In this episode, Luke Burgis explores the question, “Are your desires really yours?” and how to recognize and reclaim what you truly want. He discusses how to tell the difference between “thin desires (fleeting, imitated wants) and “thick desires” (the deeper longings that bring lasting fulfillment), and why discerning between the two can change the direction of your life. Luke also shares practices for uncovering your true hierarchy of values, creating alignment between what you want and who yo...
Oct 24, 2025•54 min
In this episode, Daria Burke discusses the non-linear path to healing and how to find wholeness after trauma. She shares her experiences growing up in Detroit with parents struggling with addiction, the impact of adversity, and her path toward self-discovery and integration. Daria also explores the complexities of healing, the importance of embracing all parts of oneself, and the power of nature and personal growth as metaphors for transformation and hope. Exciting News!!! My new book, How a Lit...
Oct 21, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 858
In this episode, Pete Holmes explains his practice of saying “Yes, Thank You” and how he practices non-resistance, a way of letting life be what it is instead of fighting it. Pete is well known from his long running podcast, You Made It Weird, and his book Comedy, Sex, God. Both mix humor with deep spiritual reflection, and this conversation explores that very same space. He discusses letting go of willpower-driven faith, embracing mystery, and finding joy in the very moments we usually resist. ...
Oct 17, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 857
In this episode, Emma Gannon explores the idea of choosing love over fear and how to find joy, confidence, and self-trust. She talks about her new novel, “Table for One” that includes themes of the inner battle between positive and negative thoughts, the healing power of love, and the importance of choosing joy. Emma shares how writing fiction is therapeutic and reflects on her personal growth, confidence, and the grief of changing identities. Key Takeaways: The power of love over fear and hatre...
Oct 14, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 856
In this episode, Janice Lundy discusses finding your true self in a distracted world, which is that part of you that isn’t weighed down by fear, busyness, or the endless demands of modern life. She calls this place “my deepest me” – the inner space that already knows we’re whole, even when everything around us insists otherwise. Jan explores what it means to return to that wiser, truer self, how to trust the quiet voice within, and why stillness, gentleness, and presence are the real pathways to...
Oct 10, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 855
In this episode, Todd Sattersten explores the art of awareness with lessons from his new book “The 100 Best Books for Work and Life. He delves into how we can reshape the way we live, work, and become who we’re meant to be. Todd also discusses how mindfulness, Zen practice, and self-awareness can help manage emotions and navigate life’s challenges. He shares insights from his book curation process, discusses the importance of balancing personal growth with acceptance, and highlights how influent...
Oct 07, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 854
In this episode, Mark Groves discusses the importance of trusting yourself and the key to navigating relationships and personal growth. Mark shares insights from his own journey, including leaving a secure career, embracing sobriety, and navigating relationship endings with integrity. He also delves into the importance of choosing self-alignment over people-pleasing, distinguishing intuition from trauma, and building self-trust through small commitments. Key Takeaways: Personal growth and transf...
Oct 03, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 853
In this episode, Shaka Senghor discusses the power of choice, and how to break free from shame, anger, and grief, which can be the hardest prisons to escape. Shaka spent 19 years in prison and seven of those in solitary confinement. But he’ll tell you that he was imprisoned long before handcuffs, and that his freedom came long before his release. His new book, How to Be Free. A Proven Guide to Escaping Life’s Hidden Prisons, is about finding the doors we often don’t notice and walking through th...
Sep 30, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 852
In this episode, Scott Stabile explores the idea of choosing love in a divisive world and how empathy can be our guiding light when life feels fractured. Scott shares deeply personal stories — from the tragedy of losing his parents to addiction in his family — and how forgiveness and compassion became the most difficult, yet most healing choices of his life. He talks about the role of awareness, the lies of shame, the futility of chasing quick fixes, and why love isn’t a fleeting feeling but an ...
Sep 26, 2025•49 min•Ep. 851
In this episode, Bobbi Brown explores the questions “What if?” and “Why not?”—her mantra for living with curiosity and courage. Renowned makeup artist, entrepreneur, and founder of Jones Road, Bobbi shares how choosing decency over drama and normalcy over fabulosity shaped both her career and her life. She talks about the power of kindness, the myth of “always-on” authenticity, and how the outside—our clothes, lighting, and even a touch of makeup—can support the inside without replacing it. The ...
Sep 23, 2025•54 min•Ep. 850
In this episode, Dr. Robert Waldinger explores why good relationships are the key to living a long and happy life. Drawing from more than 85 years of research, Robert shares why deep, supportive relationships are stronger predictors of health and happiness than wealth, success, or status. He also explains how relationships regulate stress, why loneliness can be as harmful as smoking, and how we can proactively cultivate social fitness. Listeners will walk away with practical ways to strengthen e...
Sep 19, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 849
In this episode, Diane Macedo unlocks the secrets to better sleep as she shares what you need to know. From her personal experiences with sleep challenges, she shares something counterintuitive: how sleep isn't something we do, it's something that happens when we stop trying so hard. Diane talks about retraining a wired brain and the systems that actually govern sleep. This episode is packed with helpful strategies to improve your sleep. We need your help! We all know ads are part of the podcast...
Sep 16, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 848
In this episode, Sophia Bush discusses the complexities of human nature, spirituality, and emotional maturity. She explores the dangers of toxic positivity and the challenges of authenticity in public life. Sophia also reflects on intergenerational trauma, activism, and the importance of self-compassion. Through candid stories and practical insights, Sophia encourages listeners to embrace vulnerability, nurture the “good wolf” within, and take small, meaningful actions toward personal and collec...
Sep 12, 2025•55 min•Ep. 847
In this episode, Cal Newport explains slow productivity and how to do less, focus more, and not burn out. Cal argues, our obsession with busyness is pseudo-productivity and while it may look like progress, it isn’t. In his new book, Slow Productivity, he shows how we can accomplish more by doing less with focus and intent We need your help! We all know ads are part of the podcast world, and we want to improve this experience for you. Please take 2 minutes and complete this survey , it's a quick ...
Sep 09, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 846
In this episode, Tara Brach explores embracing the full spectrum of emotions, providing a guide to mindfulness and self-discovery. She helps us experiment with a variety of approaches that are guided by a simple compass intention. Tara also discusses stepping out of a trance, the tight story of what’s wrong with me or what’s wrong here, and in the direct experience, where kindness and awareness can flourish. If you’re ready for practical ways to be here, not perfectly, but more fully, this episo...
Sep 05, 2025•51 min•Ep. 845
In this episode, Vauhini Vara discusses the hidden costs of technology and our search for selfhood. She explains how we live in a world where technology functions as both a lifeline and a trap—offering connection, convenience, and possibility while also shaping our choices, exploiting our attention, and redefining how we see ourselves. Together, Eric and Vauhini explore the tension of relying on tools we can’t seem to live without, the subtle ways algorithms alter our communication, and what it ...
Sep 02, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 844
In this episode, Elise Loehnen explains why chasing goodness keeps us stuck and how to choose wholeness instead. For so many of us, the drive to be “good” shapes how we show up – as friends, partners, coworkers, even in how we speak to ourselves on hard days. But what does it cost us to live that way? Elise invites us to see that the real challenge isn’t to feed only the good wolf, but to become a whole wolf; one who integrates all parts of ourselves, even the ones we’d rather hide. She explores...
Aug 29, 2025•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 843
In this episode, Cyndie Spiegel discusses finding hope when life isn’t okay and the power of microjoys. Cyndie shares her personal journey through profound loss and illness, explaining how micro joys, the simple, everyday pleasures, helped her heal. She explores the difference between happiness and joy, the importance of presence and gratitude, and practical ways to notice and appreciate micro joys, offering listeners compassionate tools for resilience and self-acceptance. Discover the six hidde...
Aug 26, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 842
In this episode, Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett explains the science of emotions and how your brain predicts your feelings. She further explains that because emotions are made and not hardwired, this means we can change them by retraining our brains. Lisa also delves into the science of prediction, the body budget, and why taking care of your physical health is one of the most powerful emotional regulation tool you have. Want tiny nudges that spark real change? Join our text list for free Good Wolf re...
Aug 22, 2025•53 min•Ep. 841
In this episode, Ukeme Awakessien Jeter explores the importance of learning to be the change you want to see. She shares her journey as an immigrant and Black woman in a predominantly white suburb, discussing adaptability, leadership, and civic engagement. She reflects on raising her daughter, building inclusive communities, and the unique leadership strengths immigrants bring. The conversation also touches on feeling overwhelmed in life as Ukeme reminds us that when our days feel full to bursti...
Aug 18, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 840
In this episode, Steven Shapiro and Nancy Shapiro discuss how to build a family culture that brings you closer and makes you stronger. They are a brother and sister duo, educators and creators of the “Our Family Culture” system. Steven and Nancy discuss the importance of intentionally shaping family culture to support children’s emotional well-being and resilience and they share practical strategies for identifying core values, developing shared language, and practicing consistent, meaningful ac...
Aug 15, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 839
In this episode, Dr. Judith Joseph explains what happens when success hides suffering, and the importance of understanding high-functioning depression. She explores why many people who look fine on the outside are quietly suffering on the inside with something we rarely talk about: anhedonia, the loss of joy, or the loss of ability to feel pleasure. This is an important conversation that highlights this often overlooked and underplayed challenge of high-functioning depression that so many of us ...
Aug 12, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 838
In this episode, Peter Singer explains why ethics and joy belong together. He offers a moral wake-up call as he shares his now-famous “drowning child” thought experiment: if we saw a child drowning right in front of us, we’d act without hesitation. So why do we so often fail to act when suffering is farther away?Peter challenges the idea that ethics is about rigid rules or self-denial. Instead, he argues that living ethically is a path to a more joyful and meaningful life. This conversation expl...
Aug 08, 2025•51 min•Ep. 837
In this episode, Susan Piver discusses the path to inexplicable joy and how self-friendship can change everything. She shares this powerful statement, “ I can’t defeat my enemies, but I can strengthen my friends, ” which offers a different kind of hope that shifts our focus from fighting battles we can’t win, to caring for the people and communities closest to us. Susan shares what real power looks like, not dominance, but care, and also shares five practical ways to cultivate personal power in ...
Aug 05, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 836
In this episode, Nickolas Butler explores finding meaning through caregiving, loss, and writing. At just 20 years old, Nick became his father’s legal guardian after a sudden brain aneurysm — a role he held for 23 years. What began as a family emergency became a long, complex journey that shaped his identity, his values, and his voice as a novelist. In this honest and moving conversation, Nick shares the emotional toll and unexpected wisdom that caregiving can bring, the power of presence, and ho...
Aug 01, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 835
In this episode, Michelle Chalfant explores how to quiet the inner critic and finally get unstuck. She has spent 25 years developing practical tools for working with what she calls the other wolf. Michelle explains why most of us are making decisions from the emotional age of about 13. And she’ll give you the exact process for transforming triggers into growth. Her motto is “I will let nothing or no one disconnect me from myself.” and by the end of this conversation, you’ll know how to make that...
Jul 29, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 834
In this episode, Lyanda Haupt shares her journey from divorce to discovery and nature's wisdom for life's transitions. She challenges everything you might think you know about hope, about walking barefoot on the earth, and what it actually means to feed the good wolf. Discover the six hidden saboteurs that quietly derail your best intentions—like autopilot behavior, self-doubt, and emotional escape. Download our free guide to uncover what’s getting in your way and learn simple strategies to take...
Jul 25, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 833
In this episode, Ross Ellenhorn explores the complexities of why we resist change and what to do about it. As Ross explains in this conversation, “staying the same protects you from the insult of small steps.” He shows us why these tiny steps can sometimes feel insulting and demoralizing. Ross also delves into the fear of raising expectations, the pain of disappointment, and why hope itself can feel threatening Discover the six hidden saboteurs that quietly derail your best intentions—like autop...
Jul 22, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 832
In this episode, Melody Wilding discusses how to create change at work without losing yourself. She challenges the idea that you’re powerless at work, even in tough cultures. If you’ve ever wondered how to navigate office politics, or if there’s a way to work with integrity even when you’re not in charge, this conversation will give you both practical tools and hope. Get Weekly Bites of Wisdom delivered to your inbox. Every Wednesday, you’ll receive a short, practical email that distills the big...
Jul 18, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 831
In this episode, Jamie Wheal explores the question of “Can radical hope save us from despair in a fractured world?” He argues that most of the feel-good positivity we are sold is useless when facing real crises, from climate collapse to meaninglessness. But there is a kind of hope that survives contact with brutal reality. Get Weekly Bites of Wisdom delivered to your inbox. Every Wednesday, you’ll receive a short, practical email that distills the big ideas from different episodes on topics like...
Jul 15, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 830
