Podcast Episodes

The Privilege of Bad Experiences with NASA astronaut Jonny Kim

Episode 187

This was the most epic Zoom call we’ve ever been a part of — an incredible conversation with NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, live from the International Space Station, with sunrise on Earth as a stunningly…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

The Business Case for Good Manners with etiquette coach William Hanson

Episode 185

Good manners aren’t just about being polite — they’re about making other people feel seen.

William Hanson is one of the world’s leading etiquette coaches. He’s advised royalty, CEOs, and television pe…

Published on 4 months ago

Live Like You Have 2 Years Left with dancer and cancer survivor Angela Trimbur

Episode 184

You have two years left to live. What would you do?

That's a real question Angela Trimbur had to answer. In 2018, a breast cancer diagnosis forced her to get honest with herself. If Angela had only 2 …

Published on 4 months, 1 week ago

The Quiet Power of the Empathetic Leader with Navy SEAL turned rowing coach Gordon Schmidt

Episode 183

When morale problems affect a team, some leaders choose to make a big, rousing speech. But quite often, it’s the quiet leader who leads with empathy that sees a better emotional solution.

Gordon Schmi…

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Your Unhappy Brain Needs Some Assistance with happiness expert Mo Gawdat

Episode 182

Happiness is a choice. But it’s not always an easy choice to make.

Mo Gawdat had to face an impossible choice. Before he was a bestselling author and podcast host, Mo worked a lucrative career as Chie…

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago

We All Get Cancelled One Day with Somebody Feed Phil’s Phil Rosenthal

Episode 181

🚨  Chomp Alert! 🚨
We saw your comments — loud and crunchy. Turns out not everyone wants front-row seats to mouth sounds. Who knew?

Skip to 29:29 to dodge most of the chewing. We promise, after that it’…

Published on 5 months ago

The Extraordinary Magic of Ordinary People with author Brad Meltzer

Episode 180

Magic moments do happen in real life. If you ask Brad Meltzer, magic happens when ordinary people choose to do the extraordinary. 

Brad is a prolific writer and bestselling author. He’s published over…

Published on 5 months, 1 week ago

This Is... A Bit of Optimism

Episode 179

My career is an accident. It started when I set out to rediscover my passion and reignite a spark I’d lost — and that journey led me to the work I do now. If you know me from my books or my speaking,…

Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago

Ask Yourself "What If?" with Milk Bar Founder Christina Tosi

Episode 178

What if this podcast turned into a baking show?

For Christina Tosi’s third visit to A Bit of Optimism, we decided to find out. So we headed to Milk Bar to make compost cookies from things in my own pa…

Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago

Revisited: Love Is Not Enough with couples therapist Shawn McBride

Episode 177

We're taking some time off to bring you even more episodes of A Bit of Optimism that you're going to love! In the meantime, we're revisiting some of our favorite episodes, like this one with couples …

Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago