What happens when a journalist-turned-seminarian finds God in a pile of rotting vegetables? You get Jeff Chu—writer, pastor, and accidental theologian of compost.

In this tender and funny conversation, Jeff and Kate talk about what it means to be changed—by grief, by love, by the kind of calling that makes zero practical sense. They talk about complicated families, appropriate smallness, and what it means to belong to one another in just-because texts, foreign potato chips, and a rice cooker packed in a suitcase. Sometimes resurrection doesn’t look like a clean slate. Sometimes it looks like compost. Hope grows slowly. But oh, it grows.

In this conversation, Kate and Jeff discuss:

• Why God’s call often doesn’t add up (and still won’t leave us alone)
• The theology of compost: how death, rot, and loss make way for new life
• How to live like we are beloved—even when life doesn’t feel that way
• Why small, ordinary graces are how we build the world we want
  
  

Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here or visiting katebowler.com/podcasts.

Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter)—@katecbowler. Links to social pages and more available at linktr.ee/katecbowler.

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What does it mean to live alongside people you don’t agree with? And love them anyway? Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet, theologian, and conflict mediator from Ireland, where belonging has always been complicated and peace is fragile at best. In this conversation, Kate and Pádraig explore what it takes to live together in the midst of disagreement—the beauty, the cost, and the messy, sacred hope of it all.

In this conversation, Kate and Pádraig discuss:

• Why peace is exhausting, fragile, and still worth fighting for

• The surprising role of curiosity in transforming division

• How belonging can comfort us—and cost us

If you liked this episode, check out:

• Safiya Sinclair on Rewriting Roots

• Nadia Bolz Weber on the Insight of Outsiders

• Lanecia Rouse on When Hope Seems Lost

 

Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here or visiting katebowler.com/podcasts.

Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter)—@katecbowler. Links to social pages and more available at linktr.ee/katecbowler.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all carry stories. Some smooth over the past, making things easier to bear. Others—the truer ones—break us open. Amy Griffin knows what it’s like to hold a secret so tightly, it starts to define you. As a child, she was sexually assaulted by a teacher—a painful truth she buried for years. But eventually, staying silent became harder than telling the truth. So what happens when the person who spends all their time championing others realizes they need to tell their own story?

In this conversation, Kate and Amy talk about: 

• The relentless churn of perfectionism—and what happens when we finally let some of it go
• How psychedelic-assisted therapy helped Amy unlock long-buried trauma 
• The surprising joy of telling the truth—even when it feels impossible
• Why healing isn’t about erasing the past—it’s about learning to carry it differently  

If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy: 

• Charles Spencer on Confronting the Past
• Rachel Denhollender on The Pursuit of Justice
• Our support guide for processing a painful childhood
• As well as our episodes with Minka Kelly, Beth Moore, Maggie Smith, and Wilma Derksen

 

Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here or visiting katebowler.com/podcasts.

Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter)—@katecbowler. Links to social pages and more available at linktr.ee/katecbowler.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when someone believes in you–before you’re even ready to believe in yourself? In this powerful conversation, Kate sits down with legendary basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) to talk about trust, leadership, and the important work of calling out greatness in others. From his storied career at Duke to coaching Team USA, Coach K shares what he has learned about the power of honest feedback, why trust is the foundation of meaningful relationships, and how four simple words–”I believe in you”–can change everything. There’s even a story where he hangs up on a player. Twice. (It worked.)

In this humorous and heartfelt conversation, Coach K and Kate discuss:

• Why trust (not talent) is what makes a team great.

• The courage it takes to offer honest feedback—even when it’s uncomfortable.

• How to call out the best in others (and yourself).

 

Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here or visiting katebowler.com/podcasts.

Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter)—@katecbowler. Links to social pages and more available at linktr.ee/katecbowler.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lent is here—the season we stop pretending we’re fine and admit that life is…a lot. It’s forty days of naming what’s fragile, walking toward the hard truths, and resisting the urge to skip straight to the happy ending.

In this special Ask Kate Anything episode, Kate answers your biggest, messiest questions: How do we stay soft in a brutal world? How do we practice Lent when life is already exhausting? What do we do when faith unravels? And because sometimes words aren’t enough, singer-songwriter Katelyn Tarver stops by to perform her song “Sh*t Happens,” an anthem for all of us who know that life doesn’t always make sense.

In this episode, Kate discusses:

• Why Lent is for the weary, the doubting, and the grieving.
• How to hold both grief and hope.
• A faith that doesn’t demand you have it all figured out.

You’re invited to join us for lent—ashes, doubts, imperfections, and all. Download The Hardest Part Lent Guide for free at katebowler.com/lent.

 

Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here or visiting katebowler.com/podcasts.

Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter)—@katecbowler. Links to social pages and more available at linktr.ee/katecbowler.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Loneliness is more than just a feeling—it shapes how we see ourselves and the world around us. It can make us withdraw, hesitate to reach out, or convince us that connection is for other people. But Dr. Vivek Murthy has spent years reminding us of what is most true: we are meant to hold each other up.

As U.S. Surgeon General (twice!), Vivek confronted some of the biggest public health challenges of our time—addiction, youth mental health, the opioid crisis. But at the heart of it all was something deeply human: our need for each other. In this conversation, Kate and Vivek talk about what actually makes a life full—not perfect, not endlessly productive, but anchored in love and belonging. 

Together, they discuss:

• The quiet ache of loneliness and why so many of us feel it

• Why relationships, purpose, and service are the real building blocks of a fulfilled life

• Small, practical ways to reach out, even when it feels awkward

• How asking for help might bring us closer, not pull us apart.

If you liked this conversation, you might also enjoy: 

• Made to Belong - Vivek Murthy & Jon Scheyer

• Hope is a Muscle - Nikolas Kristof

• The Art of Gathering - Priya Parker

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scripture can become a weapon in the hands of the ultra-certain. As if every pain or suffering is part of “God’s divine plan.” So how should we understand and apply the Bible to our real lives with our real-life problems? 

NT Wright, a New Testament scholar, is a trusted expert to help us understand what truths resound across time and circumstance and which don’t. In this conversation, Kate and Tom dig in especially on Romans 8:28 which is the Pauline version of EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. Is that what Paul intended to say? Is there maybe another, more life-giving way to interpret it instead? 

Kate and NT Wright also discuss:

• The importance of lament as a response to the human condition
• Why we have such a low tolerance for uncertainty
• Which scripture to turn to when life comes apart (and which to avoid) 
• What our response should be to others who are in pain or experiencing tragedy

This is a bit of a Bible-nerd out, but I would trust no one else to help us better make sense of where is God when we’re suffering than NT Wright. 

This clip originally aired in October 2023.

Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here.

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Everything is in flux. Nothing is the same anymore. How do we live amid all of this uncertainty? Well, psychologist and bestselling author Adam Grant believes we may have to do some re-thinking. In this episode, Kate and Adam speak about the courage it takes to think again about things that we once felt so certain about, how “imposter syndrome” might be a good instinct, and how we all need friends who challenge us (even if it makes us wildly uncomfortable… thanks a lot, Adam!).

 

Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here or visiting katebowler.com/podcasts.

Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter)—@katecbowler. Links to social pages and more available at linktr.ee/katecbowler.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have thick cultural scripts for what is deemed inspirational and it usually goes like this: You can do it. Never give up. Everything you need is inside of you today. But what do you really need to hear when life is coming apart? Morgan Harper Nichols is someone whose words of encouragement gently lift our chins toward hope. In this episode, Kate and Morgan discuss how important it is to reflect truth and hope and beauty back to one another.

This episode originally aired in 2020.

For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/morgan-harper-nichols-blessed-are-the-mirrors/

 

Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here or visiting katebowler.com/podcasts.

Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter)—@katecbowler. Links to social pages and more available at linktr.ee/katecbowler.

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In a world that constantly demands more—more work, more achievement, more hustle—how do we learn to pause? Kate sits down with her sister Maria Bowler, a writer, creativity coach, and spiritual director, to talk about the pressures of the “producer self,” that voice inside us all that equates our worth with what we do, fix, or achieve.

This conversation is an invitation to live differently—to embrace rest, love, and the sacredness of simply being. For the overachievers, the caregivers, and the deeply tired (you know who you are): you are already enough.

In this conversation, Kate and Maria discuss:

• How to see one another (and ourselves) through a lens of love

• How to give yourself permission to rest and procrastinate

• The difference between meaningful work and the hustle that leaves us hollow

If you liked this episode, you’ll also love: 

• Oliver Burkeman: New Year, Same Me

• Liz Gilbert: Why Your Creativity Matters

• Emma Gannon: The Butterfly Era

 

Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here or visiting katebowler.com/podcasts.

Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter)—@katecbowler. Links to social pages and more available at linktr.ee/katecbowler.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.