PODCAST · society
Unlocking Us with Brené Brown
by Vox Media Podcast Network
I’ve spent over 20 years studying the emotions and experiences that bring meaning and purpose to our lives, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s this: we are hardwired for connection, and connecting requires courage, vulnerability, and conversation. I want this to be a podcast that’s real, unpolished, honest, and reflects both the magic and the messiness of what it means to be human. Episodes will include conversations with the people who are teaching me, challenging me, confusing me, or maybe even ticking me off a little. I'll also have direct conversations with you about what I’m learning from new research, and we'll do some episodes dedicated to answering your questions. We don’t have to do life alone. We were never meant to. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Episodes
-
VP Kamala Harris on Courageous Leadership and Winning in 2024
A conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris about the strength and fragility of democracy, the power of strong coalitions and collaborations, and how a commitment to justice and fairness can both ground us and drive action. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Grief, Laughter, and Sisterhood: Losing Our Mom and Holding On to Each Other
The sisters are back and we're talking about loss, dementia, grief, and how we try to choose laughter and therapy over a fist fight when things get really tough. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Dr. Heather Cox Richardson on Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, Part 2 of 2
In Part 2 of my conversation with historian Dr. Heather Cox Richardson, we unpack the history and mythology that's driving some of the biggest issues in our country. Leaning into the power of narrative and story, she explains how democracies die more often through the ballot box than with guns…
more -
Dr. Heather Cox Richardson on Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, Part 1 of 2
In Part 1 of my conversation with historian Dr. Heather Cox Richardson, we talk about the current threats to American democracy, what's at stake in November, and how we can strengthen our country if we can find the political will. They say don’t meet your heroes, but I’m so glad I did — this is…
more -
Dr. Mary Claire Haver on the New Menopause
Dr. Mary Claire Haver is a board-certified OB/GYN who has helped thousands of women through perimenopause, menopause, and beyond. In this conversation, we discuss the power of unlearning and relearning and her ongoing fight for women’s health in every decade of their lives. We also talk about the...
-
Roxane Gay on “Stand Your Ground: A Black Feminist Reckoning with America’s Gun Problem”
I talk with one of my favorite cultural critics, Roxane Gay, about her long-form essay on Black gun ownership. We discuss how the gun industry frames women as victims in waiting and the importance of dismantling the trope of the “good man with a gun." We also delve into the societal cost of our...
-
Dr. Sarah Lewis on The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America
In this episode, Dr. Sarah Lewis joins me again to talk about her new book, The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America. With examples from her historical research, she walks me through the power of visual culture in generating equity and justice. We talk about how what we see and what’s...
-
Valarie Kaur on Sage Warrior: Wake to Oneness, Practice Pleasure, Choose Courage, Become Victory
Civil rights leader Valarie Kaur is building a movement to reclaim love as a force for justice, healing, and transformation in America. In this episode, we talk about what led Valarie to courageously explore Sikh ancestral wisdom, how her ancestors’ truths parallel what I’ve learned from the...
-
Brené and Barrett reflect on the "Living Beyond Human Scale" Podcast Series
In this episode Brené and Barrett discuss their learnings on AI and social media and some of their favorite nuggets from each of the guests in the series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Futurist Amy Webb on What's Coming (and What's Here)
Quantitative futurist Amy Webb talks to us about the three technologies that make up the "super cycle" that we're all living through right now: artificial intelligence, wearable devices, and biotechnology, and why, despite the unnerving change, we still need to do some serious future planning....
-
New York Times Journalists Jennifer Valentino-DeVries and Michael H. Keller on "A Marketplace of Girl Influencers Managed by Moms and Stalked by Men"
Brené interviews New York Times journalists Jennifer Valentino-DeVries and Michael H. Keller, who talk about their investigation into girl influencers and what's driving the larger influencer culture across social media. This is the fourth episode in our series on the possibilities and costs of...
-
Dr. S. Craig Watkins on Why AI’s Potential to Combat or Scale Systemic Injustice Still Comes Down to Humans
In this episode, Brené and Craig discuss what is known in the AI community as the “alignment problem” — who needs to be at the table in order to build systems that are aligned with our values as a democratic society? And, when we start unleashing these systems in high stakes environments like...
-
Dr. William Brady on Social Media, Moral Outrage and Polarization
This is the second episode in our series on the possibilities and costs of living beyond human scale. In this episode, Brené and William discuss group behavior on social media and how we show up with each other online versus offline. We’ll also learn about the specific types of content that fuel...
-
Esther Perel on New AI – Artificial Intimacy
In this first episode in a series on the possibilities and costs of living beyond human scale, Brené and Esther Perel discuss how we manage the paradox of exploring the world of social media and emerging technologies while staying tethered to our humanness. How do we create IRL relationships…
more -
Khaled Elgindy on his book: Blind Spot: America and the Palestinians, from Balfour to Trump
Khaled Elgindy is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute where he also directs MEI’s Program on Palestine and Israeli-Palestinian Affairs. He is the author of the book, Blind Spot: America and the Palestinians, from Balfour to Trump. In this episode we talk about the internal political...
-
Rula Daood and Alon-Lee Green on Standing Together
Standing Together is a grassroots movement mobilizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel in pursuit of peace, equality, social, and climate justice. In this podcast, we talk to National co-director Rula Daood and Founding National co-director Alon-Lee Green on what it means to build a...
-
Ali Abu Awwad and Robi Damelin on Nonviolence as The Path to Freedom for Palestinians and Israelis
The Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF) is a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization of over 600 families, all of whom have lost an immediate family member to the ongoing conflict. In this podcast, we talk to their spokesperson and bereaved mother, Robi Damelin, and Ali Abu Awwad. Ali was...
-
Unlocking Us is Back
We're coming back with new episodes starting February 28th. Get episodes as soon as they're published by following Unlocking Us on your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Brené and Ashley on Living BIG, Part 2 of 2
In this second of a two-parter on Living BIG, Ashley and I take on the topics of generosity, resentment, boundaries and grief. And we explore this critical question: What boundaries need to be in place for me to be in my integrity and to be generous in my assumptions about others? I’m grateful to...
-
Brené and Ashley on Living BIG, Part 1 of 2
In this first of a two-parter with Ashley, I tell a story from Rising Strong that kicked off our Living BIG strategy. Spoiler alert: I am very, very, very pissed-off in this story. But I eventually come around to finding and seeing the connection between boundaries, integrity, and generosity.…
more -
Brené with Father Richard Rohr on Breathing Under Water, Falling Upward, and Unlearning Certainty, Part 2 of 2
In Part 2 of my conversation with Father Richard Rohr, we talk about facing our shadows and living and loving through the second half of life, and we laugh. A lot. What a gift to be with him at the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque. A deep and true blessing. Learn more about your...
-
Brené with Father Richard Rohr on Breathing Under Water, Falling Upward, and Unlearning Certainty, Part 1 of 2
I flew to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to spend the day with Father Richard Rohr. We laughed, I cried a little, we laughed some more, and I told him why his work pisses me off sometimes. He thoroughly delighted in that last part. In Part 1 of this special two-part series recorded at the Center for...
-
Brené with Chris Germer on the Near and Far Enemies of Fierce Compassion, Part 2 of 2
We’re back with Part 2 of my conversation with Chris Germer, a clinical psychologist and lecturer on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and we’re talking about fierce compassion, which is something so many of us are trying to figure out right now. When there’s so much pain and hurt in the…
more -
Brené with Chris Germer on the Near and Far Enemies of Fierce Compassion, Part 1 of 2
I’ve been waiting my whole life to talk to Chris Germer. He is a clinical psychologist and lecturer on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and he co-developed the Mindful Self-Compassion program with Kristin Neff, which has been taught to 200,000 people worldwide. I recently read an article...
-
Brené with Bono on Songs of Surrender and Carrying the Weight of Our Contradictions, Part 2 of 2
We’re back with Part 2 of my conversation with Bono, recorded live at the historic Paramount Theatre and presented by Austin City Limits Festival’s Bonus Tracks. In this episode, we take it back to Bono’s early days in Ireland — most notably the school where he’d meet his future bandmates, his...
-
Brené with Bono on Songs of Surrender and Carrying the Weight of Our Contradictions, Part 1 of 2
Welcome to Part 1 of my conversation with Bono, recorded live at the historic Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. I have been a U2 fan since the very beginning, and this event, presented by Austin City Limits Festival’s Bonus Tracks, was sheer magic. I don’t know what happened, but we got…
more -
Brené with Attica Locke and Tembi Locke on Life, Loss, and All Kinds of Love, Part 2 of 2
It’s Part 2 of my conversation with Attica and Tembi Locke, writers, showrunners, executive producers, and the creative sister duo behind the Netflix series From Scratch, based on Tembi’s 2019 memoir of the same name, about love, Sicily, and finding home. In Part 1, we talked about the series and...
-
Brené with Attica Locke and Tembi Locke on Life, Loss, and All Kinds of Love, Part 1 of 2
I’m talking with Attica and Tembi Locke, writers, showrunners, executive producers, and the creative sister duo behind the Netflix series From Scratch, based on Tembi’s 2019 memoir of the same name, about love, Sicily, and finding home. We started talking about the series and their story, and…
more -
Brené with Anand Giridharadas on The Persuaders, Part 2 of 2
It’s Part 2 of our two-part series with Anand Giridharadas, author of The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy. I’m still thinking about Anand’s story and how his experiences informed this concept of persuasion as being the heart of democracy. In this...
-
Brené with Anand Giridharadas on The Persuaders, Part 1 of 2
I love this two-part series with Anand Giridharadas, author of The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy. Every now and then, I come across something that makes me think in a completely new way, and this was one of those times. We talk about this concept of...
-
Brené with Beto O’Rourke on Brave Leadership
I think y’all know that I’m a fifth-generation Texan, and I have another Texan with me today: Beto O’Rourke. He is running for governor of Texas, and early voting starts next week on October 24th, with Election Day coming up on November 8th. But beyond the timeliness of voting, I wanted to…
more -
Brené, Ashley, and Barrett on The Love Prescription, Part 3 of 3
The sisters are here for our final installment in a three-part series on The Love Prescription: Seven Days to More Intimacy, Connection, and Joy, from Drs. John and Julie Gottman. And we’re talking about our reaction to the book and what we learned from the Gottmans in Parts 1 and 2. Their...
-
Brené with Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman on The Love Prescription, Part 2 of 3
We’re back with Part 2 in our three-part series with Drs. John and Julie Gottman, respected, expert clinicians and researchers who’ve been studying couples and relationships for decades. We’re talking about their new book, The Love Prescription: Seven Days to More Intimacy, Connection, and Joy.…
more -
Brené with Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman on The Love Prescription, Part 1 of 3
Think you can’t make relationship changes in a week? Drs. John and Julie Gottman say, yes, actually, you can — and they have 40 years of breakthrough research on marital stability and divorce prediction to prove it. The Gottmans are back, by popular demand, and they’re here to talk about their…
more -
Reflection From My Summer Sabbatical
If there’s one thing that I’ve learned over the past, maybe, 50 years, but specifically, research-wise, over the past 25, it’s that every time we think we’re completely alone in struggle, that is exactly when we need to remember that the human experience is never a singular experience. I’m…
more -
Brené, Ashley, and Barrett on Atlas of the Heart, Audience Q&A, Part 2 of 2
We are back with Part 2 of our reader and audience Q&A on Atlas of the Heart, with questions from both the book and the HBO Max series. If you listened to Part 1, oh wow, these questions are hard — and I don’t have all the answers, which I love. Because that means I get to learn more, and I’m...
-
Brené, Ashley, and Barrett on Atlas of the Heart, Audience Q&A, Part 1 of 2
In this first episode of a three-part Sisters Book Club series, Ashley and Barrett turn the tables and interview me about Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience. They ask all the questions everyone wants to know, and they pull no punches — starting...
-
Brené with Viola Davis on Being Brave, Speaking Truth, and Finding Me
I’m talking with none other than the amazing, singular Viola Davis about her new memoir, Finding Me. This book, and this conversation, are gifts — deep reflections on a turbulent childhood, the journey to overcoming trauma, and how she found her voice in the often brutal entertainment industry.…
more -
Brené with Domee Shi on Creativity, Curiosity, and Turning Red
I’m smiling from ear to ear about this conversation with Domee Shi, a Chinese-born, Academy Award–winning Canadian animator, storyboard artist, and director for Pixar. With Bao, Domee became the first woman to direct a short film for Pixar, and with Turning Red — which was released on Disney+ in...
-
Brené with Father Richard Rohr on Spirituality, Certitude, and Infinite Love, Part 2 of 2
In Part 2 of an unforgettable and transformative conversation with Father Richard Rohr, the Franciscan friar and I really go there — asking and answering hard questions about certainty and the ego, a cosmic God who’s bigger than what Christianity often espouses, and the spiritual yearning of...
-
Brené with Father Richard Rohr on Spirituality, Certitude, and Infinite Love, Part 1 of 2
Anyone who knows me or my work knows the immeasurable influence Father Richard Rohr has had on my life. Rohr is a Franciscan friar and ecumenical teacher, and his words live on Post-it notes all around my house; his numerous books are tattered and torn, as I’ve returned to them time and again,...
-
Brené with Emmanuel Acho on Being Illogical
I’m talking again with my friend Emmanuel Acho about his new book, Illogical: Saying Yes to a Life Without Limits. True to form, Emmanuel shows up with pure energy and thought-provoking opinions — which may seem illogical but actually make so much sense. He also shares some real wisdom around how...
-
Brené with Susan Cain on How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, Part 2 of 2
Welcome to Part 2 of my conversation with Susan Cain, the bestselling author of Quiet, about her new book, Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole. This book is giving me life right now. I feel deeply seen in this needed counterbalance to our society’s push for constant positivity.…
more -
Brené with Susan Cain on How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, Part 1 of 2
This conversation is a bittersweet breath of fresh air for me. It’s the first of two episodes with Susan Cain, the bestselling author of Quiet, about her new book, Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, a needed counterbalance to our society’s toxic push for constant positivity. It...
-
Brené with Karen Walrond on Accessing Joy and Finding Connection in the Midst of Struggle
In this episode, I’m sitting across from my friend Karen Walrond and she’s helping me access joy. You may remember Karen from a two-part podcast we did last year on her book The Lightmaker’s Manifesto, which is all about working for change without losing your joy. And I literally just called her...
-
Brené with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway on Pivot, Reverence, and What’s Behind Big Tech
I’m talking with tech journalist Kara Swisher and NYU professor Scott Galloway, co-hosts of the podcast Pivot, a weekly discussion on the latest news as it relates to the worlds of business and tech. I start to do some word association with them, but we quickly go deep and take a hard…
more -
Brené with Dr. Shawn Ginwright on The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves
In his brave new book, The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves, Shawn Ginwright asks a simple but profound question, “Can we heal the world without healing ourselves?” I’ve always believed the answer is no, but I’ve never seen anyone propose a more daring solution than what’s…
more -
Brené with Jason Reynolds on Masterpieces and Messes
In this episode, I’m talking with Jason Reynolds, #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books for young people, about where he draws inspiration for his characters, his role as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, and his latest book, Ain’t Burned All the...
-
Brené on Places We Go When the Heart Is Open from Atlas of the Heart
We’re celebrating the audiobook release of Atlas of the Heart with a bonus Unlocking Us episode! The excerpt in this episode is from chapter 10, titled “Places We Go When the Heart Is Open.” We’re talking about love, lovelessness, and heartbreak. I’m excited to give you a first listen here, and…
more -
Brené with Ben Wizner on Free Speech, Misinformation, and the Case for Nuance
I was looking for some certainty around the tough issues of censorship and misinformation — legal definitions, rules, and clear lines — so I called Ben Wizner, a lawyer with the ACLU and the director of its Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. I’d hoped we’d have a Free Speech 101–type...
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
I’ve spent over 20 years studying the emotions and experiences that bring meaning and purpose to our lives, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s this: we are hardwired for connection, and connecting requires courage, vulnerability, and conversation. I want this to be a podcast that’s real, unpolished, honest, and reflects both the magic and the messiness of what it means to be human. Episodes will include conversations with the people who are teaching me, challenging me, confusing me, or maybe even ticking me off a little. I'll also have direct conversations with you about what I’m learning from new research, and we'll do some episodes dedicated to answering your questions. We don’t have to do life alone. We were never meant to.
Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
HOSTED BY
Vox Media Podcast Network
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Unlocking Us with Brené Brown have?
Unlocking Us with Brené Brown currently has 134 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Unlocking Us with Brené Brown about?
I’ve spent over 20 years studying the emotions and experiences that bring meaning and purpose to our lives, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s this: we are hardwired for connection, and connecting requires courage, vulnerability, and conversation. I want this to be a podcast that’s real,...
How often does Unlocking Us with Brené Brown release new episodes?
Unlocking Us with Brené Brown publishes regularly with 134 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Unlocking Us with Brené Brown?
You can listen to Unlocking Us with Brené Brown 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 Unlocking Us with Brené Brown?
Unlocking Us with Brené Brown is created and hosted by Vox Media Podcast Network.
URL copied to clipboard!