The WHOLE HOUSE Podcast

7 | Enter the MATRIARCH

After a winter season of "retreat-bernation," we're back with our inaugural episode of 2026! In this time of global chaos and ugliness at a breathtaking scale, magical things are happening. Because despite (or let's be real, in direct relation to) the fear and grief we are all facing, women everywhere are rising into their power. Culture has been selling armageddon as an inevitability; cruelty and selfishness as "realism." WE, THE BIRTHERS, THE INNATE CREATORS, KNOW BETTER. Not only is it possible to thrive in this moment, it is imperative that we choose to do so—and Kate shares how she and her clients are doing so with support form the archetype of the MATRIARCH: The One Who Leads Beyond Herself.  The Matriarch is the Master—of herself first, and of her reality by extension. She has transcended her inner MAIDEN to live a full-spectrum life in sacred service to her work and to Life itself. In other words, she's a grown ass woman who leads with integrity and not through ego.  Come meet the MATRIARCH and discover her role—and her call—within you.  What you’ll hear: • Why holding both the reality of a collapsing world and the right to enjoy a thriving life (thereby creating a thriving future) is the act of decolonization our collective needs most from you right now; • How cultural conditioning through fear, doom and gloom, and self-doubt become the harshest battleground for our lives; • The rise of the MATRIARCH as the natural response to a dying patriarchal system, and what she looks and feels like in you; • The necessity we all face—and the power we all have—to transform grief, fear, and nihilism into creative lifeforce; •  An invitation join MATRIARCH, my intimate year-long, 1-on-1 container, designed to create the conditions and give you FULL PERMISSION the claim the mantle of MATRIARCH this world desperately needs. Connect + next steps * Book a Call to speak to me about joining MATRIARCH [https://calendly.com/katejv/matriarch-connection] * Follow WHOLE HOUSE on Instagram and send me a DM! [https://www.instagram.com/thisis.wholehouse] * Get access to GROUND, our free foundational nervous system sanctuary [https://thisiswholehouse.thrivecart.com/ground/] Resources & support The world feels tough right now, please take proactive care of yourself if you are feeling overwhelmed—reach out to a safe and loving friend, or seek professional support: * Crisis lines (international): In an emergency, follow this link to find immediate support wherever you are in the world. [https://livingworks.net/find-safety/%20] * Therapeutic support: Seek a trauma-informed therapist or somatic practitioner in your region for longer-term urgent care. * Somatic and nervous system practices for deeper safety and regulation: Join our nervous system sanctuary, GROUND, for supportive somatic practices you can start today.  [https://thisiswholehouse.thrivecart.com/ground/]

6 | Birthing Books & Babies that Heal the Ancestral Line with Victoria Coster

This week my guest, poet, mother, entrepreneur, and author Victoria Coster and I dive deep into the creative and the physical birthing processes—twin portals for our deepest transformation and becoming as medial women. We talk about the braided journey of the birthing of her two boys and the writing of her book—her recently published memoir in poems, We Make Diamonds: On Motherhood & the Ghost Kingdom–which explores the generational trauma and grief that's reawakened in her family line with the birth of her first son.  This episode is for the mamas, the mystics, and the writers and memoirists.  What you'll hear:    ✨ the mystical, mysterious, and often psychedelic initiations of book writing and child birthing   ✨ how the cycles of the female body facilitate (and for our generation seem to necessitate) ancestral healing   ✨ and how this heroine's journey to healing makes for the ultimate memoir — that's medicine for you in the making of it — and becomes a map for your readers once it's published 💫   Connect + next steps • Read a poem from Victoria's book on our blog [https://www.thisiswholehouse.com/blog/we-make-diamonds] • Buy her book here [https://www.victoriacoster.me/] • Follow WHOLE HOUSE on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thisis.wholehouse] and send me a DM! • Apply to work with me in HEROINE [https://form.typeform.com/to/RfbvJc]   About Our Guest Victoria Coster writes for the woman caught between holding it together and letting it fall apart. Poet, mother, and real estate agent, she lives in a house named Finistère — “the end of the land” — with her husband and two boys, where memory grows wild and truth shows up barefoot. Her debut poetry collection, We Make Diamonds, is a luminous excavation of motherhood, identity, and the echoes of grief that follow us home. It’s the kind of book you finish and immediately text to a friend: You need this. Take your time. She believes in writing like you mean it — raw, rhythmic, unafraid. The poems aren’t gentle, but they hold you like someone who’s been there.

5 | The Warrior's Path: Leaving the Palace of Illusion & Using Mindfulness to Suffer Well with Dr. Jeff Fracher

In this week's episode Kate is joined by yet another soulmate client: Dr. Jeffrey Fracher is a retired psychotherapist and active sangha facilitator and teacher of Buddhist (secular) meditation and mindfulness.  What to expect: * Get clear, practical Buddhist tools (middle way, three poisons, mindfulness) to cut self-made stress and see reality more clearly. * Feel immediate relief by normalizing suffering and imperfection—plus simple gratitude/impermanence practices to soften tough moments. * Reframe “success” to end burnout: unpack the disillusionment of achievement and define a saner, more satisfying enough. * Build resilience with boundaries—stop “drinking from the fire hose” of media and anchor in body, breath, and everyday presence. * Find real support now: lean on the Three Jewels (teachings, practice, community) and create deeper connection as everyday resistance. Connect + next steps • Read a chapter of Jeff's book on our blog [https://www.thisiswholehouse.com/blog/the-stories-that-bind-us] • Buy the book we created together—More Practical Dharma—here [https://www.amazon.ca/More-Practical-Dharma-Strategies-Challenges/dp/B0FJMGLKZ4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3MV9D65K1XPBZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Z1niWn8PNrBrVKF4Evxxh0FXkYLIhkKhZJ9j2ju00N8gQGTIdQt21MsrIPOwistLMJr9hiMaI_yRjRnTuvRBEnmll_qQHhTvQKrs-bTlqTcRkStTxZkbgzj-JMzMwMuEjW11h8EHpCIqsuOM7e0e8GSW2htIaweWUJtJ0oCQPSG1j2YF3fW8US7yG9tQQWZPm3T6b_1s8REWpEloCXfBKt6HZoWhQcmZezk6p2fDa2xWmwbjfTpyhm39whgVwRjE6cHY4t50koOLPImK8TilpJVPUXlTiDbSDcTaYjcahYA.5azld2Vq4wyXHIUi7ptX3yc8IR31yE-JrcL65WcbkRU&dib_tag=se&keywords=more+practical+dharma&qid=1765314008&sprefix=more+practical+dharma%2Caps%2C101&sr=8-1] • Buy the first book, Practical Dharma, here [https://www.amazon.ca/Practical-Dharma-Pragmatic-Strategies-Challenges/dp/B0BMDPG9WB/ref=sr_1_1?crid=T1Q1EITEYRP7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.CcHm9erxODFhpmFJ7MsPg4L8IT89gQsAMHtH9KkQwSyzZr2UDUXlyfuZ2l68E9t0-zUrC4rc7D3cGRWfoaerxkrE5zB10eyAmlZTYAAAQo5PEEzc0xG_mU01EBy58CWbA4YPUi8MfuNiv_-qyao1abs6JxPPCS1V9zWAgXXepnWlNYFei8y52BBTzWWf4PjPhtMDWzynVuDvKD-eGuBg7aE3U_3OVmfHnWeRQ5sMq0qD7svKnZ3Pz3-o5QSTYh5n0wkL5Sg-TGrGYRW8oZ59auv3MFVydUkzv6E7akKLVUs.SkYKV6mWYbXSvSxIN4hqbJBSQiRbuc9ZJwMrJUpXh5Y&dib_tag=se&keywords=practical+dharma&qid=1765315026&sprefix=practical+dharma%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-1] • Learn more about Jeff's community, Serenity Sangha, here [https://www.serenitysangha.org/] • Follow WHOLE HOUSE on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thisis.wholehouse]and send me a DM! • Get access to GROUND [https://thisiswholehouse.thrivecart.com/ground/], our free foundational nervous system sanctuary • Apply to work with me in HEROINE [https://form.typeform.com/to/RfbvJc?typeform-source=thisiswholehouse.thrivecart.com] • Book a 90-minute SIREN call with me now for just $199 [https://calendly.com/katejv/siren-call?month=2025-12]   About Our Guest Dr. Jeffrey C. Fracher, Ph.D. is a retired Clinical Psychologist, was in practice as a clinical psychologist for 44 years in New Jersey and Virginia. He has practiced Buddhism since 1992 when he took the lay precepts, committing to the Buddhist path, in the Sangha of the late Thich Nhat Hanh. In 2013 he completed a 2-year Buddhist teacher training program at the Meditation Teachers Training Institute in Washington, D.C. He was a senior teacher at the Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville for 10 years, where he was also president of the IMCC Board of Directors, before his retirement in early 2022. In 2022, he founded Serenity Sangha of Charlottesville, a far-reaching virtual community of Buddhist practitioners which emphasizes Practical Dharma, the synthesis of modern psychology and ancient Buddhist wisdom.

4 | A Year of Embodied Miracles with Amanda Filippelli

In this week's episode Kate and soulmate client (and award-winning editor, writer, author, book coach, artist, and creative brand strategist) Amanda Filippelli discuss some of the miracle-level results Amanda has experienced in the last year since she made the decision to come home to her body inside Kate's 1:1 somatic coaching container, UNBOUND.       What you'll hear: * Amanda shares her journey from years of dissociation, high-functioning addiction, and ignored health symptoms that culminated in a serious diagnosis, traumatic birth experiences, and mounting psychosomatic shutdown—to feeling fully present, healthy, and alive inside her harmonious body. * The moment she reached out to Kate for support after years of pushing through trauma, anxiety, grief, and overachievement; * The three "miracle" goals she set at the start of their work together and the far more miraculous physical, emotional, relational and financial changes that followed—including an "impossible" medical recovery.  and so much more!   Connect + next steps • Follow WHOLE HOUSE on Instagram and send me a DM! [https://www.instagram.com/thisis.wholehouse] • Get access to GROUND, our free foundational nervous system sanctuary [https://thisiswholehouse.thrivecart.com/ground/] • Apply to work with me in UNBOUND [https://thisiswholehouse.thrivecart.com/unbound/] • Book a 90-minute SIREN call with me now for just $199 [https://calendly.com/katejv/siren-call?month=2025-10&date=2025-10-30] About Our Guest Amanda is an internationally recognized and  award-winning editor, writer, author, book coach, artist, creative brand strategist, and advisor for women authorpreneurs. She is the creator of The Writer’s Tarot, a deck of tarot cards that honor literary heroes and conventions, and offer unlimited creative prompts through its spreads; she recently launched her own publishing house, Blue House Literary, and she’s the host of Write to Heal workshops, where she helps people connect and heal through the power of storytelling. Before becoming a professional writer, Amanda worked in the mental healthcare system for ten years, teaching adolescent survivors of trauma how to take control of their narrative, and this advocacy work is central to her life and business even today. Her work has also been widely published and featured, including in TEDxWomenPittsburgh, The Bunker Review, Public Source, NPR, VICE, WHIRL Magazine, and more. She was the recipient of Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40Under40 award, and is the founder of Pittsburgh’s first premier writers’ conference, The Authorpreneur Conference.  Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/editor_amanda/ Her website: https://amandafilippelli.com/  [https://amandafilippelli.com/]

3 | Coming Home to Your Body When It's the Last Place You Want to Be with Kelli Preston

In this week's episode we explore the challenges and terrors of answering the somatic call and learning to slow down as an entrepreneur when your body and the present moment are the last places you want to be. Kate connects with former client, fellow online coach, dear friend and brand stylist Kelli Preston of Kelli Was Here, to explore whats bubbling just below the surface of our chronic busy-ness. Kelli shares how coming home to her body was the last thing she wanted to do—and the only thing that finally helped her get where she wanted to go.  What we get into:   * The trap so many hard-working women fall into of becoming the “consumer” rather than the “creator”—trying to "fix" the problems their nervous system can't stop seeing everywhere with chronic cramming and over-certifying that only intensifies our sense of overwhelm and insecurity * The spiral of investing, debt, and shame that often results  * The bait and switch of seeking tangible outcomes when you really need intangible bodywork—and how life intervened on Kelli's behalf to give her what she needed, even when it was the last thing she thought she wanted. and so much more!    Connect + next steps * Follow WHOLE HOUSE on Instagram and send me a DM! [https://www.instagram.com/thisis.wholehouse] * Get access to GROUND, our free foundational nervous system sanctuary [https://thisiswholehouse.thrivecart.com/ground/] * Apply to work with me in UNBOUND [https://thisiswholehouse.thrivecart.com/unbound/] * Book a 90-minute SIREN call with me now for just $199 [https://calendly.com/katejv/siren-call?month=2025-10&date=2025-10-30] About Our Guest Kelli is a brand stylist for funk-forward female founders, a creative co-conspirator, and champion of the uncensored self. She works with multi-passionate women who’ve hit success but suddenly feel their brand slipping—showing up feels hard, their offers feel flat, and their audience feels far away. Through her signature coaching, Kelli helps them remove the muzzles they didn’t even know they were wearing and excavate the 20% of themselves that does 80% of the heavy lifting in their brand. The result? Brands that feel uncensored, unignorable, and undeniably them—mess, magic, funk, and all. * Check out her offerings at her website here: https://kelliwashere.com/    [https://kelliwashere.com/%20] * Listen to her podcast Kelli Was Here here: https://pod.link/1830582325?view=apps&sort=popularity   [https://pod.link/1830582325?view=apps&sort=popularity%20]