
About the Podcast
Hi good peeps! I’m Dr. Sarah Milken, also known as “the Flexible Neurotic” to those who know me!
What does that even mean? We all have a super power. Mine is neurotically asking profound questions and curating information into actionable items. Things we can do today to start living more flexibly.
With a Phd in educational psychology and two teenagers, I’m that person in your life that you can call with questions about everything. And when I don’t know the answer, I will be the one to dig deep with my golden shit shovel to find it.
So where does the flexibility come in? I am neurotic, until I’ve exhausted a topic. Then, I can take a deep breath and just do the best I can with the information I’ve gathered. It's not about being perfect. It's about uncovering thoughtful strategies, tools and insights to find that sweet spot between chaotic and chill…
So if you are craving that sweet spot, grab your favorite drink and come have an inside listen as we cover all the hottest topics on everything from parenting to education to neuroscience. I do the groundwork - and you walk away with shit you can actually start doing today!

Sarah's Bio
Sarah is the Flexible Neurotic. What does that even mean? You know that person in your life that you call with questions about everything. Even if she doesn’t know the answers, Sarah is an avid researcher. Her human super power is curating the best information from current cutting edge research and from experts in those areas. Her ability to ask profound questions that even make the best and brightest say, wow, no one has ever asked me that….or want to continue to talk to Sarah to help come together to solve a particular problem or answer a question. She is neurotic in that she researches a topic until she feels she is satisfied. Sarah is flexible in that she has the uncanny ability to hear various opinions and positions and sometimes combine information for even more innovation, perspective or solution. Sarah’s friends and colleagues think of her as the Flexible Neurotic.
Sarah has a personal journey of attending both public and private schools while growing up. She understands the very different academic, educational and psychological journeys of being in both public and private schools and the personal transition involved. Although she probably won’t tell you, but her mom definitely will, she went to an Ivy League college and graduated from USC with a Phd in Educational Psychology. She started her own family and her whole plan changed. The highly academically motivated young Sarah with plans for a full blown career, like her mother, disappeared as soon as she had her first child, Jake. Although Sarah grew up in a family with two power career parents, she decided that her want was to stay at home. This decision was a tough one. But Sarah knew that she was so neurotic that she had to be a stay at home, but flexible enough to know that research shows that her kids would thrive either way. Sarah met her husband in 9th grade, OMG! And the rest is history.
After college, Phd and two kids, Sarah continued to be an eager mom, always on the forefront of the latest developmental, educational and psychological information.
Sarah lives in Santa Monica with her husband of 18 years, Jeremy, and her 16 year old son (Jake) and 13 year old daughter (Marin). There are two family dogs, Chance and Willow. Along with her academic accolades, she taught graduate school at USC Rossier School of Education many years ago. While in the bliss and trenches of raising her kids, Sarah has served on several philanthropic boards and a Los Angeles private school. A few years ago, her oldest kid, Jake, said, “Mom, I have a few hundred dollars saved. I want you to have an office with your name on it. You do so much for Marin and me. You talk to us about everything. I think you should be able to help more people. Aren’t you a doctor anyway?” And, her daughter gave her a 45th birthday gift that was a golden box filled with inscriptions from all of her closest friends. Marin reached out to Sarah’s friends and asked them to write 3-5 things they love and respect about her mom. Sarah read these and felt the urge to find a vessel to share her strengths of problem solving, researching and advising; a podcast was brewing.
As Sarah’s kids push through the teen years, she feels that she wants to share her “flexible neuroses” with more people, therefore the Flexible Neurotic Podcast was born.

Fun Sh*t About Sarah
Born in Los Angeles, grew up in Santa Monica, California. I love the beach, but I will never get my hair wet.
Went Ivy League, University of Pennsylvania, did I even learn anything? Got my master’s degree & Phd and taught in the graduate school at USC...I must know something.
… are amazing. They live three blocks away and my husband just loves the surprise visits. My dad has the same blue eyes as my son and my brother. My mother is also neurotic. LOL!
To try to always expand personally, be a thoughtful friend, equal spouse, non-helicopter mom (no way), keep my shit together (there is gravity though), to be able to find my reading glasses and my phone.
Makeup everyday, glitter eyeliner, gold hoop earrings, Vans & Golden Goose shoe problem, animal print leggings.
Turned 43, two years ago and out came the reading glasses. Plus 1 magnifiers. Wtf! I became the person who needed to use my phone light for the menu. Check out my specs vibe. Owning it!
Met him a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...it was 9th grade, we went to high school and college together. Way too many hair styles. We’ve been together for a long time - WTF! He’s questioning the flexible part of “flexible neurotic”.
Jake and Marin. Did I teach them anything? They are good peeps. One is almost in college! Am I that old?
The “flexible neurotic”, pretty nerd, doer, loyal friend, cool mom by my kids’ friends (but not by my kids), Amazon’s best friend, and online return hater.
I’m a Pisces with Capricorn rising (I just learned the rising part), I love screenshotting IG and sending inspiration and good laughs to my friends, I type texts with only my right thumb, my iPhone storage is always full (according to my husband), I always have candy in my purse, I carried wipes in my bag before COVID, I don’t share my water bottle (even with family), I eat carbs, I’m one ¼ Italian, if i don’t have time to shower, I rinse the core areas, I curse too much, my husband’s fave quote, “Good luck to you, you birthed yourself”… about my teenage daughter.
I have the cutest Golden Retriever named Chance, I have accepted his shedding…I named my son after Jake Ryan, in “Sixteen Candles” movie and my daughter after Amanda Peets’ character, Marin, in “Something’s Gotta Give”, but don’t tell anyone.