Meditative Story

What's is like to be an identical twin? Game designer Jane McGonigal tells a story of similarity and divergence as she explores the magic of sharing DNA while becoming an individual. If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way t...

Restaurateur Danny Meyer takes us back to where it all began for him: a family trip to Europe and a simple plate of pasta. That memorable meal sparked a lifetime practice of discovery that continues to feed his creativity and his soul. If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podc...

While filming one day in the Congo Rainforest, legendary photojournalist John Moore pursued the vision of a perfect photograph — a vision that literally brought him to his knees. He shares the magic that can occur when you let go of the desire to control the outcome. If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewi...

Sitting around tables with arms experts, moving missiles around a map of Europe as if it were a gameboard, On Being's Krista Tippett grabs the moment to dislodge herself from the exhilaration of power. The journey that ensues leads her to a remote cottage in Spain where a chance encounter with a retired accountant, Robert, creates the space to redirect her life forever.  Read Krista's book "...

Author and journalist Thomas Page McBee takes us into the boxing ring at Madison Square Garden, where he finds answers to some of his most profound questions through fighting – and along the way discovers what happens when you stop trying to win. If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story i...

Broadcaster Dan Harris shares a candid look at his attempts to connect more with his son, Alexander, on their first father-son trip. If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to the show, and we’d be so grateful. Each episode...

For this human moment, join astronomer Michelle Thaller as she contemplates the night sky. We’re such a small part of the universe – and yet so significant within it. If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to the show, and...

Renowned astronomer and science commentator Michelle Thaller shares a story about cosmic awe and deep connection — both to our fellow human beings and to the universe around us. If this episode resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you. Please take a moment to share your reflections by rating and reviewing Meditative Story in your podcast player. It helps other listeners find their way to the...

In a tiny studio in Tampa, Florida, with new-to-the-scene Jennifer Hudson and a Pomeranian dog named Grammy, young music producer Larry Jackson begins to feel the heat. It’s his job to not only make music, but to make hits. And it’s not happening. From an early age, Larry has had to scramble to make things happen for himself – and chance luck has made him a bit superstitious. The creative process...

A glossy picture on the cover of a magazine. That’s all it takes for a teenage Arianna Huffington to decide she’s going to leave her family and home – and the activity and warmth of her mom’s kitchen table – to start something new. Without speaking the language, or even knowing how to get there, Arianna decides she’s going to start a new life in a new place, propelled forward by her mom’s wise sen...

Facing a dreaded 20-hour layover after weeks away from home, Pico Iyer sees his best option is to set out and explore a city he never planned to visit in the first place. Pico's expectations, like anyone traveling to a new place for the first time, are to distract himself with new experiences and try to make sense of the world around him. What happens, though, couldn't be more unexpected. A feelin...

Watching her daughter chase a balloon through a graveyard, Dr. Lucy Kalanithi comes to realize that maybe she can learn from four-year-old Cady. After the death of her husband, Dr. Paul Kalanithi, author of "When Breath Becomes Air," Lucy focuses on Cady, on teaching Cady how to deal with grief and loss. But as Cady bounds through the cemetery, on the way to see her dad, she teaches Lucy. She sees...

Every week, you’ll receive a different Meditative Story from a storyteller who will transport you to the time and place where everything changed for them — a story you might find yourself relating to deeply. As the story unfolds, mindfulness guide Rohan will offer gentle prompts designed to calm your mind and help you connect with your own observations. Your entire experience will be elevated by g...