Human, Not Hacked: The Anti Self-Help Podcast

Human Not Hacked pushes back on the $45B self-help industry and its obsession with fixing what was never broken. Hosted by veteran coaches Amy Lombardo and Jillian Arena, the show explores what real growth looks like—messy, honest, and often funny. Through raw conversations and diverse guest perspectives, we challenge toxic positivity, hustle culture, and quick-fix promises, offering grounded tools and reflections instead. Because being human isn’t a flaw to hack—it’s the foundation for growth. (Find more in the Brilliance Collective App.)

Human, Not Hacked: The Anti Self-Help Podcast is a education podcast hosted by The Brilliance Collective, with 8 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

The Brilliance Collective hosts Human, Not Hacked: The Anti Self-Help Podcast, a education show with 8 episodes published.

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  Episode #8

  Episode 8: Listening to Your Body in a Culture That Teaches You Not To

  May 7, 202643 minS1

  <p>In this episode of Human, Not Hacked, we explore what it actually means to listen to your body in a culture that constantly teaches you not to.</p><p>We’re joined by Julia Parzyck of Fit Fat and All That, who shares her journey from chasing external standards of health and “doing everything right” to slowly unlearning those rules and building a more honest, responsive relationship with her body. She speaks candidly about the pressure to perform wellness, the ways control and restriction can masquerade as self-care, and the moments that invited her to pause, question, and listen differ...

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  Human, Not Hacked: The Anti Self-Help Podcast

  Episode 7: Designing for Aliveness in a Digital World with Nina Everflow

  Feb 21, 202658 minS0

  <p>What makes some online spaces feel nourishing — while others leave us strangely depleted?</p><p>In this episode of Human Not Hacked, Amy Lombardo and Jillian Arena sit down with learning designer and facilitator Nina Everflow to explore how digital courses, trainings, and communities can either flatten human experience or help it come alive.</p><p>Drawing from her years in e-learning, organizational training, and embodied facilitation, Nina shares how the rapid shift online during COVID revealed hidden assumptions about power, engagement, and authority in the way we teach and learn. Together, the conversation moves beyond technology into deeper qu...

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  Human, Not Hacked: The Anti Self-Help Podcast

  Episode 6. Behind the Scenes of the Brilliance Collective - From Self Help to Collective Care

  Feb 5, 202651 minS0

  <p>This episode is something different.</p><p>Instead of offering tips, tools, or techniques, Amy Lombardo and Jillian Arena invite you into an intimate, unfiltered conversation between two seasoned coaches who have spent decades inside the self-help and personal growth world — and who are no longer willing to pretend they have it all figured out.</p><p>This is a candid, behind-the-scenes look at how the Brilliance Collective was born, why it exists, and how two passionate, driven, big-hearted helpers slowly realized that the very industry they loved was also burning them out.</p><p>If you’ve ever felt...

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  Human, Not Hacked: The Anti Self-Help Podcast

  Episode 5: Unpacking the Jargon: Common Phrases the Self-Help World Loves… and What They Actually Mean

  Dec 30, 20251h 11mS0

  <p>In this episode, Amy and Jillian cut through the dense fog of self-help jargon and translate it back into… well, actual human language. From buzzwords like “holding space” and “embodiment” to phrases like “alignment,” “triggered,” and “shadow work,” they dig into why these terms became so popular, how they’re often misused, and the very real ways they can cause confusion, shame, or unintentional harm when taken out of context.</p><p>Together, they break down what these concepts were originally meant to describe, how the coaching industry has oversimplified or commercialized them, and what these ideas look like when practiced with inte...

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  Human, Not Hacked: The Anti Self-Help Podcast

  Episode 4: The Space Between: How Followership Expands Our Capacity to Lead

  Dec 29, 20251h 5mS0

  <p>In this very first guest episode of Human Not Hacked, Amy Lombardo sits down with her dear friend and colleague Sharna Fabiano — world-renowned tango dancer, author of Lead and Follow, coach, and artist — for a deeply human exploration of leadership, followership, and the myth of control.</p><p>Through the lens of dance, art, and embodied practice, Sharna has spent years challenging one of our culture’s most persistent illusions: that power means control, and that growth requires constant self-improvement. In this soulful conversation, she and Amy unpack what happens when we stop trying to master ourselves and instead learn...

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