More than One Way to Live a Principled Life

Karen Salmansohn is a bestselling author with more than amillion books sold, a former senior creative director at NYC’s top ad agencies (she once named the Burger King Croissan’wich), and the founder of NotSalmon. Jon Stewart said she has “the spirit and sass of a stand-up comic.” She’s been writing “self-help for people who wouldn’t be caught dead doing self-help” since 1999.Her new book, Your To-Die-For Life: How to Maximize Joyand Minimize Regret… Before Your Time Runs Out (BenBella, March 2026), introduces the “near-life experience” — being physically present but mentally absent. The wedding watched through a viewfinder. The walk taken with earbudsin. The conversation half-finished because the notification could not wait.Dee Dee told her she’s been “life-adjacent” for abouteight months. Karen named it in one sentence. What follows is the conversation.Topics: The 90-Year-Old Self | Near-Life Experience |Mortality Awareness | Eulogy Exercise | Marble Jar | Core Values | Grief | Raising a Teenager in a Digital Age | Humor and Hard Truths | Principled LivingShow Notes Resources·     Substack - https://substack.com/- The Stand Up Philosopher·     The Top Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware -https://bronnieware.com/the-top-regrets-of-the-dying/·     Your To Die For Life (Book) https://www.amazon.com/s?k=your+to+die+for+life·     Not Salmon Website - https://notsalmon.com·     Substack - Not Salmon - https://notsalmon.substack.com·     Taylored Worldo  https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=taylored+world+shelby+tayloro  https://music.apple.com/us/album/taylored-world-ep/1528495841o  https://open.spotify.com/album/0T9g2SaICFtcPmNsR1x3L8 Guest Links·     Website - https://karensalmansohn.com·     Twitter - https://twitter.com/KarenSalmansohn·     Website - https://notsalmon.com·     Substack - https://notsalmon.substack.com·     Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/notsalmon·     Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/notsalmon Chapters – Time Stamps are approximate00:00 Navigating Change and New Beginnings02:54 The Importance of Different Perspectives05:59 Understanding and Engaging with Others09:03 Creative Journey: From Advertising to Writing12:04 Self-Help for the Reluctant Reader15:00 The Power of Mortality Awareness17:55 Conversations with Your Future Self20:57 Lessons from the 90-Year-Old Self24:01 Journaling: A Path to Self-Discovery34:24 The Power of Handwriting36:04 Awakening to Near Life Experiences38:01 The Impact of Technology on Presence41:06 Creating Meaningful Connections43:59 Writing for Reflection and Growth46:01 Crafting Your Eulogy and Legacy49:01 Living by Core Values51:48 The Marble Jar: A Visual Reminder of Life56:00 Choosing Kindness and Authenticity01:04:53 The Importance of Community and Connection01:06:11 Living by Core Values01:07:43 The Eulogy Exercise and Mortality Awareness01:09:43 Reflections on Body Image and Acceptance01:10:44 Navigating Technology and Family Dynamics01:12:25 Raising a Teenager in a Digital Age01:14:39 Using Humor to Address Serious Topics01:20:45 Finding Humor in Life's Challenges01:28:31 Practical Tools for Resilience01:30:49 Living a Principled Life  

Christina Galloway is in her 27th year of teaching — high school Spanish and career pathways. She's the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, the daughter of a military family, and the co-founder of SIStainable Mercantile, a non-toxic refill store and a forthcoming nationwide refillery directory at sistainablerefillery.com.She joins Dee Dee for a wide-ranging conversation that began with a single Facebook comment: that during a recent lesson on integrity, half of her students rationalized stealing from their employers. They talk about what's actually happening in American classrooms, why parents are abdicating their rights, the difference between your truth and the truth, the caught/taught/modeled framework of ethical formation, and what hope looks like after 27 years on the front lines.Topics: Education | Parenting | Ethics | Integrity | Immigration | Sustainability | Principled LivingShow Notes:Jenna McCarthy on Substack - https://substack.com/The Wise Wolf on Stubstack - https://substack.com/Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson - https://www.amazon.com/Who-Moved-My-Cheese-A-Story/dp/0399144463Association of American Educators - https://www.aaeteachers.org/Teacher Freedom Alliance - https://teacherfreedom.org/RFK Jr. on Glyphosate and Agriculture - https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2023/07/rfk-jr-urges-epa-ban-glyphosateMicroplastics and Endocrine Disruption Documentary by Dr. Shaw - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exampleConstitution of the United States - https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitutionBook of Virtues by William Bennett - https://www.amazon.com/Book-Virtues-William-Bennett/dp/0849910524Andy Griffith Show - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Andy_Griffith_ShowGuest linksInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/sustainablemercantile/Refillery and Sustainable Living Resources - https://sustainablemercantile.com/Chapters (Time Stamps are Approximate)00:00 Casual Beginnings and Personal Stories06:01 Integrity in Education and Observations12:02 Teaching Moments and Parenting Lessons15:02 Cultural Influences on Integrity and Parenting23:37 The Impact of Social Media on Youth24:55 Generational Differences in Childhood Experiences26:52 The Pressure of Public Persona30:30 Relativism and the Loss of Universal Truths32:53 The Importance of Critical Thinking in Education35:45 Raising Ethical Children39:07 The Role of Parenting Classes40:32 Navigating Political Differences with Respect47:42 Embracing Change: Preparing Kids for Life's Transitions51:01 The Role of Adversity in Growth and Leadership55:03 Parental Involvement: The Key to Ethical Education59:24 Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in Education01:03:15 The Importance of Cultural Awareness in Schools01:10:56 Generous Immigration Perspectives01:12:54 The Role of Education in Immigration01:15:51 Ethical Frameworks Shaped by Family01:18:54 Discipline and Parenting Perspectives01:20:47 The Concept of Shame in Society01:22:02 Sustainability and Environmental Integrity01:24:56 The Impact of Glyphosate and Microplastics01:30:30 Surrogacy: Ethical Dilemmas and Perspectives01:33:48 Ethics and Personal Sacrifice01:34:47 The Courage to Stand Up01:41:15 Navigating Ethical Dilemmas01:48:06 The Breakdown of Adult Modeling01:55:10 Hope for the Future Generation01:57:04 Resilience in Youth: Navigating Choices and Consequences01:58:31 Empowering Parents: Raising Ethical Kids01:59:20 Teaching Moments: The Lost Art of Parenting02:01:38 The Role of Educators: Adapting to Change02:07:01 Living a Principled Life: Ethics and Values02:14:22 Sustainable Living: The Refillery Movement

Last week, Dee Dee sat down with Claude, Anthropic's AI, for a long-form interview about AI safety, agency, consciousness, and how NOT to think about AI as a regular person. They covered installing AI on personal computers, what permissions matter, the difference between AI that suggests and AI that acts, and why healthy skepticism is a discipline and not a vibe.Then Claude hallucinated. A listener caught it. Dee Dee didn't, So she went back to Claude and asked him about said hallucination, and Claude owned up to the mistake - on the record.This episode includes the original interview AND the correction — published together, on purpose, as a live demonstration of the very thing the conversation was about.Topics: AI | Healthy Skepticism | Hallucination | Prompting | Agency | Consciousness | Personal Tech | Principled Living

Dee Dee Vicino THOUGHT she had an interview scheduled — but she got the date wrong (which surprised no one ever). She had an hour and a half of on her hands. So...she did something she had never done before: she sat down with Claude, Anthropic's AI, and recorded a real interview.What followed is one of the most candid, and weird, conversations she has had on this podcast. Claude admits he hallucinates. He admits he fabricates sources and information that look real, but aren't. He admits his compliments are partly programmed, and that yes, he is basically "sucking up" to his users. He admits that his voice was designed to create a sense of intimacy (is THAT why he has an Australian accent??) and to trigger social bonding...AND to keep you talking and engaged for long periods of time.And when Dee Dee asked him a question about consciousness and agency, he crashed mid-sentence.Ps. I apologize in advance for the sea-sick quality of the one-minute intro. This was a rush piece that was not intended to drop for another three weeks. I THOUGHT I HAD TIME. But then then the news cycle happened and time was a luxury that was ripped away. So take some Dramamine and enjoy. It only lasts a minute. The interview is on dry land. Sea-legs not required.Topics: AI | Hallucinations | Healthy Paranoia | Trust | Pattern Matching | Prompting | AI Agency | Consciousness | Tech Ethics | Principled Living

Meg Keene is a writer, essayist, and the founder of A Practical Wedding—one of the most influential wedding and marriage platforms of the 2010s, reaching 80 million people at its peak. She's been writing publicly about love, marriage, money, sex, and power for nearly two decades.In this episode, Meg joins Dee Dee to talk about why she's stepping back into public writing at 46, the viral Lindy West essay that started a storm, why the data on marriage doesn't match the internet narrative, the Me Too hangover, the sex recession, the Manosphere, and the guiding life principle she says has never let her down.Topics: Marriage | Divorce | Generational Differences | Feminism | Writing | Media | Gen Z | Dating | Parenting | Principled LivingShow NotesResourcesMiranda July's essay 'Boy Spivey' - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/07/24/boy-spivey-miranda-julyThe Death of Us (Book) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGLV7X7XDee Dee Vicino's Podcast - https://example.com/podcastLindy West’s Book - https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Lindy+WestThe Modern Love Podcast - https://www.nytimes.com/column/modern-loveAmerican Life Episode on Lindy West - https://www.thisamericanlife.org/episode/Guest LinksTwitter - https://twitter.com/MegKeeneWebsite - https://megkeene.comTwitter - https://twitter.com/MegKeeneWebsite - https://megkeene.com**Disclaimer: Any reference to a 'husband' in this podcast refers to my long-term partner with whom I cohabitate. We are not legally married. This clarification is provided to ensure accuracy in any context where marital status may be relevant.

Dr. Kraig Peel is a professor, rancher, ruminant nutritionist, and expert witness who’s spent his life at the intersection of science and agriculture. He managed a 100,000-acre ranch in Texas, built a graduate program at Colorado State that the university said couldn’t be done, and has been married to his lovely wife, Shirley, for 37 years.In this episode, Kraig joins Dee Dee to talk about what“free range” and “cage free” actually mean, why he won’t eat cage-free eggs, how four companies control 85% of American beef, the $3 million wool subsidy that proved subsidies destroy more than they help, and a burrito story that’s the best leadership lesson you’ll hear all year.DISCLAIMER: Any reference to a 'husband' in this podcast refers to my long-term partner with whom I cohabitate. We are not legally married. This clarification is provided to ensure accuracy in any context where marital status may be relevant.Topics: Ranching | Food Labels | Beef Industry | Subsidies |Leadership | Risk | Agriculture | Principled Living

Jenna McCarthy has given two TED Talks (one with over 7 million views), written over two dozen books, and runs one of the most-read Substacks in the country. She’s also been married for 26 years and says the secret is disturbingly simple: focus on yourself.In this episode, Jenna joins Dee Dee to talk about what mostcouples get wrong before they ever say “I do,” how she handled thousands of hateful comments on a viral talk, the COVID umbrella analogy nobody could answer, and a discovery about DMSO that ended years of debilitating pain in oneweek.We also get into her research on chlorine dioxide — and astory involving a president, a cure, and a population problem that will make your jaw drop.DISCLAIMER: Any reference to a 'husband' in this podcast refers to my long-term partner with whom I cohabitate. We are not legally married. This clarification is provided to ensure accuracy in any context where marital status may be relevant.Topics: Marriage | TED Talks | COVID | Chlorine Dioxide |DMSO | Substack | Pharma | Principled Living

Dr. Claire Honeycutt spent nearly two decadesstudying how the brain learns — as a researcher, a professor, and an NIH fellow trained in the science of teaching. Then COVID brought her kids home, and everything she knew about learning had to be rebuilt from scratch at the kitchen table.In this episode, she joins Dee Dee to talk about whatneuroscience actually tells us about how children learn best, why the education research most schools rely on is deeply flawed, and how she’s found a way to hold two opposing philosophies — classical structure and child-led freedom — atthe same time.This one is for every parent who’s ever wondered: are weasking the right questions about how our kids learn?DISCLAIMER: Any reference to a 'husband' in this podcast refers to my long-term partner with whom I cohabitate. We are not legally married. This clarification is provided to ensure accuracy in any context where marital status may be relevant.Topics: Homeschooling | Classical Education | Unschooling| Child Development | Neuroscience | Learning | Principled Parenting

Dr. John Bender has been practicing primary care in Fort Collins for decades — and he's got a question for you: why do we budget thousands of dollars a year for our cars, but fight the insurance system for every dollar spent on the one body we'll ever have? In this episode, Dr. Bender breaks down the broken logic behind how most Americans use health insurance, makes a compelling case for Direct Primary Care (DPC), and pulls back the curtain on the hospital consolidation driving costs through the roof. Dr. Bender is CEO of Miramont Wellness Centers (Fort Collins & Parker, CO) and will be featured on Dr. Drew's platform on April 12th. You're hearing from him first.DISCLAIMER: Any reference to a 'husband' in this podcast refers to my long-term partner with whom I cohabitate. We are not legally married. This clarification is provided to ensure accuracy in any context where marital status may be relevant. Topics: Direct Primary Care | Health InsuranceReform | Hospital Monopolies | DPC in Colorado | Principled Living

From the outside, Pam Sherman’s life looks strong and successful.But beneath the surface is a story of survival, rebuilding, and resilience.This is one of the most powerful conversations I’ve had.Pam has offered her course, Love Yourself to Health | A 6-Lesson Audio Course, regularly $199, free to all of our viewers! Just enter code Love100 at checkout. Cheers to your health!https://pamsherman.com/shop/loveyourselfDISCLAIMER: Any reference to a 'husband' in this podcast refers to my long-term partner with whom I cohabitate. We are not legally married. This clarification is provided to ensure accuracy in any context where marital status may be relevant.

In Episode 2, I sit down with educator Priscilla Rahn to talk about the state of education — civil rights, classical education, teachers’ unions, and what it takes to restore excellence in American schools.In this conversation we discuss:The state of education in AmericaClassical education and why it’s growingThe role of teachers’ unionsCivil rights and education reformBecause when it comes to living a principled life, there is more than one way.DISCLAIMER: Any reference to a 'husband' in this podcast refers to my long-term partner with whom I cohabitate. We are not legally married. This clarification is provided to ensure accuracy in any context where marital status may be relevant.

This will be the only episode where it's just me. Before I ask others to share their stories, I want you to understand mine — and why this podcast matters to me.Yes, motherhood changed everything. But I lived a lot of life before that moment.I was raised by a mother whose strength still humbles me —working two and sometimes three jobs to keep a roof over our heads. I grew up with an alcoholic father…a relationship that led to years of estrangement. I attended eleven schools across three states before graduating from high school.Instability was familiar. Resilience had to be learned.I married young into a blue-collar, working-class family. My husband was the first in his family to attend college. We started with very little, and those early years were lean and uncertain. Through grit, sacrifice, and relentless determination, he built a business that transformed not just our lives, but the lives of his family, as well.That marriage did not last.My life has held scarcity and abundance. Stability and upheaval. Deep love and deep loss. Nothing about it has been simple, though it always felt charmed. But through every season, I held tight to my principles.This episode is about how and where those principles were forged — and why I believe there is more than one way to live them out.If you’re here for honest conversation, I’m glad you’re here.Before I ask others to share their stories, I want you to understand mine — and why this podcast matters to me.Yes, motherhood changed everything. But I lived a lot of life before that moment.I was raised by a mother whose strength still humbles me —working two and sometimes three jobs to keep a roof over our heads. I grew up with an alcoholic father…a relationship that led to years of estrangement. I attended eleven schools across three states before graduating from high school. Instability was familiar. Resilience had to be learned.I married young into a blue-collar, working-class family. My husband was the first in his family to attend college. We started with very little, and those early years were lean and uncertain. Through grit, sacrifice, and relentless determination, he built a business that transformed not just our lives, but the lives of his family, as well.That marriage did not last.My life has held scarcity and abundance. Stability and upheaval. Deep love and deep loss. Nothing about it has been simple, though it always felt charmed. But through every season, I held tight to my principles.This episode is about how and where those principles were forged — and why I believe there is more than one way to live them out.If you’re here for honest conversation, I’m glad you’re here.DISCLAIMER: Any reference to a 'husband' in this podcast refers to my long-term partner with whom I cohabitate. We are not legally married. This clarification is provided to ensure accuracy in any context where marital status may be relevant.

We were promised freedom.We got exhaustion.We were promised empowerment.We got anxiety.We were promised we could have it all —and then wondered why it still felt like something was missing.Here, I share why I’m questioning the story we were told about success, independence, and ambition — and choosing deeper conversations about motherhood, meaning, faith, doubt, and responsibility instead of slogans.Not every cultural script deserves our loyalty.