Lessons learned from 12 years of serious meditation. Diego Perez is a meditator and #1 New York Times bestselling author who is widely known by his pen name, Yung Pueblo. His writing focuses on the power of self-healing, creating healthy relationships, and the wisdom that comes when we truly work on knowing ourselves. In this episode we talk about: How to burn off your mind’s conditioning The suffering that comes from clinging in a world characterized by relentless change What selfless listening...
Mar 12, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep 919•Transcript available on Metacast A Harvard doctor on how she went from stress patient to stress expert. Dr. Aditi Nerurkar is a Harvard stress expert, and the author of The 5 Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body For Less Stress and More Resilience . In this episode we talk about: Healthy stress vs. unhealthy stress The distinction between stress and burnout What Dr. Nerurkar calls, “toxic resilience” Finding quiet in a noisy world The relationship between scrolling and sleeping How to avoid “revenge nighttime procrastination” The...
Mar 10, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep 918•Transcript available on Metacast Dan and executive producer DJ Cashmere talk about how we’re putting “sanely ambitious” into action on our team; plus, an important update on how to listen to the podcast ad-free. In this episode we talk about: How rest and productivity are two sides of the same coin What psychological safety looks like on a small, creative team Having a “parking lot” for great ideas that we aren’t ready to do Other ways we’re navigating some big changes in our business Related episodes: Work Less, Get More Done ...
Mar 07, 2025•28 min•Ep 917•Transcript available on Metacast Secrets from the massively popular Stanford business school course on interpersonal hygiene. Carole Robin and David Bradford taught the most popular elective course at the Stanford Graduate School of Business for a combined total of 75 years. Officially, the name of the course is Interpersonal Dynamics, but everybody calls it “Touchy-Feely.” Together they have written the new book, Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues . We dive into the six hallmarks o...
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep 916•Transcript available on Metacast Why knowing your tendency can improve your life. Susan Cain is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking , and Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole . Her Kindred Letters newsletter is read by people in all 193 countries and all 50 American states. Join her at TheQuietLife.net . In this episode we talk about: How to know if you’re an introvert or extrovert The strengths of introversion – and how these can you no ...
Mar 03, 2025•57 min•Ep 915•Transcript available on Metacast What it is, how beginners can get a taste, the dangers of striving, and whether tech can make it easier. Dr. Matthew D. Sacchet, Ph.D ., is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Meditation Research Program at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General). Since 2012, he has authored more than 120 publications, presented more than 150 times at international, national, regional and local conferences and speaker series, and been cited more than 8,000 times. In th...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Ep 913•Transcript available on Metacast Featuring a meditation teacher, author, professor, and dedicated experimenter with these molecules. Jay Michaelson is a journalist, meditation teacher, rabbi, and professor of religious studies whose work for the last several years has been focused on psychedelics, meditation, and spirituality. Jay is a field scholar at Emory University’s Center for Psychedelics and Spirituality, and a fellow at Harvard Law School’s project on Psychedelic Use, Law, and Spiritual Experience. He is currently a vis...
Feb 24, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Ep 912•Transcript available on Metacast A node of sanity in these challenging times. Bill Weir is America’s leading climate reporter. His new book is a celebration of our planet and human brilliance. It is a hopeful plea for communities to rally around nature, new ideas and each other, to create the kind of resilience that lasts generations. In this episode we talk about: How a hotter earth is increasingly changing our lives Why some experts say the climate issue is half physics, half psychology How to work with feelings like rage and...
Feb 21, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep 911•Transcript available on Metacast One of my favorite episodes that we’ve recorded in a long while. Joseph Goldstein is a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies , both in Barre, Massachusetts. He is the author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening, A Heart Full of Peace, One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism, Insight Meditation and The Experience of Insight: A Simple and Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation. Joseph has studied and practiced meditation since 1967 under the...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep 910•Transcript available on Metacast What confidence does to your brain, why it helps with anxiety, and how to get it if you don't already have it. Plus, the problem with overconfidence. Ian Robertson is a Professor Emeritus in Psychology at Trinity College and was the founding director of Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience. He has written five books, the latest of which is called, How Confidence Works . In this episode we talk about: What confidence actually is How to boost confidence The dangers of overconfidence, and how ...
Feb 17, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep 909•Transcript available on Metacast A candid, useful, and hilarious conversation. Chodo Robert Campbell Sensei is a Zen teacher, bereavement specialist, grief counselor and a recognized leader for those suffering with the complexities of death & dying, aging, and sobriety. The educational non-profit he co-founded, the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care , touches thousands of lives every year through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices. Chodo has been featured in the Ne...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Ep 906•Transcript available on Metacast Why self-inquiry is the first ingredient to a healthy relationship. Jillian Turecki is a renowned relationship coach, teacher, author, and host of the podcast, Jillian On Love . Fueled by an insatiable curiosity about what makes a relationship thrive, Jillian has helped thousands over the last 20 years through her teachings, courses, and writing to revolutionize their relationship with themselves so that they transform their romantic relationships. In this episode we talk about: The difference b...
Feb 10, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep 905•Transcript available on Metacast Data-driven, dharma-informed, Dan-tested strategies for improving relationships of all kinds. In this episode we talk about: The value of having platonic friends in addition to your spouse or partner A key communication skill that Dan picked up from the writer and researcher Brené Brown How humor can help your relationships – and how it can hurt A cognitive reframe from couples therapist Esther Perel How to manage conflict in a healthy way And one of Dan’s favorite Saturday Night Live sketches: ...
Feb 07, 2025•27 min•Ep 903•Transcript available on Metacast Practical strategies for managing our emotional lives. Dr. Ethan Kross , author of the international bestseller Chatter , is one of the world’s leading experts on emotion regulation. An award-winning professor in the University of Michigan’s top ranked Psychology Department and its Ross School of Business, he is the Director of the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory. In this episode we talk about: What an emotion actually is The myth that we should only experience positive emotions Why sometime...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Ep 902•Transcript available on Metacast How your reliance on being liked, being comfortable, and being perfect is blocking you from making the change you want. Dr. Rangan Chatterjee is one of the most influential doctors in the UK with over two decades of experience. He now hosts Europe's biggest health podcast, Feel Better, Live More , he is the author of 5 Sunday Times bestsellers, he regularly appears on BBC television, national radio and his TED talk, How To Make Disease Disappear , has almost 6 million views. In this episode we t...
Feb 03, 2025•1 hr 20 min•Ep 901•Transcript available on Metacast A Buddhist doctor/nun on how we’re all addicted to something—and how to reduce craving. Sister Dang Nghiem, MD, (“Sister D”) was born in 1968 in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, the daughter of a Vietnamese mother and an American soldier. She lost her mother at the age of twelve and immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen with her brother. Living in various foster homes, she learned English and went on to earn a medical degree from the University of California – San Francisco. A...
Jan 29, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep 899•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 
