Bet On Yourself: What This Year Has Taught Me

Fifteen months, 750,000 strong - and one big lesson: authenticity wins.

When I first stepped into this wild world of streaming—fifteen months ago now—I didn’t know what would happen. I had no roadmap. No guarantee that any of this would work.

I had just left CNN after nearly two decades in corporate media. And let me tell you: when you’ve spent that long inside a system—with all the infrastructure, the security, the steady rhythm of it—you’re taught to believe that the brand, the logo, the building is what matters.

And then one day, the building is no longer yours. The cameras, the sets… gone. The security badge doesn’t work anymore. And all you’ve got left is yourself.

It was daunting, to say the least. I had no corporate net, no nightly platform. Just my voice, a video camera, and a deep conviction that there were still stories to tell — and power to hold accountable.

But here’s the thing: you’re never really alone.

I had my husband, Tim — who never doubted, not for one second, that I could take on this next chapter. I had my mom — my rock. I had my sister, Yma — watching me from above, every day, every night. And of course, I had my three dogs — Boomer, Barkley, and Gus Gus — keeping me grounded, keeping me laughing.

And I had a small team — some old friends, some new allies — who believed that maybe, just maybe, we could build something new. Something better. Something that felt real.

Together — through trial, through error, through late nights and long days — we built this community. Lemon Nation.

And as of today? Lemon Nation is 750,000 strong.

Three-quarters of a million people—our people—who come together for every stream, every conversation, every hard headline and good laugh.

We’ve built something I never experienced in all my years inside the machine: connection. And for that—I am so grateful.

It has been one hell of a year and a half.

I’ve gone toe-to-toe with Elon Musk. I published a book. I hit the road and crisscrossed the country on the campaign trail. I covered wars in the Middle East and yes… Diddy’s baby oil.

And in that time, here’s what I’ve learned:

First—authenticity matters. More than anything.

In the old newsroom culture, you’re taught to polish yourself down to the perfect edge — to perform “objectivity” (or the illusion of it). But people don’t want illusions anymore. They don’t want a false mask of neutrality. They want honesty. They want you.

Because authenticity is the only currency that buys real trust.

Second — you can break the news without breaking yourself

.We can cover serious stories — indictments, disasters, even wars — without turning into soulless robots behind a teleprompter. Humor matters. Humanity matters. If I can tell a tough story and still make you laugh—or feel something—then I’ve done my job better than if I’d just read the headlines.

Now let me share one more thing—something personal, something real:

If you come up in legacy media, they drill into you: “You’re not bigger than the brand.” You hear it so often, you start to believe it. And sure, on paper, anyone can be replaced. But talent cannot be replaced. It cannot be reproduced.

It is short-sighted—dangerously so—to think otherwise. And talent cannot shine, cannot grow, in a place that wants to sand it down. That wants you to be bland. Anodyne.

At some point, you have to bet on yourself. You have to know your worth. And you can’t let anyone—no matter how big the logo—convince you otherwise.

And here’s the beautiful thing: when you do bet on yourself, when you step out of the machine, you discover that people will cheer for you. People love an underdog. People love to see someone they trust get back up and fight. And if this past year has taught me anything — it’s that the audience I’ve been blessed to build… is extraordinary.

In this time when loneliness is its own kind of epidemic — when people are more connected than ever but feel more isolated than ever — Lemon Nation has become more than a stream. More than a show. It has become community. Real friendships. Real connection

.When I see people bonding in the comments, forming group chats, laughing, debating, calling out to me and my team — Nikki, Peter, Andy — that’s everything to me.

Because news should offer more than just information. It should offer meaning. It should offer connection. It should remind us why we still care.

We are living through a chaotic time. The stakes are high. But I believe people don’t just want to watch the news anymore — they want to feel something through it. They want to understand the world… and each other… and themselves… just a little better.

So — to all 750,000 of you: thank you. From the bottom of my heart — thank you.

You’ve shown me that being yourself — fully, unapologetically — is not a liability. It is a superpower.

We’re not just building a channel. We are building a movement. A community. One headline, one conversation, one honest moment at a time.

And my friends — we are just getting started.