How to use your innate mindfulness to turn the volume down, or even uproot, your everyday addictions. Dr. Judson Brewer is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and professor in Behavioral and Social Sciences and Psychiatry at the Schools of Public Health & Medicine at Brown University. He is the author of several books, including The Craving Mind , Unwinding Anxiety , and The Hunger Habit . This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series. We talk about: J...
Jan 27, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 898
A podcast pioneer on failure, resilience, luck, work/life balance, and the power of questions. Guy Raz has been instrumental in creating some of the most iconic podcasts in the world, including Wondery's How I Built This , Wow in the World and TED Radio Hour. The New York Times has described him as “one of the most popular podcasters in history.” This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series. We talk about: The challenge–and gift–of failure Getting comfortable with discomfort and r...
Jan 24, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 896
How to be less stressed and more productive. Nolitha Tsengiwe , a Dharma teacher and board member at Dharmagiri Retreat Center, in South Africa. She is also a graduate of Insight Meditation Society teacher training. This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series. In this episode we talk about: How to weave mindfulness into your day without requiring a big formal sit How to have healthy conflict in the workplace Our attempts to explain the ineffable And much more Related Episodes: Do...
Jan 22, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 895
Burnout is on the rise. Two experts show us how to combat it. Dr. Kristin Neff is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, conducting the first empirical studies on self-compassion more than twenty years ago. Christopher Germer is a clinical psychologist and lecturer on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He also co-developed a highly impactful program called Mindful Self-Compassion, which ...
Jan 20, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 894
A candid conversation about money: How much is enough? How to find real security? Sebene Selassie , an author and meditation teacher. She writes the popular newsletter Ancestors to Elements and her first book is called, You Belong . Jeff Warren is also an author and meditation teacher. He writes the popular Substack newsletter Home Base and is the coauthor, along with me, of a book called Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics . And he is the co-host of the mind/bod adventure pod. This episode is part ...
Jan 15, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 892
A Wharton professor shares practical tips on increasing your financial security, and eradicating the taboo around financial conversations. Dr. Wendy De La Rosa is an Assistant Professor at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She focuses on behavioral science to improve consumers’ financial well-being. This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series. We talk about: Psychological and technological tools for taking control of your finances How to get a handle on small ...
Jan 13, 2025•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 891
The science and dharma of mindful eating. How it can stop over eating—and how to actually make the habit. Brother Pháp Lưu is an ordained monk in the Plum Village tradition started by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh. He’s worked with scientists at Dartmouth College and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to develop research on the effect of Plum Village mindfulness practices on children. This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series. We talk about: The health benefits of mindf...
Jan 08, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 889
What exercise does to your brain—and how to actually do it regularly. Wendy Suzuki is a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology at New York University, where she is also the first Asian-American Dean of the College of Arts and Science. She is the author of two books, Good Anxiety and Healthy Brain, Happy Life . This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series. We talk about: How exercise not only enhances cognitive function but also protects against age-related cognitive decline an...
Jan 06, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 888
Dan briefly whittles down his top 10 takeaways from the science of behavior change. In this episode we talk about: How our brain’s evolution for short-term survival makes long-term goals harder Picking the right goals Making it easy Leveraging fresh starts How to make goals a team sport The crucial role of mindfulness and self-compassion This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series. Related Episodes: The Science of Making – And Keeping – New Year’s Resolutions | Hal Hershfield How...
Jan 03, 2025•25 min•Ep. 886
Contemplating your own death can feel like a massive bummer at first, but there’s good news: how you react to that inescapable fact really matters. Vinny Ferraro has practiced insight meditation (vipassanā) since the mid-90s. He’s the Guiding Teacher of the Big Heart City Sangha in San Francisco and has led a weekly sitting group for almost two decades. As a fully empowered Dharma Teacher thru Spirit Rock/IMS, he has taught residential retreats at Spirit Rock, Insight Meditation Society, and the...
Jan 01, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 885
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- “Radical self-love” — what it is and how to do it. It is incredibly common for many of us humans, whatever our gender, to be at war with our bodies -- trying to live up to the people we see in the movies, on social media, or even the versions of ourselves in old pictures. This never-enough-ness can lead to an ambient level of self-loathing that can be incredibly destructive....
Dec 23, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 884
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Very few of us relish chaos and disruption, but they are facts of life, given the nonnegotiable nature of change. In this episode with Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, we’re going to talk about how to tune into the value of disruption, and learn how to sit with the chaos. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel is an ordained Zen priest, holds a Ph.D., and worked for decades as a social science researc...
Dec 20, 2024•52 min•Ep. 882
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Can mindfulness really pull you out of a spiral of self-judgment? Don’t you need to be judgmental sometimes? What’s the difference between being discerning and judgmental? Description: Meditation and mindfulness doesn’t uproot your capacity to be judgmental, but it can help you see the value in being judgmental by learning how to work with the judging mind. La Sarmiento has ...
Dec 18, 2024•54 min•Ep. 881
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Equanimity: what it is, what it isn’t, and how to get it. Guest Kamala Masters was one of the teachers at Dan’s first ever meditation retreat. In this episode she dives into how to develop equanimity and shares her story of learning how to practice meditation during her everyday life while raising three children on her own. Kamala Masters has been meditating since the 1970s,...
Dec 16, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 880
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Dan and Executive Producer, DJ Cashmere, pull back the curtain on what we do, how we do it—and what’s coming next. In this episode we talk about: An exciting New Year's series reveal and upcoming meditation challenge What goes into making the show–and why we do it The ins and outs of starting a new business And much more Sign up for Dan’s newsletter here Follow Dan on social...
Dec 13, 2024•36 min•Ep. 878
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- How your blindspots hurt your decision-making— and how to fix it. Anu Gupta is an educator, lawyer, scientist, and the founder and CEO of BE MORE with Anu , an education technology benefit corporation that trains professionals across corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors to advance DEIB and wellness by breaking bias. His work has reached 300+ organizations training mo...
Dec 11, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 877
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- The upside of the often misunderstood "tribalism". Michael Morris is the Chavkin-Chang Professor of Leadership at Columbia Business School as well as a Professor in its Psychology Department. Outside of academia, Professor Morris has consulted with and conducted executive training workshops for hundreds of clients across the globe, including Fortune 100 firms, governments, a...
Dec 09, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 876
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- A famed author and humorist takes a deep dive into grief (with Dr. Bianca Harris as co-host). Sloane Crosley is the author of The New York Times bestselling books Grief Is for People , How Did You Get This Number , and I Was Told There’d Be Cake . She is also the author of Look Alive Out There , Cult Classic and The Clasp , both of which have been optioned for film. She serv...
Dec 06, 2024•55 min•Ep. 874
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Smart strategies that emerged from a brutal year. Sam Sanders is an award-winning reporter, radio host and podcaster. He co-hosts the podcast Vibe Check with Zach Stafford and Saeed Jones. He also currently hosts The Sam Sanders Show from KCRW. Check out the album he mentioned in the episode, Caroline Rose’s The Art of Forgetting . This is part 2 in a 3-part series we’re run...
Dec 04, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 873
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- A journalist explores one of humanity’s most brutal and unavoidable experiences. Cody Delistraty is a writer and speechwriter, most recently working as the culture editor at the Wall Street Journal Magazine. He has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and was the European arts columnist for The Paris Review. He has degrees in politics from New York U...
Dec 02, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 872
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- This scientist says that walking is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Here are some ways you can incorporate it into your life. Today we're going to talk about something so obvious, but so incredibly powerful. Walking. This is the third of a three part mini-series we're doing focused on the benefits of spending time outdoors. Dr. Keltner is one of the world’s f...
Nov 29, 2024•34 min•Ep. 870
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Buddhist megastars in conversation. Today, we’re dropping a recording of a live event we held earlier this year, during which Joseph Goldstein and Dr. Mark Epstein came on stage for a fascinating set of conversations. We did this event to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Dan’s first book, also called 10% Happier. The night was structured like a late night show, so there wa...
Nov 27, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 869
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- How learning to apologize can upgrade your life. V (formerly Eve Ensler) is the Tony award-winning playwright, author, and activist. Her play The Vagina Monologues is an Obie award-winning, Olivier-nominated theatrical phenomenon that has been translated into 48 languages and performed in 140 countries. She is the author of numerous books, including the recently released bes...
Nov 25, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 868
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Practical tips for accessing the healthcare of nature no matter where you live. It’s very possible that you've heard the long list of physiological and psychological benefits that one can derive from getting out into nature. Those benefits include improved mood, boosted immune system, lowered blood pressure and more. That being said, 80 percent of Americans live in urban are...
Nov 22, 2024•27 min•Ep. 866
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. A journalist-turned-Buddhist-nun shares six phrases – or mantras – to help keep your relationships on the rails. Relationships can be tricky. Especially if you find yourself upset with someone, and instead of talking it through, you let it fester until one moment you completely lose it and end up having to apologize. If you’ve ever felt like you had friction with the people in y...
Nov 20, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 865
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. A compendium of expert advice on handling all the complications — and pleasures — that the holiday season brings. I have whipped up a holiday survival guide for you, a series of evidence-based strategies for navigating what can be a tricky time of year. During the course of this episode, I'm going to talk about nine pain points, including navigating political differences around ...
Nov 18, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 864
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Scientific evidence that spending time in nature has profound impacts on your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. We’ve got something special planned for you today. We’re talking about the massive psychological and physiological benefits of being in nature. Nature impacts your mood. It has a whole long list of positive benefits for your nervous system, and even chang...
Nov 15, 2024•35 min•Ep. 862
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Radical strategies for the scarcity mindset. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim. Her first book, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History...
Nov 13, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 861
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Evidence from the guy who pioneered the science. James Pennebaker is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is known for his early research on expressive writing and health. More recently, he has pioneered ways to study people’s personalities and behaviors through the analysis of their language use. His text analysis program LIWC is used ac...
Nov 11, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 856
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. A crucial (and often misunderstood) concept in Buddhism: letting go. For this episode, Executive Producer DJ Cashmere interviewed a trio of brilliant Dharma teachers to get their advice about how to handle surrendering or letting go. This is the fourth in a series of 'correspondent' episodes , in which DJ identifies a pain point in his life and meditation practice, then goes out...
Nov 06, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 858
