Behind The Scenes with Kirsten Powers

How she Changed the Channel from CNN political analyst to easeful living and writing

🎙️ Listen to this episode of the [B]OLD AGE podcast: Kirsten Powers on Changing the Channel From CNN Political Analyst to Easeful Living and Writing

I chased

Kirsten Powers

for 10 months before I finally got her to sit down for my podcast. The poor woman was likely sick of me by the time we talked. Kirsten, who is 56, is [b]old by any definition. She left her high-paying position as a CNN senior political analyst in August of 2023. She was not afraid to leave her on-air identity behind, she told me. But, in her words, “the not-having-money thing was very scary.” 

I’m so glad we finally connected because our conversation was rich and provocative. We talked about her decision to leave “the media circus” (her words) after several decades as a liberal commentator. Prior to CNN she worked for Fox and before that she was a columnist for USA Today, The Daily Beast, American Prospect Online, and the New York Post. Kirsten is also a New York Times bestselling author. Her most recent book is Saving Grace: Speak Your Truth, Stay Centered, and Learn to Coexist with People Who Drive You Nuts. Judging from our podcast conversation, the title is an apt description of Kirsten herself. She is a kind, centered, no-bullshit kind of person.

When she first considered writing on Substack, the higher-ups asked her to focus on what she was known for: political analysis. She did that briefly and half-heartedly, she told me, quickly realizing it was a mistake and not what she wanted to write about. After taking several months off, she came back with her current newsletter,

Changing The Channel

. Her Substack, in her words, is about living authentically, unlearning societal conditioning, and how to actually change your life.

We also talked about her planned move to Italy and why she thinks her recent Substack post about the decision went viral. The post is headlined: “The way we live in the United States is not normal.” In the essay, she explains how Americans are tired of school shootings, of absurdly expensive health care, of the frenetic pace of life. And yet somehow we are societally conditioned to accept this, as if it’s normal. But it’s not, Kirsten emphasizes. So popular was the essay, she’s now turning it into a book proposal. The frantic and pressured pace of life she describes resonates with me, given how hard it is to slow down, even in my early 70s. What resonates even more strongly, because it’s something I crave, is Kirsten’s “offline” life in Puglia. (If Italy is shaped like a boot, Puglia is the heel.) There’s “less static” she told me. People are present. They sit in cafes to enjoy a coffee and conversation, without putting their phones on the table. How I wish I could live like that, whether in the U.S. or elsewhere. But I don’t, as yet. I admit to being tied to my phone.

Bonus mini writing tip

Coincidentally, I recently took one of

Sarah Fay

‘s workshops at Substack Writers at Work, about how to make posts go viral, in which she used Kirsten’s “moving to Italy” essay as an example of writing that grabs the reader. The #1 tip for engaging your readers, Sarah explained, is to drop right into your story or essay. No windup. No background. Just get right to it¹. Tell them what it’s about and why they should care. In fact, cut your first paragraph, Sarah advises, and be sure to write an enticing headline. That’s what Kirsten does in her viral essay. And a technique she writes about herself in another recent and very useful post, Hook The Reader With a Strong Lede. I was taught the same thing about opening paragraphs in journalism school, and attempted to perfect this practice during my several decades as a newspaper reporter. Still, it’s not easy to do. My current editor for this newsletter often slashes through the first paragraph in my draft, and admittedly I almost always agree with her. But it’s great advice, on Substack or anywhere, and I hope you find it as useful a reminder as I did. 

The Enneagram (Kirsten, the Challenger)

Finally, Kirsten and I talked about her interest and growing expertise in, the Enneagram². The Enneagram is a system of personality typing that classifies human personality into nine basic types, describing how people interpret the world. Kirsten told me she is a Type 8, the Challenger, meaning she is a natural leader, champions fairness and justice, and isn’t afraid to push boundaries. That desire for intensity, for something to push against, is typical of a Type 8, she said, and it’s one reason she signed on with Fox News as a Democrat. What’s changing for her, she said, is her intense drive for accomplishment. Her growth path is “doing things in a more easeful way,” she said. 

Debbie (the Perfectionist)

I felt driven to take the Enneagram test myself³ after Kirsten and I talked. Apparently I’m a Type 1, a Reformer / Perfectionist, meaning I’m idealistic but pragmatic. Or a fuller description from my results: “Type 1s are strict on themselves and seek to exhibit a high amount of self-control. This can often result in them being critical of others actions as well.” Uh oh. Perhaps proving the test’s accuracy, my first impulse was to take the test again to get a better (more flattering?) answer.

But I digress. I hope you enjoy this episode of the [B]OLD AGE podcast and, if you’re not already a subscriber, I highly recommend Kirsten’s Changing The Channel.

---

I’d love to hear your questions about old age or [b]old age, no matter how big or small, and I will answer them as honestly as I can in a future post. You can submit a question below:

---

By supporting me as a paid subscriber, you are supporting my work and joining a small group of people who actively engage in honest discussion with me. About our experience of [b]old age, society’s expectations of it, and our own negative beliefs about it.

1. “Drop right into your story” is exactly the advice I give to storytellers when I’m directing a storytelling event, like the recent Island Women Speak in Stonington, ME.

2. Learn more at cpenneagram.com where Kirsten is studying to become certified.

3. I took the test at thepersonalitylab.org. It cost $9.95 but you can cancel your membership after that.