19 episodes

Cruel Summer Book Club is a podcast about change—one of life’s only certainties. Host Jillian Anthony (author of the Cruel Summer Book Club newsletter and former Editor of Time Out New York) has honest conversations with authors, artists, life coaches, and others who share wisdom about experiencing Big Change, how they got through it, and what they learned on the other side.

Cruel Summer Book Club Jillian Anthony

    • Society & Culture
    • 5.0 • 27 Ratings

Cruel Summer Book Club is a podcast about change—one of life’s only certainties. Host Jillian Anthony (author of the Cruel Summer Book Club newsletter and former Editor of Time Out New York) has honest conversations with authors, artists, life coaches, and others who share wisdom about experiencing Big Change, how they got through it, and what they learned on the other side.

    How to Welcome 2023 With Intention (And Say Goodbye to 2022)

    How to Welcome 2023 With Intention (And Say Goodbye to 2022)

    On this solo episode, host Jillian Anthony (writer, editor, and author of the Cruel Summer Book Club newsletter) shares her favorite ways to intentionally usher in the new year. She shares her experience with Year Compass, the free workbook she fills out every January, and how it’s helped her make real change — and identify which things she fails to change year after year. She also shares some other New Year resources and talks about her favorite books of 2022. Happy new year!

    Follow Cruel Summer Book Club on Spotify and Apple Podcasts now so you never miss an episode. And don’t forget to give Cruel Summer Book Club a five-star review on Apple Podcasts so we feel the love.

    Follow host Jillian Anthony:
    Instagram: @jillathrilla
    Twitter: @jillathrilla
    Subscribe to the Cruel Summer Book Club newsletter

    Time stamps

    1:52 – Jillian’s favorite books of 2022
    2:02 – A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney
    2:49 – 4000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
    4:48 – Sober Curious by Ruby Warrington
    5:30 – Hear more of Jillian’s sobriety journey on Catherine Andrew’s podcast The Sunday Soother
    5:47 – How to use Year Compass to welcome a new year
    7:58 – Jillian’s big dreams for the year ahead at the start of 2021
    10:32 – How many of those dreams came true
    11:02 – Things Jillian hasn’t changed year after year
    11:25 – And the things Jillian has changed
    13:14 – Picking your word of the year (susannahconway.com)
    14:00 – Align your priorities with the Four-Square Model (franhauser.com)
    15:28 – Keep track of the best thing that happened during your week for a year
    16:09 – Jillian’s bucket list dreams
    16:42 – A special New Year’s message for you
    17:35 – Where you can find Jillian


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    • 18 min
    Get Swole with Casey Johnston

    Get Swole with Casey Johnston

    Casey Johnston is the author of the long-running column Ask a Swole Woman, which now lives on her newsletter, She’s a Beast. She also wrote a book for beginner strength trainers called Liftoff: Couch to Barbell, which outlines a 12-week program on the basics of lifting, and fosters an online community for women strength trainers (and everyone else who might not fit into the gym bro stereotype). Host Jillian Anthony (writer, editor, and author of the Cruel Summer Book Club newsletter) used Casey’s book as a guide to ease back into lifting after a long break. Casey talks about how strength training changed her relationship to food, exercise, and her own body; why “losing weight” isn’t a great motivator; and how it’s an important life skill to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

    Follow Cruel Summer Book Club on Spotify and Apple Podcasts now so you never miss an episode. And don’t forget to give Cruel Summer Book Club a five-star review on Apple Podcasts so we feel the love.

    Follow guest Casey Johnston:
    Newsletter: shesabeast.co
    Book: Liftoff: Couch to Barbell
    Twitter: @caseyjohnston
    Instagram: @swolewoman

    Follow host Jillian Anthony:
    Instagram: @jillathrilla
    Twitter: @jillathrilla
    Subscribe to the Cruel Summer Book Club newsletter


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    Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jillian-anthony/message

    • 1 hr 2 min
    Tarot for Change with Jessica Dore

    Tarot for Change with Jessica Dore

    Author Jessica Dore combines the wisdom of ancient storytelling, the mysticism of Tarot, and the teachings of psychology in her book, Tarot for Change: Using the Cards for Self-care, Acceptance, and Growth. A licensed social worker, she writes regular offerings to readers online, using the images of the 78 cards of the Tarot deck and the characters she studies in folklore to weave affecting stories of how we can embrace the archetypes that are ever-present in our own lives — and use Tarot as a tool for change. Host Jillian Anthony (writer, editor, and author of the Cruel Summer Book Club newsletter) talks with Jessica about how she practices Tarot in her own life, how you can start building a relationship with the Tarot cards, and Jillian’s tarot pull about 2022 — a year of big changes.

    Follow Cruel Summer Book Club on Spotify and Apple Podcasts now so you never miss an episode. And don’t forget to give Cruel Summer Book Club a five-star review on Apple Podcasts so we feel the love.

    Follow guest Jessica Dore:
    Book: Tarot for Change
    Offerings newsletter: jessicadore.substack.com
    Twitter and Instagram: @thejessicadore

    Follow host Jillian Anthony:
    Instagram: @jillathrilla
    Twitter: @jillathrilla
    Subscribe to the Cruel Summer Book Club newsletter

    Time stamps
    1:14 – Jillian is reading: Desert Oracle by Ken Layne
    2:51 – Jillian’s obsession: her new cat Dusty!
    4:02 – Introducing guest Jessica Dore
    5:00 – Jessica’s obsession: her garden
    7:27 – The basics of Tarot
    10:04 – How and why Jessica wrote Tarot for Change
    12:46 – Jessica’s approach to Tarot as a social worker
    21:46 – How Jessica uses Tarot in her own life
    28:36 – How to start building a relationship with Tarot cards
    30:49 – Jillian’s Tarot practice
    33:00 – Jillian discusses her Tarot pull about her year with Jessica
    49:35 – Art that helped Jessica through a difficult time: the Visconti Sforza Tarot deck
    53:02 – Jessica’s joy bomb: her puppy, and their routine
    56:08 – Where you can follow Jessica


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    • 58 min
    Financial Freedom with Stella Gold

    Financial Freedom with Stella Gold

    What if you approached money from a place of abundance, rather than restriction? Stella Gold will show you the way. Stella is a certified, trauma-informed financial wellness educator — and host Jillian Anthony’s former financial advisor. Their business, My Gold Standard, helps people understand the emotions, experiences, and desires behind how they spend money, and build wealth along the way. Stella’s entire life changed when their father died suddenly, leaving Stella and their mother to sort through the impenetrable financial processes of the government. In this episode, Stella tells Jillian about their own financial education and wealth journey; how grief shaped their future; and what it was like to fully step into their nonbinary identity.

    Follow Cruel Summer Book Club on Spotify and Apple Podcasts now so you never miss an episode. And don’t forget to give Cruel Summer Book Club a five-star review on Apple Podcasts so we feel the love.

    Follow guest Stella Gold:
    Instagram: @mygoldstandard
    Website: mygoldstandard.co

    Follow host Jillian Anthony:
    Instagram: @jillathrilla
    Twitter: @jillathrilla
    Subscribe to the Cruel Summer Book Club newsletter

    Time stamps

    1:11 – Jillian is reading 4000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
    3:09 – Jillian’s obsession: Taylor Swift’s “Midnights”
    4:52 – Introducing guest Stella Gold
    5:54 – Stella’s obsession: eels
    8:00 – Stella explains their work as a certified trauma-informed financial wellness educator
    11:16 – Financial literacy, and focusing on abundance instead of restriction
    15:02 – The impact the sudden death of Stella’s father had on their life
    22:22 – Stella’s travel and finances in the midst of grief
    28:57 – Stella’s journey to starting their own company
    34:34 – What My Gold Standard is all about and Stella’s love for entrepreneurship
    37:18 – What it’s like to work with Stella
    39:42 – How Stella embraced their nonbinary identity
    47:04 – Discovering nonbinary people in Stella’s Filipino ancestry
    48:30 – Stella’s they/them pronouns
    50:08 – Stella’s finance book recommendations: The Law of Divine Compensation by Marianne Williamson
    51:26 – The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
    52:31 – My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem
    53:13 – Decolonize Wealth by Edgar Villanueva: “Money is medicine”
    53:43 – A piece of art that helped Stella through a hard time: The On Being podcast
    56:36 – Stella’s joy bomb: Body movement
    59:24 – Where to follow Stella


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    Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jillian-anthony/message

    • 1 hr
    Nicole Cardoza Makes Magic

    Nicole Cardoza Makes Magic

    Nicole Cardoza practices radical imagination, and wants you to as well. She may be best known as the creator of the Anti-Racism Daily newsletter, which began shortly after the murder of George Floyd and now reaches hundreds of thousands of subscribers. But Nicole also manages Reclamation Ventures, which invests in projects committed to health and racial equity; runs the Banned Books Book Club; and is currently on tour as a magician. Host Jillian Anthony (writer, editor, and author of the Cruel Summer Book Club newsletter) asks Nicole what it was like to watch Anti-Racism Daily gain such sudden popularity, and the self-care practices she adopted to see her through an intense professional learning curve. Plus, they discuss closing the “wellness gap;” what it’s like to be a Black, queer, female magician; and Nicole’s pandemic months spent in the wilds of Alaska.

    Follow Cruel Summer Book Club on Spotify and Apple Podcasts now so you never miss an episode. And don’t forget to give Cruel Summer Book Club a five-star review on Apple Podcasts so we feel the love.

    Follow guest Nicole Cardoza:
    Website and newsletter: nicoleacordoza.com
    Instagram and Twitter: @nicoleacardoza
    Anti-Racism Daily newsletter: antiracismdaily.com

    Follow host Jillian Anthony:
    Instagram: @jillathrilla
    Twitter: @jillathrilla
    Subscribe to the Cruel Summer Book Club newsletter

    Time stamps

    2:33 – Jillian is reading A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
    4:41 – Jillian’s obsession: The Real Housewives of Potomac
    6:34 – Introducing guest Nicole Cardoza
    7:11 – Nicole’s obsession with radical imagination
    9:45 – Nicole’s fall tour as a magician
    11:13 – Being a good community member in Austin, a blue dot in a red state
    13:30 – Nicole’s upbringing and early interest in magic
    15:53 – Nicole’s growth in yoga and the wellness space
    17:45 – What is the “wellness gap?”
    20:44 – The beginning of Anti-Racism Daily and its growth
    26:52 – How Nicole leveled up professionally
    32:10 – How Nicole continually educates herself about social issues
    35:18 – Nicole’s mental and physical wellness practices
    37:28 – Nicole spent months in Alaska during the pandemic
    41:01 – Breaking down Nicole’s other businesses
    42:10 – Nicole’s goals for Reclamation Ventures and as a performer
    44:14 – Nicole’s experience as a Black, queer, female magician
    46:46 – Banned Books Book Club, and the rise of book banning in the USA
    52:22 – Nicole’s art: “I Found My Smile Again” by Jaylen Pigford
    53:48 – Nicole’s joy bomb: Morning walks with her dog to get coffee
    55:42 – Where to follow Nicole’s work


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    • 56 min
    Dylan Marron Talks with People Who Hate Him

    Dylan Marron Talks with People Who Hate Him

    Writer, actor, and podcast host Dylan Marron has made a career out of doing something few of us will ever do: talking to internet strangers who said unkind things to him online. When Dylan began publishing video series to a large online audience, he started taking screenshots of the hateful comments people left and saved them in a “hate folder” on his computer. One Facebook chat with an 18-year-old commenter led to the remarkable first episode of his podcast, Conversations with People Who Hate Me, and his first book of the same name. Host Jillian Anthony (author of the Cruel Summer Book Club newsletter and former Editor of Time Out New York) talks with Dylan about how these difficult conversations changed how he exists online and in real life, and how kindness and empathy can radically change how we interact with those who disagree with us. Plus they discuss what it was like for Dylan to take 13 months off social media, how he finally got his book over the finish line after a two-year delay, and how author Anne Lamott’s advice to write a “sh*tty first draft” makes him a better writer. 

    Follow guest Dylan Marron:
    Website: dylanmarron.com
    Instagram: @dylanmarron
    Twitter: @dylanmarron
    Book: Conversations with People Who Hate Me
    Podcast: Conversations with People Who Hate Me

    Follow host Jillian Anthony:
    Instagram: @jillathrilla
    Twitter: @jillathrilla
    Subscribe to the Cruel Summer Book Club newsletter

    Don’t forget to give Cruel Summer Book Club a five-star review on Apple Podcasts so we feel the love.

    Time stamps

    1:08 – Reading Into Thin Air by Jon Krakaeur
    5:23 – Jillian’s obsession with Nimsdai
    7:41 – Introducing guest Dylan Marron
    8:27 – Dylan’s obsession with car detailing videos from @thedetailgeek
    10:47 – How Jillian knows Dylan and his husband Todd
    16:20 – Dylan’s early theater experience with the New York Neo Futurists
    19:02 – More on Dylan’s work and video series at Seriously.tv
    22:42 – When Dylan began collecting hateful comments from online strangers
    25:31 – What it was like to talk to Dylan’s first guest for Conversations with People Who Hate Me
    31:15 – Why Dylan doesn’t describe internet detractors as trolls
    36:42 – What “empathy is not endorsement” means
    40:34 – How Dylan has reshaped how he exists online
    44:04 – Kindness and empathy won’t heal what ails us, but they will help
    46:55 – Dylan took 13 months off social media to write his book
    49:31 – How being offline for over a year reshaped Dylan’s relationship to social media
    53:48 – Dylan talks about missing his book deadline by two years, and the writing process
    55:33 – Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and the freedom of the “sh*tty first draft”
    1:03:46 – Two books that helped Dylan write: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
    1:05:35 – Dylan’s joy bomb: taking a nap
    1:07:07 – Where you can follow Dylan


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    Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jillian-anthony/message

    • 1 hr 8 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
27 Ratings

27 Ratings

stellagoldxo ,

A favorite of mine to expand my mindset!

Jillian has hosts from all walks of life on the CSBC podcast and I’ve loved listening to all of them. My curiosities for so many things get uncovered here and i’m always excited for the next episode. I learn something new each listen. It’s reflective, expansive, fun, healing, playful, and so much more. It’s like having your bestie in the car with you while you drive!

Jacqueline's Version ,

Season 2 feels like therapy right now

I am so happy Cruel Summer Bookclub Podcast is back! Ep 1 of the new season felt like a free therapy session. Super relatable and hopeful.
Almost like the time Taylor Swift released Folklore as a surprise on July 24, 2020 and I sobbed with gratitude & relief in my parent’s guest room. More good to come.

Leopride53 ,

ALWAYS A GREAT TAKE A WAY FOR ME…………..

I am enjoying Jillian Anthony’s podcast and guests very much. I always take away something to either reflect on in my own life or take with me for my future experiences……..very authentic and lots of fun too…..I really love to hear the answers to the “joy bomb” questions for the guests at the end of each podcast!! Thank you Jillian Anthony!

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