Journalist Johann Hari discusses why we’re only able to focus on tasks for minutes at a time, what happened to our attention span, and how these racing thoughts can be monetized by big tech.
Read more
In a disaster, she put the bottle down
Danielle Tcholakian discusses the first year she lived without alcohol – a year during which so many people lived in fear and isolation at the beginning of the pandemic.
Read more
Nature Is Our Nurturer
Lucy Jones joins us to talk about her story of overcoming addiction by forming a deep connection with the beauty of nature, and the biological reasons humans need to be outside.
Read more
A battle-tested guide to confidence
Nate Zinsser, director of West Point’s Performance-Psychology program, lays out his step-by-step guide to overcoming the mental pressures holding us back.
Read more
How to heal your broken heart
Journalist Florence Williams talks about her painful divorce and how that led her to uncover the latest research on loneliness and its connection to health.
Read more
How our emotions guide our decisions
Theoretical physicist Leonard Mlodinow discusses emerging science working to better understand how our decisions, big and small, are influenced by our emotions.
Read more
Ronald Reagan’s daughter on Alzheimer’s and caregiving
Patti Davis joins us to discuss the support group she founded and the struggle with prolonged grief that comes with the illness.
Read more
Our hobbies, ourselves
Julie Beck, senior editor at The Atlantic, talks about why our free time is often seen as a hole to fill with activity and productivity, and why that might be more a reflection on capitalism rather than personal goals.
Read more
How trauma is etched onto our brains
Rutgers University professor Tracey Shors explains how the body processes trauma and the therapeutic approaches to help mitigate the negative effects it has on our lives.
Read more
A YA Novelist Takes On Fatphobia
Author Crystal Maldonado joins us to discuss her YA novel about a young woman dealing with the typical subjects of boys and friends, but also a deepening understanding of how she’s viewed by the outside world.
Read more
She kept her baby and lost her future
Author Merritt Tierce discusses her pregnancy at age 19, when she felt adoption and abortion were not options for her, and the dreams she gave up to have her baby.
Read more
Looking for comfort? Build a routine
Harper’s Magazine writer Meghan O’Gieblyn explains what we can learn from habit, and how we can find freedom in even the most mundane tasks.
Read more