Every afternoon at 3:00 p.m., the clock resets for Araceli Gomez-Aldana. A veteran journalist and reporter at WBEZ, Araceli joins Tom to discuss the "Groundhog Day" reality of the news cycle and why her career is defined by a Harry Nilsson song.

From her roots in a small town in the Chicago Region to a prestigious fellowship at Stanford, Araceli breaks down the unglamorous truth about breaking into media today. She talks about why the "prescriptive" career timeline is total bullshit, how to build a portfolio when no one is hiring, and the high-stakes world of waiting for sources to call you back. She also dives into the discourse around AI in the newsroom and why vertical video might be the only way to save attention spans, and critical thinking, in 2026.

Sophie Hunter is the founder of Sorella Creative and a social media strategist who's worked in fast fashion and now thrives as a freelancer. She joins us to talk about the BRUTAL reality of catastrophizing your way through a marketing career, and somehow succeeding anyway.

Sophie's story is a masterclass in authentic self-awareness. She shares why marketing yourself feels "icky" even when you're literally a marketer, how she went from Brutal by Olivia Rodrigo energy in fast fashion to Hand in My Pocket balance in freelance, and why she keeps a folder called "REMEMBER" filled with screenshots of nice comments for when imposter syndrome hits hard.

She breaks down the unexpected challenges of going freelance (spoiler: it's not the work, it's the micromanaging clients who want pink heart emojis), why ChatGPT can write your content but shouldn't, and why maybe your new year's resolution should be "boundaries", too.

Plus, learn why the Smiths will always transport her back to her Tumblr days.

Brian Talbot's career is a masterclass in flexibility: from trying to be a "radio god" and selling ad time to becoming a voiceover artist and now a high-level Fractional CMO. He joins Tom to prove that in every role, especially sales and marketing, the most critical asset is simply being yourself.

Brian dives into why authenticity is the only differentiator left in the age of AI, and how he learned to embrace his own voice (literally, by inventing a "Brian's normal voice" character). We discuss why setting boundaries with clients is not only acceptable but essential for long-term partnership, and why CEOs need to stop viewing marketing as a black hole.

Plus, Brian breaks down his successful scaling framework, the Market, Message, and Map, and shares the tough conversations required to get leadership buy-in and turn a team's Net Promoter Score around.