Blind Plea

Are you living your best life now? Not always? This is a podcast for you. Duke Professor Kate Bowler is an expert in the stories we tell about success and failure, suffering and happiness. She had Stage IV cancer. Then she didn’t. And since then, all she wants to do is talk to funny and wise people about how to live with the knowledge that, well, everything happens. The pandemic introduced many to living with uncertainty. But for some, uncertainty has always been their norm. In this episode, Kate speak to actress Nikki Deloach, who has starred in several Hallmark Christmas movies, but her life hasn’t matched the happily-ever-after plot-lines of her characters. Nikki’s dad was diagnosed with an aggressive form of dementia and her son was diagnosed with congenital heart defects in utero… all in the same week. In this conversation, Kate and Nikki discuss how to live with constant uncertainty, how to stay open to both the terror and the beauty of living close to the edge, and how to make Christmas meaningful when hope is hard to come by. CW: suicidal ideation, postpartum depression, a parent grappling with a child’s fragile diagnosis, dementia To hear more episodes of Everything Happens, follow wherever you get your podcasts, or head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/everythinghappensfdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gretchen Rubin is HAPPIER, and she wants you to be happier too. The #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before gets more personal than ever as she brings her practical, manageable advice about happiness and good habits to this lively, thought-provoking podcast. Gretchen’s cohost and guinea pig is her younger sister, Elizabeth Craft, a TV writer and producer living in Los Angeles, who (lovingly) refers to Gretchen as her happiness bully. As part of “Design Your Year,” each of us made a list of 25 things we wanted to accomplish in 2025; here, we report on what we got done—and what we didn’t. Resources & links related to this episode: Happier in Hollywood Substack Simon Haisell's Footnotes and Tangents Allie Coyle Photography The Earth Room created by American artist Walter De Maria Click here to find everything related to the Design Your Year challenge If you want to hear more episodes, follow Happier with Gretchen Rubin wherever you get your podcasts, or head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/happierfd See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we're introducing you to When It Clicked, whose newest season focuses on what a better justice system can look and feel like. How can we think differently about accountability for kids in the justice system? Hollywood producer Scott Budnick built his career making blockbuster hits like The Hangover, but his real passion is working with incarcerated youth. In this episode of When It Clicks, Scott talks about how one visit to a juvenile hall reshaped his purpose and set him on a mission to support young people caught in the justice system. As founder of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition and CEO of 1Community, Scott is helping youth rewrite their stories – and pushing for a system that gives them a real chance. Learn more about the Anti Recidivism Coalition at antirecidivism.org and 1Community at 1community.com. Follow When it Clicked wherever you get your podcasts or head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/WhenItClickedfdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Because Thanksgiving is basically Ruth Reichl season (the holy trinity of food, family, and feelings) we’re serving you a special episode of Julia Louis-Dreyfus' lovely conversation with her from Season 1 of Wiser Than Me. On this episode of Wiser Than Me, Julia gets enlightened by 77-year-old food writer, magazine editor, and author Ruth Reichl. From her infamous New York Times review of Le Cirque to greenlighting a controversial David Foster Wallace article in Gourmet, Ruth is as gutsy as they come. Ruth talks to Julia about living with a mom who has bipolar disorder, processing grief through food, and why you should always do things that scare you. Plus, Julia asks her mom Judith for a recommendation on what to cook when Ruth accepts an invitation for dinner. For more episodes, follow Wiser Than Me wherever you get your podcasts or head to https://lemonada.lnk.to/wiserthanmefdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the latest episode of Wiser Than Me, Julia Louis-Dreyfus sits down with 70-year-old New Yorker cartooning legend Roz Chast, whose humor and unforgettable illustrations Julia has adored for decades. They dive into Roz’s anxieties, obsessions, and the worldview behind her award-winning memoir “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?” Roz chats about raising kids through constant worry, caring for her aging parents, and how her work helps her make sense of the chaos. Plus, Julia’s mom Judy recalls how she handled the sex talk with Julia when she was growing up. For more episodes, head to https://lemonada.lnk.to/wiserthanmefd or follow Wiser Than Me on Instagram and TikTok @wiserthanme and on Facebook at facebook.com/wiserthanmepodcast. Find us on Substack at wiserthanme.substack.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.