Being Different with Liz Durham

Angie Lawless and I go way back. She was my co-host on a previous podcast before life got busy and we both went in completely different directions. But we made time to catch up again to talk about how she’s running for office in Nashville! So we sat down and talked through everything. How she got here, what finally pushed her to jump in, and what she’s actually seeing behind the scenes. We get into what campaigning actually looks like, what people in her district really care about, and why so much of politics feels disconnected from real life. We do not agree on everything, and we don’t try to pretend we do. But the conversation doesn’t fall apart because of that, which honestly feels rare nowadays. If you’ve ever wondered what it actually takes to run for office, or what’s happening behind the scenes of a campaign, this is a real look at it. Angie is the democratic candidate for TN State House 59 and Election Day is August 6th. Be sure to follow along with Angie on Instagram @angielawless4tn and support her campaign at angielawless.com. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

It’s just me today, and yes… we’re talking about homework again. But this time, I’m not just venting, I’m actually getting to the root of why it bothers me so much. Because I don’t think this is about worksheets or math pages. I think it’s about how we’re trying to force every kid into the same mold, and what happens when they don’t fit it. In this episode, I break down the difference between kids who thrive in structured, detail-oriented environments and the ones who are wired completely differently… the ones who need to move, build, explore, and learn in a way that doesn’t involve sitting still for eight hours a day. I talk about: andThis is me trying to put words to something a lot of kids feel but don’t know how to say. They’re not “problems.” They’re just different. And if we don’t start paying attention to that, we’re going to keep crushing the very traits that might matter most later in life. If you agree, disagree, or think I’m completely off here… I want to hear it. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

It’s just me today, and I’m saying something I know not everyone is going to agree with… kindergarteners should NOT have homework. I’ve been thinking a lot about how much structure, pressure, and constant direction kids are under now, starting earlier and earlier, and how little space is left for them to just be kids. To play, to be outside, to figure things out on their own without someone telling them what to do every second of the day. This isn’t about being anti-school or anti-teacher. It’s about asking whether we’ve pushed things too far, especially for five and six year olds. I also get into the idea that not all kids are wired the same. Some thrive in structured, sit-down environments while others don’t. And when we force all of them into the same box, especially after they’ve already been at school all day, it’s no surprise things start to break down at home. So this is me laying out my thoughts childhood, family time, and what we’re prioritizing… whether we realize it or not. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

Chris Woodruff is back, and this is where the conversation gets deeper. In Part 2, we pick up after his comeback from injury and get into what actually made him walk away from pro tennis, what it feels like when your identity is no longer tied to performance, and why the hardest part isn’t always the grind… it’s what comes after. We talk about burnout, regret, and the question a lot of high performers quietly wrestle with: what could have been if I stayed a little longer? Chris shares how his perspective has shifted over time, and why he’s now so focused on helping his players get everything out of themselves while they still can. We also get into parenting, screens, and raising kids in a world that looks nothing like the one he grew up in. From handwritten thank you notes to limiting phone use (for both kids and college athletes), Chris explains what he believes actually builds confident, grounded humans — not just successful ones. And then we go even bigger: faith, identity, and what it means to live a life that’s actually your own. This episode is about more than tennis. It’s about discipline, purpose, and having the courage to choose your own path, even when it’s harder. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

I sat down with my friend Chris Woodruff (“Woody” if you know my husband), Tennessee’s men’s tennis coach, former top U.S. junior, and a guy who went pro, lived out of dark hotel rooms in places you can’t pronounce, and clawed his way up the rankings the hard way. We talk about what childhood looked like before screens and everything being scheduled out for kids. Chris breaks down why playing one sport too early can backfire, why the youth tournament hamster wheel messes with kids’ heads, and what he thinks actually builds durable confidence. Then we get into the pro years: starting from zero with no ranking, the brutal loneliness of tennis, why “success” doesn’t feel like success when you’ve got 24 hours to do it again, and what it’s like to represent your country when your stomach is in your throat. And then we ran out of time... so yes, he’s coming back for Part 2. And we’re picking up right where we left off: injuries, comeback, the mental health side of being “the athlete,” and what happens when the whole thing ends and real life starts. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

This week I’m sitting down with one of my oldest friends, Zach Ivey, and we’re talking about hunting. Not as a hobby, but as a way of raising boys who can face real life without flinching. I didn’t grow up around hunters and honestly, I didn’t “get it.” For a long time I resented what hunting took away from families, but now that I have sons, my perspective has shifted. A lot. We talk about what ethical hunting actually looks like (and what unethical hunting looks like), why hunters fund conservation in ways most people don’t realize, and why wild turkeys literally wouldn’t exist today without hunters. We get into population control, respect for animals, what a “clean kill” really means, and why disassociating from death doesn’t make us more compassionate — it just makes us more comfortable. But the core of this conversation is this: If you’ve ever judged hunters, felt judged for hunting, or you’re raising boys and wondering how to teach them masculinity without turning it into something hollow or destructive, this episode will probably mess with your assumptions (in a good way). - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

This week on Being Different, it’s just me. I start by reflecting on emails from women who are overwhelmed, burnt out, and quietly drowning trying to balance work and motherhood. It took me back to a place I don’t love remembering: a time when I was exhausted, stretched thin, and trying to live up to a version of success that wasn’t actually working for my family. We talk about what I wish someone had told me at 18. About preparing our daughters differently. About not structuring your entire life around two incomes before you even know what motherhood will feel like. About why honesty with young women matters more than empowerment slogans. I also talk about the role of aunts, babysitters, and other women in shaping the next generation, and why cultural change might be more grassroots than political. And then I pivot. Because I’ve also reached a breaking point politically. I voted for Donald Trump three times. I defended him. But the handling of the Epstein files and the protection of powerful people has pushed me to a place I didn’t expect to land. This isn’t about party loyalty. It’s about children. And I can’t ignore that. This episode is about family, cultural lies, personal responsibility, and the uncomfortable realization that sometimes the systems we believed in don’t deserve our loyalty. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

What if the biggest lie women were sold isn’t “have it all” but “you can have it all at the same time”? This week, I had the pleasure of talking with my new friend, Kate Zepernick. She’s a Georgia Tech grad, former consulting high-achiever, and now a mom who’s lived the full arc. Full-time grind, “part-time” that wasn’t really part-time, strategic role changes, and eventually choosing to step away without losing herself. We talk about the stuff most women don’t like to say out loud, like why one kid feels hard but two kids changes everything, why the daycare conversation makes people so defensive, and why high-achieving women wait for permission to choose their families. We also get honest about what it feels like to lose the praise and identity that come with work, why the gray area between full-time work and staying home is real and underused, and the uncomfortable truth that many families don’t actually have real choice anymore. This conversation is for the woman who is tired, conflicted, quietly resentful of her job, but also scared of who she’ll be without it. If this conversation makes you feel seen and a little called out, good. That usually means you’re finally being honest with yourself. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

This week's solo episode is sort of a follow-up to what I talked about last week about the show Landman. I wanted to spend more time on the character Rebecca, because she represents the version of woman I spent years trying to become. High-powered, serious, competitive, in control. The kind of woman we’re told to admire if we want to be respected. What I didn’t see at the time was how much of that mindset I was bringing home with me, and how destructive it was to my marriage and my family. I talk about how being trained to compete like a man at work changed the way I related to my husband, how I turned into a control freak, and how I couldn’t turn that off once I became a mom. I wanted to believe I could just set boundaries but my work consistently came before my kids even though I hated that about myself. None of this is about saying women shouldn’t work or that ambition is bad, it’s about being honest with the reality of certain careers and personalities, and how pretending they don’t follow you home is a lie I believed for a long time. In the second half of the episode, I talk about the Epstein files, the work my friends Nick Bryant and Alicia Owen are doing with Epstein Justice, and what it’s been like to come to terms with how abuse, trafficking, and blackmail actually operate in the real world. Not in a sensational way, but in quiet, protected systems that don’t seem to face consequences. I’m honest about how much anger and disillusionment that brought up for me, especially when it comes to politics, power, and the people we’re taught to trust. This episode is me saying out loud what I wish I had understood earlier about success, power, family, and the trade-offs no one wants to talk about. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

This week on Being Different, it’s just me and a TV show I didn’t expect to mess with my head the way it did. My husband and I started watching Landman, and I found myself annoyed, intrigued, defensive, and—eventually—forced to look at myself. The way women are portrayed. The roles men and women fall into. The things we’re allowed to say out loud… and the things we’re definitely not. I talk through what the show made me question about femininity, marriage, effort, and something I’ve been pushed on for years but resisted until recently: tone. Not changing what I say, but how I say it, especially at home. There’s also a controversial college dorm storyline that hit on exactly where I think our culture is breaking down, and one moment in particular that surprised me in the best way. I don’t agree with everything the show is saying. But I do think it’s asking questions we’ve stopped letting ourselves ask. And this episode is me thinking through those questions in real time. If you’re left, right, feminist, not feminist, or just exhausted by the noise—this one’s probably going to hit a nerve. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

Something about the way we do school for children just isn’t working, so it's time to talk about it. This week, I sit down with Dr. Jack Talmadge, Head of School at Episcopal School of Knoxville, to talk candidly about education, play, and why so many kids struggle in environments that demand stillness, compliance, and constant performance. We talk about play-based and place-based learning, why movement actually helps kids focus, and how “sit still and listen” somehow became synonymous with being a good student. Jack shares his own experience growing up in a high-pressure academic environment, how an undiagnosed learning difference nearly crushed his confidence, and how one teacher changed everything. We also tackle: andThis isn’t about tearing education down or blaming teachers. It’s about being honest enough to admit that the system wasn’t built for every kid, and maybe it’s time we stopped acting like the kids are the problem. If you’ve got a story about education, or strong feelings about this conversation, message me on Instagram @beingdifferentwithlizdurham. I want to hear from you! - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

Lately, I’ve been thinking about peace and realizing how terrible I am at it. Christmas is supposed to be joyful, but I’m stressed out, overwhelmed, and turning into a version of myself I don’t even like. We’re obsessed with being busy and perfect, and it’s messing everything up. I caught myself being completely un-peaceful more times than I want to admit and had to call my own bullshit on it. So sorry, this episode isn’t some feel-good pep talk. It’s me being real about where I’m at, what I’m trying to unlearn, and why I’m done with chaos in 2026. That’s all. Merry Christmas! - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

If you haven't heard the first three conversations I recorded with Major General Terry “Max” Haston, go listen to those now! In Part 4 of my conversation with Major General Terry “Max” Haston, we pick up right where we left off: Pushing past the polite version of leadership and getting into the messy, uncomfortable truth. We talk about what really happens behind the scenes when someone climbs the ranks in the military… the jealousy, the backstabbing, the politics, and the weight of responsibility that nobody outside the uniform sees. Max opens up about becoming a general, losing friends in the process, and why firing people (even people he loved) broke his heart. Then we go straight into the topics everyone tiptoes around: Memphis. Chicago. Crime. National Guard deployments. Veterans. Homelessness. The VA system. Unions. Bureaucracy. What’s getting better, what’s getting worse, and what flat-out pisses us off. If you’ve been listening to Parts 1–3, you already know: Max doesn’t sugarcoat anything, and I’m not here to interrupt him with polite talking points. I’m here to ask the questions most people are too scared to ask, and he answers them with the honesty of someone who’s actually lived it. This conversation isn’t meant to change your mind, but it is meant to challenge your thinking. Take what resonates, question what doesn’t, and let’s get into it. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

It’s just me this week and I am here to admit a couple hard truths I’d rather not, but here we are. After skipping out on Career Day at Mac's school I realized I’ve somehow started to think that being “just a mom” isn’t enough, even though I get on this podcast all the time talking about how motherhood is literally the most important job out there. I’m also diving into the hilarious (and slightly alarming) differences between raising boys and girls especially now that Charlie has cracked the code to my phone and is basically a tiny fashion critic with zero filter. Her obsession with screens has me rethinking my own habits and relationship with screens. If you’re a mom who needs a reminder that what you do actually matters, or you just want to feel seen in the chaos this one’s for you. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

If you haven't heard the first two conversations I recorded with Major General Terry “Max” Haston, go listen to those now! In this third part of my conversation with Major General Terry “Max” Haston, we are not pulling punches. I’m done with surface-level takes and polite conversations. This episode gets into the real, uncomfortable truths about the U.S. military, global power, and what’s actually happening behind the headlines. Max shares stories that sound unreal, like hitting golf balls near Saddam’s courthouse, and then turns around and breaks down the current state of our military in a way that’s impossible to ignore. We get into the hard questions: Are we helping Ukraine or draining ourselves dry? Are China and Russia thinking ten steps ahead while we’re reacting to yesterday’s problems? And what happens when we place too much faith in technology and forget the basics of actual readiness? We talk Iraq, we talk global conflict strategy, we talk the threats most people don’t even know to fear, including what happens if we ever face a true EMP scenario. Max has been in the rooms where decisions get made. He’s seen it. He understands it. And he’s not sugarcoating a thing. If you want a sanitized, diplomatic conversation, this is not that episode. But, if you’re ready to hear what’s really going on in the world of modern warfare, buckle up. This might just change the way you see everything. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

This one’s probably going to ruffle some feathers, but when do they not? I want to revisit my earlier episode about why we chose not to do my son’s summer packet and clarify what I actually meant. It’s not about being anti-school. It’s about kids being kids, following their interests, and parents having a real voice in their child’s education. I’m sharing what happened after that episode aired, including my meeting with my child's school, why I stand by what I said (yes, including the F word), and why I think the conversation around parental partnership, school policies, and childhood itself has gotten so messy. If you’re a teacher, administrator, or parent, I would LOVE to actually talk about this. Let’s stop being afraid of disagreement and start having real conversations again. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

If you haven’t listened to part one of this conversation, do that now! In this second part of my conversation with Major General Terry “Max” Haston, I sit down ready to ask the questions most people tiptoe around. I’ve always believed you can support the troops and still challenge the story we’ve been told about military service, and Max meets me there with honesty, grit, and zero sugarcoating. We get into what deployment really feels like and Max breaks down what it’s like to bounce between war zones and everyday civilian life. He shares about the pressure of leading people who depend on you, and the hard truth that budgeting and bureaucracy can shape missions just as much as bravery does. What struck me most is the way he talks about leadership. Hearing him describe the resilience it takes to train, deploy, adapt, and still come home standing hits a lot deeper than the patriotic slogans we’re all used to. If you’ve ever questioned the narrative, wondered what service actually demands of a person, or wanted to understand the human being inside the uniform, this episode is where that conversation starts. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

In part one of my conversation with Major General Terry “Max” Haston, we go back to where it all began. Max grew up in small-town Middle Tennessee, surrounded by family, faith, and a deep sense of duty. He opens up about what life was like in the 1970s, how the Vietnam War shaped his generation, and what drew him to ROTC and a lifetime of service. What struck me most was how clear his purpose was, even early on. From those small beginnings to his first military assignments, you can see the through line of integrity, courage, and commitment that defines his leadership today. If you’ve ever wondered what true service looks like, or how a leader is shaped long before the uniform, this conversation will stick with you. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

This week I sit down with Michelle Compton, one of the most impactful teachers in my kids’ lives, for a conversation every parent needs to hear. Michelle opens up about her journey from public schools to private education, the mentors who shaped her, and why she believes childhood should be full of curiosity, play, and joy. We talk about what’s broken in our schools, from standardized testing to one-size-fits-all curriculums, and how she’s built a classroom that looks and feels completely different. Michelle shares how Reggio Emilia, inquiry-based learning, and maker spaces are transforming the way kids engage and grow. If you’ve ever questioned the system or wondered what education could look like when kids (not tests) come first, this episode will challenge and inspire you. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production

Ya'll...I’ve been in a funk. No sleep, kids in my bed, the AC went out, I quit breastfeeding, and somehow those last 10–12 pounds are still hanging on no matter how hard I work. I’m frustrated, I’m tired, and I’m just talking it out. I also get into why I tossed my son’s summer packet in the trash and what we did instead. I know the school system has its reasons, but I want my kids to love learning, not just check boxes. If you’re feeling stuck, tired, or annoyed with the way things are “supposed” to be done, you’re not alone. - - - - - - - - - - - Liz Durham Instagram | Website Subscribe Apple Podcast | Spotify Being Different with Liz Durham is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production