Blinkist Podcast - Interviews | Personal Development | Productivity | Business | Psychology

In this episode of Simplify, Caitlin talks to women’s sexual health expert, Dr. Lori Brotto, about how to elicit sexual desire and use your mind for better sex. While mindfulness can feel like a relatively new phenomenon in western societies — Jon Kabat-Zinn popularized it in the US in the 1970s — it has, in fact, been helping people feel connected to their lives for centuries. Dr. Lori Brotto experimented with the practice as treatment for women with sexual concerns and found that mindfulness can have positive effects on desire, response and connection — and the effects seem to be lasting. A lot of what we ‘know’ about sex as a society is based on outdated research and cultural assumptions. Listen to Dr. Lori Brotto talk about her new book, *Better Sex Through Mindfulness* and explain some of our many misconceptions about sex, and introduce ways we can use mindfulness practices to feel more connected to ourselves — and to our partners — during sexual encounters. By the end of this episode, you’ll learn concrete practices you can use to really tune into sex and make it better – regardless of your age or gender – and discover that pleasure is always there for you, if you can be there for it. Stick around after the interview for when Ben Schuman-Stoler joins Caitlin Schiller to talk about the main takeaways from the conversation with Dr. Lori Brotto and to compose a sexy book list on mindfulness, positive psychology, improving sex life and relationships. For more info, including links to everything we discussed in the episode and a voucher to use Blinkist for free, go to https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-desire-lori-brotto-make-love-mindfully Let us know what you thought of the episode, or just give us some book recommendations on Twitter—we’d love to hear from you! Find Caitlin at @caitlinschiller and Ben at @bsto. That excellent music you heard is by Nico Guiang. You can find more of it on Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/niceaux) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/niceaux).

In this episode of Simplify, neuroscientist Dr. Daniel Levitin unlocks the secret functions of the human brain and explains how to keep your mind healthy. A lot of the things that we’ve learned about how our minds work are simply not true. Did you know that a small part of your brain can fall asleep while the other parts are awake and working? And we can't trust our memories, either: it turns out that much of what ends up getting stored in memory, especially what people remember about themselves and their past, is a distortion. But it's not all bad news! Listen as Dr. Daniel Levitin of The Organized Mind sheds light on what we've long misunderstood about our brains and makes recommendations on how to keep your mind healthy with “cellular housekeeping." Stick around after the interview for when Ben Schuman-Stoler joins Caitlin Schiller to talk about the key ideas in this episode and recommend some great reads on the various functions of the all-mighty mind. For more info, including links to everything we discussed in the episode and a voucher to use Blinkist for free, go to https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-thinking-daniel-levitin-how-to-organize-your-mind Let us know what you thought of the episode, or just give us some book recommendations on Twitter—we’d love to hear from you! Find Caitlin at @caitlinschiller and Ben at @bsto. That excellent music you heard is by Nico Guiang. You can find more of it on Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/niceaux) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/niceaux).

In this episode of Simplify, sex educator Emily Nagoski tells Caitlin about ways to improve sexual well-being and sustain a strong sexual connections. As a sex educator, Emily Nagoski sees her main purpose as “teaching people to live with confidence and joy inside their bodies.” Step one? Understanding what’s actually going on in there! In this episode, Nagoski employs colorful analogies to illustrate the ways in which our minds and bodies react to stressful situations (spoiler alert: you'll have to use your imagination and become a gazelle) and to describe our physical responses to sexually relevant information (enter: car metaphor). If you’ve been anxious about sex, are struggling to connect to a long-term partner, or just want to understand yourself better, this episode offers lots of calm, informed, empathetic advice on how you can find your way. Stick around after the interview for when Ben Schuman-Stoler joins Caitlin Schiller to talk about the big ideas in this episode and help make a sexy book list for your nightstand. For more info, including links to everything we discussed in the episode and a voucher to use Blinkist for free, go to https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-sex-emily-nagoski-pleasure-measure-great-sex-life Let us know what you thought of the episode, or just give us some book recommendations on Twitter—we’d love to hear from you! Find Caitlin at @caitlinschiller and Ben at @bsto. That excellent music you heard is by Nico Guiang. You can find more of it on Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/niceaux) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/niceaux).

Got goals and dreams? Charles Duhigg's methods will help you reach 'em. Hear the writer of The Power of Habit & Smarter, Faster, Better on why self-belief is the key to real change and to find out which productivity tips he's teaching his kids. Pultizer-prize-winning, bestselling author and NYT writer Charles Duhigg has cracked the code to what makes the world’s most productive people so effective—and how you can use those techniques for yourself. Listen in to hear why self-belief is the key to real, lasting change and find out which productivity tips Duhigg’s teaching his kids. Plus, hear the smart, slightly dirty productivity trick he pulled on Caitlin. If you want to break an old habit or be your most innovative, creative self, then this episode is for you! After the interview, Ben Schuman-Stoler joins Caitlin to go deeper into the ideas and books covered in this episode. Also, they make a booklist to help you keep becoming more productive. For more info, including links to everything we discussed in the episode and a voucher to use Blinkist for free, go to https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/ simplify-productivity-charles-duhigg-says-thinking-killer-app/ Let us know what you thought of the episode, or just give us some book recommendations on Twitter—we’d love to hear from you! Find Caitlin at @caitlinschiller and Ben at @bsto. That excellent music you heard is by Nico Guiang. You can find more of it on Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/niceaux) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/niceaux).

We made it through the Berlin winter! Here's what's to come on Season 3 of Simplify. Simplify Season 3 launches next week with an episode featuring Nobel Prize-winner, NYT columnist, and master of habits: Charles Duhigg! If you want to say hi to Ben and Caitlin in the meantime, you can find them on Twitter: @bsto and @CaitlinSchiller. One more thing! We'd still love to get your voices on Simplify. Specifically, we want to hear how you would answer one of the questions we always ask our guests: “What have you discovered was much easier than you initially thought it was?” Just record your answer as a voice memo on your phone and email the audio file to us at podcast@blinkist.com. See you next week!

Simplify’s 2017 Sampler Episode by Ben Schuman-Stoler. Making big ideas personal. Get personal growth and business lessons from thought leaders and entrepreneurs.

In this bonus episode of Simplify season 2, we talk with Eli Finkel, a writer and relationship psychologist at Northwestern University. Northwestern professor, relationship researcher and author of the new book The All-or-Nothing Marriage. On this episode, Caitlin Schiller talks to Finkel about his new book, The All-or-Nothing Marriage. Finkel explains how marriage is tied to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: throughout history, the main purpose of marriage was tied to survival, but today we’re asking for much more. We want our marriage to make us better people; to realize our best selves. He and Caitlin dive into social psychology, long-term passion, and a couple of “love hacks” that can get you and your partner back on track. After the interview, Ben Schuman-Stoler and Emily Philips discuss the key takeaways of the interview and make a booklist for anyone who wants to read more about changing your mindset (which has more to do with good relationships than you think!). Simplify is made with love by Blinkist. For more info, including links to everything we discussed in the episode and a voucher to use Blinkist for free, go to http://blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-marriage-eli-finkel. // **Quick reminder:** This season, we are collecting your voices! It's not as creepy as it sounds, we promise. We just would love to hear how you would answer one of the questions we always ask our guests: “What have you discovered was much easier than you initially thought it was?” You can just record your answer with any voice memo app and email it to us at podcast@blinkist.com. If you want to say hi to Ben and Caitlin in the meantime, you can find them on Twitter: @bsto and @CaitlinSchiller. Let them know what you're reading! Thanks to Nico Guiang for our fantastic intro and outro music. Listen to more on Soundcloud [@niceaux] or check him out on Facebook [www.facebook.com/niceaux]. // We're phasing out this RSS feed, so if you want to hear more great stuff, subscribe to the podcast here: iTunes: apple.co/2sUeLYA PocketCasts: pca.st/qnKH Overcast: bit.ly/2uVNFlk RSS: bit.ly/2uVeF4j

Rebecca Traister is an author and writer-at-large for New York Magazine. She writes about about women, culture, and politics, and her most recent book is All The Single Ladies. On this episode of Simplify, she and Caitlin discuss the larger meaning of singlehood, why marriage doesn’t make any sense any more, and the one thing that attracts the most single-ladies. After the interview, Ben Schuman-Stoler joins Caitlin to discuss the key takeaways of the interview and make a booklist for anyone who wants to read more about this. Simplify is made with love by Blinkist. For more info, including links to everything we discussed in the episode and a voucher to use Blinkist for free, go to [https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-singlehood-rebecca-traister] // This season, we are collecting your voices! It's not as creepy as it sounds, we promise. We just would love to hear how you would answer one of the questions we always ask our guests: “What have you discovered was much easier than you initially thought it was?” You can just record your answer with any voice memo app and email it to us at podcast@blinkist.com. If you want to say hi to Ben and Caitlin in the meantime, you can find them on Twitter: @bsto and @CaitlinSchiller. Let them know what you're reading! Thanks to Nico Guiang for our fantastic intro and outro music. Listen to more on Soundcloud [@niceaux] or check him out on Facebook [www.facebook.com/niceaux]. // We're phasing out this RSS feed, so if you want to hear more great stuff, subscribe to the podcast here: iTunes: apple.co/2sUeLYA PocketCasts: pca.st/qnKH Overcast: bit.ly/2uVNFlk RSS: bit.ly/2uVeF4j

Julian Treasure is a sound designer, a musician, and a public speaker—his TED talks have been viewed more than 40 million times!—and he’s also a master of what he calls the “silent skill:" listening. In this episode, Treasure talks to Caitlin about the 7 deadly sins of speaking, how your listening shapes who you are, and why certain cities sound so delicious to our ears. Plus, Caitlin finds out why she feels old every time she walks past an Abercrombie & Fitch store. After their conversation, Ben Schuman-Stoler joins Caitlin to make a booklist about sound, listening, communication, and Sam Harris. Simplify is made with love by Blinkist. For more info, including links to everything we discussed in the episode and a voucher to use Blinkist for free, go to [https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-communication-julian-treasure] // This season, we are collecting your voices! It's not as creepy as it sounds, we promise. We just would love to hear how you would answer one of the questions we always ask our guests: “What have you discovered was much easier than you initially thought it was?” You can just record your answer with any voice memo app and email it to us at podcast@blinkist.com. If you want to say hi to Ben and Caitlin in the meantime, you can find them on Twitter: @bsto and @CaitlinSchiller. Let them know what you're reading! Thanks to Nico Guiang for our fantastic intro and outro music. Listen to more on Soundcloud [@niceaux] or check him out on Facebook [www.facebook.com/niceaux]. // We're phasing out this RSS feed, so if you want to hear more great stuff, subscribe to the podcast here: iTunes: apple.co/2sUeLYA PocketCasts: pca.st/qnKH Overcast: bit.ly/2uVNFlk RSS: bit.ly/2uVeF4j

Jaclyn Friedman is a writer, sex-educator, and activist. Her work helped establish the “yes means yes” standard of sexual consent. Her new book, Unscrewed; Women, Sex, Power, And How To Stop Letting the System Screw Us All, was released in November, 2017. On this episode of Simplify, Caitlin Schiller talks with Friedman about sexual empowerment – or the lack thereof, which Friedman calls “Fauxpowerment.” They discuss some of the fundamental challenges to women becoming truly sexually empowered and what’s at stake if we don’t make it happen. Then, they move on to nitty gritties ranging from the politics of The Spice Girls to how to talk to your partner about sex. Plus, they break down where the term “Girl Power” comes from. After their conversation, Ben Schuman-Stoler joins Caitlin to make a booklist about good sex and working with (or against) the powers that be. Simplify is made with love by Blinkist. For more info, including links to everything we discussed in the episode and a voucher to use Blinkist for free, go to https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-sexual-empowerment-jaclyn-friedman-youre-not-broken/. // This season, we are collecting your voices! It's not as creepy as it sounds, we promise. We just would love to hear how you would answer one of the questions we always ask our guests: “What have you discovered was much easier than you initially thought it was?” You can just record your answer with any voice memo app and email it to us at podcast@blinkist.com. If you want to say hi to Ben and Caitlin in the meantime, you can find them on Twitter: @bsto and @CaitlinSchiller. Let them know what you're reading! Thanks to Nico Guiang for our fantastic intro and outro music. Listen to more on Soundcloud [@niceaux] or check him out on Facebook [www.facebook.com/niceaux]. // We're phasing out this RSS feed, so if you want to hear more great stuff, subscribe to the podcast here: iTunes: apple.co/2sUeLYA PocketCasts: pca.st/qnKH Overcast: bit.ly/2uVNFlk RSS: bit.ly/2uVeF4j