Eric Zimmer|Wondery Podcasts

This is our 500th episode (!!!) and to celebrate the milestone, we decided to do something a bit different. In this episode, Eric and Chris reminisce about the very first episode of the show, and then we hear from many listeners of the show! We hear what the parable means to them, stories of their struggle and transformation, and what the show has …

Caroline Williams is a science journalist and editor. She’s a consultant for and a regular contributor to New Scientist. Her new work has also appeared in The Guardian, the Boston Globe, BBC Future, and BBC Earth among others. In this episode, Eric and Caroline discuss her book, Move: How the New Science of Body Movement Can Set Your Mind Free. But…

Kevin Mitchell is an author and an Associate Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin. His research is aimed at understanding the genetic program specifying the wiring of the brain and its relevance to variation in human faculties. Kevin is also the author of the science blog, Wiring the Brain, and a number of books and publ…

Carlin Quinn is the founder and current director of Education For Racial Equity. She is also a coach, facilitator, therapist, equity consultant to organizations, communities, and individuals interested in dismantling systems of oppression and co-creating cultures of equity, mutual liberation and rooted in compassion and non-violence. In this episod…

Massimo Pigliucci is a Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York, former co-host of the Rationally Speaking Podcast, and former editor in chief for the online magazine Scientia Salon. His research interests include the philosophy of science, the relationship between science and philosophy, the nature of pseudoscience, and the practica…

Emily White is a former lawyer turned writer. She is the author of Lonely, Learning to Live With Solitude. She has written for the Daily Mail, the New York Post, the Huffington Post, and The Guardian. Her latest book is called Count Me In: How I Stepped Off the Sidelines, Created Connection, and Built a Fuller, Richer, More Lived-in Life. In this e…

Liz Fosslien regularly leads interactive, scientifically-backed workshops about how to create a culture of belonging, help remote workers avoid burnout, navigate different work styles and effectively harness emotion as a leader. Her work has been featured by The New York Times, Ted, The Economist, and NPR. She is also the co-author and illustrator …

Laura McKowen Founder and CEO of The Luckiest Club, a global sobriety support organization, and host of Tell Me Something True podcast. Laura has been published in The New York Times, and her work has been featured in The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, the TODAY show and more and is the bestselling author of We Are The Luckiest: The Surprising …

William Irvine, a professor at Wright State University, thinks, teaches, and writes about philosophy. He is the author of many books and publications including the one he and Eric discuss in this episode, The Stoic Challenge: A Philosopher’s Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient. In this episode, Eric and Bill discuss what it means …

La Sarmiento has been practicing Vipassana meditation since 1998. They are the guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington’s BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ Sanghas, a mentor for the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program and Cloud Sangha, a contributor to the Ten Percent Happier app, and a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Community…

Alex Riley is an award-winning science writer. In 2019 he received a Best Feature award from the Association of British Science Writers for his reporting on the Friendship Bench, a project that began in Zimbabwe in 2006. Alex’s articles have been published by New Scientist, Mosaic, Nautilus Magazine, the BBC, and others. In this episode, Alex and E…

Maggie Smith is a poet and author of the national bestsellers Goldenrod and Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change, as well as Good Bones, The Well Speaks of Its Own Poison, and Lamp of the Body. Maggie’s poems and essays are widely published and anthologized, appearing in Best American Poetry, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Pa…

Brandon Beachum is a podcaster, entrepreneur, writer, philosopher, and truth seeker. He’s the host of the Positive Head podcast which has amassed over 20 million downloads and reached #2 in the Spirituality category in Apple Podcasts. Brandon recently launched a new late-night style consciousness-elevating talk show called Optimistic, as well as hi…

Max Lugavere is a filmmaker, health and science journalist and the author of the New York Times best-seller Genius Foods: Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life, published in 8 languages around the globe. He is also the host of the #1 iTunes health podcast The Genius Life. Max appears regularly on the Dr. …

Danté Stewart is a speaker and a writer whose work in the areas of race, religion, and politics has been featured on CNN and in The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Sojourners, The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, Comment, and elsewhere. He received his BA in sociology from Clemson University and is currently studying at the Candler Schoo…

Tara Mohr is an expert on women’s leadership and well-being. She helps women play bigger in sharing their voices and bringing forward their ideas in work and in life. Tara is the author of Playing Big: Practical Wisdom for Women Who Want to Speak Up, Create, and Lead, named a best book of the year by Apple’s iBooks and now in paperback. In the book…

Mark Coleman is an author and senior meditation teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Mark holds a MA in Clinical Psychology and draws on his extensive experience in working with people as a therapist and coach. He is also an unabashed nature lover and, through his organization Awake in the Wild, he shares his passion for integrating meditation…

Dr. Amishi Jha is a professor of psychology at the University of Miami. She serves as the Director of Contemplative Neuroscience for the Mindfulness Research and Practice Initiative, which she co-founded in 2010. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California–Davis and postdoctoral training at the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center at Duke…

Sarah Fay is an author and activist. Her writing appears in many publications, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time Magazine, The New Republic, Longreads, The Michigan Quarterly Review, The Rumpus, The Millions, McSweeney’s, The Believer, and The Paris Review, where she served as an advisory editor. She is currently on the faculty of th…

Jonny Miller is best known for hosting the Curious Humans Podcast and for his TEDx talk on “The Gifts of Grief” Jonny coaches ambitious founders to scale themselves and runs an online cohort-based training called Nervous System Mastery. He is also the co-founder of Maptia, a global visual storytelling platform. In this episode, Eric and Jonny discu…

Tony Rezac is an author, men’s coach, and the creator and host of the podcast, Basecamp for Men. Basecamp seeks to be a resource for men looking to live more courageously, authentically, and from the heart. Tony participated in The Mankind Project’s New Warrior Training in May 2004 and has been a leader in the field of men’s personal development ev…

Florence Williams is a journalist, author, and podcaster. She is a contributing editor at Outside Magazine and a freelance writer for the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, The New York Review of Books, Slate, Mother Jones and numerous other publications. In this episode, Eric and Florence discuss her new book, Heartbreak…

Brad Stulberg researches, writes, and coaches on health, well-being, and sustainable performance. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, Atlantic, Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, Forbes, and more. In his coaching practice, he works with executives, entrepreneurs, and physicians on their performance and …

Brigid Schulte is an award-winning journalist for the Washington Post and Washington Post magazine. She was part of a team that won the Pulitzer Prize. She is also a fellow at the New America Foundation. Brigid is a regular contributor to the She The People blog and has written for Style, Outlook, and other outlets. She writes about work-life issue…

Yoni Ashar is a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist. Yoni’s research uses brain imaging and other tools to understand how beliefs and emotions influence health, especially pain, and to develop novel neuroscience-based treatments for chronic pain. Yoni is a post-doctoral associate at Weil-Cornell Medicine and completed his doctorate at the Univ…

Josh Trent is the Founder of Wellness Force Media, host of the Wellness Force Podcast and the creator of the BREATHE: Breath & Wellness Program Josh has spent the past 19+ years as a trainer, researcher, and facilitator discovering the physical and emotional intelligence for humans to thrive in our modern world. The Wellness Force Mission is to hel…

Leah Weiss is a researcher, lecturer, consultant, and author. She teaches compassionate leadership at the Stanford School of Business and is a principal teacher and founding faculty member of Stanford’s Compassion Cultivation Program, conceived by the Dalai Lama. In 2019, she co-founded Skylyte, a company that specializes in using the latest neuros…

Steve Hagen was ordained a Zen priest in 1979 and in 1989 he received Dharma Transmission (formal endorsement to teach) from Jikai Dainin Katagiri Roshi. He is the author of several books on Buddhism, science, and philosophy. These include Buddhism Plain and Simple, his most popular book. In his most recent book, The Grand Delusion, he applies brea…

Michael Bungay Stanier is the author of 6 books that have, between them, sold more than a million copies. He’s perhaps best known for his self-published book, The Coaching Habit, which is the best-selling book on coaching this century and is already recognized as a classic. He founded the training and development company, Box of Crayons, which has …

Taylor Jacobson is the CEO and Founder of Focusmate (www.focusmate.com), a virtual coworking community with a mission to help everyone do their best work. Thousands of people in 193 countries worldwide sit side-by-side, via video, to keep each other company, cheer each other on, and hold one another accountable. Taylor is a passionate voice on crea…

Veronica Valli is a former psychotherapist who now works as a sobriety coach. With almost 20 years of experience, Veronica has helped thousands of people live happy, healthy lives and reach their full potential by being alcohol-free. She is the co-host of the popular Soberful podcast and has been the keynote speaker at annual conferences including …

Marilyn Nelson is an American poet, translator, and children’s book author. She is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Connecticut and the former poet laureate of Connecticut. In this episode, Eric and Marilyn discuss several of her poems and the inspiration and meaning behind them But wait – there’s more! The episode is not quite over!! We c…

Johann Hari is a writer and journalist. He has written for the New York Times, Le Monde, the Guardian, and other newspapers and his TED talks have been viewed over seventy million times. His work has been praised by a broad range of people, from Oprah Winfrey to Noam Chomsky to Joe Rogan. Eric and Johann discuss his book, Stolen Focus Why You Can’t…

Joanna Macy is an environmental activist, author, a scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology. She has written and co-authored many books, including translating much of Rilke’s work Eric and Joanna discuss her translations of Rilke along with her important “Work That Reconnects”. But wait – there’s more! The episode is not quite…

Emma Gannon is a bestselling author, speaker, novelist, and the host of the number 1 creative careers podcast in the UK called “Ctrl Alt Delete”. Eric and Emma discuss her latest book, Disconnected: How to Stay Human in an Online World But wait – there’s more! The episode is not quite over!! We continue the conversation and you can access this excl…

Catherine Gray is a Sunday Times Bestselling author of five books, including debut smash hit The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober. She’s sold well over a quarter of a million books and her books have now been translated into nine languages. She’s been sober since 2013. Catherine has also written about being single later in life and learning to appreci…

Emily Balcetis is an Associate Professor of Psychology at New York University. She is the author of more than 70 scientific publications and her work has been covered in Forbes, Newsweek, Time, National Public Radio, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and many others. She has also received numerous awards for her work. Eric and Emily discuss her book, Clearer, Clos…

Regina Louise] is an American author, child advocate, and motivational speaker, who is best known for successfully navigating through more than thirty foster home placements as a ward of the California Juvenile Court system. Eric and Regina discuss her book, Permission Granted: Kick-Ass Strategies to Bootstrap Your Way to Unconditional Self-Love Bu…

Stephen Guise is an international best-selling author, blogger, and entrepreneur. His books have been translated into 17 languages, including his latest book, Elastic Habits: How to Create Smarter Habits That Adapt to Your Day. Eric and Stephen discuss his unique approach to creating good habits that are adaptable to your life and unique circumstan…

James Clear is the author of Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones. His work has appeared in The New York Times, CBS This Morning, Time, Entrepreneur, and he has taught in colleges around the world. James is also the creator of the Habits Academy, the premier training platform for organizations and individual…

James Clear is the author of Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones. His work has appeared in The New York Times, CBS This Morning, Time, Entrepreneur, and he has taught in colleges around the world. James is also the creator of the Habits Academy, the premier training platform for organizations and individual…

John Zeratsky was a designer in the tech industry and became obsessed with the idea of re-designing time. He’s also the author of multiple books and his work has been published in The Wall Street Journal, Time, Harvard Business Review, Wired, Fast Company, and many others. In this episode, Eric and John discuss his book, Make Time: How to Focus on …

Charlie Gilkey is the author of Start Finishing: How To Go From Idea To Done. An Army veteran and near Ph.D. in philosophy, Charlie is the founder of Productive Flourishing, a company that helps professional creatives, leaders, and change-makers take meaningful action on work matters. He’s widely cited in outlets such as Inc. Magazine, Time, Forbes…

Arthur Brooks is a bestselling author, social scientist, and the President of the American Enterprise Institute. He teaches Leadership and Happiness at the Harvard School of Business. In this episode, Eric and Arthur discuss happiness as well as his book, Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America From the Culture of Contempt. But wait –…

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a Harvard-trained and published neuroanatomist. In 1996, Jill experienced a severe hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of her brain, causing her to lose the ability to walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life. John Britton is a former anesthesiologist who suffered a right brain injury leaving him with only his left …

Ethan Kross is one of the world’s leading experts on controlling the conscious mind. He is an award-winning professor at the University of Michigan and the Ross School of Business and also the Director of the Emotion & Self Control Laboratory. In addition to countless television appearances, Ethan’s research has been featured in the New York Times,…

Jillian Richardson is the founder of The Joy List, which is a newsletter with the mission of making New York City – and eventually the world – a less lonely place. She also hosts The Joy List Social, an event where you can show up by yourself and leave with a new friend. In this episode, Jillian and Eric talk about her new book, Unlonely Planet: Ho…

Oliver Burkeman is a British journalist and writer based in New York. He is well known not only for his amazing books, but he also wrote a popular weekly column on psychology called “This Column will Change Your Life” which was printed weekly between 2006 and 2020. Oliver joins Eric for a third time on the show, and in this episode, they discuss ma…

Jonah Berger is a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He's an international bestselling author, a world-renowned expert on word of mouth, social influence, consumer behavior, and how products, ideas, and behaviors can catch on. In this episode, Eric and Jonah discuss his book, The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind…

Stressed by Holiday Expectations? Join Eric and The One You Feed Community for a FREE online gathering on November 30th at 8pm Eastern Time. (Recording will be available for 72 hours) In this free live event, Eric will teach a Spiritual Habit that will allow you to release these types of stress and touch into a deeper feeling of wholeness, peace, s…