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1. 

   21 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 8 min

   Dr. Robert Waldinger: What does 85 years of research reveal about a Good Life?

   What makes a good life? Is it accomplishment and wealth? Meaning and purpose? Relationships? This is the question Dr. Robert Waldinger, a Harvard psychiatrist, has spent decades exploring as the fourth director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development – the world's longest-running study of adult life and happiness – following hundreds of people since 1938 and still running today. Robert is co-author, with Marc Schulz, of bestselling book The Good Life. He is also a Zen Buddhist priest whose spiritual journey has shaped how he thinks about thriving. In this episode, Vivek and Robert talk…

2. 

   7 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 8 min

   Jennifer Wallace: Why Don’t We Feel Like We Matter?

   A lot of us move through our days on autopilot, heads down, just clearing the to-do list. And somewhere in there, we stop noticing the small signals that tell us we matter. We stop sending them, too. In this episode, Dr. Vivek Murthy sits down with journalist Jennifer Wallace, author of MATTERING: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose. They get into why so many people feel invisible right now, how a culture built on individual success can leave us feeling more hollow than whole, and why the men who wrote to Jennie kept reaching for the same two words: useless and worthless.…

3. 

   23 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 15 min

   Atul Gawande: What Does Death Teach Us About How To Live?

   Are we paying too much attention to how long we live, and too little to how well we live? For most doctors, the goal is to help patients live as long as possible. But more time and more life aren’t always the same things. In this episode, host Dr. Vivek Murthy and guest Dr. Atul Gawande, surgeon and author of the landmark book Being Mortal, discuss a question neither of them were trained as doctors: for a patient, what makes life worth living? This conversation is part interview, part friendship, and part shared reckoning with what makes a life worth living. Atul reflects on how Being Mortal…

4. 

   9 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 14 min

   David French: How Can We Come Together Across Divides?

   We’re living in an era where division often feels like the status quo, and it's affecting us on a personal level. A 2025 study from the American Psychological Association found 62% of adults say polarization is a significant source of stress in their lives. How can we bring people together, especially across divides, whether they’re a friend, neighbor, stranger, or family member? How do we build bridges while staying true to our values? David French is a columnist for the New York Times who often writes about the beauty and challenges of living in community. His most recent book is called…

5. 

   26 May 2026 · 1 hr 14 min

   Kate Bowler: Is Joy Possible When Things Are Difficult?

   What does it mean to feel joy amid moments of real difficulty and even sorrow? Not in the sense of being falsely upbeat or pretending that everything’s ok—but as a way to sit with and honor what’s going on in our lives. Kate Bowler is a bestselling author known for her writing about loss, grief, and hope. She’s also a professor at Duke University who studies the history of religion, and host of the podcast Everything Happens. Her latest book is called Joyful, Anyway. In this conversation we explore how joy is very different from positivity or happiness, and how it can co-exist with struggle.…