What if great friendships aren’t found by luck but built through effort? Bestselling novelist Fredrik Backman, the mind behind A Man Called Ove (adapted into the Tom Hanks film A Man Called Otto ), Anxious People , and the beloved Beartown series, has spent his career writing about the quiet power of ordinary people. But in his real life, he learned one of his most important lessons from his best friend of 30 years: meaningful friendship is a skill you develop, not a lottery you win. Despite bei...
Nov 18, 2025•58 min•Ep. 198
If you feel stupid while learning something new, you’re doing it right. But if you keep doing the same thing over and over hoping it’ll suddenly make sense - that’s on you. The trick isn’t to push harder; it’s to find a new teacher, a new explanation, a new way in. That’s exactly how Matthew Broussard approaches comedy - and everything else. A stand-up comedian, math nerd, and former financial analyst, Matthew is obsessed with learning and cracking the formula behind how things work. He treats e...
Nov 11, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 197
I’ve long imagined a world where people wake each morning inspired, feel safe wherever they work, and return home fulfilled by what they’ve created. That vision once felt like a dream - until I met Bob Chapman, CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, who quietly built it into reality. Over five decades, Bob has grown a humble Midwestern manufacturing company into a global business success story, proving that leadership grounded in humanity can scale across the world. Bob sees the people in his company not as li...
Nov 04, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 195
We don’t usually look to Hollywood for lessons in career longevity. But it might be the perfect place to study it. Few industries move faster or cast people aside more quickly, and yet Rob Lowe has spent more than four decades defying those odds. His story isn’t just about surviving fame—it’s about overcoming adversity, finding joy in the work, and proving that authenticity is the only path to a career that lasts. Across his career, Rob has navigated the highs of teen idol stardom, the lows of v...
Sep 23, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 194
The future is something we create, not just something that happens. To guide progress toward real good, we need bold, optimistic visions of what society can become. Reid Hoffman makes the case for better science fiction - stories that don’t just entertain, but illuminate the futures we can strive for. As a serial entrepreneur and cofounder of LinkedIn, Reid brings a unique perspective on how storytelling shapes technology, society, and innovation. He argues that imagining optimistic futures is e...
Sep 16, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 193
We’ve never had more freedom in our relationships—yet many of us feel more disconnected than ever. Marriage, family, and even the workplace have all been reshaped by shifting norms, new technologies, and rising expectations. Happiness, once a nice-to-have, is now the very glue that keeps both couples and teams together. Few people understand these changes better than Esther Perel. For decades, she’s helped us rethink intimacy, navigate conflict, and reimagine what a healthy connection looks like...
Sep 09, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 192
Your instincts aren’t just whispers. They’re a compass pointing you toward the life you’re meant to live. But in a world obsessed with speed, metrics, and outcomes, most of us forget how to listen. Arthur Brooks, bestselling author and Harvard Business School professor, teaches one of the most popular classes on happiness. But his insights come not just from research, but from a life of reinvention: from French horn player to scholar, from think-tank leader to teacher, and even pilgrim on the Ca...
Sep 02, 2025•56 min•Ep. 191
We’re often told to do more, move faster, and chase the next big trend—but some of the most remarkable successes come from narrowing your focus, obsessing over one thing, and truly understanding the people you’re serving. Ben Francis knows this better than most. He started Gymshark with nothing more than a sewing machine and a passion for making gym clothes that actually worked for him. From those humble beginnings, he built a billion-dollar brand—carefully, sustainably, and with a vision for a ...
Aug 26, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 190
“Nuclear” might make you wince—but the real problem isn’t the energy, it’s the branding. Safe, low-carbon, and scalable, nuclear could be a climate hero—if only we told the story right. Isabelle Boemeke is on a mission to change how we think about nuclear energy. A Brazilian model turned the world’s first nuclear influencer, she created her alter ego, Isodope, to show a new generation the benefits of clean energy—while cutting through the fear shaped by war movies and disaster shows. In her new ...
Aug 19, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 189
We’re wired to chase the next spark - scrolling, swiping, refreshing - but some of our brightest ideas sneak in when we stop chasing, let boredom settle in and give our minds room to wander. Elle Cordova knows the power of that pause. When the pandemic hit pause on her life as a touring musician, she stumbled into new creative territory - making offbeat comedy videos about delightfully nerdy topics like particle physics, grammar, and fonts. Those sketches went viral, and suddenly she was thrivin...
Aug 12, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 188
This was the most epic Zoom call we’ve ever been a part of — an incredible conversation with NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, live from the International Space Station, with sunrise on Earth as a stunningly causal site behind him as they barreled at 17,000 mph in orbit. Thanks to the amazing team at Johnson Space Center, Jonny was able to join us to share insights from a life that defies limits, showing what it truly means to lead and serve on and off the planet. In this episode, we grapple with a star...
Aug 05, 2025•26 min•Ep. 187
Good manners aren’t just about being polite — they’re about making other people feel seen. William Hanson is one of the world’s leading etiquette coaches. He’s advised royalty, CEOs, and television personalities on how to communicate with clarity, confidence, and grace. But his mission goes far beyond fine dining or proper handshakes. In today’s fast-paced, informal world, William argues that etiquette isn’t outdated — it’s essential. Whether you’re trying to land a job, win over a client, or si...
Jul 15, 2025•55 min•Ep. 185
You have two years left to live. What would you do? That's a real question Angela Trimbur had to answer. In 2018, a breast cancer diagnosis forced her to get honest with herself. If Angela had only 2 years to live, what kind of life did she truly wish to live? Angela chose to start over. She sold everything she owned, moved to New York City, and became a dance teacher. Angela's irreverent teaching style and unique approach to dance won her accolades, and she now teaches sold out classes where pe...
Jul 08, 2025•54 min•Ep. 184
When morale problems affect a team, some leaders choose to make a big, rousing speech. But quite often, it’s the quiet leader who leads with empathy that sees a better emotional solution. Gordon Schmidt is a retired Navy SEAL with enough combat experience to understand that empathy is an operational advantage, not a weakness. After 20 years of military service, he started his second act as a high school rowing coach. According to Gordo, be it coaching rowers or leading soldiers, the emotional le...
Jul 01, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 183
Happiness is a choice. But it’s not always an easy choice to make. Mo Gawdat had to face an impossible choice. Before he was a bestselling author and podcast host, Mo worked a lucrative career as Chief Business Officer at Google X. He reached the heights of business influence and amassed a fortune by 29. And yet, he was miserable. It was only after the tragic death of his 21-year-old son Ali that Mo was forced to confront the truth. Mo now dedicates his life, work, and research to figuring out h...
Jun 24, 2025•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 182
🚨 Chomp Alert! 🚨 We saw your comments — loud and crunchy . Turns out not everyone wants front-row seats to mouth sounds. Who knew? Skip to 29:29 to dodge most of the chewing. We promise, after that it’s just a few graceful nibbles of Basque cheesecake. 🧀🍰😅 _____________________________________ We turned the studio into a restaurant for the day—because when Phil Rosenthal’s in the house, you don’t just talk about food, you eat it! Phil—the genius behind Everybody Loves Raymond and Somebody F...
Jun 17, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 181
Magic moments do happen in real life. If you ask Brad Meltzer, magic happens when ordinary people choose to do the extraordinary. Brad is a prolific writer and bestselling author. He’s published over 70 books in nearly every genre you can think of—thriller novels, biographies, children’s books, film and television. He’s written comic books for iconic superheroes like Spider-Man, Superman, and Batman. And in 2024, his commencement speech at the University of Michigan went viral for its simple, po...
Jun 10, 2025•53 min•Ep. 180
My career is an accident. It started when I set out to rediscover my passion and reignite a spark I’d lost — and that journey led me to the work I do now. If you know me from my books or my speaking, you know I’m fascinated by why people do what they do. What makes someone find joy and meaning in their life, or pursue something far greater than themselves? I started A Bit of Optimism to explore those ideas and expand my own perspective. This podcast is a trove of honest conversations, with peopl...
Jun 03, 2025•1 min•Ep. 179
What if this podcast turned into a baking show? For Christina Tosi’s third visit to A Bit of Optimism , we decided to find out. So we headed to Milk Bar to make compost cookies from things in my own pantry and my favorite beer bread from scratch! Christina’s not just my best friend—she’s the founder of Milk Bar, host of Bake Squad on Netflix, a cookbook author, and a fan favorite on this podcast. She lives by one simple question: what if? In this experimental episode, we dug into some big ideas ...
Jun 03, 2025•48 min•Ep. 178
We're taking some time off to bring you even more episodes of A Bit of Optimism that you're going to love! In the meantime, we're revisiting some of our favorite episodes, like this one with couples counselor Shawn McBride. Relationships are hard. No matter how much we like, respect, or love someone, conflict seems inevitable. But even as we fight and disagree, we can also learn the skills we need to resolve our problems. For over two decades, Shawn McBride has helped thousands of couples do the...
May 27, 2025•48 min•Ep. 177
We're taking some time off to bring you even more episodes of A Bit of Optimism that you're going to love! In the meantime, we're revisiting some of our favorite episodes, like this one with Harvard professor Robert Waldinger. We all want to live a happy life. But what does the research say about how to achieve it? For more than 86 years, researchers at Harvard University have been trying to figure out how humans can live happier lives. In one of the longest-running and most comprehensive studie...
May 20, 2025•46 min•Ep. 176
Sometimes in life, we must stop and ask ourselves, “Where am I you going next?” Other times, it’s more fun to do a podcast takeover. No one has ever interviewed me quite like Cal Fussman. Cal has a gift – he pulls things out of you that you didn’t even know were there. A prolific Writer At Large for Esquire , Cal has interviewed legends like Muhammad Ali and Mikhail Gorbachev, and he’s the host of the podcast Big Questions. So, to mark 15 years since writing Start With Why , I invited Cal to tak...
May 13, 2025•50 min•Ep. 175
Sometimes in life, we choose the wrong path. When we feel like we're living a lie, it's hard to know what to do next. That’s where Suzy Welch comes in. She’s obsessed with helping people create lives worth living. A professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business, Suzy teaches a popular class called “Becoming You,” where she takes students down a brutal, but liberating, journey to live as their authentic selves. According to Suzy’s research, purpose is the key to unlocking the real you, but finding ...
May 06, 2025•35 min•Ep. 174
*Please note: At 9:01, Simon and Cory have a discussion about suicide. What happens after we attain success and glory? Where do you go when there's nowhere left to run from yourself? In Part 2 of my conversation with Cory Richards, Cory explains why reaching the summit of Everest marked the beginning of a long, painful fall from grace. After his tumultuous decision to retire from climbing, Cory found himself lost and confused about his true identity. At the same time, he was forced to grapple wi...
Apr 29, 2025•40 min•Ep. 173
What happens when we reach the top? There’s only one place to go. Cory Richards has scaled the world’s highest peaks and fallen to life’s lowest lows. An acclaimed mountain climber, photographer, and filmmaker, Cory has literally reached the top of the world. He climbed Mount Everest with no supplemental oxygen, became the first American to summit an 8,000-meter mountain, and narrowly survived an avalanche, after which he skyrocketed to fame when his photos graced the cover of National Geographi...
Apr 22, 2025•47 min•Ep. 172
Change happens to all of us whether we choose it or not. What’s the best way to go through transition, especially when it’s something we didn’t want? Melinda French Gates has seen her fair share of big transitions. A philanthropist, author, and champion for female empowerment, she spent decades building the Gates Foundation into one of the mightiest charitable organizations in the world. But after 25 years, she decided it was time for a change. Leaving the Foundation and her marriage to Bill Gat...
Apr 15, 2025•39 min•Ep. 171
We often define ourselves by what we do or who we are to other people. But at our core, who we are is often something much deeper, and sometimes wildly different, from the version that the world sees -- or projects onto you. Maria Shriver was born into the legendary Kennedy and Shriver families, arriving with a script already written for her—an identity shaped by legacy and expectation. From the start, the world had ideas about who she should be. But after decades as a journalist, years as Calif...
Apr 08, 2025•42 min•Ep. 170
Self-love is never as easy as we think. Is it possible to fall in love with ourselves the way we fall for other people? Lewis Howes knows that learning to like yourself, let alone love yourself, can take decades. After surviving a traumatic childhood, Lewis spent years working on himself to try and understand what it takes for human beings to achieve greatness. He overcame learning disabilities, insecurity, and self-loathing to become who he is today. Lewis is a New York Times bestselling author...
Apr 01, 2025•51 min•Ep. 169
A Bit of Optimism is on hiatus this week, so we’re revisiting one of our favorite conversations! In this episode, Simon talks with psychologist Ty Tashiro about social awkwardness and why being awkward can actually be a superpower. ***** Awkwardness gets a bad rap. But being awkward is often an indicator that someone has extraordinary. Psychologist and author Ty Tashiro has spent a great deal of time studying (and living!) social awkwardness. He's fascinated by how the same traits that cause us ...
Mar 25, 2025•32 min•Ep. 168
Is there such a thing as female leadership? Or is gender not a factor? DeDe Halfhill would say yes and no. A retired Air Force colonel, Dede spent 20 years in the military, where she advised some of the military’s most powerful leaders during the War in Iraq. She was often the only woman in the room for weeks on end. And while DeDe found the principles of leadership to be universal, there was no denying her experience as a woman leader was different from the men. DeDe is an old friend of mine, a...
Mar 18, 2025•41 min•Ep. 166
