Christian Robinson: Why Feeling Like We Matter Really Matters
Growing up in a small, crowded apartment in Los Angeles, Christian Robinson drew castles, imaginary scenes, and gave himself special powers to create the world he wished to inhabit. Inspired by a...
View ArticleFather Greg Boyle: Finding Strength Through Kindness
How do you get people to the other side of trauma? In the 1980s, Father Greg Boyle served as a pastor in LA’s poorest parish — which also had the city’s highest concentration of gang activity....
View ArticleJon Kabat-Zinn: Peace and the Domain of Being (Part 1)
In 1979, Jon Kabat-Zinn took inspiration from a Surgeon General’s report called “Healthy People” to support his pioneering work in the field of mindfulness. Over the next four decades, America...
View ArticleJon Kabat-Zinn: Clarity and the Domain of Stillness (Part 2)
What is the difference between loneliness and being alone? The Surgeon General and mindfulness pioneer Jon Kabat-Zinn delve into the complexities of the modern human experience, including the ways...
View ArticleDr. Laurie Santos: What Makes Us Happy?
Do we understand what makes us happy? And if we do, can we make ourselves happier? These are the questions Yale Professor Laurie Santos has been studying for years. As students navigate back to school,...
View ArticleKal Penn: Taking the Path of Most Resistance
What do you do when who you want to be and who the world tells you to be are different? In a world of stereotypes and expectations, how do we figure out who we really are? Actor Kal Penn and the...
View ArticleSusan Cain: How Do We Navigate the Joy and Sorrow of Being Human?
What is the feeling you get when a sad, familiar song tugs at you? Or the exquisite pain that comes with the awareness of passing time and loves lost? Best-selling author Susan Cain identifies the...
View ArticleDr. Becky Kennedy: How Do We Connect With Our Kids?
Missed school. Kids at home during working hours. Delayed social skills. Too much screen time. Did the pandemic do a number on your parenting? (Not that it was easy to begin with!) Dr. Becky Kennedy,...
View ArticleDr. Rosaura Orengo-Aguayo: What Do Natural Disasters Mean for Our Mental Health?
Hurricanes, droughts, forest fires, and other natural disasters make big news. While cameras show us the wreckage when disaster strikes, for communities on the ground, the story does not end there. The...
View ArticleFred Dust: Can We Talk?
What makes for a meaningful conversation? In an era where polarization, argument, and competition for attention have taken the place of real conversation, it can be hard to know what to say. Fred Dust,...
View ArticleDr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary: Can Anxiety Be Good For Us?
We all experience anxiety as an emotion. It’s part of being human. But can we transform that uncomfortable emotion into a positive? Doing so might require dispelling some common notions about anxiety...
View ArticleBonus: Meditation for Easing Holiday Stress
Produced together with Calm, we are sharing a 5-part series of Mindfulness Tools to offer support during stressful times. Guided by Dr. Murthy, these meditations are intentionally short, meant to fit...
View ArticleBonus: Meditation for Combating Loneliness
Produced together with Calm, here is one of a 5-part series of Mindfulness Tools to offer support during stressful times. Guided by Dr. Murthy, these meditations are intentionally short, meant to fit...
View ArticleMaya Shankar: Why is Change So Hard?
We all experience change. Sometimes we plan a change, sometimes we’re thrown a curveball. It’s just part of life. But why do some changes feel harder to manage than others? And why does change seem...
View ArticleBonus: Meditation for Dealing with Change & Uncertainty
Produced together with Calm, here is one of a 5-part series of Mindfulness Tools to offer support during stressful times. Guided by Dr. Murthy, these meditations are intentionally short, meant to fit...
View ArticleDr. Marisa G. Franco: Why Do Friendships Matter? (Part 1)
What’s the single best action a person can take now to live a longer life? How do you take the edge off depression? What can single people do to flourish, and partnered people do to revitalize their...
View ArticleBonus: Meditation for Getting Through a Hectic Day
Produced together with Calm, here is one of a 5-part series of Mindfulness Tools to offer support during stressful times. Guided by Dr. Murthy, these meditations are intentionally short, meant to fit...
View ArticleDr. Marisa G. Franco: Why Do Friendships Matter? (Part 2)
How can we help young people build healthy friendships? How do we balance old friendships with new ones? And why should we be strategic about the energy we put into friendships? The truth is,...
View ArticleBonus: Meditation for Dealing with Negativity in the World
Produced together with Calm, here is one of a 5-part series of Mindfulness Tools to offer support during stressful times. Guided by Dr. Murthy, these meditations are intentionally short, meant to fit...
View ArticleWhat Gives You Hope?
We all need to have hope. It’s essential to living a healthy life. So it’s no surprise that “What gives you hope?” is one question Dr. Murthy always asks his guests. In this compilation episode, tune...
View ArticleCatherine Price: Can You Live Without Your Phone?
How do you want to spend your time? Where do you want to focus your attention? Science journalist and author Catherine Price poses these questions because she believes that, ultimately, our lives are...
View ArticleDavid Brooks: What is a Meaningful Life?
How can we create a meaningful life in a self-centered world? Have our societal notions of success misled us? How does connection underpin our sense of meaning? What practical skills do we need to...
View ArticleDr. Rangan Chatterjee: How Stressed Are We? (And What Can We Do About It?)...
How do you experience stress? Does it come from a hard day at work? Or being stretched too thin supporting others? Worrying about food? Living in a difficult environment? So many factors can...
View ArticleDr. Rangan Chatterjee: What's at the Core of Your Happiness? (Part 2)
How well do you balance your ideas of success with your happiness? And do you really understand what makes you happy? In Part Two of their conversation about stress, the Surgeon General and Dr....
View ArticleYou’re Not Alone in Feeling Lonely
Loneliness is an experience so many of us have. But what’s surprising is how loneliness impacts both our mental and physical health. To mark this week’s release of a groundbreaking new Surgeon...
View ArticleEric Nam: Yes, Vulnerability is a Superpower (Even For Pop Stars)
How can vulnerability and openness help us through our darkest times and find our truest selves? For Eric Nam, a voice loved by millions around the world, this was not an easy question to answer. In...
View ArticleDr. Lisa Damour: How Can We Protect Teen Mental Health?
Whether it’s watching a young person struggle with a social situation, lose sleep to social media, experience loss, feel school stress, consider self-harm, or try to support a friend, so many adults...
View ArticleJudy Woodruff: What Does It Mean To Really Listen?
Judy Woodruff is not done asking questions. A decorated and respected journalist, she anchored the PBS NewsHour for 15 years until she stepped down in 2022. Now, at age 79, she is traveling the country...
View ArticleMeet My Moai, A Powerful Friendship Tradition
Friendships don’t just happen; they take nurturing to grow and deepen. This episode is dedicated to friendships and the meaningful ways friends make our lives better. In this episode, the Surgeon...
View ArticleRichard Reeves: Why Are Boys And Men Struggling For Connection?
As we face an epidemic of loneliness in our country, how are men and boys struggling for connection? What’s driving the increasing rate of suicide among men? And how does our culture affect the ways in...
View ArticleRainn Wilson: Walking A Spiritual Path In A Lonely World
Note: This episode was recorded in June 2023, prior to the SAG-AFTRA union declaring a strike. Rainn Wilson describes himself as an actor and an artist, who writes some books about spirituality on the...
View ArticleEncore | José Andrés: Recipe for Connection
As we enjoy the final swing of summer, we’re sharing one of our most memorable episodes on building connection. Why is food a foundation for human connection? Chef José Andrés has spent a lifetime of...
View ArticleEncore | Susan Cain: How Do We Navigate the Joy and Sorrow of Being Human?
As we enjoy the final swing of summer, we’re sharing one of our most memorable episodes. What is the feeling you get when a sad, familiar song tugs at you? Or the exquisite pain that comes with the...
View ArticleDr. Rachel Naomi Remen: Can We All Be Healers?
How can we become healers? In these times of disconnection, we all search for sources of healing. One powerful, often untapped source is the healing we can provide for each other. For this...
View ArticleEncore | Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary: Can Anxiety Be Good For Us?
The end of summer and the arrival of fall marks a time of transition. Vacation time ends and school begins. No matter your age, for many of us, these kinds of transitions mean change, and change can...
View ArticleAshley Judd & Friends: Finding Chosen Family
In this episode of House Calls, the Surgeon General talks with actress and activist Ashley Judd, who brings along three friends she calls sisters in her chosen family. This five-way conversation...
View ArticleBaratunde Thurston: What Can Nature Teach Us About Connection?
Nature matters to our ability to connect — with each other and ourselves. In this episode of House Calls, we explore how being in nature – whether it’s your local green space, or a national park, or...
View ArticleYo-Yo Ma: How Music Heals Us (Part 1)
Healing can come in many forms. For world renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, he sees his music as a way to create touch between humans. Tirelessly performing around the world, Yo-Yo shares his musical gift...
View ArticleYo-Yo Ma: How Music Heals Us (Part 2)
Yo-Yo Ma and the Surgeon General continue the conversation about the power of music. Yo-Yo reflects on how music was an antidote to his father’s loneliness while trapped in Paris during WWII, and how...
View ArticleEncore (Student Edition) | Laurie Santos: What Makes Us Happy?
In this episode, we re-visit a conversation with Dr. Laurie Santos, professor of Yale University’s famed “happiness” course (which has been adapted into a free online course taken by 4+ million...
View ArticleHow Will You Connect?
Do you want to improve your mental and physical health? Deepen your friendships? Help reduce loneliness? Our relationships are an important part of our health and well-being. In this bonus...
View ArticleMatthew McConaughey: What Does Success Really Mean?
Do you know someone who is struggling with loneliness? Do you ever feel the definition of success you’ve been sold your whole life isn’t right? These are some of the questions the Surgeon General...
View ArticleJon Batiste: How Do You Build the Confidence to Connect?
Do you wish it felt easier to make connections with others? In this episode, recorded live from the Barclays Center in NY, the Surgeon General and Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and composer...
View ArticleDr. Lisa Miller: How Does Spirituality Protect Our Mental Health?
Can spirituality enhance our mental health? That is the question that psychologist and researcher Dr. Lisa Miller has pursued through her career. During her clinical internship after graduate school,...
View ArticleMeditation for Connecting with Loved Ones
Do you have times when you miss your loved ones and just want to feel more connected? Maybe a friend or family member is sick and you can’t connect in person. Maybe you’re traveling or are away for...
View ArticleRabbi Sharon Brous: The Power of Showing Up for Each Other
What does it mean to show up for someone? What does it mean to sit with another person’s pain? And if we are hurting, why can it be so difficult to ask for help? Part of being human is learning...
View ArticleDr. Rachel Naomi Remen: Q&A on Becoming a Healer
In this special Q&A episode, the Surgeon General sits down with his long-time medical school mentor, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, to talk about their journeys to becoming healers. Dr. Remen is the...
View ArticleEncore | Kate Bowler: Learning to Live When Life Falls Apart
What lessons does life’s uncertainties offer? Kate Bowler’s stage IV cancer diagnosis ushered her into a world of fear and pain. Living in 60-day increments, her future held no promises. Angry about...
View ArticleRebecca Solnit: Why Is Hope So Powerful?
What is hope and why is it so powerful? For writer Rebecca Solnit, hope is a commitment to possibility in the face of uncertainty. While many of us react to the unknown with anxiety or worry, Rebecca...
View ArticleShankar Vedantam: How Do Our Minds Help (or Hinder) Finding Connection &...
Have you ever had a moment when you’ve wanted to reach out to someone you haven’t seen in awhile, but something stops you, like the worry you’ll say the wrong thing? Or have you had the experience of...
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