Tell Me Something True with Laura McKowen

By Mikel Ellcessor, Laura McKowen

Personal Journals Society & Culture

What's Tell Me Something True with Laura McKowen about?

Tell Me Something True is for people who want to fall in love with the mystery of life again. Practical, fun, and provocative conversations that use the lenses of psychology, philosophy, creativity, science, and spirituality to help us discover the surprising things that make life meaningful. Laura McKowen, the host, is the best-selling author of We Are The Luckiest, a "raw, deep and hopeful" memoir. Laura brings hard-won life experience, a searing curiosity, and deep passion for others to every conversation.

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LAST EPISODE

Laura on Why We're Wrapping...

09.29.2022

In this final episode of Tell Me Something True, Laura explains why we made the choice to wrap after 67 episodes, 600,000 downloads and say a MASSIVE THANK YOU to the quarter of a million folks who have said YES ...

Tell Me Something True with Laura McKowen episodes:

09.29.2022 Laura on Why We're Wrapping TMST In this final episode of Tell Me Something True, Laura explains why we made the choice to wrap after 67 episodes, 600,000 downloads and say a MASSIVE THANK YOU to the quarter of a million folks who have said YES ...
09.22.2022 Melissa Urban on How Boundaries Will Set You Free Do your relationships often feel one-sided or unbalanced? Are you always giving in just so things will go smoothly? Do you wish you could learn to say no—but, like, nicely? Then step right up as Laura and Melissa Urban break ...
09.15.2022 Jennifer Moss on The Burnout Epidemic Burnout is one of the most widespread - and misunderstood - issues plaguing our society, and Jennifer Moss is here to peel back what we need to about something that's killing +750,000 people a year.
09.08.2022 Ali Shapiro on Healing our Relationship to Food, Weight, and Body Image Thank heavens for Ali Shapiro because this week we dig into food, our bodies, and the stories we tell ourselves about our self-worth. Ali is the creator of the Truce with Food Process, which combines psychology and behavioral change so ...
09.01.2022 Larissa May and Our Journey to Digital Wellness Larissa May has “...a vision for a future where kids learn how to develop healthy relationships with technology.” In this episode of Tell Me Something True, Laura and Larissa dive into a nuanced view on the ways the technology we ...
08.25.2022 Erin Lane on the Scripts That Hurt Mothers (and non-mothers, too!) When we hear things like “Motherhood is the toughest job…” or "You don't know love until you become a mother" we’re encountering the social scripting that defines what’s “normal” for the majority of American women. Erin S. Lane's book "Someone ...
08.18.2022 Jeff & Debra Jay on Intervention & Family Recovery One of the hardest things when a loved one is struggling with addiction is the question: what can I do? Jeff and Debra Jay are the people you need to know. They have been at the forefront of intervention and ...
08.11.2022 Anne Helen Petersen on Burnout and The Myth of “Having it All Anne Helen Petersen unpacks burnout, mommy wine culture, the lies of "having it all" and why we need to pay attention to what the rise of Peloton is saying about our society.
08.04.2022 Branden Collinsworth on Lessons Learned from 1,000 Books Branden Collinsworth is a Nike Master Trainer, Yoga Teacher, Human Performance Coach and Humanitarian whose journey of curiosity has shaped him into a man of extraordinary empathy and joy for life - much of it shaped by a personal a ...
07.28.2022 Mary Laura Philpott on the Joy & Dread of Being Human Mary Laura Philpott brings her captivating wit and sharp insight to a discussion of her latest book, “Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives."
07.21.2022 Chris Marshall on How Connection Can Save Your Life Being human means sometimes we feel deeply alone. For those who also suffer from addiction, that feeling of isolation is persistent. It’s a low hum that follows a person everywhere. Chris Marshall knows these feelings well and he’s here today ...
07.14.2022 Marissa Moss on Not Getting Chicked Marissa Moss has a lot to say about powerful women, making their own rules, and finding solidarity when the world is pitting them against each other. It's bigger than country music, the world she covers brilliantly, AND it shapes Music ...
07.07.2022 Laura McKowen on Jealousy & Envy Laura dishes in a solo ep. on her experience with jealousy, including a bonus conversation with author Christie Tate.
06.30.2022 Dr. Kate Pate on Vets, First Responders and why “Being Triggered” is More Complicated Than You Think We are never more than one connection away from a veteran or first responder. They are the ULTRA helping professions. During the pandemic, many were the first line of protection and care. But how many of us have asked how ...
06.23.2022 Veronica Valli on The Promise of Emotional Sobriety for TMST’s 1st Birthday Author Veronica Valli describes emotional sobriety and why it matters.
06.16.2022 Brianna Madia on Surviving the Lie That Was Killing Her Brianna Madia’s journey as a vagabond lifestyle influencer was extraordinary. It was her, her van, her dogs and, for a time, her husband. And according to her it was really good. Until it wasn’t. And then, it got really scary. ...
06.09.2022 Kelly McDaniel on Mother Hunger An insatiable need for romantic attention and love. Periods of overeating or starving. Using alcohol, food, or over-working to numb out. A pattern of unstable and painful relationships. Does this sound painfully familiar? Kelly McDaniel is a trauma therapist who ...
06.02.2022 Michael Slepian on Knowing the Difference Between Secrets, Lies & Privacy What could be heavier than the secrets we carry? The constant vigilance and concealment can be exhausting. But can you tell the difference between what’s a secret and what’s being kept private? Michael Slepian does and he can back it ...
05.26.2022 Laura on Protecting Your Energy using “Energy Dollars” Every day, every hour, every minute, there’s a request. More time. More attention. More engagement. More space in our brains and our lives. Laura feels the pinch like everyone and she frequently fields questions on how she allocates her time, ...
05.19.2022 Shauna Niequist on Thriving After Life Goes in the Blender Everyone has a day, or week, go sideways. What happens when life hits the blender - and it goes on for years? Shauna Niequist has a lot to offer because she’s lived it. Her latest book, I Guess I Haven’t ...
05.12.2022 Jodi White on Love Addiction, Mother Hunger and Codependency Let’s be real. The words “Love Addiction” can trigger a massive eye roll. Jodi White gets it and she’s here to show us that it’s real and a lot more common than we think. Jodi draws on the groundbreaking work ...
05.05.2022 Ana Marie Cox on Trusting The Process (even when she doesn’t want to) When Ana Marie Cox said, “I can’t wring self-worth out of the universe,” we felt that hit like a mountain. Ana spent the better part of two decades as a political columnist and culture critic. She started the political blog ...
04.28.2022 TMST @ SXSW with Jason Isbell, Jan Rader and Wes Hurt When Laura got the call to host a SXSW panel called “Front Lines of Addiction: Supporting Recovery in America,” we said, “you have our attention.” When they told us the panel included Jason Isbell, Jan Rader and Wes Hurt, we ...
04.21.2022 AMA with Laura on Impostor Syndrome + Bonus on Writing and Publishing a Book Laura mines more gold from the TMST community this week with a MUCH requested topic: Imposter Syndrome. Hands up - who doesn’t face some version of this, and would we want to hang with someone who doesn’t??? In this episode, ...
04.14.2022 Mishka Shubaly on Getting Through Your Worst Year What do you do when a friend tells you he’s just gone through his worst year? Well, when he’s a brave and bright light in the world, and he’s Mishka Shubaly, you invite him on the podcast! Seriously, Mishka Shubaly ...
04.07.2022 Peter Rollins on Grappling with Uncertainty Peter Rollins is back! Our first return guest to TMST, we asked Peter back to talk about how we contend with uncertainty (e.g. life). If you don’t know Peter, he’s an Irish theologian, philosopher, author, and speaker who got an ...
03.31.2022 Brenda Davies on Purity, Hook-ups & Life In the Grey When the world is screaming “It’s all black or white,” how do we remember that we mostly live in the grey area? Brenda Davies might be onto something. She’s the author of “On Her Knees: Memoir of a Prayerful Jezebel,” ...
03.24.2022 Johann Hari on Regaining our Ability to Focus What if there’s more to our collective struggle to FOCUS than we’ve considered? And what do we have to do to regain what we’ve lost? Those are the questions Johann Hari is exploring in his new book, “Stolen Focus: Why ...
03.17.2022 AMA with Laura on Friendship “Nothing is personal” is easy to say, but our adult friendships can truly test our ability to hold on to that vital lesson from Don MIguel Ruiz. In this AMA Laura takes on two different questions from listeners about how ...
03.10.2022 Sharon McMahon on the Power of Saying “I Don’t Know” What if one of the most powerful things we can say is, “I don’t know?” Sharon McMahon came to our attention through her hugely popular @sharonsaysso Instragram account. Sharon’s ability to share clear, relevant and non-partisan facts about the US ...
03.03.2022 Caroline Dooner on Saying Fck It to Hustle & Diet Culture This week, we’re revisiting one of our most discussed and asked-for topics: BURNOUT. Caroline Dooner’s first book, The Fck It Diet: Eating Should Be Easy is a massively popular and influential book for good reason. It’s that helped so many ...
02.24.2022 Jill Louise Busby on Being Unfollowed How many of us have the courage to face the friction that comes when we need to grow, but people want us to stay the same? You’ve built an audience as a “truth-teller,” but then what if your understanding of ...
02.17.2022 AMA with Laura on Rising Above Shame & Regret, plus a big show announcement! The TMST community takes center stage again as Laura tackles some universal questions on facing down shame and regret. In this episode, we explore the ways our mistakes, our successes, our disappointments and our growth can’t be compartmentalized if we’re ...
02.10.2022 Nadia Bolz-Weber on How We’re REALLY Doing This week, we asked a big question... what can Timothée Chalamet’s character in “Don’t Look Up” teach us about finding faith in tough times? No, seriously… we dig into it in a real way and Nadia Bolz-Weber is exactly the ...
02.03.2022 Amanda White and Our Desire for Control Janet was right. It’s all about CONTROL. Amanda White has some wise, and life-earned, things to say about the illusion of control. If we’re honest, our desire for control is inseparable from all of our motivations, and can lead us ...
01.27.2022 Katy Milkman on How To Change for the Good How would you approach change if you saw it as BOTH a practice AND mindset? Katy Milkman has researched this and it’s clear she’s on to something. In today’s conversation and in her bestselling book, How to Change: The Science ...
01.20.2022 AMA with Laura on Infidelity, Trust, Grief and The Complex Reality of Love and LIfe We promised more AMAs, so let’s go! This week, Laura answers three questions that interlace around the topics of infidelity, trust, intimacy, divorce, addiction, forgiveness, and the complex reality of life and love. We are so grateful for the courage ...
01.13.2022 Jamie Lee Finch on Purity Culture, Sex, & Befriending Your Body (pt.2) Purity culture isn’t a thing that happens to OTHER people. The tendrils of sexual repression have insinuated themselves into all of our lives. In the second half of our conversation with Jamie Lee Finch, we see how evangelical Christianity’s restrictive ...
01.06.2022 Jamie Lee Finch on Purity Culture, Sex, and Befriending Your Body - part 1 What if your body was your closest friend instead of…whatever it is now? Jamie Lee Finch is a wise guide for so many women who are asking - what would a healthy relationship with my body look like? In this ...
12.30.2021 Something True for 2022 Our final episode for 2021 is a harvest of hard-earned wisdom to launch us into 2022. You’ll hear from Peter Rollins, Annie Grace, Rob Bell, yung pueblo, and africa brooke. They share so much on how to slow down, trust ...
12.23.2021 Veronica Valli on The Promise of Emotional Sobriety What if you could step off the rollercoaster of emotional highs and lows? What if the pain that comes with taking everything personally could taper and largely disappear? THAT’S the promise of emotional sobriety, and Veronica Valli is one of ...
12.16.2021 John Richards on Mental Health, Music & Community John Richards is the morning drive host at KEXP, Seattle. For decades, he’s been the soundtrack to the lives of people starting their day, handpicking every record and building a global fanbase. The thing to understand about John is that ...
12.09.2021 Sharon Adams on Emotional Intelligence What would life be like if we could identify ALL the emotions happening in and around us and have empathy for it all? Sharon Adams has a few ideas on how we can get there. Sharon’s a master trainer and ...
12.02.2021 Leonard Perlmutter on a Life of Experimentation What if life wasn’t an endless series of zero-sum, high stakes experiences? Leonard Perlmutter is asking these and many other questions, and he's doing it in a lovely, humble way. He’s a meditation teacher, an author, and has a unique ...
11.25.2021 The Shortest Episode, The Biggest Thanks Laura offers two poems today: one of her favorites, one of her own. Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who are celebrating. And to all, a big heap of gratitude and mystery from all of us at Tell Me Something ...
11.18.2021 AMA with Laura on Intimacy, Creativity, Making Friends, and Early Sobriety This week, we turned it over to you! In the first Ask Me Anything (AMA) episode, Laura answers four questions from our listener community. She talks about why she does this show, whether or not she’d ever do another sobriety-specific ...
11.11.2021 Sara Kuburic on becoming The Millennial Therapist What would you do if someone said you could “find comfort for the most vexing questions in our digitized lives in the wisdom of 19th c. European philosophers”? Sara Kuburic has taken up that challenge. Through her online persona as ...
11.04.2021 Anna Sale on Finding Connection by Talking About Hard Things What if the hard thing you didn’t want to share was also the thing that made you most human and brought people closer? Anna Sale knows A LOT about this. Anna is the creator of Death, Sex & Money, a ...
10.28.2021 Frank X. Walker on Poetry's Urgent Intimacy When was the last time an artist took you by the hand and said, “Here, let me show you how the world looks through my eyes”? Frank X. Walker is Kentucky’s former poet laureate and one of the co-founders of ...
10.21.2021 Jane Clapp on Escaping the Social Media Labyrinth What if social media scrolling was the latest version of the mythical Labyrinth? An elaborate, confusing structure intended to keep the Minotaur (you) from escaping. Jane Clapp is a Toronto-based Jungian Somatics teacher who left social media because she knew ...

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