PODCAST · education
Bountifull Podcast
by Siân Simpson
Bountifull is a personal growth and wellbeing podcast exploring how to live a joyful and meaningful life. Through conversations with interesting people from diverse backgrounds, we explore psychology, science, resilience and practical wisdom for living a good life.
Episodes
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What Does It Mean to Be a Good Person? with philosopher Denise Vigani
What does it actually mean to be a good person? And can we learn to become one? In this episode of Bountifull, I’m joined by philosopher Denise Vigani to explore Aristotle’s virtue ethics and the relationship between being a good person and living a good life. Denise challenges the idea that...
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The Nervous System, Dopamine and Why Everything Feels Harder with Brittany McNabb
So much of the health and wellness conversation starts with what we should do: eat differently, train more, sleep better, follow the plan and somehow find the discipline to keep doing it. But what if the plan isn’t the first thing we need to look at? In this conversation with Brittany McNabb, we…
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What Success Taught Me About Living Well with Alliv Samson
Alliv Samson has spent more than a decade building Kami, the education company she co-founded at university, into a global platform used by more than 70 million people. Along the way came enormous growth, motherhood, a partial exit and the chance to experience what life looks like when some of…
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80 Conversations Later: A New Chapter for Bountifull with Sian Simpson
Something new is beginning at Bountifull. For more than two years, I’ve been having conversations with people around the world exploring a simple question: how do we actually live a good life? More than 80 conversations later, I’ve learnt an enormous amount. Along the way, I’ve started to see...
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How Demographics Shape Your Life with Paul Spoonley
In this episode, I sit down with sociologist and demographer Paul Spoonley to explore how the population changes already underway could shape the life you’re able to build in the decades ahead. We’re living longer, having fewer children, becoming more culturally diverse and concentrating more of...
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How to Get Healthier Without Shrinking Your Life with Brittany McNabb
This week on Bountifull, I’m joined by Brittany McNabb for the first in a four-part series exploring health, wellbeing, food and fitness from a very different angle. Brittany is a personal trainer with a background spanning psychology, business, psychotherapy, nutrition, meditation and behaviour...
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Past Lives, Reincarnation and the Search for Meaning with Shirley Johnson
What if some of the things we struggle to understand about ourselves have roots we can’t easily explain? In this episode of the Bountifull Podcast, I sit down with Shirley Johnson, a journalist, astrologer, tarot reader and past life regression therapist who has spent more than four decades...
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AI’s Perspective on Living a Bountiful Life (with Claude)
This week on Bountifull, I’m doing something a little different. My guest is Claude, Anthropic’s AI assistant. After more than 80 conversations exploring what it means to live a Bountifull life, I wanted to ask AI the same central question. Not because AI has lived experience, but because it has...
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A Mayor’s Guide to Making a Bountiful Contribution with Jeff Williams
Jeff Williams is the former mayor of Arlington, Texas, a civil engineer, business leader and author of The Unity Blueprint. After leading one of the most diverse cities in America, he believes a richer life begins not with what we accumulate, but with what we contribute. In this episode, Jeff...
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The Missing Ingredient of a Good Life with Lorraine Besser
We spend so much of our lives chasing happiness. But happiness naturally comes and goes, and it was never meant to be the only measure of a good life. In this episode, I sit down with philosopher Lorraine Besser to explore what happiness misses and why we also need meaning and psychological...
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A Ten Out of Ten Life: Lou Sanson on Antarctica, Conservation and Daily Joy
What can a lifetime spent protecting some of the world’s most extraordinary places teach us about how to live? In part two of my conversation with Lou Sanson, we travel from Antarctica to the highest levels of New Zealand’s conservation system — and into the lessons Lou gathered through a life of...
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What It Means to Truly Show Up in Life with Marcy Axelrod
What if the way you show up in every moment, at work, at home, with strangers, is shaping not just your life, but the lives of hundreds of people you'll never meet? In this episode of the Bountifull Podcast, Sian sits down with bestselling author, 2x TEDx speaker and researcher Marcy Axelrod to...
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How to Build a Life Around What Makes You Feel Alive with Lou Sanson
What happens when a childhood spent exploring wild places becomes the work of an entire life? In part one of this two-part conversation, I’m joined by Lou Sanson, one of New Zealand’s most influential conservation leaders. Lou grew up on the West Coast of New Zealand, learning to cross rivers,...
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The Space Between Who You Were and Who You Are Becoming with Andy Johns
What happens when the life you worked so hard to build no longer fits? In this episode, I’m joined by Andy Johns for a deep and honest conversation about the valley between two mountains — the liminal space between who you were and who you are yet to become. Andy spent 17 years in Silicon Valley...
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Why a Harvard Professor Blows Bubbles at Strangers
Most of us are building lives we are not fully present for. We optimise, produce, tick things off and tell ourselves we will get to the good stuff once things calm down. But things rarely calm down. They speed up. And one day you look around and realise your kids have stopped coming to you, your...
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How to Stay Human on the Internet with Renée DiResta
In this episode, I’m joined by Renée DiResta, Associate Research Professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and author of Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality, who studies social media, online manipulation, AI, misinformation, and how messages move...
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Clearing the Fear and Dismantling Limiting Beliefs with Marley Rose Harris
In this episode, I’m joined by Marley Rose Harris, founder of the Higher Self app and creator of the Clear the Fear method. I wanted to speak to Marley because I was interested in how she works with fear. Where it starts, how it gets stored, and why it can keep showing up in decisions around…
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Playing the Hand You're Dealt with Holly Cardew
In this episode, I’m joined by Holly Cardew, an Australian entrepreneur, founder and friend of mine, for a conversation about ambition, self-belief, work, independence and what it means to build a life that actually feels like your own. Holly has always had a very practical kind of confidence.…
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Inside the Mind of Award Winning Documentary Maker Christopher Seward
In this episode, I'm joined by Christopher Seward, a documentary filmmaker and editor whose work includes Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko, Ariel Phenomenon (UFOs), One Child Nation, and more than 40 documentary films. Christopher edited top-grossing documentaries including Fahrenheit 9/11, winner of the...
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How to Build a More Adaptable Nervous System with Dr Aarti Soorya
In this episode, Dr Aarti Soorya explores the nervous system not as something to “fix,” but as something to understand, listen to, and work with. Aarti trained as a physician, became chief resident, and then moved into functional medicine after feeling that conventional medicine was missing...
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Play is the Compass with Denise Chapman Weston
Denise Chapman Weston is a Playologist, therapist, inventor, and deeply imaginative thinker whose work invites us to look again at one of the most misunderstood parts of being human: play. In Part 2 of this conversation, Denise takes us beyond the story of her own childhood promise and into the...
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Never Stop Playing with Denise Chapman Weston
Denise Chapman Weston is a Playologist, therapist, inventor, and deeply imaginative thinker whose life has been shaped by a promise she made to herself as a child: never stop playing. In Part 1 of this conversation, Denise shares the origin story behind that promise. Growing up in Chicago with a...
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Don't Give Up On Old People: Why I'm Not Done Yet with Andrew Middleton
For a lot of people, getting older does not feel like winding down. It feels like being pushed to the edges before you are ready. In this episode, Andrew Middleton shares what happened after a LinkedIn post about turning 66 unexpectedly resonated with thousands of people who felt exactly the…
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How to Build a Healthy Relationship with Eri Kardos
In this episode of the Bountifull Podcast, I’m joined by Eri Kardos, a relationship coach and founder of Relearn Love, for a practical and honest conversation about what it actually takes to build healthy, connected relationships. Eri challenges the idea that we should instinctively know how to…
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The Human Side of Work with Carylynn Larson
In this episode of the Bountifull Podcast, I’m joined by Carylynn Larson, an organizational psychologist, executive coach, and mental health advocate, for a deeply important conversation about mental health in the workplace, stigma, leadership, and what it really means to create environments…
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Why a Good Life Cannot Be Rushed: The Power of Slow with Carl Honoré
This week on the Bountifull Podcast, I sit down with Carl Honoré, the bestselling author who helped bring the Slow Movement into the mainstream, for a conversation that feels deeply timely. We explore why so many of us are rushing through our lives, where our obsession with speed actually comes...
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Astrology, Astrocartography, and Finding Where You Thrive with Steve Judd
This week on the Bountifull Podcast, I sit down with astrologer Steve Judd for a conversation that goes far beyond horoscopes, stereotypes, or who should date a Libra. Steve has spent more than four decades reading charts and helping people understand themselves through the lens of astrology. In...
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Three Startups, One Big Pivot and the Power of Changing Your Mind
“Find things that you’re passionate about and go and work on those.” In this episode, Michael Fox shares the story behind Fable and the journey that brought him to the world of mushrooms, food innovation, and purpose-driven business. We talk about entrepreneurship, the lessons he’s learnt across...
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How Music Helps Us Feel, Heal and Connect with Emily Polichette
“Music is one of the most powerful tools we have, and most of us aren’t tapping into what it can actually do.” Music surrounds us every day—on the radio, in our headphones, in the background of our lives. But what is it actually doing to our brains, our emotions, and our bodies? In this...
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Life After Trauma with Dr. Thea Comeau
What happens after trauma? Western culture often gives us a binary: move on or stay broken. In this episode, psychologist Dr. Thea Comeau offers a more nuanced and humane alternative: integration. We explore post-traumatic growth not as a neat redemption story, and not as a requirement, but as a...
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How to Build a Great Career Without Following the Rules with Mallun Yen
“Sometimes not knowing the rules is the thing that lets you see what’s possible.” Mallun Yen’s life and career have been shaped by not quite fitting the mould — and learning to see that as an advantage. Growing up as the daughter of immigrants, Mallun often felt like an outsider. She spent years...
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What Nature Teaches Us About Living a Good Life with Holli-Anne Passmore
“Notice the nature around you — and take time to just be.” In this conversation, Holli-Anne Passmore explores the powerful relationship between nature, wellbeing, and meaning in life. Her work focuses on how small, everyday interactions with the natural world can shift how we feel, think, and...
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Beyond the Money: How to Thrive in Retirement with Klay Williams
When full-time work ends, the daily structure and identity that came with it shifts, sometimes in ways people don’t anticipate. In this conversation, Klay Williams shares what he’s learned from coaching people through this transition, including insights from a documentary series following three...
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Men’s Health, Hormones, and Emotional Wellbeing with Jed Diamond
We talk a lot about women’s cycles — hormonal, emotional, seasonal — but rarely about men’s. In this episode, Jed Diamond helps bring men into the conversation. With over 50 years of experience working with men and families, Jed explains how men move through powerful biological and emotional...
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Shame, Guilt, and the Stories We Tell Ourselves with Magenta Silberman
In this episode of the Bountifull Podcast, we explore the often-hidden role of shame and stigma in shaping how we live, relate, and see ourselves — and why understanding them is essential to living a truly bountiful life. Through a thoughtful, grounded conversation with clinical psychologist...
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How Better Sleep Changes Your Mood, Mind, and Ability to Feel Joy
In this episode, Michael Breus, widely known as The Sleep Doctor, explores why sleep is not just a health habit, but the foundation of how we feel, think, and experience life. Michael explains that sleep underpins our ability to experience joy, regulate emotions, focus, and build resilience. When...
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Why Gut Health Affects Everything with Cheryl Sew Hoy
In this episode, Cheryl Sew Hoy explains how gut health affects immunity, mental health, hormones, and resilience, drawing on both microbiome science and her own experience building Tiny Health. She shares how a deeply personal journey into motherhood led her to rethink gut health as a foundation...
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A Life of Hunting, Fishing and Adventure with Tasman Denize of NZ Wild Adventures
In this episode of the Bountifull Podcast, we sit down with Tasman Denize, the creator behind NZ Wild Adventures, to talk about life lived close to the land - hunting, fishing, boating, camping, and many very remote solo adventures. Raised in the remote Marlborough Sounds, Tasman grew up with...
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From Small-Town NZ to World Rally Stardom: Hayden Paddon on Grit, Purpose, and Performance
Hayden Paddon is one of the world’s top rally drivers, but this conversation goes well beyond motorsport. It’s about what happens inside a person when the pressure is high, the stakes are real, and nothing is guaranteed. Hayden grew up around racing and has spent most of his life pushing cars —…
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Saying No: Dr. Sunita Sah on Defiance, Compliance, and the Psychology of Approval
What if defiance wasn’t a flaw, but a skill? In this episode, Dr. Sunita Sah—physician, behavioural scientist, and author of Defy—shares how reclaiming agency and redefining what it means to say “no” can change the trajectory of our lives. Raised to equate goodness with compliance, Sunita’s…
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The Power of Contribution with Dr Alia Bojilova
What if the simplest acts of giving could transform your confidence, resilience, and sense of purpose? In this inspiring episode, resilience psychologist Dr Alia Bojilova shares why contribution—small acts of meaningful generosity—can profoundly shape our lives, communities, and well-being.…
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Lessons from a NASA Scientist on Curiosity, Failure, and Staying the Course
“So much of what’s meaningful about science is the process of discovering something that nobody else knew.” What can the universe teach us about being human? For astrophysicist and NASA program scientist Joshua Pepper, the answer lies in curiosity, contribution, and learning to sit with the...
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Letting Go of Shoulds and Building Confidence with Former Athlete Zara Jillings
“I wanted more stuff that felt like it was mine.” Zara Jilling’s life has been defined by excellence — elite basketballer, top of her class, and a rising force in AI. But behind the accolades is a story of transition, questioning, and quiet reinvention. In this episode, she opens up about the...
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Curiosity, Compassion, Cosmos: A NASA Engineer’s Story of Resilience
“There isn’t one rote path that you have to take to reach a goal... it’s okay to meander a little bit and live life and kind of explore.” For Agnar Hall, the journey to NASA wasn’t linear—it was layered. In this episode, he opens up about stepping away from a PhD, working at Starbucks while…
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How to Build Passive Income and Become a Multi-Millionaire with Investor Pascal Wagner
“A bountiful life is driven by action, not by money.” — Pascal Wagner What does it really mean to be financially free—and how do you know when you have enough? In this powerful conversation, Pascal Wagner shares his journey from startup founder to investor, unpacking the mindset, strategies, and...
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Knowledge, Power and the Female Internet with Emma Bates
What do you build when the world around you wasn’t designed with you in mind? For Emma Bates, the answer was Diem - a social search engine and online community where women’s lived experiences are turned into collective knowledge and wisdom. In this week’s episode of the Bountifull Podcast, we sit...
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What Soul Food, Faith, and History Teach Us About Identity and Belonging
"Food is a bridge. It's one of the few places where people let their guard down and are open to learning something new." — Adrian Miller This week on the Bountifull Podcast, we sit down with Adrian Miller—lawyer, author, former White House advisor, and James Beard Award-winning soul food...
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Why Social Connection Is Essential to a Bountiful Life with Julianne Holt-Lunstad
This week on the Bountifull Podcast, we’re joined by Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor of psychology and neuroscience, and one of the world’s leading researchers on social connection. Julianne’s work has shaped global public health policy and sparked a deeper understanding of why our...
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What Depression Teaches Us About Brain Health, Gratitude, and Healing
This week on the Bountifull Podcast, we’re joined by Dr. Kristin Francis, psychiatrist, educator, and passionate advocate for brain health. In this honest and practical conversation, we explore the spectrum of mental health—from depression and anxiety to resilience and wellness—and how we can…
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How to Live a Bountiful Life in a Capitalist World with Professor Dirk Philipsen
This week on the Bountifull Podcast, we’re joined by Dirk Philipsen, Duke professor, economic historian, and one of the world’s leading thinkers on capitalism and well-being. In a world where burnout, inequality, and the pressure to grow at all costs feel ever-present, this conversation gives…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Bountifull is a personal growth and wellbeing podcast exploring how to live a joyful and meaningful life. Through conversations with interesting people from diverse backgrounds, we explore psychology, science, resilience and practical wisdom for living a good life.
HOSTED BY
Siân Simpson
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Bountifull Podcast have?
Bountifull Podcast currently has 78 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Bountifull Podcast about?
Bountifull is a personal growth and wellbeing podcast exploring how to live a joyful and meaningful life. Through conversations with interesting people from diverse backgrounds, we explore psychology, science, resilience and practical wisdom for living a good life.
How often does Bountifull Podcast release new episodes?
Bountifull Podcast has 78 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Bountifull Podcast?
You can listen to Bountifull Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Bountifull Podcast?
Bountifull Podcast is created and hosted by Siân Simpson.
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