PODCAST · education
Simplify
by Kollo Media, Caitlin Schiller
Simplify is a podcast for anyone who’s taken a look at their habits, their happiness, their relationships, or their health and thought, “There’s got to be a better way to do this.” Join Caitlin Schiller and Ben Schuman-Stoler for conversations with authors and thinkers you know—and some you might not, yet—that sit at the intersection of reading, thinking, and daily life.Simplify is now independently owned by Caitlin Schiller and Ben Schuman-Stoler.
Episodes
-
The Keys to Longevity - and Bryan Johnson's Diagnosis
Do you want to live forever? Bryan Johnson - the gazillionaire tech entrepreneur who started the "don't die" movement - created headlines (and some schadenfreude giggles) when he announced he was diagnosed with autoimmune gastritis, which is incurable. The don't die website says: "We are at war...
-
What You Need to Understand from Economics with Planet Money's Alex Mayyasi
If you’ve ever listened to NPR’s Planet Money, you know the vibe: They take dense, eye-glazing economic theories and turn them into cinematic, human-driven stories. Whether following a t-shirt across the global supply chain, buying a barrel of crude oil, or creating a shell company, Planet Money...
-
EXTRA: How to Get Unstuck Creatively
What do you do when you're not feeling creative? What do people like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jenny Slate, and James Acaster do? In this third installment of our new a/v format - EXTRA - Caitlin drives. Sparked by a supercut episode of Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out podcast, she asks Ben what he…
more -
Raising Boys Who Can Feel Things with Ruth Whippman
What does a five-year-old boy learn from the word "buddy"? When Ruth Whippman started shopping around a book about boys in 2021, publishers mostly shrugged—boys, surely, have it great. Ruth, a British journalist, former BBC documentary-maker, and raising three boys, suspected masculinity was full...
-
Simplify EXTRA: The Human Premium
Why do commencement speeches suck so often? That's easy. They suck when the speaker is out of touch with their audience - new graduates. That's why legendary ones like from David Foster Wallace and George Saunders and Steve Jobs are so good, because they balance personal experience in a way that...
-
Heather Widdows: Pretty Privilege Is Real
When did "I resolve to be a better person" get replaced with "I resolve to tone my arms" in the register of resolutions? For a long time, philosophy treated caring about how you look as proof you weren't serious. Heather Widdows, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick, thinks...
-
NEW FORMAT EP1: Nobody Calls a Horse Ugly for Being Large
What if the fastest way out of the beauty standard is deciding you're a horse? This is the first of a new thing. On the weeks there's no interview, Caitlin and Ben take turns bringing each other one idea they found out in the world – a new term, a newsletter, a cultural weather system – and turn…
more -
Joanna Walsh: Amateurs Made The Internet
What did you make on the internet, back before anyone was paying you to? This time around, Ben takes the interview chair. He's talking with Joanna Walsh, writer, artist, arts activist, author of twelve books, several of them co-written with AIs she coded herself (badly and on purpose <3). Her new...
-
Nicola Guess: How To Tell What's BS in Wellness
What if almost everything you're doing to "optimize" your health is, at best, doing nothing at all? Caitlin sits down with Dr. Nicola Guess—dietitian, Oxford nutrition scientist, and quite possibly the best BS detector in the wellness space. She studies blood sugar and diabetes for a living and...
-
Christine Armstrong: AI is Messier Than You're Told
AI replacing our colleagues, feeling lonelier than ever despite enforced physical presense at the office. What is going on with the workplace? Caitlin sits down with Christine Armstrong, researcher, author, and founder of Armstrong & Partners, who has spent years doing something refreshingly...
-
Dr. Yoni Freedhoff: There Is No Ideal Weight
Diets fail us all the time, and yet we usually blame ourselves. This physician says that neither the blame nor the failure are necessary. In the episode, Caitlin sits down with Dr. Yoni Freedhoff—Canadian physician, obesity expert, and one of the first doctors in his country board-certified in...
-
Caitlin & Ben: Milestones & Updates
10,000 downloads a month. 11 episodes. 6 months of independence. Caitlin and Ben sit down for a bonus episode to talk about where Simplify has been and where it's going. They bought the show back from Blinkist at the end of last year, set some ambitious goals, and hit all of them. This episode is…
more -
Amy Morin: 50 Plays for Your Worst Day at Work
What if the thing standing between you and a better day at work isn't a new habit—but just knowing which play to run? Amy Morin is the psychotherapist behind the 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do series, which has sold over a million copies and sparked one of the most-watched TEDx talks…
more -
Deb Caulet: Essential Leadership Skills for the Age of AI
What happens in the gap between updating your LinkedIn title and actually knowing how to do the job? Caitlin sits down with Deborah Caulet—leadership coach, former VP of People at Blinkist, and someone who's spent 15 years helping leaders figure out what they're doing (and why they feel like they...
-
Dr. Arielle Schwartz: Your Body Knows Before Your Brain Does
What if the part of you that knows what's actually wrong isn't your brain? This week on Simplify, Caitlin sits down with Dr. Arielle Schwartz—clinical psychologist, somatic therapy expert, and author of more books than seems reasonable for one person—to talk about what your body has been trying…
more -
Angela Natividad: Meet The God Inside Capitalism
What if the stories running your life aren't really yours? This week on Simplify, Caitlin talks with Angela Natividad: a mythologist, writer, and advertising veteran—a trifecta that turns out to be the perfect preparation for the argument she makes in her book Remember His Name: Unmasking the...
-
Nani Jansen Reventlow: How To Actually Change The World
A loss isn't always a loss—sometimes, it's one of many stepping stones towards winning big. When you change how you think about what succeeding looks like, the long game of changing the systems we live in seems infinitely more doable. This week on Simplify, Caitlin speaks with international human...
-
Guy Winch: First Aid for Your Work Life
Most of us have gotten up on a Monday morning and thought: I simply cannot do this today. Our job is grinding us down in that slow, invisible way that work does when we're not managing it well. Psychotherapist, author, and podcast host Guy Winch has spent his career sitting with people who have...
-
David Richo: Better Than Revenge
What if getting back at someone isn't as satisfying as we think—and what we're really trying to avoid is grief? This week on Simplify, Caitlin speaks with psychotherapist, teacher, and author David Richo about his book Sweeter Than Revenge, which makes the case that there's a better way to…
more -
Christabel Mintah-Galloway: The Lost Relational Skill
Most of us have no idea what it means to repair harm, not just apologize for it. We also regard rage as frightening and out of place in loving, connected relationships. It takes a special person to demystify these staticky aspects of human relating—and we found her. This week on Simplify, Caitlin...
-
Jane Borden: Cults and the American Monomyth
What if the United States wasn’t just influenced by cult-like thinking, but shaped by it from the very beginning? This week on Simplify, Caitlin Schiller speaks with journalist and author Jane Borden, whose book Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America explores how cult dynamics show…
more -
Seth Godin: Make Better Plans (and How to Beat AI)
Strategy. It can sound abstract, intimidating, and vaguely corporate. So who better to help demystify it than Seth Godin? Seth returns to Simplify to talk about his book This Is Strategy, and to reframe strategy not as a rigid plan or a set of tactics, but as a philosophy of becoming. In this...
-
Elinor Cleghorn: The Sacrifices Behind Women's Health
Simplify is back! When you leave the doctor with a protocol for what ails you, do you wonder where the knowledge behind your prescription came from? In fact, we know how to treat today's woes thanks to the bodies of people who suffered—and nowhere is that data more inexact and editorialized than…
more -
Kathryn Mannix: How to Die Well (Refresh)
Simplify is back on January 12, 2026! We’ve got a new look, we’re independent now, and we can’t wait to share new episodes with you every other Monday from January 12th onward. This episode features one of Caitlin's favorite-ever interviews, with Kathryn Mannix. To warm you up, we’re reissuing 5…
more -
Liz Fosslien: Work With Your Emotions (Refresh)
Simplify is back on January 12, 2026! We’ve got a new look, we’re independent now, and we can’t wait to share new episodes with you every other Monday from January 12th onward. This episode features Liz Fosslien. To warm you up, we’re reissuing 5 of our favorite episodes. So, catch up on the…
more -
Eli Finkel: Marriage Is Dead, Long Live Marriage (Refresh)
Simplify is back on January 12, 2026! We’ve got a new look, we’re independent now, and we can’t wait to share new episodes with you every other Monday from January 12th onward. This episode features Eli Finkel, and it's one of our personal favorites. To warm you up, we’re reissuing 5 of our...
-
Tiffany Dufu: Do What You Do Best, Drop The Rest (Refresh)
Simplify is back on January 12, 2026! We’ve got a new look, we’re independent now, and we can’t wait to share new episodes with you every other Monday from January 12th onward. To warm you up, we’re reissuing 5 of our favorite episodes. So, catch up on the great ideas you might’ve missed and get...
-
David Allen: Your Brain is Not a Hard Drive (Refresh)
Simplify is back on January 12, 2026! We’ve got a new look, we’re independent now, and we can’t wait to share new episodes with you every other Monday from January 12th onward. To warm you up, we’re reissuing 5 of our favorite episodes. So, catch up on the great ideas you might’ve missed and get...
-
Rhaina Cohen: Center Friendship and Thrive
You know a magical connection when you feel it—that undeniable magnetism that pulls you together for a fit that's as much like home as it is an adventure. We see these sorts of connections in romcoms all the time, but they're not just relegated to the romcom realm. Magical connections happen in...
-
Michelle Weise: Be a Skills Translator, AI-proof Your Future
Here's a chilling thought: experts are saying that we may soon be sustaining 100-year work lives. If that's true, then how many careers might we have? How will we know where to upskill? And how will we keep bagged lunches interesting for so many years? Michelle R. Weise, researcher and author of...
-
Jessica DeFino: Beauty Beyond the Bottle
Today, our guest is an award-winning beauty reporter and critic whom you might have stumbled upon while reading her super popular newsletter, The Unpublishable, which, as HuffPost says, "basically gives the middle finger to the entire beauty industry." Writing about what the beauty industry won’t...
-
Dhiraj Mukherjee: Optimism Defines the Future
This week's episode of Simplify brings you a special collaboration: a conversation with Dhiraj Mukherjee, who is not only the entrepreneur behind Shazam (the app we all love and use so much!), but also a devoted impact investor focused on social good. Drawing from his experience at Shazam, Dhiraj...
-
Cole Kazdin: Health is Not a Size
Although we're at the tail end of 2024's symbolic new beginning, we're still confronted with the flood of discounted "detoxes," "cleanses," gym promotions touting a "New Year, new you," and the latest buzzword, "resets." Despite our desire to think that fad diets are relics of the past and that…
more -
Acquired's David Rosenthal: 3 Secrets of the World's Most Successful Businesses
Today, we bring you Simplify's first ever crossover episode with the #1 Technology show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: Acquired! For nearly 9 years David Rosenthal—today's guest—and his co-host Ben have been sharing the strategies and history of 200+ of the world's most successful businesses.…
more -
Amy Key: Romance Isn't Everything
In 1971, Joni Mitchell released Blue, an album teeming with stories of a life shaped by romance, desire, longing, and the default path of sharing life with another person. The ideal might persist to this day, but what happens if the romance we are told will give life meaning... never shows up?…
more -
Katherine Morgan Schafler: Perfectionism is a Gift
What do people mean when they say, 'I'm a perfectionist'? The colloquial and widespread opinion would sound like this: A perfectionist is someone who desires everything to be perfect at all times and becomes upset when things aren't perfect. This definition is often followed by the (generic)…
more -
Minaa B: Heal Through Connection
When we experience a traumatic event or decide to pursue healing, what often follows is the tendency to isolate and hide from the world. Shame, exclusion, and the feeling that no one understands remain intertwined with the term "healing." However, this can and should be different—and that 's the...
-
Steven Petrow: Get Old With Grace
We might say that “age is just a number,” but if we're really honest with ourselves, a lot of us still think of “old” people as stubborn hoarders who eat dinner (too) early and are forever talking about their aches and pains. Why is that? And could there be another way? These questions prompted...
-
Gustavo Razzetti: Adapt and Succeed in a Hybrid Workplace
In the post-pandemic era, the debate over whether or not to return to the office seems far from settled — and yet, the push to bring employees back to the office is growing more aggressive. Amazon issued a warning to staff not long ago. Google is factoring employees’ in-office attendance into…
more -
Elise Hu: Beauty is Personal and Political
Our obsession with beauty and appearance may be deeply rooted, but at this moment, things seem to be reaching a whole new level. Facetune and features like skin smoothing, jaw reduction, and eye enhancement that are standard on social apps like Snapchat, TikTok, and even Zoom, as well as the...
-
A Quick Note
Hi! We're taking a publication break this week. But never fear—we'll be back next week with a new full episode! And while we're here, could you please review Simplify on Apple Podcasts? New reviews help new listeners discover the show—which is good for everybody. So, if Simplify means something…
more -
Vanessa Gennarelli: Survive Change at Work
You were probably hired for your expertise in a certain domain: engineering, product management, paid marketing, or something else. But to be successful in an organization, there are other, secret skills outside your domain that nobody really teaches you—things like effectively communicating your...
-
Daniel Maté: Normal Is a Myth
The systems we live in suggest that a successful human life depends on denying pain, endless hustle, stress, and sustaining trauma—and making it all look easy. The only problem is that human nature objects. Psychological and physical suffering seem to be increasing while illness and trauma…
more -
Tawny Lara: Get Sober Curious
It's a rarely questioned societal norm: feeling bad/mad/disappointed/scared/anxious? A substance (like alcohol) will give you the courage to face it. This is even more true for dating and sex, where we use alcohol as our first line of defense to find the liquid courage to open up to someone. But...
-
Michael Bungay Stanier: Build Brave Work Relationships
So, what does it take to make the best working relationships? The same ingredients in any relationship, really: a big helping of bravery and the will to dig into deep conversations. There's more to it than that of course, and on this episode, Simplify favorite Michael Bungay Stanier takes Caitlin...
-
Stephanie Chandler: How to Get Your First Book Published
We are delighted to present a conversation with Stephanie Chandler, founder and CEO of the Nonfiction Authors Association and a successful author of several books, including The Nonfiction Book Publishing Plan and The Nonfiction Book Marketing Plan. In this episode, Stephanie shares her…
more -
Natalie Lue: Finally Stop People Pleasing
We're delighted to present a conversation with Natalie Lue, author of the wildly popular blog Baggage Reclaim (baggagereclaim.com) and five books, including the latest, "The Joy of Saying No," that will help you not only identify your people-pleasing style and habits, but also finally leave them...
-
Valerie Fridland: Use Bad English, Get Good Results
Have you ever listened back to a recording of your voice and cringed at the amount of 'um's' 'uh's' and 'like's' you use? In this episode, Valerie Fridland, linguist, researcher, and author of the book, 'Like, Literally, Dude' delves into the intricacies of speech habits and argues for the…
more -
Bob Glazer: Build 4 Capacities for Success
We're thrilled to present a dynamic conversation with Robert Glazer, bestselling author and transformative leadership expert. With deep insights drawn from his revolutionary book, 'Elevate Your Team', Glazer demystifies the four capacities essential to extraordinary team performance. In this...
-
Rick & Forrest Hanson: Mythbusting the Mind
We're kicking off Simplify's relaunch with our first-ever two person interview! This lively, probing conversation with Being Well's Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson—a bestselling author and psychologist and also Forrest's dad—digs into common misconceptions in the mental health and self-growth...
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
Simplify is a podcast for anyone who’s taken a look at their habits, their happiness, their relationships, or their health and thought, “There’s got to be a better way to do this.” Join Caitlin Schiller and Ben Schuman-Stoler for conversations with authors and thinkers you know—and some you might not, yet—that sit at the intersection of reading, thinking, and daily life.Simplify is now independently owned by Caitlin Schiller and Ben Schuman-Stoler.
HOSTED BY
Kollo Media, Caitlin Schiller
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Simplify have?
Simplify currently has 122 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Simplify about?
Simplify is a podcast for anyone who’s taken a look at their habits, their happiness, their relationships, or their health and thought, “There’s got to be a better way to do this.” Join Caitlin Schiller and Ben Schuman-Stoler for conversations with authors and thinkers you know—and some you might...
How often does Simplify release new episodes?
Simplify publishes regularly with 122 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Simplify?
You can listen to Simplify 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 Simplify?
Simplify is created and hosted by Kollo Media, Caitlin Schiller.
URL copied to clipboard!