Simplify

Do you sometimes find yourself replying to work emails late at night... from bed? Or maybe taking on another task that, almost as soon as you've agreed, you realize you don't actually have time for?  Often, instead of behaving as if we’re exchanging our intellect, talent, and skills for money, we feel like whoever pays us owns us. And this is where trouble starts. In today's episode Natalie Lue wi...

Does talking about death freak you out? No wonder, it's something many of us avoid thinking about and prefer pretending it's not there. But it's an important topic, and if we can allow ourselves to sit with the truth that life will eventually end, it becomes a beautiful call to appreciate our lives and the people in them.  And this is why palliative care physician Kathryn Mannix wrote her book, Wi...

One thing most leaders have in common is that they want to perform well. And that often leads them into the trap of believing that to be a great leader, you’re not allowed to be scared—or at least that you'd better not show it. In this episode, Jim Dethmer invites us to embrace the opposite: allowing yourself to be fully present and fully alive—including feeling all your feelings—is the first step...

Most of us learned how to do relationships from a state of victimhood. According to Karpman's Drama Triangle, there are three different roles to play: the victim, the hero and the villain. Regardless of these parts we take on, we're avoiding taking full responsibility for our experiences and our results in the world, which in turn causes a lot of drama and suffering.  In this episode, Diana Chapma...

If your child is having a meltdown or throwing a tantrum in the supermarket, you'll do almost anything to make them stop—including turning into MeanParent™.  But there's another way! Dr. Tina Payne Bryson offers a different approach to discipline, free of threats and punishments, that is based on neuroscience. Understanding and nourishing your child's developing brain will not only help you surviv...

Worn down by your never-ending to-do list? Even though there’s been a shift towards a more holistic idea of productivity in the last years, a lot of people still think that being productive is all about efficient time managing and achieving more. And this is where Erik Fisher comes in. Over the past 10 years, Erik's hosted some of the world's biggest productivity experts on his show, Beyond the To...

For a lot of us, our job is a profound expression of selfhood. That means that when we lose a job, or when a business fails, we might feel like failures, too. And in today’s uncertain economy this happens a lot more than anybody would like.  In this episode, Farai Chideya, author of The Episodic Career https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/the-episodic-career-en [1], offers a new perspective on how to...

To show you just how much we've missed you, season 7 of Simplify is extra large and extra excellent! This time, you'll hear from a dating psychologist on connecting at the deepest level, the ultimate productivity expert on working in seasons, and even a hospice physician on how to have a good death—and live life to the fullest in the meantime. As always, this season features bestselling authors li...

Why do we lose motivation in our jobs? How can we create a space of belonging and inclusion? What are the best ways to give and receive feedback? Liz Fosslien answers all of these questions, and more, in this thoughtful and pertinent interview. As she reveals, emotions in the workplace are not only acceptable—they can actually be incredibly useful in decision making, making connections, and doing...

In this special Spotlight Caitlin talks with teacher, author, and entrepreneur, Seth Godin, about his new release, This Is Marketing. According to Seth, marketing is no longer about hawking products that nobody needs, but instead about helping people find the ones that will actually make a positive difference to their lives.  In this episode of Spotlight, Seth tells Caitlin about what marketing re...

As evidenced by the many times we've spoken with him on Simplify or recommended his books to you, we love Seth Godin. And now, big news! Seth has created exclusive content for Blinkist—and we're giving you a preview. 2 Minutes with Seth Godin launches January 13th, only on Blinkist. Tune in, twice a week, to hear the teacher, entrepreneur, and internet OG himself drop gems of fresh perspective on...

The final episode of Season 6 features a special guest: psychologist, entrepreneur, publisher, ex management consultant and one of Blinkist's original co-founders, Sebastian Klein!  In this interview, Caitlin and Sebastian discuss how businesses around the world are making changes that transform them from hierarchy, to more effective and people-centered organizations. Sebastian explains why design...

What would the world look like if we were free of body shame and instead living in a state of radical self-love? Radical Self-Love Champion and author of The Body Is Not An Apology, Sonya Renee Taylor, explains what her utopia would look like in this week’s episode of Simplify. As Sonya explains, our language and mindset about our bodies impact us in ways that we are often entirely unaware of. Inc...

In this episode of Simplify, Caitlin asks Randolph Nesse why he believes that humans have evolved to experience hardships such as depression, anxiety and grief. As it turns out, while many of our most painful emotions often do not serve a proper function in our modern world, they may have a history that allowed for our ancestors to survive.  Randolph Nesse reveals the ways in which the fields of p...

Creating joy in your daily life is much simpler than you’d think. Ingrid Fetell Lee, joy researcher and former IDEO designer, reveals how in transforming our spaces, we also have the power to transform our wellbeing. Find out how color brought life back into a struggling city, how you might be able to cheer up a loved one in the hospital, and how to set up a meeting at work to bring more energy an...

We’ve got good news and bad news: depression might not be all in your head. In this episode of Simplify, journalist and two-time New York Times-bestselling author Johann Hari reveals the cultural causes of depression. Among them are loss of connection to meaningful work, a lack of meaningful relationships, lack of a future that makes sense, plus other factors both political and personal that can’t...

We kick off Season 6 of Simplify with  Susan Cain, author of Quiet, and introversion's biggest rockstar. You'll hear how introverts and extroverts react differently to stimulation, why introverts often end up overlooked, and where the glamour around extroversion came from in the first place.  Cain explains that giving introverts permission to be themselves not only makes them feel better, it can u...

In Season 6 of Simplify, we're going deep. Our authors and experts touch on how to harness joy from the world around us, why a lack of real human connection makes us depressed, and the evolutionary reasons we feel feelings in the first place. You'll hear from Susan Cain, Johann Hari, Sonya Renee Taylor, Ingrid Fetell Lee, and more.  If you haven’t subscribed, make sure to do so before the first ne...

Chris Hirst's new book, No Bullshit Leadership , just hit stores. In it, the CEO of Havas Creative shares his jargon-free, straightforward approach to leadership, developed through years of hands-on experience with cutting the crap to get good work done. In this episode of Simplify Spotlight, Chris Hirst illuminates some things about leadership that you might think you already know, but don't—like...

Big news: Simplify's been nominated for a Webby Award—the internet’s most coveted prize, or the "Emmies of the Internet." Currently, we're in third place and you, dear listeners, can help us win by voting here: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2019/podcasts/general-podcasts/health-wellness We're in the running for the Best Health & Wellness Podcast, pitted against huge shows like Dan...

Self? Help! is the new podcast out of Blinkist. Host Terence Mickey, Moth Storyteller and creator of Memory Motel, goes deep with people about the books that sparked their life-changing realizations. In season one you’ll hear five bestselling NYT authors—Johann Hari, Paula McLain, and Eli Finkel, to name a few—tell the stories of that moment when they asked themselves who am I? How did I get here?...

Picture a person who uses cannabis regularly. Did you imagine an Olympic medal-winning athlete, or a successful entrepreneur? Or did you think of someone who fits the standard stoner stereotype? If, like most people, you conjured up the latter, then today’s episode of Simplify might challenge some of your assumptions about what cannabis-use looks like, and what it’s used for. In this episode, Cait...

What does whiteness mean? If you're a white person, the occasions on which you've thought about it might be few. If you're a person of color, the time you spend reckoning with its meaning & consequences are likely far too many. Today's episode of Simplify is an invitation to grapple with what white means in the world, and how to have more generative, revelation-ready mindsets and conversations...

Coach & writer Jen Sincero tried every self-help technique out there, then condensed the most powerful practices into one straight-talking bestseller that thousands have used to kickstart their lives. Listen in as Sincero takes you through how to bust your own self-defeating beliefs to become the badass you’ve always known you are. Sincero, author of bestselling book You Are a Badass talks wit...

If you've got a pulse and like eating food, you've likely either been on a diet, or felt obligated to start one. Yet the fact remains that diets, in the traditional cut-and-count-calories format, rarely work long term. That's where Melissa Hartwig Urban comes in. On this episode of Simplify, the co-creator of nutrition phenomenon The Whole30 talks with Caitlin about how to get free of diets foreve...