Mark McCartney

What is a Good Life?

A project exploring the big questions around how we live, who we are and what actually matters. Over the past four years, I’ve sat with more than 300 people — artists, parents, executives, wanderers, therapists, and strangers and invited them into a simple but profound inquiry, "What is a good life for you?"The conversations explore presence, paradox, uncertainty, and the moments that shape a life - love and loss, trust and fear, clarity and not knowing. It’s an invitations to slow down, to listen deeply, and to bring you into conversation with your own life. There are new episodes every Tuesd...

Author

Mark McCartney

Category

Education

Podcast website

www.whatisagood.life

Latest episode

Jul 7, 2026

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Episodes

What is a Good Life? #107 - Holding The Hand Of Love with Ben Bushill 28.01.2025

On the 107th episode of What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Ben Bushill . Ben is a writer, spoken word artist and ceremony holder. His passion is the remembrance and sanctification of our human lives as we try to understand our place and our belonging in the vast unfolding web of existence. In his work as a poet he aims to bring us to the place where we can be grat...

What is a Good Life? #106 - Exploring Meaning In The Universe with Mona Sobhani, Ph.D. 21.01.2025

On the 106th episode of What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Mona Sobhani, Ph. D. Mona is a cognitive neuroscientist, author, and entrepreneur. A former research scientist at the University of Southern California (USC), she holds a doctorate in neuroscience from USC and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University. She is the author of the Ommie 202...

What is a Good Life? #105 - Exploring The Depths Of Listening with Colin Smith 14.01.2025

On the 105th episode of What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Colin Smith . Colin is a specialist in deep listening, presence, and profound attention, dedicated to creating spaces where individuals unlock their clarity and creativity. Known as The Listener, he brings over two decades of experience in guiding, facilitating, and coaching, helping people connect more de...

What is a Good Life? #104 - Awareness Of Life's Fragility with Karen Maurice-O’Leary 07.01.2025

On the 104th episode of What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Karen (Kaz) Maurice-O’Leary . Kaz is a highly awarded brand storyteller and wellbeing leadership speaker, recognised for promoting human-first environments and their impact on innovation. A New Zealander living in California, she has had an international career in advertising and creative technology with m...

What is a Good Life? #103 - Expressing The Whole Of You with Nathan Kinch 31.12.2024

On the 103rd episode of What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Nathan (Nate) Kinch . Nate is a sociotechnology ethicist, organisational designer, and trust researcher. His work centres around the question: how might we best design trustworthy organisations, technologies, and systems that support a healthy and dignified life for all, within planetary boundaries? To do...

What is a Good Life? #102 - Building Conscious Collectives with Nadjeschda Taranczewski 24.12.2024

On the 102nd episode of What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Nadjeschda (Nadja) Taranczewski. Nadja has a Master of Psychology, is a Master Certified Coach and works as a coach, author, and keynote speaker. She supports leaders who want to reinvent their organisation as Conscious Tribe, i.e. as a thriving community where people invest in inner work, understand the b...

What is a Good Life? #101 - Embracing The Season Of Life with Patrick Boland 17.12.2024

On the 101st episode of What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Patrick Boland . Patrick is a leadership consultant, executive coach, psychotherapist, writer, and trainer across several industries and sectors around the world. Patrick's 2024 book, ' The Contemplative Leader ', features interviews with world-class leaders on the topics of presence, connection, being non...

What is a Good Life? #100 - Living In Mutual Solidarity with Cormac Russell 10.12.2024

On the 100th episode of What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Cormac Russell . Cormac is a social explorer, an author and a much sought-after speaker. He is the Founding Director of Nurture Development and a member of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute, at DePaul University, Chicago. Over the last 25 years, Cormac’s work has demonstrated an enduri...

What is a Good Life? #99 - Helping Spirit Flow with Darcia Narvaez 03.12.2024

On the 99th episode of What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Darcia Narvaez . Darcia is Professor Emerita of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame, and Fellow of the American Psychological Association, American Educational Research Association, Association for Psychological Science, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She uses an interdi...

What is a Good Life? #98 - Embracing Ambiguity with Nora Bateson 26.11.2024

Nora Bateson, is an award-winning filmmaker, research designer, writer, educator, international lecturer, as well as President of the International Bateson Institute based in Sweden. She is the creator of the Warm Data theory and practices. Nora’s work brings the fields of biology, cognition, art, anthropology, psychology, and information technology together into a study of the patterns in ecology...

What is a Good Life? #97 - Rekindling Our Wild Nature with Diarmuid Lyng 19.11.2024

On the 97th episode of What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Diarmuid Lyng . Diarmuid is co-owner of Wild Irish Retreats and Nature of Man. He is a former Wexford hurling captain and a host on Newstalk's flagship sports programme 'Off the Ball'. With Wild Irish Retreats he is part of a team that is focused on the rejuvenation of the Irish language in relation to natu...

What is a Good Life? #96 - The Call Of Creativity with John Oliver 12.11.2024

On the 96th episode of What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, John Oliver . John is an artist and sense-making facilitator, exploring multidisciplinary practices based on complexity principles and narrative frameworks. Since 2020, he has developed an artistic practice that integrates the arts with complexity principles, working in portraiture film, and experimental in...

What is a Good Life? #95 - Fully Embodying Your Life with Madelaine Ley 05.11.2024

On the 95th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Madelaine Ley . Madelaine is a philosopher, spiritual ecologist, and contemplative artist. Her varied work includes lecturing at Delft University of Technology and Lassonde Engineering School in Canada on digital citizenship, responsible AI, intersectional approaches to tech, and robot-ethics; hosting S...

What is a Good Life? #94 - Listening To The Story Of My Soul with Jennifer Murphy 29.10.2024

On the 94th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Jennifer Murphy . Jennifer is an Irish mythologist, anthropologist, creativity mentor, and the founder of The Celtic Creatives. A Dubliner born and bred, from the time she could talk, Jennifer's grandmother, Frances O'Sullivan, filled her ears with tales from Irish myth and folklore, fuelling a now 40-y...

What is a Good Life? #93 - Building Collective Community with Kemo Camara 22.10.2024

On the 93rd episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Kemo Camara . Kemo is the visionary behind Omek, a community-centric platform whose mission is to amplify the talent, voices, and energy of biculturals of African descent. A social entrepreneur, community influencer, economist, and captivating speaker, Kemo's journey has spanned continents, with impactf...

What is a Good Life? #92 - Looking Beyond The Veil with Rachel Donald 15.10.2024

On the 92nd episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Rachel Donald . Rachel is the creator of Planet: Critical, the podcast and newsletter for a world in crisis with 15,000+ subscribers from 160 countries. Planet: Critical connects the dots of science, art, language, politics, media, philosophy and power to reveal the big picture. Rachel speaks internatio...

What is a Good Life? #91 - Navigating The Path of Curiosity with Andrea Hiott 08.10.2024

On the 91st episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to welcome our guest, Andrea Hiott . Andrea is a philosopher and the founder of Making Ways, a private educational consultancy that works with individuals, businesses, and organisations such as EMI to explore the guiding philosophies at the core of our lives and actions. She is also an author and educator, holding degrees in t...

What is a Good Life? #90 - Exploring Your Own Truth with Seb Randle 01.10.2024

On the 90th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Seb Randle . Seb is the founder of The Helpful Space, a space dedicated to exploring pragmatic and practical solutions that help individuals to where they want to be. His approach is grounded in warmth, kindness, genuine curiosity, and a deep understanding of what it takes to create lasting change. Seb...

What is a Good Life? #89 - Connecting To The Web Of Life with Manda Scott 24.09.2024

On the 89th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Manda Scott. Manda trained as a veterinary surgeon but is now an award-winning novelist and host of the Accidental Gods podcast. Best known for the internationally best-selling Boudica: Dreaming series, which The New York Times labelled “a masterpiece in historical fiction,” her latest novel departs fro...

What is a Good Life? #88 - Playing With The Edges Of Growth with Derek Sivers 17.09.2024

On the 88th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Derek Sivers . Derek is an author of philosophy and entrepreneurship, known for his surprising, quotable insights and pithy, succinct writing style. Formerly a musician, programmer, TED speaker, and circus clown, he sold his first company for $22 million and gave all the money to charity. Derek is the a...

What is a Good Life? #87 - Seeing Yourself In The Other with Dr. Niobe Way 10.09.2024

On the 87th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to welcome our guest, Dr. Niobe Way . Niobe is Professor of Developmental Psychology at NYU, founder of the Project for the Advancement of Our Common Humanity (PACH; pach.org), and the Principal Investigator of the Listening Project, which fosters curiosity and connection in schools across New York City. Niobe has served as Pr...

What is a Good Life? #86 - Knowing That We Belong with Nic Askew 03.09.2024

On the 86th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I'm delighted to introduce Nic Askew as our guest. Nic is a filmmaker who has discovered a powerful way to use the camera to deepen people's awareness. He has been described in various ways—an itinerant confessor, a disruptive influence, a monk independent of any religion, and an explorer of the inner world. Over two decades of exploring hum...

What is a Good Life? #85 - Becoming Connected Citizens with Jon Alexander 27.08.2024

On the 85th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Jon Alexander. Jon is the author of CITIZENS: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us , a book that seeks to reframe the current moment as one of immense civic opportunity rather than merely a time of crisis and collapse. In 2014, Jon co-founded the New Citizenship Project, a strategy and innovati...

What is a Good Life? #84 - Engaging The Heart's Wisdom with Wakanyi Hoffman 20.08.2024

On the 84th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Wakanyi Hoffman . Wakanyi is an artist of life who paints the shades of each day as a storyteller, author, keynote speaker specialising in Ubuntu philosophy, scholar of indigenous knowledge, and narrative weaver of wisdom in AI. Wakanyi is an Indigenous Knowledge Curator for ServiceSpace AI, a Research...

What is a Good Life? #83 - Realising You Are Loved with Tom Morgan 13.08.2024

On the 83rd episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Tom Morgan . Tom has spent the last 20 years in markets, on both the buy and sell sides. He has worked at several investment banks on Wall Street and his most recent role was with the wealth manager Sapient Capital. He describes himself as a "curiosity sherpa"; he spends his life seeking out the most in...

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