{"podcast":{"title":"Different, Not Broken","slug":"different-not-broken-7281363","podcast_index_feed_id":7281363,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/different-not-broken/","website_url":"https://differentnotbrokenpodcast.com","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/0387d1ce-6b9b-4cca-b6e8-776de97c3f11/6XCIStyYqXIWc3Zw6GTqXkf1.jpg","author":"Lauren \"L2\" Howard","episode_count":69,"summary":"You’ve spent your whole life feeling like something’s wrong with you. Here’s a radical thought: what if you’re not broken - just different? Welcome to Different, Not Broken, the no-filter, emotionally intelligent, occasionally sweary podcast that challenges the idea that we all have to fit inside neat little boxes to be acceptable. Hosted by L2 (aka Lauren Howard), this show dives into the real, raw and ridiculous sides of being neurodivergent, introverted, chronically underestimated - and still completely worthy. Expect deeply honest conversations about identity, neurodivergence, gender, work, grief, anxiety and everything in between. There’ll be tears, dead dad jokes, side quests, and a whole lot of swearing. If you are tired of pretending to be someone you’re not, this space is for you. Come for the chaos. Stay for the catharsis. Linger for the dead Dad jokes.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/different-not-broken-7281363"},"episode":{"title":"Paint by Number is Fine. A Coloring Book is a Threat!","slug":"paint-by-number-is-fine-a-coloring-book-is-a-threat","published_at":"2026-03-18T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/different-not-broken-7281363/paint-by-number-is-fine-a-coloring-book-is-a-threat","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/different-not-broken-7281363","url":"https://differentnotbrokenpodcast.com/episode/paint-by-number-is-fine-a-coloring-book-is-a-threat","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/14200d7c-c87c-4eb7-ac06-bf80f2f9a22b.mp3","summary":"In this episode which is sponsored by our wonderful partners at Inflow , I have a bone to pick with everyone who has ever bought me a coloring book. I know you meant well. I know you love me. I know you saw \"mindless activity\" and thought of me. But I need you to understand something: there is nothing in this world more stressful than being handed a mandala and a box of markers and being told to relax. Nothing. Hi, I'm Lauren Howard and my friends call me L2. Over the coming 20 minutes, I'll be walking through exactly why coloring books are a form of psychological warfare for my brain — the wrong colors, the spacing, the seven shades of gray problem, the blank page that is just failure waiting to happen — and what actually works for me instead. (Paint by number. With the paint pots included. Do not hand me a paint by number without the paint pots.) I also tell the story behind why I sign off every single conversation — phone call, Zoom, hallway chat — the same exact way. Every time. Have for a decade. Started in a substance use clinic, where \"be good\" was less a pleasantry and more a genuinely urgent request. One patient called me out the one time I forgot. I didn't realize how much it had followed me until then. Alison brings us a question from Simone in Oakland, California, who is frustrated by the advice to \"listen to your body\" because her body keeps sending contradictory signals — tired but wired, hungry but nauseous. I get into why that advice is genuinely incomplete, what those crossed signals actually mean, and when they're a sign something bigger needs attention. \"A blank coloring page is just a sheet of failure. Everything I do from here on out is going to be wrong. Get that thing away from me.\" Be good. Again, please do check out our episode sponsors Inflow…","meta_description":"In this episode which is sponsored by our wonderful partners at Inflow , I have a bone to pick with everyone who has ever bought me a coloring book. I kno…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1166,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/different-not-broken-7281363/episodes/paint-by-number-is-fine-a-coloring-book-is-a-threat/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/different-not-broken-7281363/paint-by-number-is-fine-a-coloring-book-is-a-threat.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}