Village Voice

About Village Voice

Village Voice is a podcast for anyone done with toxic positivity BS & ready to hear their real voice again. This isn’t self-help. It’s an honest conversation on how to trust yourself and stop gaslighting yourself. Hosted by Alli Gatlin • The Menace of Clarity, writer, strategist, chaos interpreter, this show lives in the messy middle. Identity, burnout, belief, grief, creativity, and the moments that quietly change everything. alligatlin.substack.com (https://alligatlin.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Host: Alli G.

Category

education · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

27 Dec 2025

Latest episode

7 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

18 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   7 Sept 2026

   CAN YOU STAY IN IT LONG ENOUGH TO TASTE IT?

   What A Savory Fucking Sunday Well. I enjoyed my time writing about this moment so deeply that I started recording myself yapping more of the same and accidentally made a mini podcast episode. And apparently I was so darn present that I failed to notice my phone was at 1%. It died. While saving this bad boy, and you know I’m a no script, one take, and upload kinda gal So…DID it survive a recharge mid-save? Ehhhh… kinda. **THE SIPS CAUGHT A CASE OF THE YIPS ** It’s a lil glitchy, and damn Cosmic chaos hit me heavy on the nose in annoyingly accurate way with this topic the first place. P.s. wrote and recorded this Early early morning… And then the power went out randomly for a bit sooo squeeze in what you can for this sneaky Sunday Drop. Anyhoooo… I’ve Declared it to be… a Savory Sunday. No, you don’t have to eat savory snacks. But… if ya want to… do you, boo-boo. To be and to REALLLLY Savore something… YES Please, I am choosing to savore and be savored with so much more intention. Time travel with me for a sec. Lets play a lil game of just the Sip… (Bettin’ I know what popped to mind…) you dirty dirty bird 🐦⬛ this is not that! Well for starters in this game everyone wins. Ok ok, back to that sip, lock in. Think about that very first bite of your favorite snack. Or that first sip where you’re like, *holy shit, that’s my shit! * You have that shockwave second and you genuinely and/or curiously only cared about savoring what you were experiencing. I can feel my whole body and soul relive the exact moment my son and I made tortillas together and he was so excited that he’d made them with me enough times that THIS ONE, This batch would be PERFECT. I savored him inviting me into being so proud and eager to taste his perfect batch I did slip into thinking about the future and snagged a couple of boomerangs while he was rolling away. But damn it, it was too fucking perfect not to sneak a piece for me to cherish. And I’m glad I did… you’ll find a savor:cherish balance that works for you. But to the sip, no cliffhangers. A PERFECT BATCH… WAS HE RIGHT? yup… Hot off the stove we went back and forth rolling+cooking+Each one got tastier. Scarfing them up faster than we could cook em’… THEY WERE DAMN GOOD. I can still physically feel myself standing at the stove, and can still feel the crunch of Maldonado’s sea salt in between my fingers on the one’s we got fancy and put a lil butter and the the flaky sea salt + perfect about of butter + hot perfectly soft tortillas. IT WAS DECADENT. Obviously this moment meant so much to me see if ya can just get a lil sip of a moment you still feel. Whatever it is for you. That moment. That’s how you savor something. So lock in that energy. Find that vibe. And I’m realizing my vibe right now might just be that I need a snack. Sometimes a snack needs a snack too. Anyway. Life shows up and you don’t know what it’s bringing you until you’re really in it. But you have to really BE in it. One of my favorite lessons has been knowing that you don’t get to truly know JOY until you’re passionately engulfed in what joy is. You have to actually be in it to feel it. Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually. Whatever makes you the “You-est” you… Be that. Don’t get so lost in the sauce of what happened yesterday. Or tomorrow. Where are you right now? You need to really be there to savor that shit. So I DOUBLE DOG DARE you. And you know the law. You cannot break a double dog dare. I’m not even asking you to write anything down. It doesn’t have to become some all-day mindfulness practice. You don’t have to turn it into another fucking thing you’re supposed to accomplish correctly. JUST SAVOR SOMETHING, DAMN IT Notice the little moments. Sit. Notice. Be there. And it’s okay if you get some weird ones. But I bet you’re gonna have a couple good ones too. And if things have been rough - I know mine have been - you can savor the shit moments too. All of them. Even true heartbreak. You can savor the depth and range of the way you’re able to feel something all the way through you. And let it move you. That’s a fucking remarkable gift. To be so deeply in something that it hurts. Or feels weird. Or feels beautiful. Or all the things. You can savor all the stuff. Just like all the snacks. The good sips, weird sips and ones you wouldn’t order again. You can always savor that sweet moment too. A little sweet treat. There’s no requirement that savoring means pretending everything tastes good. It’s being there long enough to actually taste it. So that’s it. Just a sip. Savor something today. And if you find a moment worth sharing, tell me about it. I’d love to be invited to enjoy the savory moments of your life too. Don’t just think about it. Be in it. Go get savory. Until next time Love Bucket, Alli Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

2. 

   3 Sept 2026

   WHAT’S THE NEXT BEST THING WHEN I CAN’T FIX YESTERDAY?

   When my internal design and external life stop recognizing each other. Have I ever looked back at something I said, did, or decided and thought: Yeah… that doesn’t fucking feel like me. In this episode of The Village Voice Podcast, I get personal about what happens when the person I know myself to be internally and the person showing up externally suddenly don’t seem to know each other. After sharing a difficult season of my own life during a recent Village Speakeasy (https://www.skool.com/identitywritten/about), I realized something uncomfortable: knowing my values, teaching self-trust, and understanding my patterns doesn’t magically make me immune to being a human who occasionally hands the damn car keys to fear. And unfortunately, I still haven’t figured out time travel. So what do I do when I can’t fix yesterday? I choose the next best thing. This episode explores the gap between internal design and external alignment—the moments when temporary emotions start making permanent decisions, fear disguises itself as anger, and reactions take over before the version of me I actually respect gets a vote. Because accountability isn’t sitting around wishing I’d behaved differently. It’s asking: What can I do today that tomorrow-me will respect? IN THIS EPISODE * What happens when my internal self and external actions stop recognizing each other * We all get to hear me get stuck on stupid, stutter, and sound wonky as hell * How I can own my shit without turning accountability into shame * Why temporary feelings shouldn’t get permanent decision-making power * The difference between letting feelings move me in a moment and letting them become the entire movement * How anger, fear, overwhelm, and other emotions can mask what’s actually happening underneath * Why asking “What else could be true?” can interrupt a knee-jerk reaction * How radical curiosity means becoming willing, and even excited, to discover I was wrong * Why self-trust doesn’t mean I always make the right decision * How I can use my internal design… my values, beliefs, voice, and identity… as a compass * How burnout, stress, or exhaustion can pull my external life away from who I actually am * How one unexpected conversation led me to the idea of Internal Design + External Alignment * How I can choose the next best thing when yesterday can’t be changed * How I use the Write Ugly Method™ to get the unedited shit out of my head long enough to actually look at it QUESTIONS: What else could be true? What would I choose if fear wasn’t driving? What’s the next best thing I can do today that I’ll respect myself for tomorrow? TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - When my internal self and external self don’t recognize each other00:51 - Welcome to The Village Voice—identity, writing, chaos, and clarity01:49 - Sex, magick, self-trust, and getting vulnerable during the Village Speakeasy02:59 - When temporary feelings create actions that don’t match my internal design03:57 - I can’t fix yesterday—so what’s the next best thing?04:46 - The unexpected conversation that reminded me why this work matters05:15 - I’m supposed to be who I actually am05:52 - The birth of Internal Design + External Alignment06:52 - Making choices tomorrow-me can respect07:47 - Unmasking emotions: when anger might actually be fear08:37 - Letting feelings move me in a moment—without letting them become the movement09:17 - Radical curiosity and the power of asking, “What else could be true?”10:16 - Why fear shouldn’t drive the damn car11:30 - Burnout, exhaustion, and asking whether my life still feels like me12:57 - Even identity coaches screw up—accountability without shame13:26 - The question: What’s the next best thing I can do today?13:57 - Writing Ugly, asking harder questions, and showing up as myself TODAYS WRITE UGLY PROMPT (https://skool.com/identitywritten/plans) press pause for two minutes. don’t fix it.don’t make it pretty.don’t explain myself into innocence. Write Ugly and ask: Where have my recent actions stopped matching the person I know myself to be? Then: What else could be true? And finally: What’s one thing I can do today that tomorrow-me will look back at and say, “Fuck yeah. That was me.” I can’t rewrite yesterday. But I’m holding the pen today. Until next time LoveBuckets, Alli P.s. GO NOW! I mean it right now, follow the amazing fella I’m working with, Joshua Lindsey (https://286ae8bc.click.kit-mail3.com/4zurgow55xuehp7wk8gbxh63ld4wzc5h4nl32/dpheh0hepqxn39hmh4/aHR0cHM6Ly9qb3NodWFsaW5kc2V5LnN1YnN0YWNrLmNvbS8=) Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

3. 

   11 Aug 2026

   Before You Spiral, Draw a Circle

   One weird text. One strange tone. One conversation that lands funny. And suddenly your brain has opened an investigation, hired a staff, and decided every fear, assumption, possibility, and old story deserves the same little name tag: FACT. In this episode of The Village Voice, I’m talking about where my Circle Audits came from, why telling an overthinker to “stop overthinking” is basically useless, and what happens when we start sorting our thoughts instead of automatically believing all of them. This is Part Zero of a new five-part series, The Circles We Get Lost In, where we’ll get into: Overthinking.Closure.Ownership.Identity.Self-Trust. Because sometimes the problem isn’t that we need to think less. We need to figure out what the hell we’re actually thinking. What do I know? What am I inventing? What can I clarify? What belongs to me? And what have I been carrying around that was never mine in the first place? Last week, I talked about doing the next best thing when you don’t have all the answers. This week, my next best thing was apparently to draw a fucking circle. Sometimes clarity starts there. READ THE SERIES (https://substack.com/@alligatlin/note/c-312302661?r=6r8clp&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action) The Circles We Get Lost In - Part Zerohttps://open.substack.com/pub/alligatlin/p/the-circles-we-get-lost-in JOIN THE VILLAGE (https://skool.com/identitywritten/about) Writing Identity: The Village is where we actually work with this stuff - the Circle Audits, The Write Ugly Method™, identity shifts, overthinking, messy decisions, self-trust, and learning how to hear your own damn voice through all the noise. I’m Alli Gatlin - writer, strategist, creator of The Write Ugly Method™, and your Menace of Clarity. Thanks for hanging out, love buckets. 🖤 Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

4. 

   1 Aug 2026

   Your Voice Still Matters Before You Have the Answers

   Sometimes life expands in one direction while cracking open in another. You can be proud of what you’re building, excited about what’s coming, and still feel like your favorite pair of socks just stepped directly into a raw egg on the kitchen floor. That’s the metronome. Joy and grief. Momentum and collapse. Certainty and confusion. All showing up before lunch like they coordinated calendars. ABOUT THIS EPISODE In this episode of The Village Voice, I’m talking about what happens when you’re stuck in a period of waiting without answers. Why I disappeared for a little while. Why I thought I had to come back healed, articulate, and carrying some respectable lesson from the wreckage. And why I’m learning that our voices don’t suddenly become valuable only after we survive something and write a clean little report about it. Sometimes we’re still inside the damn thing. Sometimes clarity hasn’t arrived yet. Sometimes the most honest thing we can do is stop pretending we know how the story ends. COME SIT WITH US INSIDE THE VILLAGE If this episode felt familiar, this is exactly the kind of conversation we make room for inside The Written Identity Village. It’s for people who are tired of performing “fine.” People who overthink every decision, second-guess their own voice, and keep trying to solve themselves like they’re a broken appliance with a missing instruction manual. Inside The Village, we write through the noise. We untangle what happened from what fear says it means. We practice hearing our own damn voice again. No polished healing performance required. Join The Written Identity Village here: IN THIS EPISODE * Why waiting can make your identity feel unsteady * The strange reality of grief and growth happening at the same time * The pressure to perform certainty when you don’t have answers * Why your voice still matters while you’re inside the experience * What “the next best thing” can actually look like on a hard day A SMALL INVITATION Before you move on with your day, ask yourself: What is the next honest thing I can do? Not the perfect thing. Not the most impressive thing. Not the move that proves you’re handling everything beautifully. Just the next honest thing. Maybe it’s resting. Maybe it’s sending the message. Maybe it’s admitting you don’t know. Maybe it’s feeding yourself, taking a shower, or getting through the next ten minutes without demanding that your whole future explain itself. THE WORK CONTINUES INSIDE THE VILLAGE This episode doesn’t need to end when the audio stops. Bring the question into The Written Identity Village and write through it with us: What are you waiting for an answer about, and what can you still choose while you wait? You don’t need the polished version. You don’t need the lesson. Bring the cracked egg. Bring the wet socks. Bring the part of the story that still doesn’t know what the hell it means. Join us here: LEAVE ME A NOTE After you listen, tell me: What’s your next best thing today? And if you’ve got a little encouragement to spare, I could use that too. I missed you. I missed the microphone. And I’m glad we’re back here together. Love you, Love Buckets. Alli Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

5. 

   6 Jun 2026

   Can We Just BE HUMAN AGAIN?

   CAN WE JUST BE HUMAN AGAIN? And Is Healing Becoming Your Full-Time Job? | Village Voice Podcast with Alli G You can be deeply self-aware and still completely exhausted. In this episode of Village Voice, Alli G unpacks the weird reality of modern healing culture: burnout disguised as productivity, self-awareness turned into performance, and the pressure to become an “optimized” human before you’re allowed to simply rest. This is a conversation about emotional exhaustion, survival mode, over-functioning, and the quiet ways people abandon themselves while still looking successful on the outside. This Episode Is For You If… You’re emotionally exhausted but still highly functional You feel guilty resting You’ve consumed all the self-help content and still feel overwhelmed You’re tired of performing healing instead of actually living You want honesty more than optimization What’s happening In This Episode Why burnout often hides behind high-functioning behavior The problem with turning healing into performance art How self-help culture became another exhausting job The emotional cost of always being “regulated” Why rest is not something you earn The pressure to package your pain into content The difference between healing and over-analyzing yourself Letting yourself be human before becoming “better” And yes, Alli aggressively recommends taking a nap. Today’s Favorite Lines “You can explain every attachment theory and still feel like a drunk raccoon fighting for its life in a Waffle House parking lot.” “Rest is not a trophy.” “Sometimes a bad week is just a bad week.” “Healing became another performance.” “You’re allowed to be human before you become a better one.” Links, References & Sponsors Published Article (https://open.substack.com/pub/alligatlin/p/is-your-healing-era-turning-into?r=6r8clp&utm_medium=ios) Online Writers Village: The Written Identity (https://skool.com/identitywritten/about) Sugar-free Red Bull (still awaiting sponsorship) Social Media Find @alligatlin on: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/alligatlin)• Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/alligatlin?mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr) • Threads (https://www.threads.com/@alligatlin) • Skool (https://www.skool.com/@alligatlin?g=identitywritten) YouTube (https://youtube.com/@alligatlin) • LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alligatlinconsults/) Final Reminder Stop trying to earn rest. Drink water.Eat something.Touch grass.Take the nap. And stay radically curious.more importantly … stay fucking human. — Alli G Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

6. 

   29 May 2026

   Name it Don’t Shame it

   VILLAGE VOICE PODCAST Fuck Shit Up Friday: Grace for the Mid Versions of Ourselves This episode is a caffeine-fueled reminder that being human is messy as hell. We talk shame, bad choices, emotional spirals, and the difference between accountability and turning yourself into a permanent crime scene over one rough moment. Inside this Friday note from the Village: “name it, don’t shame it” giving yourself grace without dodging responsibility surviving the painfully mid days and why trying again still counts Also:George Michael gets accidentally involved.There’s chaos.There’s yelling.There’s emotional support for exhausted people. If your brain’s been chewing on guilt lately, this one’s for you. Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

7. 

   19 May 2026

   Find Your Fucking Giggle Again

   I disappeared for a minute because, honestly?I’ve been pissed off. Not in a dramatic “burn my life down” kind of way. More like… disappointed. Tired. Watching people slowly lose their ability to hold nuance, humor, softness, contradiction … all of it. Everybody’s either performing enlightenment or performing outrage, and somewhere in the middle we forgot how to just be people together. VILLAGE VOICE PODCAST - Alli Gatlin | Home of the The Written Identity a reader-supported publication. This episode is basically me climbing onto the metaphorical kitchen counter to remind you that you are allowed to laugh while your life is hard. In fact, I think you need to. We talk about: * Why whimsy matters more than people think * The difference between reacting and actually living * How confusion should lead to curiosity instead of panic * Why being “more than one thing” is actually the point * Tiny moments that reconnect you to yourself * The nervous system benefits of laughter, presence, and play * Why I think some of y’all take “chess not checkers” way too seriously * Dirt patches, watering cans, grocery carts, Fran Drescher, and existential clarity * The fact that joy and grief are not opposites … they’re rhythm I also go on several side quests.Respectfully. This one feels like sitting on the floor with me while I rant, philosophize, and accidentally yell motivational things at you like a loving menace, yup that’s the most honest version of this podcast. If you’ve been exhausted by the heaviness of the internet, the pressure to optimize yourself into a productivity robot, or the feeling that everyone forgot how to giggle… this episode’s for you. Yelling with so much love-Alli G. NOW! Go find your fucking whimsy again… play some checkers, frolic in a mud pit, commit to the bit, get flirty with being a little feral. UNTIL THE NEXT CHAT LOVE BUCKETS 🖤 always yours, The Menace of Mischief, Chaos & Clarity. P.S. Put the whim back in whimsy and enjoy that cinematic masterpiece mentioned in the episode HERE (https://youtube.com/shorts/HDbhqpu-vuQ?si=A2ATbn-Bf6rkD5yn) Somebody in your life needs a little more whimsy and a little less existential doom. Share so they know they can have both. Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

8. 

   21 Apr 2026

   When Self Reflection Becomes Self Sabotage

   I’m baaaaackkkkkk. Took a couple weeks off, damn I sure needed it, and my goodness I missed this. So we’re not easing in. We’re going straight into it. Shame. How many of us have some…. By the way it’s your favorite blind authors birthday week, which always puts me in reflection mode. Looking back at the year, everything I did, everything I didn’t do, all of it. And it’s wild how fast that turns into thinking about everything I should’ve done better. Not the wins. Not the growth. Just the moments where I dropped the ball. Here’s the problem. Sitting there replaying it over and over feels like reflection, but it’s not. It’s just me being a jerk for no reason. I’m not fixing anything. I’m keeping a blend of shame and maybe even a little procrastination pity medley alive. Ew, I’m going to pinky promise not to keep falling for it. Hope you do too. Yeah, there are things I could’ve done better. That’s true. I avoided some things. I didn’t show up the way I could have in certain moments. But dragging myself for it doesn’t do anything. The only thing that actually matters is this. I didn’t know then what I know now. That’s it. Not that I was worse. Not that I wasn’t enough. I just didn’t have the version of myself I have now. So of course I’d do things differently. What doesn’t make sense is expecting past me to have the clarity I have now. And yeah, there are things I wish I handled differently. But also, look at what did happen. Six months of Written Identity. Over 200 people inside the Village. Amazing people showing up all over the world. Skipping over that just because some shame goblin wants to focus on what went wrong. Nahh Own the things you already know are true. I didn’t show up the way I could have. I avoided that. Pretending things were comfortable when I knew better. I also did amazing things. So I dare you to write at least one uncomfortable true sentence, then let it be just that, information without shame. Write it - or - just say it. No overthinking it. A couple honest words. No turning it into something bigger than it is. Allow yourself to move forward as the current version of you and keep going. Next episode we’re getting into boundaries. Because a lot of this comes back to what you didn’t say, what you didn’t hold, and then you end up replaying it later. Thanks for hanging in there as I shake the dust of my microphone, can’t wait to chat again soon. -Alli G. Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

9. 

   8 Mar 2026

   You Don’t Fear Failure.

   Can we call it for what it is? Let’s talk about the fallacy we keep lying about… that “fear of failure… “ “I’d try the thing but I’m scared of failing.” “I’m just a perfectionist.” “Maybe later.” Sounds reasonable. Polite. But we are old enough and getting better at having real convos so I’m lovingly calling bullshit today. Most of the time it isn’t fear of failure at all. It’s fear of what happens if something actually works. That part people don’t want to say out loud. Trying something real forces you to confront yourself. If you try and it works… suddenly you don’t get to hide behind the version of you that “almost did it.” And if it doesn’t work? maybe it’s time to test that story. You might just be afraid of what happens if you actually show up. If you want a place to explore that with other people doing the same messy work, come join us in The Written Identity (https://skool.com/identitywritten/about) it’s our Village. The door’s open. Just one house rule. Don’t be a dick. Chat soon love buckets, Alli🖤 Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

10. 

    26 Feb 2026

    Is the Loudest Voice in Your Head a Hater?

    Here’s the truth: That critical voice? It’s not you. It’s an impersonator you’ve listened to for so long that it started sounding real. Inside this episode: I share a joke that somehow turns into a sharp breakdown of anxiety, identity, and the voice in your head that keeps trying to sabotage your momentum. Why self-doubt feels convincing (and why it’s not) How internalized criticism becomes your “normal” The difference between reflection and self-bullying A simple way to separate your real voice from the hater How humor can dismantle fear faster than force If you’ve ever: • Second-guessed yourself • Talked yourself out of something bold • Felt like your own biggest critic You don’t need to silence your thoughts. Only the ones that aren’t yours. Commit to the bit. Til next time love buckets. 🖤Love Alli Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

11. 

    22 Feb 2026

    Silence Isn’t Disappearing

    Presence isn’t the same as connection. I reread an old essay called You Forgot About Me. It’s about the quiet moment when your life clears its throat and reminds you that you’ve been living in the glow too long. Not burnout. Not disappearing. Just recalibrating. Silence isn’t a threat. Sometimes it’s rehab. If you’ve been running on airplane mode, this one’s for you. Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

12. 

    12 Feb 2026

    Blinded with Insecurity

    🎙 Blinded with Insecurity In this episode of Village Voice, I read an essay I memorized… because I’m blind and I can’t visually read my own formatting. Essay- “The Words I’ll Never Read.” What I Cover What it’s like building a writing platform without sight Navigating Substack by sound instead of vision The irony of coaching writers while using assistive technology Why trying to “fix” insecurity can actually reinforce it Choosing permission over perfection I talk about what it’s like publishing in a visually curated world when you can’t see the layout. For a long time, I thought insecurity was something I needed to overcome. Now I’m questioning that. Because I can’t remove my blindness. But I can remove the shame around it. This episode is about permission. Continue the Conversation inside The Written Identity (https://skool.com/identitywritten/about) A Question I’m Sitting With What insecurity are you constantly trying to improve… instead of just allowing? What if you gave yourself permission instead of pressure? Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

13. 

    9 Feb 2026

    The Violence I Carried was Never Mine

    The Violence I Carried Was Never Mine is a reflection on surviving childhood abuse, the invisible inheritance of an abuser’s voice, and the quiet, unglamorous courage it takes to unlearn what was never yours to hold. This is not a story about rage or revenge. It’s about recognizing how survival habits turn into identity, and how reclaiming your voice often happens in small, ordinary choices no one applauds. This episode is an offering. A setting down. A reminder that what shaped you does not get to define you. This episode includes references to: Childhood abuse Attempted murder Incarceration of a parent Trauma, dissociation, and survival responses Please listen with care and take breaks as needed. Note from Alli If this episode stirred something in you If you recognized an old voice, a familiar shrinking, a silence you learned early You are not weak for carrying it. You are brave for noticing it. And if you’re not ready to speak yet, you’re allowed to borrow my voice until you are. You are not alone anymore. Listener Reminder You don’t need to share this story to earn your healing. You don’t need to justify your pain to release it. And you don’t need to rush yourself into being “over it.” Quiet courage counts. Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

14. 

    15 Jan 2026

    THE WOMAN I WAS NOT RAISED TO BE

    Some of us weren’t raised to become ourselves, we were raised to be manageable. Quiet. Small. This Village Voice essay is a raw return to truth: burning the survival costume, reclaiming instinct, and choosing the real you. Written & Read by Alli Gatlin THE WOMAN I WAS NOT RAISED TO BE I was not built by the people who were supposed to shape me. Built in the wreckage of everything they broke. I was not raised to be this version. I was molded to survive. To stay quiet. Raised to make myself small so other people could stay comfortable. To ignore my own instincts and call it humility. Raised to disappear. Who I am today is the woman who crawled out of that. I used to move through the world like I was haunting my own life. Present, but not alive. Smiling while numb. Agreeing while unsettled. Shrinking while screaming internally. I learned how to be palatable before I ever learned how to be honest. That was never my real identity. That was survival wearing a mask. The woman I am today had to claw her way out of the person I was taught to be. I burned the costume. I dug through years of silence and found a voice that had dust on it but still worked. I stopped performing strength so other people could stay fragile. I stopped letting fear dress up as loyalty. I stopped being the safest place for people who were never safe for me. Who I am today is someone who writes the truth even when it shakes my hands. Someone who protects the girl inside me who spent years unprotected. Someone who finally learned that clarity is not soft. Clarity cuts away the lies you inherited. I am someone who sits with the rage I used to swallow. Someone who feels the grief I used to bury. Someone who knows healing is not beautiful. It is excavation. It is dirty and real and not meant to impress anyone. I do not care about being inspirational. I care about being alive. I care about helping people stop sleepwalking through their own lives. I care about teaching people to hear themselves after years of silencing their instincts. If you are here, you are not looking for a perfect person to follow. You are looking for someone who tells the truth you have been avoiding. You are looking for someone who speaks in a language your body remembers. You are looking for permission to stop pretending. Here it is. The woman I am today is the most honest I have ever been. The most awake. The most myself. I want you to meet the version of you that you were not raised to be either. Not the polished version. Not the high functioning version. Not the polite version. The real one. The one underneath all the noise. The one who has been waiting for you to choose her. That is who I write for. That is who this space is for. That is who I am today. JOIN THE WRITTEN IDENTITY (https://www.skool.com/identitywritten/about?ref=224ac720072c42b09f3f9accf2019bc9) 🖤— Alli SUPPORT THIS WORK (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Alligatlin) Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

15. 

    15 Jan 2026

    Radical Curiosity Can Break Emotional Spirals

    This episode is a real time riff on radical curiosity. Not the polished, self help kind. The kind you actually reach for when you’re spiraling, overthinking, or stuck in the same damn conversations with the people you love. We start with the question most of us avoid: What if you’re wrong? What if your belief isn’t the best version of it? What if your life could actually get better? Wouldn’t that be fucking sick? In this episode, I talk about how curiosity has become one of my most reliable tools for getting out of rumination loops, emotional spirals, and that familiar place where one moment turns into permanence. We explore what happens when you: Stop entering conversations trying to prove a point Let things unfold instead of forcing outcomes Add a little whimsy or bewilderment instead of certainty Pause before turning discomfort into anger or conclusions Remember that everything is temporary even the stuff that sucks I also talk honestly about overthinking, gut reactions, and how we often confuse intuition with our first knee-jerk fear response. Sometimes the work isn’t trusting your gut. Sometimes it’s slowing down long enough to understand it. And yes, this is the episode where I tell the story of how radical curiosity is literally how I met my husband. Not on a planned date. Not by “putting myself out there.” But while I was on the world’s worst Bumble date with a man who lied about his age, had zero chemistry, was a close talker, tried to touch my hair, and was missing a very noticeable number of teeth. Instead of shutting down, I got curious. I overheard a conversation. I walked over. I shot my shot. I slid my card across the table. He didn’t call — at first. He texted the wrong number. I missed it for weeks. And somehow, here we are. That moment didn’t come from confidence or certainty. It came from curiosity and trusting myself in real time. This episode is about inviting people into your world and letting them invite you into theirs. About hearing someone out even when you don’t agree. About asking, what else could be true? instead of deciding everything is doomed. You don’t have to change your mind. You don’t have to agree. You just have to stay open long enough to choose instead of react. We talk about: Why certainty feels safe but shrinks your world How curiosity makes your world bigger Why questioning yourself isn’t weakness it’s clarity How so many of our beliefs came from everyone but us What happens when you stop committing to “everything is going to suck” And yes — why curiosity doesn’t have to kill the cat. As an alley cat named Alli, I can confirm: satisfaction brings it back. Be curious. Be fucking radically curious. See if your world gets a little bigger. Companion Piece This episode is paired with a written piece on Substack that explores these ideas in a quieter, slower way — if you want space to reflect after listening. Support the Space (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Alligatlin) This village runs on curiosity and coffee. (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Alligatlin) If this episode grounded you or helped you slow down, you can help hold the space. Want to Go Deeper? Written Identity is a writing-led village built around clarity, self-trust, and learning how to stay present instead of stuck. The village is free to join. (http://Skool.com/identitywritten/about) The premium tier — with deeper tools, guided prompts, and structured work is still $11 a month through the end of tomorrow. No pressure. Just an open door. Thanks for being here, love buckets. I’ll talk to you soon. Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

16. 

    12 Jan 2026

    What if Curiosity Didn’t Kill the Cat … ?

    I want to talk about radical curiosity. Not the cute, casual kind. Not “huh, that’s interesting.” I mean the kind where you’re almost excited to be wrong. Because being wrong isn’t a failure. It’s proof that your world just got bigger. This is the Village Voice. I’m Alli Gatlin — your Menace of clarity — home of the the Written Identity Podcast. The place where we talk perspective, journaling, identity… and the messy, human reality of being alive. So let’s talk about curiosity. You know that moment when you’re driving and someone cuts you off — and suddenly you’re furious? And then everything spirals. One bad interaction becomes a bad mood. A bad mood turns into defensiveness. A text lands weird. A comment hits wrong. And now the whole day feels like it’s out to get you. But what if … just stay with me… what if instead of reacting, you paused? Not to fix it. Not to explain yourself. Not to prove anything. Just to get curious. What if you asked, “What else could be true here?” Maybe you misread the tone. Maybe they’re carrying something you can’t see. Maybe you actually do disagree deeply and they might be out of their damn mind. Curiosity doesn’t mean agreement. It doesn’t mean letting people off the hook. It means you don’t collapse into reaction. Because certainty feels powerful — but it shrinks you. Certainty closes the door. Curiosity opens the room. Here’s the real question: What would you learn if you were willing to be wrong? Every time you choose curiosity over defensiveness, you create space. And clarity only shows up when there’s space to land. Curiosity is the pause between what happens and what you decide it means about you. So I’ll leave you with this unfinished on purpose: What can you be curious about today? Where are you gripping certainty because it feels safer than not knowing? I dare you — just once — to be willing to be wrong. Not to shrink. But to expand. Set the noise down. Let clarity find you. We’ll pick this back up next time. Love buckets. Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

17. 

    2 Jan 2026

    LOST IN THE SAUCE?

    VILLAGE Voice- Episode 3 Hello. This is the Village Voice. And it’s the first Friday of the new year. No fireworks. No damn lists. No resolutions. And there is zero pressure to start fresh. I’m not here to hand you a strategy for the year. I’m not here to tell you how everything is supposed to go. I just want to talk for a couple minutes about something small. So small you might think, that’s fucking stupid. Whatever. It works. Especially when shit gets heavy. Welcome to the Village Voice - your Written Identity podcast. I’m Alli. Your walking, talking, tiny perspective shift. Your chaos interpreter. Your menace of clarity. So yeah. Let’s chit chat. I want to take this all the way back to the beginning. Not strategies. Not systems. Not what I’m building or selling or scaling. Yada yada yada. Just the why. Why does this exist at all? Why did I build Written Identity? Why is there a Village Voice? Why did I build the Village? And why do I keep telling you to write even when you swear you’re bad at it or you hate journaling or you think you’re doing it wrong? Here’s the truth. I didn’t build this because people need advice. You don’t. I don’t. Nobody does. I didn’t build this because people need another motivational post, another self-help guru, or another shiny planner though yes, I love a good planner. I built this because I kept watching smart, creative, remarkable people disappear inside their own heads. They stopped trusting themselves. Not because they were broken. But because they never slowed down long enough to actually hear themselves. So let me say this clearly. You’re not “stuck in your healing era.” You’re not broken. Lock that shit up. You don’t need fixing. You don’t need more tools. You need a village. You need to be witnessed. You need to trust your own goddamn voice. Because you’re moving too fast. Reacting. Managing. Coping. And when you live that way, you stop seeing patterns. You don’t even realize how drained you are until you’re fully burnt out. And then it’s too quiet to hear what mattered. That’s when you turn it on yourself. “I’m bad at life.” “I should be better at this.” “Why can’t I figure it out?” You’re not bad at life. You just forgot how to pause and hear your own voice. Sometimes you don’t need insight. You just need to press pause. Right in the middle of it. Whoa. Pause. That’s why I tell you to write. Not pretty. Not polished. Not for an audience. Just long enough to slow down and notice what’s real. I don’t teach journaling the usual way because that way trips people up. It’s not about word count. Or cute notebooks. Or sounding clever. Or “finding clarity.” You can’t find clarity. Fun fact - it finds you. People fail at journaling not because they can’t write but because they get lost in the fucking sauce. You think it has to be meaningful. Transformational. A whole big thing. Why does honesty need a production budget? Sometimes it’s just: “Today sucked.” That counts. Sometimes it’s six words: “Damn it. I hated today. Try again.” That counts too. So here’s the dare. Six words. Two minutes a day. Write it. Don’t reread it. Don’t analyze it. Just write it down and walk away. Reflection can come later. Right now, this is field work. You don’t need to perform. You deserve to stop performing. And please, for the love of god, don’t get lost in the sauce. As the proverb says, a man with no sauce is lost. But a man in the sauce? Also lost. And I see too many incredible people lost in it. Don’t do that. Don’t break my heart. Because you might fuck around and start to feel better. This is what we do here. We write ugly & feel better. Before clarity, there has to be honesty. Action comes after awareness. Otherwise you’re just spinning your wheels, taking action that feels hollow, wondering why it doesn’t work. You can’t act in alignment if you don’t know how you actually feel. So write it down. Sit with it. Let it be ugly. Clarity doesn’t come from sounding smart. It comes from hearing yourself without a filter. That’s why this exists. That’s why we have a Village. Not to impress anyone. Just to give you a place to show up as you are. Messy. Unfinished. Real. You don’t need to earn the right to be heard. Most people don’t need a louder voice. They just need a place where they can finally hear their own. So here’s the final dare. What if, on the first Friday of the year, instead of resolutions, instead of “new year, new life” bullshit, you just paid attention to the life you already have? Start with six words. One line. No edits. That’s enough. I’ll see you in the Village. I love you. Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

18. 

    27 Dec 2025

    At the Edges of Clarity, You’ll Find a Banana

    🎙️DID GWEN HAVE IT RIGHT ALL ALONG🍌? 🎙️ Shit is bananas B A N A N A S And honestly what a fucking relief it was to revel in banana peels and welcome over 1000 new Members to the village. New friends to writers, new humans that just want to EXIST- & CLEARLY EAT BANANA BREAD. I will take this as our VILLAGE CUE FOR 3 things- 1- please have a healthy snack today feed your body 2- let things unfold in unexpected ways… radical curiosity is a wild ride and worth it.. 3- grief and joy can live within you in harmony Bonus Hyphy Writing and Identity coach perk… I love our village and will YEET MY HOOPS OFF for all of you. I know how exhausting it can be when you first get home and just need to exhale. Don’t worry love buckets. NOT ONE NOT EVEN THE SNEAKY FUCKS not one mean no shoulders to carry an ounce of cuth havin ass will bother you here. Your 5’1” writing guide and internet bodyguard has our village covered. Welcome home, I love you. Happy Friday. 🍌 (don’t slip on any peels- and if ya do I’ll catch ya) or the other 98 of yall Yes we have hit 98 WRITERS IN THE COLLECTIVE… Bananas may become our clarity totem🍌 TODAYS FRIDAY UPDATE…brought to you by embracing grief, great parenting, remarkable shit talking and me wheezing from laughing… Also Now known as #BANANAGATE! Get full access to Alli Gatlin | The Written Identity at alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe (https://alligatlin.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

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Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

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