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The Rest of Us with Dana Tenille Weekes
The Rest of Us podcast explores rest as self-liberation for advocates and professionals who are losing themselves to the demands of work, loved ones, friends, strangers, and this dizzying world. The Rest of Us cultivates a community through honest reflections, conversations, and laughter for people willing to embrace rest differently.
Episodes
41 episodes
Poetic Interlude - Omavi Shukur reading "thingafication of a soul"
How would you describe the difference between liberatory rest and predatory leisure? In this Poetic Interlude, Omavi Shukur shares his poem "thingafication of a soul" (originally published in Hanging Loose magazine, Iss...
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Poetic Interlude - Gauri Awasthi reading "Prayer from a Non-Believer"
How is liberation possible in life and death? In this Poetic Interlude, Gauri Awasthi reads her poem "Prayer from a Non-Believer" in her debut poetry collection Mother Wound (Trio House Press, October 2026)....
Ep. 30: Calling All Leaders: Let Your Workplace Hero Identity Go with Guest Robb King
“When you take on being the hero, you’re willing to sacrifice relationships and social connections because your worth is tied to producing. There’s pride attached to it.” What resonates when you read this?In this episode of The Rest of U...
Poetic Interlude - Jae Nichelle reading "Sci-fi Black Lead"
What are some simple things we overlook with each blink? How do we share apples with no urgency? In this Poetic Interlude, Jae Nichelle shares her poem “Sci-fi with Black Lead."Creatives, including poets, show us how to embrace ou...
Poetic Interlude - Derrick Weston Brown reading "Pool"
What bodily sensations can you recall that signify rest should be near? In this Poetic Interlude, Derrick Weston Brown shares his poem “Pool” (previously published in Narrative Northeast Journal).Creative expression is a ...
Ep. 29: Calling All Leaders: Shifting from Reactive Tendencies to Purposeful Action with Guest Farah Hussain
As a follow-up to our last episode, Farah Hussain, Leadership Advisor & Executive Coach, joins host Dana Tenille Weekes to talk about how workplace leaders adopt and normalize reactive tendencies as part of a “cost of doing business”...
Poetic Interlude - Remica Bingham-Risher reading "In My Best Dreams They Are On the Water"
How do you let stillness into your body as we live in an infinitely difficult world? In this Poetic Interlude, Remica Bingham-Risher shares her poem "In My Best Dreams They Are On The Water" (from her latest poetry collection, Room S...
Poetic Interlude - Mai-Linh Hong reading "Harvest Moon with Wildfire"
How do you deeply care for the land to ground your living self within the collective of all living things? In this Poetic Interlude, Mai-Linh Hong shares her poem "Harvest Moon with Wildfire" (from her forthcoming debut collection, C...
Ep. 28: Calling All Leaders: Yes, It's You. You're Causing Your Team (and You) Unrest
In this episode, "Calling All Leaders: Yes, It's You. You're Causing Your Team (and You) Unrest," host Dana Tenille Weekes talks about how work environments are breeding grounds for burnout and performative practices.Dana calls in...
Poetic Interlude - Jasmine Vallejo-Love reading “My Response When the Instructor Prompted Us to Craft a Poem About Flowers at a Time Like This”
How has your lineage influenced how you rest? In this Poetic Interlude, Jasmine Vallejo-Love shares her poem “My Response When the Instructor Prompted Us to Craft a Poem About Flowers at a Time Like This” and a reflection prompt on rest.&nbs...
Poetic Interlude - Kira Tucker reading "Off on Holiday"
What happens when our rest is tied up in someone else’s oppression? In this Poetic Interlude, Kira Tucker shares her poem “Off on Holiday” and a reflection prompt on rest. Creative expression is a portal to rest as liberation...
Ep. 27: Let the World Catch Up: Part 2 of 2
In Part 2 of our "Let the World Catch Up" episode, host Dana Tenille Weekes dives into the remaining three of five mindsets to meet those moments in life when you feel like you’re onto something that you can see (but most people can’t see) or y...
Poetic Interlude - Susan L. Leary Reading "Idle"
The Rest of Us is doing something different for Season Two! Every other week, we will feature two of over 30 poets in a segment we call “Poetic Interlude,” launching during National Poetry Month. In this Poetic Interlude, Susan L. Leary shar...
Poetic Interlude - Anastacia-Reneé Reading "Stem"
The Rest of Us is doing something different for Season Two. Every other week, we will feature two of over 30 poets in a segment we call “Poetic Interlude,” launching during National Poetry Month. In this Poetic Interlude, Anastacia-Reneé sha...
Ep. 26: Season Two Premiere - Let the World Catch Up: Part 1 of 2
In the Season Two premiere of The Rest of Us podcast, host Dana Tenille Weekes makes the case for embracing the affirmation “let the world catch up” when people cannot see what we see or understand what we understand. ...
Ep 25: Celebrate Yourself Your Way | Season One Finale
It’s the Season 1 Finale of The Rest of Us! But this episode isn’t just a wrap-up or a celebration of this milestone. Host Dana Tenille Weekes invites you to redefine what it m...
Ep 24: Friend, Say "Yes" to Nothing. Embrace Boredom, Silence, and Slowness.
We use apps to save time, outsource errands, and even boil water in under a minute, yet we still claim we “don’t have time.” In this second-to-last episode of Season 1, Dana Tenille Weekes challenges our cultural addiction to speed, noise, a...
Ep 23: Rethinking Rules We Follow, But Do Not Serve Us
Stop and ask yourself this question: What are the rules that I live by that actually do not serve me? In this episode, host Dana Tenille Weekes invites us to question rules around us and our internal script...
Ep 22: Rest in Conversation with Nia Ariel Davis Sigona - Rest Calls for Us to Reimagine
In this special live-recorded episode from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 54th Annual Legislative Conference, host Dana Tenille Weekes sits with Nia Ariel Davis Sigona to explore the relationship between rest a...
Ep 21: Rest in Conversation with Sullivan Summer - Why Rest as Liberation Reaches Far Beyond Self-Care (Part 2 of 2)
This episode is Part 2 of Dana Tenille Weekes’ raw and resonant conversation with Sullivan Summer, a poet, essayist, literary critic, and dear friend of Dana's. Picking up where they left off, Dana and Sullivan'...
Ep 20: Rest in Conversation with Sullivan Summer - Why Rest as Liberation Reaches Far Beyond Self-Care (Part 1 of 2)
In Part 1 of this two-part, intimate and thought-provoking conversation, Dana Tenille Weekes is joined by a dear friend and listener, Sullivan Summer, a poet, essayist, and literary critic. Together, they explore the layers of per...
Ep 19: What Are You Chasing? Exploring a Life of Expectations vs. Being
In this important episode, host Dana Tenille Weekes questions the non-stop exhaustion that we call ambition: What are you chasing, and is it even meant for you? Through thoughtful reflection, storytelling, and three main poin...
Ep 18: Just Do the Thing
In this motivational episode, Dana Tenille Weekes speaks to the tension between knowing what you're meant to do and avoiding doing it. Her message? Just do the thing. Whether you're stuck in the loop of overthinking, w...
Ep 17: Feeling Unrest at Work? Maybe You're Prioritizing Etiquette Over Professionalism
In this episode, Dana Tenille Weekes challenges the commonly overlooked confusion between niceness and professionalism and how that confusion can create a work culture of unrest.Dana explores how avoiding the truth unde...
Ep 16 - If the World's Burning is Burning You Out, Be Conscious of Rest
In this urgent episode, Dana Tenille Weekes speaks to the global unrest that is happening around us and what it means for rest as self-liberation. She talks directly to listeners who are opting to "rest" to avoid and disengage from the world's ...