The Optimism We All Need Right Now with Simon Sinek

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1. 

   E111 · 8 Oct 2026 · 47 min

   Why Is America Different Than Every Other Country When It Comes to Guns?

   BUY THE BOOK! The American Way of Killing by Malcolm Gladwell⁠https://amzn.to/4jvQMuE⁠ Malcolm Gladwell - one of America’s foremost thought leaders - examines our country’s obsession with guns and the devastating toll gun violence has taken on our communities. In his new book, The American Way of Killing: The Invention of an Epidemic, Malcolm challenges some of our most deeply held beliefs about American gun violence: what we’re missing about the root cause of most violence, how modern medicine is obscuring the reality of the problem, why the answer might be more police—not less—and how…

2. 

   E110 · 6 Oct 2026 · 33 min

   Amanda Rizkalla: “Hungered” | Oprah’s Book Club

   BUY THE BOOK! Hungered by Amanda Rizkalla: ⁠https://amzn.to/4hIE21vThe 125th Oprah’s Book Club selection is the stunning debut novel Hungered by author Amanda Rizkalla. Written from the perspective of 12-year-old Sofia, Hungered gives a unique look inside the world of a family who is unhoused. Amanda shares how her personal experience of losing their housing and living in a car with her family as a child inspired her to write this poignant and beautiful story. Oprah and Amanda have a thoughtful discussion about how - despite the daily struggle to survive - the fictional Sofia and her family…

3. 

   E108 · 29 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 6 min

   30 Years of Oprah’s Book Club: The Authors Behind the Stories We Love

   BUY THE BOOKS!The Oprah Book Club storefronthttps://amzn.to/4j5y1xWTo celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Oprah’s Book Club - Oprah is joined by four multiple-award winning, best-selling authors including: Viola Davis, Barbara Kingsolver, Abraham Verghese and Ocean Vuong. In her backyard under the oak trees Oprah and these masterful storytellers have a thoughtful conversation about the craft of writing, their processes and the significance the reader brings to their work. Among their works they discuss these Oprah's Book club picks: Finding Me, Demon Copperhead, The Poisonwood Bible, The…

4. 

   E107 · 24 Sep 2026 · 40 min

   Give Yourself a Year to Try 12 New Things and Embrace Change

   BUY THE BOOK!'Give Me a Year' by Shonda Scotthttps://amzn.to/4xGhu7iWhen is the last time you tried something new? Entrepreneur and author Shonda Scott, whose book Give Me a Year: 12 New Things to Embrace Change and Live Your Best Life chronicles how she stepped outside her comfort zone, embraced change and challenged herself to try something new every month for a full year. Shonda shares how those experiences helped her find joy, overcome fear and keep moving forward even when life took some unexpected turns. Then, Oprah meets writer Jason McBride whose viral article “How to Create a Life…

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   E106 · 22 Sep 2026 · 49 min

   How to Work with Difficult People (Without Losing Yourself)

   BUY THE BOOK!How to Work With Complicated People by Ryan Leakhttps://amzn.to/4y8aXDBNew York Times bestselling author Ryan Leak joins Oprah at her tea house for a practical conversation about navigating difficult workplace relationships. Drawing from his book How to Work with Complicated People Ryan shares why the people we work with, more than the work itself, often determine how fulfilled we feel on the job. He breaks down four strategies for working through challenging dynamics, introduces the idea of an “expectations detox” and offers a powerful reminder: we’re all complicated to someone…

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   E105 · 17 Sep 2026 · 54 min

   Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for the Best Possible Life with Oprah and Jim Murphy

   BUY THE BOOK!Inner Excellence by Jim Murphyhttps://amzn.to/4rhK0ulPerformance coach and bestselling author Jim Murphy’s book Inner Excellence took the world by storm and rocketed to #1 after NFL wide receiver A.J. Brown was spotted reading it during a playoff game. Seemingly overnight the book became a New York Times bestseller, resonating far beyond the world of sports. Drawing from the powerful lessons in Inner Excellence Jim shares the mental tools you can cultivate to help manage your mind, unlock your potential and expand what's possible in your life. He also discusses his…

7. 

   E104 · 16 Sep 2026 · 2 hr 39 min

   Oprah’s Greatest Conversations with Authors: 30 Years of Oprah’s Book Club

   BUY THE BOOKS!The Oprah Book Club storefronthttps://amzn.to/4j5y1xWIn this special bonus episode Oprah celebrates the 30th anniversary of Oprah’s Book Club and reflects on how her lifelong love of reading became a cultural phenomenon. Oprah revisits some of her most treasured conversations with the writers she calls her “rock stars” and celebrates three decades of connecting readers with great books. We hear her conversations with Toni Morrison, Ocean Vuong, Wally Lamb, Anthony Ray Hinton, Abraham Verghese, Maya Angelou, Elizabeth Strout, Tayari Jones, Barbara Kingsolver, Cormac McCarthy,…