In this deeply personal episode, Ms. Michaela Mae shares an update she didn’t plan to make — but felt called to record.

After the loss of her childhood horse, Capone, Michaela reflects on grief, acceptance, and a realization that arrived in one of the hardest moments of her life: she’s still been trying to control how she’s perceived instead of allowing herself to be seen in her full truth.

This episode explores what happens when we live fragmented — sharing certain parts of ourselves in certain spaces, filtering who we are to feel safe, and trying to manage perception instead of embodying wholeness. Michaela opens up about how Capone’s greatest lesson to her was acceptance — and why that lesson is now asking her to turn inward.

As a result, Michaela shares her decision to press pause on The Ms. Michaela Mae Show — not as an ending, but as an act of integrity and self-trust. She explains why she’s choosing to pour her energy back into The Western Hippie, and why pausing something meaningful doesn’t mean failure — it means listening.

In this episode, Michaela talks about:

• Grieving an animal who shaped her life
• Acceptance as a healing force
• Living split lives and filtering identity
• Creativity as a grief-processing tool
• Why pausing can be healthier than pushing
• Trusting intuition even when it doesn’t make logical sense
• Giving yourself permission to stop — without quitting

This episode is both a reflection and a permission slip.

You don’t need to announce every move.
You don’t need to justify your pauses.
And sometimes, the most aligned choice is simply pressing pause — not eject.

Listen to The Western Hippie

Browse the full catalog of episodes here:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1968454

Keywords / Tags

grief and acceptance, pressing pause, personal growth podcast, identity and authenticity, grieving a horse, animal loss grief, intuition and trust, creative healing, ms michaela mae show

In this episode, Ms. Michaela Mae shares a perspective she felt called to record in the moment — no video, no polish, just an honest conversation about culture, parenting, and a movie that’s become unexpectedly controversial.

After seeing Zootopia 2 twice (and planning a third viewing), Michaela addresses the concerns circulating online and offers a grounded, experience-based take for parents who are on the fence about taking their kids to see it.

Drawing from her background in film school, her deep awareness of how sexualization impacts children, and her own lived experience, Michaela explains why she does not see Zootopia 2 as hypersexualized — and why, if she did, she would be the first person to speak out against it.

This episode isn’t about defending Disney blindly or dismissing valid concerns. It’s about discernment, context, and doing your own research instead of reacting to viral clips or rumor mills.

Michaela talks about:

• Why hypersexualization of children is a serious issue (and why she takes it personally)
• How child predators identify and target vulnerable kids
• The difference between projection, assumption, and what’s actually on screen
• Why the characters people are upset about were already in the first movie
• The importance of movie theaters as a shared, focused experience for families
• How fear-based reactions can sometimes overshadow reality
• Her honest film critique of Zootopia 2 as a sequel — what works and what doesn’t

If you’re a parent, caregiver, or someone who cares deeply about children and culture, this episode offers a calm, thoughtful lens in a moment that feels anything but calm online.

🤍 Thank You for Listening

If this episode resonated with you, Michaela would be grateful if you’d rate, review, and subscribe. It helps the show reach more people who value thoughtful conversations about culture, psychology, and real life.

Keywords / Tags (for podcast platforms)

Zootopia 2, parenting and culture, children’s movies, Disney sequels, media literacy, protecting children, film analysis, cultural commentary, discernment in media, Ms Michaela Mae Show

In this cinematic, psychology-packed episode, Ms. Michaela Mae is joined by longtime friend and fellow filmmaker Landon Sommese for a full, conversational deep dive into Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises — the entire Christopher Nolan trilogy.

This isn’t a recap.
This is a psychological breakdown of a man shaped by trauma, fear, purpose, identity, and the impossible choices that forge him into the Dark Knight.

Together, Michaela and Landon explore:

• Bruce Wayne’s trauma and symbolic “death of the child”
• Fear as both a weapon and a catalyst
• The psychology of masks, dual identity, and self-sacrifice
• The Joker as chaos incarnate (and why he exposes Bruce’s deepest conflict)
• Harvey Dent’s fall and the emotional horror of watching hope decay
• Bane, pain, prisons, and the rebirth of the self
• Why the trilogy’s emotional impact hits so deeply — even outside the superhero genre

This is a filmmaker-to-filmmaker conversation mixed with healing, human behavior, storytelling, and the kind of meaning-making only Michaela can pull out of a film trilogy.

If you love movies…
If you love psychology…
If you love seeing the “why” behind human behavior…
This two-hour deep dive is your new favorite episode.

00:00 – Intro + Why We Love This Trilogy
04:10 – What Makes a Hero? Trauma, Orphans, and Origin Stories
10:40 – Batman Begins: Fear, Purpose, and Becoming
22:15 – The League of Shadows & Archetypal Training
32:50 – The Symbol of the Mask: Identity vs. Self
38:20 – The Dark Knight: Chaos, Morality, and The Joker
50:10 – Harvey Dent’s Fall + The Psychology of Corruption
1:01:40 – Moral Dilemmas and The Cost of Hope
1:12:00 – The Dark Knight Rises: Pain, Imprisonment, and Rebirth
1:24:15 – Bane, Broken Backs, and Breaking Patterns
1:34:50 – Rising Without the Rope: Choosing Life
1:44:15 – Ending Breakdown + Legacy of the Batman
1:50:00 – Final Thoughts + What This Trilogy Means About Being Human

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https://thewesternhippie.myflodesk.com/d2r6vqphfy

My book The Barn off of Colfax Lane:
https://a.co/d/eVitUiH

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