The Mood Booster Podcast

Does Losing Someone Ever Get Easier? | How To Cope with Grief | Friday Focus | TMBP  The Home of Wellbeing and Joy  Welcome to Episode 53 of The Mood Booster Podcast, Friday Focus. In this shorter, science-based episode, we turn Monday’s reflections on grief into evidence-based advice to help you find stability, understanding, and compassion during bereavement.  Today we explore one central questi...

Reflecting on: The Death of a Loved One | Grief, Loss & Healing | The Mood Booster Podcast | TMBP  The Home of Wellbeing and Joy  Welcome to Episode 52 of The Mood Booster Podcast. In this episode, we reflect openly and honestly on the death of a loved one and what grief really feels like in the aftermath of loss.  Charlie shares his experience of losing his nanna last year, and Marcus opens u...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy Welcome to Episode 51 of The Mood Booster Podcast, Friday Focus. In this episode, we break down how to overcome fear using evidence based psychology, behavioural science, and practical tools you can use immediately. If you have ever wondered why fear feels so powerful, why anxiety sticks around, or why avoidance makes things worse, this episode explains the four psych...

How to overcome fear | Mastering fear and anxiety | Reflecting on fear and courage | The Mood Booster Podcast The Home of Wellbeing and Joy Welcome to Episode 50 of The Mood Booster Podcast. In this episode, we reflect on fear, anxiety, bravery, and what it really means to master fear rather than avoid it. If you’ve ever wondered how to overcome fear, why fear feels so intense, or how anxiety can...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy  In this Friday Focus episode, we take Monday’s reflections on networking and turn them into clear psychological understanding, research grounded insight, and practical tools for building an authentic social network that supports wellbeing and growth.  We begin by clarifying what authentic networking really is. Rather than being strategic, transactional, or pitch led,...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy  Welcome to Episode 48 of The Mood Booster Podcast. In this episode, we slow things down and reflect openly on our lived experiences of networking, connection, and the relationships that have shaped our personal and professional lives.  We talk honestly about our own networks, times when they felt strong, times when they felt thin or transactional, and how our relatio...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy  Welcome to Episode 47 of The Mood Booster Podcast. In this episode, we take Monday’s reflections on imposter syndrome and turn them into clear psychological understanding, research grounded insight, and practical tools you can use.  We begin by breaking down what imposter syndrome actually is. It is not a clinical diagnosis, but a common psychological experience firs...

Friday Focus: How to Improve Your Attention Span | The Attention Myth Explained | The Mood Booster Podcast | TMBP  The Home of Wellbeing and Joy  Welcome to Episode 55 of The Mood Booster Podcast. In this Friday Focus episode, we turn Monday’s reflections into evidence-based advice to help you find joy in your every day.  Earlier this week, we questioned whether our attention spans are actually sh...

46: Reflecting on Imposter Syndrome  The Home of Wellbeing and Joy  Welcome to Episode 46 of The Mood Booster Podcast. In this episode, we slow things down and reflect openly on our lived experiences of imposter syndrome and what it feels like to doubt yourself even when you are capable, qualified, and showing up.  Charlie reflects on feeling imposter syndrome very recently while leading our live...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy  Welcome to Episode 45 of The Mood Booster Podcast. In this episode, we explore the emotional reality of student hood in 2025. Recorded with Josh Robinson, founder of the London Student Network, at King’s College London’s Entrepreneur Institute, this conversation focuses on identity, belonging, pressure, and wellbeing during one of the most intense life transitions. ...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy  Welcome to Episode 44 of The Mood Booster Podcast. This episode follows directly from our very first live workshop, Joyful Fuelling for Your New Years Fitness Goals, where we sat in a room with James from BrashNutrition and unpacked the realities of diet culture, misinformation, and the pressure to change our bodies in the name of health.  In this conversation, we re...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy  Welcome to Episode 43 of The Mood Booster Podcast. In this episode, we slow things down and explore one of the most fundamental human questions there is: purpose. What gives life meaning, especially during times of suffering, uncertainty, or emotional pain?  We centre this conversation around the work of Viktor Frankl, psychiatrist, Holocaust survivor, and founder of...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy. Welcome to episode 41 of The Mood Booster Podcast. In this episode, we slow things down and reflect on what has been a huge year for The Mood Booster and for us both personally. What started as an idea between two people has grown into something far bigger than we ever expected, and this episode is about honouring that journey. Charlie comes into the episode with a p...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy. Welcome to Episode 39: How to Give Better Gifts: Reflecting on the Psychology of Gift Giving, where Dr Marcus and Charlie explore why giving and receiving gifts can feel joyful, stressful, meaningful, awkward and everything in between. From Secret Santa disasters to deeply thoughtful gifts that strengthen relationships, this episode unpacks the psychology behind why...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy. Welcome to Episode 38: Why Mixing Friends Feels So Hard. Reflecting on Blending Friendship Groups, where Dr Marcus and Charlie explore why it feels risky to mix your different friendship circles, why it matters for belonging and community, and how to do it without chaos. We start by sharing our own experiences of trying to bring people together, from the anxiety of m...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy. Welcome to Episode 37: How to Find Joy in Your Food: Reflecting on Influencer Misinformation and Toxic Diet Culture, where Dr Marcus and Charlie sit down with Registered Dietitian James Brash ( @BrashNutrition ) to unpack why the internet has become a breeding ground for food fear, and how to reclaim a healthy, empowered relationship with what you eat. We start by ex...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy. Welcome to Episode 36: Is volunteering inherently selfish? Reflecting on the Psychology of Volunteering, where Dr Marcus and Charlie dive into the psychology of volunteering: why we do it, what it gives us, and whether altruism can ever be truly selfless. We start with our own volunteering stories, from Charlie "volunteering" at ParkRun, youth work, fundraising and e...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy. Welcome to Episode 35: Finding Joy in Your Everyday While Living in the City: Our First Live Webinar, where Dr Marcus and Charlie are joined by Chris Hatfield and Lucy Mulligan to discuss identity, wellbeing and belonging for urban residents. London is a city full of opportunity, culture, movement, and magic, but it can also be overwhelming. Many people quietly strug...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy. Welcome to Episode 34: How to Stay Consistent When Motivation Runs Out: Reflecting on Willpower, where Dr Marcus and Charlie sit down with Ben Kelleher, ultra-marathon runner, triathlete, fundraiser, and host of Running for the Bus, to explore what willpower really is, how far it can take us, and when it starts to take from us. From running 100km races and raising ov...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy. Welcome to Episode 33: How to Regain Control of Your Life: Reflecting onYour Locus of Control, where Dr Marcus and Charlie explore how our sense of control shapes our wellbeing, motivation, and mental health, and why learning to balance it is key to living with calm and agency. From Rotter’s (1966) Locus of Control Theory to Seligman’s work on Learned Helplessness, t...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy. Welcome to Episode 32: Why We Are So Polarised in 2025: Reflecting on the Art of Debate Pt. 2, where Dr Marcus and Charlie explore how identity, belonging, and social media have shaped the way we disagree, and why finding common ground feels harder than ever. From Social Identity Theory to algorithmic echo chambers, this episode unpacks the psychology behind politica...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy. Welcome to Episode 31: Why We Argue (and How to Do It Better): Reflecting on the Art of Debate, where Dr Marcus and Charlie explore why humans argue and how to do it without losing connection, curiosity, or compassion. From Socratic questioning to confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance, this episode dives into the psychology behind why debates so easily become ba...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy. Welcome to Episode 30: How to Heal Your Relationship with Yourself: Reflecting on Inner Dialogue, where Dr Marcus and Charlie are joined by Sam Hughes for a powerful conversation about self-talk, self-compassion, and building a kinder relationship with the person you spend the most time with: yourself. From understanding how your inner voice shapes emotion and behavi...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy. Welcome to Episode 29 Why You Feel Sad in the Darker Months: Reflecting on Seasonal Change, where Dr Marcus and Charlie explore the science behind autumn and winter low-mood, the biological and behavioural shifts that make this period uniquely challenging, and how to adapt, reframe, and care for yourself through it.  From light exposure to circadian disruption, serot...

The Home of Wellbeing and Joy. Welcome to Episode 28 How to Make a Podcast: Reflecting on the Last Six Months, where Dr Marcus and Charlie take a moment to pause, look back, and reflect on the journey so far. From launching The Mood Booster to hitting 10K followers and everything in between. In this special stock-take episode, we ask each other honest questions about the highs, lows, and lessons o...