Shows
Not For Everyone132. Love Letter: When to Get New Friends + Spiraling About the Return of Skinny CultureThis show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/notforeveryone today to get 10% off your first month.__In this post-birthday solo episode, Jess is a changed woman. She shares the hacks she used to get the most of her time off, and one in particular might rock everything you've ever known about her.Then she turns to listener-submitted complaints, covering everything from boob sweat to body image. Jess has been having a lot of personal reactions and reflections when it comes to the recent online movement that thinner is better (#Skinnytok), and she unloads them all in this epi...
2025-07-2458 minNot For Everyone129. Not for Laundry + Work Stress is a Scam, and Emails are Not EmergenciesThis show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/notforeveryone today to get 10% off your first month.__Remember the game Rush Hour? Ever feel like that’s just your day-to-day life? This week Jess is picking up exactly what Caroline is putting down, and if you’re anything like the two of them (i.e. anxious, people pleasers, short), you probably will too. Commiserating over their recent stressful work weeks, J and C talk about their stress responses and coping mechanisms when it comes to feeling overwhelmed. Caroline comes in hot with a new mental shift – make it...
2025-07-031h 03Not For Everyone94. Love Letter: Getting Honest With Yourself, Compromising on Kids, and Ranking PotatoesVisit skims.com and let them know we sent you! Select Not For Everyone after checkout.
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This week the lover is alone in a hotel room with the sniffles, and she just needs a little bit of self care time. Away from the stressors of home ownership and work dinners, it's just her and your topic submissions tonight.
First, a WHATADO on setting boundaries with parents - which Jess decides to treat as an opportunity to challenge the listener in question. Sure sure, boundaries shmoundaries, but are you being honest with yourself? The proj...
2024-10-1752 minNot For Everyone83. Love Letter: Mindset Shifts for Friends and Flings + “If He Wanted to, He Would”Dear listener,
Enclosed is a letter from the heart. It contains:
• Advice on that friend who won't refund you for a trip you could no longer make
• A reminder that almost every relationship let-down is more gradual than it feels in real time
• A mindset shift that will help you build and maintain more fulfilling friend groups
• The worst TikTok advice out there, and how to flip it to be semi-useful
Plus, stories of love and back shots - from your host Jess herself, as well from your fellow kooks (who are sometimes wiser than the ones doing all the talking...
2024-08-011h 04Not For Everyone59. Not for the Luteal Phase + Feeling Stuck After Years of TherapyAnother episode full of lukewarm takes, cyclical insights, and "that's so funny" reactions, this week Jess and Caroline show up with nothing to give but complaints and bad jokes.
First, Jess is no impressionist - and also apparently no standup - as she *corporate gulps* her way through a series of failed jokes that forced her to quit her comedy class. Meanwhile, Caroline be lutin' (scientific term for in the luteal phase of her menstrual cycle), leaving little room for laughter but a lot of room for spiraling about therapy.
This deadly combo concludes with...
2024-02-081h 01Not For Everyone57. Not for Self Doubt Spirals + Our First FightJess has been spiraling, and she has her ear acne to show for it. But with Caroline's help, she's coming out of her seasonal sadness live on the pod - and this episode has the giggles to prove it.
The two talk about navigating conflict with their boyfriends, who both happen to be calm/cool/collected, while our co-hosts are emotional and reactive for a living. Fun! This conflict resolution breakdown turns into a tell-all of Jess and Caroline's first (and only) "fight" as partners on the pod. In conclusion: they're perfect, and everyone should learn from...
2024-01-251h 07Not For Everyone55. Jess Thots: Ins and Outs for 2024 + Less Mothering More MommyingJoin a sick Jess on the couch as she cozies up to our first episode recorded in the new year. She kicks off with her list of ins and outs for 2024, which turns into an aspirational sort of roast that points blame at everyone except her.
Next, she takes on a couple listener-submitted questions: first, Whatado when you feel like a mother to your partner, and then a question that only felt right to answer with a special guest - her boyfriend.
This edition of Jess Thots ends with her best attempt at a speed...
2024-01-1152 min
Content PeopleExploring the content creator industry with Caroline WinklerToday on the show we spoke with Caroline Winkler. Caroline is first and foremost a YouTuber, and we talked about how her channel has grown and how that growth has helped encourage her to take more risks and experiment more with her content. We also talk about her brand new podcast with Jess DeBakey, Not For Everyone and play a round of Office Décor Smash or Pass.Check out Caroline's channel at https://www.youtube.com/@Caroline_WinklerWatch her video on YouTube about 'What I Eat in a Day' content: https://www.youtube.c...
2023-03-0954 minNot For Everyone3. Not for ShowersJess and Caroline are feeling much more at ease in the third installment of NFE...so it's no wonder their conversation moves from hot takes on weddings and showers, to breaking down Caroline's current dating conundrum, to Jess' fascination with stuck porn. Things devolve pretty quickly in this one, and it's exactly the vibe they've been craving these past couple of weeks.
This episode is definitely not for everyone - especially the kids in the car with you, and the haus of DeBakey, Winkler, and affiliates. Don't say we didn't warn ya.
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2022-12-2252 min
PeakingWhat If I Told You None of It Was Accidental (HUGE Announcement!)Jess is still not a Swiftie, though the contents of this special announcement episode have been in the vault for a couple of months now. Amidst her usual rambles, distractions, and stream of conscious feelings, Jess is ecstatic to share with the boo fam the launch of a brand new podcast (cohosted with her friend and former guest Caroline Winkler): Not For Everyone.
Go support her growing podcast dreams by following on Instagram @not4everyonepod, and look out for the first episode on December 8th, 2022!!! She couldn't have done it without y'all and looks forward to popping...
2022-12-0129 min
PeakingI Got New Rules, I Count 'Em (Jess Thots Goes [Even More] Rogue)LOLOLOL right when you thought you had me allllll figured out. "That Jess, she got a a new job and suddenly doesn't have time for us anymore." THINK AGAIN! I may not have time (read: energy/patience/motivation) to edit a highly polished episode for you, but I always have tons to say. So here's a random Jess Thots episode on a Tuesday morning* because THERE ARE NO RULES.
Anyway. I don't know the next time you'll hear from me, but I promise I'll be back soon. Preferably when you least expect it again - like a...
2022-06-1430 minPeakingOh, My Life is Changing Everyday (feat. In Bed With Books)🚨FIRST COLLAB ALERT🚨
In this episode, Jess takes part in her very first podcast collab! She was thrilled when the ladies of In Bed With Books (Bethany and Melissa) reached out to guest on each other's shows, even though that meant she'd have to read. Connecting with new people seems to supersede that for her - noted!
The ladies discuss all things celebrity crushes, astrology, and of course peaking. Bethany and Melissa share about their time moving abroad for the grad program where they met, a particularly challenging time for them both but for very differ...
2022-05-051h 20
In Bed With BooksTheir Eyes Were Watching GodIn episode 34, Bethany and Melissa are joined by Jess Debakey of Peaking podcast! We all had a great time talking about Janie's journey to finding peace and trust in herself, not the people she spends her life with. A true American classic, Zora Neale Hurston's 1937 masterpiece - and I say that word with all the weight it holds - is so ripe with emotion that this small description box cannot hold it all. Join us as the three of us discuss the longevity and beauty of Hurston's words.
2022-05-021h 28PeakingI Don't Know Why but I Feel Like Freedom (feat. Alex Martinez)Back to the OG "interview" format, in this episode Jess goes deep with her fitness coach and friend, Alex Martinez. Alex opens up about his journey coming out as trans, from those little moments growing up that started to accumulate all the way through to his post-transition life and how he's turned his authentic self into his superpower. This episode is full of breakthroughs, pushes both of them to uncomfortable places of growth and learning, and of course hinges on the innate connection between two water sign brethren (Alex the Pisces to Jess' Cancer). It was a gift to...
2022-04-071h 24PeakingHad a Little Love but I Spread It Thin (Jess Thots Vol. Who's Counting)So, Jess lied when she said there wouldn't be another Jess Thots anytime soon. After pushing her Peaking schedule back and taking a week of rest, she felt it was time to ~address the public~ and fill the boo fam in on what's gotten her so drained lately. Her realization? You can be burnt out from things other than a full-time job, and you can even be burnt out from things you love to do! Wild. Also, a much anticipated update on her job search, and some TV recommendations for those days when you're screening everyone's calls.
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2022-03-2428 minPeakingThis Is Family Business (Jess Thots feat. Aleka Farha)In this new wave version of Jess Thots, Jess opens up her internal monologue to a guest: her cousin (not first) Aleka Farha. In this cousin kiki, they have a raw conversation about the ambiguity of their Middle Eastern heritage, commiserating over shared experiences around microaggressions and racial identity in a post 9/11 America. Ultimately, they just wish the boxes on a standardized test or job application would leave room for them; or, how about the wild concept of getting rid of those boxes altogether?
Aleka is an independent consultant, an activist, and the host of her own...
2022-03-0350 minPeakingSometimes It's Not About the Horse (feat. Natasha Peavy)In this Valentine's adjacent episode of Peaking, Jess chats with her friend and soon-to-be licensed family and marriage therapist (LMFT) Natasha Peavy. They talk all things relationships: couples counseling, content vs. process, attachment styles, and even some questions submitted by the boo fam on cultural differences, finances/gender roles, and family. They resolve that it all comes down to self awareness and values, and each share what some of that looks like in their own lives. Basically, it's never actually about the thing you think you're fighting about, and also, don't bring up a heavy conversation while driving through...
2022-02-171h 22PeakingI'm Just Hoping I Don't Repeat History (Jess Thots Vol. 5)In this edition of Jess Thots, your girl muses on how her anxiety has morphed into another seasonal flu to add to the list. Where this type of vaccine at?!
In all seriousness, Jess has recently had a breakthrough around the habitual nature of her anxiety, and she's working on breaking the pattern by asking "what?" instead of "why?" She references the podcast Ten Percent Happier when describing this approach, and recommends the January 26, 2022 episode entitled "How to Break Your Anxiety Habit | Judson Brewer" for those who want more food for thought on this topic.
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2022-02-0333 minPeakingI'm on the Pursuit of Happiness (feat. Caroline Winkler)On this episode of Peaking, Jess catches up on the last 12 years with a friend she's known since the 2nd grade - Caroline Winkler. They find themselves stunned by the overlapping experiences they've had since they were last in each other's lives, all in the search for fulfillment. The two of them discuss their shared pattern of "enduring to a fault" and resolve that maybe quitting is something to be celebrated. They also commiserate over the shame they feel about being performers, Caroline having pursued acting for 8 years and Jess dreaming of the next time she takes the stand-up...
2022-01-201h 09PeakingConfessions Pt. II (Jess Thots Vol. 4)Welcome back to Peaking, boo fam! In the first episode of Season 2 and 2022, Jess leans on the show as a much needed self-help outlet. She lets her listeners in on what she's been up to since last season, reflects on 2021 as a whole, and challenges her own thinking along the way. And she hopes that's ok with you.
www.peakingpodcast.com
IG: @peakingpodcast
Intro/Outro Music: "Have Mercy On Us" by Air Kid
Episode Title Lyric: "Confessions Pt. II" by Usher
2022-01-0629 minPeakingThis Is Me Changing (feat. Josie Callahan)In the Season 1 finale of Peaking, Jess gets sappy thanking everyone who made these eight episodes possible. Then she dives into one of her favorite conversations yet with guest Josie Callahan, who shares the ups and downs of her peaking journey to sobriety. Josie is refreshingly raw and honest in the retelling of her story and all of the decision points that led to this new and improved chapter of her life. She hopes to celebrate four years of continuous sobriety come November 2021.
Josie works in media production, is writing her first book, has a rich history...
2021-08-261h 02PeakingWe'll See What's Bout to Happen Next, Ok?! (Jess Thots Vol. 3)This week, Jess wraps up her every-other-episode solo series "Jess Thots" with the last one of this season. She spills the tea on how she's feeling about her break from corporate life and what might come next, including what might happen with Peaking. She also opens up about the two sides of herself that always seem to be at odds (the side that is risk-taking vs. the side that values security), and how they factor into her next career decisions. And of course, she cracks herself up with stories of unattended chores and references to The Bachelorette.
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2021-08-1232 minPeakingI'm Not Together but I'm Getting There (feat. Drew Corbett)This week, Jess talks with her friend and fellow John Mayer groupie Drew Corbett, whose peaking story is different from past guests because it's still in progress. He opens up about his recent cancer diagnosis and how it's challenging him to consider peaking in a time that feels anything but. They explore big questions like how to strike a balance between remaining present with your life and remaining present with your illness, and discuss what has been most helpful for him and his family as they navigate the unknowns.
Drew is an entrepreneur in the healthcare industry...
2021-07-2941 minPeakingRock Forever 21 but Just Turned 30 (Jess Thots Vol. 2)This week, Jess continues her every-other-episode solo series "Jess Thots" with a very timely topic - turning 30. Released on her 30th birthday, this episode gives Jess an opportunity to explore how she feels about entering this new decade and leaving her 20s behind. Plus, a Q&A with her Instagram boos!
www.peakingpodcast.com
IG: @peakingpodcast
Intro/Outro Music: "Have Mercy On Us" by Air Kid
Episode Title Lyric: "Bound 2" by Kanye West
2021-07-1627 minPeakingYou Can Be Many Things at Once (feat. Kate Berman)This week, Jess opens with a top-five-life-moment kind of story, then chats with friend of the pod, Kate Berman, about her recent peaking journey coming out of the pandemic. They get real about mental health and therapy, and keep coming back to this concept of duality that allows them to accept themselves through not only their highs but more importantly their lows.
Kate is a healthcare professional working in the digital innovation space, a certified yoga instructor, and a lover of all things connection. Peaking is so grateful to have had her as the second guest on...
2021-07-0148 minPeakingRemember Who TF You Are (Jess Thots Vol. 1)This week, Jess kicks off her every-other-episode solo series "Jess Thots" by sharing her musings on dating. She opens up about her own relationship-related peaking moments and wraps with a segment on Peaking's Dating Best Practices...because her ex-consultant self is nothing without a framework.
www.peakingpodcast.com
IG: @peakingpodcast
Intro/Outro Music: "Have Mercy On Us" by Air Kid
2021-06-1730 minPeaking2019 Was the Best Year of Our Lives (feat. Sarah Schwarzschild)This week, Jess is chatting with one of her best friends, Sarah Schwarzschild, about peaking through major life changes - which, for both of them, hit an all-time high in 2019. They discuss all things from breakups to exploring your sexual identity to the elusive concept of a "happiness plateau." Also, astrology.
Sarah is a licensed Family Nurse Practitioner working in the community health space. She cares for patients of all ages and backgrounds, and is particularly passionate about LGBTQ+ health. Peaking is honored to have her as our first guest to kick off Pride Month!
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2021-06-0344 minPeakingPeaking My Way to Episode OneIntroducing the podcast you’ve been missing - the type of self-help that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
This week, join your host and everyone's best friend, Jess DeBakey, as she journeys through the depths of her mind to answer the question, "Why Peaking?"
Thank you to Peaking's presenting sponsor, Spite Candle Co, a business that exists because someone said it couldn't be done. Enjoy 15% off, plus free shipping on orders of $50+, by using the discount code PEAKINGPOD at checkout. Burn better scents.
www.peakingpodcast.com
IG: @peakingpodcast
Intr...
2021-05-2023 min