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Everything Happens with Kate Bowler

Lemonada

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/  

  1. 3 DAYS AGO

    Jen Hatmaker on Divorce, Deconstruction, and Rebuilding from Scratch

    What happens when the life you were supposed to have… disappears? Jen Hatmaker joins Kate Bowler for a conversation about faith, divorce, and the slow art of healing. After the collapse of her marriage and being pushed out of the evangelical world, Jen had to figure out how to live again—how to co-parent, pay bills, go to therapy, and mother herself after decades of being the “pastor’s wife.” They talk about: What it means to lose a marriage, a career, and a community—at once The weight of being a “good” evangelical woman Codependency, caretaking, and letting your kids have their pain The deep joy of discovering you can rebuild from scratch This is for the people who are learning how to live when the story changes. A conversation about grief, grace, and not doing it alone. Show Notes: Awake by Jen Hatmaker – her latest book on rebuilding a life after loss Support Guides — for divorce, caregiving, and rebuilding from the Everything Happens Project Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day! by Kate Bowler – meditations for the ups, downs, and in-betweens The Preacher’s Wife by Kate Bowler  For the Love podcast with Jen Hatmaker Jen Hatmaker's book club – a delightfully honest reading community Come hang out in our favorite little corner of the internet, Kate's Substack. Check out the last time Jen joined Kate on the Everything Happens podcast! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    42 min

  2. 16 SEPT

    Am I Ruining My Kid? A Conversation with Dr. Becky Kennedy

    There are no training manuals for this. Just a child staring up at you with cartoon eyes and an inner monologue that asks: Am I doing this right? Am I ruining them? Kate sits down with Dr. Becky Kennedy—a clinical psychologist and creator of Good Inside—to talk about the heartbreak and hope of parenting. What does it mean to raise (or re-raise) someone with compassion and boundaries, especially when you never learned how? Whether you're parenting toddlers, teens, or the little one inside yourself, this conversation offers grace for anyone trying again. Show Notes: Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy — parenting platform, book, and podcast A Blessing for When You're Not the Parent You Meant to Be  katebowler.substack.com — essays, blessings, and community reflections Support Guide: When Your Child is in Pain — for parents supporting kids through emotional struggle Support Guide: Those Who Care for Teens — compassionate care for older children See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    44 min

  3. 9 SEPT

    When Caregiving Becomes Codependency: A Conversation with Elizabeth Gilbert

    When someone you love is in pain—whether they’re sick, addicted, or falling apart—you show up. Again and again and again. You make the calls. You hold the line. You carry what you can. But what happens when love, loyalty, and devotion blur into something harder to name? When care turns into codependency, and compassion starts to erase your sense of self? Kate sits down with best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love; Big Magic) to talk about the toll and the tenderness of caregiving. Liz’s new memoir, All the Way to the River, chronicles her years caring for someone she loved deeply through addiction and illness—and what it meant to finally let go. Together, they explore: What it means to walk someone you love to the edge of life How codependence disguises itself as devotion The permission we need to be more than someone’s lifeline This conversation is for anyone who has ever loved to the point of exhaustion. Who wonders if love is meant to cost this much. Who needs a blessing for the moment when helping means losing yourself. 🧡 Listen with care. Leave with permission. Find Kate on Substack.Grab your Everything Happens Merch. Books by Elizabeth Gilbert All the Way to the River – A raw memoir of caregiving, addiction, and release Big Magic – On creativity, inspiration, and the discipline of making Eat, Pray, Love – A bestselling memoir on desire, spirituality, and selfhood The Signature of All Things – A novel of science, wonder, and the search for understanding Resources + Mentions TED Talk: Your Elusive Creative Genius – Liz’s viral TED talk on creative brilliance Alcoholics Anonymous – A spiritual practice of surrender discussed in the episode Sky Cave Retreats – Where Liz spent five days in total darkness See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    48 min

  4. 2 SEPT

    What Makes Life Worth Living? Atul Gawande on Mortality, Medicine, and Meaning

    In this episode, Kate speaks with surgeon, writer, and public health leader Dr. Atul Gawande about the deeply human questions that surface when medicine meets its limits. What does it mean to be a good doctor when a cure isn’t possible? What do people really mean when they say they want “quality of life”? Together, they talk about caregiving, end-of-life decisions, and how the most honest conversations in healthcare begin—not with answers—but with better questions. For anyone living with chronic illness, caring for someone they love, or wondering what it means to live a good life with limits, this conversation won’t offer easy fixes. But it might offer something just as rare: clarity, compassion, and the courage to ask what really matters. Watch the full episode on YouTube: Kate C. Bowler on YouTube Subscribe to Kate’s Substack: katebowler.substack.com Show notes:  The Aspen Ideas Festival Being Mortal by Dr. Atul Gawande The Green House Project Ari Johnson & Muso Health Organizations for further action: World Food Programme, UNICEF, American Red Cross See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    39 min

  5. 21 AUG

    How to Change (But Not Overnight)

    You were supposed to be a whole new person by now. Sun-kissed and emotionally regulated. Inbox at zero. But here we are—still tired, still trying, still wondering if change is even possible. In this episode, I reflect on the seasons when we ache to become someone else. Someone better and explore the ancient idea of virtue—especially the least sexy one, prudence—as a compass for who we’re becoming and how. Rooted in Christian theology, this episode is for the slow changers. The late bloomers. The people choosing one small, faithful step instead of a total overhaul. Plus, it includes a blessing for anyone who’s trying to change... but not overnight. 📘 Want more blessings like this? Pick up Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day 💌 Join the conversation on Substack: katebowler.substack.com.🎧 Listen to more episodes at katebowler.com/podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    16 min

  6. 19 AUG

    Listen Again: How to gather in meaningful ways with Priya Parker

    We are re-airing some of our favorite episodes during our summer break like this one with expert facilitator, Priya Parker. After the pandemic took apart so many of our favorite ways of hanging out, we might be out of practice. Or too tired or overwhelmed. Priya encourages us all to practice being together for different reasons. And they don’t have to be nearly as fancy or predictable as we might think… In this episode, Kate and Priya discuss:  How do we show up for other people and ourselves in creative ways  How to know when a change might be needed in a regular gathering  Risk and the awkwardness of needing people   *** Looking for the transcript or show notes? Click here. Find Kate on Instagram or Facebook or Twitter. Subscribe to receive blessings in your inbox every week. No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) is now available in PAPERBACK. Order your copy, today. Looking for some short spiritual reflections and blessings? Check out GOOD ENOUGH: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection. Available wherever books are sold. We are going to practice the season of Advent together. Download a free Advent guide, here.     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    45 min

  7. 12 AUG

    Listen Again: How to fall in love with the world again with Margaret Renkl

    During our summer break, we are re-airing some of our favorite episodes! Margaret Renkl calls herself a backyard naturalist—but not because she has any particular expertise. From the birds in her yard to the bugs in her flower beds, she has learned the art of attention. Nature has taught her a speed at which to live, to hope, to stave off despair.  In this conversation, Kate and Margaret discuss: What we miss when we imagine we have to drive somewhere else to experience nature, instead of noticing it around us What birds teach us about what it means to be a good mother How to learn to love even the mosquitoes and wasps Where Margaret experiences moments of holiness How we might all start to be besotted by beauty Perhaps, we can borrow some of Margaret’s innate curiosity together and see how it might open us up to wonder and love and connectedness once again.   Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here or visiting katebowler.com/podcasts. Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter)—@katecbowler. Links to social pages and more available at linktr.ee/katecbowler. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    51 min

  8. 5 AUG

    Listen Again: Why you don’t have to prove your worth by overworking with Shauna Niequist

    We are re-airing some of our favorite episodes during our summer break, and this one with Shauna Niequist is a gem. Our obligations never stop, do they? How do we get off the achievement train and build a beautiful life within the constraints of our own limitations? Writer Shauna Niequist was on the fast track to burnout when she received advice that changed the pace of her life entirely. Kate and Shauna talk about the productivity myths we believe and how to embrace a slower, smaller life marked by delight.   Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here or visiting katebowler.com/podcasts. Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter)—@katecbowler. Links to social pages and more available at linktr.ee/katecbowler. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    32 min
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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/  

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