PODCAST · education
Talk, Unleashed
by Cathy Brooks
What motivates people? Why do they do what they do? What does leadership actually mean in today’s world? Good questions, right? That’s what Cathy Brooks, thought. And it’s why she created Talk, Unleashed – a podcast of candid conversation. Sometimes as commentary. Sometimes as discussions with fascinating people doing remarkable things. Topics range widely and all of them have one thing in common. Dogs.
Episodes
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Judge Not Lest Not ...
Buckle up buttercups. Something of a confession in this week’s episode - it’s about judgement. If I’m pointing fingers somewhere, there are a bunch pointing back. And still we love love love to do it. Truth is, though, the place to look is the mirror. Problem is, when you behave that way, it’s...
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Complacency
Ahhhh. Complacency. Not sure when it happened, but we seem to have devolved into a world where people get to be influencers for no reason other than gaming an algorithm. Folks who want fame, fortune and results without actually doing the hands in clay work to earn it. Lest you think I’m launching...
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We Hold These Truths
It’s a big year for the United States of America. It’s the 250th anniversary of the nation’s birth. No. I’m not going to do a dissertation on politics, governance or independence. I am going to talk about how there is a critical line in our founding documents that applies to dog training. We hold...
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Sportsmanship
It’s a bit after the fact so I'm overdue to wax effusive about the lessons of leadership as they relate to ice hockey during playoff season, but gotta be honest. I was pretty heartbroken this year. More on that another time. This week, though - ice hockey, leadership, and dogs. Three things that...
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Seasonal Change
Every relationship has a season. Every. Single. One. You’ve probably heard the phrase - “reason, season or lifetime” - the idea that some folks come into our lives for a moment, others for a period of time and when we’re lucky a select few for a lifetime. Thing is, no matter the length of that...
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Get the Flock Out of Here
Well hey. It's been a hot minute. A month, actually. Between my amazing producer's jammed schedule and my own we opted for something of a break ... good to be back. This week on the podcast - the things that technology just can’t do. Yes, there are things. Things where only BE-ing there serves.…
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Surprises (and Trees)
Henry David Thoreau spent just a bit over two years at Walden Pond. He removed himself entirely from civilization and then returned with a viewpoint that reverberates today. I'm in a bit of my own On Walden Pond time, as you know, and this week's lesson is particularly related to that. Mastering...
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Dragonflies
Springtime means a lot of things when you live in the woods. The wildlife is the best part. Except for the bugs — and Virginia’s insect community is epic. Mosquitos that could carry away small children sort of thing. It didn’t occur to me there might be some sort of “message” with them. Until...
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Forest for the Trees
I’m not sure I’ll ever come to an end of learning where nature is concerned. She seems an infinite source teaching. The best part is that the lessons are ones I began as a kid; and which managed to stay fresh despite my having spent most of my adult life living in urban-oriented places. Removing...
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Mindful Writing (and Trees)
I don’t sit still very easily or very often. At least not naturally. My natural resting state is something around Mach 5, so learning to be still to be in the moment without needing to do anything, it’s taken practice. Of course they DO call it a meditation “practice”. What I’ve also learned is...
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Michael Shihkashio - Aggressive Dogs and Human Leadership
DUE TO A SLIGHT PRODUCTION BACKLOG, THIS WEEK WE'RE REPEATING ONE OF OUR MOST POPULAR EPISODES - OUR FIRST INTERVIEW WITH RENOWNED DOG TRAINER, MICHAEL SHIHKASHIO. BACK NEXT WEEK WITH NEW AND GROOVY STUFF ... ENJOY! In the world of dog training, there are some who have opted to do the really hard...
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Boundaries - The Walk for Peace
I never know whether to be amused or pissed off when people take a word that has importance and value and turn it into something other than what it is. Like boundaries. On the one hand a deeply overindulged society rails against the idea that people are somehow entitled to do whatever they want…
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My Peaceful Day - Walk for Peace
Another episode inspired by the Venerable Monks and the Walk for Peace. This week - a simple concept that cuts through complexity. The simplicity, and complexity of inner peace. It’s easy to be swept up by circumstances these days. Easy to allow the froth and frenzy that is the world to determine...
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Mindful Traffic - Walk for Peace
There are few things that will torpedo my sense of serenity faster, than traffic. And I know I’m not alone. Now imagine hundreds of people, at night, it’s dark and very cold. The road is narrow, crowded and there are piles of snow everywhere. Traffic comes to a dead stop. And no one gets mad....
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When the Student is Ready - Walk for Peace
I don’t know when I heard the phrase for the first time - “When the student is ready the teacher appears.” I do know I didn’t have much of a clue what it really meant until much later. I guess you don’t know until you know. Another pithy quote that’s familiar and took a while to understand. It...
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Mindful Canine - The Walk for Peace
For dogs mindfulness isn’t really a thing. Mostly because it’s just how they are. It’s the very foundation of their existence. Humans, however? Not so much. In another episode inspired by the Venerable Monks and the Walk for Peace, a discussion of mindfulness - specifically as it relates to the...
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Clean the Mirror - Walk for Peace
I don’t want to ruin the humor of the story - but let’s just say that in this week’s episode, I share wisdom from Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara (the monk who initiated the recent Walk for Peace across the US). That wisdom has to do with bathrooms, toilets, lovers … and the dangers of multi-tasking....
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Aloka the Peace Dog
Boy do I wish the episode were an actual interview with Aloka. No doubt he’d have magnificent wisdom to share. Who’s Aloka? Great question. If you didn’t follow the recent Walk for Peace - he’s the dog who accompanied the Venerable Monks on their journey. They found him on another walk - that one...
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The Walk for Peace
Peace, doesn’t sell. We may click on kindness, but overall cash follows cruelty. If it bleeds, it leads. That famous practice (allegedly started by an editor of The Miami Herald in Miami, FL) for “real” media. Take away any guardrails media used to have in place (things like verifying content...
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Crap in. Crap out. Or just ... Crap?
No small irony that sh*t in some shape or form has dominated this year’s episodes. Quite a lot of crap in the world these days. This week, it’s a look at crap in - crap out. How I start a thing, is how I continue a thing. This relates to many things - relationships, production quality and … dog...
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Emotional Support Human
Emotional Support Animals are bullsh*t. I said it. If you’re feeling a certain way about what I’ve just said - defensive, perhaps - this episode is definitely for you. This is about emotional self-regulation, about how animals can and do serve the purpose of supporting us emotionally, but not by...
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Big Dog. Little Dog.
Just saw a video the other day. It was one of those “man on the street” things. The interviewer was asking passers-by what they thought of statements that had been made by a specific political person. Their responses - categorically rejected all of it Then the interviewer course corrected. Turns...
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Band Aid or Tourniquet
Not sure whether this is just a human thing or a particularly American/Western thing these days, but it sure feels like there’s a whole lot of overcorrection going on. And yet, there also are times where it feels like a more substantive response is warranted, but for some reason, it’s just not...
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Owning My Sh*t
Last week I talked about stepping in sh*t. This week is about cleaning that sh*t up. Literally. If the metaphor of stepping in a pile of dog poop is metaphor for responsibility, then what does it mean to avoid tracking it around, cleaning it up and - most of all - paying attention to where I’m...
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Stepping in Sh*t
Admit it. You’ve done it. We’ve all done it at some point. Stepped in sh*t. And yes, I mean literally. It’s that random pile of poop (usually and hopefully from a dog) that was hidden in the grass, or just somewhere you didn’t expect it. Next thing you know - that undeniable sensation of it under...
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The Bermuda Triangle
Okay. I’ll say it. Holiday season is a challenge. Whether things are joyful or not, it’s an intense time of year. Ironic, since from a work perspective so many folks check out before the Thanksgiving turkeys are even in their brine. Whether it’s the Cadillac problems of what to buy or the deeper...
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Jackie (Not Kennedy)
Last week on the podcast I talked about Angels - or at least people who seem to be placed especially in our paths. That got me to thinking. Specifically about another instance that took place not long ago at one of my favorite spots - Wegman’s. It wasn’t about groceries, it was about a moment of...
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Earthbound Angels
Are angels real? Okay, before you think I’ve blown a gasket or that the fulcrum has tipped way too far into the woo woo, rest easy. I am not hallucinating. But I have been having a series of pretty mind blowing interactions. Interactions with complete strangers whose presence in my life…
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Rutting Bucks
A few weeks ago on the podcast I talked about the kick off of hunting season. Thing is, before the season gets fully underway there’s a problem. Too many deer. Car crash numbers increase exponentially with collision shops facing a voluminous tide of car versus deer situations. It’s not just that...
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Stream of Life
It’s funny the things noticed when you take the time to … stop. Not something we do all-that-often in this day and age. Everyone is moving fast - making decisions, clicking links, consuming information from the firehose of the Internet. The act of slowing down let alone stopping? It’s almost...
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Dark Woods Lessons
It’s a common misconception. The idea that the woods at night are quiet. Don’t get me wrong. After 10 years in Las Vegas where it never gets dark and never really slows down, the woods are the opposite of that. Turn the lights out at night and it’s dark as pitch. The immediate sense is almost a...
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Blaze Orange
Ah, fall. It’s among my favorite times of year - especially when it comes to the tapestry of colors Especially orange. Except in this week’s episode, the color orange I’m talking about is neither part of that palette, nor is it the new black. This is blaze orange - that particularly vibrant shade...
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Move Fast. Break Things
It’s a famously awful quote used by Mark Zuckerberg in Facebook’s (now Meta) early days. Move fast. Break things. The idea behind it was, allegedly, to spark innovation; to remove obstacles in creativity by giving folks license to make mistakes, to iterate and to charge forward. This IS critical...
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Bumper Sticker Judgement
Judgement. Talk about a gateway to misery. Sure. It may feel satisfying for a hot minute, but just like letting fly with a nasty statement in retaliation when my feelings are hurt, the feeling is fleeting. More to the point, when I’m judging others, it says more about me, than it does about them....
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In the Woods Where it Happened
Thing about living in the woods - you get to be the ears present when a tree goes down. Doesn’t just make a sound. Shakes the ground too. Turns out when it’s gone down, it also tells a story. And this week on the podcast, the conversation that ensues. In a world where what passes for radical...
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That Stinks. Literally.
I’ve always had the olfactory sense of a Bloodhound. I’d probably have made a superb “nose” for a French perfume company. Having an acute sense of smell is both blessing and curse - it also holds one secret to my masterful skills with dogs and turns out opened up pretty interesting insights about...
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Don't Just Disappear
I’ll never forget the first time it happened. I was talking with an engineer or coder type at a party. Their cell phone rang. They looked at it, answered it, and walked away without so much as an “excuse me”. In the middle of a sentence. I’d like to say it was the only time it happened. It…
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Wokeness Creates Weakness
There’s nothing like a provocative t-shirt to really make my day. I used to have one that said “F*ck Yoga”. The reactions to it were epic. Most folks would look at it, look at me and laugh. Every now and again someone would get utterly twisted up with me about it and I’d tell them two things…
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Boundaries ARE Freedom
Remember when you were a kid in school and some unruly kid couldn’t mind the rules and as a result the entire class faced consequences? Everyone being hit with staying late, extra homework, pop quizzes. I sure do. It sucked. DISCLAIMER - I’m not talking about kids who may have had undiagnosed...
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Ignorance or Stupidity?
I don’t know about you but I’m of the generation where calling someone “stupid” resulted in varying levels of punishment. In my house the word was tantamount to the F-bomb. Funny how it seems lately that everyone is pointing fingers and calling other people just that. But is it really stupidity?…
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HEY HONEY
LISTEN CLOSELY TO THIS EPISODE AND YOU'LL HEAR A SECRET SOUND :) One of the more hokey sayings in transformational leadership training is we are human BEings, not human DOings. It’s a cheeky way to tell people to chill the f*ck out, be present and pay attention. Boy did that generate a whole…
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No Bad Dogs
One of the most irritating cliches in dog training is this - there are no bad dogs, only bad owners. Talk about trying to shame people into changing their behavior. And shame as a lever for shifting how folks behave has worked … never. At least not with anything remotely resembling a healthy...
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Hierarchical Thinking is Bullsh*t
Disclosure - the idea of this podcast episode isn’t new. It’s the Peter Principle. What is new is looking at the concept of rising to a level of incompetence’s flaw, as seen through the naturally occurring order in a group of wolves. In a world where what passes for radical honesty usually means...
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Feedback
There’s a line in the film “A Few Good Men” where Tom Cruise’s character, a lawyer, demands the “truth” of Jack Nicholson, a General who’s on a witness stand. “The TRUTH!?” Nicholson bellows. “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!” Feedback. It's a bastardized concept in society today and that’s a shame....
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Leadership = Relationships = Trust
Nothing like mass market exploitation of words to render them near useless. Let’s take “leadership” for example. Bandied about mercilessly these days, and somehow what the word even MEANS has been lost. It’s simple - leadership is about RELATIONSHIPS, and in order for those to exist, you have to...
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Clarity
In a world where what passes for radical honesty usually means someone is just letting things fly outta their pie-hole without much care for others, it’s time for radically authentic conversation. Conscious communication is simple, but often isn’t easy. That’s why Cathy Brooks created Talk,...
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FOMO and Grief
I’ve talked before on the podcast about FOMO - the Fear of Missing Out. How interesting it is that people will go so far as to co-opt other people’s drama, misery and grief just in order to be in line with whatever meme or topic is hot at the time. Yeah, when you think of it that way it sounds...
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Afraid of the Dark
Oh the irony. We are taught - largely through entertainment and media sources - that monsters come in the dark. To be afraid. Be alert and know that danger lurks around every corner. Why irony? Because the truth is that the darkness isn’t danger. Usually that danger IS human-driven and the…
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Loose Leash Walking - Kind of.
It’s among the most frequently sought after and common asks for any dog trainer: "How the f*ck do I get my dog to walk NICELY on the leash?" Loose leash walking. It’s a critical skill. And that’s not what this episode is about, really. It’s about the concept of attachment and obligation - “no...
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Delivering Happiness
If your goal in life is to be happy, I hate to break it to you, but your life is going to be pretty f*cked up. Because happiness isn’t goal. It’s a feeling. And feelings are not permanent. They shift. They change. They’re always in motion. So if the goal is a thing that doesn’t stick, I’m always...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
What motivates people? Why do they do what they do? What does leadership actually mean in today’s world? Good questions, right? That’s what Cathy Brooks, thought. And it’s why she created Talk, Unleashed – a podcast of candid conversation. Sometimes as commentary. Sometimes as discussions with fascinating people doing remarkable things. Topics range widely and all of them have one thing in common. Dogs.
HOSTED BY
Cathy Brooks
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Talk, Unleashed have?
Talk, Unleashed currently has 219 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Talk, Unleashed about?
What motivates people? Why do they do what they do? What does leadership actually mean in today’s world? Good questions, right? That’s what Cathy Brooks, thought. And it’s why she created Talk, Unleashed – a podcast of candid conversation. Sometimes as commentary. Sometimes as discussions with...
How often does Talk, Unleashed release new episodes?
Talk, Unleashed publishes regularly with 219 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Talk, Unleashed?
You can listen to Talk, Unleashed on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Talk, Unleashed?
Talk, Unleashed is created and hosted by Cathy Brooks.
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