<![CDATA[This Might Be Cringe: The Be Cringe Podcast]]>https://www.thismightbecringe.com/s/the-be-cringe-podcasthttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!og_e!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3a1489d9-ac3d-4a21-8f00-ca67f1b98a1d_1024x1024.pngThis Might Be Cringe: The Be Cringe Podcasthttps://www.thismightbecringe.com/s/the-be-cringe-podcastSubstackTue, 07 Jul 2026 20:30:43 GMT<![CDATA[Be a Brave Creative with Chelsea Caffey]]>https://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/be-a-brave-creative-with-chelseahttps://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/be-a-brave-creative-with-chelseaWed, 01 Jul 2026 20:41:36 GMT is a writer, a stay-at-home mom of two, a former professional dancer, a self-appointed tour documentarian, and, as of recently, a first-time horseback rider.

She spent years touring the world with a modern acrobatic dance company, journaling backstage between scene changes, before finding her way to writing as her main creative anchor.

These days she calls herself less a “writer” and more a “creative,” someone who lets inspiration find her, wherever she is in a particular moment.

In this conversation, we get into being ‘early’, flexibility as a creative practice, choosing to be the brave version of yourself, and saying yes to showing up more fully.

We get into:

  • Filling an entire journal on a European dance tour, leaving it on a plane, and sprinting through LAX to get it back

  • Treating life like a blank canvas instead of a jigsaw puzzle

  • Embracing beginnerhood and being ‘early’ as permission to write a bad draft, say the wrong thing, and learn anyway

  • Saying yes to opportunities (like this podcast) as a way of aligning with her future self

  • How to navigate the murky waters of how much of yourself to share (and with whom)

I met Chelsea through Substack Notes, and I was so glad to have her join me on the pod. This one left me wanting to be a little braver, a little more creative, and more willing to paint instead of trying to find the perfect puzzle pieces. I hope it does the same for you.

Find Chelsea:

Thanks for listening to ‘Be Cringe’! Find us online:

Be Cringe is available wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening, and for supporting these conversations.

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]]><![CDATA[Be a Merchant with Max Nimaroff ]]>https://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/be-a-merchant-with-max-nimaroffhttps://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/be-a-merchant-with-max-nimaroffMon, 15 Jun 2026 15:48:38 GMT is a Brooklyn-based parent, SVP of e-commerce at Oats Overnight, writer, Discord community builder, aspiring Court Street shop owner, and self-described outsider who has spent his whole life stitching together people who wouldn’t otherwise be in the same room. He’s also a Pokémon master (of sorts).

In this conversation, we talk about:

  • Why a portfolio career is artistry by another name

  • His grandfather, who ran an ice cream shop, manufactured children’s dresses, and robo-traded from his Upper East Side apartment, and what Max learned from him

  • What it feels like to leave a job and watch years of work relationships disappear

  • Why he built 500+, and what “real community” looks like online

  • His dream of owning a store on Court Street

Huge thanks to Max for appearing on the podcast. I really appreciated our conversation and always love chatting with folks who are actively trying to build community. I also had a podcast first when he shared his phone number on air. He’s currently on parental leave (BIG congrats to him and the family), so he may be slower-than-usual to respond.

Find Max:

Thanks for listening to ‘Be Cringe’! Find us online:

]]><![CDATA[Be the Good on the Internet with Seth Werkheiser]]>https://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/be-the-good-on-the-internet-withhttps://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/be-the-good-on-the-internet-withTue, 02 Jun 2026 10:46:20 GMT is the founder of Social Media Escape Club, a freelance email marketer, and, among many (many) other things, has been on the Internet in earnest for over 25 years.

Over the last two-and-a-half decades, Seth has found his place on the Internet, through places like his 2001 heavy-metal blog (Buzz Grinder), his AOL music blog (Noise Creep), and being an early adopter of places like Twitter (he was user number 2,700, or so), Flickr, and something called ‘IRC’, a text-based platform where he used to make plans with people before going to local shows.

In this conversation, we talk about:

  • The early internet in all its glory (including a little trip down memory lane).

  • How he accidentally discovered SEO

  • How spending time away from social media can allow you to spend more time on your craft

  • Why most of us wouldn’t know what to do with virality, even if growing more slowly is, well, slow

  • The fact that spending time away from social media is not anti-Internet (in fact, you could argue it’s done out of love for the World Wide Web).

  • Why 50 subscribers can be more impactful than 5,000 followers

This conversation was such a delight. I’d been wanting to talk to Seth for a while, since I first watched one of his lives here on Substack, and I’m so glad he agreed to come join me on the podcast. I say this often, but I really felt like I could’ve kept the conversation going for another hour. We’ve got more to talk about, so hopefully more to come there soon.

I can’t wait for you all to listen!

Find Seth

Thanks for listening to ‘Be Cringe’! Find us online:

Be Cringe is available wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening, and for supporting these conversations.

Apple | Spotify | YouTube | iHeartRadio | RSS Feed

]]><![CDATA[Be a Lane Switcher with Lia Zneimer]]>https://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/be-a-lane-switcher-with-lia-zneimerhttps://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/be-a-lane-switcher-with-lia-zneimerTue, 19 May 2026 13:49:27 GMT is a former marketing VP, writer, author, theater kid at heart, storyteller, and dog mom to Waffles.

She is working on her YA novel set at theater camp, while navigating the many swim lanes of her career and finding comfort in being able to go back and forth between in-house roles and working for herself (while writing her book)

In this conversation, we talk about:

  • Giving ourselves the permission to define our own success in our career.

  • Going back in-house, and seeing that as part of a larger career ecosystem.

  • Being theater kids (I promise, we move on quickly).

  • Writing a novel, using the ‘author’ label before it’s published, and having big dreams for where it can go.

  • Being brave enough to examine your career and ask “do I like this or am I just good at it?”

I am really, truly, so excited about this one. I’ve admired Lia on Substack for a while, since reading her How to recharge without quitting your job essay (and then quitting my job anyway, oops).

the recharge
🔌 How to recharge without quitting your job
Oh my goodness, a lot of new faces this week. 🥹 (Which means the pressure is on…
Read more
10 months ago · 528 likes · 39 comments · Lia Zneimer

There are just some people you come across and immediately know they’re kind, good, passionate, and incredibly capable of whatever they want to do. Lia is one of those people, and I’m so glad our paths crossed when they did. I’m honored she came on the pod after I called her cringe (always a bit of an awkward sell, I wonder if I’ll ever get over that…).

I can’t wait for you to listen and hear from Lia. If you know her, you know you’re in for a treat. And if this is your first time coming across her, you have no idea how big of a treat you’re in for!

Find Lia

What Lia Shared:

Good Enough
The tech dream is a nightmare
Working in tech used to be fun, not because of the cold brew kegs or ping-pong tables, but because it felt like we were moving toward something together…
Read more
10 months ago · 57 likes · 33 comments · Max Pete

Thanks for listening to ‘Be Cringe’! Find us online:

1

If you Google “Mary Jantsch Pie Chart”, the top results are all Lia talking about this theory on Substack and LinkedIn — confirming she really does quote it often 😂

]]><![CDATA[Be Willing to Get Off the Treadmill with Devon Hunt]]>https://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/be-willing-to-get-off-the-treadmillhttps://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/be-willing-to-get-off-the-treadmillTue, 28 Apr 2026 17:57:58 GMT is a writer, a retreat host, and someone who is drawn to taste, style, and how it comes about.

She went to a good school, snagged a business degree, became a CPA, and spent the better half of a decade at a Big 4 firm. She checked promotions off one by one in a career that felt predictable, until one day, she chose to step off the treadmill.

In this conversation, we dig into what apathy at work tells us, why the fear of making the wrong choice keeps people stuck longer than the wrong choice itself ever would, and what happened when Devon finally gave herself permission to want more (and allowed herself to be seen doing it).

We get into:

  • Why passion fall-off is a signal worth listening to (and why pushing through isn’t always the answer)

  • What burnout leave looks like (spoiler: it’s not a bubble bath)

  • The difference between an opportunity finding you and working your ass off to be in the right place for it, and how they often coexist and seem to intermingle

  • Why publishing her writing was more difficult for her than the writing itself

  • Why fashion and aesthetics deserve intellectual rigor

I loved this conversation with Devon, and have been so excited to share it with you all. She’s self-aware, confident, fun to talk to, and has a way with words (both spoken and written). She cites Bourdieu in essays about fashion and somehow makes it feel completely natural, and has recently started sharing her journey in doing The Artist’s Way on her Substack.

What I keep coming back to from this episode is her framing of apathy as the canary in the coal mine. I know I’ve felt this, and at various stages in my life have either ignored the signs or pushed through. Devon talks about what happened when she listened to those warning signs, took a step back, and what she’s found since. I think many others can relate as well.

Find Devon

Substack: closet brain rot

closet brain rot
CBR is a study of personal style as a way of living, through clothing, spaces, and objects, and an exploration on how to build a more intentional, visually rich life through what we surround ourselves with—delivered around the first of the month.
By Devon Hunt

Be Cringe is available wherever you get your podcasts. If you know someone who’d make a great guest on the pod (yourself included), fill out this form!

Apple | Spotify | YouTube | iHeartRadio

]]><![CDATA[Be a Beginner Again with Amanda Jackson]]>https://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/be-a-beginner-again-with-amanda-jacksonhttps://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/be-a-beginner-again-with-amanda-jacksonTue, 14 Apr 2026 11:14:30 GMT is a marketer, a writer, a crocheter, a crafter, a baker, an illustrator, and even an ice skater. Said another way: she’s a creative who experiments and brings a beginner’s mindset to everything she does.

In this conversation, we get into:

  • Why it’s okay (and encouraged) to have hobbies we’re not immediately good at

  • The lessons she brought to the ice after watching this classic Disney Channel Original Movie

  • What it means to ‘donate your talents’ to a corporate job as a creative, and what that often leads to

  • The power of creating in community and being willing to move through projects, even if you don’t quite know where they’ll lead

  • How being yourself in front of teenagers will humble you quickly

I immediately knew that I wanted Amanda on the podcast when I read her responses to my call on Substack Notes. She’s in a season of transition and experimentation and I find her entire ethos and approach to be relatable and refreshing. She exudes creativity and I feel like in many ways offers me some proof on would happen if I let some of the hobbies I’ve let die in their proverbial graveyard live on — I may even pick up a sketchbook again after this chat.

I hope you all get as much out of this as I did. I appreciate Amanda and her perspective, and can’t wait for you all to listen!

Find Amanda:

Mandaroo Stack
rediscovering the spark in my career, creativity, and everyday joys.
By Amanda Jackson

And if you have read this far, I did in fact find Amanda’s first venture into podcasting. Listen here.

Be Cringe is available wherever you get your podcasts. If you know someone who’d make a great guest on the pod (yourself included), fill out this form!

Apple | Spotify | YouTube | iHeartRadio

]]><![CDATA[Be the Same Person in Every Room with Max Pete]]>https://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/be-the-same-person-in-every-roomhttps://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/be-the-same-person-in-every-roomFri, 27 Mar 2026 11:20:38 GMT is a community builder, writer, speaker, and amateur DJ who has spent over a decade showing up online as himself. He doesn’t craft a persona or show up differently depending on the situation or environment — he is the same person in every room he enters.

In this conversation, we dig into how he got there, the ways ego and identity can help us make decisions, and why being yourself is often the scariest option (but for Max, it’s the only option).

We get into:

  • How his experiences growing up shape how he shows up with others today

  • How to know when it’s finally time to let something go, even if it’s something that is seemingly doing well and that other’s enjoy

  • What it means to build community without it being a strategy

  • Scarcity vs. trust as decision drivers

  • Career growth and thoughts on living for retirement

I am truly so excited, honored, humbled, etc. that Max joined me, and I couldn’t think of a more perfect guest. Max and I connected on Substack (where he write’s ), and then LinkedIn, and then he was just everywhere, connected to everyone, and one of those personalities that instantly attract. He’s the ultimate hype man, will send you $10 for a coffee when you’re having a not-so-great day, and is overall the guy you want in your corner (the way he talks about his wife and family is just the absolute sweetest, too 😭🥹).

I can’t wait for you all to listen to this one. As I was editing, I was laughing and nodding along as if I was hearing it for the first time. 😅

Find Max:

Be Cringe is available wherever you get your podcasts. If you know someone who’d make a great guest on the pod (yourself included), fill out this form!

Apple | Spotify | YouTube | iHeartRadio

]]><![CDATA[Hi, This Might Be Cringe (But I'm Here Anyway)]]>https://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/hi-this-might-be-cringe-but-im-herehttps://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/hi-this-might-be-cringe-but-im-hereThu, 12 Mar 2026 23:14:54 GMTWell, here we are! I am delighted to share the very first episode of The Be Cringe Podcast with you all.

In this solo episode, I lay the foundation for what I hope we’ll all get out of this podcast. I also share some pretty big news (and I do it suspiciously casually…).

This is actually the second version of this intro episode. When I first decided to launch the podcast, I wrote out what I wanted to talk about in this first episode and turned it into a script. It was polished, it didn’t ramble or go off on tangents, and overall, it sounded clean.

Too clean, if you asked me. I published it just moments after I put up the trailer, but took it down after listening again. It sounded scripted, and it didn’t sound like me.

It sounded like I wrote something for This Might Be Cringe, set up my mic, and recorded it to be enjoyed while reading on Substack. There’s definitely a time and place for that — I’ve always wanted to add recordings to my essays, but if that were the goal, I wouldn’t need a podcast.

I want the podcast to be different. I want the conversations I have and learnings and insights that come out of those conversations to happen authentically and organically, and I knew I had to lead by example with this solo episode. It’s less polished, and that feels important for me.

One of the reasons starting a podcast has felt so difficult for me (besides it being totally cringe) is that I’ve sold myself a narrative that I’m not a speaker but a writer — that written communication just isn’t my jam, that I talk in circles and ramble, and that I don’t have a voice for radio. And if I am being self-aware, that all might be true! But I know it won’t get easier unless I try.

Also, we’re allowed to do things we’re bad at. We’re allowed to have fun while learning, figuring it out, and making mistakes along the way.

I’ll be back in a few weeks’ time with our first guest! I’m really excited about the conversation we’re going to have, and can’t wait for you to follow along.

Thanks for listening to Be Cringe.

Share

Be Cringe is available wherever you get your podcasts, and this episode will be available on all platforms very soon. If you know someone who’d make a great guest, let me know in the comments below.

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]]><![CDATA[Introducing Be Cringe, the Podcast]]>https://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/introducing-be-cringe-84bhttps://www.thismightbecringe.com/p/introducing-be-cringe-84bSun, 15 Feb 2026 02:10:01 GMTWTF…I started a Podcast.

I’ve wanted to start a Podcast for a while. Like, for years. And when my husband gifted me a podcast mic for Valentine’s Day, I felt I had no other choice but to jump right in.

That’s the power of wanting.

Welcome to Be Cringe, the podcast that explores what happens when you start living for yourself and stop worrying about all the other noise. This might be cringe, but we're doing it anyway.

There is something you want to do — you’ve just been letting your fear (of embarrassment, of failure, of whatever) get in your way. If that’s you, you’re in the right place.

More to come soon!

Thanks for listening to Be Cringe.

Share

Be Cringe is available wherever you get your podcasts, including right here on Substack. If you know someone who’d make a great guest, let me know below.

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