Designing Your Own Ritual (Bruce Feiler)

More from Pulling The Thread with Elise Loehnen

1. 

   E296 · 4 Jun 2026 · 57 min

   Why Women Need Fairytales Now (Sharon Blackie, PhD)

   “That’s the kind of story, that's the kind of image that I'm talking about—that really just sinks into you and won’t let go,” says psychologist Sharon Blackie. Today, Blackie returns to discuss her new book Ripening: Why Women Need Fairytales Now. Once again, her perspective is helping me make sense of who we are at different stages of our lives. Sharon's first episode on Pulling the Thread: "How to Fully Engage with the Rest of Your Life" For the show notes, head to my website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2. 

   E295 · 28 May 2026 · 58 min

   The Promise of Dark Retreat (Andrew Holecek)

   “We’re all addicted to light,” says Andrew Holocek, author of Total Eclipse of the Mind: Unleashing the Power of Darkness for Creativity, Healing, and Transformation. “We’re all light junkies in the deepest possible way. And so because we're so lost in the light, blinded by the light, that I think the pendulum is swinging back. And there's a deep intimation, it may be inarticulate for a number of people—why so many people are simultaneously attracted and repulsed by the darkness, of what it represents.” Today, Holocek (who has been meditating for 50 years and doing dark retreat for 30)…

3. 

   E294 · 25 May 2026 · 31 min

   Taking Your Foot Off the Gas (Monthly Solo)

   As I’m heading into a series of initiations, I’m sharing a few challenges (opportunities!) that I’m sure many of you are familiar with: our struggle to prioritize ourselves, worrying over what will happen if I slow down, wanting to have faith in myself in the way that I have faith in other people and in the world. In this month’s solo episode, I’m also sharing a bit about my upcoming move from Substack to Beehiv, a sabbatical of sorts that I’m taking, and what’s coming up on the podcast. You can hear my subsequent update here: "A Life Update" For the show notes, you can head to my website.…

4. 

   E292 · 14 May 2026 · 47 min

   The Most Dangerous Idea Ever Created (Ibram X. Kendi, PhD)

   Ibram X. Kendi, is the author of the #1 New York Times–bestseller How to Be an Antiracist. His new book is Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age. It is incredibly insightful and illuminating in terms of mapping out how we got to where we are, around the world. And what Kendi shares in our conversation today is also quite helpful in terms of pointing us in a new direction. For the show notes, head to my website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5. 

   7 May 2026 · 58 min

   Not Operating by the Checklist (Stacey Lindsay)

   I met Stacey Lindsay about a decade ago and worked with her for a few years—she’s a curious, compassionate journalist and writer—but I didn’t know much of her own incredible personal story until I read her new book Being 40 and had this conversation with her. We talked about the meaning of this decade of our lives, but more broadly, we talked about the scripts and checklists that women are often handed throughout our lives—and how we go about setting these down, centering ourselves, and self-authoring. We talked about being disappointed by the people we love, about forgiveness, about…

6. 

   30 Apr 2026 · 56 min

   Solving Medical Mysteries—and the Diagnosis Crisis (Alexandra Sifferlin)

   In 2018, health and science journalist Alexandra Sifferlin began her investigation into the American diagnosis crisis: Why are so many people being misdiagnosed? What is the cost of this error? Who is trying to change the system—and what does a better healthcare system (for all of us) look like? The resulting book—The Elusive Body—is a fascinating read. Today, we cover the major parts of Sifferlin’s investigation and what’s unfolded even since she finished writing. For the show notes, head to my website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7. 

   E318 · 8 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 2 minNew

   6 Archetypes That Shape Our Relationships (Galit Atlas, PhD)

   In her private therapy practice, renowned psychoanalyst Galit Atlas, PhD, has identified six archetypes that shape our intimate relationships as adults. She says that every adult carries one of these archetypes with them, and that usually we carry more than one. She’s named them: the frightened child, the melancholic child, the ashamed child, the invisible child, the guilty child (I identify big-time with this one), and the chosen child. Today, we talk through these archetypes as Galit brings us into the therapy room and shares some incredibly resonant stories from her work with her…

8. 

   E317 · 1 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 4 min

   Navigating a New Era (Carissa Schumacher)

   “The alchemy pathway brings back synchronicity, unity, harmony to all of these different parts of self,” says psychic medium Carissa Schumacher. Her book—The Alchemy Transmissions: A Pathway to Miracles—is out this week, and it’s a series of transmissions she channeled from Yeshua (Jesus)! Today, we’re talking about what else this pathway might offer us, how to navigate the new era that we’re in, how to become more consciously mature, and how to step more deeply into your own unique essence. For the show notes (including a link to Carissa’s 92nd Street Y event on October 3, which you can…

9. 

   E316 · 28 Sep 2026 · 32 min

   Our Gifts Are Emergent (Monthly Solo)

   It’s just me today, sharing an update on my next surgery (I’m still doing well!), and reflecting on something that someone shared with me at a book event a few weeks ago. It got me thinking about how our gifts are emergent; they show up at different times in our lives, and in different ways. And sometimes, we’re being called to simply be present. I’m also starting to reflect back on the last seven-year cycle (more about why in the episode), and hope you’ll join me in thinking about who you were, too, in the fall of 2019. To see the show notes and my newsletter, to register for upcoming…

10. 

    E315 · 24 Sep 2026 · 50 min

    The Core of Consciousness (Antonio Damasio, MD, PhD)

    “Feeling is really the core of consciousness,” says Antonio Damasio, MD, PhD. “And it's giving you information about what it is like to be alive, and how your life is going, and what you need to do about it.” Damasio is the director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California and the author of several books including, his latest, Natural Intelligence & the Logic of Consciousness. Today, he shares his beautiful explanation of this kind of feeling, along with his reflections on spirituality and the sublime. For the show notes, head to eliseloehnen.com. Learn…

Every episode of Pulling The Thread with Elise Loehnen →