Bountifull Podcast

In this episode, Dr Aarti Soorya explores the nervous system not as something to “fix,” but as something to understand, listen to, and work with.

Aarti trained as a physician, became chief resident, and then moved into functional medicine after feeling that conventional medicine was missing something deeper. But even functional medicine, with its labs, supplements, and protocols, didn’t fully answer the questions she was asking. Her own experience with insomnia, fatigue, and feeling out of alignment led her toward nervous system work, yoga nidra, and a more compassionate understanding of the body.

Together, we explore what happens when the body gets stuck in survival mode, and why symptoms like anxiety, fatigue, digestive issues, low mood, brain fog, insomnia, people-pleasing, and shutdown can all be signs of a nervous system that no longer feels safe.

Aarti explains the vagus nerve, fight, flight, freeze and fawn responses, and why stress itself isn’t always the problem. The real issue is whether we can recover. Rather than simply “managing stress,” she invites us to think about adaptability: the ability to be with our own physiology without fear, and to gently build capacity over time.

This conversation is also full of practical, grounded tools. We talk about yoga nidra, breath, posture, cold exposure, movement, blood sugar stability, rest, play, creativity, connection, and why joy is not a luxury, but part of a resilient system.

At its heart, this is a conversation about learning to stop fighting the body and start listening to it. Because sometimes the symptom is not the enemy. Sometimes it is the message.

Episode Highlights

• What the nervous system is and how it shapes how we think, feel, and respond to life
• The difference between coping, stress management, and true adaptability
• How chronic stress can contribute to insomnia, fatigue, gut issues, anxiety, and low mood

• A simple explanation of the vagus nerve and why it matters for overall health
• The four common stress responses: fight, flight, freeze, and fawn
• Why symptoms may be messages from the body rather than signs that something is wrong
• How yoga nidra helped Aarti recover from insomnia and burnout
• Practical tools for building a more resilient nervous system
• The role of joy, play, dance, and connection in healing
• Why rest is essential for creativity, repair, and long-term wellbeing

Chapters

• 00:00 Adaptability and learning to feel safe in your body
• 02:19 Aarti’s journey from medicine to nervous system work
• 06:31 Insomnia, burnout, and the missing piece in healing
• 09:46 Understanding the nervous system in plain English
• 14:51 Cortisol, chronic stress, and why symptoms appear
• 17:15 The difference between coping and true adaptability
• 20:49 Signs your nervous system may be dysregulated
• 28:23 Fight, flight, freeze, fawn, and “functional freeze”
• 31:10 How yoga nidra helped Aarti recover from insomnia
• 38:08 Healing without overhauling your whole life
• 41:47 Why joy, play, creativity, and connection matter
• 42:16 Sleep, safety, and listening to your body
• 46:33 Cold exposure, breath, and building resilience
• 53:37 Epigenetics, lifestyle, and personal agency
• 59:49 Dance, movement, and coming back to joy

Guest Bio

Dr Aarti Soorya is an integrative medicine practitioner and physician whose work brings together conventional medicine, functional medicine, lifestyle interventions, nutrition, neuroplasticity, and Yoga Nidra. She is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine, and has completed functional medicine training.

Through Jiya Health, Dr Soorya helps people understand the nervous system, build physiological resilience, and use practices like Yoga Nidra, nervous system mapping, and lifestyle changes to support long-term health and adaptability.

The Bountifull Podcast

Bountifull is a personal growth and wellbeing podcast exploring what it means to live a joyful and meaningful life.

bountifullworld.com/podcast/

Denise Chapman Weston is a Playologist, therapist, inventor, and deeply imaginative thinker whose work invites us to look again at one of the most misunderstood parts of being human: play.

In Part 2 of this conversation, Denise takes us beyond the story of her own childhood promise and into the deeper question of what play actually is. Not just fun. Not just recreation. Not just something children do before they grow up. For Denise, play is one of the clearest ways we can understand who we are, what comes naturally to us, and how we find our way back to ourselves.

She shares a simple but powerful exercise: remember how you played when you were around seven. What did you love doing before you were trying to be impressive, productive, sensible, or useful? Maybe you built things, made up stories, climbed trees, dressed up, organised objects, created worlds, or found joy in something no one else quite understood. Denise believes those memories are not random. They hold clues about your natural skills, your instincts, and the way you were already learning to belong in the world.

This conversation moves through so many unexpected places: Tupperware lids, Disney Imagineers, bone flutes, punch cards, theme parks, magic wands, technology, imagination, and what Denise calls the “arm pretzel” — the person who is physically present, but not yet ready to join in.

Through it all, Denise returns to a beautiful idea: play is not separate from life. It is woven through how we invent, connect, create, remember, and become more fully human.

At its heart, this episode is about play as wisdom. It is an invitation to look back at what once delighted you, not with nostalgia, but with curiosity. Because the way you played may still have something to teach you.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover

• Why play is much more than fun, recreation, or something children do
• How the way you played at seven may reveal something about who you are
• Why childhood memories can hold clues about your natural skills and instincts
• What a Disney leader’s love of matching Tupperware revealed about her work
• How play, music, invention, and technology are more connected than we think
• Why some of humanity’s greatest inventions may have begun with pleasure and play
• How Denise moved from therapy rooms to museums, toys, attractions, and theme parks
• Why imagination is our “original operating system”
• What Denise means by the “arm pretzel” and why reluctant participants matter
• How play can help us remember what makes us human

Chapters

00:00 Denise on wisdom, AI, and play as a skill
01:31 What role does play have in living a bountiful life?
03:28 What childhood play can reveal about your skills
05:58 The Disney Tupperware story
10:12 Play as a compass
13:34 What is play?
16:45 Bone flutes, punch cards, code, and invention
24:11 Remembering what you loved to do
29:03 Denise’s work with theme parks and large-scale play experiences
33:10 Imagination as our original operating system
36:48 The “arm pretzel”
41:18 What to do if you are in an arm pretzel moment
43:22 Quickfire round
47:50 Denise turns the questions back on Sian

Guest Bio

Denise Chapman Weston is a Playologist, therapist, inventor, author, and Adjunct Professor at Purdue University. She is the Director of Imagination at Invent Worlds and founder of Infinite Kingdoms, with more than 150 patents and 30 products to her name. Her work spans play, technology, storytelling, and human connection, including attractions for Disney, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, Six Flags, and children’s museums worldwide.

About Bountifull

Bountifull is a personal growth and wellbeing podcast exploring how to live a joyful and meaningful life through conversations on psychology, science, resilience, connection, and practical wisdom for living well.

bountifullworld.com

Denise Chapman Weston is a Playologist, therapist, inventor, and deeply imaginative thinker whose life has been shaped by a promise she made to herself as a child: never stop playing.

In Part 1 of this conversation, Denise shares the origin story behind that promise. Growing up in Chicago with a Shriner clown for a father, she was surrounded by humour, imagination, and a sense that life did not have to be taken too seriously. But at around six years old, she felt something begin to shift. As children move towards adulthood, magical thinking often starts to fade. Standing on her bed and looking into the mirror, Denise made a serious promise to herself that she would never fully let go of play.

That promise became a through-line in her life. Denise went on to work as a therapist, specialising in play therapy, before becoming an inventor with more than 150 patents. She describes invention as a process of both retreating inward and returning outward — noodling, wallowing, absorbing information, then testing ideas in the world to see whether they create connection.

A central theme of this episode is Denise’s belief that technology should not replace human connection, but serve it. While many people see technology and AI as something to fear, Denise sees them as a kind of magic — powerful tools that need wisdom, intention, and human-centred design. Her “magic campfire” invention reflects this philosophy: a technology-enabled gathering place designed to bring people together, amplify storytelling, and create belonging.

At its heart, this episode is about childhood imagination, creative courage, invention, and what it means to stay connected to the playful, curious, possibility-filled parts of ourselves. It is the story of how Denise became Denise — and why she believes play, technology, and human connection are far more intertwined than we might think.

In This Episode

• The promise Denise made to herself at six years old to never stop playing
• How growing up with a Shriner clown for a father shaped her imagination
• What it means to be a Playologist
• How Denise moved from therapy and play therapy into invention
• Why noodling and wallowing are part of her creative process
• How she thinks about solitude, belonging, and idea development
• Why Denise sees technology and AI as magic, not something to fear
• The idea behind her “magic campfire” invention
• Why she believes technology should serve human connection, not replace it
• How play, imagination, invention, and wisdom all connect

Chapters

00:00 Denise on the promise she made to never stop playing
01:52 Welcome to Denise’s extraordinary home
02:16 Growing up in Chicago with a Shriner clown for a dad
04:55 The promise Denise made to herself at six years old
08:02 What it means to live a bountiful life
09:55 Belonging, solitude, and the creative process
12:57 Wallowing, noodling, and invention
15:12 How Denise gets in and out of her own head
19:38 What she would tell her 25-year-old self
21:03 What it means to be a Playologist
23:20 Why Denise sees technology as magic
25:59 AI, wisdom, and the human side of technology
31:08 The magic campfire invention
38:15 Why technology should connect people to people
40:42 Reclaiming what it means to be human

Guest Bio

Denise Chapman Weston is a Playologist, therapist, inventor, author, and Adjunct Professor at Purdue University. She is the Director of Imagination at Invent Worlds and founder of Infinite Kingdoms, with more than 150 patents and 30 products to her name. Her work spans play, technology, storytelling, and human connection, including attractions for Disney, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, Six Flags, and children’s museums worldwide.

About Bountifull

Bountifull is a personal growth and wellbeing podcast exploring how to live a joyful and meaningful life through conversations on psychology, science, resilience, connection, and practical wisdom for living well.

https://bountifullworld.com/

For a lot of people, getting older does not feel like winding down. It feels like being pushed to the edges before you are ready. In this episode, Andrew Middleton shares what happened after a LinkedIn post about turning 66 unexpectedly resonated with thousands of people who felt exactly the same. What followed was not just a viral moment, but the beginning of a much bigger conversation about age, work, relevance, and the quiet shock of realising the world may be starting to see you differently before you see yourself that way.

At the heart of this conversation is Andrew’s idea of the INDY: I’m Not Done Yet. It is both a phrase and a growing community for people who know they still have something to contribute, even as traditional career paths begin to narrow. We talk about the emotional reality of ageing in the workplace, the loss of status that can come with later career life, and the experience of being made to feel invisible, sidelined, or quietly moved on before you are ready. Andrew speaks with honesty about his own journey through this, and the deeper challenge of working out who you are when the old identity no longer fits.

We also explore what happens next. For many people, this stage of life leads not to full retirement, but to something much more mixed, uncertain, and unexpectedly creative. Andrew shares how many find themselves becoming their own boss, building portfolio careers, learning new skills, trying new things, and earning money in ways they never expected. It is not always easy, but it can open up a very different kind of freedom.

A big part of the episode centres on Andrew’s idea of “soft retirement” and what he calls the dangerous decade: that stretch of later working life where the old script starts to break down, but the new one has not yet been written. We talk about rethinking life in four quarters, the reality that we are living longer, and the possibility that this stage of life can still be useful, expansive, and full of possibility. Rather than seeing later life as one long holiday, Andrew makes the case for something richer: a third quarter shaped by contribution, reinvention, and the freedom to do things differently.

Episode Highlights

• Why “I’m not done yet” became a rallying cry

• The shock of feeling sidelined before you are ready

• Ageing, relevance, and the loss of identity at work

• What to do when your old role no longer fits

• Why later life often means becoming your own boss

• Portfolio careers, side hustles, and unexpected reinvention

• Learning new skills and staying open to change

• The “dangerous decade” before traditional retirement

• Soft retirement versus stopping cold

• Why living longer changes the whole picture

• Health, money, relationships, and planning for the third quarter

• A more hopeful vision for what comes next

Timestamps

00:01:22 The post that sparked a global conversation

00:04:01 I’m Not Done Yet and the birth of INDY

00:08:53 From corporate life to self-employment

00:14:15 Identity, ego, and feeling invisible

00:19:09 Portfolio careers and unexpected reinvention

00:27:45 Why retirement needs a rethink

00:32:26 Soft retirement and the third quarter of life

00:36:50 Health, money, relationships, and planning for what matters

00:50:07 What generations can learn from each other

00:56:22 Reinvention, freedom, and possibility

Guest Bio

Andrew Middleton is the founder of INDY, I’m Not Done Yet, a community for people over 50 exploring purpose, relevance, and what comes next. He has a background in corporate and charity leadership and now works as a consultant, writer, and speaker focused on later-life work and reinvention.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcmiddleton/

https://www.imnotdoneyet.co.uk/

Bountifull Podcast

Bountifull is a personal growth and wellbeing podcast exploring joy, resilience, purpose, health, relationships, and meaningful living through thoughtful conversations with experts, creatives, and interesting people from diverse backgrounds.

In this episode of the Bountifull Podcast, I’m joined by Eri Kardos, a relationship coach and founder of Relearn Love, for a practical and honest conversation about what it actually takes to build healthy, connected relationships.

Eri challenges the idea that we should instinctively know how to do relationships well. Instead, she frames them as a skill set most of us were never taught. From communication and boundaries to intimacy and conflict, we explore what it means to learn love consciously rather than relying on patterns shaped early in life.

A big part of the conversation focuses on communication. How do you say what you actually mean in a way someone can hear? And how do you listen without jumping to defend or fix? Eri shares simple but powerful tools, like inviting someone into a conversation, being clear about what you need, and creating space to truly be heard.

We also unpack the idea that not everyone communicates or processes in the same way. Some people think out loud, others need time. Some are direct, others more indirect. Understanding these differences can remove a huge amount of friction and make relationships feel a lot easier.

Conflict is another key theme. Rather than something to avoid, Eri reframes it as an opportunity for connection. Most arguments are not about what’s happening in the moment, but about old patterns being triggered. When you start to see it that way, you can approach conflict as a team rather than opponents.

At its core, this episode is about taking responsibility for how we show up in relationships. Learning the skills, letting go of assumptions, and creating something that feels supportive, energising, and genuinely good to be in.

Episode Highlights

• Why most people were never taught how to build healthy relationships
• The core communication skills that help you feel heard and understood
• How to listen with presence instead of reacting or defending
• Why inviting someone into a conversation changes everything
• Understanding internal vs external processors and direct vs indirect communication
• How unspoken expectations create tension in relationships
• Why conflict is often about old wounds, not the present moment
• Reframing conflict as a way to build connection and repair
• The role of boundaries, intimacy, and keeping relationships feeling alive
• Love labs, experimentation, and keeping relationships playful and juicy

Timestamps

00:00 Why relationships are a skill we’re never taught03:00 Eri’s background and journey into relationship coaching10:00 Communication and how to be clearly heard18:00 Listening, presence, and creating space for connection26:00 Personality styles and how people process differently34:00 The Relearn Love framework43:00 Relationship agreements and expectations50:00 Conflict and learning how to fight well56:00 Practical tools for navigating conflict in real time

Guest Bio

Eri Kardos is a relationship coach, speaker, and founder of Relearn Love, a global platform helping people build healthier, more connected relationships. With a background in sexual psychology and leadership development at Amazon, she has worked with individuals, couples, and organisations around the world. Eri is also a TEDx speaker and author, known for her practical, science-backed approach to communication, conflict, and intimacy.

About the Bountifull Podcast

The Bountifull Podcast is a personal growth and wellbeing podcast exploring how to live a more joyful and meaningful life. Through thoughtful conversations with interesting people from diverse backgrounds, the show covers topics like mental health, relationships, resilience, and human behaviour, offering practical insights and real stories to help you live well.

In this episode of the Bountifull Podcast, I’m joined by Carylynn Larson, an organizational psychologist, executive coach, and mental health advocate, for a deeply important conversation about mental health in the workplace, stigma, leadership, and what it really means to create environments where people can thrive.

Carylynn shares her own personal journey with an eating disorder and reflects on how that experience shaped both her life and her work. We talk about the reality that mental health is not binary — it exists on a spectrum from thriving to despair — and how many people are quietly struggling while trying to appear “fine.” We also explore why work can so often become a place where people feel pressure to perform rather than a place that supports people, not just performance.

A big part of this conversation centres on the idea of healing communities — not in a fluffy or abstract sense, but in the practical, everyday ways we can show up for each other with care, listening, vulnerability, and courage. We also unpack burnout, emotional detachment, shame, and the kinds of environments that can either support us or slowly wear us down. We also explore how to navigate difficult conversations with candour and care, particularly when there are power dynamics at play, and how to raise concerns without being dismissed or labelled as “difficult.”

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

• Why mental health is not binary — and how most of us move between thriving, coping, and quietly struggling
• What burnout and emotional detachment can really look like at work — especially in people who appear “fine” on the surface
• How workplace culture shapes wellbeing — and why some environments support us while others slowly wear us down
• Why stigma and shame keep so many people silent — even when help is available
• What “healing community” actually means — and why care and accountability need to go hand in hand
• How to notice when someone might be struggling — and what genuine support can look like in practice
• How to have difficult conversations with candour and care — without avoiding the hard stuff
• What to consider when there are power imbalances at work — and how to raise concerns thoughtfully
• Why listening, vulnerability, and small moments of care matter more than we think
• How the way we show up affects the people around us — for better or worse

Chapters

00:00 – Why mental health at work matters more than we think
02:14 – Carylynn’s background in organizational psychology and leadership
07:39 – Her personal mental health journey and lived experience with an eating disorder
14:42 – The current state of mental health in the workplace
16:12 – Why mental health exists on a spectrum, not as a binary
20:23 – What workplace care actually looks like in practice
27:30 – How to raise concerns without being labelled “difficult”
31:07 – Dynamic leadership and supporting people differently at different times
33:42 – Stigma, shame, and why people often don’t ask for help
44:11 – What Carylynn means by “healing communities”
53:09 – Small ways leaders can create more human workplaces
56:08 – How to be a bridge for someone who might be struggling
57:59 – A powerful story about noticing, support, and what can change when people care
1:06:17 – Quickfire questions
1:08:51 – Final reflections on the impact we have on each other

Guest Bio

Carylynn Larson is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, speaker, and mental health advocate focused on leadership, workplace culture, and wellbeing. She is also the founder of Rock Recovery, a nonprofit supporting people recovering from eating disorders and body image struggles. Her work is shaped by both professional expertise and lived experience.

www.carylynn-kemp-larson.info/

About Bountifull Podcast

Bountifull is a personal growth and wellbeing podcast exploring joyful, meaningful living through conversations on psychology, resilience, science, and practical wisdom.

www.bountifullworld.com/

This week on the Bountifull Podcast, I sit down with Carl Honoré, the bestselling author who helped bring the Slow Movement into the mainstream, for a conversation that feels deeply timely. We explore why so many of us are rushing through our lives, where our obsession with speed actually comes from, and what it’s quietly costing us in the process. From memory and creativity to relationships, health, joy, and even intimacy, this episode is a powerful reminder that many of the best things in life simply cannot be rushed.

What I love about Carl’s work is that “slow” is not about opting out of ambition, throwing your phone in a river, or moving to the countryside to grow organic carrots. It’s not about doing everything slowly. It’s about learning how to do things at the right pace, or what musicians call tempo giusto — the correct tempo for each moment. Knowing when to lean in, when to rest, when to be fully present, and how to stop treating every part of life like something to optimise, measure, or race through.

This conversation is full of thoughtful, practical, and often unexpectedly funny reflections on modern life: the history of clocks, the “virus of hurry”, why busyness can become a form of avoidance, and how slowing down might actually help us live more fully, love more deeply, and remember our lives better. If you've been feeling overstretched, overbooked, or like life has become a bit of a blur, or you're already rethinking how you move through life, this is a conversation worth your time.

Highlights

• Why so many of us confuse busyness with living well
• Carl’s wake-up call and the moment he realised he was rushing through life
• Where our obsession with speed, time, and productivity actually comes from
• Why slowness is not laziness, giving up, or opting out of ambition
• The idea of tempo giusto and finding the right pace for each part of life
• How speed affects memory, creativity, pleasure, relationships, and health
• Why busyness can become a way of avoiding the deeper questions of life
• Practical ways to slow down, including walking, journaling, boundaries, and saying no
• What modern work gets wrong about pace, productivity, and performance
• Why some of the most meaningful parts of life simply cannot be rushed

Chapters 

00:00 Why slowness is actually pleasurable

02:35 How did we get so busy?

05:57 The bedtime story that changed Carl’s life

08:02 What life looked like before slowing down

09:37 Why speed makes life feel blurry

11:38 How Carl became the face of slow living

13:57 What it means to live a bountiful life

14:48 What Carl would tell his 25-year-old self

16:14 Slow living is not what you think

18:11 The invention of time and the rise of hurry

24:27 How to change your relationship with time

29:17 Walking as a tool for clarity

31:30 Why you need a not-to-do list

33:28 How to slow down without giving up ambition

36:53 Can you have both success and balance?

37:58 Carl’s real-life slow living experiments

40:48 The hidden cost of always being “on”

44:45 Is slow living only for privileged people?

47:21 Slowing down in love, sex, and relationships

52:32 Why the best parts of life can’t be measured

53:13 Are we forgetting how to connect?

55:25 Why young people are drawn to slow living

59:32 What Italy gets right about life

Guest Bio 

Carl Honoré is a bestselling author, broadcaster, and two-time TED speaker, widely regarded as the voice of the Slow Movement. His first book, In Praise of Slow, has been published in 36 languages, and the Financial Times described it as “to the Slow Movement what Das Kapital is to communism.” He has since written five more books, including The Slow Fix, Bolder, and Under Pressure. His online keynotes have racked up more than 10 million views.

www.carlhonore.info

Bountifull Podcast 

Bountifull is a podcast about living a joyful and meaningful life. Through thoughtful conversations with interesting people, we explore practical wisdom for living well.

www.bountifullworld.com

This week on the Bountifull Podcast, I sit down with astrologer Steve Judd for a conversation that goes far beyond horoscopes, stereotypes, or who should date a Libra.

Steve has spent more than four decades reading charts and helping people understand themselves through the lens of astrology. In this episode, we explore what astrology actually is, what it isn’t, and why so many people are drawn to it when they’re trying to make sense of themselves, their patterns, and the seasons of life they’re moving through.

We unpack the foundations of a birth chart — planets, signs, houses, and aspects — and Steve explains them in a way that is surprisingly grounded and easy to follow. Rather than framing astrology as fate or fixed outcomes, he sees it as a tool for reflection, timing, and self-awareness. Not something that tells you what will happen, but something that can help you understand what might be unfolding, and how to work with it.

One of the most fascinating parts of the conversation is our deep dive into astrocartography — a branch of astrology that maps your chart onto the globe to explore which places may support different parts of your life, from home and relationships to purpose and work. It opens up a really interesting question: not just who am I, but where might I thrive?

Whether you’re deeply into astrology or just astrology-curious, this episode is really about something bigger: understanding yourself more honestly, trusting your own timing, and getting a little more perspective on the strange and beautiful experience of being human. And, as Steve reminds us, not taking it all too seriously.

Episode Highlights:

• What astrology actually is and why it is often misunderstood
• The difference between prediction, forecasting, and free will
• How to understand planets, signs, houses, and aspects
• Why astrology can be a tool for reflection, timing, and self-awareness
• What sun, moon, and rising signs actually mean
• How Steve thinks about patterns, cycles, and personal development
• A simple introduction to astrocartography and locational astrology
• How different places in the world may support different parts of your life
• The difference between astrocartography and relocation astrology
• Why understanding what you want matters before seeking answers
• Why humour, perspective, and self-honesty matter so much in life

Chapters

00:00 – Astrology, self-understanding, and perspective03:00 – Steve’s path into astrology08:08 – What astrology is and how it works13:53 – The history and origins of astrology17:20 – Sun, moon, and rising signs explained21:02 – Prediction, forecasting, and free will23:42 – What a birth chart can reveal26:38 – The search for where we belong27:13 – Astrocartography and place34:02 – How location can shape home, work, and relationships40:13 – Steve’s documentary and the future of astrology42:43 – Where to start if you’re curious44:23 – Why astrology doesn’t judge49:13 – Consistency, approval, and joy

Guest Bio

Steve Judd is a British astrologer, teacher, and speaker with more than 45 years of experience in the field. He began studying astrology in the late 1970s and has since completed more than 40,000 chart readings, building a global audience through consultations, courses, events, and his long-running YouTube channel. Known for his direct, practical style, Steve’s work focuses on natal chart interpretation, relationships, timing, and astrocartography. He also holds a Master’s degree in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology from Bath Spa University.

https://www.youtube.com/c/stevejuddastrology

https://www.stevejudd.co/

About the Bountifull Podcast

Bountifull is a personal growth and wellbeing podcast exploring what it means to live a joyful and meaningful life. Through conversations with interesting people from diverse backgrounds, we explore psychology, science, resilience, and practical wisdom for living well.

https://www.bountifullworld.com/

“Find things that you’re passionate about and go and work on those.”

In this episode, Michael Fox shares the story behind Fable and the journey that brought him to the world of mushrooms, food innovation, and purpose-driven business. We talk about entrepreneurship, the lessons he’s learnt across his three startups, failure, changing your mind as you learn, and how life experiences can quietly reshape what you care about and the work you want to do. We also talk about burnout, family, nature, gratitude, and what he values now.

Episode highlights

• Michael’s upbringing across small mining towns in Australia and the entrepreneurial instinct that showed up early

• The lessons he’s learnt across three startups and how each business shaped the next

• Failure, burnout, and what it takes to start again

• How his father’s cancer diagnosis changed the way he thought about food, health, and the wider food system

• Why changing your mind as you learn can be a strength

• The story behind Fable and why mushrooms became the foundation of the business

• What makes shiitake mushrooms so interesting from a flavour, nutrition, and processing perspective

• The difference between mushrooms and mycelium, and why that matters

• Michael’s thoughts on fibre, vitamin D, protein, and the health potential of mushrooms

• Raising money again and building with more discipline the second time around

• Family life, nature, gratitude, and what matters most to him now

Chapters

00:01:56 Michael introduces Fable and explains the company’s mushroom-based product
00:02:49 Growing up in Australia and early entrepreneurial instincts
00:05:17 What a bountiful life means to Michael
00:05:40 Advice for his 25-year-old self
00:06:10 Why passion for the product matters in business
00:07:01 His three startups and lessons from building consumer businesses
00:08:33 The original idea behind Shoes of Prey and what it taught him
00:13:27 Burnout, stress, and perspective during difficult seasons
00:15:43 How food, health, ethics, and the environment reshaped his thinking
00:18:02 Changing your mind as you learn
00:19:07 Why trying to convert people did not work, and what does
00:24:29 Why mushrooms
00:28:00 Shiitake stems, supply chains, and how Fable thinks about production
00:31:45 Mycelium vs mushrooms
00:36:13 Fibre, protein, calories, and vitamin D
00:40:16 Mushroom foraging tours and the Zac Efron Netflix feature
00:42:43 Fable’s restaurant and meal kit partnerships
00:44:11 Building a business that feels more aligned
00:45:39 Product-market fit, raising less capital, and building differently
00:48:05 Raising money and starting again after failure
00:52:40 Moving from the Sunshine Coast to Brooklyn
00:55:28 Nature, city life, and staying connected to what matters

Guest bio

Michael Fox is the co-founder of Fable, a food company creating mushroom-based products designed to help people eat less meat. Before starting Fable, he built earlier consumer businesses including Shoes of Prey and Sneaking Duck. In this conversation, he shares what those experiences taught him about entrepreneurship, customers, product-market fit, and starting again. Michael grew up in Australia, studied at the University of Queensland, and now lives in Brooklyn, where he moved to help grow Fable in the US market.

https://www.fablefood.co/

linkedin.com/in/michaelfox1

About the Bountifull Podcast
The Bountifull Podcast explores what it means to live a bountiful life through conversations on personal growth, happiness, emotional wellbeing, resilience, health, creativity, and meaningful work. Hosted by Sian Simpson, each episode features interesting people from diverse backgrounds sharing real stories, practical insights, and life lessons to help us live with more joy, purpose, and connection.

https://bountifullworld.com/

“Music is one of the most powerful tools we have, and most of us aren’t tapping into what it can actually do.”

Music surrounds us every day—on the radio, in our headphones, in the background of our lives. But what is it actually doing to our brains, our emotions, and our bodies?

In this conversation with neurologic music therapist Emily Polichette, we explore why music has such a powerful impact on how we feel, think, and connect with others. Emily shares insights from neuroscience, mental health, and their own clinical work to explain why music can unlock emotions that words sometimes cannot reach.

Along the way we explore everything from why certain songs stay stuck in our heads, to the role music plays in emotional processing, anxiety, community, and even trauma recovery. Emily introduces the idea of “emotional constipation”—how modern life encourages us to suppress difficult emotions—and how music can help release and move those feelings in healthy ways.

The conversation moves between science and lived experience, touching on topics like neuroplasticity, mindfulness, cultural identity, and why singing or listening together can transform isolation into connection.

You’ll likely never listen to music in quite the same way again.

Episode Highlights

• Why music activates so many different areas of the brain at once

• How music can access emotions that words sometimes cannot reach

• The concept of “emotional constipation” and why modern life suppresses feelings

• How playlists can be used intentionally to support mood and mental wellbeing

• The role of rhythm, tempo, and sound in regulating the nervous system

• Why singing or making music together builds connection and community

• Music’s role in trauma recovery and collective healing

• The power of silence and listening in emotional processing

• How music can become part of your personal toolkit for difficult seasons

• Why curiosity, play, and creativity matter more than musical ability

Chapters

00:00 Why music preference is so fascinating
00:32 What it means to live a bountiful life
04:54 Discovering music therapy and the science behind it
07:30 What a music therapy session actually looks like
11:00 Why music activates the whole brain
13:26 How music can rebuild neural pathways after injury
15:15 Using music to support mental health and anxiety
18:45 Music as mindfulness and attention training
21:30 The idea of “emotional constipation”
27:50 Neurologic music therapy and the science of rhythm
34:10 Why the brain is so responsive to music
40:10 Music, identity, and living authentically
44:10 Silence, sound, and emotional awareness
51:00 Music and healing in trauma-affected communities
54:35 Building a personal music toolkit for life

Guest Bio

Emily Polichette is a neurologic music therapist working at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute in Utah. Their work explores how music can support emotional wellbeing, neurological rehabilitation, and human connection.

Emily specialises in neurologic music therapy, an evidence-based approach that uses rhythm, sound, and musical engagement to support cognitive, emotional, and physical health. Their work spans mental health care, trauma recovery, and community research projects exploring the role of music in healing and cultural identity.

Through both clinical practice and research, Emily is deeply interested in how music engages the brain, regulates the nervous system, and creates spaces where people can express emotions that may be difficult to put into words.

About the Bountifull Podcast

Bountifull is a podcast about personal growth, wellbeing, and how to build a more joyful and meaningful life. Through conversations with interesting people from diverse backgrounds, we explore psychology, resilience, science, and practical wisdom for living well.

https://www.bountifullworld.com/