All Episodes
Life Examined — 331 episodes
What does the city of death teach us about the nature of grief?
The paradox of love: it begins with you
What I’ll miss about the single life
Is “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver the best grief poem ever written?
Some dreamers of the Caribbean dream
"Moby-Dick" remains a psychedelic enigma
The Japanese Art of Happiness
Is "Lonesome Dove" an answer to modern male loneliness?
In praise of quiet kindness, when the world is asking us to be loud
The Two Quotes I Think of — and Lean on — Every Day
Stay in touch with Life Examined over on Substack!
Robert Macfarlane: "Is a River Alive?"
When to medicate the mind with Laura Delano
Yale happiness guru Laurie Santos on the power of time off and modern parenting traps
Ocean Vuong: "The Emperor of Gladness"
“He showed us what simplicity could offer:” Pico Iyer and Paul Elie remember Pope Francis
Midweek Reset: Life: less itinerary - more flow
Brainwashing; the history and complexity of coercive persuasion
Midweek Reset: The Myths of Meritocracy
Fred Luskin: ‘forgiveness is being at peace with your life.’
Midweek Reset: Super communicators
Jillian Turecki; ‘when it comes to love, it begins with you.’
Midweek Reset: The Gift Economy
Are we wired for discovery? Alex Hutchinson on the Explorer’s Gene.
Midweek Reset: On having kids
Unlocking the teen brain: Lisa Damour’s guide to raising emotionally balanced kids
Midweek Reset: On Mind over Body
What it’s like to be an alcoholic: a renowned philosopher’s struggle with addiction
Midweek Reset: On failure
Life lessons from history’s greatest explorers
Midweek Reset: Connecting with teens
Poet David David Whyte on death, anxiety, and MDMA
Midweek Reset: Marriage Actually
Understanding anxiety — and its surprising upside
Midweek Reset: Toxic Positivity
Baratunde Thurston: how black communities are reclaiming their connection to nature
Midweek Reset: Sleep
The Black Utopians; vision, history, and legacy
Midweek Reset: On Attachment Styles
Dan Winter’s End; dementia and the controversial decision to accelerate one’s death.
Midweek Reset: On The Cosmos
Learning from Silence; Pico Iyer on the Transformative Power of Solitude & Monastic Life
Midweek Reset: On Arrival Fallacy
L.A. on Fire: trauma and the psychology of loss
Midweek Reset: On Trauma and Resiliency
Endurance and the edge of death: unraveling the mysteries of human resilience
Midweek Reset: On Variety
Exploring the cosmos: Astronomer Kelsey Johnson helps unravel the mysteries of the universe
The Japanese art of happiness: From ikigai, to ritual, to embracing old age
Winter wisdom: Katherine May on grief, loss, and the power of celebration
Tragic optimism and the male identity crisis with Brad Stulberg
Is digital addiction fuelling a teen suicide crisis?
Midweek Reset: Finding a way (or path)
Renowned psychologist Tara Brach on the power of Buddhism in modern therapy
Midweek Reset: On legacy letters
‘The Serviceberry’: Robin Wall Kimmerer’s guide to the gift economy
Midweek Reset: On Awe
Food, Farming, Faith and Hip Hop; Black earth wisdom and the fight for environmental and racial justice
Midweek Reset: On Resilience
Ryan Holiday: A Stoics guide to doing the right thing
Breaking beyond tribalism and apathy: The brighter side of politics
Midweek Reset: The Art of the Imperfect
Oliver Burkeman and the art of imperfectionism
Midweek Reset: On Friendship
The senses: A philosophical and sensual exploration of sound, taste, and touch
Midweek Reset: On Anxiety
Here’s what ‘Wild Rituals’ author Caitlin O’Connell learned from the elephants
Midweek Reset: On Trees
What does boredom do for us… and to us?
Midweek Reset: Rebranding Hope
Autism “it’s not a disease, it’s a different way of being”
Leading a good life doesn’t always mean leading an easy one
Midweek Reset: Sexual Recession
Positivity and hope: How to navigate society away from cynicism
Midweek Reset: Gaslight
Rediscovering sexual desire and eroticism with Esther Perel
In search of happiness: The secrets and science behind leading a good life
Midweek Reset: Life: less itinerary - more flow
Can contemplating death inform a better life
Midweek Reset: On boredom and kids
‘What do we want in a partner?’ Relationships and how to foster deeper connections
Could your friend be your life partner? The history and shifting nature of friendship
Midweek Reset: On Meditation
The art of conversation: Charles Duhigg on how to be a super communicator
Midweek Reset: Power practices
Wild Sorrow: Poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer on losing her son and finding her way forward
Midweek Reset: On self curation
Can birth control mess with the mind? Navigating pregnancy with mental disorders
Midweek Reset: Family trauma
Are you being gaslit? How to navigate and stop the gaslighting in your relationship
Robert Macfarlane on nature, language, and music
Midweek Reset: On Relationships
The art of travel: A vagabond’s joys, essence, and philosophy
Relationship skills: Couples counselor Terry Real on building a lasting partnership
Empathy: The superpower of human connection
Midweek Reset: Perfectionism
It’s all in her head: Gender bias in healthcare and reproductive rights
Midweek Reset: On not giving advice
Bittersweet: Susan Cain on the joy of sweet sorrow
Midweek Reset: On Discipline
‘The Perfectionist’s Guide’: Learning to control our quest for the ideal
‘The Sympathizer’ author Viet Thanh Nguyen on new memoir ‘A Man of Two Faces’
Midweek Reset: Cultivating Attention
Scott Galloway: Can the youth still make it in America?
Midweek Reset: Kieran Setiya on failure + process
Uprooted: Climate migration and scientist activism
KCRW’s “How’s Your Sex Life” discusses falling in love and falling apart with Jonathan Bastian
Midweek Reset: Scott Galloway on Blessings
Border Crossings: Navigating identity, language, and belonging
Midweek Reset: Michael Pollan on psychedelics
Michael Pollan’s long and strange trip: shifting perspectives on food and psychedelics
Midweek Reset: The lesson of Costa Rica
Laughter, leadership, and Improv: navigating the unscripted parts of your life
Midweek Reset: Mood follows action
Are you in a relationship with a narcissist?
Midweek Reset: Peaceful protest
Freud: What he said, why he matters
Midweek Reset: Authenticity trap
Mapping the darkness; the science behind sleep
Midweek Reset: When to Quit
Splintering: When a divorce and first child arrive together
Midweek Reset: The Retirement Myth
How to build community in an age of isolation
Midweek Reset: The wisdom of moss
‘Re-sparkling’: The science behind embracing variety and rejecting habituation
Midweek Reset: Are you addicted?
Inciting joy: Poet Ross Gay on gardening, grief, and basketball
Heartbreak and divorce: reflections on endings, healing, and self-discovery
Midweek Reset: The Art of Love
Addicted to distraction: How our world is robbing our ability to pay attention
Midweek Reset: Negativity bias
Facing death without God: Spiritual care in the final hours of a death row inmate
Midweek Reset: Why we hate
Why allergies and gut health are getting worse
Midweek Reset: Ikigai
God is a verb: The mystical, existential poetry of Christian Wiman
Midweek Reset: Radical Truth Telling
Robert Sapolsky on life without free will
Midweek Reset: The Future Happiness Trap
The wonder of water — and why we love to swim
Midweek Reset: Savoring the ordinary
Can pain and suffering sweeten our lives?
Wintering and enchantment: A pathway to healing and happiness
Midweek Reset: Tech Sabbath
Owls: What they know and what humans believe
Antarctic expedition: A treatise on climate change and motherhood
Midweek Reset: Wintering
Distilling life on the page: The beauty of storytelling with Yiyun Li
Midweek Reset: Toxic positivity
Dopamine Nation: Living in an addicted world
The science of spirituality — and why it’s good for our mental health
Midweek Reset: The Power of Subtraction
Time management: A guide to more sanity and less anxiety
Midweek Reset: Why relational conflict is good
Living in reciprocity with nature, with Indigenous ecologist Robin Wall Kimmerer
Midweek Reset: Creativity has no age
The process of dying: From hospice care to meditating monks
Midweek Reset: Life: less itinerary - more flow
Conflict, resolution, and the human need to get along, with Peter Coleman
Midweek Reset: Better listening
The agents of change: How women are altering the power paradigm
Midweek Reset: Sharon Salzberg and emotional balance
A 1000 mile trek: Lessons in fortitude and healing from distance walker Raynor Winn
The art of quitting: Is there wisdom in walking away?
Big life decisions and uncertainty: a toolkit
Trauma, PTSD, and human resilience, with George Bonanno
The language of grief, with writers Ross Gay and Chloe Honum
The art and science of change, with author Brad Stulberg
A guide to self discipline and the science behind habits, good and bad
Attachment styles: How knowing ourselves can lead to better, more lasting relationships
‘What do we want in a partner?’ Relationships and how to foster deeper connections
On blindness: Andrew Leland explores how losing his sight has expanded his world view
ADHD in an era of distraction: Why are more adults getting diagnosed?
The Japanese art of happiness: From ikigai, to ritual, to embracing old age
The secret lives of cats, past and present
’Til death do us part’: Hard truths on marriage and divorce with Tracy McMillan
Biology’s new era: How mRNA and AI are impacting vaccines, medicine, and reproduction
Becoming a Buddhist: Two renowned teachers, two stories of transformation
Estrangement: Why are adult children cutting off their parents?
Why minimalism: A history, practice and industry
Effective altruism and our collective human heritage
A perfect childhood, an elite education, and the horror of schizophrenia
The science, language, and many dimensions of pain
MDMA, Ecstasy, Molly: Coming soon to a therapist near you
‘There is life after diagnosis’: Navigating the challenges of dementia care and support
The future of AI: Its impact on creativity, humanity, and well being
The long reach of grief: How one death on 9/11 reverberates today
Say the right thing: DEI and the pathway to positive and constructive dialogue
Spiritual language for the non-believer: Jennifer Michael Hecht’s search for wonder
Raising minors: Prioritizing our children’s future and well being
Nature’s gifts: The hidden life of trees and the joy of animals
Understanding success — and why talent and ability are not always key
Defining life and personhood: What science, philosophy, and religion have to say
Wintering and enchantment: A pathway to healing and happiness
The beauty of games and the dark side of gamification
Black poetry and the unearthing of forgotten histories
Author Brad Stulberg on peak performance strategies and overcoming OCD
The miracle and mystery of awe: Why it’s good for mind and body
In search of happiness: The secrets and science behind leading a good life
In search of paradise—and why travel writer Pico Iyer says it may be within
The art of travel: A vagabond’s joys, essence, and philosophy
Why humans are kinder than at you think: The philosophy of Rutger Bregman
Poet David Whyte; on writing the unspeakable
Playing the status game, and why we can’t hide from it
The science of friendship and the value of listening
‘It’s just part of my identity’: Narratives and misconceptions surrounding disability
What’s meditation really about? Specialist Sharon Salzberg explains.
Autism “it’s not a disease, it’s a different way of being”
Where does our individuality come from?
Inciting joy: Poet Ross Gay on gardening, grief, and basketball
Carl Safina: Wolves, whales and the wonders of nature
Dopamine Nation: Living in an addicted world
Nutrition and mental health: Exploring the surprising science of food and emotion
Kieran Setiya: A philosopher’s guide to life’s hardships
Alain de Botton on the complexity of modern love
Effective altruism and our collective human heritage
How to find a therapist — and why it can be so hard
Big life decisions and uncertainty: a toolkit
How culture creates emotions — and how technology decodes them
The search for our psyches: A new path forward in treating mental disorders
How animal senses reveal the hidden world around us
Global loneliness and the wonders of human touch
The philosophy of middle age: From projects to process
Predicting the future: The true story of the Premonitions Bureau
Behind the front lines of drug legalization and harm reduction
Robert Macfarlane on nature, language, and music
The weaponization of shame
Is gender innate?
Dogs: The science behind their success
Understanding anxiety —and its surprising upside
Rabbi Steve Leder: Uvalde shooting, navigating grief, and ‘ethical wills’
Schizophrenia: A new day in diagnosis and treatment
Bittersweet: Susan Cain on the joy of sweet sorrow
The science behind heartbreak: How to move on, and is there a cure?
Interrupted and distracted: Johann Hari wants you to regain your attention
Psychedelic spirituality: Ketamine and the future of mental health
Accidental gods and our desire to deify
Silent suffering: Living with long COVID and mystery illnesses
Less is more: The science and skills behind saying ‘no’
Looking for happiness in all the wrong places
Xenophobia and why people love to hate
Why do we war?
Bringing Buddhism to the therapist’s couch
Why minimalism: A history, practice and industry
Alain de Botton and the complexity of modern day love
Jack Kornfield and Katy Butler remember Thich Nhat Hanh
Addiction: disease or choice?
Outside in: Voyages beneath the skin
Prospects for optimism, with Pico Iyer and Vrajaprana
COVID: A booster shot for medicine and science
Awestruck: Why a daily dose of wonder might benefit your mental and physical health
The simple wisdom of doing nothing
The most impactful ways to give back this holiday season
Can pain and suffering sweeten our lives?
Language, style, and Machiavelli for women
Why humans love, use, and abuse animals
Natural healing: Plant-based medicines and supplement skepticism
Poet David Whyte; on writing the unspeakable
Workplace burnout and the Great Resignation
Racism and the Great White Outdoors
How extreme distance running can heal the mind
Vaccination status: How to have hard conversations with loved ones
The role of reason in a ‘post-truth’ world
Why good listening matters — and how to get better at it
The science and benefits of deep sleep and vivid dreams
‘Who needs God when we’ve got Google?’: Blurring the lines between technology and faith
Human intelligence: Behind the brains of babies, children, and the elderly
Searching for Utopia, Part 2: Utopian societies, sects, and cults in America
Searching for Utopia, Part 1: The freedoms and failures of of an intentional community in India
‘Taken against our will’: the damaging legacy of ‘tough love’ boot camps
From club drug to love potion, how MDMA might help build a successful relationship
Why getting old may be a thing of the past
The mental and physical benefits of healthy breathing
Why is everyone reading the stoics?
Renowned psychologist Tara Brach on the power of Buddhism in modern therapy
The art and historical legacy of Juneteenth
The human history and relationship to music
The science of friendship and its lessons for post-pandemic life
What trees teach us about community and collaboration
Does having children really make us happier?
MDMA, Ecstasy, Molly: Coming soon to a therapist near you
What prison writing teaches us about US justice system and each other
Preparing for the apocalypse
What does it mean to be authentic?
The failings and malleability of memory
In a year of grief and stress, one writer discovers that her pen is her most valuable tool
Food: The history, addiction, and ritual
Moments of Serenity: Calm in Chaos
Moments of Serenity: Gratitude
Moments of Serenity: Pets
Moments of Serenity: Stretch
Moments of Serenity: Ocean
Moments of Serenity: Music
Moments of Serenity: Sleep
Moments of Serenity: Tea
Moments of Serenity: Do Nothing
How to stop worrying and learn to break the anxiety loop
Death with Dignity legislation offers compassion and control
The role of land and landownership in shaping our history
How the work world will change post the pandemic?
The history of marriage and other forms of intimate relationships
What octopus and shrimp can tell us about workings of the animal mind
How the Church views a woman’s place in society
Making sense of an unpeaceful transition of power
Finding meaning in an impermanent world
‘Death reveals the depths of our love.’ Rabbi Steve Leder on dying and grieving
Indoor spaces; are they good for our health and creativity
Vaccines and the history behind their discovery
What’s driving the rise in atheism?
‘Manhood has never been more beleaguered or more challenged’ says author Nicole Krauss
The myth and dark side of meritocracy
What makes men, men?
Building bridges across America’s political divide
The rich history and promising future of psychedelic therapy
Politics, religion and the role of public discourse in our democracy.
Astrology and our relationship to the cosmos
Why the climate emergency is rapidly shifting emotional and physical landscape
A place for religion whether we believe or not
Unlocking the mysteries of the brain
Technology’s impact on human relationships
How surfer Britt Merrick found his ‘spiritual home’ among the waves
Is there a way to prepare for a good death?
Theology and Black Lives Matter
A pilgrim’s journey: Reconnecting with faith through the pilgrimage
Finding strength, hope, and truth through poetry
How the global pandemic has impacted our dreams?
How the global pandemic has impacted our dreams?
Grieving the loss of the world we once knew
Finding meaning in an impermanent world
Trauma and healing during COVID-19
Contemplation in isolation