Brain Fever Podcast
Jackie is the author of "Unwillable: A Journey to Reclaim My Brain" and the JM Stebbins blog, a motivational speaker, and the host of the Brain Fever podcast.
jmstebbins.com
unwillable.com
Episodes
37 episodes
Two Characters
In this episode, Jackie is joined by Dr. Cody Vest, a popular BookToker in New York City. Dr. Cody got his start as an AP English teacher in Arkansas while also earning a Ph.D. He then pivoted into the corporate world and began a new career wor...
Work-Life Balance: Truth or Myth
Calling all stressed out lawyers (dare I repeat myself) AND stressed out humans looking to find that inner feeling of balance. In this episode, Jackie is joined by Dr. Amy Wood, a clinical psychologist, executive coach, person who deals with st...
Promises Made, Promises Kept
In this episode, Jackie is joined by special guest and longtime friend, Jamie Selzler. Jamie is a brilliant businessman and political strategist. Through their work in politics, Jamie and Jackie met while Jackie was still in college at the Univ...
The Many Acts of Life
In this episode, Jackie is joined by David Gerken, a lobbyist turned writer turned "mindfulness guru" (Jackie's words). David, a California native, is a graduate of both Princeton and Georgetown. In his first act of life, he worked on the Hill ...
The Silence of the...
In this episode of Brain Fever, Jackie is joined by all-around badass, Jodene Weber, who is a former journalist, twenty-two-year veteran of the FBI, true crime sleuth and podcast host, and debut novelist. Jodene recounts her early days reading ...
Get Back, Honky Cat
Annnnnnnnd ...we're back! You asked - and we've answered! The Brain Feverpodcast has returned and sports a fabulous lineup!In this episode, Jackie (in solo mode, God help us) shares why she and Sean have been MIA, wh...
Unicorn
To kick off another season of the Brain Fever podcast, Jackie welcomes special guest Jeremy Norton. Jeremy is the author of Trauma Sponges: Dispatches from the Scarred Heart of Emergency Response. Jeremy has an MA in creative ...
Life Lied
In this episode, Jackie hosts a dear old friend from law school, Amber Gustafson. Amber just happens to be a former lawyer turned judge, mother of three, Iraq veteran, and avid walker. She also happens to be a young widow. In 2021, on what star...
Nothing's Forever
Jackie has often heard of autoimmune encephalitis survivors unlocking hidden creativity after their diagnosis. And while she turned to writing in her days of survival and recovery, she still believes her creativity knows a lot of bounds. But wh...
Mr. Sandman
In this episode, Jackie is joined by guest Mariah Botha of Dickinson, North Dakota. Mariah is the director of a rural healthcare foundation and is as smart as she is lovely. Upon reading Unwillable, Mariah had a lot of questions and Ja...
Unwillable Soundtrack
Join Jackie and Sean as Jackie drops her ultimate wish (outside of a made for TV movie): the Unwillable soundtrack! In this episode, you'll hear more about the songs that influenced Jackie while writing the book, the eerie songs that p...
Balancing Your Health
Medical care can be complicated, especially for women. Women are always juggling hormones, stress, work, sleep, childbearing years, menopause, and quite a bit in between. In this episode, Jackie interviews an old friend, Adria, who is a Physici...
Lawfare
Lawyers. If you know them, you know they're always "stressed out." If you've met them, you know they're "overworked." And chances are, you've probably heard them call their profession "toxic." Why is the legal profession so stressful and why ar...
Roar
In this very special episode, Jackie is joined by Miami native Juliana Ortiz who was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis at just fourteen years old. Juliana’s story of disruption at a young age to her brave recovery and how her diagnosis hel...
Go (Pink) or Go Home!
In this episode, four-time breast cancer survivor, speaker, and author of "Dig in Your Heels," Karla Baptiste, joins Jackie to talk about life with and after breast cancer. Karla's motto of "One Life to Live, Many Lives to Touch," and her story...
Green Onions
Join Jackie and Sean as they sing and dance their way into 2023 (kidding, there's no singing or dancing on this one). In this episode, Jackie discusses Brain Fever's spring lineup, her book Unwillable, and what she's been up to. She also drops ...
Calling All Angels
In this special episode, Stephanie Macdonald, the nurse practitioner Jackie credits with saving her life from AE, interviews Jackie for Humanities North Dakota’s One Book One ND event. In this conversation, the pair explore life after AE, writi...
Legal Eagle
When AE stares you in the face (or another chronic health condition) two questions come to mind: What if I can't work and how will I have health insurance? To tackle these complicated and scary questions, Jackie welcomes her longtime friend and...
Book Worm
In this episode, Jackie and Sean discuss the release of Jackie’s memoir, “Unwillable: A Journey to Reclaim my Brain” (in a bit of a dazed and confused kind of way). Sean also offers his resignation as Jackie’s producer, but he’ll be back …<...
I Wish I May, I Wish I Might
In this episode and in honor of April 29th's Make-A-Wish Day, special guest Amanda Godfread, Regional Director of Make-A-Wish North Dakota, joins Jackie for a discussion on the difficulties families face with a sick child and the wonderful effe...
"Brain on Fire" interview
On March 1, 2022, Jackie interviewed "Brain on Fire's" Susannah Cahalan for a Humanities North Dakota event, "One Book, One ND." Jackie and Susannah had a riveting conversation about autoimmune encephalitis, life, motherhood, mental health, wri...
What's on your (AE) Mind?
In this episode, Jackie is joined by Dr. Stephen Rush, a psychiatrist at the University of Cincinnati as they try to answer Jackie's unending question of, "Autoimmune encephalitis, what the heck is going on here?”***Disclaimer-this epis...
Better Days Ahead
Happy 2022! Join Jackie and Sean as they recap on 2021’s peaks and valleys, share exciting upcoming news, and do some polka dancing.