Podcast Summary: "Natasha Rothwell: The Third Doyle Sister?!"
We Can Do Hard Things • Host: Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, Amanda Doyle (Treat Media)
Guest: Natasha Rothwell
Date: September 25, 2025
Overview
This episode features acclaimed actor, creator, and “soul-awakener" Natasha Rothwell in conversation with Amanda Doyle, Glennon Doyle, and the Pod Squad. Known for her critically acclaimed series How to Die Alone, her roles in Insecure and The White Lotus, and for using her platform to center marginalized voices, Natasha dives into topics like the cost of connection for introverts, rest as resistance, faith and creativity, neurodivergence, and the urgent role of art in a turbulent world. The conversation is raw, hilarious, soul-nourishing, and, as Natasha says, “a warm hug.” The hosts fawn over Natasha’s energy, philosophies, and honesty as she claims her spot as the honorary "third Doyle sister."
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Natasha’s Presence On-screen and In Life
- Amanda introduces Natasha as a "philosopher," citing the deeper, soul-awakening power of her performances and writing (02:02).
- Natasha shares her deep reciprocal love for We Can Do Hard Things, revealing the podcast is on her vision board (03:01).
2. Introversion, Connection, and Boundaries
- Natasha subverts "The Little Mermaid": “I do not want to be where the people are. I want to be where the people aren’t. I want to be in the underground bunker, far up in a tree.” (05:13)
- Natasha describes herself as an introvert who gives fully in social situations but pays for it with depletion and needs solo recharging with her dogs and solitude (06:21).
- She distinguishes between “expensive” friends (requiring emotional savings to spend time with) and those she can be with without cost (07:58).
- Natasha: “I go in thinking Florence Nightingale, and then I get there and I’m like Kathy Bates in Misery.” (11:06) She highlights learning to honor her energy limits rather than push through for martyrdom’s sake.
3. Rest, Worthiness, and Breaking Martyrdom Cycles
- Natasha was raised with an understanding of martyrdom—pain as proof of worth—which she's actively unlearning (12:32).
- On rest: “Rest is productive… It’s not something to be earned. It’s a grace that we need to give to ourselves.” (13:27)
- Discussion of the toxic “no pain, no gain” mantra, with hosts connecting it to both Catholic and Black church upbringings (12:00).
- Natasha reflects on how even moments of ease can feel uncomfortable because of ingrained productivity narratives: “Feelings aren’t fact… For a long time, if I was feeling like I wasn’t worthy… that was the truth. Now I challenge that.” (16:17)
4. Restorative Practices & Social Media Poison
- The group examines how social media masquerades as “rest” while ultimately making us feel worse (21:03).
- Natasha’s true rest involves: crosswords, Legos, time in water, edibles (for her neurodivergent mind), and carefully curated TikTok viewing (21:03–23:29).
- She avoids reading comments about herself: “I know I’m already predisposed to think negatively, so I don’t need gas on the fire.” (24:21)
5. Neurodivergence and Self-Discovery
- Natasha was only diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, following clues from TikTok (30:01).
- Diagnosis allowed her deep relief, replacing shame with self-advocacy and pride for her “superpower” brain: “It feels like I’ve been running with a parachute.” (35:19)
- She reflects on the grief and self-forgiveness involved in late diagnosis and the contrast between her academic achievements and the hidden effort they required (33:37).
6. Faith, God, and Spirituality
- Natasha’s journey: From strict Black church (“so much denial of self”) to a more expansive, inclusive faith (“my God is so big and so loving and so inclusive”) (37:55–42:00).
- She speaks of “finding God for herself,” moving away from inherited doctrine to a direct, personal relationship with the divine (41:39).
- “The immediacy of [my] relationship [with God] compared to what it was before feels even more potent… It’s devoid of all of the ceremony of religion.” (45:45)
7. Art, Creativity & Empathy: The Spiritual Practice
- For Natasha, improvisation and creativity feel closest to God: “That is a state of flow where I feel super connected into something greater” (43:37).
- Acting and theater are described as communal, empathic, deeply spiritual—not extra, but the “antidote” to oppression (57:09–64:36).
- Natasha celebrates the power of collective emotional experience: “It is powerful to experience emotion collectively… How often in life do we have those unique, undeniable moments where it’s just like, if you weren’t there, you weren’t there.” (61:14)
8. Art and Truth as Resistance
- The hosts and Natasha discuss the targeting of arts, expression, and truth by authoritarian systems, drawing a straight line from attacks on marginalized activists to censorship of the arts (64:18–66:59).
- “They can’t commodify individuality. If we remain individualistic, if we remain autonomous, that’s dangerous to them.” (65:38)
- Natasha is committed to using her platform for autonomy and resistance: “We are going to fight for our right to exist and to be happy. And it is going to be a fight. But I ain’t tired. I’m ready.” (66:59)
9. Urgency, Grief, Work, and Joy
- On activism: “We bury our friends in the morning, we march in the afternoon, and we dance at night.” (71:50)
- Natasha: “You will not take my joy. And a little joy, for me, part of my neurodivergence… hyper fixation has been a theme… For me, that song… [Olivia Dean’s] ‘Man, I Need’… just lights me up.” (73:30)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Cost of Connection:
“Some friends, some family, are expensive, and I have to save up for them. Some friends pour into me… but even then, I’m trying to give back… I don’t know how to just receive.” — Natasha Rothwell (07:58) -
On Martyrdom:
“I go in thinking Florence Nightingale, and then I get there, and I’m like Kathy Bates in Misery. One of us will die for this to end.” — Natasha (11:06) -
On Worth and Rest:
“Rest is productive… it’s not something to be earned. It’s a grace that we need to give to ourselves.” — Natasha (13:27) -
On Neurodivergence:
“It feels very much like I was running with a parachute. Holy shit… Also understanding that it is a superpower to think like I do.” — Natasha (35:19) -
On God:
“I found God for myself, the immediacy of that relationship… feels even more potent. It is devoid of all of the ceremony of religion.” — Natasha (45:43) -
On Art’s Necessity:
“If you want to know what’s really important, watch what fascists go after and double down on that, because they know what brings life.” — Amanda Doyle (64:18) -
On Joy & Resistance:
“You will not take my joy. Part of my neurodivergence just to bring it all together — hyper fixation has been a theme in my life…” — Natasha (72:15) -
On Being a Doyle Sister:
“Yes. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. I want to be the third Doyle sister.” — Natasha (77:09)
Timestamps for Major Segments
- Intro & Natasha’s Impact – 00:00–03:01
- The Joy and Cost of Connection – 05:13–10:00
- On Boundaries and Self-Care – 11:06–14:50
- Suffering, Rest, & Worthiness – 12:23–16:17
- Rest Practices vs Social Media Drain – 21:03–24:09
- ADHD/Neurodivergence Diagnosis – 30:01–35:19
- God, Faith and Creative Expression – 37:23–45:20
- Theater, Empathy, and Spirituality – 57:09–61:14
- Art & Resistance: Attacks on Truth – 64:18–66:59
- What Matters Now? (Art, Activism, Joy) – 67:11–72:15
- Sharing Sources of Joy & Connection – 72:15–77:09
Final Thoughts & Takeaways
- We Can Do Hard Things at its best: vulnerable, honest, funny, with Natasha Rothwell opening up about creativity, faith, mental health, and activism.
- Listeners come away reminded that rest is a birthright, art is the antidote to oppression, and joy is both an act of resistance and a necessity.
- Natasha’s affirming presence, candid vulnerability, and humor shine—making her a natural “third Doyle sister” and inspiring the Pod Squad to keep dancing, grieving, and fighting, together.
Listen for:
- Natasha’s stories about finding flow in improv, her spiritual “calling,” and her defiant commitment to joy despite the world’s many troubles.
- A practical guide to restorative rest (crosswords, Legos, edibles, curation not doomscrolling!)
- An impassioned plea for the necessity of art and community in times of crisis.