Culture Changers with Allison Hare

We celebrate female empowerment while simultaneously destroying women who actually achieve it. This episode unpacks why we pile on female leaders—from Brené Brown to Mel Robbins to Gwyneth Paltrow—in ways we never do for men. Not to defend these women although some deserve critique. It's about understanding the line between legitimate critique and character assassination, and asking what happens when we redirect that energy toward ...

You can watch two people look at the same video of the Minneapolis shooting and come to completely opposite conclusions about what happened. Why? Because their brains — literally — were looking at different parts of the screen. That's selective perception. And once Dr. Jay Van Bavel explained it to me, I couldn't stop seeing it everywhere. In my feed. In my family. In myself.

Jay is one of the top 1% of researchers in the world — n...

How can we be so self-aware and so clueless about ourselves at the same time? Have you ever wondered why so many high-achieving, self-aware people still struggle to actually feel seen and healed? In this episode of Culture Changers, I’m inviting you behind the scenes of my fifth ceremonial psilocybin-assisted therapy journey to crack open the messy, nonlinear world of emotional healing, trauma recovery, and the radical power of sel...

What is really happening to women’s bodies in pop culture right now? 

Today I’m tackle the challenging, layered, and sometimes contradictory truth about Hollywood’s obsession with ultra-thin bodies, the rise and risks of GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, and the relentless cycle of shame, judgment, and pressure being placed on women, by the media, by society, and by ourselves.

I break down how award season 2026 broug...

Do you feel like the news cycle is a dumpster fire and you’re just trying to figure out where your voice belongs? In this week’s episode of Culture Changers, I sit down with Jamie Maglietta, veteran news producer (CNN, BET, Fox News… yeah, she’s the real deal) and founder of OnCamReady, who’s spent her career inside the media machine helping thought leaders and pros transform their expertise into stand-out content.

If you’re a thou...

Feeling overwhelmed by nonstop headlines, collective anxiety, and the wild world of pop culture? In this episode of Culture Changers, I dive into the phenomenon that is The Pitt the cult-favorite HBO medical drama that’s suddenly become the most patriotic show on TV (according to a New York Times opinion piece by Frank Bruni). If you’re obsessed with medical dramas, hosPittal lore, or just want to know why everyone’s talking about ...

CNN is re-airing their special on the rise of Christian nationalism — and I'm re-releasing this conversation with Tia Levings because it is more relevant now than when it first aired. Tia will be featured in the CNN special, and her book A Well-Trained Wife went viral on YouTube after this episode first dropped (with "wife spanking" landing in the top four search terms — yes, really).

If you prefer to watch on YouTube, here you go:...

Are you as fascinated as I am with the intersection of faith and influence(rs)? In this episode of Culture Changers, I sit down with debut novelist Alli Hoff Kosik, author of the buzzworthy Too Blessed to Stress, for a way deeper conversation that I thought. We are talking Christian megachurches, influencer culture, and the razor-thin line between faith and performance.

If you’re fascinated (or horrified) by fundamentalist Christia...

Who’s really shaping political change? It’s not who you think! In this episode of Culture Changers, I sit down with political strategist and digital organizer, Liz Minnella, the powerhouse who coined the term "The Katies," apolitical lifestyle influencers quietly leading a revolution in persuasion and cultural change.

How do suburban moms sharing sourdough recipes and get ready with me videos are actually shifting election outcomes ...

Should women demand employers to pay MORE to cover their beauty costs? Women are paying out of pocket to be seen as credible, competent, and professional at work. Hair. Skin. Clothes. Time. Money. Face lifts. All of it. Not to mention the societal expectation that women should remain youthful, polished, and "camera-ready" especially when in a visible position whether it's in leadership, on stage, or otherwise. Spicy, right?

In this ...

Ever wonder what really goes down behind the scenes in American journalism, and what it costs to speak your truth? Recently I sat down with powerhouse journalist THE AMAZING Brooke Baldwin: Emmy-nominated former CNN anchor, bestselling author, and creator of the viral Substack, Unraveling. Together, we get straight into the seismic shifts ripping through newsrooms and society right now, from the headline-grabbing arrest of Don Lemo...

Ever wish you could flip your anxiety, stress, or even full-on rage into superpowers? That’s exactly what we’re unpacking in this episode of Culture Changers with the wildly insightful Josh Pais, actor, New York Times bestselling author of Lose Your Mind: The Path to Creative Invincibility, and the guy who literally played Raphael in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

I get vulnerable about what it feels like to live with a ...

Is everything a cult? Or are we just finally noticing how belief actually works?
This conversation cracked something open for me around why we get pulled into certain ideas, identities, and systems and why leaving them can feel way harder than joining. I’m sitting down with Amanda Montell, whose work sits at the intersection of cult psychology, language, and cultural influence. We talk about how words shape belief, how cognitive bia...

Welcome back, Culture Changers! In this episode, I’m breaking down the runaway hit, "I've Had It" podcast, as part of a new series, Pod Phenom Playbook where I break down some of the top podcasts. If you’ve ever wondered why certain podcasts blow up and become cultural juggernauts seemingly overnight, this episode digs into the structure, psychology, and stickiness that make a show impossible to ignore.

I break down how best friends...

Something big is shifting in how we get our news, and you can feel it in your body. You want to stay informed, but you also kind of want to throw your phone across the room. I asked a simple question on Facebook. Where do you get your news? What came back wasn’t a list of outlets. It was a list of survival strategies. And once I started digging into the data, it became very clear why so many smart, thoughtful people feel unsettled ...

Something big is shifting, and you can feel it. I’ve spent the last year stripping things down, walking away from what looked good on paper, and telling the truth about what actually works, what doesn’t, and what I refuse to carry into 2026. This episode is me coming back home to Culture Changers and explaining why I left, what broke, and what finally clicked. No polish. No performance. Just clarity, courage, and a mic. If you’ve e...

Something big is shifting.
You can feel it.

You want to stay informed and you also want to smash your phone.

I’m Allison Hare, a podcast strategist, and this is Culture Changers.

Here is where we talk with smarts and snark about all the stuff they say not to talk about: power, politics, religion, relationships through the lens of Pop culture. Of course we are talking cults and trad wives, too. 

If you’re wondering what to do with all of...

Christianity has taken on a totally different meaning these days.. It is in the oversized cross necklaces, the trad-wife hair, the school board fights, the subtle “illegal aliens vs immigrants” language, and the way a MAGA hat or a Pride flag can tell people your entire belief system before you say a word. In this episode, I pull together the data, the history, and my own messy spiritual story to ask whether we’re slipping into a f...

Sometimes life sneaks up on you and you have no choice but to face the dark corners we wish we could avoid. My guest today, Christophe van Durme is facing an impossibly difficult challenge of brain cancer as a young father. When i met Chris and saw the way he was handling his prognosis and building a legacy for his family, I knew I had to bring him to you.

Christophe talks through fear, multiple surgeries, paralysis, future plans th...