Monocycle With Leandra Medine

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #9 celebrates a communal anticipation of summer, buoyed by better times ahead.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #8 examines approaching an equilibrium in your daily routine that allows for your multitudes.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #7 follows an incident with Laura that summoned Leandra to map out her parenthood.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #6 ponders spring’s bestowal of new blooms, reminding us current times will also pass.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #5 navigates internal feelings of stress and anxiety while remaining conscious of your co-quarantiners.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #4 explores getting yourself unstuck from the quarantine hamster wheel.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #3 welcomes wholly embracing whatever feels right for you right now.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #2 enters a new quarantine phase that probes the question of who you are versus who you want to be.

Leandra presents her weekly dispatch from quarantine, in which she shares short form streams of consciousness from her time in self-isolation. Dispatch #1 grapples with finding balance while adjusting to a new pace.

Gucci commissioned 15 artists to create a series of pieces with images and copy that tell a story about the fragrance. Leandra chatted with three of them — Emma Allegretti, Joy Miessi and Amber Vittoria — about their process for a podcast episode which means [sweetly scented drumroll please]…Monocycle hath returned!!!!!! In partnership with Gucci.

Bozoma Saint John wears her flair on her sleeve: beads, rhinestones, gold accents; you name it, she's got it. As for the clothes, there is no color too bold, print too loud or silhouette too challenging for Uber's Chief Brand Officer to try. On traditional executive uniforms, she asks with genuine wonder in her voice, "Who made these rules, and why do we listen to them?" But there's more to Bozoma Saint John than the impressive way in which she carries herself, the seemingly effortless confidence that she holds and espouses, the degree to which she believes in herself and wants to be the best, do the best and perpetuate the best: She is also incredibly empathetic. You almost get the sense that she's lived multiple lives, and this is why, for whatever reason, when she speaks to you, it is almost like she is speaking directly to your soul. Please enjoy a very candid conversation in this week's episode of Monocycle. There's a bit of everything: advice for the grieving, a sound way to reconcile hardship, how sh

In this week’s episode of Monocycle, unofficially called Bicycle every time I have an interview subject, Karla Welch — celebrity stylist to the likes of Ruth Negga, Karlie Kloss, Justin Bieber, Olivia Wilde, Tracee Ellis Ross and so on and so forth — shares a number of important facts that are as revealing as they are sentimental. At one point, when I try to prod on how she manages burn out, she rejects my assertion that everyone experiences burn out, proclaims perennial gratefulness for her role in Hollywood (she is originally from Canada, and moved to L.A. not for work, but for love) and suggests that perhaps those who burn out don’t yet quite have strong enough relationships with themselves manufactured to perfection. “I never have FOMO because I like my own company,” she said. Enjoy a listen and should you feel so inclined, do too, buy a t-shirt from her remarkably successful collaboration with Hanes. Amelia gushed about them earlier this fall. I’m just going to say co-sign.

This week's episode of Monocycle is more like an episode of Bicycle because there are two stakeholders (wheels?) present in the conversation: myself and Lena Dunham. When I set out to interview her, I had a fairly strong sense of what we might talk about, like the evolution of Lenny Letter, life after Girls, New York vs. Los Angeles. What unfolded was a genuinely organic conversation about life, failing and succeeding and how similar they are, self esteem, family and love. While listening back to this episode, I realized it sounds less like a podcast recording and more like an intimate conversation, which, to me, is really the goal of an interview. I very much hope you enjoy the structure as we plan to continue rolling out various interviews over the course of the next couple of months. As always, any and all feedback is welcome, so sock it to me in the comment depository below. Happy birthday, btw!!! (What? It could be...)

Welcome back to Fridays with Monocycle. Today's episode is about purpose. I've talked about purpose before, but this time it's different. This time it's about how to identify it, why it's important, how you know when you've lost it and how to nurture it when it's back. I tried something different for this episode and wrote it out before I spoke it, so if I sound like I'm reading off a teleprompter, that's because I am. Can't wait to hear what you think!

Helloooooooooo ladies and gentlemen of the jury! How are you doing? How has your week been? Your month? Your quarter? Your whole damn year? Mine has been weird, which doesn't say much because I have concluded that weird is the least effective adjective one can use as an illuminating descriptor in the entire dictionary. It can mean anything, good or bad. How does this ice cream taste? "Weird." How are you feeling? "Weird." Do you see how by answering these questions I'm not answering them at all? If you are wondering whether I have lost it, the jig is up, I probably have. But I'm digressing. Man, I feel like a kid of 21, blogging into a computer with reckless abandon. Will THEY edit me? Will they not? It's been like, three days since I hit my finger tips to this keyboard and let the words flow out of my brain. It's also been like, days, since the words flowing out of my brain have sounded like anything more than BLOO BLEEP BLA BLING KRING TING LING SHANTI. (In case you didn't pick up on that, those words don'

You're probably wondering about what my ideal outfit is, right? But you would only know why I'm asking this question if you have started listening to the episode already. Before I continue forward with this intro, let me just explain said outfit: this kimono, these shorts, these shoes. Dress like a lady of leisure, but don't actually be one. That's my mantra for the summer of 2017. Glad that's out of the way! Now that we are engaged to be married, let me continue on topic: this week's episode of Monocycle is part of the theme of the month in that it's about what it's like to work with your best pal. When you think best pal, often you think of the women (or men!) you've known since they were girls (or boys!). The people you grew up with, or who you met in a social environment. While Amelia and I met in a work setting (we were interns together at the same start up in 2009), we became fast, personal friends. This process of burgeoning friendship was accelerated when she creepily booked a ticket to Paris and cam

Ask and ye shall receive! Following a special episode of The Chatroom with Drew Barrymore, which went live a few weeks ago after months and months of toiling with the expansive range of topics that were covered during our conversation in December, the longer-form podcast episode is here for your ear (plugs). If I'm being really honest, sitting down with Drew following a particularly tumultuous month was like Xanax for my soul -- there is an undeniable warmth about the way in which she looks at you (and into your soul, frankly), a true earnestness when she not just sympathizes but also empathizes with what you want to say, and you always get the sense, no matter what she's talking about, that it's coming from the heart. Have a listen and then nod in agreement as I say: We are all Josie Grossie. This episode of Monocycle was edited by Samara Breger. Logo illustration by Kelly Shami.

Holy candied nut! Can you believe we've approached the 50th episode of Monocycle? Some of them have been so stupid! Others have been regurgitations of articles that have gone up on Man Repeller (this was a test, which according to the last episode, is falling flat -- point noted!), but the majority, really, have been stream of consciousness monologues that I want to turn into dialogues because it can't be that all the thoughts I maintain are unique to just me, right? The thoughts I think, the feelings I feel...as different as we are, we're also the same. Joy is joy and grief is grief and as much as the latter sucks, it is also incredible that we have the capacity to show empathy or compassion to each other. This has nothing to do with the episode, by the way, which was recorded while I sat nearly-naked on a marble bathroom floor in Paris earlier this week. I was feeling SO BLUE and I'm not sure why (though honestly, my life has felt more like its on hold in a deep blue vacuum than anything else since pregnan

You might remember a dramatic meditation that I wrote, which essentially made the case to abandon the pursuit of becoming cool in exchange for simply accepting who I am. I read it back to myself after it went live and felt like it came off somewhat kumbaya. Originally, I wanted to write the story for the simple reason that it seems like people are aspiring towards this weird umbrella word (cool) that doesn't actually mean anything because it's so subjective and mutable, but once I got to sitting and writing and simultaneously thinking, it came out as something else. So this week's episode of Monocycle is a new way to critique my own mind (if you thought I couldn't get more vain, surprise!). It appraises a story I have written, agrees with the clauses that still hold subjectively true, corrects the ones that could have been misunderstood or just articulated more clearly (my mind is a windy road, and I'm sorry you're so regularly subject to the ride), considers the comments under the story (so often best and sm

This week's episode of Monocycle is a real doozy. It's the first time in a long time that I stuck my head into that sound booth without a clear idea of what I would say once I was in there. Then words started pouring out, words I can't even recall having uttered. Did I listen to this episode several times over the course of the editing process? Yes. Obviously. Do I remember a single damn thing I said? No. I think my eyes have been staring a large computer screen too closely for so long that it is impacting my memory cells. Is that an unfounded excuse? Absolutely. Will I stop asking questions only to answer them immediately? Maybe. The bottom line is this: our theme of the month is Ch-Ch-Changes, but it's not a Man Repeller theme without a dash of irreverence (I can't believe I just wrote that in women's interest glossy type, but I'm not going to delete it because, you know, it happens to the best of us) so when we resolved we'd change, what we meant was exactly by staying the same. The point of this isn't