Alicia Rodriguez is pursuing her Master&apos;s Degree just as she rounds the bend toward 60. And, she isn&apos;t planning to stop there either.  Soon we will have to call her Dr. Rodriguez. Alicia and I talked about current events, but also through her turbulent childhood, raising her sons Jared And Tyler <a href='https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jared-and-tyler-gay-out-loud/id1343834973?i=1000475913844'>(former guests of the show)</a>, and having not one, not two, but three weight loss surgeries after her lap band eroded into her stomach. Good times!  Alicia told me she is always reinventing herself, but I think the current version is doing just fine. <a rel="payment" href="http://patreon.com/lightersidepodcast">Support the show</a> (http://patreon.com/lightersidepodcast)

New Start with Edson Sean

It started as a weight loss podcast, which quickly became a mental health podcast, which somehow became a pandemic podcast.  Jay, your host  (anxiety/depression/OCD/childhood trauma/family addiction)  lost 185 lbs after having bariatric surgery.  Guests have ranged from actor Ken Marino to a woman you have never heard of who lost 250 lbs, to a recovering addict, to essential workers during COVID-19. In 2020, the show became daily and ran for 100 episodes in 100 days. The culmination of everything The Lighter Side strove to be, Jay created an oral history of the pandemic, as told through the voices of the people who lived through it. There's something for everyone on the Lighter Side.