Nicole talks soap operas, doomscrolling, and why relaxing somehow became another thing we’re supposed to be good at.

In a world where we have more entertainment, more content, and more ways to “relax” than ever — why does it still feel so hard to actually unwind? We’re always scrolling, checking, tracking, and optimizing — but for what? Maybe what you actually need is to chill out for a second. No goals. No self-improvement. No pressure to make the moment useful. So: What is your nothing?

What if the very things we’re praised for — working hard, taking care of everyone, pushing through, holding it all together — are also the things quietly pulling us away from ourselves?

Carrie Lupoli is a nutritionist, award-winning behavior specialist, international speaker and author of From Corset to Crown. But this conversation goes far beyond food.

Carrie and Nicole talk about the invisible “corsets” women learn to wear: perfectionism, people-pleasing, achievement, comparison, sacrifice and the belief that we have to change ourselves in order to have value.

Jeff Hamilton never imagined he would one day lead Mohegan Sun. His path to the president’s office took turns he couldn’t have predicted—and not long after he arrived, he was tested in ways no leader could have anticipated.

Where were you one year ago — and what would that version of you think if they could see you now?

In this episode of Mostly Together, Nicole reflects on the one-year mark since her final week at Channel 3, the uncertainty of suddenly asking “what now?” and the realization that moving forward didn’t mean starting over.

Carol Lin spent years at the center of some of the biggest breaking news stories of her generation.

The former CNN and ABC News anchor became the first national television anchor to report the September 11th attacks — a moment that would forever become part of her story. But the life behind the headlines was far more complicated than what viewers ever saw on camera.

What makes you feel most like yourself—and when did you decide it had to wait?

In this episode of Mostly Together, Nicole Nalepa reflects on a weekend at Bethel Woods, watching Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson perform, and opens up about an unexpected connection to one of the most meaningful chapters of her own career.

Chef Allie is a trained chef, mom of three and the woman behind Chef Allie’s Kitchen. By transforming familiar favorites into creative, healthier recipes, she has become a trusted voice in the weight-loss community and built an online following of hundreds of thousands.

Have you ever gone into something with a clear picture of how it was supposed to go — only to find yourself disappointed when reality looked completely different?

In this episode of Mostly Together, Nicole Nalepa shares a realization this summer brought to the surface about expectations, the pressure we put on certain seasons of our lives, and the stories we can create before an experience even begins.

Colette Baron-Reid spent years believing she was supposed to be a singer—even as life kept pulling her toward an entirely different calling. Decades later, after building an extraordinary career helping others trust their intuition, music has found its way back to her.

For the first-ever solo episode of Mostly Together, Nicole Nalepa steps behind the story of the podcast—and shares why she felt compelled to create it.

After more than 15 years in television, Nicole found herself facing an ending she hadn’t planned and the unsettling question that often follows: Who are you when the role that defined you is suddenly gone?

She opens up about rebuilding after an unexpected career change, learning to separate functioning from truly thriving, and trying to create meaningful work without giving up the parts of family life she has only recently been able to experience more fully.

Kim Chappell thought she was leaving local television news in search of a more sustainable life. Instead, she found herself helping build Bobbie from the ground up while raising three children—and discovering that the skills she thought she had left behind were exactly what her next chapter required.

Kim is a two-time Emmy and National Edward R. Murrow Award-winning former journalist who is now the Chief Brand Officer at Bobbie. She has been recognized as Shorty’s 2025 Brand Marketer of the Year, a member of Forbes’ 2025 Entrepreneurial CMO 50 and Adweek’s 2025 Creative 100, and one of Business Insider’s 25 Most Innovative CMOs of 2026.

Tom Cantone didn’t just book shows—he helped change what casino entertainment could be.

In this episode of Mostly Together, Nicole sits down with the legendary entertainment executive, author and longtime Mohegan Sun leader inside the memorabilia-filled music room where a childhood Beatles drum set still anchors his extraordinary story.

What begins with an unforgettable Ringo Starr encounter opens into a sweeping conversation about instinct, risk, relationships, leadership—and recognizing possibility before anyone else can see it.

Tom traces his path from growing up in a close-knit Italian American family in Harrisburg to an unexpected opportunity at Hersheypark, and eventually to the Sands in Atlantic City, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.

He is a Grammy Award-winning tenor, curator, educator, writer, and artistic director — and someone whose work asks a question that reaches far beyond the concert hall: What does it mean to belong — to a country, to a tradition, to an art form, to yourself? In this episode of Mostly Together, I sit down with Nicholas Phan ahead of his Tanglewood program, Fellow Citizens, for a conversation about music, identity, belonging, and the power of finding your voice.

She is a best-selling author, speaker, former Emmy-nominated television producer — and someone whose story asks a question most of us hope we never have to answer: What happens when your inner knowing is right…and no one fully believes you?

In this episode of Mostly Together, I sit down with Stephanie Arnold, author of 37 Seconds and the woman whose near-death story was featured on Netflix. 

While pregnant with her second child, Stephanie became convinced that something was going to go terribly wrong during delivery. But this wasn't just a passing fear, or anxiety — it was a knowing. She believed her baby would be fine, but that she would die on the operating table.

And then she did.

She is an author, speaker, podcast host — and someone whose work asks a question so many women feel, but don’t always say out loud:

What happens when being “the good mother” starts costing you yourself?

In this episode of Mostly Together, I sit down with Heather Chauvin, author of Dying to Be a Good Mother and host of the podcast, Emotionally Uncomfortable.

She is a national journalist, a network news anchor, a storyteller, a TED speaker — and someone whose latest chapter is rooted in honesty, resilience, and self-reflection.

In this episode of Mostly Together, I sit down with Hena Doba, anchor at NewsNation.

She is Miss Universe Ghana, a licensed psychotherapist, a mental health advocate, a performer — and a woman whose story goes far beyond the crown.

In this episode of Mostly Together, I sit down with Andromeda Osam-Peters, Miss Universe Ghana and founder of Your Mind Matters Global.

Andromeda grew up Ghanaian American in Western Massachusetts, moving between cultures, identities, and expectations while learning what it meant to be seen fully. From Springfield and Easthampton to the global stage, her journey has been shaped by performance, pageantry, therapy, healing, heritage, and a deep commitment to helping others feel less alone.

He helped turn something the whole country started talking about into art: highway signs, a 9,000-pound monument, a statewide pizza movement — and somehow, it all started with one slice.

In this episode of Mostly Together, I sit down with Michael Pollack, the artist behind New Haven Pizza Club, live from the Yale Innovation Summit 2026.

Michael is one of the creative forces who helped bring Connecticut’s “Pizza Capital of the United States” movement to life visually and culturally — a campaign originally spearheaded by the state’s then-chief marketing officer, Anthony Anthony.

But Michael’s story was never really just about pizza.

Sixteen years ago, Paula Reid and I were interns at CBS News — walking through the same newsroom, swapping stories, taking in the history around us, and wondering where this industry might take us.

Today, Paula is CNN’s Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent, covering some of the biggest legal and political stories in the country.

Hollywood character actor Don Stroud has lived the kind of life that sounds scripted — except every word of it is real.

From surfing in Hawaii to the Sunset Strip, the Whiskey A-Go-Go, Universal Pictures, and more than four decades in film and television, Don’s story moves through some of Hollywood’s most iconic corners. His credits include Coogan’s Bluff and Joe Kidd with Clint Eastwood, The Buddy Holly Story, The Amityville Horror, the James Bond film Licence to Kill, and Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.