The Oprah Winfrey Show: The Podcast - podcast cover

The Oprah Winfrey Show: The Podcast

Oprah is opening the vault of The Oprah Winfrey Show with 25 years of hand-picked legendary interviews, a-ha moments, ugly cries and unforgettable surprises. A lot has changed since she ended the show, but many of our personal struggles have stayed the same. We’re all still looking to connect, to be seen and to know that we’re not alone. We’re also looking for some joy, some laughs and some much-needed inspiration. As we head into this new decade, what better time to look back and reflect, to take stock of how we’ve grown and to be reminded that we’re all in this together. The Oprah Winfrey Show aired from September 8th, 1986 to May 25, 2011 with 4,561 episodes. The show remains the highest-rated daytime talk show in American television history, averaging between 10 to 20 million viewers a day.
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Episodes

Special: Design Your Dream

From October 9, 1998: Motivational speaker and author Gail Blanke discusses her New York Times best-selling book, “In Your Wildest Dreams.” She describes how to find your passion, the importance of defining your own life and why living the life of your dreams is the greatest gift you can give anyone. Gail also coaches audience members on how to design their own dreams.

Jul 08, 202528 min

Special: Rules for Being Human

From September 15, 1998: Life coach and author Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott discusses her #1 New York Times best-seller, If Life Is a Game, These are the Rules. She coaches the audience through what she calls the 10 rules for being human. Dr. Carter-Scott details the importance of the lessons life presents to us, and explains why life will continue to repeat those teachings until they’re learned. Dr. Carter-Scott also talks about why she believes we are in control of our life’s outcome.

Jul 01, 202532 min

Special: Making Peace with Your Family

From October 6, 1999: Teacher, speaker and author of Codes of Love Mark Bryan discusses how to deal with conflicts within the family. He also shares what he calls the “moment of truth” exercise, how to look at the past with a new perspective and coaches two families through the four steps to reconciliation: Remember, Reflect, Reframe, and Reconnect.

Jun 24, 202532 min

Special: Difficult Conversations

From April 27, 1999: Oprah dedicates a show to women who have a hard time expressing their true feelings when in difficult situations and conversations. Assertiveness coach, Jan Ferris, shares the importance of boundary setting and tips for learning how to say, “No.” New York Times Business Bestselling authors of Difficult Conversations, Doug Stone and Sheila Heen, discuss why some conversations are more difficult than others, teach what they call the doubling technique and give advice for tough...

Jun 18, 202534 min

Special: How Well Do You Cope?

From April 3, 1998: Oprah talks to people who have survived terrible tragedies. Dr. Paul Stoltz, keynote speaker and #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Adversity Quotient discusses how to turn obstacles into opportunities and how adversity leads to strength. Dr. Stoltz also explains what he calls the “constructive blame zone.” Holocaust survivor, psychologist and author Dr. Edith Eva Eger shares her traumatic experiences at the Auschwitz Birkenau concentration camp and explains how to ...

Jun 10, 202530 min

Special: Make The Connection

From September 11, 1996: Oprah and Bob Greene, exercise physiologist and personal trainer, discuss their No. 1 New York Times best seller, Make the Connection, a book that outlines 10 steps to change your life, lose weight and keep it off. Oprah shares insights from her own weight loss journey, including how to gain discipline and will power, and why it’s important to care about yourself daily. She also talks to people who have successfully lost weight.

Jun 03, 202523 min

Special: What's Your Emotional Intelligence?

From October 10, 1995: Author and science journalist Dr. Daniel Goleman discusses his New York Times best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence. He explains how to handle our anger, how controlling impulses affect our lives and how we can increase our EQ at any point in our lives. Also, Dr. Martin Seligman—psychologist, educator and author of The Optimistic Child—explains the three aspects of optimism, how optimism increases emotional intelligence, and the correlation between pessimism and depres...

May 27, 202523 min

Special: How Healthy Is Your Family?

From March 6, 1990: Oprah and Dr. Paul Pearsall, neuropsychologist and author of the New York Times best-seller, The Power of the Family, take the audience through a ‘rituals test’ to assess their family health. Dr. Pearsall discusses why families are failing, the importance of developing the “us” quotient and how just 15 minutes of spending time together as a family unit can make a difference. Dr. Paul Pearsall passed away in 2007.

May 20, 202536 min

Special: Mind Over Body Cure

From October 17, 1988: Do we have the ability to think ourselves well? A panel of doctors and patients debate mind over body cures and share their personal stories of healing through medical and non-medical means. Guests include Dr. Bernie Siegel, pediatric surgeon and author of New York Times #1 Bestseller, Love, Medicine and Miracles; Dr. Sherwin Nuland, author of Doctors: The Biography of Medicine and Orthodox Rabbi Benjamin Blech. Dr. Sherwin Nuland passed away in 2014 from prostate cancer....

May 13, 202535 min

Special: Are You Rude?

From October 15, 2008: Oprah takes her audience through a test to determine if they are rude. Professor at John Hopkins University and author of Choosing Civility: Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct, P.M. Forni, discusses the principles of respectful people, the difference between being rude and mean and explains why our quality of life depends on the quality of our relationships. Steve Dublanica, author of the New York Times bestseller, Waiter Rant, shares restaurant etiquette that most p...

May 06, 202535 min

Special: Oprah’s 2000 Capsule

From October 12, 1998: Television personality, author and former psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw helps guests dealing with devastating loss. JoAnn Compton Powell shares that she has been unable to move forward after the death of her daughter, Laurie, over a decade ago. Dr. Phil shares his five coping skills for grief, causing JoAnn to have one of the deepest aha! moments in Oprah show history. Oprah and Dr. Phil also speaks to Brian Janette, who stopped taking care of himself after losing his mothe...

Apr 29, 202534 min

Special: Adult Children of Emotional Abuse

From March 28, 1989: Oprah talks to adults who share stories of the emotional abuse they suffered as children and how it still affects them today. Psychotherapist and author of How to Raise Your Self-Esteem, Dr. Nathaniel Branden explains the difference between conscious living and unconscious living, and how making small changes to be more conscious in your life can improve your self-esteem. He also explains why some people are able to transcend abusive circumstances when others cannot. Dr. Bra...

Apr 22, 202527 min

Special: Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Is Dying

From October 9, 1997: Oprah talks with author and psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross about her autobiography, Wheel of Life. A pioneer in death and dying studies, Elisabeth shares the greatest lessons she’s learned from those who are dying, how she is welcoming death at the end of her own life and how she’s able to never give up. Also, journalist, philanthropist and author Mitch Albom discusses his New York Times best-selling book Tuesdays with Morrie. He explains how death is an opportunity to ...

Apr 15, 202532 min

Special: Should Handguns Be Banned?

From June 27, 1989: Oprah talks to grieving parents who lost their young children to handgun violence. Oprah also mediates a discussion on handgun legislation and education with a panel of guests including pediatrician Dr. Katherine Christoffel, National Rifle Association member Marion Hanner and former executive director of the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, Barbara Laughton.

Apr 08, 202537 min

Special: Dieting to Death

From November 27, 1989: Oprah talks to Rudine Howard, a woman weighing only 60 pounds, about her battle with anorexia nervosa. Rudine discusses her fear of food and how treatment with medical hypnotherapist Dr. Henry Parker helped her self-esteem. Other women suffering from bulimia share their patterns of bingeing and purging, the role of denial and why they see food as their only friend. Plus psychiatrist Dr. Patricia Santucci describes the characteristics of those who suffer from eating disord...

Apr 01, 202534 min

Special: Lifestyle Makeovers: How to Set Personal Boundaries

From February 5, 2001: Oprah talks with author and lifestyle makeover expert, Cheryl Richardson about her New York Times Bestselling book, Life Makeovers. Cheryl explains why boundary-setting is the number one way to improve your life. She gives three components to boundary setting, tips for staying calm in confrontation and explains the importance of the phrase, “I need you to hear me.” Cheryl also discusses internal boundaries, how to recognize where boundaries are needed and why it’s importan...

Mar 25, 202530 min

Special: How Does That Feel?

From October 19, 2001: Oprah talks to Mattie Stepanek, an 11-year-old boy who, despite having muscular dystrophy, has written two New York Times best-selling inspirational books of poetry, Heartsongs and Journey Through Heartsongs. He aims to help create world peace. Mattie shares his poetry, describes what he calls “Heartsongs,” and details how he sees miracles every day. Oprah then talks with singer, author and motivational speaker Tom Sullivan about how it feels to be blind. Mattie, who later...

Mar 18, 202530 min

Special: Oprah Honors American Heroes: The Freedom Riders Reunite 50 Years Later

From May 4, 2011: Oprah celebrates the 50-year anniversary of the 1961 Freedom Riders movement with 178 surviving Freedom Riders in the audience. The American heroes share their reasons for risking their lives to defy the segregation laws of the Deep South. Congressman John Lewis is reunited with Elwin Wilson, one of the men who beat him at a bus station in Rock Hill, South Carolina. They open up about the beating and Wilson’s subsequent apology in 2009. In 2013, Elwin Wilson died in a South Car...

Mar 11, 202527 min

Special: John Bradshaw: Creating Love

From December 2, 1992: New York Times best-selling author, counselor, motivational speaker and television host John Bradshaw discusses his book, Creating Love: The Next Great Stage of Growth. John asserts that most of us don’t even know what love really is. He explains how love can cause misery instead of pleasure in what he calls “mystified love.” John speaks about the effect our childhood has on our adult relationships. John also leads the audience in a meditation and shares how to achieve the...

Mar 04, 202539 min

Special: Oprah’s Weight Loss Show

From November 22, 1993: Oprah reads entries from her personal journal about her emotional struggles with weight. She explains how she came to understand that her battles with weight are really internal issues that have manifested themselves physically. Oprah also reveals the deep fears that took her 15 years to face and shares the questions she had to ask herself to get to the root of her problem. Then, exercise physiologist and fitness expert Bob Greene gives tips to lose weight the healthy way...

Feb 25, 202527 min

Special: An Overwhelmed Mom’s Deadly Mistake

From October 1, 2008: Oprah talks to Brenda Slaby, a mom and assistant principal who accidentally left her 2-year-old daughter, Cecilia, in the backseat of her car while she was at work. Cecilia died of a heatstroke after being in the car for 8 hours in temperatures rising above 90 degrees. Brenda discusses how she became perceived as what she calls “the most hated mom in America,” and other mothers also share their stories of feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to be perfect. Then, poet, author...

Feb 18, 202537 min

Special: Family of Alcoholics

From April 4, 1989: Oprah talks to a family with three generations of alcoholics about repeating the family cycle and how alcoholism has affected their lives. Psychologist and author Janet Geringer Woititz discusses her New York Times best seller, Adult Children of Alcoholics. She explains how to recognize the characteristics of children of alcoholics and how to break the cycle of alcohol abuse. She also gives advice on how to stop enabling and start helping loved ones who suffer with alcoholism...

Feb 11, 202540 min

Special: How to Make Love Last

From January 8, 1993: Oprah interviews self-help author and Oprah Show regular guest Harville Hendrix, who teaches us how to make our relationships not only last longer, but become happier. He talks about overcoming trust issues, childhood wounds appearing in adulthood and how marriage is a structure for healing. He also works with several couples on making their love last and discusses his books Getting The Love You Want and Keeping The Love You Find. Oprah explains how Getting the Love You Wan...

Feb 04, 202531 min

Special: Dr. Phil - Uncovering Your Authentic Self

From January 22, 2002: Oprah Winfrey and New York Times best-selling author, psychologist, and television host Dr. Phil McGraw discuss his book “Self Matters: Creating Your Life from the Inside Out.” Dr. Phil helps guests with low self-esteem discover their real value and unlock their true potential. He reveals why we matter and explains the difference between our authentic selves and what he calls our “fictional selves.” Dr. Phil discusses how we can unlock certain skills, gifts, abilities and ...

Jan 28, 202536 min

Special: Children of Divorce Reveal Their Secret Thoughts

From September 26, 2007: New York Times best-selling author, rabbi, psychotherapist and Sandcastle Program founder M. Gary Neuman talks to families about how to help their children cope with divorce. He explains how divorce affects boys and girls differently, how to discuss divorce with children and the three rules in telling your children you’re getting divorced. Gary talks to the children of three families about the affect their parents’ divorce has had on them. He also helps initiate healing ...

Jan 21, 202538 min

Special: Is Your Family Happy?

From October 24, 1997: Oprah revisits five lessons she learned over the years about to how help families around the world learn to be happier. Some audience members say, “I love you” for the first time and Oprah shares ways to show love without having to say, “I love you.” She also reveals some of her favorite tips from family-focused books, 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, by Steven Covey, and Simple Abundance, by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Plus, Oprah talks with former Buffalo Bills quarterba...

Jan 14, 202530 min

Lisa Ling Investigates: Wombs For Rent

Original Air Date: October 9, 2007 Oprah Show correspondent Lisa Ling travels to India with a couple so desperate to have a baby that they've hired someone who lives more than 10,000 miles away to carry a baby for them. Oprah talks to this couple and later talks to Alexis Stewart, Martha Stewart's daughter, who says she spends $28,000 every month on fertility drugs. Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPods You can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of...

Jan 07, 202538 min

I’m The Other Woman

Original Air Date: October 19, 2007 It's the side of the story we rarely get to hear, straight from the source. Former mistresses confess they've been the "other woman." Then, betrayed wives reveal the moment they found out and how their lives changed forever. Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPods You can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN

Dec 31, 202440 min

237 Reasons to Have Sex

Original Air Date: September 25, 2007 It's the sex talk your parents never had. Open marriages, sex over 60, friends with benefits, erotica. What's really going on in America's bedrooms? Oprah explores America’s sex life and sheds light on the subject. Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPods You can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN

Dec 24, 202437 min

Negative Addictions

Original Air Date: December 31, 1986 For some it’s overeating, for others it’s smoking, but other bad habits include nail-biting, overspending and hairpulling. Oprah interviews self-help authors Dr. Shad Helmstetter Ph.D and Bob Meehan and a panel of women to discuss their motivations for quitting their negative additions. Featured expert Bob Meehan passed away in 2021. Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPods You can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and mor...

Dec 17, 202439 min
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