What Will People Think?

What Will People Think?

From Heretic Hereafter Podcast by Katharine Strange

May 13, 2026 · 4 min · Season 3 · Episode 16

About this episode

The episode explores the fear of being laughed at and how it impacts personal and professional pursuits.

Early in my blogging career, I pitched my first-ever interview. I wanted to ask a local butcher about ethical meat buying. In emails, he seemed eager for the exposure. I don’t know if he checked out my itty-bitty blog before agreeing, what I do know is that I walked in with my notebook, recorder, and my toddler son in a stroller, the butcher took one look at us and doubled over laughing. I’m not exaggerating—he laughed at me for an uncomfortably long time. Long enough for my patient smile to fall off my face. Long enough for a thousand doubts to swirl through my mind: who was I to call myself a writer when I couldn’t even afford a babysitter? I was a fraud and a failure and just a mom. Heretic Hereafter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. In that moment, all I wanted was to turn around and wheel my stroller back out the door. Being laughed at is, I believe, a universal fear that drives many of our decisions. It’s why public speaking is so scary and why picking out new clothes or a haircut can feel dire. Deeper than that, fear of being laughed at is the reason many of us avoid pursuing things…

People in this episode

Host: Katharine Strange

Topics covered

  • fear of judgment
  • personal growth
  • ethical meat buying
  • parenting
  • public speaking
  • self-doubt

Keywords

  • ethical meat
  • interview
  • self-doubt
  • parenting
  • public speaking
  • fear of judgment

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Heretic Hereafter

Books & works: Maintenance Artist

Places: Seattle, Seattle International

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