Five with Fry
Five with Fry is your go-to podcast for understanding conflict—where it comes from, why it shows up, and how to handle it with clarity and intention. On each episode, Dr. Jen Fry breaks down the moments we avoid, the reactions we default to, and the skills it takes to move through conflict without blowing things up or shutting down.
Episodes
58 episodes
S2 Ep3: "Calm Down?" That Phrase Might Be Your Kryptonite.
Some words hit harder than they should. A comment like “calm down” can flip a switch in your body before your brain has a chance to weigh in. In this episode, I’m talking about what happens when you get triggered and what that reaction is actua...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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5:00
S2 Ep2: When Meetings Get Spicy, Don’t Rake The Zen Garden
Most leadership problems show up in moments of tension. Not the dramatic blowups, but the everyday heat in meetings, feedback conversations, or decisions that carry weight. This episode is about what you do with yourself in those moments. The h...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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5:09
S2 Ep1: Your Family’s Conflict Style Is Running Your Meetings
Leadership gets clearer when you stop avoiding the hard parts and start asking where your habits came from. In this episode, we dig into conflict roots. Those early lessons taught you whether to speak up, shut down, smooth things over, or push ...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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5:15
Season 2: New Year, New Focus
Fresh starts are overrated. What actually changes us are the layers we’re willing to look at honestly.This season, Five with Fry is narrowing its focus to one thing: conflict. Not the dramatic kind—the everyday moments where thi...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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4:46
51: We Don’t Need A New Me To Have A Breakthrough Year
We’re not doing “new year, new me.”We’re doing new year, same person—just less exhausted and more honest.2025 was a lot. And pretending it wasn’t doesn’t set you up for a breakthrough—it sets you up to quit by February. So ...
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5:38
50: Cookie Decorating Broke Me, And That’s Okay
Some holidays don’t feel festive. They feel quiet in a way that echoes.If this is your first holiday alone, your kids are somewhere else, you’ve moved, divorced, or lost someone, the pressure to “make it special” can feel like way too mu...
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Season 1
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Episode 50
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5:17
49: How Politeness Standards Can Stall Innovation At Work
If your meetings are polite and nothing is changing, that’s not a culture win. It’s a warning sign.In this episode of Five with Fry, we talk about how “being nice” often becomes a way to avoid telling the truth—especially when p...
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Season 1
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Episode 49
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4:42
48: Why The First Boundary Is Easy And The Fifth Is Brutal
The first “no” is brave. The fifth “no”? That’s the one that tells people you’re serious.In this episode, we dig into a very real holiday scenario: you set a simple boundary—if grandpa uses slurs, I’m leaving—and suddenly the fa...
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5:17
47: Stop Sugarcoating. You’re Not A Bakery.
What actually happens when you stop tiptoeing around someone’s feelings and start telling the truth with care? In this episode, we dig into the real work of hard conversations: be clear, be kind, and stop pretending emotions don’t exist. No sug...
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Season 1
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Episode 47
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5:02
46: Therapy Was Going Great… Then Auntie Showed Up
The holiday glow can flip into a pressure cooker the second you step through a familiar door. In this episode, we dig into why even steady healing can wobble at home, how old family dynamics reactivate like muscle memory, and why one simple com...
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Season 1
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Episode 46
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5:04
45: Before You Jump Into The Transfer Portal, Read Your Stats And Talk To Your Coach
Thinking about entering the transfer portal but not sure if it’s a launchpad… or a trapdoor? In this episode, we take a clear, no-nonsense look at what really happens when athletes chase a new home after the season ends—separating hype...
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9:10
44: The Difference Between Hard and Complicated
If you’ve been around Five with Fry for a while, you know we talk a lot about the difference between what’s hard and what’s complicated—and if you haven’t, go back and catch up, because those episodes are gold.In this one, Dr. J...
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Season 1
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5:00
43: Cancel The Order, Keep The Check: The Nvidia Story
What if the difference between obscurity and breakout success is just one more shot on goal? We pull back the curtain on how companies actually find product-market fit, using NVIDIA’s lesser-known journey—from early misfires to a gutsy Sega con...
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7:03
42: Defending Without Being Defensive
Ever been told you’re “being defensive” the moment you try to explain yourself? In this episode, we break down the fine line between defending your choices with context and showing up as defensive through tone, body language, or shut-down phras...
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Season 1
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Episode 42
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5:35
41: If You’re Old Enough For A Mortgage, You’re Too Old For The “Just Joking” Defense
The group chat got leaked, and the spin started fast. Racist, antisemitic, and homophobic “jokes” from 24 to 35-year-old political operatives were quickly brushed off as “just edgy humor.” Commentators framed them as “kids who made a mistake,” ...
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Season 1
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Episode 41
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6:30
40: Repeatable vs. Repetitive: The Secret to Continuous Growth
Have you ever skipped revisiting a course or concept because you thought, “I’ve already done that”? In this episode of Five with Fry, I unpack why that mindset might be holding you back.During a drive back from Martha’s Vineyard...
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Season 1
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Episode 40
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6:21
39: Why Failure Delivers Your Greatest Breakthroughs
Ever notice how your best ideas show up right after something goes completely wrong? Same.As someone who’s wildly competitive, losing has never sat well with me. Take this recent tech pitch competition. I was sure I’d win. When I didn’t,...
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Season 1
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Episode 39
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4:58
38: Five Things You Need to Know When Navigating Leadership’s Hardest Moments
When you’re in the chair—whether as an Athletic Director, head coach, or top leader—everything starts and stops with you. Most books don’t prepare you for that reality. Leading means holding steady when the boat feels like it’s tipping and peop...
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Season 1
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Episode 38
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50:16
37: Stop Saying "Sorry If I Offended You"
Have you ever noticed how often people say, “I’m sorry if I offended you” when they’re called out for something they said? In this episode of Five with Fry, I talk about why that phrase sounds like an apology but actually avoi...
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Season 1
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Episode 37
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5:22
36: Boom! When Frustration Becomes Your Teacher
Ever had that satisfying moment when you finally figure something out after hours of wanting to throw your computer across the room? That’s what this episode of Five with Fry is all about—the messy, frustrating, and ultimately rewardin...
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5:28
35: Why Niceness Makes You Ineffective
Kindness and niceness might sound similar, but they’re very different in how they shape our communication and leadership. Too often, leaders avoid hard conversations because they want to be “nice.” The problem is that what feels compassionat...
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5:40
34: NIL TIME: So Your Agent Wants You to Sign NOW? Think Again!
The world of athlete representation is complicated, and the stakes are higher than ever. Whether you’re a high school athlete thinking about your future, a college player navigating NIL deals, or a pro looking at new opportunities, you need to ...
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Season 1
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Episode 34
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46:58
33: Show Me the Money, Show Me the Pressure
College sports have entered a whole new era. With NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals and the recent House settlement allowing schools to pay athletes up to $22.5 million, freshman athletes are walking onto campus with multimillion-dollar exp...
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Season 1
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Episode 33
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5:36
32: The Human Cost of Finding Your Leadership Style
Ever think about the human cost of leadership development? Those first teams you lead are really the guinea pigs for your trial-and-error experiments in figuring out what kind of leader you’ll become. I know this firsthand. At 27, I jumped into...
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Season 1
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Episode 32
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5:49
31: The Truth Can Sting Without Being Rude
Can truth hurt without harming? In this episode of Five with Fry, we dig into the difference between being direct and being rude and why so many people confuse the two. I break down an eye-opening video from Conflictish, a social media...
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Season 1
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Episode 31
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5:01