Life Changing with Dori Fern

Dori talks with writer and music storyteller Piotr Orlov, exploring themes of identity, the immigrant experience, and the transformative power of community. Piotr, whose grandmother was a classical musicologist and father, a prominent, American basketball-loving sportswriter, came here from Leningrad to New York at 7-3/4 years old, fully bought into the American Dream story. He shares how his cultural background shapes his perspect...

In this episode, Dori talks with music industry veteran and activist Vickie Starr about the importance of empathy, productive conversations, and navigating the messy path of personal and societal change. Together, they reflect on Vickie’s career in music PR, the industry's evolution, and what it means to have difficult, transformative discussions, including a notable, mind-changing exchange with rap icon Ice-T. Vickie shares s...

In this episode of Life Changing with Dori Fern, Dori talks with longtime friend, colleague, and fellow nerd, Ken Gibbs Jr., a digital media consultant with a distinguished career at companies like Spotify and BET Networks. They share stories that both align and diverge in striking ways, beginning with two very different family tales—told a decade and a world apart—connected by fireworks and fathers. They geek out over podcasting a...

Dori's long-term consulting job had ended and her next-door neighbor Khori Petinaud's Facebook post about the urge toward negative thinking as her show, Lempicka, was closing struck a chord. Khori talks about choosing faith over fear, a lesson that took Dori years and a coaching certification to learn. 

Khori shares her journey to becoming a Broadway dancer and performer, from her traditional ballet roots to the ...

Dori and Jennie Baird talk about resilience, grief, and the role of timing in their lives. Jennie works as the Chief Product Officer at BBC Studios and is also a certified mental health first aid and volunteer suicide bereavement support facilitator, among her many professional and personal roles and pursuits. 

They reflect on their childhoods and the influence their parents played, particularly their fathers. And Dori upd...

Season 2 of Life Changing with Dori Fern opens with an intimate conversation between Dori and James Beard Award-nominated food writer, Nicole Taylor, the author of cookbooks including the modern Juneteenth classic, Watermelon & Red Birds. Dori and Nicole met around 2010 at BK Swappers, a popular Brooklyn-based food swap that helped put the borough's foodie-ism on the map and paved the way for today's social food cultu...

Ep 12: It's a full-circle moment here at Life Changing with Dori Fern. For this last episode of Season 1, I interviewed fellow life changer, Danny Palestine -- who once interviewed me on his podcast --  about navigating his own messy middle following a layoff, some major health news, and the birth of his son at the start of the pandemic. We talk about his sometimes-rocky career pivot, how he leans on his professional network f...

Ep 11: Following a month of anxiety navigating finances and trying to stay calm in her end-of-summer search for work, a tectonic shift happened that brought about much change and a narrative shift.  It got Dori thinking about what is true and what is truth and how not conflating the difference takes an easy kind of discipline that she is still learning how to navigate.  Knowing the difference between an experience and her perceptio...

Ep 10: I'm back! What a rollercoaster couple of weeks. Started my professional coaching program. Woo wee, it was quite a ride to get there, to pull the trigger on this big move, but I did it! I'll tell you how all that went down. Much of the rest of my time has been spent negotiating my budget, figuring out how I can lower my spending since -- aside from a catering gig, which I'm working with my daughter (weird), the...

Get ready for a ride. The funds Dori has been living off of are suddenly -- or so it seems -- running dry.  Our host finds herself unmoored and scrambling for income, but grateful for the mentors who have supported her over the years and especially now. Find out why Dori believes people don't talk about money more than they should, and listen 'til the end to find out what to expect for the final episodes of Season 1 of Li...

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Ep 7: It's Michele 'Meta' Harper day on Life Changing with Dori Fern. 

July 2, 2022 was the one-year anniversary of Dori's job "independence." On this episode, she talks to hypnotherapist, personal stylist, and reiki master, Michele Harper about the benefits of impracticality, dance parties, and to find out what else, in these uncertain times, is in the cards for her.


Michele Har...

Ep 6: Seeking the necessary help is an essential ingredient to life changing, but knowing where to find it -- and who to ask -- isn't always clear.  In this episode, Dori talks to Carmen Hughes, career coach and diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant about how to find an accredited coach, self-help tips for those who can't afford or aren't ready to commit to hiring one, and about the pivotal role Carmen played i...

Ep 5: Dori feels a shift in family dynamics when her stepfather dies. And after a rocky start to a London trip to see her son, a new day and an attitude adjustment bring surprises.

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Email me: lifechangingwithdorifern@gmail.com

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Ep 4: Following her painful latke pop-up, Dori reflects on the role of food and cooking in her life, and the people who influenced her most. She comes to some crucial realizations.

NOTE: YOU'LL FIRST WANT TO LISTEN TO LIFE-CHANGING LATKES, PART 1 

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Ep 3:  Dori talks about the big latke-making popup she did over the holidays. It didn't go as planned.

Read more about her latke venture here.

Here's Dori's recipe for her Life-Changing Latkes, an adaptation of the recipe published after she won the 2011 Edible Brooklyn Latke recipe contest, which she forgot to mention in the podcast - whoops!):

Ingredients:

• 3 large russet potatoes (abo...

Ep 2:  Dori was struck by a piece of advice she heard on a podcast about career pivoting, given by Faye Penn, Executive Director of women.nyc and Executive Vice President of Initiatives at the New York City Economic Development Corporation. She invited Penn on to discuss the deeper meaning behind three deceptively-simple words.

Text Me!

Connect with me!
Instagram: @dorifern
LinkedIn: Dori Fern
Email me: lifechangingwithdo...