ETS: Welcome back to she Pivots. I'm your host, Emily Tish Sussman.
ETS: I'm so excited for everything we have in story this season,
ETS: but I have to be honest that I'm entering this
ETS: season in a bit of a different headspace, and I
ETS: want to talk to you all about it, how it happened,
ETS: and what I think it all means. I had the
ETS: opportunity to join the Harris Walls presidential campaign, going back
ETS: in the career that I had pivoted from so many
ETS: years ago. So I ended up full time in my
ETS: old career, living in a swing state, away from my family,
ETS: working twenty four to seven and the result aside. In
ETS: that moment, it was like a total mind fuck for
ETS: me that it's taken me years to be okay with
ETS: the fact that my political career was done, and then
ETS: all of a sudden, I was back in it and
ETS: I loved it. It made me think about how I've
ETS: purposely adjusted myself to a lower stakes life where not
ETS: everything is like winning a presidential campaign, which is about
ETS: as high stakes as you can get. And I think
ETS: there's also a part of me that really doubted whether
ETS: I was capable of doing it or not. I hadn't
ETS: been capable when I had left after having three kids
ETS: in four years. That's why I left, So I really
ETS: didn't think I would be just as good. But it
ETS: turned out I was pretty much just as good as
ETS: I used to be, and in some ways I was
ETS: maybe even a little better. But I really couldn't believe
ETS: that was my mindset. After talking with nearly one hundred
ETS: women on Cheap Pivots about why they belong in the
ETS: new space they carved for themselves, why did I not
ETS: believe that I belonged in a space that I had mastered.
ETS: As difficult as that was to realize about myself, it
ETS: showed me so clearly that my work here isn't done.
ETS: And as I looked for somewhere to channel all of
ETS: this passion and energy I had on the campaign, I
ETS: quickly realized that it's this, this podcast, this community, all
ETS: you amazing women. This season will dive into the complex
ETS: thought processes and feelings behind why women pivot and leave
ETS: space for the often confusing and nonlinear experiences that come
ETS: with our plot twists, and if we're lucky, we'll change
ETS: the cultural conversation and empower more women to bet on themselves.
ETS: It helped me prove to myself that my power doesn't
ETS: come from the version of me in politics. It comes
ETS: from where I am. It's not in some former version
ETS: of me. It's within me, and wherever I go it
ETS: comes to I'm excited to explore and to unpack what
ETS: all of this means with all of our guests this season.
Monica Padman: Let's jump right in. Welcome back to she Pivots. I'm
Monica Padman: Monica Patton.
ETS: Welcome back to she Pivots, the podcast where we talk
ETS: with women who dared to pivot out of one career
ETS: and into something new and explore how their personal lives
ETS: impacted these decisions. I'm your host, Emily Tish Sussman. Today
ETS: we have a very special episode with podcast Royalty Armchair
ETS: Expert co creator and co host Monica Padman. If you're
ETS: a fan of her show, you know that Monica is
ETS: a pro at getting her own guests to open up.
ETS: But once I heard that she pivoted into podcasting after
ETS: working as an actress and a babysitter on the side,
ETS: I knew I wanted to have her in the hot
ETS: seat when we book guests for she Pivots. I've always
ETS: prioritized guests with diverse stories, and what I found so
ETS: unique about Mindica's pivot was the way she got into podcasting.
ETS: She leaned into the off ramp of being a babysitter
ETS: slash assistant, and it was actually that choice that made
ETS: her have this successful career. Going from babysitter to Kristen
ETS: Bell's assistant and right hand woman paves the way for
ETS: her to build Armchair Expert from the ground up with
ETS: Dak Shepherd, and what started as a side project quickly
ETS: became a cultural phenomenon, with millions of listeners tuning in
ETS: each week to hear Monica and Dak's tackle life's big questions.
ETS: Her role in the podcast isn't just about co hosting.
ETS: Monica is a producer, creative force, and the heart of
ETS: many of the show's most memorable moments. She's brought her
ETS: unique voice to conversations about vulnerability, mental health, and what
ETS: it means to truly connect with others. Monica's pivot is
ETS: about more than her career. It's about embracing the unexpected
ETS: and leaning into opportunities that align with who she is
ETS: at her core, from aspiring actress to one of the
ETS: most recognizable voices in podcasting. Monica's journey is proof that
ETS: sometimes the road you didn't plan leads you exactly where
ETS: you're meant to be.
Monica Padman: Hope you enjoy. My name is Monica Padman and I
Monica Padman: am a podcast creator, producer, host.
ETS: Okay, so we're going to bring it back and go
ETS: back to little Monica. What was your childhood like? It
ETS: seems like you always wanted to be in the entertainment industry.
ETS: Were you always like running around and a wicked hab
ETS: a lookite?
Monica Padman: No? No, I was not running around with any kind
Monica Padman: of hat on, maybe like a doctor's had, even though
Monica Padman: that's not a thing, a surgical mask. Maybe I was
Monica Padman: really really shy when I was young. My mom will
Monica Padman: tell you that I was just sort of attached to
Monica Padman: her hip and was probably annoying her all the time. Yeah,
Monica Padman: I was a really shy kid. But I was also
Monica Padman: very good at making friends. But I would do it
Monica Padman: in a way that was like one on one friendships, right,
Monica Padman: Like I wasn't going to pop up in front of
Monica Padman: the class and be class clown or get attention that way.
Monica Padman: But I would try to build these kind of intimate
Monica Padman: relationships with people. I think, even at a young age,
Monica Padman: I was just like, highly perceptive at a very young
Monica Padman: age what to do to make people around me happy
Monica Padman: or to be liked. So I was not very outgoing
Monica Padman: in that way, but I wanted to be. I think
Monica Padman: like when I was little, I definitely wanted to be
Monica Padman: a doctor. I don't know if I really wanted to
Monica Padman: be a doctor. I just was like, Oh, that's like
Monica Padman: the that's the way to get the affection of my
Monica Padman: grandfather probably, And yeah, I guess that was sort of
Monica Padman: me back then.
ETS: It didn't take long until Monica fell in love with
ETS: the idea of Hollywood, and like most actors, she had
ETS: the canon event of watching two very influential pieces of media.
Monica Padman: But I didn't really want to do anything in entertainment
Monica Padman: until I was in about eighth grade. I two events.
Monica Padman: I watched Goodwill Hunting and I started watching Friends, and
Monica Padman: I was obsessed with both of those to such a
Monica Padman: obsessive degree that I, you know, I had that feeling
Monica Padman: of I want to be doing what they're doing. I
Monica Padman: want to be a part of that. I didn't know
Monica Padman: it was acting. I didn't know anything. I just was
Monica Padman: so taken by it, and I knew I wanted to
Monica Padman: be in that world. And make people feel like I
Monica Padman: was feeling when I watched it. And then I started
Monica Padman: in ninth grade. I started in theater class, and that's
Monica Padman: when I really was like, oh, this is this is
Monica Padman: I like it. I want to do this.
ETS: At the time, this looked like it was going into
ETS: acting and moving to la to make it happen. But
ETS: hindsight is always twenty twenty, and Monica highlighted one key
ETS: difference on how she now thinks friends influenced her.
Monica Padman: And then with friends, it was I don't think I
Monica Padman: really knew this at the time, but I wanted to
Monica Padman: be them. I think I wanted to live that life.
Monica Padman: I wanted to live the life that the friends were living,
Monica Padman: not not really acting. Even though I ended up, you know,
Monica Padman: I ended up like deciding, oh, I guess this is
Monica Padman: how you do that. I wanted to have like fun
Monica Padman: on set, I think is really what it sort of
Monica Padman: boiled down to. And I sort of figured out how
Monica Padman: to do that too, like work with my friends and
Monica Padman: laugh a lot and tell stories.
ETS: But she was not yet a world famous storyteller. So
ETS: Monica headed to college to study theater in Georgia.
Monica Padman: At that time, I'm from Georgia. They had a Hope scholarship.
Monica Padman: So if you graduated high school with the certain GPA,
Monica Padman: I don't remember what it was at the time, maybe
Monica Padman: three eighth, three seven, I don't remember, but something like that,
Monica Padman: you qualified to go to one of the public colleges
Monica Padman: for free tuition. So my parents were like, yeah, so
Monica Padman: that's what you'll be doing. You will be doing that,
Monica Padman: and that's that, and all my friends were going to
Monica Padman: so it just made so much sense. The theater conversation
Monica Padman: was a conversation, definitely. I added a major. I added
Monica Padman: a PR major, so I doubled majored in college so
Monica Padman: that everyone could feel a little more calm about my prospects.
ETS: So then when you moved out, you did like the
ETS: classic actor la thing like front desk, a soul cycle, babysitting.
ETS: I cannot imagine the stories that you have from that.
ETS: Let us send care please.
Monica Padman: Oh soul cycle was it was so fun and everyone,
Monica Padman: you know, everyone was young. We were opening up the
Monica Padman: Beverly Hills studio, so it was like this group of
Monica Padman: young kids. I was the oldest one and I think
Monica Padman: I was twenty five working at the front desk and
Monica Padman: you know, cleaning the shoes and I guess what's the
Monica Padman: nice I can't think of a nice way of saying.
Monica Padman: Dealing with the Beverly Hills clientele, which was very specific,
Monica Padman: and I actually developed a really, really, really intense amount
Monica Padman: of anxiety during that time working there because I was scared,
Monica Padman: like people would come out in the middle of class
Monica Padman: and like be like sort of half passing out. And
Monica Padman: it was on our little, like eighteen to twenty five
Monica Padman: year old front desk, you know, group of front desk
Monica Padman: workers to deal with this, and we you know, we
Monica Padman: were we had like train in CPR and all of
Monica Padman: these things, and it was it felt very scary. And
Monica Padman: one time we did have to like call nine one one,
Monica Padman: and it was this whole you know, to do. So
Monica Padman: so I left that job a little bit after that
Monica Padman: because I was feeling a little little overwhelmed. I was
Monica Padman: also babysitting throughout that entire time.
ETS: So it's during this time that you met Kristen and
ETS: Dax through a mutual friend. How did that work?
Monica Padman: Yes, So we had mutual friends, so I would see
Monica Padman: them on a very acquaintance level at like parties and stuff,
Monica Padman: and you know, so we sort of knew each other's
Monica Padman: faces and said hello, but then I did an episode
Monica Padman: of House of Lies. I like booked an episode of
Monica Padman: House of Lies as it actually ironically as her assistant
Monica Padman: and when I saw you know, so when I got
Monica Padman: to said she was like, oh hey, I know you,
Monica Padman: and we were chatting a lot, and they had just
Monica Padman: had their first kid, so I she was showing me
Monica Padman: pictures and I was like, well, I also babysit all
Monica Padman: the time, so if you ever need a babysitter, all
Monica Padman: at your girl, And then they sure did.
ETS: So how quickly did it go from like babysitter kind
ETS: of know you around, like we're in this together, like
ETS: we're all in.
Monica Padman: Yeah. So I was date night babysitting for Lincoln, their
Monica Padman: first and then when Kristen was pregnant with Delta, which
Monica Padman: was like a year and a half year and some
Monica Padman: change later, they decided they probably needed more help and
Monica Padman: so they asked if I could come on full time,
Monica Padman: and so I did that, and that's really when it
Monica Padman: took off into you know, I was I worked a
Monica Padman: full day there every day and that then we were
Monica Padman: just all in and then I would stay over and
Monica Padman: we'd watch TV, we'd play games, and it just became
Monica Padman: like one big melting pot.
ETS: Were you still trying to pursue acting. Were you seeing
ETS: this as like a holdover? You thought this is a
ETS: career for me. I want to get into what your
ETS: mindset was at the different phases, because something that I
ETS: think about a lot is how do we define success by?
ETS: How do we define our expectations? That's a great question.
ETS: The answer is I was not satisfied and Slash. I
ETS: was not thinking, oh, I think I'll just be like
ETS: a nanny now forever.
Monica Padman: That wasn't my thought process. I was still acting. I
Monica Padman: was doing a lot of commercials at that time, and
Monica Padman: when I first started with them, I said, and I
Monica Padman: really hesitated that. Actually at first I was like, I
Monica Padman: don't know if I should go full time because how
Monica Padman: am I going to go to auditions? How am I
Monica Padman: going to do my job? And so I brought that
Monica Padman: up to them. I said, I really want to say yes,
Monica Padman: but I also need to be able to leave if
Monica Padman: I have an audition, and they were like, we'll make
Monica Padman: it work. So I was still able to be pursuing acting,
Monica Padman: and I think that was maybe why the whole thing worked,
Monica Padman: because I was still pursuing my thing, yet I was
Monica Padman: getting a lot of validation from this other job, and
Monica Padman: I did love being there, and it was a very
Monica Padman: homey kind of we are a village vibe that I
Monica Padman: really really really liked, and those kids feel like my kids.
Monica Padman: So it just all, you know, I think it was
Monica Padman: a really specific alchemy that made it work. I started
Monica Padman: out as the babysitter. Then I moved into assistant. Once
Monica Padman: their second went to school went to preschool, they wanted
Monica Padman: to keep me around, but obviously there was no kids
Monica Padman: in the house anymore. So she said, do you want
Monica Padman: to come on as my assistant? And so I did that,
Monica Padman: and then as as I was doing that, I was
Monica Padman: also writing stuff for her and you know, becoming a
Monica Padman: producing partner with her. But then I was also still
Monica Padman: doing some of the old things, like there just weren't
Monica Padman: clear delineations because we were just figuring everything out as
Monica Padman: it was going. And so at one point I did
Monica Padman: have to say, hey, so I can't do that other
Monica Padman: stuff anymore. This role has progressed sort of unknowingly, you know,
Monica Padman: We've just like been going through the motions and now
Monica Padman: I'm I'm here and I'm doing this level of job,
Monica Padman: so I can't also be doing that level of job,
Monica Padman: and that was a little bit of a hurdle, you know,
Monica Padman: at first, I think because understandably so Kristen was like, well, yikes,
Monica Padman: but I need that other stuff done too, and you know,
Monica Padman: what do I do? But we figured it out. I
Monica Padman: think that's also the beauty of her definitely, is she's
Monica Padman: very open to hearing things like that and understanding what's
Monica Padman: important to her and who is important to her and
Monica Padman: how to make that person happy and give them what
Monica Padman: they deserve. So I think like at first, when she's saying, oh, yikes,
Monica Padman: after a day, she's like, yeah, them actually makes sense,
Monica Padman: so let's figure this out. And so, you know, there
Monica Padman: there was times like that.
ETS: Was there ever awkwardness about the fact that you were
ETS: trying and not having the same level of success in
ETS: the same industry that they are in or they were in.
Monica Padman: No, because they were at such a different level. So
Monica Padman: it wasn't like I was comparing myself to them at all.
Monica Padman: I was already I was a huge fan of both
Monica Padman: of them before. I loved Parenthood, I loved Ronica Mars,
Monica Padman: So I wasn't like, oh, they're working a lot and
Monica Padman: I'm not. You know, it just felt like we're at
Monica Padman: very very very different stages in life in general. I
Monica Padman: mean they're babysitting their children too, So I think that
Monica Padman: all helps. What's changed in our lives over the past
Monica Padman: ten years is that you know, like now I have
Monica Padman: changed in position a little bit in life, and it
Monica Padman: doesn't feel like we're in a very different stage. And
Monica Padman: so we've all sort of adapted to this like growing
Monica Padman: shifting dynamic. But first, no, it wasn't hard at all.
Monica Padman: It was like, oh, yeah, these people are extremely successful actors.
Monica Padman: That's what I entered into. It wasn't like I saw
Monica Padman: the rise. And they're both dreamly generous and would really
Monica Padman: do what they could for me a lot.
ETS: You know.
Monica Padman: Dax cast me in chips like early early when I
Monica Padman: was just like date night babysitting.
Speaker 3: You know.
Monica Padman: Kristen if she had something and there was like a
Monica Padman: part that she could sort of slop me and she
Monica Padman: would do that. They did a lot for me.
ETS: As her responsibilities grew with Dax and Kristen, Monica still
ETS: had her sight set on acting and hadn't yet seen
ETS: that her pivot could be around the corner. When we
ETS: come back, Monica tells us how Armchair Expert was born,
ETS: how did it actually turn into let's do a podcast?
Monica Padman: Like what were those steps? Yeah, And it was early days.
Monica Padman: It was twenty seventeen. Dax has gone on a few
Monica Padman: podcasts and really enjoyed it. Just thought it was like
Monica Padman: a really fun medium of nice antidote to the two
Monica Padman: minute story where you hit your beats and you get in,
Monica Padman: you get out, and so he just liked it. And
Monica Padman: he came home one night I think Kristen and I
Monica Padman: were working or playing a game, probably more likely, and
Monica Padman: he said he wanted to try doing a podcast, and
Monica Padman: I said, oh, I can probably try to help figure
Monica Padman: out how to do that. And so I started looking
Monica Padman: into other people who had podcasts and doing research and
Monica Padman: I met with this couple that I know that had
Monica Padman: a podcast, and so, you know, doing all of that,
Monica Padman: and then it was like, yeah, let's try it. We
Monica Padman: brought Rob on to help with the technical stuff, and
Monica Padman: it was really just like, let's just see how it goes.
Monica Padman: There was talk about expectations like we had none. We
Monica Padman: had none, truly, and I know that it sounds weird
Monica Padman: now so many years later, because it's grown into such
Monica Padman: a fruitful business and we're so lucky and ironically, like
Monica Padman: now our expectations are too high, but they started at
Monica Padman: zero and it really really helped us on the ride
Monica Padman: because we could really enjoy it. At first, it was like, whoa,
Monica Padman: what is going on? This is so exciting, Oh my gosh,
Monica Padman: people are listening. Oh wow, instead of like not enough
Monica Padman: people are listening, or oh we need this, so we
Monica Padman: need that. We were just shocked and happy. We launched
Monica Padman: in February of twenty eighteen. We launched with three episodes, Kristin.
Monica Padman: My guest is the lovely Kristen Belle Ashton Kutcher.
Speaker 4: Today I get a chance to thank the person who
Speaker 4: started my career, Ashton Kutcher and Joy Bryant. I am
Speaker 4: joined by my TV wife, Joy Bryant, you know her
Speaker 4: from Parenthood, Get Rich or Died Trying Antoine Fisher.
Monica Padman: We put all three of those out at once and
Monica Padman: it was a pretty big audience immediately, but then it
Monica Padman: did also continue to grow and grow and grow, which
Monica Padman: we were again surprised by. Even we had if we
Monica Padman: had guests that were lesser known, we would still notice like, oh,
Monica Padman: everyone's still listening. That's interesting, and that's good. That that
Monica Padman: that means it's about more than just whoever's coming on
Monica Padman: if we were learning so much as we were doing it.
Monica Padman: But yeah, it was. It was. I think it was
Monica Padman: a pretty quick, big audience that continued to build on itself.
ETS: Did you see any particular moments of really big growth
ETS: where were like, oh, that's interesting.
Monica Padman: I want to say yes, because I just listened to
Monica Padman: acquired and I want to sound really business y, but
Monica Padman: I we we were not business y. Like we we
Monica Padman: were not paying that much attention to that, like oh
Monica Padman: my gosh, it was a big big you know, jump
Monica Padman: here or dip here. We just weren't. We were just
Monica Padman: doing our thing. We were asking people to come in
Monica Padman: who we thought were fun and cool for us. The
Monica Padman: one of the biggest early moments was when Katie Curic's
Monica Padman: team reached out to us. That was the first big moment.
Monica Padman: It's like, oh my god, somebody's asking us if they
Monica Padman: can come on. That was the first time that happened,
Monica Padman: and that at this point many years later, that's pretty
Monica Padman: much how it happens completely. We still reach out to
Monica Padman: people every now and then if there's like a you know,
Monica Padman: person we're really excited about, or who's on our mind.
Monica Padman: But for the most part, we have you know, requests
Monica Padman: come in, and that was the first time it happened,
Monica Padman: and so for us, we were like, we were just
Monica Padman: very excited, and that for us was growth, Like that's
Monica Padman: how we were measuring it, sort of like, oh, people
Monica Padman: want to come on, that's cool.
ETS: Armchair Exburg quickly became the number one podcast in the world,
ETS: boasting guests like Natalie Portman, Tom Hanks, Brookshields, and Hillary Clinton.
ETS: And for anyone who isn't familiar with the show, Monica
ETS: serves as co host, producer, and editor. But getting comfortable
ETS: with each of those titles and roles took time.
Monica Padman: Well, okay, so when we first started, we didn't know anything,
Monica Padman: Like you know, the first episode with Kristin, I'm sitting
Monica Padman: there like I'm sitting on the couch and I don't
Monica Padman: say anything. We don't know what we're doing, we don't
Monica Padman: know how, we don't know what we're doing. And I
Monica Padman: was I was so anxious for that whole first chunk
Monica Padman: of time that I wasn't saying enough, or I wasn't
Monica Padman: inserting myself enough, or am I just like the girls
Monica Padman: sitting on the couch for no reason, like what everyone's
Monica Padman: probably so confused And I think to an extent, a
Monica Padman: lot of that is true. And we were having people
Monica Padman: on this show that I really wanted the approval of,
Monica Padman: or had been wanting the approval of for so long.
Monica Padman: I remember when we had Judd Apatow on, I was
Monica Padman: so in my head because I loved him and his
Monica Padman: movies and everything he did. And I'm you know, I'm
Monica Padman: still an actress at this point, and I'm thinking, Oh,
Monica Padman: I don't want him to think there's just this like
Monica Padman: dud on the couch. I want him to think I
Monica Padman: have this shiny personality and like me. And so I
Monica Padman: was in my head a lot during that time, and
Monica Padman: I think once, well, first of all, there's like a
Monica Padman: sort of well known turn of events, and that we
Monica Padman: moved my chair so I was sitting on the same
Monica Padman: couch as the guest. When we had Jake Johnson on,
Monica Padman: he who was like, I can't see her. I want
Monica Padman: to see her. Can we move this around? And so
Monica Padman: we pulled a different chare up. From then on, we
Monica Padman: had a different configuration and that helped so much. Where
Monica Padman: now I sit by Dax, and I think as I
Monica Padman: just got more confident the more we did it, I
Monica Padman: also started to really understand my role as like as
Monica Padman: a producer on the show. I edit the show. I
Monica Padman: you know, I I do a lot for it. And
Monica Padman: I started to feel that, like, oh, I am extremely
Monica Padman: valuable here, so I don't have to prove myself on
Monica Padman: these episodes. Maybe not everyone will know my purpose, but
Monica Padman: I do and Dax does, and that is really all
Monica Padman: I have to kind of care about. And then when
Monica Padman: I started to get more confident, I did just start
Monica Padman: chiming in more or I felt fine to not. We
Monica Padman: also started to sort of come to the conclusion over
Monica Padman: time again all this is so trial and airy, and
Monica Padman: it's just like over time, I was understanding that my
Monica Padman: role there is mainly to be the voice of the audience.
Monica Padman: So I don't watch the tele like for the promotion piece.
Monica Padman: I don't watch the television show or read the book
Monica Padman: or do anything like that because I need to be
Monica Padman: the one also as the editor who knows when things
Monica Padman: are getting esoteric, if the audience would definitely say wait,
Monica Padman: what or what who's talking to? What about? What?
Monica Padman: So I'm also there as that sort of eye that
Monica Padman: I think the audience wants. And again when I knew that,
Monica Padman: that also gave me sort of like a place to
Monica Padman: plant my feet, which was very helpful.
ETS: And so as you became more confident in your role
ETS: in the show, did that increase your satisfaction? Is that
ETS: being the way that you spent most of your time, like,
ETS: were you still working on out their hustles outside ventures
ETS: trying to act successfully acting?
Monica Padman: No, I think you're right. I think as as my
Monica Padman: confidence grew and as the show was starting to grow
Monica Padman: even more, especially when we you know, we signed a
Monica Padman: deal with Spotify, it became one hundred percent my sole focus.
Monica Padman: I don't act anymore. I mean I'm not like I'm
Monica Padman: done acting, but I certainly don't have time to go
Monica Padman: be a series regular on a show at this point.
Monica Padman: You know, we have three shows. At one point we
Monica Padman: had five shows. We've done a ton of limits, did
Monica Padman: series and continue to do that. So we've just sort
Monica Padman: of expanded in that world, in the podcast world, which
Monica Padman: has been so fun and challenging. Back to a challenge,
Monica Padman: I mean, I didn't even when I moved to La
Monica Padman: podcasting wasn't a thing. I didn't know what it was
Monica Padman: like the idea of moving to this city and this
Monica Padman: is now my job when it wasn't even on my
Monica Padman: radar when I came out here is such a bizarre
Monica Padman: turn of events. But yeah, I think my satisfaction definitely
Monica Padman: got I mean I'm really just like sitting here thinking, like,
Monica Padman: am I satisfied? And I really am. I'm really proud
Monica Padman: of everything we've done and will continue to do, And yeah,
Monica Padman: I haven't really thought about that, but yeah, well.
ETS: Then maybe this will be a Solly question. But like,
ETS: do you remember if there was a moment when it
ETS: flipped for you and you were like, this is the
ETS: only thing that I do and I'm happy about it.
Monica Padman: I don't remember if there was like a certain moment.
Monica Padman: I don't remember thinking, oh, I don't have time to
Monica Padman: do the other thing. That's really bad. I think I thought, oh, wow,
Monica Padman: I don't have time to do this other thing, and
Monica Padman: I don't really miss the other thing, so that's interesting,
Monica Padman: Like this is much more fulfilling. This is giving me
Monica Padman: my own voice and a way that is really fun
Monica Padman: and the element of discovery is really interesting to me.
Monica Padman: So yeah, I don't think there was a moment. I
Monica Padman: think when we signed the deal with Spotify, it was
Monica Padman: clear just from the outside in the value of the show.
Monica Padman: I mean literally, there was a number a numeral value
Monica Padman: to it, and it did make me very clear, although
Monica Padman: I think I was probably clear before that, but at
Monica Padman: that point, one hundred percent like, this is our job,
Monica Padman: this is our company, you know, this is our legacy.
Monica Padman: Really like there's it all sort of became clear.
Speaker 3: As is his co host on Armchair Expert, which goes
Speaker 3: to Spotify on July first, with President Obama, Monica Padman
Speaker 3: is here.
ETS: Okay, you've put out nearly eight hundred episodes. How do
ETS: you put out so much content? That is so much?
Monica Padman: It is so much? Well, we have two Armchair show,
Monica Padman: you know, two interview shows a week. We have our
Monica Padman: celebrity guest on Monday, and we have our expert guest
Monica Padman: on Wednesday. And then we added a show. We added
Monica Padman: Armchair Anonymous, which is my personal favorite, where we talked
Monica Padman: to our listeners and that's on Friday. So it just
Monica Padman: adds up. And we've been almost doing it for seven years.
Monica Padman: And as I said, we also had, you know, we
Monica Padman: had a show call Flightless Bird that ran for multiple years,
Monica Padman: and we did a show Sync that ran for a year.
Monica Padman: Many limited series ten episodes series. I did one with
Monica Padman: Kristen one with Jess Rowland, you know, we just we've
Monica Padman: sort of run the gambit on trying stuff out and
Monica Padman: it just adds up.
ETS: After the break, Monica's journey comes full circle as she
ETS: reflects on how she is still keeping the dream young
ETS: Monica had all the way back in eighth grade alive.
ETS: But You've said, I'm getting to do what I wanted
ETS: to do, but in a different package.
Monica Padman: Yeah. When I was watching Friends and Goodwill Hunting, and
Monica Padman: I was thinking, I just want to be a part
Monica Padman: of something that is making people feel moved or feel
Monica Padman: connected or learn something about yourself via what you're watching.
Monica Padman: That's one piece mixed with watching Friends, and I'm thinking
Monica Padman: I want to do that. I want to have fun
Monica Padman: all day long. They are all really they're actually friends.
Monica Padman: They're laughing the bloopers, blah blah. You know. Ah, That's
Monica Padman: how I want to spend my life. That is how
Monica Padman: I spend my life. I work with my best friend.
Monica Padman: We laugh NonStop. We put out a product that is
Monica Padman: honest and real, and I think people connect with that.
Monica Padman: And so I'm getting to do this. You know, when
Monica Padman: I think back to my original goals of what I
Monica Padman: wanted when I was watching those things, I'm doing it.
Monica Padman: And I'm so I'm so grateful for that.
ETS: So what is one thing that you at the time
ETS: you thought was like a negative or a low point,
ETS: and now in retrospect you see it as having really
ETS: launched you or changed your perspective to where you are now.
Monica Padman: Well, definitely at the beginning of the show, when I
Monica Padman: was not talking and I was really in my head
Monica Padman: about it, I told Dax. I was like, oh, I
Monica Padman: feel like I'm just sitting there and you know, I
Monica Padman: don't know what to do and I don't want to
Monica Padman: not talk. And he said, you know, I understand all
Monica Padman: of that, and we can. Let's work on that together,
Monica Padman: let's figure it out. But also, I'm telling you that
Monica Padman: this is special and I don't want you to miss it.
Monica Padman: I don't want you to not be here for this
Monica Padman: and be in your head about what you're doing wrong
Monica Padman: or could be doing, or what it could be or
Monica Padman: couldn't be. Like you need to feel this, And I
Monica Padman: heard him, and I do.
Speaker 3: So.
ETS: After over eight hundred episodes, millions of downloads, and a
ETS: new career path, I had to know. How does Monica
ETS: think about success now?
Monica Padman: I think when you enter the entertainment industry and at
Monica Padman: all you have to start redefining what success means in general,
Monica Padman: because it takes so long for anything to happen, if
Monica Padman: anything happens at all. So in order to succeed in
Monica Padman: LA at all, you have to have a flexible mind
Monica Padman: when it comes to success and happiness. I was told
Monica Padman: really early it got some really great advice early to
Monica Padman: fill out the rest of your life, Like it can't
Monica Padman: just be about booking auditions or acting like you have
Monica Padman: to fill out the rest of your life. You need
Monica Padman: to have friends, go out, you need to go to restaurants,
Monica Padman: you need to do it all like your life is
Monica Padman: still happening. And that was really helpful to me because
Monica Padman: even when I think back at like the Soul Cycle time,
Monica Padman: I was also so happy, like we were playing, you know,
Monica Padman: we were having big game nights, and I think maybe
Monica Padman: at that time I was happy, but I didn't feel successful.
Monica Padman: And when I moved over to be with Kristen and Dax,
Monica Padman: when I started showing what I could do so more
Monica Padman: than just after like the Nanny, but when I was
Monica Padman: writing stuff for Kristin or when I was able to
Monica Padman: like flex my skills, I did feel sick successful and
Monica Padman: I felt very satisfied. This new layer of success happened
Monica Padman: after that, which is like a financial one right where
Monica Padman: it's like, oh my gosh, like we've hit this thing
Monica Padman: and we're hitting these things, and now that we're in that,
Monica Padman: it's definitely the least satisfying version of the success along
Monica Padman: the way, which is ironic and odd, and it's going
Monica Padman: to sound really bad. People are going to be mad
Monica Padman: at me for saying that, but it's the truth, Like
Monica Padman: chasing these numbers is the least satisfying thing. Do you
Monica Padman: think you'll pivot again? I mean, life is long, so
Monica Padman: you know, I have no idea what the future holds.
Monica Padman: I'm trying my best to be more and more comfortable
Monica Padman: just sitting with that, like I don't know. I don't
Monica Padman: know what's going to happen. You know, we we know
Monica Padman: for certain we have some more years of doing this.
Monica Padman: We're in another deal and we'll see after that how
Monica Padman: we're all feeling. There is a lot I still want
Monica Padman: to do in addition to I love writing and I
Monica Padman: want to put some real focus and energy there. I
Monica Padman: love fashion. I'd love to do something in that space.
Monica Padman: So there's you know, there's things I want to check
Monica Padman: off the list, but as far as like a massive pivot,
Monica Padman: we'll have to see.
ETS: Thank you so much for joining us, Monica. I have
ETS: loved having you on.
Monica Padman: This was so fun. Thank you so much for having me.
Monica Padman: This was such a delight. I'm very honored.
ETS: Monica still co hosts and produces Armchair Expert while also
ETS: working on her show SYNCD. Monica lives in the LA area, and,
ETS: like us, is devastated at the immense loss experience from
ETS: the LA fires. We reached out to Monica to see
ETS: if she wanted to share any organizations that are close
ETS: to her heart, and these are the organizations that she recommends.
ETS: Path LA World, Central Kitchen, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation,
ETS: Habitat for Humanity, for Greater Loss Angels, and two one
ETS: one LA. Visit Monica's page on She Pivots the podcast
ETS: for the links. You can keep up with Monica on
ETS: Instagram at mL Padman. Thanks for listening. Thanks for listening
ETS: to this episode of She Pivots. If you made it
ETS: this far, you're a true pivoter, so thanks for being.
Monica Padman: Part of this community.
ETS: I hope you enjoyed this episode, and if you did
ETS: leave us a rating, please be nice.
Monica Padman: Tell your friends about us.
ETS: To learn more about our guests, follow us on Instagram
ETS: at she pivots the Podcast, or sign.
Monica Padman: Up for our newsletter where you can get.
ETS: Exclusive behind the scenes content, or on our website she
ETS: pivots the Podcast Talk to You Next Week special thanks
ETS: to the she pivots team, Executive producer Emily eda Velosik,
ETS: Associate producer and social media connoisseur Hannah Cousins, Research director
ETS: Christine Dickinson, Events and Logistics coordinator Madeleine Sonovak, and audio
ETS: editor and mixer Nina pollock I endorse Tea Pivots