In trying to fix the cholera and dysentery epidemics in Bangladesh in the 1970s, the country dug 10 million wells—only to discover that most of those wells were producing arsenic-laced water. Social problems can be complex, and we don’t want to make them worse. Jill Piacitelli from the Ballard Center tells us that “killing our darlings” is an important step to helping. Brent Crane from the Food and Care Coalition shares a story about the power of collaboration. And Tawna Fowler and Brett Caywood from Rising Star Outreach show us how to put our mission above our egos to do what actually helps.

How do you make a difference in the world when you're low on time and money? Lisa and The Council of Moms (Emilie Campbell, Brandalee Bluth Streeter, and Gina James) discuss how to lift where you stand, what kind of language to use with your kids when explain difficult situations in the world, and what it looks like to have actionable compassion.

75 years ago, parents faced a deadly threat to their children which, today, most people never have to think about. Lisa and Aaron Miller dive behind the scenes of the March of Dimes, an effort fueled by ordinary people who collectively changed the world and saved millions of lives. Bethany Brady Spalding shares the movement in her community that stemmed from a conversation with her kindergartener about candy. Lisa identifies six different types of helpers (because who doesn't love a personality test) and ordinary people making an extraordinary impact in the world around them.

Whether our kids are two or twenty-two, conflict is a normal part of family life. How do we make sure our relationships of love grow through these inevitable clashes, especially for kids? Lisa, Marlie, Kylie, and Brandalee explore the way conflict shows up in different stages of life, and in various scenarios-- in blended families, between spouses when kids are listening in, and with kids in the middle of those developmentally appropriate (but still awkward) transitions into higher autonomy and self-discovery.

Have you ever avoided eye contact with someone holding a cardboard sign? Or felt a twinge as you skipped a YouTube ad asking for charitable donations? Help is needed everywhere, and good people want to help. But those good intentions can quickly turn to paralysis, overwhelm, and a lingering sense of shame for not "doing more." Meanwhile, experts in helping (that's a real thing!) know that making the world a better place isn't compatible with shame. Lisa tours The Other Side Academy to learn how a few individuals regularly beat the odds and make an extraordinary impact in their community. Aaron Miller from the Ballard Center for Social Impact shares how falling in love with a problem holds the key to transforming that old, familiar, paralyzing guilt into hope, and how anyone can empower themselves to make a difference in the world by making a switch: from doomscrolling to doing good better.

Do you ever see your teenager making bad choices, and you have to grit your teeth to keep from saying something? We don’t want to be helicopter moms, but we also don’t want our kids to ruin their lives. As parents, it can be a tricky balance to let our kids fail and learn from their mistakes while keeping them out of serious trouble. Lisa joins Lindsay Clark, Amy Sunderland, and Cassie Barger for a Council of Moms about when to let our children mess up and when to intervene.

Lisa sits down with Scott Martin, who shares his journey redefining himself and finding purpose after a dramatic illness reduced his mobility and upended his life. They discuss the courage to start over, what resilience looks like, and how to learn from various kinds of new beginnings in life.

How do I get my spouse to help out around the house more? How do I manage my kids better? The answer is connection! Join Lisa and guests Heather Frazier, Lavonne Wells, and Melanie Call as they discuss how to better connect with your children and spouse, as well as how to take personal responsibility for that connection.

Join Lisa for a candid conversation about sacrifice, gratitude, and reshaping family visions when life's path takes unexpected turns. Our special guests Sanjay and Rahul from the Area 51 podcast share a laughter-filled perspective on navigating the challenges of immigration. 

The eternal, unavoidable struggle of parenting: after planning out a week of meals, making sure they're nutritious, finding foods that the kids will like, grocery shopping, and mustering the energy every day to actually make those meals, the end of the week rolls around and we have to start all over again. How do we keep up? How do we keep pushing the boulder of feeding a family up the hill week after week, especially if we don't particularly love cooking in the first place? In this episode of The Lisa Show's Council of Moms, Lisa is joined by friends and fellow moms Amy Gifford, Clarissa Greenwalt, and Cassie Barger to talk about their advice and experiences.

Entering a marriage with kids on one or both sides can be a scary and difficult thing. How does one go about it anyway? Turns out a little bit of support, communication, and understanding can go a long way. In this episode Brittney Phillips shares her story of how she blended her family following her marriage, and all the pains, complexities, and joys that came with it.