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.
134 episodes transcribedAnyone 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 teac...
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 wit...
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...
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...
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 di...
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...
In his brave new book, The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves, Shawn Ginwright asks a simple but profound question, “Can we heal...
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 dra...
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, title...
I was looking for some certainty around the tough issues of censorship and misinformation — legal definitions, rules, and clear lines — so I called Be...
We’re back, and we are starting the year with a deep dive into values. I’m not a fan of resolutions, but I absolutely believe in the power of resettin...
It’s Part 2 of our two-part episode crossover from our other podcast, Dare to Lead with James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, which has sold more than...
This week, Unlocking Us is going to Dare to Lead! Even before James Clear and I met, I knew this would be a two-part series. I just had so many questi...
We asked for your Atlas of the Heart questions and, man, did you deliver. More than 1,500 questions poured in. So, in this final episode of our Sister...
It’s Part 2 of the three-part Sisters Book Club series, where Ashley and Barrett turn the tables and interview me about Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Me...
In this first episode of a three-part Sisters Book Club series, Ashley and Barrett turn the tables on Brené and interview her about her new book, Atla...
I wanted to share with you a talk that I did at UCLA’s Royce Hall for Oprah’s Super Soul sessions where I uncovered the fundamentals of trust. What is...
In this episode, I’m talking with Lukas and Willie Nelson about their new album, The Willie Nelson Family, a collection of country gospel–flavored son...
It’s Part 2 of our two-part series with Karen Walrond, writer, activist, and longtime friend. We are talking about her new book, The Lightmaker’s Mani...
This week, I’m talking to Karen Walrond, writer, activist, and longtime friend of mine about her new book, The Lightmaker’s Manifesto: How to Work for...
