Becoming Anyway Pod

What happens when someone who's spent years walking alongside the biggest names in professional golf sits down with two friends who have absolutely no intention of behaving themselves? Meet DJ Gregory. Born with cerebral palsy and told he would never walk, DJ went on to build an extraordinary life around the game he loves. From a childhood encounter with Ken Venturi to a lifelong friendship with Jim Nantz, DJ's story is one of determination, generosity, and some pretty remarkable relationships. And the stories don't stop there. DJ reveals how Jon Rahm surprised him with an engraved Rolex after their 2021 U.S. Open victory, while Kelly recalls the terrifying experience of playing in a pro-am with Kevin Kisner. Lauren shares the time she spontaneously sang "Welcome to Miami" to Scottie Scheffler, plus the childhood encounter with Ian Poulter that started a grudge lasting years. We also get into the players DJ thinks are misunderstood, the adventures that turned DJ and Lauren into close friends, and the three-way obsession with casino cows that has somehow become a group activity. Between the laughs, DJ shares what it meant to receive the 2022 PGA TOUR Courage Award and how his foundation, Walking For Kids, helps children with special needs and their families. It's golf, friendship, a little chaos, and a reminder that the most unexpected connections can change your life. Learn more and support Walking For Kids: https://www.walkingforkids.org/ Two generations. Two perspectives. One conversation.

Is anything private anymore? And why are we so interested in everyone else's business? From family gossip and oversharing to doomscrolling and viral Reels, Kelly and Lauren are asking where we draw the line between curiosity, entertainment, and things that are nobody else's business. Things get personal when Kelly reveals her inexplicable obsession with cartoon cow slot machines, Lauren admits she's an accomplice, and the two confess they might seriously need a new hobby. Plus, should coworkers discuss salaries? Why do some things go viral? And why is Kelly comfortable sharing her deepest personal struggles in a book but uncomfortable with family knowing how much time she spends at a casino? Two generations, very different opinions, and a few confessions they probably should have kept private. Follow Becoming Anyway for new episodes every week.

Why does everything that's supposed to make life easier somehow make it more complicated? This week on Becoming Anyway, Kelly and Lauren are taking on the everyday conveniences that have gotten completely out of control. Streaming subscriptions nobody remembers signing up for. A CVS kiosk that creates more steps instead of fewer. Amazon making us incapable of waiting five business days. Paying extra for Uber Eats priority delivery. And tipping screens that somehow appear EVERYWHERE. Oh, and Kelly accidentally put a rental Buick into NEUTRAL on the highway while trying to turn on the windshield wipers. WHO MOVED THE GEAR SHIFT?! Kelly has spent her career leading technology, so she's not against innovation. But just because we CAN change something, does that mean we SHOULD? Along the way, Kelly shares a hilarious lesson from her Burger King days, Lauren defends paying extra to get her food first, and they debate $22 coffee runs, surprise fees, and whether we're all part of the problem. Because the truth is, we love convenience. We just wish it were actually convenient. What's one modern convenience that's made your life more complicated? New episodes every Thursday. Two generations. Two perspectives. One conversation. #BecomingAnyway #MotherDaughterPodcast #Technology #TippingCulture

This episode required wine. Lauren downloaded an app thinking she might meet some people to golf with after moving to Miami. Kelly got involved. And what followed was approximately a week of judging profiles, questioning men’s photo choices, researching suspiciously impressive job titles on LinkedIn, and learning that a “wink” can escalate VERY quickly. Then Lauren decided to skip the apps altogether and DM someone she knew years ago. Within 48 hours, he was on a flight to Miami. She posted a photo. Kelly started Googling. And the first search result was: “Man accused of killing wife.” So… that was a fun few minutes. Thankfully, Google was missing some fairly important context. 😂 From breadcrumbing, beige flags and situationships to Kelly’s own love story with Cal, we get into what dating looks like now, what really hasn’t changed at all, and whether chemistry can ever be captured in six photos and three sentences. And because we’re incapable of staying on one subject forever, we end with the Vikings somehow being 4-0 and still getting no respect. Dating, DMs, Google investigations, wine and SKOL. Just another week on Becoming Anyway.

On the day Becoming Anyway officially launches, Kelly and Lauren talk about the parts of Kelly's life Lauren never saw: becoming a mother at 23, depression, an eating disorder, financial struggles, loneliness, career guilt, and the pressure to make everything look “fine.” Lauren also shares how her perspective on her childhood, and on her mother, changed through the process of writing the book. Plus, the whiteboards are back: Who was harder to raise? Who was better at pretending everything was fine? And who sacrificed more for Kelly's career? Then Lauren asks the question at the center of it all: after spending years keeping so much private, why tell everyone now? Becoming Anyway by Kelly MacPherson is available now. Buy Here.

Our first guest had to be Superman Joe. Joe started as someone who worked for Kelly and became a lifelong friend, part of the family, and the person Lauren has known as “Superman Joe” since she was four. This week, we get into The Weakest Link , step aerobics, pagers, early restaurant technology, “flying with the cattle,” some recreationally evil management, and the leadership lessons that survived all of it. Joe talks about what Kelly taught him about trust, mistakes, letting people fail successfully, and supporting someone when the right next move means leaving your team. Because jobs change. Titles change. And every once in a while, you walk away with a Superman Joe.

Is AI making us smarter—or are we slowly outsourcing our ability to think? 🤖In Episode 4 of Becoming Anyway, Kelly and Lauren take on AI, technology, and the line between using tools to make us more capable and becoming too dependent on them.From AI at work and the skills we may be losing, to robot pilots, self-checkout, a dead phone that left someone completely stranded, an AI-designed condo that looked incredible but didn't actually fit the room, and one very important lesson involving the word “Madagascar”… this conversation goes places.At the center of it all is one question:Are we using AI to replace the work—or letting it replace our judgment?We talk about:• Why critical thinking may matter more in an AI world• How AI is changing the workplace• What happens when everyone can make the perfect presentation• The human skills technology can't replace• AI in education and parenting• Where automation helps—and where it goes too far• Whether we'd get on an AI-flown airplane ✈️• And whether AI could eventually make an entire episode of Becoming Anyway without usSo… is AI making us stupid? We have thoughts.👇 Tell us in the comments: What's one thing you happily let AI do for you—and one thing you'd never hand over?🎙️ Becoming AnywayTwo generations. Two perspectives. One conversation.Subscribe and join us for a new conversation each episode.#BecomingAnyway #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Podcast #MotherDaughterPodcast #FutureOfWork

Airports have a way of revealing who people really are—and apparently, Kelly and Lauren have a lot of opinions about it. In Episode 3, we’re boarding Becoming Anyway Flight 003 and talking about the unwritten rules of flying, the behaviors that send otherwise reasonable people over the edge, and the travel stories we still can’t believe actually happened. From a stranger reaching directly into Lauren’s bag of Chex Mix (and then asking to share her AirPods), to Kelly’s unforgettable middle-seat encounter, Grandma Sandy’s legendary “drunk watermelon watcher” accusation, questionable seat swaps, bare feet, speakerphone offenders, overhead-bin warfare, and the airport behaviors that deserve straight-to-jail status—we’re settling the debates once and for all. The episode even gets into the more serious side of flying: patience with airline employees, subconscious bias, inconsistent rules, and why a little common sense goes a long way at 30,000 feet. So buckle up. We’re deciding who’s rude, who’s reasonable, and who belongs in airport jail. Two generations. Two perspectives. One conversation. And one rule we can both agree on: stay in your space, mind your business, and please keep your shoes on.

How much of your child’s future can you actually control, and when do you have to let go? In Episode 2 of Becoming Anyway , Kelly and Lauren get honest about parenting, expectations, education, and the complicated transition from raising a child to having a relationship with an adult one. What starts as a conversation about college, career paths, and the things parents believe they’re doing “for” their kids turns into something neither of them expected: a conversation about a decision Lauren kept from Kelly for years, and why she was afraid to tell her. There’s a long pause. A little hindsight. Some very different perspectives. And one realization they can agree on: you can prepare the road, pay for it, and point your child toward it, but eventually, they have to walk it themselves. Because becoming an adult means making your own choices. And parenting one might mean learning when to bite your lip, even when you still have plenty to say. Two generations. Two perspectives. One conversation. Becoming Anyway with Kelly MacPherson and Lauren Maddern. Tell us: When does helping your adult child become too much, and what do parents have the hardest time letting go of?

Two generations. Two perspectives. One conversation.So, why are we doing this?In the first episode of Becoming Anyway, mother-daughter duo Kelly and Lauren sit down behind the microphones for the first time and quickly discover that starting a podcast is a little more complicated than just... talking.We get into how writing Kelly's memoir Becoming Anyway helped start a different kind of conversation between us, when we actually started liking each other as adults, the strange intersection of being mother and daughter while also working together, and what happens when "Mom" and "Executive Kelly" show up at exactly the same time.There are cruises. A Burger King CIO. A very poorly timed Dyson request. A family meeting that apparently qualifies as a pre-shift. And at least one story neither of us expected to tell in Episode 1.We also put our claim that we know each other pretty well to the test with I Knew You'd Say That and start figuring out exactly what we're willing to talk about on this show.Turns out... quite a lot. @becominganywaypod is a mother + daughter podcast about real life, relationships, work, family, travel, technology, the things happening right now, and everything we're still figuring out along the way.New episodes every Thursday.Subscribe and come along for the conversation. Keep becoming.