New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- What is it about modern life that is completely disrupting our ability to focus, and how much of it is our fault? Turns out, not a lot. A number of factors from technology to our sleep habits, and even air pollution, play a role in what causes us to have about the same attention regulation skills as a kitten. In this first episode of our two-part series on focus, guest Johan...
Apr 11, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 439
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- What if one of the keys to happiness is how intentional you are with your time? Ashley Whillans is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Business School and author of the book Time Smart. Her groundbreaking research has led her to radically reevaluate how she spends her own time. Her goal is to help you move from time poverty to time affluence. In this conversation, we talk abou...
Apr 06, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 318
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Often, we are our own worst critic. In this episode, Buddhist monk Ajahn Sucitto explores ways to unseat the inner tyrant and make peace with the nagging voice inside of you that seems to always demand perfection, but never offer praise. Ajahn Sucitto was raised in the United Kingdom and became a monk in 1975 in the lineage of the Thai forest master, Venerable Ajahn Chah. In...
Apr 04, 2022•49 min•Ep. 437
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Brené Brown has found that most people are only able to identify three emotions: happy, sad and pissed off. In this episode we explore how better understanding the full spectrum of your emotions, rather than drowning in them, can become an upward spiral. Brené Brown is the author of six #1 New York Times bestsellers. Her latest book is Atlas of the Heart , which is also the ...
Apr 01, 2022•49 min•Ep. 436
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- This episode dives into our archives to revisit the notion of communication as a learnable skill. Often some of the most painful situations you encounter are the result of poor communication. The good news is that communication is a skill that can be learned. Author and meditation teacher Oren Jay Sofer, a leading figure in the field of interpersonal communication, breaks do...
Mar 30, 2022•55 min•Ep. 165
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. -- What role does mindfulness and meditation play when it comes to sex? It may be the key to alleviating sexual distress in your relationships, and in this episode Dr. Lori Brotto talks about scientific evidence that shows how mindfulness can improve your sex life. Dr. Lori Brotto is a clinical psychologist, the director of the University of British Columbia’s Sexual Health Labo...
Mar 28, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 435
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. This episode explores a Buddhist tool for resolving conflict and keeping your relationships on the rails. This tool, known as the Beginning Anew practice, was designed by the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, who died back in January, and who we are celebrating this week on the show. On Monday’s episode , we spoke with a long-time student of Thich Nhat Hanh, Brother Phap Dung. Today’s...
Mar 23, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 363
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. -- In January 2022, Thich Nhat Hanh , the Vietnamese Zen master, peace activist, poet, and author passed away. He was the founder of the International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism . Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called him “an Apostle of peace and nonviolence” when nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Thousands of people came out for his funeral. Brother Pháp Dun...
Mar 21, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 433
Many, if not all, of us have a nonstop, ambient thought-track running through our minds of: how am I doing? How do I look? Why did I say that? Am I running behind? What do other people think of me? How did we get this way? And what do we do about it? Ron Siegel has thought a lot about this, and has plenty of practical answers, including the notion that we should lean into our insignificance. Many of us grew up being told how we were special. But Ron argues that the words, “you’re not special,” c...
Mar 16, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 431
Venerable Pannavati is a former evangelical pastor who has been ordained in three separate Buddhist traditions: Theravada, Chan, and Mahayana. She’s the co-founder and co-Abbot of Embracing-Simplicity Hermitage and Meditation Center ; Co-Director of Heartwood Refuge and President of the Treasure Human Life Foundation . She teaches around the world, was a 2008 recipient of the Outstanding Buddhist Women’s Award, and currently serves as the Vice President of the US Chapter of the Global Buddhist A...
Mar 14, 2022•56 min•Ep. 430
How can we meditate when it seems like the world is falling apart? How do we titrate our news consumption? What do we do with our fears about World War III? How can we do anything constructive to help given how far away many of us are from the action? Why are so many people so upset about Ukraine when they weren’t paying much attention to the wars raging in places like Syria, Yemen, or Ethiopia? Today’s guest is uniquely qualified to answer these questions, given his experience in combat. Claude...
Mar 14, 2022•52 min•Ep. 427
We’re now entering year three of the pandemic, and even though we’re in a very different stage of the game, there are still so many questions: Is it safe or ethical to return to “normal”? How do you deal with people who have different views on safety and vaccines? What do you do if you’re just bone tired of this whole mess? Today’s guest is Lama Rod Owens, who was trained in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism, holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School, ...
Mar 11, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 429
As we enter year three of the pandemic, the psychology of COVID is no less complex or consequential. This episode features one of the most prominent chroniclers of the pandemic, David Leonhardt from the New York Times, who argues that there is irrationality on all sides when it comes to the pandemic. He would also urge you to consider whether you might be over or underestimating the risks of COVID, based on where you stand politically. This episode also explores: the state of play in the pandemi...
Mar 07, 2022•55 min•Ep. 428
Dr. Paul Gilbert OBE is a professor of psychology at the University of Derby, Founder and President of The Compassionate Mind Foundation, the founder of Compassion Focused Therapy, and in 2011 was awarded the Officer of the British Empire, or OBE, from Queen Elizabeth II for his continued contribution to mental healthcare. He’s also the author of several books including The Compassionate Mind , Living Like Crazy , Overcoming Depression , and his latest, Compassion Focused Therapy: Clinical Pract...
Mar 02, 2022•51 min•Ep. 425
A common denominator among all of the great meditation teachers is a sense of humor. They take the teaching seriously, but they don’t take themselves seriously. So perhaps there’s a link between human flourishing and humor. That’s not to say you have to be hilarious in order to be happy, but it clearly helps a great deal not to take yourself so seriously. And it turns out that humor is a skill. Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas co-teach a course at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, calle...
Mar 02, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 423
We don’t think about it this way, but as we move through the day, the various moods we inhabit — excitement, engagement, aggression, fear, dejection — they’re all dictated by, or correlated with, our nervous system, or to be specific, our autonomic nervous system. The guest for this episode explains how you can become an active operator of your own nervous system. Deb Dana is a licensed clinical social worker, clinician, and consultant who specializes in working with complex trauma — although th...
Feb 28, 2022•59 min•Ep. 424
Today’s guest makes an extremely convincing case that there are many self-interested reasons to look squarely at the reality of climate change. Bhikkhu Anālayo, who is originally from Germany, is a renowned scholar-monk, a faculty member at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and the author of numerous books on meditation and early Buddhism, including Satipatthāna: The Direct Path to Realization , which has been very influential with many of the teachers you’ve heard on this show, including Jo...
Feb 28, 2022•56 min•Ep. 422
It is very easy to think about your meditation practice as being quarantined to those minutes when you’re dutifully sitting down with your eyes closed. But actually the point is to turn your whole life into a practice. Our guest Jeff Warren has a very broad, capacious understanding of the concept of practice. There’s formal meditation practice, but also: movement practice, work practice, relationship practice, sleep practice, art practice, and more. It’s really about the goal, which few of us wi...
Feb 23, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 421
Today’s episode is the culmination of a long search to find a countervailing force: a Buddhist Trump supporter. This search was born out of the Buddhist impulse to find the other side. What is talked about as cultivating non-attachment to views and also called “beginner’s mind.” As you will hear, after a lot of searching, we finally found our person. Christopher Ford is a longtime Republican who worked for Trump (albeit indirectly) at the State Department. Ford wrote a pair of fascinating and pr...
Feb 21, 2022•38 min•Ep. 420
The unavoidable truth is that our skills change as we get older. We invest so much in our professional success, and then at some point, things change. But there’s good news. While certain abilities and mental capacities erode with age, others get stronger. With some foresight, planning, and good habits, you can make the second half of your life way better than the first. Arthur Brooks is the author of a new book called From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in th...
Feb 16, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 419
If you care about your long term health and happiness, the quality of your relationships is an area you should focus on. And the good news here is that love – as it applies to friends, family, and romantic partners – is not a factory setting, but instead a skill. Drs. John and Julie Gottman are the perfect guests to talk about how to cultivate good relationships in your life. World-renowned for his work on marital stability and divorce prediction, Dr. John Gottman has conducted over 40 years of ...
Feb 14, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 418
This episode features Evan Thompson, author of the book Why I Am Not a Buddhist . Evan Thompson is a writer and professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. His work and research focuses on the nature of the mind, the self, and human experience combining cognitive science, philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and cross-cultural philosophy, particularly Asian philosophical traditions. This episode explores: Thompson’s beef with what he calls “Buddhist exceptionalism,”...
Feb 09, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 417
One of the most consistent requests we get from listeners is to explore non-Buddhist forms of meditation. That’s what we’re going to do with this episode. Our guest is Swami Tyagananda, who has been a Hindu monk since 1976, and is now the Hindu chaplain both at MIT and Harvard. This conversation explores: the basics of Hinduism, including its history, and its approach to prayer and meditation; letting go; karma; rebirth (and how and why to escape it); the deep connections between the Buddhist an...
Feb 07, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 416
This episode, with Matthew Brensilver, explores a compelling Buddhist question: does self-hatred, or self-love, make sense if the self is an illusion? Matthew Brensilver, PhD, is a clinical social worker and experienced teacher of meditation retreats. He also worked at an organization called Mindful Schools, which teaches teachers how to teach meditation. This episode also explores: how and why to view your anger with skepticism; the relationship between self-love and personal ethics; what to do...
Feb 02, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 415
Dr. Alison Gopnik is a psychologist at UC Berkeley and one of the world’s leading experts in cognitive development. She is also the author of several books, including The Philosophical Baby and The Gardener and the Carpenter . This episode with Dr. Gopnik explores two big and fascinating themes. The first is enlightened self-interest. We all want to be happy. Every sentient being has that in common. One of the most successful, although counterintuitive, strategies for getting happier is to get o...
Jan 31, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 414
All week, we’ve been running “best of” episodes as part of our Taming Anxiety series – and this is the final episode in that series. Leslie Booker (who goes by Booker) is one of America’s leading dharma teachers. She’s worked with incarcerated and vulnerable youth, she’s done mindfulness and cognitive-based therapy work on Rikers Island, and she’s written about best practices for teaching yoga in criminal justice settings. She’s a graduate of three different training programs at Spirit Rock, inc...
Jan 28, 2022•1 hr 7 min
This week, we’re sharing some of the best episodes in our archives about anxiety. Dr. Judson Brewer is a psychiatrist and deep dharma practitioner who argues that anxiety is a habit, and is one that you can unwind. This interview explores: what is anxiety; why Dr. Brewer views anxiety as a habit; how mindfulness can be harnessed to deal with anxiety; and if there is any level of stress or anxiety that is healthy. Dr. Jud Brewer is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center...
Jan 26, 2022•1 hr 8 min
This week, we're posting some of our best podcasts from the archives on a dragon many of us face internally – anxiety. The first episode of the series features Sara Bareilles. Sara Bareilles is a singer, songwriter, composer, and actor who earned Tony and Grammy Award nominations for her Broadway musical Waitress. She also stars in the show Girls5eva, which is back for a second season this year on Peacock. Behind all of Sara's artistic and professional successes, there is a meditator who is fear...
Jan 24, 2022•54 min
This episode features one of the world’s leading experts in depression and how meditation can help. Dr. Sona Dimidjian is a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the director of the Renée Crown Wellness Institute at the University of Colorado, Boulder. This episode explores the seasonal impacts on depression, the research on how meditation can help depression, and what she calls “behavioral antidepressants.” Content Warning: There are a number of references to suicide in...
Jan 19, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 413
Psychiatrist Dr. Mark Epstein, discusses his new book The Zen of Therapy , in which he explores how his decades of studying and practicing Buddhism has influenced his work as a therapist. In this episode, Dan and Mark discuss: the immense value of developing a clear and warm relationship to your own dysfunction; anger; how much people can actually change; how Buddhism has influenced Mark's practice as a psychotherapist; and Mark’s formative relationship with the legendary spiritual teacher and e...
Jan 17, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 412
