The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall

Why do women stop wanting sex? Why is it so hard to recapture the intoxicating desire of those wonderful early weeks and months of your relationship? Irene Fehr has spent a decade working with couples as a sex and intimacy coach. Her specialty is women’s libido and sexual desire in long-term relationships. In this episode Andrew and Irene discuss the nature of desire. Unless we understand what com...

David Kessler is one of the world’s best-known experts on grief, yet nothing could prepare him for the loss of his beloved son at the age of 21. Just as he’d advised his clients for decades, David attended grief groups, saw a therapist and sat with his pain.  In this episode, Andrew and David discuss how society wants us to grieve versus the reality of loss. We will likely never “get over” the los...

Finding meaning and fulfillment in the second half of life requires us to make a conscious transition. We must explore “the unconscious denial and resistance that erupts around key thresholds of later life” if we are to be happy as elders.  In this episode, psychotherapist and author Connie Zweig, PhD talks with Andrew about how to become an elder who is filled with purpose and vitality. She expla...

If you dread parties, can’t face job interviews, or won’t start scary conversations with your partner, this is the episode for you.  Dr Wendy Suzuki is a neuroscientist and an international expert on anxiety and the brain. Her new book, Good Anxiety , unpacks the science of everyday anxiety in a way that helps us manage it. In this episode, Andrew and Wendy discuss:  ⚡️What “good anxiety” is, and...

Is society setting you up to fail in your marriage? World-renowned relationship therapist Terry Real sees a toxic culture of individualism troubling society at every level. We are told to strive for personal productivity and perfection, ignoring the fact that we exist in a web of crucial relationships. In this episode, Terry describes research showing that the mind exists in a social context, and...

My guests this week - Lisa Arends and Helen Tower - know just about everything there is to know about the painful subject of infidelity, because they have lived it through it themselves. Both have written extensively about their experiences. Lisa’s is a story of the most extreme and dramatic betrayal: ten years ago her husband ended their 16-year marriage with a text message, after which she never...

How often have you heard masculinity described as “toxic”, “fragile”, or “in a crisis”? JJ Bola - writer, former youth worker, and UNHCR Ambassador - tries to go deeper in understanding how society is failing boys and men. In this episode, JJ Bola describes masculinity as a performance that we require boys to learn; along the way stifling their individuality and emotional health. Different societi...

Many of us, particularly women, experience endless frustration because we don’t feel heard. At work and at home, it seems like we are constantly interrupted and rarely feel in control of a conversation. This week Viv Groskop, journalist, podcaster, stand-up comedian and author of How to Own The Room and Lift As You Climb, talks with Andrew about how to speak so that people will listen. Diving into...

Do you feel trapped, hopeless or broken in your relationship? Perhaps you hope by trying harder, being more empathetic or just plain knowledgeable, that everything will turn a corner. On one hand, that’s a great strategy and shows admirable tenacity but on the other, it can reach a point that’s bad for your well-being, your mental health and for your children too. If you’re wondering whether your...

If you’re in relationship with a partner who is on the autism spectrum, the following may feel familiar: My partner seems to lack empathy and doesn’t care how I feel My partner misjudges me all the time - I can’t do anything right I can’t seem to find a way to communicate with my partner My partner feels attacked and criticised if I disagree We argue all the time and never resolve anything My part...

Have you found the freedom to explore the rich landscape of your erotic self? Or did your childhood leave you feeling restricted and repressed by a sex negative mindset?  In this week’s episode Andrew talks to Silva Neves, a psychosexual psychotherapist, about: Why people DON’T fully explore their sexual selves Why labelling people “sex addicts” is unhelpful, and The liberating mindset of sex posi...

We spend a lot of time feeling very serious about seeking meaning in our lives; but is it possible that the secret lies in making the search more fun? Can we say a creative, mutually affirming “yes” more often? And when do we need a self-protective “no”? This week Andrew and improv comedy star Pippa Evans have lots of fun together as they compare the strategies of improvisational comedy with those...

There is a coherent and meaningful map for our lives and we are given it one step at a time with the occasional glimpse into the whole picture. That’s the key idea of my witness today... Sometimes the messages come from bodily instincts – you visit somewhere and you know it is going to be important for you – or your intuition telling something is true or resonates deeply within. At other times, th...

Who is your favourite literary character? According to Dr Josh Cohen, an academic working in literary theory and also a psychoanalyst, this can be a very important question. Josh Cohen’s new book is How to Live. What To Do: In search of ourselves in life and literature . He believes that there are major similarities between psychoanalysis and great literature. For one thing, neither offers simple...

How do we live knowing that we will die? How can we face death, and how should we prepare for it? Dr Kathryn Mannix has spent her professional life working in palliative care, and the teams she has worked on have been involved in 10-15 thousand deaths. In this classic episode, Kathryn shares her insights into what it’s like to die and how we can love and support someone approaching the end of thei...

We’re often told we’re in the midst of a post-Covid “loneliness epidemic”, but what exactly does that mean? Loneliness is a profound condition that goes right to the heart of being human - it’s certainly more than just being alone, and often it isn’t something that can be addressed by just “getting out more” or volunteering at the local hospital.  This week’s guest Dr Sam Carr became interested in...

"What are you looking for in a relationship?” It’s something we ask and are asked right at the beginning of a relationship – when we are dating. Perhaps even sitting in a restaurant sharing a first meal together. It comes up again, in the background, when we ask: is this the right person to marry. Do they have the qualities I want? At life review points and perhaps when a marriage is at a sticky p...

Author and therapist KATE KING joins Andrew this week to discuss the question of whether to “Mend or Move On”. Kate challenges the assumption that family loyalty and social harmony should come at the expense of personal well-being. Not every connection is worth saving - but how do you know whether your relationship is worth healing, or whether it’s time for an honest goodbye? Andrew and Kate discu...

Is it possible to decide to be happier, and then to go out there and make it happen? Hypnotherapist, author and podcaster Richard Nicholls believes that happiness is, at least in part, a skill to be learned. The more you practise, the easier it becomes.  Of course, each individual’s notion of happiness and their genetic capacity to achieve it easily will be very different. That doesn’t mean, thoug...

At work and at home, we tend to avoid difficult conversations for as long as we can. So it’s not surprising that when we are forced to face conflict, it quickly escalates to a fever pitch. Many of us are also guilty of treating relationship conflict as a winner-takes-all debate, rather than an opportunity for connection and change.  Conflict expert, academic and author ROBERT BORDONE has developed...

It often feels like the modern world values and rewards people who remain psychologically suspended in adolescence. Many people, particularly men, prolong and enjoy their adolescence for decades.  Conroy Harris, CEO of the charity A Band of Brothers , discovered through his own life experiences that this wasn’t a healthy way to live. He believes that everyone seeks a meaningful identity and a purp...

Many of us indulge in escapist or addictive behaviours that fall short of what society would define as problematic addictions. According to author CECILY MAK, however, such behaviours can dim the good parts of life along with the bad. If you want to live life with clarity and purpose, identifying and addressing your “dimmers” can make an excellent starting point.  In this episode, Andrew and Cecil...

Healing from profound exhaustion of the spirit requires more than just thinking of a good plan. Author and Jungian Bea Gonzalez believes in storytelling and myth as powerful tools for healing. In this reissued classic episode, Andrew and Bea discuss: Why fairy tales have so much to teach us. Rediscovering feminine wisdom (which both men and women need) How to analyse a fairy tale to find the messa...

Why is the sky blue? Why do only birds get to fly? Why do people die? It’s natural for children to ask questions, big and small. But too often, adults brush off such questions as an annoyance, or scold kids for being rude, or even respond to their asking with punishment. When that happens, many children stop asking and grow up to become adults who believe it’s safer to stay quiet and squelch their...

Forgiveness is a powerful spiritual tool that can bring profound relief and unleash feelings of love blocked for years by personal resentments.  In this classic reissued episode, Andrew discusses forgiveness with author and forgiveness expert Olivier Clerc. They cover:  ⭐4 essential steps to forgiveness ⭐Obstacles to forgiveness ⭐The importance of spending time deciding what exactly forgiveness...