Kristen Mardis was 21 years old, fresh out of college, and had just been accepted into graduate school when she found out she was pregnant. With no financial safety net and no health insurance, she had to quickly figure out how she would care for a baby while still pursuing her dream of becoming a speech pathologist. In this episode, Kristen shares what it was like to navigate Medicaid, SNAP benefits, and childcare assistance — and how those programs gave her the foundation she needed to build the life she has today.

1. Finding out she was pregnant just weeks after being accepted into graduate school
2. How Medicaid and SNAP helped her access prenatal care and feed her baby
3. Navigating childcare assistance so she could finish her master’s degree
4. The stigma around government assistance — and the dignity everyone deserves
5. How her experience shaped the way she now serves families in her work as a speech pathologist

1. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
2. Medicaid
3. Childcare assistance programs

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Carol Lin spent her career inside newsrooms built for breaking news. She covered some of the most difficult moments in recent history, including being the first person to report the attacks on September 11. In this conversation, she reflects on her career in journalism and the behind-the-scenes moments that shaped her life. She also discusses what it was like to revisit those experiences while writing her memoir.

Hear Carol talk about:

1. What it’s like inside a newsroom built for breaking news
2. The moment she realized she was going live on September 11 without a script
3. How anchors rely on producers, reporters, and unseen teams during national crises
4. The emotional discipline required to deliver information in uncertain moments
5. The intersection of her career with major personal turning points
6. Why writing her memoir required revisiting both professional and private pain
7. What she hopes readers — and her daughter — take away from her story

Mentioned in this episode:

1. The first moments reporting 9/11 (viewer discretion advised)
2. Carol Lin’s memoir, When News Breaks

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• Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast app
• Leave a rating & review — it helps others find the show
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What’s it like to spend weeks inside a monastery in complete silence?

What’s it like to find out you’re pregnant with no idea how you’re going to support yourself?

And what’s it like to be the first person to tell the world a plane has just hit the World Trade Center?

Season two of Tell Me What It’s Like gives you a window into someone else’s world - the moments that challenge us, scare us, and shape who we become.

Join host Stacy Raine as she uncovers what each experience was like, and the lessons learned along the way.

1. Breaking historic news and facing profound loss
2. A silent retreat inside a monastery, and what happens when the outside world falls away
3. Navigating unexpected pregnancy without a safety net
4. Helping nonprofits do meaningful work in complex systems
5. Making sense of Medicare and aging in a system few people truly understand
6. Supporting girls in their tween and teen years
7. Finding connection, confidence, and love again later in life

Season two of Tell Me What It’s Like is coming soon.

Support This Show:

• Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast app
• Leave a rating & review — it helps others find the show
• Share the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media