It’s not only about digital boundaries. Washington Post tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler, in conversation with host Cristina Quinn, shares insights on physical and social boundaries we need to put in place to reclaim our focus. He offers tips like setting expectations at work and designating screen-free hours with family. And addiction psychiatrist Anna Lembke reminds us why breaking free from digital distractions isn’t just an individual effort, but a collective one. By the end of this episode, y...
Apr 08, 2025•14 min•Season 7Ep. 4
If you're ready to take back control of your attention, here’s where to start. Host Cristina Quinn chats with Washington Post tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler about self-binding — creating intentional boundaries with your devices to reduce distractions and reclaim your focus. Geoffrey shares his own experiments and practical strategies, such as reorganizing a home screen and resetting algorithms. They also grapple with why traditional time limits on apps often backfire and how something as simple ...
Apr 01, 2025•15 min•Season 7Ep. 3
Many of us are caught in a loop of instant gratification, driven by the brain’s reward system. In this episode, host Cristina Quinn talks with psychiatrist and addiction expert Anna Lembke about how to break free from compulsive digital habits and reset our dopamine levels. Anna explains how our brains become desensitized to pleasure over time, making us crave more and more stimulation. The good news? A 30-day “abstinence trial” can help reset our baseline and bring our dopamine levels back into...
Mar 25, 2025•16 min•Season 7Ep. 2
Ever wonder why you can’t stop scrolling, even when you know you should? It probably comes down to dopamine, a key neurotransmitter that drives pleasure and motivation. In this episode, host Cristina Quinn talks to psychiatrist Anna Lembke, author of “Dopamine Nation,” about the neuroscience behind digital addiction. Anna explains how our devices keep us hooked by triggering dopamine surges — and why, over time, this actually leaves us feeling worse. She breaks down the “plenty paradox,” the ide...
Mar 18, 2025•10 min•Season 7Ep. 1
In the third and final episode of our three-part course on cultivating joy, host Cristina Quinn dives into the connection between spreading kindness and experiencing happiness. Steven Petrow , author of “ The Joy You Make ,” shares compelling research on the “ helper’s high ” and how you can bring joy to others and yourself — whether it’s through volunteering, helping a neighbor or even sharing a simple moment with a stranger. Steven also challenges listeners to reconnect with lost traditions, s...
Dec 23, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 3
In this second class in our course on finding joy, host Cristina Quinn explores practical exercises to help you embrace joy in everyday life. Steven Petrow , author of “ The Joy You Make ” and a contributing columnist for The Post, shares how things like wandering without a destination and rediscovering play can open the door to more joy, even during life’s toughest moments. Steven helps you learn how to cultivate joy through presence and curiosity, the transformative power of “getting lost” to ...
Dec 19, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2
Happiness, it turns out, comes down to a science — even though what makes each of us happy can vary pretty widely. Host Cristina Quinn talks to happiness scientist Emiliana Simon-Thomas, science director at UC-Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center , about exactly what makes us happy and how much of our sense of joy is within our control. Drawing from the science of happiness, Emiliana explains that happiness isn’t about chasing fleeting positive emotions, but rather it’s about fostering an over...
Dec 17, 2024•13 min•Season 6Ep. 1
The electoral college has served as the system to elect U.S. presidents since the earliest days of the country. And while it has evolved over the years, Americans still use this complex representative system to choose their country’s leaders. The system, however, is not without its flaws — and many have pushed for alternatives over the years. In the third class about how the electoral college works, host Cristina Quinn talks with historian Alex Keyssar about potential alternatives to the way the...
Oct 17, 2024•12 min•Season 5Ep. 3
In the second class in our series about how the electoral college works, host Cristina Quinn talks to historian Alex Keyssar of the Harvard Kennedy School about the compromises that drove the Founding Fathers to land on a complex, winner-takes-all system rather than a straightforward popular vote. Keyssar walks listeners through the evolution of our voting system in the years following the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, and how things like electoral vote ties, the introduction of p...
Oct 17, 2024•12 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Remembering all the complex details of how the electoral college works is not exactly easy. And just when you’ve mastered how it all adds up, you probably won’t need to think about it again for another four years — hardly a formula for cementing something in your brain. “Try This” host Cristina Quinn is here to help. The first class in our three-part series on the electoral college explains how the system works, the complicated way electoral votes are assigned and awarded, and what happens...
Oct 17, 2024•14 min•Season 5Ep. 1
The team behind “Try This” is dedicated to helping listeners learn new things, in ways that feel doable. So we're sharing a recent “Post Reports” episode about how polling works. On this episode of The Washington Post’s daily news podcast, “Post Reports,” Martine Powers speaks with The Post’s deputy polling director, Emily Guskin. Emily explains how a poll comes to be, details what to look for when trying to understand whether a poll is trustworthy, and breaks down once and for all what “margin ...
Oct 09, 2024•28 min
Humans have a tendency to interpret information and experiences in ways that support our existing beliefs. Host Cristina Quinn returns to clinical psychologist Natalie Dattilo-Ryan to understand how you can change long-held beliefs by using confirmation bias in your favor. Datillo-Ryan explains how to identify a belief about the type of person you want to be and then figure out steps you can take to support that goal. For more on how to make affirmations work for you, read this from The Post’s A...
Sep 17, 2024•13 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Affirmations help buffer stress and can make you emotionally and mentally stronger. Host Cristina Quinn talks to clinical psychologist Natalie Dattilo-Ryan about what kinds of affirmations are most effective. She lays out an exercise to help get you started with identifying the right kinds of statements to shore up your sense of self. Next, Cristina dives into research on affirmations and stress levels with Carnegie Mellon University psychology and neuroscience professor David Creswell. Creswell...
Sep 10, 2024•15 min•Season 4Ep. 1
In the last class in our course on how to enjoy cooking more, we bring you everything and the kitchen sink. From reliable shortcuts and suggestions for the most essential pantry staples, this class has all the scraps and tasty morsels that could have been left on the cutting-room floor but are too good to miss. For more on the relationship between food, cooking and mental health, read Mary Beth Albright’s book “ Eat and Flourish. ” Find more than 10,000 recipes – sortable by cuisine,...
Jul 18, 2024•11 min•Season 3Ep. 4
In the third class in our course on how to enjoy cooking more, we focus on reframing the way we think about the task. Food writer and finalist on “Food Network Star,” Mary Beth Albright, offers advice on how to understand cooking as less of an item on your to-do list and more of an act for you that can nourish your well-being in ways that are worth recognizing. Mary Beth lays out ways that the process of cooking has benefits for our mental and emotional health through meditative tasks, appreciat...
Jul 11, 2024•10 min•Season 3Ep. 3
In the second class of our course about ways to enjoy the daily task of preparing meals, we make the case for revisiting what you know. Washington Post food and dining editor Joe Yonan, along with recipes editor Becky Krystal and food writer Aaron Hutcherson, explain how building a repertoire can be a useful way to take the drudgery out of cooking, put it on a bit of autopilot and build up your kitchen confidence. Host Cristina Quinn helps listeners identify recipes that resonate, master them th...
Jul 04, 2024•11 min•Season 3Ep. 2
In the first class in our course on how to enjoy cooking more, host Cristina Quinn teams up with the Washington Post food team to uncover tips for identifying your kitchen personality. Food and dining editor Joe Yonan, food writer and recipe developer Aaron Hutcherson and recipes editor Becky Krystal identify how to apply personality characteristics — like a tendency to tinker or an adherence to rules — to your cooking experience. The process can make preparing a meal more personalized and there...
Jun 27, 2024•13 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In the third and final class of our course on how to make the most of your friendships, we offer guidance for what to do when things go wrong. Making friendships work requires adjusting expectations, having difficult conversations and sometimes deciding when parting ways is for the best. This class unpacks practical tips for doing each of these things, with guidance from Washington Post advice columnist Carolyn Hax and friendship expert Danielle Bayard Jackson. For more advice on how to navigate...
Apr 16, 2024•13 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In Class 2 of our course on friendship, you’ll learn how to get out of your comfort zone when it comes to fostering new friendships and resuscitating old ones. Cristina talks to Washington Post advice columnist Carolyn Hax about doable ways to make real-life connections at a time when technology makes that seem hard. Friendship expert Danielle Bayard Jackson makes the case that spending time with friends can be as simple as some shared errands. And Bob Waldinger is back to explain how we don’t a...
Apr 09, 2024•11 min•Season 2Ep. 2
In the first class of our course on making the most of your friendships, host Cristina Quinn learns what it means to be socially fit — and why it’s never too late to start getting those reps in. Cristina talks to Bob Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development — the longest longitudinal study on human happiness — about why friendships matter for our health and what we can do to assess our connections. He gives practical advice for how to take stock of, reinvest in or rethink ou...
Apr 02, 2024•14 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In the fifth and final class of our course on how to get better sleep, we focus on melatonin. Researchers found that melatonin use in the United States more than quintupled between 1999 and 2018. You might know someone who swears by melatonin or maybe you yourself do. But does it work? What do we know about how effective melatonin supplements are, and what does it mean for helping you get better sleep? Cristina unpacks the research and helps you determine if melatonin is the right choice for you...
Dec 26, 2023•14 min•Season 1Ep. 5
In class 4 of our course on how to get better sleep, Cristina and sleep expert Lisa Strauss explore the concept of sleep drive. Counterintuitively, sometimes you need to increase your need for sleep, even if you’re exhausted already. Lisa Strauss explains a technique called sleep compression, where you limit your sleep opportunity to a more sustainable quantity – and you just might find the sweet spot for the amount that best suits your body over the long-term. What does this have to do with piz...
Dec 19, 2023•10 min•Season 1Ep. 4
In class 3 of our course about how to get better sleep, we dig in on a moment most of us are familiar with – waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep. Sometimes our default setting is to keep thinking our endless thoughts, but, it turns out, what we really need is a distraction. And you want to make sure to find the right kind of distraction – one that requires little to no thinking or mental commitment. Cristina explores tips on how to do that and an accessory...
Dec 12, 2023•9 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Lying awake at night, ruminating over stuff that bothers you is not fun. But it’s normal! We’ve all done it and it can get in the way of the rest you need. In class 2 of our course on how to sleep better, Cristina walks us through how trying to suppress your difficult feelings from popping up at night might be counterproductive. Sleep expert Lisa Strauss explains a technique for identifying and changing negative thought patterns. Consider this an exercise in compartmentalizing – a technique for ...
Dec 05, 2023•8 min•Season 1Ep. 2
In this first class of our course on how to get better sleep, host Cristina Quinn outlines why trying to get yourself to sleep can sometimes be a barrier to getting rest. But if we shouldn't will ourselves to sleep, what should we do instead? Cristina talks to an expert with a clear plan for how to tackle anxiety at bedtime by taking some tangible steps during the day. If you’d like additional resources, here are some columns from sleep expert Lisa Strauss who is featured in this episode: ...
Dec 05, 2023•9 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Meet The Washington Post’s Cristina Quinn, who is always game to try something new. She is your guide in “Try This” — a new series of audio courses from The Post that will provide quick, fresh and practical approaches to tackling the kind of hurdles we all face: how to sleep better, get the most out of our relationships, get out of our own way and more. Follow “Try This” now so you catch the first course when it drops Tuesday, Dec. 5....
Nov 16, 2023•2 min
