
Simplify
Simplify is a podcast for anyone who’s taken a close look at their habits, their happiness, their relationships, or their health and thought, “There’s got to be a better way to do this.” Hear ideas that get you to better from Gretchen Rubin, David Allen, Rebecca Traister, Dan Savage, Seth Godin and many more. Hosted by Caitlin Schiller and Ben Schuman-Stoler. Brought to you by Blinkist.
Latest episodes

May 9, 2019 • 10min
Simplify Spotlight: Chris Hirst on No Bullshit Leadership
Chris 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 links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-spotlight-christ-hirstTry Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to https://www.blinkist.com/simplify, tapping the "Try Blinkist" link at the top right, and typing in the code nobullshit.Let us know what you thought of this episode of Spotlight, or just come say hi on Twitter! Find Caitlin at @caitlinschiller.That excellent music you heard is by Nico Guiang. You can find more of it on Soundcloud and Facebook.Stay tuned for the next season of Simplify!

Apr 9, 2019 • 9min
Help 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 entered. But really? We’d love to win, and you can help by voting for us in the Webby People's Voice Awards by Thursday, April 18th!
Just follow the link above (or visit one of our Twitter accounts) and choose Simplify for Best Health & Wellness Podcast. Then, check your inbox to confirm your email address for the Webby Awards—(otherwise, the vote won’t count)—and that's it! You’ll have taken us one step closer to winning.
And on that note: if there’s one thing we’ve all learned over the last two years of making Simplify, it’s that there is no “I” in podcast. We’re so grateful to everyone who's listened, everyone who's been on the show, and everyone who works so hard on Simplify. To honor the whole Simplify audio group, we recorded this tiny, giddy, full-team bonus announcement in which you'll (finally) hear the voices of Ody Constantinou and Ben Jackson—and also get book recommendations from Caitlin, Ben, the other Ben, Ody, and Terence. Thanks for listening and thanks for voting!
On Twitter, you can find Caitlin at [@caitlinschiller], Ben at [@bsto], Ody at [@ghostmeet], and Terence at [@terence_mickey]
Voting Link: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2019/podcasts/general-podcasts/health-wellness

Mar 14, 2019 • 24min
Introducing: Self? Help! Episode One - featuring Susan Cain
Self? Help! is the new podcast out of Blinkist. Host Terence Mickey, Moth Storyteller and creator of Memory Motel, goes deep with people about the books that sparked their life-changing realizations.
In season one you’ll hear five bestselling NYT authors—Johann Hari, Paula McLain, and Eli Finkel, to name a few—tell the stories of that moment when they asked themselves who am I? How did I get here? And what am I supposed to do next? and the book that helped them answer those oh-so-existential questions.
All episodes drop March 21st over in the Self? Help! feed. But today you get a sneak preview of episode one with Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Hidden Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.1 Listen in to hear how Do What You Are[2] helped her change careers and find her true self.
You can subscribe here to get all the episodes of Self? Help! next week when they drop[3]: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/self-help/id1453526088?mt=2
Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to [https://www.blinkist.com/en/friends/][4] and typing in the code cain.
Let us know what you thought of this episode by emailing podcast@blinkist.com, or say hello on Twitter. Terence is at [@terence_mickey][5].
[2] https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/do-what-you-are/
[3]: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/self-help/id1453526088?mt=2
[4]: https://www.blinkist.com/friends/?v=cain
[5]: https://twitter.com/terence_mickey

Mar 7, 2019 • 39min
Amanda Siebert: It's Just a Plant
Picture 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, Siebert analyzes how the drug got so demonized, the wide array of benefits it can have for many people, and how we need to reconsider our preconceptions about the humble weed.
For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-amanda-siebert-cannabis/
Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to [https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/friends/][3] and typing in the code cannabis.
Let us know what you thought of this episode, or just come say hi on Twitter! Find Caitlin at [@caitlinschiller][4], Ben at [@bsto][5] and Terence at [@terence_mickey][6]
That excellent music you heard is by Nico Guiang. You can find more of it on [Soundcloud][7] and [Facebook][8].
[1]: https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/a-really-good-day-en/
[2]: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-amanda-siebert-cannabis/
[3]: https://www.blinkist.com/friends/?v=cannabis
[4]: https://twitter.com/caitlinschiller?lang=en
[5]: https://twitter.com/bsto
[6]: https://twitter.com/terence_mickey?ref_src=twsrc%5Eappleosx%7Ctwcamp%5Esafari%7Ctwgr%5Esearch
[7]: https://soundcloud.com/niceaux
[8]: https://www.facebook.com/niceaux

Mar 1, 2019 • 49min
Robin DiAngelo: Think impact, Not Intention
What 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 written White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Race as an educational tool for white people who want to be better allies, inspect their biases, and find their way out of a racist system that continues to do harm.
For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-robin-diangelo-white-fragility
Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/friends/ and typing in the code fragile.
Let us know what you thought of this episode, or just come say hi on Twitter! Find Caitlin at @caitlinschiller & Ben at @bsto.
That excellent music you heard is by Nico Guiang. You can find more of it on Soundcloud and Facebook.

Feb 21, 2019 • 35min
Jen Sincero: Believe Better Stories
Coach & 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 about the negative fallout in changing your life for the better.
For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-success-jen-sincero-believe-better-stories
Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to [https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/friends/][3] and typing in the code badass.
Let us know what you thought of this episode, or just come say hi on Twitter! Find Caitlin at [@caitlinschiller][4], Ben at [@bsto][5] and Terence at [@terence_mickey][6]
That excellent music you heard is by Nico Guiang. You can find more of it on [Soundcloud][7] and [Facebook][8].
[1]: https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/you-are-a-badass-en/
[2]: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-success-jen-sincero-believe-better-stories
[3]: https://www.blinkist.com/friends/?v=badass
[4]: https://twitter.com/caitlinschiller?lang=en
[5]: https://twitter.com/bsto
[6]: https://twitter.com/terence_mickey?ref_src=twsrc%5Eappleosx%7Ctwcamp%5Esafari%7Ctwgr%5Esearch
[7]: https://soundcloud.com/niceaux
[8]: https://www.facebook.com/niceaux

Feb 14, 2019 • 39min
Melissa Hartwig Urban: Create Your Own Food Rules
If 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 you won't miss the kettle chips in your life one bit.
Melissa Hartwig Urban is a Sports Nutritionist who specializes in helping people change their relationship with food and create healthy habits that last. Her program, The Whole30, has spent considerable time on the NYT's bestseller list and helped thousands of people reset their health.
For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-nutrition-melissa-hartwig-urbann
Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to [https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/friends/][3] and typing in the code whole30.
Let us know what you thought of this episode, or just come say hi on Twitter! Find Caitlin at [@caitlinschiller][4], Ben at [@bsto][5] and Terence at [@terence_mickey][6]
That excellent music you heard is by Nico Guiang. You can find more of it on [Soundcloud][7] and [Facebook][8].
[1]: https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/a-really-good-day-en/
[2]: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-nutrition-melissa-hartwig-urbann
[3]: https://www.blinkist.com/friends/?v=whole30
[4]: https://twitter.com/caitlinschiller?lang=en
[5]: https://twitter.com/bsto
[6]: https://twitter.com/terence_mickey?ref_src=twsrc%5Eappleosx%7Ctwcamp%5Esafari%7Ctwgr%5Esearch
[7]: https://soundcloud.com/niceaux
[8]: https://www.facebook.com/niceaux

Feb 7, 2019 • 41min
Ayelet 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—particularly odd when we don't know a whole lot more about the doctor-prescribed medications commonly used to treat depression.
For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-psychedelics-ayelet-waldman
Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to [https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/friends/][3] and typing in the code micro.
Let us know what you thought of this episode, or just come say hi on Twitter! Find Caitlin at [@caitlinschiller][4], Ben at [@bsto][5] and Terence at [@terence_mickey][6]
That excellent music you heard is by Nico Guiang. You can find more of it on [Soundcloud][7] and [Facebook][8].
[1]: https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/a-really-good-day-en/
[2]: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-psychedelics-ayelet-waldman
[3]: https://www.blinkist.com/friends/?v=micro
[4]: https://twitter.com/caitlinschiller?lang=en
[5]: https://twitter.com/bsto
[6]: https://twitter.com/terence_mickey?ref_src=twsrc%5Eappleosx%7Ctwcamp%5Esafari%7Ctwgr%5Esearch
[7]: https://soundcloud.com/niceaux
[8]: https://www.facebook.com/niceaux

Jan 31, 2019 • 38min
Dan Harris: One Minute Counts
Do 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 interview podcast—Dan Harris busts misconceptions about and common barriers to meditation so that you can make it a practice that you can start today and finish in just a minute—no gongs, lotus pose, or flowing white robes required!
For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-meditation-dan-harris
Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to [https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/friends/][3] and typing in the code dailyish.
Let us know what you thought of this episode, or just come say hi on Twitter! Find Caitlin at [@caitlinschiller][4], Ben at [@bsto][5] and Terence at [@terence_mickey][6]
That excellent music you heard is by Nico Guiang. You can find more of it on [Soundcloud][7] and [Facebook][8].
[1]: https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/10-percent-happier-en/
[2]: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-meditation-dan-harris
[3]: https://www.blinkist.com/friends/?v=dailyish
[4]: https://twitter.com/caitlinschiller?lang=en
[5]: https://twitter.com/bsto
[6]: https://twitter.com/terence_mickey?ref_src=twsrc%5Eappleosx%7Ctwcamp%5Esafari%7Ctwgr%5Esearch
[7]: https://soundcloud.com/niceaux
[8]: https://www.facebook.com/niceaux

Jan 17, 2019 • 2min
Trailer: Simplify Season 5
In 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 really does help! Send us feedback, suggestions, or questions about anything you’ve heard or would like to hear at podcast@blinkist.com. And if Twitter’s your thing, you’ll find Caitlin @CaitlinSchiller and Ben @bsto.
More soon!
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