A Slight Change of Plans
Pushkin Industries
What happens when life doesn’t go according to plan? In this award-winning podcast, cognitive scientist Dr. Maya Shankar explores how we experience change and strategies we can use to better navigate moments of upheaval.
Maya’s life took a dramatic turn when an injury ended her career as a violinist and inspired her to study the science of change.
Named Apple Podcasts’ Best Show of the Year, A Slight Change of Plans features deeply personal stories and scientific insights about who we are and who we become in the face of a big change.
Past guests include Kacey Musgraves, Brené Brown, Ruby Bridges, Amanda Knox, Adam Grant, Angela Duckworth and more.
Whether it’s a sudden pivot or a slow transformation, each episode reveals how change can give us an opportunity to reimagine who we are and unlock greater possibility.
You can follow Maya on instagram @DrMayaShankar and read her free newsletter at changewithmaya.com.
Get early, ad-free access to episodes of A Slight Change of Plans by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.
Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkinSubscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus
Maya’s life took a dramatic turn when an injury ended her career as a violinist and inspired her to study the science of change.
Named Apple Podcasts’ Best Show of the Year, A Slight Change of Plans features deeply personal stories and scientific insights about who we are and who we become in the face of a big change.
Past guests include Kacey Musgraves, Brené Brown, Ruby Bridges, Amanda Knox, Adam Grant, Angela Duckworth and more.
Whether it’s a sudden pivot or a slow transformation, each episode reveals how change can give us an opportunity to reimagine who we are and unlock greater possibility.
You can follow Maya on instagram @DrMayaShankar and read her free newsletter at changewithmaya.com.
Get early, ad-free access to episodes of A Slight Change of Plans by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.
Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkinSubscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus
Episodes
Mentioned books
8 snips
Oct 20, 2026 • 43min
Letting Go of Control Through Tiny Experiments
Anne-Laure Le Cunff, a neuroscientist, educator, and author of Tiny Experiments, explores what happens when a health scare disrupts a carefully controlled life. She and Maya discuss career identity, liminal spaces, the scripts shaping our choices, productivity, and how curiosity can replace rigid control. They also explore low-stakes experiments, from cold swimming to changing phone habits, as a way to navigate uncertainty.
8 snips
Oct 13, 2026 • 47min
Reckoning with the Empty Nest
Kelly Corrigan, a writer, podcaster, and television host focused on family and caregiving, reflects on the emotional shock of an empty nest. She explores releasing children into independent lives, discovering the parts of them parents can’t fully know, and staying close without control. The conversation also considers grief, friendship, unconditional love, and finding purpose after daily parenting ends.
45 snips
Oct 6, 2026 • 40min
Why We Crave Closeness — and Run From It
Amir Levine, a neuroscientist and psychiatrist who studies adult attachment, explores why we seek closeness yet sometimes pull away. He discusses how attachment shapes felt safety, romance, friendships, work, parenting, health, and resilience. Levine also examines whether attachment styles can change, the hidden strengths of anxious attachment, and the everyday habits that foster secure connection.
15 snips
Sep 24, 2026 • 48min
Leaving the Life You Trained For
Vijay Gupta, a professional violinist, educator, author, and founder of Street Symphony, shares his journey from parental pressure and perfectionism to a more meaningful life in music. He recalls leaving the Los Angeles Philharmonic, discovering connection in shelters and clinics, and redefining success through improvisation, vulnerability, and service. A moving conversation about choosing your own path.
Sep 15, 2026 • 40min
Petra Mathers and Her Michael | From Death of an Artist
A celebrated children’s book artist and her photographer husband leave poetic farewell letters before choosing to die together. Friends, family, pharmacists, and police revisit their final messages, their love story, and the shock rippling through their community. The story explores grief, anger, autonomy, aging, and the painful questions left behind.
45 snips
Sep 8, 2026 • 48min
What a Therapist Learned in Therapy
Lori Gottlieb, psychotherapist, author, and advice columnist, opens up about becoming a patient after heartbreak. She explores the stories we tell ourselves, the grief beneath a breakup, and how therapy helps us rehearse difficult conversations. Lori also discusses vulnerability, personal responsibility, therapeutic empathy, and why therapy can be helpful without being right for everyone.
105 snips
Aug 18, 2026 • 55min
“I Have One Goal: Keep You Alive”
Stephanie Wittels Wachs, author and creator of Last Day who lost her brother to opioid addiction, shares her journey from childhood closeness to confronting overdose. She discusses myths about addiction, why short-term fixes fail, harm reduction like Narcan and testing, and how families and communities can better respond.
79 snips
Aug 4, 2026 • 53min
Can Uncertainty Be a Gift?
Simone Stolzoff, journalist and author of How to Not Know, investigates the value of living with unanswerable questions. They explore uncertainty as a source of possibility and growth. Short strategies for holding ambiguity, identity shifts in change, and how doubt can lead to discovery are discussed in quick, engaging turns.
65 snips
Jul 23, 2026 • 42min
The Hidden Wounds of Moral Injury
Michael Valdovinos, psychologist and former U.S. Air Force officer who studies moral injury. He describes the Afghanistan crisis that led him to the concept, defines moral injury and its stages, and shows how it appears beyond the battlefield. The conversation covers everyday pathways to moral harm, its threat to identity, and initial steps toward repair and honest storytelling.
Jul 14, 2026 • 37min
Tenacity: Stories about perseverance | From The Story Collider
James Gordon, award-winning author and storyteller, shares a raw personal tale about his daughter’s life-threatening heart surgery. Emily Darling, coral reef scientist and conservation leader, recounts losing and then reclaiming hope for reefs amid climate crisis. They explore perseverance in medicine and science through intimate, resilient moments.
