌puppysongs

Welcome back to the ACT OUT podcast! In this episode, host Adam sits down with community leader and Project U First founder Erica Wright—the 2025 Phenomenal Women’s Community Servant Award winner—to talk dignity-first outreach, mental health, and what actually helps our unhoused neighbors. Together, they dive into Erica’s origin story (a Sunday-school prompt and a woman washing her hair under a bridge), how hygiene and “being seen” can unlock hope, and why real change requires wraparound services—not just photo ops. Expect candor, compassion, and a practical roadmap for helping that helps.

Erica shares stories from 10 years on the ground: launching hygiene kits from church hallways, serving during the pandemic out of a Honda Civic, and scaling impact with partners (hello, sock drives!) while refusing to lose the human in the metrics. She and Adam unpack the realities of living with bipolar I, anxiety, and OCD, the non-glamorous side of nonprofit work, and the difference between short-term relief and long-term stability. Along the way they explore: care closets in schools, the U First Kids Bus, day services vs. shelters vs. “housing first,” and what happens when leaders roll up their sleeves and ask someone’s name before handing them a bag.

Listeners will gain insights into designing support with dignity, why hygiene is often the first domino to employment and stability, how to collaborate across orgs without exploiting stories, and concrete ways to help today (from keeping kits in your car to building school-based resources). Adam and Erica also get real about self-care for caregivers—why the work is unsustainable if the worker isn’t well.

Tune in every Thursday for episodes that inspire, challenge, and entertain. Whether you’re here for heart, realism, or action steps, the ACT OUT podcast is your space to rethink growth, embrace self-awareness, and act out your passions.

Connect with Erica & Project U First:
Website: Project U First (http://projectufirst.org )
Instagram & Facebook: @‌projectufirst

Other ways to follow and connect with the ACT OUT podcast:
Learn more at:https://www.theactoutpodcast.com/
Subscribe to the show on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@theACTOUTpodcast
Follow the show on Instagram: @‌actoutpodcast & TikTok: @‌actoutpodcast

Credits:
Mural: Tara E. @‌taradiiiise and @‌tarayakisauce
Music: Matt Hobbs @‌matthobbs & Puppy Songs @‌puppysongs