<![CDATA[Strange Orphan]]>Common sense advice for the mildly traumatized. A podcast about the "strange" of estrangement.

]]>https://www.strangeorphan.comRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Thu, 28 May 2026 03:12:02 GMTThu, 22 Jan 2026 21:32:58 GMT60Laura Steinel<p>Common sense advice for the mildly traumatized. A podcast about the "strange" of estrangement. </p>episodicLaura Steinelinfo@strangeorphan.comno<![CDATA[Ep. 14 - The Mechanics of a Miracle]]>How do we prime ourselves for "miracles" and "manifestations" to occur in our lives? After having a home-related miracle fall in her lap this past week, Laura dives into her take on the “mechanics of miracles,” and how we might be more responsible for our participation in helping the Divine bless us, than we know.

Neuropsychologist, Dr. Julia DiGanji - @drjuliadiganji 

Got a question for Strange Orphan? Email us at info@StrangeOrphan.com and we’ll dive into it on the show. 

Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Strange Orphan! 

]]>c248f9d3-49a8-4b49-b1e5-264a34851a09Thu, 21 May 2026 16:56:37 GMT<p>How do we prime ourselves for "miracles" and "manifestations" to occur in our lives? After having a home-related miracle fall in her lap this past week, Laura dives into her take on the “mechanics of miracles,” and how we might be more responsible for our participation in helping the Divine bless us, than we know.</p><p></p><p>Neuropsychologist, Dr. Julia DiGanji - <b>@drjuliadiganji </b></p><p></p><p>Got a question for Strange Orphan? Email us at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:info@StrangeOrphan.com" target="_blank">info@StrangeOrphan.com</a> and we’ll dive into it on the show. </p><p></p><p>Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Strange Orphan! </p><p></p><p></p>no00:34:40114Ep. 14 - The Mechanics of a Miraclefull<![CDATA[Mother's Day ]]>Mother's day is here. And with it comes an entire buffet of questions on how we're supposed to survive it. How do we fill the ache in our hearts that lingers even years after leaving our original homes? How much "love and nurture" can really be asked of our pets? This episode dives into Laura's tips for nurturing yourself, and finding ways to not feel like a sad orphan this weekend.

Got a question for Strange Orphan? Email us at info@StrangeOrphan.com and we’ll dive into it on the show. 

Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Strange Orphan! 

]]>b31f21d8-4f9e-4109-9efc-4e472effa8a0Thu, 07 May 2026 22:45:59 GMT<p>Mother's day is here. And with it comes an entire buffet of questions on how we're supposed to survive it. How do we fill the ache in our hearts that lingers even years after leaving our original homes? How much "love and nurture" can really be asked of our pets? This episode dives into Laura's tips for nurturing yourself, and finding ways to not feel like a sad orphan this weekend.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Got a question for Strange Orphan? Email us at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:info@StrangeOrphan.com" target="_blank">info@StrangeOrphan.com</a> and we’ll dive into it on the show. </p><p></p><p>Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Strange Orphan! </p><p></p>no00:26:48Mother's Day full<![CDATA[No Place Like Home ]]>Sometimes there’s no place like home. This week Laura dives into her years long battle with constant uprooting, and the nervous system work of facing the emotional storms that continue to plague us from our original homes, and how to win the war against Airbnb, and the family of cockroaches inhabiting your rental.

TRIGGER WARNING: Brief mention of S***ide.

Got a question for Strange Orphan? Email us at info@StrangeOrphan.com and we’ll dive into it on the show. 

Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Strange Orphan! 

]]>05195b40-9274-4c99-a966-4b02aa10f337Thu, 23 Apr 2026 21:51:30 GMT<p>Sometimes there’s no place like home. This week Laura dives into her years long battle with constant uprooting, and the nervous system work of facing the emotional storms that continue to plague us from our original homes, and how to win the war against Airbnb, and the family of cockroaches inhabiting your rental.</p><p></p><p>TRIGGER WARNING: Brief mention of S***ide. </p><p></p><p>Got a question for Strange Orphan? Email us at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:info@StrangeOrphan.com" target="_blank">info@StrangeOrphan.com</a> and we’ll dive into it on the show. </p><p></p><p>Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Strange Orphan! </p>no00:35:00112No Place Like Home full<![CDATA[Hermit Mode]]>Strange orphan is on the road! This week we’re talking about surviving "hermit mode," that isolating season of deeply internal realignment. Laura gives her tips on navigating that darkness-disco to rediscover your own light. She also discusses her gripes with Airbnb bedsheets, and entering her Fivel era. 

Got a question for Strange Orphan? Email us at info@StrangeOrphan.com and we’ll dive into it on the show. 

Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Strange Orphan! 

]]>98fbf1d8-9396-45e7-9bd2-046df33ece60Sat, 18 Apr 2026 18:19:34 GMT<p>Strange orphan is on the road! This week we’re talking about surviving "hermit mode," that isolating season of deeply internal realignment. Laura gives her tips on navigating that darkness-disco to rediscover your own light. She also discusses her gripes with Airbnb bedsheets, and entering her Fivel era. </p><p></p><p>Got a question for Strange Orphan? Email us at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:info@StrangeOrphan.com" target="_blank">info@StrangeOrphan.com</a> and we’ll dive into it on the show. </p><p></p><p><b>Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Strange Orphan! </b></p><p></p><p></p>no00:31:04111Hermit Modefull<![CDATA[Creative Hero]]>What's the difference between manifestation, delusion, fantasy and disassociation? Who knows! These are very thin lines, folks. 

This week we’re talking about creativity, or disassociation, depending how you look at it. And how it might just be the last thing that saves us from the nightmarish daily news cycle we're currently living in. Laura takes us on a journey through the past, how she resorted to fantasy to escape and uproot to London with a TV show, and how using creativity as a means of disassociation to escape a traumatic upbringing isn't always the best advice. We explore the value of our attention, and what we give it to. As well as tried and tested methods of harnessing our everyday creativity into something that brings us into greater commune with the divine.

Got a W.I.P. question? Email us at info@StrangeOrphan.com and we’ll dive into it on the show. 

Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Strange Orphan! 

]]>fccc0e91-abf3-425e-a5da-2b21848760b0Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:45:44 GMT<p>What's the difference between manifestation, delusion, fantasy and disassociation? Who knows! These are very thin lines, folks. </p><p></p><p>This week we’re talking about creativity, or disassociation, depending how you look at it. And how it might just be the last thing that saves us from the nightmarish daily news cycle we're currently living in. Laura takes us on a journey through the past, how she resorted to fantasy to escape and uproot to London with a TV show, and how using creativity as a means of disassociation to escape a traumatic upbringing isn't always the best advice. We explore the value of our attention, and what we give it to. As well as tried and tested methods of harnessing our everyday creativity into something that brings us into greater commune with the divine.</p><p></p><p>Got a W.I.P. question? Email us at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:info@StrangeOrphan.com" target="_blank">info@StrangeOrphan.com</a> and we’ll dive into it on the show. </p><p></p><p>Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Strange Orphan! </p><p></p>no00:43:22111Creative Herofull<![CDATA[W.I.P. "Highly Critical Parents"]]>Highly critical parents are dream killers and soul crushers. How do we clean out the old septic tank of a subconscious, and finally take action on our aspirations and dreams after years of emotional pummeling? 

This week Laura answers another WIP question, on how to find the motivation to take action on our goals, after an upbringing of heavy criticism. Laura explains her theory of “the gap of defeat,” and the methods she’s employed in order to do life and take action on our goals. 

Got a question for Laura? Email us at info@StrangeOrphan.com and we’ll dive into it on the show. 

Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Strange Orphan! 

]]>57e4f016-d901-45fb-ab4e-107aeb80d8b2Fri, 27 Mar 2026 21:55:00 GMT<p>Highly critical parents are dream killers and soul crushers. How do we clean out the old septic tank of a subconscious, and finally take action on our aspirations and dreams after years of emotional pummeling? </p><p></p><p>This week Laura answers another WIP question, on how to find the motivation to take action on our goals, after an upbringing of heavy criticism. Laura explains her theory of “the gap of defeat,” and the methods she’s employed in order to do life and take action on our goals. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Got a question for Laura? Email us at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:info@StrangeOrphan.com" target="_blank">info@StrangeOrphan.com</a> and we’ll dive into it on the show. </p><p></p><p>Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Strange Orphan! </p><p></p>yes00:29:04110W.I.P. "Highly Critical Parents"full<![CDATA[Losing My Ambition]]>Lost the energy to perform in the world? It's one thing to cut ties from a former career. It's another to have no remaining shreds of "ambiguous ambition" left. This episode dives into the early days of trying to "make it" in lunatic Hollywood, and the painful unraveling that occurs when we've been performing as the "false self."

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl8iYAo90pE

]]>9f241289-0ae8-4e20-bdcf-4c916de54322Thu, 19 Mar 2026 23:43:03 GMT<p>Lost the energy to perform in the world? It's one thing to cut ties from a former career. It's another to have no remaining shreds of "ambiguous ambition" left. This episode dives into the early days of trying to "make it" in lunatic Hollywood, and the painful unraveling that occurs when we've been performing as the "false self." </p><p></p><p>References: </p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl8iYAo90pE" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl8iYAo90pE</a> </p><p></p><p></p>no00:31:30Losing My Ambitionfull<![CDATA[W.I.P.: "Stuck Season"]]>This week we’re answering a listener's” very timely question about navigating a “stuck season." What's the course of action when it feels like the universe is pummeling you with a baseball bat for fun? When nothing in your present circumstance is going right, making sense, or remotely kind at all. We talk navigating this rough terrain of a “stuck seasons," along with some of Laura's personal experiences in them, including helpful tips on how to not lose your mind in the meantime. 

Got a “Work in Progress” question you want answered on the pod?!  Email us at Info@StrangeOrphan.com

Sources mentioned:

Astro.com — (Astrocartography) Locational Astrology 

]]>9424577e-9624-4ddf-858d-c413ba92de1eFri, 13 Mar 2026 18:30:56 GMT<p>This week we’re answering a listener's” very timely question about navigating a “stuck season." What's the course of action when it feels like the universe is pummeling you with a baseball bat for fun? When nothing in your present circumstance is going right, making sense, or remotely kind at all. We talk navigating this rough terrain of a “stuck seasons," along with some of Laura's personal experiences in them, including helpful tips on how to not lose your mind in the meantime. </p><p></p><p>Got a “Work in Progress” question you want answered on the pod?!  Email us at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:Info@StrangeOrphan.com" target="_blank">Info@StrangeOrphan.com</a></p><p></p><p>Sources mentioned:</p><p></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://Astro.com" target="_blank">Astro.com</a> — (Astrocartography) Locational Astrology </p><p></p><p></p>no00:31:4518W.I.P.: "Stuck Season"full<![CDATA[Boundaries]]>So you’ve finally “chosen yourself.” Now what?

Do you still have a problem saying "no?" Do you struggle maintaining your "energetic space" out in the world? Are people constantly dumping their emotional burdens on you like the pigeon lady from "Home Alone?"

This episode delves into the complex topic of physical and energetic boundaries, and the trying task of drawing our antenna back to ourselves after decades spent catering and worrying about the lunatics of our homes. 

]]>b9900ee4-95d5-40e8-90d8-36e1af2247bfThu, 05 Mar 2026 23:26:05 GMT<p>So you’ve finally “chosen yourself.” Now what?</p><p>Do you still have a problem saying "no?" Do you struggle maintaining your "energetic space" out in the world? Are people constantly dumping their emotional burdens on you like the pigeon lady from "Home Alone?"</p><p></p><p>This episode delves into the complex topic of physical and energetic boundaries, and the trying task of drawing our antenna back to ourselves after decades spent catering and worrying about the lunatics of our homes. </p><p></p>no00:21:0916Boundariesfull<![CDATA[Life-Collapse]]>What do we do when the life we’ve been living is suddenly revoked?  When the universe has reduced us to “mush?” 

How does one navigate a strange orphan life-collapse?

This episode Laura goes deep into her story of life-collapse; her sudden ejection from her life in the UK, and the tough time that followed in Texas. As well as insights on how to navigate the aftermath of life's shake-ups.

Do you have a question for Strange Orphan? Email your estrangement questions in to Info@StrangeOrphan.com and Laura would love to answer it on the pod!

]]>c3de0c77-7efd-4545-8ea7-9143104906fdFri, 20 Feb 2026 00:59:00 GMT<p>What do we do when the life we’ve been living is suddenly revoked?  When the universe has reduced us to “mush?” </p><p></p><p>How does one navigate a strange orphan life-collapse?</p><p></p><p>This episode Laura goes deep into her story of life-collapse; her sudden ejection from her life in the UK, and the tough time that followed in Texas. As well as insights on how to navigate the aftermath of life's shake-ups.</p><p></p><p>Do you have a question for Strange Orphan? Email your estrangement questions in to <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:Info@StrangeOrphan.com" target="_blank">Info@StrangeOrphan.com</a> and Laura would love to answer it on the pod!</p>no00:35:4815Life-Collapsefull<![CDATA[Love Starved]]>Happy Valentine's Day! This week we're talking trauma bonds, feeling "loved starved," and other romantic pitfalls that await the strange orphan on their search for love.

Laura’s Book Rec: “Hotel du Lac” by Anita Brookner 

]]>9f6b9548-c6a1-4f8f-9f2b-de993007982fFri, 13 Feb 2026 18:44:36 GMT<p>Happy Valentine's Day! This week we're talking trauma bonds, feeling "loved starved," and other romantic pitfalls that await the strange orphan on their search for love.</p><p></p><p>Laura’s Book Rec: “Hotel du Lac” by Anita Brookner </p>no00:23:1214Love Starvedfull<![CDATA[Full Frontal Grief]]>This week we get into America's aversion to "full-frontal grief." As well as exploring the different methods for not conquering your "grief," such as fleeing your life and uprooting to a different country.

]]>ae005fc0-2a6e-4f75-ac65-f4badfd3b49aThu, 05 Feb 2026 19:03:19 GMT<p>This week we get into America's aversion to "full-frontal grief." As well as exploring the different methods for <i>not</i> conquering your "grief," such as fleeing your life and uprooting to a different country.</p>yes00:20:1113Full Frontal Grieffull<![CDATA[Cutting Loose]]>Today we dive into the heavy hitter topic of Narcissistic family dynamics and "how to know when to go."

]]>65aa00c4-f744-4e79-8021-2886fcaf0db1Thu, 29 Jan 2026 19:33:49 GMT<p>Today we dive into the heavy hitter topic of Narcissistic family dynamics and "how to know when to go." </p>no00:19:23Cutting Loosefull<![CDATA[Strange New World]]>Welcome to Strange Orphan! We're diving into the journey of estrangement, one bear trap at a time!

Check out @StrangeOrphan on YouTube and Instagram

]]>bd7a5bfe-9e21-4e65-ab1b-b72558921937Thu, 22 Jan 2026 22:21:16 GMT<p>Welcome to Strange Orphan! We're diving into the journey of estrangement, one bear trap at a time! </p><p></p><p>Check out @StrangeOrphan on YouTube and Instagram</p><p></p>no00:22:26Strange New Worldfull