For The Love With Jen Hatmaker Podcast

It's officially the season of invitations, and if your first feeling about the next holiday text is a tiny bit of dread, Gail Simmons wrote a book for you. Gail has been at the Top Chef judges' table since the very first season (20 years and 23 seasons!), and she noticed that for all the books on hosting, almost nobody teaches us how to be a good guest. So she wrote Guesting. Jen and Gail talk about why the judges never get to know the chefs, the food-loving parents who raised her to be curious about the world, the blunt advice that sent her to culinary school, and the signature-gift habit she picked up from food critic Jeffrey Steingarten. Plus: the uninvited guest who walked off with the centerpieces, why the Irish goodbye is actually fine, the "Jewish Canadian goodbye," and how to ask for leftovers like a pro. This is a conversation about reciprocity, gratitude, and building the connected world we're all hoping for.
Thought-provoking Quotes:
"I realized that we all guest in the world a lot more than we actually host." - Gail Simmons
"This isn't Emily Post. This is how to contribute to our communities a little better." - Gail Simmons
"We're voting on vibes, and you guys are voting on food." - Jen Hatmaker
"Hosts don't host to get gifts... they host to host." - Gail Simmons
"Dress, act, put out in the world for the experience you want to receive." - Gail Simmons
"It's never too late to be grateful." - Gail Simmons
"What I want people to say is she is the life of the party." - Gail Simmons
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Guesting by Gail Simmons - https://gailsimmons.com/guesting
Signed copies from Books Are Magic - https://www.booksaremagic.net
Top Chef on Bravo - https://www.bravotv.com/top-chef
Guest's Links:
Website - https://gailsimmons.com
Instagram - https://instagram.com/gailsimmonseats
Twitter - https://twitter.com/gailsimmons
Connect with Jen!
Jen's Website - https://jenhatmaker.com/
Jen's Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmaker
Jen's Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/
Jen's Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmaker
Jen's YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker
The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy.

If you’re hearing this the morning it drops, the midterms wrapped yesterday. I recorded this last week, on purpose, so I don’t know how it went. I don’t know what you woke up feeling, and honestly, I don’t know what I’m feeling yet either. Relieved, defeated, somewhere in between: either way, we still have to get up and make breakfast.
We’re opening our November series on Enough, and today it’s just me and you with the most basic version of it: you have enough in you to show up today, no matter what happened yesterday. I’m asking three questions. What do you still have that you had yesterday? What can you set down, or hand to someone else, for 24 hours? And what is the next small thing that’s yours to do?
Setting something down is not quitting. Being a good neighbor is not a small thing. And as we head into the holiday season, maybe facing some hard firsts, you also get to say enough is enough. I want all of us to have enough left for the long game.
Thought-provoking Quotes:
Enough really isn’t a feeling. For me, sometimes I see it more as a count.
Setting something down is not quitting. Resting is not quitting. Pausing is not quitting.
Hope can be so exhausting when you’re just trying to hold it up in the air with all your might.
We can’t fix everything, but we do have to have dinner.
Being a good neighbor to me is the highest apex of my faith.
I believe that we belong to each other, and that we have far more in common than what separates us.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Join the AWAKE Collective on Letters from the Middle - https://jenhatmaker.substack.com
Read this month’s free essay - https://jenhatmaker.substack.com (the first essay of every month is free for all subscribers)
November AWAKE Collective Reflection Guide, included with your subscription
Leave us a voicemail - https://jenhatmaker.com/podcast: Tell me three things you still have today.
Connect with Jen!
Jen’s Website - https://jenhatmaker.com/
Jen’s Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmaker
Jen’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/
Jen’s Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmaker
Jen’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker
The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy.

She's become a leading voice in the culinary world and now hosts the very cooking competition show that launched her career. Kristen Kish was eliminated from Bravo's Top Chef Season 10, then fought her way back through Last Chance Kitchen to win it all. Since her 2013 victory, she's opened her Austin restaurant Arlo Grey (with another on the way in NYC), hosted Kitchens at the End of the World and Iron Chef, and stepped into the host role at Top Chef: the student becoming the teacher. In her new book, Accidentally on Purpose
In this episode, we cover:
• Pivoting, embracing change, and building a truthful, authentic life
• Why the road to success is more winding than it seems
• Recognizing when it's time to make a change or step forward
• Battling imposter syndrome, burnout, and the voice of doubt
• How life's best opportunities often come from embracing the unexpected
Thought-provoking Quotes:
"I figured out that I don't need to be anything other than myself. " – Kristen Kish
"For a long time, I didn't know myself at all. I was too scared. I was scared of knowing where I came from because what if I found out something absolutely horrible? " – Kristen Kish
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Top Chef - https://www.bravotv.com/top-chef
Bravo - https://www.bravotv.com/
Accidentally on Purpose by Kristen Kish - https://amzn.to/4iJQy04
Arlo Grey - https://www.thelinehotel.com/austin/restaurants-bars/arlo-grey/
Stef Ferrari, food writer - https://www.theycallmeferrari.com/ferrari-here
Charlotte Rose Coleman, fashion stylist - https://www.charlotterosecoleman.com/
Guest's Links:
Website - https://www.thelinehotel.com/magazine/meet-atx-family-kristen-kish/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kristenlkish/
Twitter - https://x.com/kristenlkish
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KristenLKish/
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@kristenlkish
Connect with Jen!
Website - https://jenhatmaker.com/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmaker
Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/
Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmaker
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker
The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy.

With the midterms days away, Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers of Pantsuit Politics break down what is really on the ballot, how to make sure your vote counts, and how to survive the Thanksgiving table when your family lands all over the map. This isn't an episode about how to vote. It's about how to be a person right now.
Thought-provoking Quotes:
"It doesn't cost me anything to listen to people." - Beth Silvers
"Your vote counts more in the midterm elections because fewer people vote." - Beth Silvers
"If you ask people to silence that, you lose the opportunity to connect." - Sarah Stewart Holland
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Sarah and Beth's books - https://bookshop.org/lists/pantsuit-politics-book-club
Up First from NPR - https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510318/up-first
The Daily - https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-daily
The Ezra Klein Show - https://www.nytimes.com/column/ezra-klein-podcast
For the Love with Priya Parker - https://jenhatmaker.com/podcast
Meander Bookshop - https://bookshop.org/shop/meanderbookshop
Also mentioned: Start Here (ABC News), The New York Times, Axios, News Items, and Mary Higgins Clark's Where Are the Children?
Guest's Links:
Website - https://www.pantsuitpoliticsshow.com
Substack - https://pantsuitpolitics.substack.com
Instagram - https://instagram.com/pantsuitpolitics
Sarah's Substack - https://stewartholland.substack.com
Connect with Jen!
Jen's Website - https://jenhatmaker.com/
Jen's Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmaker
Jen's Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/
Jen's Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmaker
Jen's YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker
The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy.

Kim Hill had the kind of run most artists only dream of: number one songs on Christian radio, arena stages, and the biggest women’s conferences in the country. Paulette Wooten was a songwriter, musician, and ordained music minister helping build the modern worship movement from the inside. Then they met at a worship school, played a 45-minute set together as near strangers, and a year and a half of friendship on the road quietly turned into love. In a world where that was not allowed, they chose each other anyway.
As part of our Courage to Change: Do It Scared series, Jen sits down with Kim and Paulette, now the Americana duo Wooten Hill, to talk about the long, slow road out of the world that built them. They share the disastrous wedding venue chapter (Billy and the squirrels!), what changed when they stopped hiding from themselves, why they chose not to blow up their lives, and how they’ve kept love at the center even when it wasn’t returned. Plus, the summer they waited on a grandbaby in Nashville and ended up making the truest record of their lives. Their first full-length album, How Did We Get Here, is out now.
Thought-provoking Quotes:
“If I am gay, I’m gonna be gay and have a real relationship. I’m not gonna have some no man’s land.” - Kim Hill
“I feel like someone plugged me into an amp. I feel like I sing better.” - Kim Hill
“This is the truest art I have ever put out.” - Paulette Wooten
“You’re not too late, you’re not broken. You are enough.” - Kim Hill
“I find that kind of faith the most faithful kind of faith.” - Jen Hatmaker
“Your story has made you softer, not harder.” - Jen Hatmaker
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
How Did We Get Here by Wooten Hill (streaming, CD, and vinyl) - https://wootenhill.com
The Road to Wooten Hill podcast (launching October 30) - https://wootenhill.com
Wooten Hill on Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/us/artist/wooten-hill/1539129507
The Treehouse + Co - https://www.thetreehouseandco.com
“How He Loves” by John Mark McMillan - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_He_Loves
Leave us a voicemail - http://jenhatmaker.com/Podcast
Guest’s Links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wootenhillmusic/
Website - https://wootenhill.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/wootenhillband/
Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/us/artist/wooten-hill/1539129507
Connect with Jen!
Jen’s Website - https://jenhatmaker.com/
Jen’s Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmaker
Jen’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/