Shows
SimplifyRhaina Cohen: Center Friendship and ThriveYou know a magical connection when you feel it—that undeniable magnetism that pulls you together for a fit that's as much like home as it is an adventure. We see these sorts of connections in romcoms all the time, but they're not just relegated to the romcom realm. Magical connections happen in friendships, too, and Rhaina Cohen wants to dignify them. This conversation with the writer and NPR Embedded producer/editor draws on some key stories and insights from her new book: The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center. Caitlin and Rhaina talk...
2024-05-2944 min
SimplifyMichelle Weise: Be a Skills Translator, AI-proof Your FutureHere's a chilling thought: experts are saying that we may soon be sustaining 100-year work lives. If that's true, then how many careers might we have? How will we know where to upskill? And how will we keep bagged lunches interesting for so many years? Michelle R. Weise, researcher and author of Long Life Learning: Prepare for Jobs That Don't Even Exist Yet, offers ways to think through and prepare for the long life of work ahead. She outlines five principles for the educational ecosystem that can support the future workforce, offers ideas on how AI can a...
2024-05-0844 min
SimplifyJessica DeFino: Beauty Beyond the BottleToday, our guest is an award-winning beauty reporter and critic whom you might have stumbled upon while reading her super popular newsletter, The Unpublishable, which, as HuffPost says, "basically gives the middle finger to the entire beauty industry." Writing about what the beauty industry won’t tell you, Jessica DeFino has built an identity as a reporter on a mission to reform it.It all started, however, in a place as opposite as it could be: a few years back, Jessica was a product-obsessed editor for the Kardashian-Jenner Official Apps, embedded in the core of the beauty in...
2024-03-2837 min
SimplifyDhiraj Mukherjee: Optimism Defines the FutureThis week's episode of Simplify brings you a special collaboration: a conversation with Dhiraj Mukherjee, who is not only the entrepreneur behind Shazam (the app we all love and use so much!), but also a devoted impact investor focused on social good.Drawing from his experience at Shazam, Dhiraj learned firsthand that the best way to predict the future is to create it. That’s why today, his work mostly focuses on investing in mission-driven companies aiming to create a better future for the planet, addressing critical issues such as climate action and inequality.In th...
2024-03-0641 min
SimplifyCole Kazdin: Health is Not a SizeAlthough we're at the tail end of 2024's symbolic new beginning, we're still confronted with the flood of discounted "detoxes," "cleanses," gym promotions touting a "New Year, new you," and the latest buzzword, "resets." Despite our desire to think that fad diets are relics of the past and that we have collectively moved away from diet culture, we may instead have fallen for a wolf in sheep's clothing.Drawing from her personal narrative and investigative reporting experiences, Cole Kazdin, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, scrutinizes today's diet industry and the disorder it spawns in her debut book, 'What's...
2024-02-2137 min
Blinkist Podcast - Interviews | Personal Development | Productivity | Business | PsychologyAcquired's David Rosenthal: 3 Secrets of the World's Most Successful BusinessesToday, we bring you Simplify's first ever crossover episode with the #1 Technology show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: Acquired!
For nearly 9 years David Rosenthal—today's guest—and his co-host Ben have been sharing the strategies and history of 200+ of the world's most successful businesses. From Sequoia to Sony, through to TSMC, Amazon, The New York Times, the NBA and Oprah, Acquired's hosts go deep—sometimes 3 hours deep!—into the details of each business's ups and downs.
In this episode of Simplify, we had the unique chance to tap into David's unique wisdom and expertise and ask: what are the patterns you've s...
2024-02-0855 min
SimplifyAcquired's David Rosenthal: 3 Secrets of the World's Most Successful BusinessesToday, we bring you Simplify's first ever crossover episode with the #1 Technology show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: Acquired!For nearly 9 years David Rosenthal—today's guest—and his co-host Ben have been sharing the strategies and history of 200+ of the world's most successful businesses. From Sequoia to Sony, through to TSMC, Amazon, The New York Times, the NBA and Oprah, Acquired's hosts go deep—sometimes 3 hours deep!—into the details of each business's ups and downs. In this episode of Simplify, we had the unique chance to tap into David's unique wisdom and expertise and ask: what...
2024-02-0855 min
SimplifyAmy Key: Romance Isn't EverythingIn 1971, Joni Mitchell released Blue, an album teeming with stories of a life shaped by romance, desire, longing, and the default path of sharing life with another person. The ideal might persist to this day, but what happens if the romance we are told will give life meaning... never shows up? How gorgeous and fulfilling can we make our lives, sans romantic partner? Amy Key, the celebrated British essayist and poet, sets out to explore exactly these questions in her memoir, Arrangements in Blue, with Joni's seminal album as its scaffolding. Amy embarks on an intimate, sometimes pa...
2024-01-2532 min
SimplifyKatherine Morgan Schafler: Perfectionism is a GiftWhat do people mean when they say, 'I'm a perfectionist'? The colloquial and widespread opinion would sound like this: A perfectionist is someone who desires everything to be perfect at all times and becomes upset when things aren't perfect. This definition is often followed by the (generic) advice that the best way for them to set themselves free is to get rid of their perfectionism.According to Katherine Morgan Schafler, a psychotherapist and a former on-site therapist at Google, this is not only wrong but also causes more harm than good. After spending years dismantling perfectionism, Katherine...
2023-12-1435 min
SimplifyMinaa B: Heal Through ConnectionWhen we experience a traumatic event or decide to pursue healing, what often follows is the tendency to isolate and hide from the world. Shame, exclusion, and the feeling that no one understands remain intertwined with the term "healing." However, this can and should be different—and that 's the message licensed social worker and therapist Minaa B. is here to spread."Owning Our Struggles," Minaa’s first book, as well as her work in general, stands out for its unique approach and strong emphasis on social justice and community care. In this week’s episode, she shares...
2023-11-3036 min
SimplifySteven Petrow: Get Old With GraceWe might say that “age is just a number,” but if we're really honest with ourselves, a lot of us still think of “old” people as stubborn hoarders who eat dinner (too) early and are forever talking about their aches and pains. Why is that? And could there be another way?These questions prompted Steven Petrow, an award-winning journalist and author to begin compiling a list of things he won’t do when he gets old shortly after his 50th birthday. The list, which included “You won’t have to shout at me that I’m deaf” and “I won’t blame...
2023-11-1625 min
SimplifyGustavo Razzetti: Adapt and Succeed in a Hybrid WorkplaceIn the post-pandemic era, the debate over whether or not to return to the office seems far from settled — and yet, the push to bring employees back to the office is growing more aggressive. Amazon issued a warning to staff not long ago. Google is factoring employees’ in-office attendance into their performance reviews. And ironically, working from home has been officially replaced by a return to the office by Zoom. So is returning to the old structured schedule really the best way to optimize our work environment? Or should we pursue other avenues to do our best work...
2023-10-2636 min
SimplifyElise Hu: Beauty is Personal and PoliticalOur obsession with beauty and appearance may be deeply rooted, but at this moment, things seem to be reaching a whole new level. Facetune and features like skin smoothing, jaw reduction, and eye enhancement that are standard on social apps like Snapchat, TikTok, and even Zoom, as well as the ubiquitous advertisements for a flawless face and body, are turning our bodies into projects to work on forever.This and much more prompted American journalist and podcaster Elise Hu to research and write her book, Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture From the K-Beauty Capital, which she...
2023-10-1232 minSimplifyVanessa Gennarelli: Survive Change at WorkYou were probably hired for your expertise in a certain domain: engineering, product management, paid marketing, or something else. But to be successful in an organization, there are other, secret skills outside your domain that nobody really teaches you—things like effectively communicating your ideas, assessing the business environment, collaborating with leadership, or deciding to leave your current role (and what to say when you do!).To fill in these gaps and create your own stability in a rapidly-changing environment—say, after an acquisition or a leadership change—Caitlin talks with Vanessa Gennarelli, a change management expert and CO...
2023-09-2131 min
SimplifyDaniel Maté: Normal Is a MythThe systems we live in suggest that a successful human life depends on denying pain, endless hustle, stress, and sustaining trauma—and making it all look easy. The only problem is that human nature objects. Psychological and physical suffering seem to be increasing while illness and trauma continue to define how we live. But, what's in it for our culture? Why and how do we breed disease—and why do we call that normal? Educator, mental chiropractor, musical theater pro, and co-author of The Myth of Normal Daniel Maté (yes—the son of Gabor Maté!) sits down...
2023-09-0741 min
SimplifyTawny Lara: Get Sober CuriousIt's a rarely questioned societal norm: feeling bad/mad/disappointed/scared/anxious? A substance (like alcohol) will give you the courage to face it. This is even more true for dating and sex, where we use alcohol as our first line of defense to find the liquid courage to open up to someone. But what happens when we step away, get sober curious, or simply start being more mindful with alcohol? Who might we be? And who might we connect with? In this episode, Tawny Lara, author and speaker, also known as "The Sober Sexpert," meets Caitlin t...
2023-08-2441 min
SimplifyMichael Bungay Stanier: Build Brave Work RelationshipsSo, what does it take to make the best working relationships? The same ingredients in any relationship, really: a big helping of bravery and the will to dig into deep conversations.There's more to it than that of course, and on this episode, Simplify favorite Michael Bungay Stanier takes Caitlin through it. This is a gentle-but-probing conversation in which you'll learn about the sweet spot between safety and bravery, how to make your colleagueships safer and more vital, and what psychological bravery is made of. You'll also hear about repairing relationships when something goes wrong, and why...
2023-08-1040 min
SimplifyStephanie Chandler: How to Get Your First Book PublishedWe are delighted to present a conversation with Stephanie Chandler, founder and CEO of the Nonfiction Authors Association and a successful author of several books, including The Nonfiction Book Publishing Plan and The Nonfiction Book Marketing Plan. In this episode, Stephanie shares her remarkable insights into all phases of the book-writing process and offers a sharp view of the publishing industry. By exploring assets and liabilities of traditional publishing and self-publishing, we dive deeper into the ‘why’ behind the writing process and practices that make the most out of it. Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by...
2023-07-2736 min
SimplifyNatalie Lue: Finally Stop People PleasingWe're delighted to present a conversation with Natalie Lue, author of the wildly popular blog Baggage Reclaim (baggagereclaim.com) and five books, including the latest, "The Joy of Saying No," that will help you not only identify your people-pleasing style and habits, but also finally leave them behind.In this episode, Natalie shares her unmatched insights on the importance of boundaries and saying no, and the destructive effects a lack of them can have on your body and mind. By exploring the five different kinds of people-pleasing, we dive deeper into the "why" behind the tendency and...
2023-07-1341 minSimplifyValerie Fridland: Use Bad English, Get Good ResultsHave you ever listened back to a recording of your voice and cringed at the amount of 'um's' 'uh's' and 'like's' you use? In this episode, Valerie Fridland, linguist, researcher, and author of the book, 'Like, Literally, Dude' delves into the intricacies of speech habits and argues for the inherent value of these often-demonised words. We explore why women are linguistic trend-setters, why some words carry deep-seated prejudices and what can we learn from the social function of language. You can get more out of this conversation, plus Valerie's take on words like: 'um...
2023-06-2937 minSimplifyBob Glazer: Build 4 Capacities for SuccessWe're thrilled to present a dynamic conversation with Robert Glazer, bestselling author and transformative leadership expert. With deep insights drawn from his revolutionary book, 'Elevate Your Team', Glazer demystifies the four capacities essential to extraordinary team performance.In this episode Glazer shares his unique take on the 'work smarter, not harder' philosophy, offering fresh perspectives to drive both personal and professional development. We challenge common preconceptions around work-life balance, emphasizing the need for intentional allocation of time and energy and explore the importance of discovering and aligning with core values.A new Simplify episode brimming...
2023-06-1538 minSimplifyRick & Forrest Hanson: Mythbusting the MindWe're kicking off Simplify's relaunch with our first-ever two person interview! This lively, probing conversation with Being Well's Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson—a bestselling author and psychologist and also Forrest's dad—digs into common misconceptions in the mental health and self-growth space. They address the maybe-bogus notion that "until you love yourself, you can't love anyone else," dissect the difference between self-esteem and self-worth, and dig deep into the simplest strategy for changing your brain for the better: take in the good. We're so glad to be back—and we will be every two week...
2023-06-0137 minSimplifyEmily Oster: Make Data-Driven Family DecisionsBeing a parent is a big, beautiful, very tough job—which actually might benefit from some of the skills you usually practice when you’re at work! Economist and parenting guru extraordinaire Emily Oster joins Ben to talk about family decision-making: how much infrastructure you really need in your family, your family unit’s mission statement, and why sometimes, you’ve just gotta let your kid eat a lame breakfast. And: our FIRST EVER LISTENER SURVEY is still open! Please go to the survey link and take 3 minutes to fill it out. It matters to us so much...
2023-02-1748 minSimplifyBONUS Exercise: How to Listen to Your BodyWe've been listening. You told us through our survey that you wanted more tools, more ways to make what you learn with Simplify concrete. And so: here's exactly that!In this short bonus exercise—a companion to the Ev'Yan Whitney episode, Listen to Your Body, which was released on the same day as this bonus and will be in your feed—Ev'Yan, somatic practitioner and sensuality doula, walks you through a gentle exercise that will help you learn to listen to your body. Try it out, and let us know what you think at podcast@blinkist.com!
2023-02-1005 minSimplifyEv'Yan Whitney: How to Listen to Your BodyIt’s true of almost all of us: we take our bodies for granted. We force them into uncomfortable positions, we push them long after they’re tired, we starve them for aesthetics—and a million more awful things we wouldn’t do to a friend. One thing we don’t often do to our bodies? Listen to them. And if we did, wow, what we’d learn!This episode is with Ev’Yan Whitney, somatic practitioner, sensualist, author, podcaster—and advocate for awakening people to the sensory pleasures alive inside of all of us.Listen to le...
2023-02-1041 minSimplifyJulie Lythcott-Haims: Be an Excellent AdultBeing an adult: what does that actually mean? Is it paying taxes? Making your own doctor’s appointments? Owning a home? It's probably all of that stuff, but: what's the more important personal evolution stuff that makes us grownups—no matter if we're 21 or 65? In this episode, Julie Lythcott-Haims, former Dean of freshmen and undergrad advising at Stanford and a best-selling author, walks Caitlin through it by way of a conversation about her book, Your Turn: How to Be an Adult https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/your-turn-en [1].Julie explains why the "checklist" for adulting—graduat...
2023-02-0237 minSimplifyTake the First Ever Listener SurveyWe’ve been making Simplify pretty much the same way since 2017: we focus on a great book and its author, and try to dig out the most helpful ideas. Nearly six years in, we’re wondering: how might we make Simplify even better for all of you?So, we thought we'd ask! Click this link to take the survey: https://try.blinkist.com/simplify-learner-survey/ [1] Tell us what you're curious about lately, what you've been reading, and which authors you’d like to hear from. It’ll probably only take you about two minutes, but it will help u...
2023-01-2601 minSimplifyThrive in 2023 with Tiffany Dufu, Ken Page, and Liz FosslienWant to skip this year’s tsunami of New Year’s hacks, tips, and tricks that don’t even work? We’ve got you covered with just what you need for the new year—and nothing you don't. In this episode, we’ve distilled powerful ideas and approaches from our 3 most popular, impactful episodes. And since we spend all our time divided between focusing on ourselves, our relationships, and our work, we’ll home in on simplifying those three areas. BONUS: we’ve made a very neat New-Yearsy tool available to you for free. You can get it at our...
2023-01-0553 min
SimplifyKen Page: Meet Your Inner MentorImagine having a mentor that’s available 24/7 to advise you on whatever challenge life puts in front of you—wouldn’t that be nice?In this bonus episode, Ken Page guides you through The Inner Mentor Process™, a guided meditation practice. In this practice, you'll find you're able to bypass your inner critic and get a message from your own personal mentor, a mentor who is always there, ready to share wisdom that is just for you.This is an unpublished excerpt from the Simplify interview with Ken Page, followed by the original tape of his guid...
2021-10-2818 min
Blinkist Podcast - Interviews | Personal Development | Productivity | Business | PsychologyTiffany Dufu: Do What You Do Best, Drop The RestFigure out what matters most to you and let go of the rest.
EPISODE NOTES
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by all of the things you need to juggle in order to be a good... anything? A good partner, a good parent, a good worker, a good friend? And in the end, it feels like you never have enough time and energy to focus on what really matters to YOU?
In this final episode of Season 7, Tiffany Dufu invites you to stop being "good" and drop the ball.
Tiffany is the author of Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing...
2021-07-0841 min
SimplifyTiffany Dufu: Do What You Do Best, Drop The RestDo you sometimes feel overwhelmed by all of the things you need to juggle in order to be a good... anything? A good partner, a good parent, a good worker, a good friend? And in the end, it feels like you never have enough time and energy to focus on what really matters to YOU?In this final episode of Season 7, Tiffany Dufu invites you to stop being "good" and drop the ball.Tiffany is the author of Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/browse/books/drop-the-ball-en [1...
2021-07-0841 min
Blinkist Podcast - Interviews | Personal Development | Productivity | Business | PsychologyKen Page: Respect Your Gifts to Find Real LovePut down your armor and open yourself to real intimacy.
EPISODE NOTES
Are you single—or in a relationship—and keep falling for people who almost love you right, but not quite? There's a reason why that happens, and Ken Page has figured out the formula behind these deeper physics of dating.
Ken is a psychotherapist specialized in the search for intimacy, and author of the book Deeper Dating: How to Drop the Games of Seduction and Discover the Power of Intimacy (https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/browse/books/deeper-dating-en).
In this episode, Ken explains why the parts of you...
2021-07-0244 min
SimplifyKen Page: Respect Your Gifts to Find Real LoveAre you single—or in a relationship—and keep falling for people who almost love you right, but not quite? There's a reason why that happens, and Ken Page has figured out the formula behind these deeper physics of dating.Ken is a psychotherapist specialized in the search for intimacy, and author of the book Deeper Dating: How to Drop the Games of Seduction and Discover the Power of Intimacy (https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/browse/books/deeper-dating-en).In this episode, Ken explains why the parts of you that you're most embarrassed about—that you tr...
2021-07-0144 min
SimplifyErica Dhawan: Master Your Digital Body LanguageDid you know that 50% of the time the tone over email, Slack, and text is misunderstood? This is because in the digital world, the cues we would usually send with our bodies are missing—facial expressions, gestures, vocal tone—and that can cause a lot of misunderstandings. And this is why Erica Dhawan, the author of Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance https://read.macmillan.com/lp/digital-body-language-audiobook/ [1] believes that "reading carefully is the new listening and writing clearly is the new empathy."In today's episode, Erica will help you beco...
2021-06-2838 min
SimplifyNatalie Lue: Your Boss is Not Your ParentDo you sometimes find yourself replying to work emails late at night... from bed? Or maybe taking on another task that, almost as soon as you've agreed, you realize you don't actually have time for? Often, instead of behaving as if we’re exchanging our intellect, talent, and skills for money, we feel like whoever pays us owns us. And this is where trouble starts.In today's episode Natalie Lue will help you understand why you might be struggling with boundaries at work, and what you can do to start changing these unhealthy patterns. Th...
2021-06-2445 min
SimplifyKathryn Mannix: How to Die WellDoes talking about death freak you out? No wonder, it's something many of us avoid thinking about and prefer pretending it's not there. But it's an important topic, and if we can allow ourselves to sit with the truth that life will eventually end, it becomes a beautiful call to appreciate our lives and the people in them. And this is why palliative care physician Kathryn Mannix wrote her book, With the End in Mind: Dying, Death, and Wisdom in an Age of Denial https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/browse/books/with-the-end-in-mind-en. Having witnessed death many t...
2021-06-1741 min
Blinkist Podcast - Interviews | Personal Development | Productivity | Business | PsychologyTina Payne Bryson: What Your Kid Needs Most is YouUnderstand the science of your child's developing mind to calm the chaos.
EPISODE NOTES
If your child is having a meltdown or throwing a tantrum in the supermarket, you'll do almost anything to make them stop—including turning into MeanParent™. But there's another way!
Dr. Tina Payne Bryson offers a different approach to discipline, free of threats and punishments, that is based on neuroscience. Understanding and nourishing your child's developing brain will not only help you survive the chaos, but also help them thrive - because their behavior is telling you loud and clear what skills they don't yet have.
In t...
2021-06-1538 min
SimplifyJim Dethmer: You're Allowed to Be ScaredOne thing most leaders have in common is that they want to perform well. And that often leads them into the trap of believing that to be a great leader, you’re not allowed to be scared—or at least that you'd better not show it.In this episode, Jim Dethmer invites us to embrace the opposite: allowing yourself to be fully present and fully alive—including feeling all your feelings—is the first step towards more conscious leadership, whether you’re leading a team, or just leading yourself through life. The key question is: are you ready to m...
2021-06-1040 min
SimplifyDiana Chapman: Take Radical ResponsibilityMost of us learned how to do relationships from a state of victimhood. According to Karpman's Drama Triangle, there are three different roles to play: the victim, the hero and the villain. Regardless of these parts we take on, we're avoiding taking full responsibility for our experiences and our results in the world, which in turn causes a lot of drama and suffering. In this episode, Diana Chapman explains what it means to take radical responsibility—both at work and at home—and why this "serious business" actually goes hand in hand with playfulness. This episod...
2021-06-1035 min
SimplifyTina Payne Bryson: What Your Kid Needs Most is YouIf your child is having a meltdown or throwing a tantrum in the supermarket, you'll do almost anything to make them stop—including turning into MeanParent™. But there's another way!Dr. Tina Payne Bryson offers a different approach to discipline, free of threats and punishments, that is based on neuroscience. Understanding and nourishing your child's developing brain will not only help you survive the chaos, but also help them thrive - because their behavior is telling you loud and clear what skills they don't yet have.In this episode, Tina shares some of the key ideas...
2021-06-0338 min
SimplifyErik Fisher: Get the Right Work DoneWorn down by your never-ending to-do list? Even though there’s been a shift towards a more holistic idea of productivity in the last years, a lot of people still think that being productive is all about efficient time managing and achieving more.And this is where Erik Fisher comes in. Over the past 10 years, Erik's hosted some of the world's biggest productivity experts on his show, Beyond the To-Do List—people like Michael Hyatt, Cal Newport and James Clear. So we asked him: what are the most important productivity principles he's learned in his years studying the...
2021-05-2735 min
SimplifyFarai Chideya: You’re More Than Your JobFor a lot of us, our job is a profound expression of selfhood. That means that when we lose a job, or when a business fails, we might feel like failures, too. And in today’s uncertain economy this happens a lot more than anybody would like. In this episode, Farai Chideya, author of The Episodic Career https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/the-episodic-career-en [1], offers a new perspective on how to approach your career path so that you can both survive and thrive at work in the age of disruption. When you understand that you're not your job...
2021-05-2038 min
SimplifyTrailer: Season 7To show you just how much we've missed you, season 7 of Simplify is extra large and extra excellent! This time, you'll hear from a dating psychologist on connecting at the deepest level, the ultimate productivity expert on working in seasons, and even a hospice physician on how to have a good death—and live life to the fullest in the meantime.As always, this season features bestselling authors like Tiffany Dufu, Ken Page, Farai Chideya, and Kathryn Mannix, and as a bonus, Shortcast hosts Natalie Lue and Erik Fisher!If you haven’t subscribed, make sure...
2021-05-1702 min
SimplifyLiz Fosslien: Work With Your EmotionsWhy do we lose motivation in our jobs? How can we create a space of belonging and inclusion? What are the best ways to give and receive feedback?Liz Fosslien answers all of these questions, and more, in this thoughtful and pertinent interview. As she reveals, emotions in the workplace are not only acceptable—they can actually be incredibly useful in decision making, making connections, and doing great creative work.This interview is truly eye-opening in establishing how we can unite who we are with what we do, creating a positive working environment for ourselves an...
2020-04-2340 minSimplifySimplify Spotlight: Seth Godin on Meaningful MarketingIn this special Spotlight Caitlin talks with teacher, author, and entrepreneur, Seth Godin, about his new release, This Is Marketing.According to Seth, marketing is no longer about hawking products that nobody needs, but instead about helping people find the ones that will actually make a positive difference to their lives. In this episode of Spotlight, Seth tells Caitlin about what marketing really is, what it can and can’t do, and how it has changed fundamentally for the better.Read more at: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-spotlight-seth-godin?utm_source=cpp
2020-01-2614 minSimplifyNew! 2 Minutes with Seth Godin on BlinkistAs evidenced by the many times we've spoken with him on Simplify or recommended his books to you, we love Seth Godin. And now, big news! Seth has created exclusive content for Blinkist—and we're giving you a preview.2 Minutes with Seth Godin launches January 13th, only on Blinkist. Tune in, twice a week, to hear the teacher, entrepreneur, and internet OG himself drop gems of fresh perspective on everything from what marathoners know about rocking at business, to how to be a better boss, to the tools you need to find your purpose.Sign up...
2020-01-1304 min
Blinkist Podcast - Interviews | Personal Development | Productivity | Business | PsychologySebastian Klein: Change Your Behavior, Change Your BusinessSebastian Klein, psychologist, entrepreneur and co-author of The Loop Approach, shares how small changes in behavior can make big organizational transformations.
In this interview, Caitlin and Sebastian discuss how businesses around the world are making changes that transform them from hierarchy, to more effective and people-centered organizations. Sebastian explains why designating roles rather than titles is more empowering, how he determines whether organizations genuinely want to change, and how to have better communication at the workplace. This episode is great for anyone who has identified changes they want to make, and finds themselves asking the question, “but, how?”
For more info...
2019-10-3135 min
SimplifySebastian Klein: Change Your Behavior, Change Your BusinessThe final episode of Season 6 features a special guest: psychologist, entrepreneur, publisher, ex management consultant and one of Blinkist's original co-founders, Sebastian Klein! In this interview, Caitlin and Sebastian discuss how businesses around the world are making changes that transform them from hierarchy, to more effective and people-centered organizations. Sebastian explains why designating roles rather than titles is more empowering, how he determines whether organizations genuinely want to change, and how to have better communication at the workplace. This episode is great for anyone who has identified changes they want to make, and finds themselves asking the q...
2019-10-3135 min
SimplifySonya Renee Taylor: Love Yourself, Save the WorldWhat would the world look like if we were free of body shame and instead living in a state of radical self-love? Radical Self-Love Champion and author of The Body Is Not An Apology, Sonya Renee Taylor, explains what her utopia would look like in this week’s episode of Simplify.As Sonya explains, our language and mindset about our bodies impact us in ways that we are often entirely unaware of. Increasing our awareness of this factor enables us to better understand our own low moments, but also helps to explain major historical and societal harm....
2019-10-2439 min
Blinkist Podcast - Interviews | Personal Development | Productivity | Business | PsychologyRandolph Nesse: It’s Not You— It's EvolutionIn this episode of Simplify, Caitlin asks Randolph Nesse why he believes that humans have evolved to experience hardships such as depression, anxiety and grief. As it turns out, while many of our most painful emotions often do not serve a proper function in our modern world, they may have a history that allowed for our ancestors to survive.
Randolph Nesse is a Professor and Founding Director of The Center for Evolution and Medicine at Arizona State University. His decades of experience in a clinical setting have informed his research and commitment to furthering our understanding of modern psychology through...
2019-10-2337 min
SimplifyRandolph Nesse: It's Not You — It's EvolutionIn this episode of Simplify, Caitlin asks Randolph Nesse why he believes that humans have evolved to experience hardships such as depression, anxiety and grief. As it turns out, while many of our most painful emotions often do not serve a proper function in our modern world, they may have a history that allowed for our ancestors to survive. Randolph Nesse reveals the ways in which the fields of psychiatry and psychology could benefit from a focus on evolutionary biology, and shares a specific strategy which he uses in his own practice with patients.For m...
2019-10-1736 min
SimplifyIngrid Fetell Lee: Make Your Own JoyCreating joy in your daily life is much simpler than you’d think. Ingrid Fetell Lee, joy researcher and former IDEO designer, reveals how in transforming our spaces, we also have the power to transform our wellbeing.Find out how color brought life back into a struggling city, how you might be able to cheer up a loved one in the hospital, and how to set up a meeting at work to bring more energy and positivity into the room.For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: ht...
2019-10-1035 min
SimplifyJohann Hari: Depression's Not (Just) In Your HeadWe’ve got good news and bad news: depression might not be all in your head.In this episode of Simplify, journalist and two-time New York Times-bestselling author Johann Hari reveals the cultural causes of depression. Among them are loss of connection to meaningful work, a lack of meaningful relationships, lack of a future that makes sense, plus other factors both political and personal that can’t be blamed on the human mind.Hear Hari tell Caitlin the stories of how people have reclaimed their connections to meaning and the moving story of the Berlin comm...
2019-10-0335 min
SimplifySusan Cain: It's Okay to be QuietWe kick off Season 6 of Simplify with Susan Cain, author of Quiet, and introversion's biggest rockstar. You'll hear how introverts and extroverts react differently to stimulation, why introverts often end up overlooked, and where the glamour around extroversion came from in the first place. Cain explains that giving introverts permission to be themselves not only makes them feel better, it can unlock their potential. With a few simple tweaks, schools and workplaces can create an environment in which introverts are better able to use their unique strengths to benefit everybody.For more info, including links to...
2019-09-2637 min
SimplifyTrailer: Simplify Season 6In Season 6 of Simplify, we're going deep. Our authors and experts touch on how to harness joy from the world around us, why a lack of real human connection makes us depressed, and the evolutionary reasons we feel feelings in the first place. You'll hear from Susan Cain, Johann Hari, Sonya Renee Taylor, Ingrid Fetell Lee, and more. If you haven’t subscribed, make sure to do so before the first new episode drops on September 26th. If we’re lucky enough to already count you as a Simplify fan, then please spread the word and tell your...
2019-09-1902 min
SimplifySimplify Spotlight: Chris Hirst on No Bullshit LeadershipChris Hirst's new book, No Bullshit Leadership, just hit stores. In it, the CEO of Havas Creative shares his jargon-free, straightforward approach to leadership, developed through years of hands-on experience with cutting the crap to get good work done.In this episode of Simplify Spotlight, Chris Hirst illuminates some things about leadership that you might think you already know, but don't—like, what's a leader's real job?—and a way to meet the question that has tortured leaders for ages: how can I tell whether I'm actually doing a good job?For more info, including link...
2019-05-0910 min
SimplifyHelp Simplify Win!Big news: Simplify's been nominated for a Webby Award—the internet’s most coveted prize, or the "Emmies of the Internet." Currently, we're in third place and you, dear listeners, can help us win by voting here:
https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2019/podcasts/general-podcasts/health-wellness
We're in the running for the Best Health & Wellness Podcast, pitted against huge shows like Dan Harris’s 10% Happier, and shows created by big publishers like Bloomberg and HuffPost. Just being nominated is a great honour because it means Simplify was considered to be in the top 10% of all work entere...
2019-04-0909 min
SimplifyAmanda Siebert: It's Just a PlantPicture a person who uses cannabis regularly. Did you imagine an Olympic medal-winning athlete, or a successful entrepreneur? Or did you think of someone who fits the standard stoner stereotype? If, like most people, you conjured up the latter, then today’s episode of Simplify might challenge some of your assumptions about what cannabis-use looks like, and what it’s used for.
In this episode, Caitlin interviews cannabis journalist and author of The Little Book of Cannabis, Amanda Siebert. As the plant begins to be legalized on a more widespread basis, for both medicinal and recreational use, Sieb...
2019-03-0738 min
SimplifyRobin DiAngelo: Think impact, Not IntentionWhat does whiteness mean? If you're a white person, the occasions on which you've thought about it might be few. If you're a person of color, the time you spend reckoning with its meaning & consequences are likely far too many. Today's episode of Simplify is an invitation to grapple with what white means in the world, and how to have more generative, revelation-ready mindsets and conversations about racism as a system.
As a Racial Justice Educator, Robin DiAngelo exhorts white people to consider what their skin color means on a cultural, economic, political, and personal level. She's...
2019-03-0148 min
SimplifyJen Sincero: Believe Better StoriesCoach & writer Jen Sincero tried every self-help technique out there, then condensed the most powerful practices into one straight-talking bestseller that thousands have used to kickstart their lives. Listen in as Sincero takes you through how to bust your own self-defeating beliefs to become the badass you’ve always known you are.
Sincero, author of bestselling book You Are a Badass talks with Caitlin about negative thinking about money, how to tap into "source energy" (without getting too woo-woo), and what it's like to transform your world through transforming your own stories. Plus, she gets really honest ab...
2019-02-2135 min
SimplifyMelissa Hartwig Urban: Create Your Own Food RulesIf you've got a pulse and like eating food, you've likely either been on a diet, or felt obligated to start one. Yet the fact remains that diets, in the traditional cut-and-count-calories format, rarely work long term. That's where Melissa Hartwig Urban comes in.
On this episode of Simplify, the co-creator of nutrition phenomenon The Whole30 talks with Caitlin about how to get free of diets forever, why your weight doesn't count, and how changing the way you eat can change everything. Plus, she offers up her tip on how to make brussels sprouts so good that...
2019-02-1439 min
SimplifyAyelet Waldman: Microdose, Maybe?The turning point came for Ayelet Waldman when she found herself frozen before her medicine cabinet, wondering "what's going to kill me fastest?" She knew it was time to try a new tactic to improve her mental health.
In this episode, hear this bestselling nonfiction author (who also happens to be a mother, a wife, and a novelist) describe her experience with microdosing LSD and how it improved her writing and her marriage, and maybe even saved her life. Waldman will bring you deep into the research around psychedelics and offer insight into why they're so controversial—pa...
2019-02-0740 min
SimplifyDan Harris: One Minute CountsDo your negative thoughts race faster than Usain Bolt? Do you wish you were calmer, kinder, or more focused? Would you like to meditate, but just don’t think you have time? If you answered yes, then this episode of Simplify is for you.
Dan Harris might be best known for his reporting on ABC News, Nightline, and the weekend edition of Good Morning America, but in recent years, this hard-nosed newsman has been helping fidgety skeptics like himself tap into the many benefits of meditation.
To kick off Season 5 of Simplify—our beloved author inte...
2019-01-3137 min
SimplifyTrailer: Simplify Season 5In season 5, you’ll learn how easy meditation can be with Dan Harris, how to change your self-defeating beliefs with Jen Sincero, and how to talk about race with Robin DiAngelo. You'll also hear what it's like to microdose LSD for a month and learn the surprising ways a little bit of cannabis can improve your health.
If you haven’t subscribed, make sure to do so before the first new episode drops on January 31. If we’re lucky enough to already count you as a Simplify fan, then please spread the word and tell your friends. It rea...
2019-01-1702 min
SimplifyLuvvie Ajayi: Speak Your Uncomfortable TruthIf a friend of yours needed to hear an unpleasant truth, would you tell it to them? Or would you gloss over it in order to avoid an uncomfortable conversation? Many of us would probably opt for the latter to avoid hurting someone’s feelings, but sometimes loving criticism is necessary to make people understand that they deserve better — and are capable of achieving it.
In conversation with Caitlin, Luvvie Ajayi argues that honesty, judgment and criticism shouldn’t always be perceived as negative — as difficult as it may be to tell someone you expect more of them. “D...
2018-10-1824 min
SimplifyKelly Leonard: Say Yes! To Funny BusinessEffective collaboration, innovative thinking, and constructive problem-solving can be major struggles for many teams, regardless of industry. But for those who really want to fix these issues, it’s time to look beyond how other companies work and turn to improv comedy ensembles for inspiration. After all, they’ve literally taken teamwork and turned it into an art form.
Reflecting on years of experience with Chicago’s famous Second City improv troupe — where comedians like Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Dan Aykroyd cut their teeth — Kelly Leonard explains how improv techniques can benefit the business world. From fostering...
2018-09-2742 min
SimplifyGuy Winch: Heartbreak HygieneNothing hurts worse than heartbreak. Whether it’s the painful end of relationship or the passing away of a beloved pet, grief and emotional suffering can quickly become all-consuming. And that’s where we blame ourselves and feel guilty for our inability to overcome emotional pain fast enough. Moreover, as psychologist Guy Winch shows, when going through a breakup, it’s not just our mental health that suffers, but our bodies too.
In this episode of Simplify, Winch reveals what happens in our brain when we’re experiencing a romantic heartbreak or a loss of a pet and offe...
2018-09-2045 min
SimplifyBenjamin Spall: Start Your Day Off RightDo you consider yourself a night owl or are you a morning person? Regardless of whether you love mornings or not, we all want to make best of them. Everybody has those few things––that certain morning ritual––that if they don't do it, their whole day is ruined. But what’s the best way to start your day off right?
Benjamin Spall and his co-author, Michael Xander, have spent five years studying morning routines of today’s most successful innovators, entrepreneurs, writers and artists to find out how they developed a morning regimen that sets them up for the d...
2018-09-1346 min
SimplifySarah Knight: Care Less, Get MoreHow much of your life do you spend pleasing those around you? Maybe it’s time to be honest with yourself, invest time in the things that really matter, and start weeding out unnecessary obligations to people you don’t really like. But how exactly are you supposed to do that?
In this episode of Simplify, Sarah Knight will help you start a process of mental decluttering and show you how to develop your personal “fck budget”, i.e. the amount of fcks you are prepared to dispense on any given day. Use it as a filter to make...
2018-09-0638 min
SimplifyDan Ariely: Saving Up Is Hard To DoWe all like to buy stuff. Endless ads screaming “sale,” “discount," and “free” trick us into believing that we want things that we don’t actually need. In an age of credit cards, Paypal, Venmo, and Apple pay, it has become incredibly easy to spend our hard-earned sheckles and tough to save them.
In this episode of Simplify, behavioral economist and cognitive psychologist Dan Ariely explains what’s behind our irrational behavior in financial decision making and teaches us how we can get better at managing our finances. Based on extensive research and numerous global studies, Dan shows what exa...
2018-08-3046 min
SimplifyCheryl Strayed: Listen For The TruthIn the first episode of Season 4, Caitlin talks with Cheryl Strayed about how tending to humanity’s toughest quandaries has become her calling, and the three central questions that keep us all up at night.
Through years of listening deeply and sensitively to others’ experiences as well as her own, Strayed has unlocked what makes a good advice-giver and friend: sincerity, listening without judging, and connection. This—paired with her straight-shooting style—is why thousands of people have trusted Sugar with their deepest secrets. In all of her work, from memoir to advice to fiction, she teaches us all t...
2018-08-2342 min
SimplifyTrailer: Simplify Season 4Simplify season 4 launches on August 23rd with an episode featuring bestselling author, memoirist, and internet legend, Cheryl Strayed. This first episode is one of our favorites yet, but as you'll hear in the trailer, there's much more to come. If you want to say hi to Ben and Caitlin before the season really kicks into gear, you can find them on Twitter: @bsto and @CaitlinSchiller.
See you next week!
2018-08-1601 min
SimplifyIntroducing Spotlight: Laura Vanderkam on Expanding TimeFeel like there's never enough time in the day? Then this episode is for you. In this very first Spotlight episode of Simplify, time-management expert Laura Vanderkam offers surprising ideas from her new book Off The Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done to help you overhaul your relationship with time.
Here, she tells Emily Phillips about how committing to more activities—not fewer—is the key to slowing the experience of time so you feel less time-poor and richer in life.
And what's Spotlight, you ask? It's an experimental mini-member of the Simplify fami...
2018-06-2114 min
SimplifyAlan Lightman: Wasting Time is Good For You (Bonus Episode)Are you slavishly devoted to your to-do list, rushing around to fit every vacant area of time to a task? In this day and age, most of us are—and it's doing no favors to our creativity, our minds, and our very humanity. Something's got to give, and Alan Lightman has a plan. Or, rather, a lack of one. And that's perfect.
In this episode of Simplify, the MIT professor, scientist and novelist offers an antidote to how we live today. He underscores the importance of wasting time, revealing how unstructured time with no goal, unplugged from th...
2018-06-0738 min
SimplifyJanice Kaplan: Luck Isn’t MagicIn this episode of Simplify, Caitlin talks to Janice Kaplan, bestselling author, TV producer, and magazine editor about how luck happens and how you can create it.
Does luck feel like something you either have or you don’t? Does it feel like chance? Or, do you think you have some, not all of it good? Well, Janice Kaplan and Barnaby Marsh turned to research, pioneering studies, and interviews with “lucky" successful people to discover that luck is actually very much under our control. And you can set yourself (and your kids) up for being luckier in ever...
2018-05-0947 min
SimplifyChristopher Ryan: Don’t Take Sex So SeriouslyEver wondered whether humans are meant to be monogamous, or when we started to look at our sexual partners as private property? The authors of the extraordinary book on sexual evolution Sex at Dawn, Cacilda Jethá and Christopher Ryan, study our primate legacy and explain how it shaped human sexual behavior.
In this episode, Ryan talks about the purpose of sexual relations in matriarchal and male-dominated societies, why what we believe about our primate origins is doing us more harm than good as a species, and how to reposition your own beliefs about what is and isn't a...
2018-05-0338 min
SimplifyDr. Lori Brotto: Make Sex More MindfulWhile mindfulness can feel like a relatively new phenomenon in western societies — Jon Kabat-Zinn popularized it in the US in the 1970s — it has, in fact, been helping people feel connected to their lives for centuries. Dr. Lori Brotto experimented with the practice as treatment for women with sexual concerns and found that mindfulness can have positive effects on desire, response and connection — and the effects seem to be lasting.
A lot of what we ‘know’ about sex as a society is based on outdated research and cultural assumptions. Listen to Dr. Lori Brotto talk about her new book...
2018-04-2642 min
SimplifyDaniel Levitin: Trick Your Brain, Treat Your BrainA lot of the things that we’ve learned about how our minds work are simply not true.
Did you know that a small part of your brain can fall asleep while the other parts are awake and working? And we can't trust our memories, either: it turns out that much of what ends up getting stored in memory, especially what people remember about themselves and their past, is a distortion.
But it's not all bad news! Listen as Dr. Daniel Levitin of The Organized Mind sheds light on what we've long misunderstood about our br...
2018-04-1939 min
SimplifyEmily Nagoski: Pleasure is the MeasureAs a sex educator, Emily Nagoski sees her main purpose as “teaching people to live with confidence and joy inside their bodies.” Step one? Understanding what’s actually going on in there!
In this episode, Nagoski employs colorful analogies to illustrate the ways in which our minds and bodies react to stressful situations (spoiler alert: you'll have to use your imagination and become a gazelle) and to describe our physical responses to sexually relevant information (enter: car metaphor).
If you’ve been anxious about sex, are struggling to connect to a long-term partner, or just want to...
2018-04-1242 min
SimplifyCharles Duhigg: Thinking is the Killer AppPultizer-prize-winning, bestselling author and NYT writer Charles Duhigg has cracked the code to what makes the world’s most productive people so effective—and how you can use those techniques for yourself. Listen in to hear why self-belief is the key to real, lasting change and find out which productivity tips Duhigg’s teaching his kids. Plus, hear the smart, slightly dirty productivity trick he pulled on Caitlin.
If you want to break an old habit or be your most innovative, creative self, then this episode is for you!
After the interview, Ben Schuman-Stoler joins Caitli...
2018-04-0532 min
SimplifyTrailer: Simplify Season 3Simplify Season 3 launches next week with an episode featuring Nobel Prize-winner, NYT columnist, and master of habits: Charles Duhigg! If you want to say hi to Ben and Caitlin in the meantime, you can find them on Twitter: @bsto and @CaitlinSchiller.
One more thing! We'd still love to get your voices on Simplify. Specifically, we want to hear how you would answer one of the questions we always ask our guests: “What have you discovered was much easier than you initially thought it was?” Just record your answer as a voice memo on your phone and email the...
2018-03-2202 min
SimplifySimplify’s 2017 Sampler EpisodeWhat’s better than getting to the heart of a great idea? Getting to the heart of seven great ideas in under 40 minutes—which is exactly what happens in this best-of episode.
Hear from Simplify Season 1 and 2’s most beloved guests, including Seth Godin, David Allen, Dan Savage, Jaclyn Friedman, Ryan Holiday, and more. And stick around after the last interview’s rolled to hear hosts Ben Schuman-Stoler and Caitlin Schiller share a very special Bookend—plus some quality overshares from their lives.
For more info, including links to everything we discussed in the episode and a vouc...
2018-02-0839 min
SimplifyEli Finkel: Marriage Is Dead, Long Live Marriage (Bonus Episode)In this bonus episode of Simplify season 2, we talk with Eli Finkel. Finkel is a writer and social psychologist at Northwestern University. He's also the author of the new book The All-or-Nothing Marriage.
On this episode, Caitlin Schiller talks to Finkel about where the ideas in the book came from. Finkel explains how he discovered that marriage is tied to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: throughout history, the main purpose of marriage was tied to survival, but today we’re asking for much more. We want our marriage to make us better people; to help us realize our...
2017-12-2845 min
SimplifyRebecca Traister: The Power of Being SingleRebecca Traister is an author and writer-at-large for New York Magazine. She writes about women, culture, and politics, and her most recent book is All The Single Ladies.
On this episode of Simplify, Traister and Caitlin Schiller discuss the larger meaning of singlehood, why marriage doesn’t make any sense anymore, and the one thing that attracts the most single-ladies. It's part Traister's story, part journalism, part history, and part crazy clever idea-connecting.
After the interview, Ben Schuman-Stoler joins Caitlin to discuss the key takeaways of the interview and make a booklist for anyone who wa...
2017-12-2131 min
SimplifyJulian Treasure: Make Good NoiseJulian Treasure is a sound designer, a musician, and a public speaker—his TED talks have been viewed more than 40 million times!—and he’s also a master of what he calls the “silent skill:" listening.
In this episode, Treasure talks to Caitlin about the 7 deadly sins of speaking, how your listening shapes who you are, and why certain cities sound so delicious to our ears.
Plus, Caitlin finds out why she feels old every time she walks past an Abercrombie & Fitch store.
After their conversation, Ben Schuman-Stoler joins Caitlin to make a booklist...
2017-12-1442 min
SimplifyJaclyn Friedman: No Pill Will Fix Your Sex Life (Ever)Jaclyn Friedman is a writer, sex-educator, and activist whose work helped establish the “yes means yes” standard of sexual consent. Her new book, Unscrewed; Women, Sex, Power, And How To Stop Letting the System Screw Us All, was released in November, 2017.
On this episode of Simplify, Caitlin Schiller talks with Friedman about sexual empowerment – or the lack thereof, which Friedman calls “Fauxpowerment.” They discuss some of the fundamental challenges to women becoming truly sexually empowered and what’s at stake if we don’t make it happen. In between, they touch on nitty gritties ranging from the politics of th...
2017-12-0644 min
SimplifyMichael Bungay Stanier: Be Lazy, Be Curious, Be OftenCoach of coaches Michael Bungay Stanier is a bestselling author and #3 coach worldwide according to Global Guru. In this episode of Simplify, Bungay Stanier talks to Caitlin Schiller about why leaders who get quiet, get curious, and ask a few simple questions are more successful than advice-giving maniacs.
(Warning: you're probably an advice-giving maniac.)
Bungay Stanier explains how you can be more coach-like without becoming a drill instructor. There are a few surprises along the way: being lazy is a good thing, for example. And sometimes, when you know the right answer, you just have...
2017-11-3043 min
SimplifyRyan Holiday: Provoke With A PurposeAre you iOS, Android, or Stoic? In this episode of Simplify, hear bestselling author and master of controversy, Ryan Holiday, talk about finding your personal operating system and using it to focus and fuel the work you love to do.
Holiday and Caitlin discuss some of the secrets of media marketing, and then dive into Holiday's other passion: philosophy. He also has great advice on finding your fans, applying abstract theory to real life, and becoming OK with saying “I don’t know.”
After the interview, Ben Schuman-Stoler joins Caitlin to make a booklist for anyone...
2017-11-2347 min
SimplifySeth Godin: Do Bad WorkWelcome to the second season of Simplify! In this season's first episode, Caitlin Schiller talks to the bestselling author and legend of marketing and entrepreneurship, Seth Godin.
Building on his own experience, Godin explains how when we find ourselves stuck and unable to move something forward, it’s because we’re afraid. He touches on the ideas in his bestsellers Permission Marketing, Purple Cow, and Linchpin, and talks through a few ways to stop hiding, including why sometimes you have to do bad work.
After the interview, Ben Schuman-Stoler joins Caitlin to go deeper into the...
2017-11-1639 min
SimplifySimplify Season 2: TrailerSimplify Season 2 launches next week with an episode featuring Seth Godin. If you want to say hi to Ben and Caitlin in the meantime, you can find them on Twitter: @bsto and @CaitlinSchiller.
And we have a favor to ask! We want to include your voices in this season of Simplify. Specifically, we’d love to hear how you would answer one of the questions we always ask our guests: “What have you discovered was much easier than you initially thought it was?” Just record your answer as a Voice Memo on your phone and email the audio...
2017-11-0902 min
SimplifyAnnouncing Simplify Season 2We’re back on November 16th, 2017, with a new season of Simplify! Tune in for 6 new guests and 6 new ways to look at your world.
To keep you busy ‘til then, we have an assignment for you: go into your voice memo app on your phone (called Voice Memo on iOS and on Android, you've got lots of choices) and record us a message with your name, where you’re calling from, and one thing you learned is much simpler or easier than you thought it was.
Then, email it to us at podcast@blinkist.com. I...
2017-10-2302 min
SimplifyAbby Marks Beale: Read Smarter (Bonus Episode)Ben Schuman-Stoler talks to speed-reading expert Abby Marks Beale about how to become a more mindful reader. Abby is a consultant and the author of 10 Days to Faster Reading.
Abby and Ben clarify the meaning of speed-reading (it’s NOT reading War and Peace in five minutes and knowing it’s a book about Russia) and review simple strategies for getting the most out of your reading material.
After the interview, Caitlin joins Ben to recap the interview and have a very meta conversation about books you can read about books.
For more info...
2017-08-2432 min
SimplifyJonah Berger: You Are Always Under the InfluenceCaitlin Schiller talks to New York Times bestselling author Jonah Berger. Berger is a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches Wharton’s top-ranked online course. He is also the author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On and Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior.
Jonah tells Caitlin about his newest book, Invisible Influence, which reframes the latest research on decision-making and behavioral psychology in a way that will make you rethink how your brain actually works. He explains that our peers play a powerful role in shaping our be...
2017-08-1033 min
SimplifyLaura Vanderkam: You Have More Time Than You ThinkBen Schuman-Stoler talks to time management expert Laura Vanderkam, author of I Know How She Does It, What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, and 168 Hours. Her writing has appeared in Fast Company, Fortune, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal.
Vanderkam made a surprising discovery after interviewing hundreds of professional women: most of us actually have way more free time than we think. She also tells an unforgettable story involving an exploding water heater and a flooded basement that will motivate you to get to work on that unfinished novel languishing on your desktop.
2017-08-0337 min
SimplifyDr. Joel Fuhrman: The Salad is the Main MealThis week, we talk with Dr. Joel Fuhrman. You might be familiar with his bestselling books, like Eat to Live and Super Immunity. Dr. Fuhrman is the passionate pioneer of nutritarianism, a style of eating which focuses on jamming into your diet as many nutrient-rich, cancer-fighting, health-bolstering foods as possible.
Over his many years of medical practice, Dr. Furhman has seen nutritarianism reverse diabetes, stall cancer, and remedy many long-term health problems — all in addition to helping millions of people lose weight.
Host Caitlin Schiller is one beneficiary of the nutritarian approach: two years ago, fo...
2017-07-2736 min
SimplifyDavid Allen: Your Brain is Not a Hard DriveCaitlin Schiller travels to Amsterdam to talk to productivity guru David Allen, the best-selling author of Getting Things Done, Ready for Anything, and Making It All Work. They talk about how to overcome the internal obstacles that stand in our way when we’re trying to get things done in the external world.
In the second segment, Ben Schuman-Stoler joins Caitlin to make another must-have reading list. By the end of the episode, you’ll understand David’s no-nonsense approach to productivity, plus how you can apply it to your own life.
For more info, includ...
2017-07-2041 min
SimplifyDan Savage: Keep Not Breaking UpCaitlin Schiller talks to sex and relationship advice columnist Dan Savage. Savage is the author of four books, including American Savage, and a nationally syndicated column called Savage Love. Since 2006, his podcast, Savage Lovecast, has been regularly featured on the Apple Podcasts top charts.
In the interview, Savage explains why the best thing you can do for your relationships might be to lower expectations. Plus, how monogamy is a lot like snowboarding and why a nail in his head made him great at his job.
(There is swearing and sexual vocabulary in this episode. Careful...
2017-07-1345 min
SimplifyGretchen Rubin: You Do YouCaitlin Schiller talks to Gretchen Rubin, NYT bestselling author of Better Than Before, The Happiness Project, and Happier at Home. Her books have sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, in over thirty languages.
Rubin speaks about her approach to happiness, habits, and self-acceptance. The main thing you should listen for is how to apply the ancient idea of “know thyself” to your fast-paced 21st-century life.
In the second segment, Ben Schuman-Stoler joins Caitlin for a deep but pithy dive into some of the ideas and books Gretchen mentions in the interview. By the end of the...
2017-07-1336 min
SimplifySimplify Season 1 TrailerHere's a little taste of what you'll hear in the next six weeks. Hit subscribe to have the first episode automatically delivered to your podcast feed in just a few days!
Until then!
Be good,
Ben and Caitlin
2017-07-0501 min
Blinkist Podcast - Interviews | Personal Development | Productivity | Business | PsychologyBlinkist Podcast 2016 Sampler: Valuable Life Lessons From Self-help Experts to Transform Your LifeHey guys, it’s Ben. I just wanted to post this quick programming note: I’m away for a little bit because, well, I’m having a baby! Eek!
But before I head out for family time, Caitlin and I put together some highlights from all the podcasts we made in 2016.
In 2016 we grew into a podcast with tens of thousands of listens. So this episode is a bit of a look back at how we did that, via a 2016 Blinkist podcast Sampler episode. I think it shows how we’ve not only grown and learned a lot about how to make...
2017-01-0342 min