US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy embarked on a listening tour to determine what was ailing Americans. The answer surprised him. In this soulful conversation, he speaks with Kate about loneliness as a public health crisis and how the experience of disconnection affects our ability to weather life’s most difficult storms.

 

For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/vivek-murthy-the-loneliness-epidemic/

 

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Author and speaker Jen Hatmaker ruled the Christian marketplace as the evangelical darling. But when her theology shifted, she learned how harsh the penalties could be. Kate and Jen speak about what it means to lead faithfully when you lose certainty.

 

For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/jen-hatmaker-the-preachers-wife/

 

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Sister Helen Prejean didn't know what she was getting into when she became pen pals with an inmate on death row, a story told in the film, Dead Man Walking. Now, she's a fierce advocate against the death penalty. Sister Helen and Kate talk about finding purpose as a discovery that often begins with gentle nudges and tiny yeses.

CW: Death penalty

For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/sister-helen-prejean-the-face-of-love/

 

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Nora McInerny had a miscarriage, lost her father, and lost her husband all within a few weeks. Much to her surprise, she kept living. But she didn’t “move on.” Nora and Kate discuss how grief is messier and less linear than we imagine. And even when you may feel like you might never “get over” what happened, love is there somehow. Nora shows us why it’s time to reframe how we think about a happy ending. 

CW: Miscarriage, death of spouse, death of a parent, brain cancer

For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/nora-mcinerny-its-okay-to-laugh/

 

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How do we prepare our kids for a world we can't always protect them from? Sesame Street creates educational programs to make the most vulnerable among us smarter, stronger, and kinder in the face of difficult realities. On this episode, Kate speaks with Sherrie Westin, the President of Global Impact and Philanthropy at the Sesame Workshop on how to tell our kids the hard truths in age appropriate ways.

 

For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/sesame-street-how-do-we-talk-to-kids-about-hard-things/

 

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Writer Andrew Solomon never felt like he fit in. But studying other communities that celebrate differences transformed his sense of belonging and his parenting. Which aspects of our kids should we attempt to change and which need to be celebrated? Andrew and Kate discuss what it's like to be different from our family, find our people, and love our kids across difference.

CW: Homophobia, disability

For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/andrew-solomon-the-stories-of-who-we-are/

 

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US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams is committed to combatting the rising fatalities from opioids because he knows the struggle too well. His brother is one of the millions of Americans who is ensnared by addiction. Jerome talks to Kate about how a broken heart helped him understand his job as “America’s doctor.”

CW: Melanoma, opioids, substance abuse, mental illness

For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/jerome-adams-we-belong-to-each-other/

 

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The quality of time depends on our abilities and disabilities, possibilities and limitations. In a world of speed and productivity, Kate speaks with disability theologian John Swinton on how slowing down deepens our ability to love.

CW: Chronic illness

For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/john-swinton-the-speed-of-love/

 

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After an accident left BJ Miller with a serious physical disability, he had to learn how to be patient with his limitations. Now, he’s a palliative care physician who works every day to encourage people to be comfortable with limits and maybe even learn to love them, but not in a Pollyanna way. Kate and BJ discuss how living with the end in mind actually makes life… richer.

CW: Amputation, doctor describing palliative medicine

For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/bj-miller-loving-what-is/

 

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Society likes to tell the narrative of sick to healthy. But what if there are things we can’t just get over? In his novel, Turtles All The Way Down, John Green explores what it is like to live with something we can’t control. Together, Kate and John talk about finding identity amid chronic illness and how love just might save us all.

CW: Mental illness, cancer

For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/john-green-chronic-not-curable/

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