
150 episodes

Everything Happens with Kate Bowler Lemonada
-
- Society & Culture
-
-
4.8 • 85 Ratings
-
Are you living your best life now? Not always? This is a podcast for you. Duke Professor Kate Bowler is an expert in the stories we tell about success and failure, suffering and happiness. She had Stage IV cancer. Then she didn’t. And since then, all she wants to do is talk to funny and wise people about how to live with the knowledge that, well, everything happens. Find her online at @katecbowler.
Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media https://lemonadamedia.com/
-
Lisa Damour: Understanding Today’s Teenagers
How hard is it to be a parent today? After a pandemic? With social media breathing down our necks? It’s so hard! Navigating the delicate balance between granting independence and providing guidance can be daunting as a parent.
Dr. Lisa Damour (New York Times bestselling author of The Emotional Lives of Teenagers) has dedicated her life to unraveling the intricacies of adolescence and offering practical, heartfelt advice.
In this conversation, Lisa and Kate:
offer a more reassuring definition of mental health (hint: it’s about having the right-sized feelings that fit the situation at hand and managing those feelings effectively).
emphasize the importance of being a steady presence in kids’ lives, as well as offer scripts to try with your own teenager
give language to what parents might be feeling if they missed this kind of parenting themselves
CW: Mental Health awareness
***
Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here.
Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Rob Delaney: A Heart that Works is a Heart that Hurts
Comedians have the ability to be unsparingly honest in ways that buck all cultural norms. It’s a truth-telling that so many of us crave.
Cue Rob Delaney.
Rob is a comedian, actor, writer, and director. His memoir, A Heart That Works is an unsparing account of the death of his beautiful son, Henry. Rob lives in London with his family where Kate visited him for this honest and hilarious conversation.
Kate and Rob discuss:
The importance of finding people who really understand what you’re feeling
What not to say to people whose kids have died
How tragic loss exiles you to a planet where only those who understand grief live
The ways we hope grief metabolizes in us and transforms us into empathetic, heart-open kinds of people
Rob wants us all to understand that if the unthinkable happens, our hearts still beat so strong in truth and love.
CW: hard-earned explicit language of a bereaved parent, death of parent, Suicide, death of a child
***
Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here.
Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Bless This Ordinary Day
Writer Barbara Brown Taylor once wrote, “The earth is so thick with divine possibility that it's a wonder that we can walk anywhere without cracking our shins on altars.” Maybe we could just learn to bless the ordinariness of the day—all the tiny little altars in our life that we trip over when we're too busy just going to get Starbucks.
If you're the kind of person that wants to bless an ordinary day, then here's one for you. -
Jenna Bush Hager: Get in the Game
The TODAY Show’s Jenna Bush Hager sits down for a wide-ranging conversation with Kate Bowler. Together, they share about the importance of family and intergenerational relationships (Jenna shares such tender stories about her grandparents), how they hope to let their kids make mistakes and be met with grace, and how they both (try to) find beauty in ordinary, regular days and regular problems.
In this conversation, Kate and Jenna discuss:
How to model openness and empathy across difference (even when people really, really disagree)
Why they want to raise their kids to be curious and independent
How the love of others makes us brave—brave enough to make mistakes (and why that’s okay)
Kate visited Jenna in New York City for this conversation. And Jenna is just as lovely and generous of spirit as you’d imagine.
CW: fertility issues; Alzheimer’s
Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here.
Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Introducing Season 11 of Everything Happens
Are you living your best life now? Not always? GREAT, ME NEITHER.
My name is Kate Bowler. I’m a professor, speaker, podcast host and New York Times bestselling author. Which makes it sound like I believe in living your “best life.” Don’t worry—I don’t.
I study the stories we tell about success and failure, suffering and happiness. And hobbies are wasted on me because I’d rather be talking to funny and wise people about how to live with the knowledge that, well, everything happens.
A new season of *fantastic* conversation starts on September 5th.
Mark your calendar. Make sure you’re subscribed. You won’t want to miss this.
EVERYTHING HAPPENS is available everywhere you get your podcasts.
***Find Kate on Instagram or Facebook or (what was formally known as) Twitter.
And be sure to subscribe to our email to receive behind-the-scenes updates.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Tig Notaro: The Luckiest Unlucky Person
How do you live knowing life can just come undone at a moment’s notice? In the span of a few months, Tig Notaro received three life-threatening illnesses, unexpectedly lost her mom, and went through a breakup. Tig is a brilliant comedian whose real life informs her comedy and has a lot to teach us about living honestly in the face of reality. In this conversation, Kate and Tig discuss: Tig’s “hands-off” parents and her journey of self-discovery, eventually uncovering her talents in the entertainment industry and making her a respected figure in comedy How Tig Notaro's family of “real characters,” served as an abundant source of comedic inspiration in her life (including the best graveyard story ever) How to live alongside fear of what you know could actually happen?
Customer Reviews
Tender & life affirming
I am not religious in any traditional sense but am in awe of the wonders of the world, and the struggles and messy beauty of being alive. Kate Bowler manages to hit all the right notes, never shying away from pain and doubt and questions, but always in such a tender way that shines rays of hope and gratitude across everything. I can rarely listen without at some point either crying with laughter or with sadness… and I think this is a perfect balance for a life well lived. Kate herself is a true inspiration and a comfort, and so I always know life will feel better after spending time with her on this pod. Thank you Kate and your team for sharing all this with us!
Grateful to have found this.
I came to this because I follow Julia Samuel. I’m not religious so wouldn’t have been drawn to listen but the conversation was so honest and the warmth, trust and understanding between these women was very moving. It has left me with a lot to think about 🙏🏼
Just wonderful
I love this work , it makes me think , reflect and ponder life . I look forward to every episode . Thank you