All About The Joy
All About The Joy is a weekly hang-out with friends in the neighborhood! We share insight, advice, funny-isms and we choose to always try and find the positive, the silver lining, the "light" in all of it. AATJ comes from the simple concept that at the end of the day we all want to have more JOY than not. So, this is a cool place to unwind, have a laugh and share some time with friends!
Watch the livestream version of the show on YouTube at @CarmenLezeth.
Episodes
283 episodes
Why I Said ‘I’m Not Black’ and What I Meant
In this episode, I share a childhood story that shaped how I understand race, identity, and the language we use to describe ourselves. What started as an innocent moment between two little girls turned into years of confusion — not because I di...
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Mark Cuban, Billionaires, and the $1.7B Outrage: Culture, Consequence & Chaos
This week on Culture and Consequence, Andrea and I show up sick, tired, irritated, and absolutely done — which means it’s the perfect time to talk about billionaires, state‑run media, and the slow‑motion collapse of American democracy....
Why I Celebrate My Birthday Like It’s a National Holiday
In this Carmen Talk, I’m diving into a topic we all pretend to joke about but secretly stress over — aging. And you know me, I’m not here to sugarcoat anything or pretend I’ve got it all figured out. I’m just sharing the truth of how I got here...
What’s Really Going On With China, Taiwan, and White America
In this episode of Culture and Consequence, Carmen and Andrea dive into the messy, confusing, and often misunderstood politics of China and Taiwan — breaking it down in plain language for anyone who’s ever wondered what the drama is re...
The Truth About Introverts, Extroverts, and Why Myers‑Briggs Gets It Wrong
In this episode of Carmen Talk, Carmen breaks down the real story behind the Myers-Briggs personality test and why it isn’t scientific. She shares her own experience being mislabeled as an introvert as a kid, explains how the test became a corp...
Billionaires, the Met Gala, and the Fight for American Democracy
This episode moves fast — from Ted Turner’s passing to the bigger question underneath it: what does billionaire culture say about who we are and what we value. We talk honestly about how extreme wealth doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it’s built on ...
AI, Loneliness, and the New Shape of Connection - A Conversation That Hits Harder in 2026
AI is back in the headlines this week — especially after the Disney and Marvel layoffs — so I’m revisiting a conversation from June 2025 that suddenly feels more relevant than ever. In this Private Lounge episode, Rick, Cynthia, and I dive i...
Fake Power, the Voting Rights Act, and the Fight for Democracy
In this episode, Carmen and Andrea break down the Voting Rights Act in the simplest possible terms, react to the Supreme Court’s latest blow to voting protections, and talk honestly about racism, fake power, billionaires, and the unraveling of ...
The Learning Hack That Changed My Life
In this Carmen Talk, I share the learning strategy that has shaped my entire life — one I used as a kid, hid for years, and now fully embrace. It started with a children’s chess book and grew into a method that helps me understand anything from...
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Sure, We Believe Tucker Carlson
In this episode, Carmen and Andrea unpack a week of political absurdity — from Tucker Carlson’s sudden “regrets,” to the conservative scramble to distance themselves from Trump, to the fantasy that any of these media figures are preparing to “s...
How I Know the World Is Leaving the U.S. Behind
In this episode, Carmen explores a quiet but unmistakable cultural shift — one you don’t see in headlines, but you feel in the stories we tell and the ones we’ve stopped telling. What begins with a Canadian TV show becomes a wider examination o...
From Journalism to Justice: Nicole Knox on Criminal Defense and Constitutional Rights
In this Private Lounge conversation, Carmen sits down with Dallas criminal defense attorney Nicole Knox, known for her federal trial work, rare full acquittals, and more than 60 not‑guilty verdicts. Nicole talks about why the 14th Amendment mat...
When Power Has No Consequences: The Pope, Trump, and the Swalwell Fallout
In this episode of Culture & Consequence, Carmen and Andrea dive into a wide‑ranging, unfiltered conversation about power, accountability, and the public figures shaping today’s headlines. From the Pope’s viral social‑media statements to th...
Being Wrong: Why Knowing Your Lane Is Your Real Superpower
In this final installment of the Know Thyself series, Carmen digs into one of the most uncomfortable but essential parts of being human: being wrong. Why do we double down? Why is it so hard to say “I don’t know”? And how does k...
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Taking A Day Off Culture and Consquence
We will be back next week! In the meantime if you need a little dose of C&C - please know you can always check out the past episodes at any time on YouTube. 😊 Culture & Consequence Episodes: https://buff.ly/L3M9q...
Know Thyself: Books That Changed Me
In this Know Thyself installment, Carmen explores the books that have shaped her inner life - not to recommend or sell them, but to show how rereading meaningful works can reveal identity, perspective, and joy. She reflects on the intimacy of p...
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Birthright Citizenship, Supreme Court Tensions, and the Politics of Hypocrisy
In this episode, we start with a little travel fatigue and crowd overload before diving straight into the Supreme Court’s latest hearing on birthright citizenship. We break down the 14th Amendment’s language, the history behind “subject to the ...
What I Learned When I Finally Understood My Brain: Living With Aphantasia
In this episode of the Carmen Talk: Know Thyself series, I share something I’ve never talked about publicly: I have aphantasia — a cognitive variation where the mind doesn’t create visual images. I discovered this in 2016, and it completely cha...
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The Week Everyone Lost Their Damn Minds
This week felt like a masterclass in incompetence, and Andrea and I have… thoughts. From Tulsi Gabbard insisting her literal job isn’t her job, to RFK Jr. resurrecting a food pyramid no one has used in 15 years, to Speaker Mike Johnson inventin...
Stop Looking for the Five Steps - Start Looking at Yourself
In this Carmen Talk, I get honest about why the self‑help industry keeps selling “five easy steps” while real life keeps proving there are none. Love, joy, relationships, purpose — none of it comes from a formula. It comes from knowing yourself...
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War Crimes, Chávez Allegations, Cuba Fallout, and the Student Loan Rage Cycle
Viewer Feedback, War Headlines, César Chávez Allegations, and Student Loan AngerCarmen and Andrea open the episode by talking through viewer reactions to last week’s history‑heavy conversation with Kenny Morris — what worked, what...
Re‑Air: Frederick Douglass - Legacy, Truth, and Liberation with Kenneth Morris
In this episode of the Private Lounge, we are re-airing an episode of our latest show, Culture & Consequence. We don't normally have interviews in C&C, but this week was a special circumstance. So, for our Private Lounge viewers -...
Frederick Douglass: Legacy, Truth, and Liberation - A Conversation with Kenneth B. Morris Jr.
In this episode of Culture & Consequence, Carmen and Andrea sit down with Kenneth B. Morris Jr., a direct descendant of Frederick Douglass, for a powerful conversation about legacy, truth, and the ongoing fight for liberation. Morris shares...
Know Thyself: The Three Truths That Change Everything
“Love yourself” is everywhere — but most people don’t actually know what it means. In this Carmen Talk, I break down why the real work isn’t about loving yourself first… it’s about knowing yourself. Because when you truly know who you are, the ...
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Military Action, Moral Outrage, and the Texas Primary
This week, Carmen and Andrea dig into a chaotic stretch of news: U.S. military action in Iran and Ecuador, the limits of the 25th Amendment, and the growing sense that the country is being run by people wildly unprepared for the power they hold...
