Everyday Better with Leah Smart

In a captivating discussion, Emily Kasriel, a former BBC journalist turned executive coach, shares her insights on deep listening, a skill crucial for meaningful communication. She details an eight-step framework to improve active listening, emphasizing psychological safety, presence, and curiosity. Emily reveals the distractions that hinder genuine interaction and offers strategies to enhance understanding in both personal and professional relationships. Dive into how deep listening can transform conflicts and foster trust.

Nicholas Thompson is a writer, a father, a CEO, and a champion long-distance runner. Nick says that running has taught him how to navigate the hardest things in life. This conversation is about running, but it’s really about what changes when we commit to doing hard things. Running has been a part of Nick’s life since his childhood, but it wasn’t until his forties that his running career skyrocketed. Even as he took on the demanding role as CEO of The Atlantic, Nick continued to break records as an elite runner. Together, Leah and Nick discuss the cumulative effects of discipline, why you should challenge yourself outside of work, and how developing strong habits will impact every area of your life. You can find Nick’s new book ‘The Running Ground’ here. If you liked this episode, check out our conversation with Michael Gervais, one of the world’s top high performance psychologists.Follow Leah Smart and Nicholas Thompson on LinkedIn.

Before she became a TikTok star, Eli Rallo had a clear vision for what her post-grad years would look like: she’d have a fulfilling career, fabulous friends, and would finally "feel like an adult." Instead, she found herself struggling with social anxiety, a directionless career, and a nagging fear that she’d never figure it all out: enter the 'quarter-life crisis.' Eli started sharing her unfiltered experiences online, building a community by being open about the highs and lows of her twenties. And now, in her new book of essays, she’s unpacking the lessons learned and unexpected moments of joy she discovered through embracing life’s uncertainties. Eli and Leah sat down to explore how Gen Z is coping with “adulting” and what you can learn from the other side of a big life transition. Plus, Eli talks about the unique challenges Gen Z faces and together, they unpack how cultivating real human connection offline confronts the strains and pressures of living in a digital world. You can find Eli’s new book ‘Does Anyone Else Feel This Way?’ here. If you liked this episode, check out our conversation with professor Erin Cech on the problem with passion. Follow Leah Smart and Eli Rallo on LinkedIn. 

Tal Ben-Shahar, a former Harvard professor and leading expert on positive psychology, shares his mission to promote societal happiness. He reveals that chasing happiness directly may be counterproductive and introduces the SPIRE model, emphasizing the importance of meaning, relationships, and emotional well-being. Tal discusses how small, sustainable habits can boost overall happiness, the concept of post-traumatic growth, and the necessity of restorative niches for recovery. He encourages valuing the journey over achievements and highlights kindness and mindfulness as key traits for a happier life.

Meg Josephson, a psychotherapist and author specializing in people-pleasing and boundaries, delves into the often-overlooked survival instinct of 'fawning.' She explains how this response leads to people-pleasing behaviors, impacting self-trust and relationships. Meg shares signs of fawning, why it has become more prevalent in modern society, and the challenging journey to healing. She emphasizes the importance of navigating conflict and understanding boundaries to reclaim personal safety and autonomy.

Oliver Burkeman, a journalist and bestselling author known for his insightful take on productivity, shares his revolutionary views on time management. He reveals why traditional tools often increase stress and how embracing life's limits can actually boost productivity. Oliver discusses the historical roots of our time anxieties and advocates for prioritizing high-value tasks while accepting imperfect action. With practical strategies like the “Buffett list” and the importance of self-compassion, he encourages listeners to redefine productivity for a more fulfilling life.

In honor of Back-to-School season, throughout September, Everyday Better is sharing conversations inspired by the essential life skills we didn’t learn in school… but should have. This week on the show, Gretchen Rubin—best-selling author of The Happiness Project—lets us into one of her secrets of adulthood: how to make decisions.  We’re all constantly making decisions, big and small. As we get older and become the “adults” in the room, we’re more often the ones who have to choose one way or another on some big life decisions. So when the stakes feel high, how are we supposed to pick the right thing? Is there even a “right” and a “wrong?” And how do we make sure we have no regrets and make a decision that will make us happy?  Spoiler alert: we can’t.  But! There are things we can do to make better decisions. In this episode, Gretchen shares some of her hard-won wisdom and helpful tips on how to make decisions that are right for us. If you’ve ever wondered how all the other adults are choosing their paths, and whether or not you’re on track, this conversation is for you.  If you liked this episode, you’ll also love this one: Case Kenny: How to Become an Optimist. Follow Leah Smart and Gretchen Rubin on LinkedIn.

In honor of Back-to-School season, throughout September, Everyday Better is sharing conversations inspired by the essential life skills we didn’t learn in school, but should have. This week on the show, mindfulness educator Case Kenny explains how we can change our mindsets and find a more optimistic outlook. If you watch the news, you won’t find much to be optimistic about. To realists, optimism might seem like denying reality. But in this conversation, you’ll hear why optimism isn’t about burying our heads in the sand; instead, it’s a learnable skill you can use to find more agency amidst chaos and build trust in yourself, your community, and the world. In this week’s episode of Everyday Better, Case shares what optimism really is and how we can authentically cultivate it in ourselves. He explains why changing our mindsets starts with addressing our self-talk and how we can learn to challenge negative beliefs. You can find Case’s new book The Opposite of Settling here. If you liked this episode, check out our conversation with cognitive scientist Maya Shankar on navigating life’s biggest transitions. Follow Leah Smart and Case Kenny on LinkedIn.

In honor of Back-to-School season, throughout September, Everyday Better is sharing conversations inspired by the essential life skills we didn’t learn in school, but should have. This week on the show, cognitive scientist and host of the podcast A Slight Change of Plans, Maya Shankar, reveals what happens to us when we encounter unexpected and unwanted changes in our lives.  Finding a way to deal with disappointment, shock and unwanted change is one of the most quintessential skills of adulthood. So why do so few of us know how to do it? Even Maya—who studies change—found herself at a loss when she realized that her lifelong dream of becoming a mother might never be realized.  In her conversation with Leah, Maya shares the psychological reasons why we all resist change and how we can learn to navigate events that stir up grief, shake our identities and change our realities.  Pre-order May’s forthcoming book The Other Side of Change: Who We Become When Life Makes Other Plans here. Follow Leah Smart and Maya Shankar on LinkedIn. 

In honor of Back-to-School season, throughout September, Everyday Better is sharing conversations inspired by the essential life skills we didn’t learn in school, but should have. This week on the show, world-renowned psychotherapist Esther Perel diagnoses our cultural obsession with work and offers a path forward. As children, we’re taught to measure ourselves by gold stars and report cards, and many of us carry those lessons into adulthood. For countless Americans, work has become the center of our identities, communities, and our source of meaning and belonging. In a time of uncertainty and shifting priorities, Leah and Esther sat down to explore how, in a culture that worships our careers, we can cultivate a healthier relationship to our work. Esther shares how major life transitions like becoming a parent can reshape our ambitions and offers practical tools for navigating conflict at work and building stronger human connections in an increasingly contactless world. If you’ve ever felt like your worth is tied to your work performance, or if you’re struggling to balance career ambitions with other life priorities, this conversation will help you rethink what success truly means. If you liked this episode, you’ll also love this one: How to Stop Fighting About Work With Dr. Alexandra Solomon. Follow Leah Smart and Esther Perel on LinkedIn.