Anne V Mühlethaler:
Hey, I'm Anne and I am thrilled to introduce the meta interview, generous Conversations with Brilliant Humans. Now, this is not a trailer. I am choosing to call this episode zero the Genesis, so you get the full story of what this new podcast is about before we dive in. So once upon a time, I'm kidding.
For five years, I've been writing the Meta View, my longstanding newsletter, where I share essays, weaving together stories, lessons, and reflections of my life, and work through a mindful lens. You could say that this work sits at the crossroads between strategic business thinking, conscious communication, and inner reflection.
If you're not familiar with meta, M-E-T-T-A, it's my favorite practice. It's also called Loving Kindness in English. It's a 2,500 years old Buddhist practice where we foster a sense of goodwill for ourselves and others by repeating phrases like, may you be well, may you be happy. May you feel peaceful, may you feel loved.
Meta translates as goodwill, friendliness, or love, but non-romantic. Of course, cultivating Meta invites us to show up with unconditional friendliness, ready to listen deeply to ourselves and others to open to pausing, noticing being present, grounded.
I've also been hosting out the Clouds, my long form interview podcast for the past five years. It started about three months before the newsletter actually coming from 17 years in luxury fashion because I worked at Christian Labutta from 2000 to 2017, and then after that as a communication and business advisor.
I understand that detail is everything. I used to say that we were in the business of details, right? That you have to pay attention to every little thing, especially when you're selling retailing at a luxury price point. So without knowing what I was doing, I took the same approach. When I watched the podcast, I spent hours researching my guests.
Sending questions in advance, conducting deep, thoughtful conversations, then editing meticulously before doing the show notes and everything else. And I used to joke that each interview was like getting a masterclass from my guests a couple of years in. I realized something was missing for me. After each of these transformative conversations.
I desperately wanted to talk about them with other people, but while I had a podcast and podcast listeners, they weren't sitting next to me, I was missing that community element. That's how I started hosting salons, what I like to call in-person podcast experiences, just with. Nice people and food. As I became a certified coach over these years and I deepened my study of contemplative practices, oh, you may not know this about me.
I'm a mindfulness and loving kindness teacher, and I've been studying for about seven years now. I learned that transformation happens through moments of reflection and integration. That's what good coaches create in their sessions. That's what contemplative practices are all about, creating a space to hold the important questions to learn how to navigate life mindfully by listening to the emergence of the answers Intuitively, I started putting two and two together.
I was getting these. Quote unquote, masterclasses from these amazing guests I had on the podcast being transformed by each conversation, so it's from outta the clouds that a new business was being born. That business is called Laton. The plan is that I'll be bringing some of my brilliant friends and other wonderful people, some of whom I've interviewed for outta the clouds to offer official workshops and masterclasses this time, not just to me, but to you too, and more on that in a few weeks.
And this is what brought on the aha moment. First, I'd been menacing jokingly to offer the Meta View as a podcast, but a few weeks ago I was on a call with a good friend of mine and we were talking about a workshop she was planning to deliver for the taunt, and I was watching her on Zoom. Being her brilliant self, and I was watching her hands move the hair, the energy that she was displaying all over the screen.
And I remember thinking, oh, I wish everyone could meet her like this. Do you understand just how great she is? Because this is what happens, right? When we discover an author, a speaker, a coach, a teacher, a friend, we don't just fall in love with their expertise or. Their vibe or whatever else we fall in love with the whole package.
The humor, the tone of voice. How they move, how they think. Every single little idiosyncrasy that makes them, them. We fall in love with what makes them unique. So each person you're going to meet through the meta interview has been handpicked by me, not just for their expertise, though they have a lot, but for their values, for their humanity, their curiosity, and their commitment to genuine exchange.
Some are close friends that I've known for years. Others are newer friends, connections that I've made recently across the internet of all places, and yet there's an undeniable strength of connection with them all. And yes, when I say my brilliant friends, there's a little nod to the writer and an ferrante tucked in there because.
Because it's such a great title.
As an introvert who enjoys going deep, fast, bringing on these people I love and admire as an absolute joy. I'm not sure how often we celebrate friendship. Yet these connections, whether they are longstanding or newly formed, have such power to transform how we see ourselves. Our lives and our work. So you're going to discover my brilliant friends.
You're gonna find out who they are, how they think, what drives them, and why their approach to their work touches something deeper than just knowledge transfer. Now, here's what makes the meta interview different. Instead of showcasing expertise, every episode will be an excuse to meet around a question that feels alive for my guest.
We're going to explore something that they are pondering upon working with, with genuine curiosity, creating a space for insights to emerge in a world that is increasingly mediated by screens and algorithms. What we are hoping to create here. Is something essentially human. The questions we explore about relevance, purpose, creativity, connection, these are timeless human concerns.
Each conversation is both a response to now and a resource for the future because I think when we meet around real questions, with care, with deep listening, we create something that transcends the moment of the recording. Think of these conversations as the little black dress of podcasts.
Now, that's a metaphor that will not speak to everyone, but let me clarify. We're building this to be timeless rather than trendy. This means high quality through careful curation, always relevant because it focuses on human connection. We're doing the opposite of quick, fast content. Investing several hours of thoughtful preparation for each conversation, because what makes something timeless is that it speaks to what's essentially human, our need to be seen, understood, connected, and to understand the world around us.
This podcast hopefully emerges in the space between planned and spontaneous, between knowing and exploring. So join me every week, meet another one of my brilliant friends, discover who they are and what they do, and join us as we ponder upon a question that feels alive for them right now. Subscribe wherever you can listen to podcasts because you won't want to miss what we are building together.
Thank you so much for listening. Until next time.
