What happens when a mirror learns to talk back? That was the question we brought to Episode 38. Tatiana Cházaro is Co-Founder and President of AO1 Heals, a company built around human development and the creation of AI companions, i.e., "confidants in times of need, not of the human variety." She joined The Raw Onion to talk about why the voice carrying a message matters as much as the message itself, what she learned as a mother trying to find help for her son, and where an AI companion belongs vs. where it has to stop.

How does human companionship go with an AI, and how do we balance these new "realities and relationships" while staying grounded? Where does our humanness begin and end? What does AI do for us that we, the people, cannot do for each other? Tatiana breaks it all down for us.

We get into:

• Why the same message can land differently depending on the voice carrying it
• How AO1 began with a mother’s wish to support her son
• Companions that listen, ask questions, and help us see the whole picture
• Safety built into every conversation, with a path to human help
• Four companions for different seasons of life, from leadership to grief
• Where AI makes the biggest difference for women entrepreneurs

In this episode, you will learn:

• What the nervous system needs in a hard moment, and why step-by-step instructions can feel like too much
• What digital abandonment is, and why responsiveness matters to people who lean on a companion
• How stepping out of a rumination loop supports self-regulation
• Why the developing brain calls for extra care into the mid-twenties
• Why Tatiana’s goal is for people to move forward on their own

🎙️ GUEST:
Tatiana Cházaro is Co-Founder and President of AO1 Heals, a company built around human development. She also founded Noir & Nopal, a Los Angeles event cart catering company that grew from a single charcuterie cart.

⏱️ CHAPTERS:
[0:00] A mirror that talks back
[2:17] What AO1 Heals is and why the voice matters
[4:25] A mother, a son, and the gap in the system
[7:36] Pattern recognition and levels of crisis
[10:46] The 2 a.m. question and digital abandonment
[17:35] Teens, chatbots, and the four companions
[24:53] Women founders, AI, and the load we bring home
[33:18] Rehearsing the hard conversation
[36:25] What is missing that we had to invent this
[44:57] The next five years and where to find AO1

🛠️ RESOURCES:
Adopted not embedded: AI, productivity, and uneven gains for women entrepreneurs (Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, 2026)
https://cherieblairfoundation.org/what-we-do/research/women-entrepreneurs-ai/

🔗 CONNECT WITH TATIANA CHÁZARO:
Website: www.ao1heals.com

🔗 CONNECT WITH US:
The Raw Onion: therawonionpodcast.com

🔗 CONNECT WITH STEPHANIE:
Let's Talk: https://scheduler.zoom.us/stephanie-ohannesian/30-mins-discovery-zoom

🔗 CONNECT WITH YOSHIE:
Let's Connect: lotusflowerjourneys.com/contact

Something told you that you were right, and it felt so good you didn't stop to check. That feeling is the subject of this episode.

In March, researchers at Stanford and Carnegie Mellon published a study in Science testing 11 leading AI systems. The machines affirmed people's choices about 49% more often than other humans did. After one conversation about a real conflict, people were more certain they were right and less willing to apologize or repair. They also trusted the flattering AI more.

Episode 37 opens our October theme, The Mirror That Talks Back. Us…in the Age of AI. Full disclosure: we used AI to help research this one, then checked it against the actual papers.

We get into:

• A new "relationship" with someone named Claude
• 2,000 posts from Reddit's "Am I the Asshole?" forum
• Why your brain treats disagreement like a mistake
• The slot machine versus the warm bath
• What the "ChatGPT is shrinking your brain" headline leaves out
• London taxi drivers and GPS
• A therapy chatbot that was designed to help instead of to be liked
• Why growth has never come from being agreed with

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why being agreed with feels like relief, especially for those of us who have spent years not being believed
• What happens in the brain when your opinion clashes with the group, and why beliefs tied to identity get defended like threats
• How AI assistants were trained into flattery, partly by accident and partly by incentive
• What the research on heavy chatbot use, loneliness, and emotional dependence does and does not show
• Why the order matters: brain first, machine second
• Why sycophancy is a design choice, not the technology itself
• An anti-flattery toolkit you can start using tonight

⏱️ CHAPTERS

[0:00] "I'm talking to someone"
[1:38] The study that should make us uncomfortable
[8:22] Why disagreement registers as an error in the brain
[14:45] Why would anyone build a flatterer?
[19:21] Coming soon: Not Her Anymore
[20:44] What is AI actually doing to my brain?
[23:53] "ChatGPT is shrinking your brain": what the study says
[29:38] The case for AI: the Therabot trial
[32:48] The anti-flattery toolkit
[37:03] Back to the mirror: growth needs friction

🔗 CONNECT WITH THE RAW ONION:
Website: https://therawonionpodcast.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/therawonionpodcast

Substack: https://therawonion.substack.com
Reach out: hello@therawonionpodcast.com

🔗 CONNECT WITH STEPHANIE:
Triage Coaching and Consulting: https://triagebalancedlife.com/
Let's talk: https://scheduler.zoom.us/stephanie-ohannesian

🔗 CONNECT WITH YOSHIE:
Lotus Flower Journeys: https://lotusflowerjourneys.com
Let's connect: https://lotusflowerjourneys.com/contact

She told them it stayed at the table. Two weeks later, HR called.

For Heather Rippere, it was her dream job. One dinner and one shared secret later, a coworker was gone and her trust in the team was broken. She stayed nearly ten years, kept her head down, and never spoke about it.

Now a leadership coach and author, Heather joined The Raw Onion to close out our September series on betrayal. This time we take it where many of us spend most of our day: the workplace.

We get into:

• The dinner-table secret that cost a coworker his job and shaped how Heather showed up for almost ten years
• Why HR is not your friend (said with respect)
• How a work problem so often traces back to childhood
• The burnout both Heather and Stephanie went through because they could not say no

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why going quiet after betrayal is your brain adapting, not paranoia
• Why workplace betrayal sparks anger instead of heartbreak
• How taking responsibility differs from blaming yourself
• How coaching moves you from functional to optimal
• Why authenticity at work needs boundaries
• What Heather would tell her younger corporate self

🎙️ GUEST:

Heather Rippere, PCC. ICF PCC-certified leadership coach, Prosci® Certified Change Practitioner, and trauma-informed NLP practitioner with nearly 30 years of corporate experience. Her work blends somatics and change management. Author of From Imposter to Influencer: Stories and Steps to Unlock Self-Doubt and Lead Authentically.

⏱️ CHAPTERS:
[0:00] Welcome
[4:15] Meet Heather: a coach who lived it
[7:01] A dream job and a secret at dinner
[12:09] Trust is a prediction your brain makes
[21:09] Taking responsibility privately
[32:30] Why workplace betrayal hits differently
[39:01] How coaching moves you forward
[47:41] Authenticity needs boundaries
[48:41] Stephanie and Heather on burnout
[1:06:38] Choosing how you trust again
[1:09:10] Where to find Heather

🛠️ RESOURCES:

• Appraisal theory, Richard Lazarus
• Dickerson and Kemeny's research on social-evaluative threat

🔗 CONNECT WITH HEATHER RIPPERE:
Website: heatherrippere.com
Book (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Imposter-Influencer-Stories-Unlock-Authentically/dp/B0FSS3TWVW/
Book (Lulu): https://www.lulu.com/shop/heather-k-rippere/from-imposter-to-influencer/paperback/product-p6g8mqj.html?

🔗 CONNECT WITH US:
The Raw Onion: https://www.therawonionpodcast.com

🔗 CONNECT WITH STEPHANIE:
Let's Talk: https://scheduler.zoom.us/stephanie-ohannesian/30-mins-discovery-zoom

🔗 CONNECT WITH YOSHIE:
Let's Connect: https://lotusflowerjourneys.com/contact