I'd Rather Be Reading

We have a really powerful conversation today from a second time guest—Dr. Steven M. Gillon is back to talk to us about the U.S. presidents who served in World War II (there are seven of them!) and what that service meant to their lives. The last time Steven was here, we were talking about his friend JFK Jr.; today we’re talking about Eisenhower, JFK, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Bush 41 and h...

Right on the heels of my power punch conversation about love and grief with Loren Ridinger is an equally power punch conversation with friendship expert Anna Goldfarb, here, appropriately, on Galentine’s Day to talk about friendship, which you all know has been a running theme throughout season 15. I found this conversation with Anna to be so soul-enriching — I truly felt that I had met a new frie...

Today on the show we have the fantastic Loren Ridinger, author of the new book Scrambled or Sunny-Side Up?: Living Your Best Life After Losing Your Greatest Love, which is out today, February 11. On August 30, 2022, Loren lost her husband of nearly 26 years, JR Ridinger, while they were on vacation in Croatia. JR, who along with Loren is a successful entrepreneur behind Market America, died sudden...

Today is an extra special episode — it’s officially our 300th episode of the show! I am so proud of this. In an appropriate nod to reaching the milestone of 300 episodes, we’re talking today about how to make the most of our days, weeks, months, years — how to savor our time. We’re chatting with Dr. Cassie Holmes about her 2022 book Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focu...

Stress and burnout are common and pervasive problems in our society. As today’s guest Dr. Aditi Nerurkar writes in her new book The 5 Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience — which came out January 16 — “Stress and burnout aren’t the exception anymore, they’re the rule.” It turns out that we’re all trapped in the stress paradox, where we are completely isolated in o...

I’m excited to have on the show today Lynne Peeples to discuss her book The Inner Clock: Living in Sync with Our Circadian Rhythms, which came out last September 24. This book examines how the science of circadian rhythms can help us all sleep better, feel happier, and improve our overall health, and how modernization like artificial light, time zones, and eating late at night can really disrupt o...

We are back today with Brian Kelly — who you might know as The Points Guy — chatting about his brand new book How to Win at Travel , which came out this week on February 4. I can almost guarantee that you will learn something about how to travel more effectively and save time and money after reading Brian’s book, and that you’ll likely never look at travel quite the same again — in the best way po...

As season 15 continues, we’re chatting today about a topic that has been close to my heart lately, and always, really — the power of friendship. We’ve already spoken about friendship this season, and we will again before the season concludes. I really resonated with Laura Tremaine’s 2023 book The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs . I think we have a tendency sometimes to put so much empha...

As we continue this great week of episodes, I’m delighted today to welcome Dr. Ethan Kross to the show to talk about his latest book Shift: Managing Your Emotions So They Don’t Manage You, which is out February 4. Shift follows the success of Ethan’s 2021 book Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It , which was an international bestseller. In Shift , we’re talking all...

Today on the show we’re talking about two topics that seem quite different but are actually incredibly related: breaking up with our phones and having more fun. Catherine Price’s book How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life originally came out in 2018; the revised edition of the book actually comes out tomorrow, February 4 and is fully revised and updated. Today on...

One year ago this month — February 20, to be exact — the world was introduced to Dr. Sue Varma’s landmark book Practical Optimism: The Art, Science, and Practice of Exceptional Well-Being . Its tagline certainly speaks to our modern times: “A practical program rooted in optimism to help you live fully and joyfully in an imperfect, turbulent world.” Yes, please! Sign me up. Sue has a fascinating st...

Like so many, my heart is deeply heavy today for the victims of both the Washington D.C. plane and helicopter collision and now, as of Friday night, the tragic plane crash in Philadelphia. Both incidents — as well as so much else going on in my life right now — have led me to start reevaluating my life. What matters most? What should be prioritized? Today’s guest helps us, through her impressive b...

We’ve got an absolute legend on the show today, although he’d never refer to himself that way. Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, world-renowned executive leadership coach, is here today to chat with me specifically about his 2015 book Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts — Becoming the Person You Want to Be , which turns 10 years old this year. In Triggers , Marshall writes that meaningful behavior change...

I could not be more excited to continue our big week of programming with the fantastic Molly Fletcher, who is a podcaster, entrepreneur, speaker, and former sports agent, described as “the female Jerry Maguire” by CNN and ESPN. She is also the founder of The Molly Fletcher Company and, when she was working as a sports agent, she represented athletes, coaches, and broadcasters ranging from Tom Izzo...

I could not be more excited, because today is R and P day on the show! That’s right — today we’re chatting with the fabulous Lindsay Jill Roth, one of my new favorite people, about her book Romances & Practicalities: A Love Story (Maybe Yours!) in 250 Questions , which comes out today, January 28. I spoke to Lindsay just before my wedding, and even though I was obviously in major love mode in...

Today we’ve got another necessary conversation for so many of us — we’re talking with Dr. Ellen Hendriksen about her new book How to Be Enough: Self-Acceptance for Self-Critics and Perfectionists , which came out January 7. It turns out, perhaps not surprisingly, that feeling a lack of enoughness is a widespread problem, and Ellen’s book taught me so much about perfectionism — including that I app...

Today I am thrilled to have on the show Israa Nasir to talk about her book Toxic Productivity: Reclaim Your Time and Emotional Energy in a World That Always Demands More , which came out November 19. Israa is a psychotherapist, speaker, and the founder of the mental health brand WellGuide, a digital community for mental health awareness. I love getting her WellGuide Substack, so make sure to subsc...

As we continue our ongoing, sporadic time management series, we’re chatting today with Maria Bowler, the author of Making Time: A New Vision for Crafting a Life Beyond Productivity , which came out January 21. In the book, Maria writes that we are a culture obsessed with productivity — but in Making Time , she argues that our to do lists are just a distraction. In our conversation today, we talk a...

I recently had the great honor and pleasure of chatting with legendary sports broadcaster Chris Myers, whose book That Deserves a Wow: Untold Stories of Legends and Champions, Their Wins and Heartbreaks came out last November 19. This book is part memoir and part time capsule of some of the highlight reel of sports moments over the past few decades, as Chris has truly seen it all. Chris is an Emmy...

Today on the show we’re talking about a fascinating topic — how to unlearn the idea of being a so-called “good mom.” We’re chatting today with Nancy Reddy, author of The Good Mother Myth: Unlearning Our Bad Ideas About How to Be a Good Mom, which comes out January 21 and helps us unwind, as the title suggests, “the good mother myth” and myths we’ve been told over the years about what it means to b...

Birmingham, Alabama — also known as The Magic City — is a major part of my story. I lived there for nearly 11 years, from January 2013 until December 2023; my husband is from there and I met my husband there; and, living there from age 26 to 37, it was part of my formative years as an adult. During my time in Birmingham, I worked in communications at the economic development organization the Birmi...

Earlier this week we spoke about romantic relationships, and today we’re turning the focus to friendships — which are equally as important to a life. I have been so, so fortunate throughout my life to have the best of the best when it comes to friendships, both female and male, and I personally know — as I’m sure so many of you do — what friendship can add to a life. Our surgeon general Dr. Vivek...

This week on the show, we’re going to be talking about some of our most important relationships — our romantic relationships and our platonic relationships. Today on the show we have the relationship expert herself, Jillian Turecki, to talk about her new book It Begins with You: The 9 Hard Truths About Love That Will Change Your Life, which comes out January 14. As Jillian puts it in the book, no...

When you think of the word “audacity,” what comes to mind? Honestly, for most of us, it’s probably a negative connotation — as in, how do they have the audacity to do that? In her new book Cultivating Audacity: Dismantle Doubt and Let Yourself Win , Emmy Award-winning sports broadcaster Anne Marie Anderson is looking to reframe the word “audacity” into a positive, and something we all should be do...

Today we have an inside look into life in the Ford White House thanks to Bob Barrett’s new book Inside the President’s Team: Family, Service, and the Gerald Ford Presidency, which comes out January 7. In this book, Bob — who was one of President Ford’s most trusted advisers — gives us a behind-the-curtain view of the Ford presidency as, second to Gerald Ford’s wife Betty Ford, no one was closer to...