the goop podcast

James Gordon is a psychiatrist, the founder and director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, and author ofThe Transformation. He has a simple meditation technique called soft-belly breathing that we frequently return to for releasing stress and grounding in the present moment. In this special workshop, Gordon explains how and why his technique works, and you’ll get to try it for yourself.   Lear...

Erica Chidi is joined by sex expert and psychotherapist Esther Perel. They talk about Perel’s new game, Where Should We Begin, which is a deck of cards she designed to help people start meaningful conversations with each other. Perel shares why playfulness is important to cultivate as adults and how our stories can recharge and connect us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com...

“If I saw the vulnerability of other people, it almost canceled out the ways that they could be harmful to me,” says Melissa Febos, author of Girlhood. Today, she joins cohost Erica Chidi to talk about the journey through adolescence into adulthood and its lasting impact on who we are and how we see the world. Febos shares how she learned to move past shame, and they talk about the narratives wome...

GP is joined by entrepreneur and cryptocurrency expert Sophie Wiberg Holm (who has been tutoring GP for a bit). Holm is a co-founder at Address Capital, a digital assets investment firm, and the host of I Also Want Money, a podcast that explores women’s relationship to money and ways to democratize wealth. Today, they discuss the rapidly changing landscape of digital currency, how NFTs work, and t...

Elinor Cleghorn is a writer, researcher, and author of the book, Unwell Women. Today, Cleghorn and cohost Erica Chidi explore the misdiagnosis and mistreatment of women’s health issues throughout history, including Cleghorn’s own experience with chronic illness. Her symptoms were dismissed for many years before she was diagnosed with lupus, which prompted her to take a deeper look at the ways medi...

It’s been a while. As requested, GP returns to do a lightning round of AMA, where she answers a handful of listener-submitted questions. How would those close to you describe you? What are you least confident about? Dating advice? Favorite concert? And more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There’s a lot of complexity that we tend to overlook about the power of our voice, says John Colapinto. Colapinto is a journalist and the author of This Is the Voice, which explores the biology of human speech, spanning from how babies learn to make sounds to the relatively recent rise of vocal fry. Today, he joins co-host Erica Chidi to talk about the vocal injury that inspired him to find out wh...

GP catches up with Alicia Keys to talk about her relationships, motherhood as a multihyphenate artist, where creativity comes from, and how to respect our imperfections and flaws. “I don’t like the word ‘perfect’,” says Keys. “It connects us a little bit more when we’re able to share our mistakes or when you’re able to hear something that’s not exactly perfect.” They also discuss the launch of Key...

Alua Arthur is a death doula and the founder of Going with Grace, an end-of-life planning and death doula training organization. Arthur, who was previously an attorney, has helped thousands of people explore and move through the end-of-life process. Today, she joins cohost Erica Chidi to talk about the beauty and satisfaction that comes with making space for both grief and joy. They discuss the di...

Tracy Clark-Flory is a senior staff writer at Jezebel and author of Want Me: A Sex Writer’s Journey Into the Heart of Desire. Her book explores the messages we receive from society about sex, intimacy, and pleasure and how this shapes our sexual lives and identities. She explains how sexual empowerment has been watered down and twisted into an individualistic approach and why it’s critical to thin...

“What’s great about great players is their mind,” says Venus Williams. GP chatted with Williams, who was in Paris on the heels of the French Open. They talk about Williams’ perspective on competition, where her drive comes from, and what drew her to her many ventures (which include an interior design firm, lifestyle and activewear brand, personal care products, and a plant-based protein company). ...

“I find it so confounding when leaders are uninterested in having their people’s experiences in the work—because how boring is that?” asks Bozoma Saint John, global chief marketing officer at Netflix. In this conversation with GP, Saint John shares some of her own extraordinary life story, why she believes that everyone has a powerful story within them, and how you can recognize the value of yours...

Cohost Erica Chidi is joined by Tara Brach, a clinical psychologist, spiritual meditation teacher, and author. Brach’s new book, Trusting the Gold: Uncovering Your Natural Goodness, explores the fundamental value of connection and how to recognize the value in ourselves. Today, they discuss how to deepen our sense of compassion as we move through difficult times. They talk about interconnectedness...

Taz Bhatia, MD, is a board-certified integrative medicine physician, author, and the founder of the functional medicine practice, CentreSpringMD. She helps patients navigate their health journey by drawing from different systems of medicine, including Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine. Today, she joins GP to talk about perimenopause and menopause. They talk through what happens when our bo...

Cohost Erica Chidi is joined by the coauthors of Data Feminism: Catherine D’Ignazio (an assistant professor of urban science and planning at MIT) and Lauren F. Klein (an associate professor of English and quantitative theory and methods at Emory University). They explore the limits and uses of data, how data can reinforce and challenge systems of power, and how bad or missing data can hurt women....

Emeran Mayer, MD, PhD, is a gastroenterologist, a neuroscientist, and an author. At UCLA, he serves as the executive director of the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience and as the codirector of the Digestive Diseases Research Center. He has spent over forty years studying the interactions between the brain and the gut and the rest of the body. Today, he shares the most...

“Social inequity is probably the biggest driver of health,” says Lindo Bacon, PhD, author of Health at Every Size, Body Respect, and Radical Belonging. “And if we don’t address the social determinants of health, then we end up blaming the individuals and putting the onus on them when that’s so false and it’s shaming of people.” Bacon is a nutritionist, researcher, and an intersectional body libera...

Carl Hart, PhD, is the psychology department chair at Columbia University and the author of Drug Use for Grown-Ups. In his book, Hart makes the case for the legalization and regulation of all drugs, drawing on decades of scientific research, history, and his own experiences. Today, he joins co-host Erica Chidi to share his approach—which may surprise and challenge you. They discuss the narratives...

Psychologist and bestselling author Edith Eger’s book, The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life, explores the power of self-renewal and how to free yourself from thoughts and behaviors that might be imprisoning you. Today, she shares her own story of surviving the Holocaust and finding a path toward healing and forgiveness. GP and Eger discuss how to acknowledge and process anger, build resilience,...

Astrology can be a practical tool, says Chani Nicholas, astrologer and author of You Were Born for This. “Most of our spiritual life is lived out through very practical actions.” In this conversation, Nicholas explores the birth chart of our new cohost, Erica Chidi, CEO and cofounder of LOOM. And more broadly, Nicholas shares advice for anyone navigating a challenging transit period or in need of...

GP is joined by her friend Erica Chidi, CEO and cofounder of LOOM, and probably one of the first subscribers to goop back in 2008. They talk about the ways they’ve intersected and aligned over the years, how Chidi’s work as a doula has evolved, and the next iteration of her digital education platform. They talk about racism in healthcare, how to move forward through discomfort, the beauty to be fo...

“The cure for burnout is not self-care,” says Emily Nagoski. “It’s simply care. It’s all of us caring for each other. That means that when you think you need more grit, what you need is more help. When you think you need more discipline, you need more kindness.” In this special episode, we’re taking a break from our typical interview format to share an audio workshop led by Emily and her sister Am...

“I don’t wake up and say, ‘I hope this is a great day, and I’m not going to get triggered,’” says psychotherapist Barry Michels, coauthor of Coming Alive and The Tools. “I say, ‘I’m going to get triggered. There’s no question.’” Last year, GP had a conversation with Michels that we keep returning to. In it, Michels shares his three-point plan for coping with negativity. He has tools for regulating...

GP catches up with her longtime friend Laura Dern. They chat about being raised by double-artist parents and how their childhoods informed their acting careers, creative lives, and parenting styles. They talk about how they try to create space for their children to be vulnerable and explore their sense of self. And Dern shares why living in the gray—and finding comfort in the messy middle—has beco...

Many of us romanticize our past selves, says actress, producer, and activist Gabrielle Union. “If you don't do an excavation of how you got to where you are, you will continue to live in the romanticized version of who you were and you won't be able to let go.” In this conversation, GP and Union explore past and future selves, parenting within blended families, healing from deep wounds, menopause...