Early Access | An Enneagram Podcast

My extended family gets featured this week! I am joined by my cousin and my aunt to talk about the dynamics between a 7 mother & a 1 daughter. Their family also includes three younger siblings (triplets!) so we get to talk about sibling dynamics and how a 1 survives being the oldest sister.Follow me on Instagram to get updates on future podcast episodes and classes.

Katie Whitlock is joined by her mom, Sara, with Jeff Cook stepping in as guest interviewer for a conversation about their relationship.As a Type Two and a Type Three , they explore how their motivations shape connection, attention, and emotional needs within their family. They talk through family dynamics, parenting styles, and what it looked like to grow up in a household with strong relational energy but very different ways of expressing it.The conversation also moves into more personal territory, reflecting on Sara’s cancer diagnosis, how it impacted the family, and how both of them now understand those years in light of their Enneagram work.

Katie is joined by Kelly Cook (Enneagram 3) and her son Becket (Enneagram 5) for a candid conversation about what it was like to parent—and be parented—across different personality styles.They talk through real-life moments: learning how to communicate clearly, navigating boundaries, and discovering what each person actually needs.

Connect with Around the Circle : HEREFollow Katie's work : HEREThis episode of Early Access: Roots explores the evolving relationship between a mother and daughter through the lens of the Enneagram. Katie Whitlock sits down with Jennifer (Type Two) and her daughter Skyler (Type One) to unpack how personality, parenting, and personal growth intersect over time. They talk about family dynamics, anxiety, identity, and the challenges of loving someone well when their needs differ from your own instincts.

Join us a Member : HEREIn this first Early Access family episode, Katie Whitlock sits down with a mother–daughter pair to explore how the Enneagram plays out inside real relationships.Jen (Enneagram 3) and Olivia (Enneagram 1) bring both depth and honesty as they reflect on their shared history—shaped by achievement, responsibility, and a deep desire to “do things right.” From childhood dynamics and sibling comparisons to adult friendship and mutual respect, this conversation traces how their relationship has evolved across seasons of life.Together, they unpack the unique strengths of a 3–1 pairing—drive, alignment, and shared vision—alongside the tensions: judgment, emotional restraint, and the pressure to perform.

What does it feel like to move through life believing your presence doesn’t quite matter?In this episode of Early Access, Katie Whitlock talks with Blake Walker, an Enneagram Nine, about the quiet patterns that shape her life—from avoiding conflict to merging with others’ goals, to the slow realization that her own voice matters.Blake reflects on marriage, motherhood, and building a life that at times felt more aligned with others than herself. Along the way, they explore the Nine’s relationship to energy, anger, and purpose—revealing both the strength and struggle of a type that longs for peace but often loses itself in the process.

The beginning of the end! In this episode, Katie talks with Luke, a pastry chef turned mental health counselor. We talk about several differences between 3 and 9, and spend a lot of time diving into what it means for a 9 to "wake up" and start chasing after their own life. Luke has an incredible knack for explaining difficult concepts, so this is a good one to listen to if you want to understand the 9s in your life.

Katie talks with her new friend Grace in this episode! Grace is an Enneagram coach based in Dallas, Texas. We discuss the core motivation of 8s (and how it shows up in Grace's daily life), an 8's hesitancy to discover their own limitations, and the similarities/differences between 8s and a few other key numbers.Find Grace on Instagram hereCheck out her website here

Katie sits down with Emma, a 35-year-old Enneagram Six, for a thoughtful and personal conversation about fear, preparedness, relationships, and the long road toward self-trust.Emma shares how she first found the Enneagram through podcasts, what it was like to recognize herself as a Six, and how that discovery helped make sense of patterns she had carried for years. Together, Katie and Emma explore the inner world of Sixes: the search for safety, the struggle to trust themselves, the experience of rumination, and the deep need to find what feels “just right.”They also talk about Emma’s relationship with her boyfriend, an Enneagram Three, the differences between Six and Three achievement, and how the Enneagram helps illuminate the push and pull of connection. Along the way, Emma reflects on growing up between cultures, including her childhood in Saudi Arabia, and shares how an early medical emergency became one of the defining moments in her relationship to preparedness and control.

Y’all, this one is REALLY GOOD. In the first half we talk typical 6 stuff: counter phobic vs phobic, reading other people’s emotions, etc. But in the second half, we get into some new stuff and it’s one of my favorite episodes to date.There are a few seconds of audio issues around the 47 minute mark (we had some technical problems during recording), but hopefully you all can still understand!Find Hunter Mobley’s book here

In this Early Access conversation, Katie Whitlock sits down with her real-life friend Kristen. Kristen works in the arts world at a museum—fundraising, grant writing, and building programs—and brings that same creative, community-minded energy into the way she understands personality, trust, and belonging.Together, they explore what “security” actually means for Sixes when it isn’t just about money or logistics, but about being emotionally grounded—knowing where you stand with people, having clarity, and feeling steady inside your own skin.

In this episode, Katie talks with a local friend about all things 6. We discuss why some 6s might mistype as 4s or 8s, what rebellion looks like and why 6s do it, procrastination, and much more!Find Ava's interior design account here: https://www.instagram.com/rose_junction_/

In this Early Access episode, Katie Whitlock welcomes Imogen, a 24-year-old from Shanghai, China.Imogen shares how she found the Enneagram through a friend, why she identifies as a Five without tests, and how “avarice” shows up as a fierce protection of time, energy, space, and purpose. Together they explore the Five’s impulse to offer information as a form of connection, the tension between deep internal emotion and discomfort with outward emotional exchange, and the relief that comes when the Enneagram gives a framework for accepting difference.

Katie talks to Rob, a musician friend of Lucas from the last episode!We talk about the different ways that 4s can show up in the world, including the effect of wings and family dynamics.

Continuing the 4 journey, Katie talks to Lucas, a 28-year old musician. They talk acceptance, growing up, and what it feels like to be a male who lives so much of life deep in the feeling center.Find Lucas on Instagram at ofthoughtandfeelingFind Lucas' music on Spotify

Katie Whitlock welcomes Jeremy back to Early Access to give him space to tell the fuller story of his life—one shaped by adoption, poverty, faith, creativity, grief, and extraordinary loss. With care and honesty, Jeremy shares the long arc of his journey, including the trauma of surviving a violent attack that took the life of his closest friend, and the slow, difficult work of carrying grief without letting it hollow him out. Warning: this episode includes graphic discussion of violence and domestic abuse and is not appropriate for children or sensitive listeners.

In this Early Access conversation, Katie sits down with Jeremy (“Remy”), an Enneagram Four from Texas whose life has moved through music, church work, divorce, and the long aftershocks of abandonment. Together they get underneath the classic Four questions—wanting to be “not misunderstood,” protecting a kind of mystery, and carrying a quiet fear that people will leave once they’ve seen too much. Jeremy tells the story of watching his father hand his mother divorce papers in kindergarten, then later losing his job, his mother, and his marriage—experiences that shaped both his intensity and his caution.From there, the episode pivots into healing: what it means for Fours to realize they’re already “glorious,” to stop chasing constant extraordinariness, and to learn how the ordinary can still hold real beauty. The conversation also gets timely, exploring how social media and algorithm-driven platforms raise the threshold for what feels meaningful—flattening art, attention, and even identity into “what will perform.” Jeremy offers a grounded, artist’s critique of the attention economy, and Jeff closes by teeing up a part two—because they only scratched the surface of Jeremy’s story.

Katie talks to Emi, a local friend who is also a 3!We talk about what it feels like to present only your best self, slowing down, and the benefits of joining enneagram spaces.

Connect with Katie : HEREIn this Early Access episode, Katie Whitlock sits down with Meg—32, a Type Three, newly certified as an Enneagram teacher through the Narrative Enneagram, and also a practicing therapist who integrates the Enneagram into her counseling work.Meg and Katie explore what it actually takes to become certified in the Narrative tradition (typing interviews, guided questions, hosting panels, and learning through lived stories rather than “textbook types”), along with the posture behind it: typing as an offering, not a verdict. From there the conversation turns personal and very Three-specific—how Meg’s “threeness” formed in evangelical spaces where vulnerability and spiritual performance carried social reward, how stage leadership (worship leading) sharpened her instincts, and how the real work isn’t talking about feelings—it’s staying in the body long enough to feel them.

Katie talks to BJ about 2ness! We discuss why being a male 2 can make you feel different from your friends, the deep wish to be invited into someone's life, and how pride can worm its way into a 2's life without warning.Find BJ on Instagram at @monty_quesoFind BJ on Blue Sky at @montyqueso.bsky.social

Katie wraps up her conversations with 1s in this final episode. Marguerite discusses what it feels like to owe people the best version of yourself, her search for a structured life, and the pull that 1s feel to fix what they see going wrong.Check out Marguerite's Doula services here: https://lyrehcdoulatherapy.com/

Continuing our journey through 1ness, Katie talks to Olivia this week.We discuss anxiety (and why it doesn’t always apply to all reactive types), trusting yourself, and what it means to experience true intuition.If you are interested in applying to be guest : GO HERE

I get to talk to my cousin Sara about being a 1 and everything that comes with it. We talk about being the eldest daughter/cousin, feeling responsible for others and their choices, and meeting our problems with action. We also get into the different ways that we deal with grief.

Katie talks to her friend Kayci about what it feels like to be a reactive doer. We talk obligation, anger, and the struggle of juggling what you want vs the expectations of others.

Apply to be interviewed on Early Access : HERESee our other work at : www.aroundthecircle.orgIn this Early Access episode, Katie introduces the next chapter of the series: additional interviews with each Enneagram number, beginning with a rich Type One conversation featuring Natasha. Natasha shares her journey into the Enneagram, her experience of body-centered intuition, and how Ones navigate anger, resentment, and the urge to fix entire systems rather than small parts. Together, Katie and Natasha explore the deep emotional life of Ones, the difference between thinking and feeling, and why growing in self-awareness is both liberating and humbling.

In this episode of Early Access, Katie sits down with Joleen Nguyen, a 32-year-old counterphobic Enneagram Six and new mom to explore the rich inner world of Sixes from the inside.Joleen shares how she first met the Enneagram through a flimsy one-paragraph description of Sixes, why it didn’t stick at first, and how returning to the Enneagram years later (after a deep love affair with Myers-Briggs) completely changed the way she saw herself. She and Katie unpack why the Enneagram goes deeper than Myers-Briggs—naming why we do what we do—and what it means that your number doesn’t change, even as you grow.Together they tease apart the frequent mistype between Sixes, Threes, and Eights, looking at stance, energy, and especially what happens under stress: Six “six-ing out,” Three-ish sabotage, and how integrity, community, and fear show up differently in each type. Joleen opens up about the Six “committee,” the terror of being wrong, the longing for secure community, and how motherhood helped her finally trust her own judgment.They close by reframing Sixes not as “the anxious ones,” but as people whose consideration of others is a superpower.

Sara from Utah joins Katie to open a window into life as an Enneagram Five. Sara unpacks the difference between physical retreat (car, corner, time-out) and an emotional shutdown that feels like a cloud rolling over the mind. She explains why Fives can be read as “cold,” how she “thinks her feelings,” and the quiet cost of borrowing energy in crisis (the post-help crash and “overdraft fees”). They dig into doing-repression, limited access to the Feeling center, the embarrassment of visible excitement, boundaries around who gets her bandwidth, and how naming facts can be a bridge back to emotions.

Katie sits down with Cincinnati musician and producer Timothy Edward Carpenter to explore the inner landscape of a Four: the pull toward the unattainable, the ache of “not enough,” and why connection only feels real in the deep end. Timothy speaks openly about chasing music dreams, choosing others’ projects over his own, rebuilding marriage, and learning to trust therapy without letting a test define him. Together they unpack shame for 2-3-4s, an Idealist's frustration with reality, and the difference between being understood and being accepted.If you are interested inning interviewed on Early Access and want to be a guest, fill out the intake form on Katie’s site : HERE.Find Timothy’s work: HERE

This week, Katie talks to Sara, a local friend she met at one of her weekly Enneagram classes. We discuss medical school, DOING vs BEING, and what it feels like to subject yourself to constant comparison against other people (and maybe how to get out of it).There is some scratchy audio in the first five minutes of this podcast, but I promise that it quickly gets fixed!

Our Workshop on Excess| HEREUp next, 2s! Rebecca Dollard, founder of The Motherhood Mentor, is a somatic healing practitioner that helps high-achieving women and mothers who “have it all together” but feel disconnected inside. Through somatic healing, nervous-system-based coaching, and enneagram she guides them to expand their capacity, soften their edges, and lead with power and presence.Links: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-motherhood-mentor/id1735994095P.S. for anyone who may have noticed, we've skipped 1s. We will release the episode on 1s later on in this series, we promise!

“I don’t want to be right—I want to know what is right.”Katie sits down with Veronica, a 32-year-old Enneagram One and R&D scientist in Chicago, to trace how Ones learn to trust their gut, make room for gray, and respond to what’s needed. Veronica shares her path into the Enneagram, the “responsive stance” in a family with no assertive types, and why Ones often look “negative” when they’re actually reaching for what could be better. They compare One and Six problem-solving, One and Three achievement, and talk anger as “what happens when things don’t go your way”—and what to do with it. Veronica names how therapy helped her drop performative goodness, navigate work mistakes without collapse, and show up for people over perfection.

Up next: 9s!In this week’s episode, Katie talks to Rev. Andrew Bowles (he/him), a Certified Narrative Enneagram Teacher, professional member of the International Enneagram Association, ordained minister, and experienced healthcare chaplain. We talk about why 5s and 9s look so similar, what it really feels like to feel like your presence doesn’t matter, and we also get into the worldview of each type (which means that there’s a nugget of gold to be found in this episode for every number!)Link to Hunter’s book: HERELink to Life in the Trinity ministry's website:  https://www.lifeinthetrinityministry.com/Link to Andrew’s website: https://www.pathstopresence.com/aboutAndrew's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pathstopresence9/

Continuing her journey around the Enneagram, Katie talks to Meaghan, a freelance American Sign Language interpreter who loves traveling, new restaurants, and advocating for the deaf community. We talk about the difference between anger and rage, how your childhood environment sticks with you, and get into some differences between 6 and 8.

Our inaugural Episode!In this discussion on Early Access, host Katie Whitlock sits down with her close friend Michael —an Ironman-in-training, soon-to-be husband, and a reluctant but curious student of the Enneagram. Together they explore what it’s like to be “typed” when you’re not sure of your number, walking through hallmark traits of Enneagram Sevens and how they show up in Michael’s life. From balancing a jam-packed calendar with his craving for freedom, to reframing hard emotions, to navigating relationships with his fiancée and family, Michael offers a candid look at the gifts and struggles of living in the “positive half” of life. If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to test-drive an Enneagram type in real time—or to see how the framework lands with someone who resists being put in a box—this honest, funny, and insightful conversation is for you.Music is by GIANTS AND PILGRIMS

RELEASING | OCTOBER 7A new podcast for the Enneagram Channel.