onGRIT

Join us every other week for interviews with experts and thought leaders about topics related to resilience, purpose, and human performance. Explore questions like: How can we live our lives with more purpose? How can we create good and lasting habits? What is our potential? We dive into these topics—and many more—as we discuss the pressing dilemmas of our time and ideas that science is just starting to uncover.

Where Can You Find Genius? with Eric Weiner 07/26/2019

Where Can You Find Genius? with Eric Weiner Our guest today is Eric Weiner. He is a former correspondent for NPR and the bestselling author of Geography of Bliss. We talk with him about his second book, Geography of Genius. His writing is fun, thought provoking, and leaves you with new ideas. To learn more about him, you can visit his website at EricWeinerBooks.com. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/10673531

Interview with Award-Winning Author David Leite Part 2 of 2 02/09/2019

Interview with Award-Winning Author David Leite Part 2 of 2 You can make a convincing case that food defines who we are, and often who we are not. We talk about this and much more with award-winning food writer and memoirist David Leite about his most recent book, Notes on a Banana: A Memoir of Food, Love and Manic Depression. He’s the founder of Leite’s Culinaria, which was the first website to win a James Beard Award. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/8579708

Interview with Award-Winning Author David Leite Part 1 of 2 02/09/2019

Interview with Award-Winning Author David Leite Part 1 of 2 You can make a convincing case that food defines who we are, and often who we are not. We talk about this and much more with award-winning food writer and memoirist David Leite about his most recent book, Notes on a Banana: A Memoir of Food, Love and Manic Depression. He’s the founder of Leite’s Culinaria, which was the first website to win a James Beard Award. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/8579690

Resilience Is a Muscle Part 2 of 2 10/16/2018

Resilience Is a Muscle Part 2 of 2 We’re talking today with bestselling author Rick Hanson about his book Resilient. Dr. Hanson is a therapist. He has a PhD in clinical psychology and a lot of his writing is at the intersection of psychological science, neuroscience, and mindfulness. He shares insights with us about how to manage stress, as well as the origins of it, and what it really takes for most of us to reduce it. Toward the end of the interview we talk about motivation: how it works and how we can refuel. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/7205543

Resilience Is a Muscle Part 1 of 2 10/16/2018

Resilience Is a Muscle Part 1 of 2 We’re talking today with bestselling author Rick Hanson about his book Resilient. Dr. Hanson is a therapist. He has a PhD in clinical psychology and a lot of his writing is at the intersection of psychological science, neuroscience, and mindfulness. He shares insights with us about how to manage stress, as well as the origins of it, and what it really takes for most of us to reduce it. Toward the end of the interview we talk about motivation: how it works and how we can refuel. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/7205411

What Are Our Limits? Part 2 of 2 09/07/2018

What Are Our Limits? Part 2 of 2 There is something magical about the way some people can push their physical limits. Think about Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile in 1954, or Diana Nyad’s 103 mile swim from Cuba to Florida, or the countless people who have climbed Everest. Today we talk about the role the brain plays when it comes to pushing the limits of endurance. Alex Hutchinson is an award-winning journalist and the author of Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/7019626

What Are Our Limits? Part 1 of 2 09/07/2018

What Are Our Limits? Part 1 of 2 There is something magical about the way some people can push their physical limits. Think about Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile in 1954, or Diana Nyad’s 103 mile swim from Cuba to Florida, or the countless people who have climbed Everest. Today we talk about the role the brain plays when it comes to pushing the limits of endurance. Alex Hutchinson is an award-winning journalist and the author of Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/7019596

A Genetic Superpower? 08/20/2018

A Genetic Superpower? Dr. Rachel Yehuda’s is a pioneer in the study of stress, trauma, and epigenetics. She has discovered that trauma survivors can leave biological markers in their offspring’s genes. But this field is relatively new, with more research needing to be done, so today we talk about stress and then delve into the possible theories behind the science, what these theories might mean, and why this kind of biological effect could be a strength. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/6949016

Where Most of Us Don’t Go 07/14/2018

Where Most of Us Don’t Go Fariba Nawa is a journalist who covers war, corruption, cultural trends, and human rights. She is drawn to the dire situations that war creates—the victimhood, the violence, and the people who are silenced by their circumstance. Mostly she wants to tell the stories of people who aren't able to share their own. I ask Fariba questions that we all, at times, wonder about: What does belonging look like to you? Do you feel at home? How have you been shaped by feelings of guilt? /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/6810286

Being You 06/24/2018

Being You Paula Stone Williams is a pastor and speaks nationally on issues of gender equity, LGBTQ rights, and religion. Her TEDx talk "I've lived as a man & a woman—here's what I learned" has received over 800,000 views. Today we talk with Paula about her search for authenticity, her experience being transgender and, given that she has lived as a woman and a man, what she’s observed about gender equity. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/6739155

Getting Work Right 06/08/2018

Getting Work Right Dr. Ron Friedman is an award-winning psychologist, business consultant, and the author of The Best Place to Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace. Friedman's research sheds light on how to build healthy workplaces, which includes embracing failure, giving up the mindset of perfection, and taking care of yourself. We start the interview with Ron talking about what motivated him to pursue such an extensive project—what became his book. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/6681695

What We Can Learn with Barbara Oakley 05/26/2018

What We Can Learn with Barbara Oakley Barbara Oakley shares stories about people who pursued what for them seemed like long shots. We talk with Barbara about learning, grit, and the challenges people face when changing careers. And, in case you’re wondering, Barbara knows a lot about learning. She is the co-creator of the wildly popular Coursera Course Learning How to Learn. The course is the largest MOOC (which stands for “Massive Open Online Course”). It has totaled over two million enrollments. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/6636520

How We’re Wired 04/28/2018

How We’re Wired I am very excited to have Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett joining us. She is a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, and the author of the book How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain. The Harvard professor of psychology and bestselling author Daniel Gilbert has this to say about her work: “A brilliant and original book on the science of emotion by the deepest thinker about this topic since Darwin.” /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/6533097

A Different Way to Meet Goals 04/14/2018

A Different Way to Meet Goals So often we face a problem: what we need to accomplish feels like the last thing we want to do, so we procrastinate or create all kinds of tricks to try to get ourselves to work harder that often don't work. Today we talk with someone who says our overemphasis on a topdown approach to self-control is faulty. In fact, too much of it will harm us in the long run. David DeSteno talks about a different approach in his new book, Emotional Success. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/6479713

The Deadly Sin That Helps Us Thrive 03/30/2018

The Deadly Sin That Helps Us Thrive It’s believed that all of our decisions and actions are spurred by emotion, so researchers are studying other emotions—ones that go beyond our basic need to survive and look at how we thrive. We talk with Jessica Tracy, a researcher and professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, about her new book, Pride. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/6427190

Listening to What We Know 03/15/2018

Listening to What We Know We are joined by bestselling author Robert Fulghum. It is hard to wrap our mind around a precise meaning of life, but Robert's words lead us to a river of sustenance—to places that nourish, heal, and help us go beyond ourselves. Through the experiences he shares, you get a sense of his perspective and the values he holds that make his life full of rich experiences and adventures that span time, relationships, and space. We hope you enjoy the conversation. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/6369432

The Stories We Tell 02/11/2018

The Stories We Tell The majority of people say they want to write a book, as much as 80-90% by some estimates, so today we’re diving into what makes a good story. It turns out, there are some rules that writers use, and once you know them, you will start to recognize them in the books you read, the movies you watch, and—hopefully—in the stories you write. Matthew Bird, the author of Secrets of Story, shares some insights. And, yes, I recommend his book because it is not only brimming with ideas, it is laugh-out-loud. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/6246510

The Big Questions: a (mostly) unedited conversation 01/05/2018

The Big Questions: a (mostly) unedited conversation In her book, Grace Without God, Katherine Ozment explores how we can bring the best of religion into our lives without the parts that clash with our secular beliefs. She drifted away from religion as an adult, but after having children she realized that she needed to create a space where her family could explore the big questions: Why are we here? Where are we going? What happens when we die? /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/6119555

How to Rethink Your Problems 12/13/2017

How to Rethink Your Problems If you ever find yourself banging your head against a wall because you can't solve a problem in your life, it’s you and everybody else, which brings us to our expert today. As a business consultant, speaker, and co-author of the book Innovation as Usual, Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg has worked with managers all over the world to reframe how they think about their problems and how they go about solving them. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/6043617

Just Listen: Connect Better with People You Care About 10/25/2017

Just Listen: Connect Better with People You Care About So often we are distracted and not present in the conversations in our lives and as a result we miss opportunities to connect and to build a better part of ourselves. Today we learn how to shift our attention, how to expand the breadth and depth of our relationships, and how to overcome some hurdles we have within ourselves. Joining us is Dr. Mark Goulston, a psychiatrist, business consultant, and the author of the widely acclaimed book Just Listen. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/5876664

How Power Changes Us 10/02/2017

How Power Changes Us Dacher Keltner is a psychology professor at the University of California, Berkley and the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center. He has authored several books on human emotion and he is here today to talk with us about his most recent book: The Power Paradox. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/5796324

Why Compassion Belongs at Work 08/23/2017

Why Compassion Belongs at Work Monica Worline, a business consultant and researcher at Standford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research, joins us to talk about her new book, Awakening Compassion at Work. The book is coauthored with Jane Dutton, a professor emerita of the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/5670209

Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone 07/20/2017

Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone Andy Molinsky, a professor of organizational behavior at Brandeis University's business school, talks about his new book, Reach, and shares ideas about "just right" challenges that help us expand our comfort zone. /episode/index/show/ongrit/id/5559581

onGRIT

TOPICS