Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

In this solo episode recorded on Election Day 2020, I talk directly to our wholehearted community about the practice that helps me when I’m feeling fearful, worried, or wobbly and why this work is the foundation for true belonging. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I speak with Elizabeth Lesser, bestselling author and co-founder of Omega Institute, about her newest book, Cassandra Speaks: When Women Are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My thoughts on power and leadership and a conversation on empathy, unity, and courage with Vice President Joe Biden, the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Burnout. We’re all experiencing it and we’re all desperate for a way through it. In this episode, I talk to Drs. Emily and Amelia Nagoski about what causes burnout, what it does to our bodies, and how we can move through the emotional exhaustion. This has been a game changer for me and for my family! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the self-appointed president of the TLFC (Ted Lasso Fan Club), it was a blast to talk to Jason Sudeikis, the co-creator, writer, and executive producer who plays Ted Lasso, and Brendan Hunt, the co-creator and writer who plays Coach Beard on the Apple TV+ hit series. The show follows the adventures of a small-time college football coach from Kansas hired to coach a professional soccer team in E...

The Most Reverend Michael Curry is presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, and in this episode, we talk about love. Messy, hard, complicated love. I ask him how we can transcend fear in a scarcity-based culture and what we can learn from those who came before us. We also talk about the church, how to develop beloved community, and the scrappy, gritty work of love that is my definition of faith....

In this episode, I share my thoughts on the power of dissent, what happens when we max out our surge capacity during a crisis, and how time spent without purpose can refuel and reconnect us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sonya Renee Taylor and I talk about body shame, radical self-love, and social justice. This conversation was a big unlocking for me — especially when it comes to understanding the connection between how we think about our bodies and oppression. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Scott Sonenshein — a researcher and professor — and I talk about the art and science of being scrappy, why outsiders are sometimes better than experts, and why comparison is truly the thief of joy. This book turned things upside down for me — in the best way. I hope the conversation does the same for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So glad to be back! Launching our second season with a conversation on one of my favorite subjects (and least favorite experiences): Day 2! It sounds easy enough, but Day 2 is no joke. It’s the messy middle — the point of no return. Join us as we talk about navigating what’s next and why it’s always best to stumble through the darkness together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoic...

We received so many thoughtful and tough AMA questions from listeners that it took us two episodes to cover the most popular topics. In Part 2, I unpack one of the most-asked questions: How do parents build shame resilience in our children? I’m also answering another popular question: Are there TV series and/or films that I think do a great job of accurately capturing emotions and the human experi...

I said, “Ask Me Anything,” and the Unlocking Us community came through with the tough questions. To be honest, I thought I’d get some easy, fun ones — but no, all deep-end questions. In fact, we received so many thoughtful and tough AMA questions from listeners that it took us two episodes to cover the most popular topics, including “fake news,” disappointment versus self-pity, religion and shame,...

In today’s solo episode, I share my thoughts about why accountability is a prerequisite for change and why we need to get our heads and hearts around the difference between being held accountable for racism and feeling shame and being shamed. I share my personal stories of being held accountable and holding myself accountable, as well as my strategies for pulling my “thinking brain” back online wh...

I’m talking with Judd Apatow, who has directed, produced, and written many of the biggest comedy films and hit TV shows of the past two decades. We look at what’s funny, why it’s funny, and why laughter creates connection. We also uncover that thin line between humor and grief and what it means to tell the stories of our lives in a way that we recognize ourselves and our shared humanity. Learn mor...

Meet Carrie Rodriguez and Gina Chavez, the musicians who created and perform the music you hear every week on Unlocking Us. Artists and activists, Gina and Carrie integrate stories, culture, and the heart of past generations into their music to create artful and hopeful futures. You can hear it in their music, and you can see it in their lives. I’m so grateful that our weekly Unlocking Us conversa...

I talk to artist, advocate, executive producer, and all-around amazing woman and friend Laverne Cox about her new, groundbreaking documentary, Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen; the importance of policy protection for the trans community; and the seismic shifts in the world today. We also discuss the complexities of intersectionality and accountability, the difference between discomfort and safety...

Austin Channing Brown’s anti-racism work is critical to changing our world, and her ability to talk about what is good and true about love, about our faith, and about loving each other is transformative. She is a writer, a speaker, and a media producer providing inspired leadership on racial justice in America. In this episode, we connect on her book, I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made...

I’m talking with professor Ibram X. Kendi, New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist and the director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University. We talk about racial disparities, policy, and equality, but we really focus on How to Be an Antiracist, which is a groundbreaking approach to understanding uprooting racism and inequality in our society and in...

Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington are true creatives and storytellers, working to make timely art that is honest and vulnerable and truth-telling. Here’s Part 2 of my conversation on Little Fires Everywhere. This episode covers how Reese and Kerry worked with a team of other creatives to bring Celeste’s words to life. We talk about the challenges and responsibilities of creating authentic, li...

My conversation with Celeste Ng is the first of two episodes on Little Fires Everywhere, where I’ll cover the book and the series. We talk about the writing process, the stories that we tell, and the stories that define us. We also cover how our hometowns shape us, how parenting is a shame minefield, and how we all have the power to mourn moments even while we’re in them. Celeste also fills us in...

Jay and Mark Duplass are two of my favorite humans. They are filmmakers, writers, directors, producers, actors, and activists. They’re also partners, fathers, and brothers who believe in connection, love, and the importance of small moments. In this episode, we talk about their memoir, Like Brothers, and how so much of what we crave in life comes from straddling the paradoxes inherent in love, cre...

Dr. Harriet Lerner’s work has transformed my work and my life. She’s a renowned psychologist and bestselling author who has been studying apologies — and why some people won’t give them — for more than two decades. In Part 2 of our two-part series, we share from a course together on her groundbreaking book Why Won’t You Apologize?: Healing Big Betrayals and Everyday Hurts. We dig into the “mischie...

This is the first episode of two-part special based on a course that Dr. Harriet Lerner and I did together on her groundbreaking book Why Won’t You Apologize?: Healing Big Betrayals and Everyday Hurts. It’s an authentic, hard conversation about making mistakes, healing hurts, and being brave. Harriet is a friend, mentor, and teacher. Her work has shaped my career and made my life better. During a...

In this episode, I talk to two women who provide wise counsel for those of us who have struggled with belonging and faith (and still do on occasion). Sue Monk Kidd and Jen Hatmaker are dissident daughters, brave leaders, and the very best companions for a contemplative journey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever struggled with feeling lonely — even when you’re surrounded by people you love? I have. It’s painful and confusing. In this episode, I talk to Dr. Vivek Murthy, a physician and the 19th surgeon general of the United States, about loneliness and the physical and emotional toll that social disconnection takes on us. We talk about his new book, Together, and what it takes for each of us...