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innercalling with Dr. Victoria

innercalling with Dr. Victoria

By: Dr. Victoria Ranade
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About this listen

Hi, I’m Dr. Victoria Ranade and I believe there is a light inside you that no darkness can overcome. This light is a source of incredible power, resilience, and beauty, and even though the world may teach you to ignore it, it’s still there, waiting for you to come home to it. I call this light your innercalling: a compass and true north that exists deep within you— a natural wisdom guiding you toward the highest expression of who you are. ***innercalling is where I host conversations with leaders, scientists, healers, artists, colleagues, and everyday people who inspire me — exploring the human spirit, and how we can stay grounded in inner wisdom, creativity, purpose, and our shared humanity in rapidly changing times. Together, we explore difficult seasons of life, resilience, and what it means to come home to yourself—along with timeless questions about the nature of life and human existence. We slow down, share stories, make room for warmth and presence, and remember the beauty of being human—together.


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Dr. Victoria Chialy Ranade Economics Hygiene & Healthy Living Leadership Management & Leadership Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Spirituality
Episodes
  • #40. Cat Bushera | Style as Healing: Dressing for Confidence, Body Trust & Authenticity

    #40. Cat Bushera | Style as Healing: Dressing for Confidence, Body Trust & Authenticity
    Jan 16 2026

    Cat Bushera is a personal stylist and founder of Style by Cat. As a stylist, she partners with you to curate a wardrobe and personal style that matches your needs and personality perfectly. Cat has over 10 years of experience working in the fashion industry, from retail management to consulting to working behind the scenes at fashion events! Cat serves clients in the Washington DC metropolitan region, including Maryland and Northern Virginia, and also serves clients virtually across the country. Learn more about Cat at her website here: https://stylebycat.com

    ***

    In this episode, Dr. Victoria and personal stylist Cat explore how clothing can be a powerful doorway back to authenticity—an invitation to embody yourself rather than perform. Together, they talk about body image, confidence, and how dressing in alignment with who you are can support greater ease, self-trust, and a deeper sense of presence in your body.


    They also speak candidly about the harder parts: accepting your body, navigating body image struggles, and the ways style can intersect with eating disorder recovery, motherhood, and postpartum changes.


    Cat also brings in her experience as a leader and entrepreneur, sharing how pursuing a career in fashion required trusting her inner knowing—and how that trust ultimately paid off, even when it didn’t make sense by society’s standards at the time.

    **

    “I’m actually shocked at how empowering it is to show up as yourself in clothes that you feel like reflect who you are.” — Dr. Victoria Ranade

    “What is trending is your personal style. Not what Instagram is telling you to wear, not what everyone else is doing – what works for you.” — Cat Bushera

    **

    Timestamps

    00:00 – Feeling empowered by clothing and embodiment

    02:00 – Introduction to Cat and the question of authentic style

    07:30 – Growing up in Paris and discovering fashion

    13:00 – Body image, belonging, and early identity

    20:00 – Trusting an inner calling when it doesn’t make sense

    28:30 – Leadership, retail, and redefining success

    36:30 – Getting fired and facing shame

    44:30 – Starting a business during COVID and motherhood

    52:00 – How Cat identifies personal style

    01:01:00 – Body image, postpartum changes, and confidence

    01:10:00 – Eating disorder recovery and healing process

    01:20:00 – Raising daughters and body-positive messaging

    01:29:00 – Unlearning expectations placed on women

    01:37:00 – Inner calling, intuition, and “cleaning up your own backyard”

    01:44:00 – Closing reflections

    **

    PODCAST LINKS:

    ✨ Podcast Website: https://www.innercalling.org/

    ✨ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innercalling-with-dr-victoria/id1809177408

    ✨ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4K2khwqNKgs90Hs8vrQenZ?si=41beac3235054354

    ✨ Podcast Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_zIrjdevY1Q91PX5woaNtjTDvell1ZJ8&si=lvYtBD2PHmF3bVAX


    SOCIAL LINKS:

    ✨ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drvictoriaranade

    ✨ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vchranade


    WORK WITH DR. VICTORIA + HOPE+WELLNESS

    ✨ Therapy & Psychological Testing at Hope+Wellness: Kind, Compassionate, Evidence-Based Mental Health Care

    👉 https://www.hope-wellness.com

    Disclaimer: https://innercalling.org/disclaimer

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • #39. Wayde Louviere | Queer Elder Storytime: Growing Up Gay in 1960s South and Trusting Your Inner Knowing

    #39. Wayde Louviere | Queer Elder Storytime: Growing Up Gay in 1960s South and Trusting Your Inner Knowing
    Jan 10 2026

    Wayde Louviere is based in Los Angeles where he is a respected queer elder and longtime pillar of the West Hollywood community. He carries decades of lived experience, along with a deep interest in spirituality and healing. Wayde is also a close friend and neighbor of our creative producer, Western Kramer, and we’re honored to share his story.

    ***

    In this conversation, Wayde shares what it meant to grow up gay in Louisiana in the 1960s—before “representation” existed, before anyone said the word queer out loud, and before there was language for what he felt. There were no role models, no media, and no openly queer people in his community—only silence, and the real threat of violence if you were discovered.


    Wayde shares his wisdom on how to know yourself when who you are isn't reflected back to you accurately in the world. What does it mean to trust your inner truth when the world tells you you’re wrong—or that what you feel doesn’t even exist or that you should be ashamed of it?


    This episode is a powerful reminder of what innercalling is really about: the light inside you that no darkness can overcome. There is an inner compass and true north within you that guides you home, even when the world is unkind. Watch to learn how Wayde survived by trusting himself, trusting who he was despite what the world around him said, watch how he demonstrates the courage of listening inward, and choosing self-trust over shame.


    Thank you Wayde for joining us, and thank you to our listeners for your support!

    ***

    “I just knew. Listening to my intuition saved my life.” — Wayde


    “You don’t need the world to affirm who you are if you already know it inside yourself.” — Wayde

    ***

    Episode Highlights

    00:00 – Introduction

    07:45 – Growing Up Gay in the South

    14:30 – Suppression, Silence, and Survival

    22:10 – Discovering Community and Belonging

    36:00 – Trusting Intuition

    43:20 – Spirituality vs. Religion

    52:40 – The AIDS Epidemic and Loss

    01:07:00 – Energy, Healing, and Reiki

    01:20:30 – Labels, Identity, and Discernment

    01:29:00 – Advice for Younger Generations

    01:31:00 – Closing Reflections

    ***

    ✨ Learn more + stay connected: https://www.innercalling.org/

    ✨ Looking for kind, compassionate, evidence-based mental health care? Check out Hope+Wellness, a mental health practice founded by Dr. Victoria, where hope can be found even in the most difficult seasons of life. https://www.hope-wellness.com

    ✨ Instagram: @‌drvictoriaranade

    Disclaimer: https://innercalling.org/disclaimer

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 28 mins
  • #38. Dr. Julie Carpenter | AI Literacy and Hidden Risks You Need to Know: How to Use AI Thoughtfully

    #38. Dr. Julie Carpenter | AI Literacy and Hidden Risks You Need to Know: How to Use AI Thoughtfully
    Jan 6 2026
    “AI does not understand you, care about you, or know what it means to be human.” – Dr. Julie Carpenter“What worries me is how easily we stop trusting ourselves.” – Dr. Victoria RanadeIs Artificial Intelligence really helping us or is it actually reshaping our minds, relationships, and humanity? Can a technology that feels supportive, validating, and “human” actually be undermining our self-trust, autonomy, and mental health? In this episode, Dr. Victoria Ranade and Dr. Julie Carpenter explore the psychological, emotional, and ethical impact of generative AI. Together, they unpack why AI feels so compelling, how it is intentionally designed to engage and retain us, and what happens to humans when we outsource our thinking, emotional processing, and decision-making to AI. This conversation looks under the hype and examines the development of AI through the lenses of mental health, attachment, surveillance, education, power, and what it means to remain human in an increasingly automated world. Dr. Carpenter explains why AI should not be used as therapy, why children are especially vulnerable to overreliance on these systems, and how confirmation bias, emotional manipulation, and surveillance are built into the technology itself.About Our Guest:Dr. Julie Carpenter is a social scientist and user experience researcher who studies how humans form trust, intimacy, and emotional relationships with AI systems. She is the author of The Naked Android: Synthetic Socialness and the Human Gaze and an external research fellow with the Ethics and Emerging Sciences Group. For over two decades, her work has examined how emerging technologies quietly reorganize culture, relationships, and everyday life. https://www.jgcarpenter.com/In this episode, we will explore:Why AI feels emotionally supportive and why that’s riskyHow AI exploits human attachment, trust, and vulnerabilityWhy AI should not be used for therapy, mental health, or parenting adviceThe illusion of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)How bias and misinformation are baked into AI systemsThe environmental and surveillance costs of generative AIWhat parents, educators, and clinicians should be thinking about right now in regards to AIHow overreliance on AI erodes self-trust and critical thinkingWhat AI can never replicate about being humanTimestamps0:00:00 Introduction: Why AI Feels So Compelling0:02:45 Meet Dr. Julie Carpenter0:05:12 What Is Generative AI—Really?0:08:40 Why AI Sounds So Human0:12:30 Emotional Attachment & AI Companionship0:17:45 AI as a “Funhouse Mirror”0:22:10 Why AI Is Not Neutral0:27:40 Surveillance, Data, and Power0:33:15 AI, Children, and Learning Concerns0:40:20 Why AI Should Never Be Used as Therapy0:47:55 Confirmation Bias and Emotional Manipulation0:55:30 The Myth of Artificial General Intelligence1:03:10 Environmental Costs of AI1:10:45 Reclaiming Human Judgment and Autonomy1:18:20 What AI Can Never Replace1:24:30 Cleaning Up Our Own “Backyard”1:30:10 Final Reflections on Humanity and HopeShow notes DAIR Institute Dr. Julie Carpenter's blog, where she explains the ideas behind AGI and who is chasing this philosophy, "Why AGI Won’t Save the World And Who Wants You To Think It Will"✨ Learn more + stay connected: https://innercalling.org/✨ Looking for kind, compassionate, evidence-based mental health care? Check out Hope+Wellness, founded by Dr. Victoria based in the belief that hope can be found even in the most difficult seasons of life. https://www.hope-wellness.com✨ Instagram: @‌drvictoriaranadeDisclaimer: https://innercalling.org/disclaimer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 34 mins
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