The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

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   Number 1: How to Make the Most of the Time You Have

   We spend a lot of energy trying to optimize our time, but what happens when we're forced to surrender to it? Writer, meditation teacher and lifetime student of Buddhism Sebene Selassie has been living with cancer for more than twenty years. In that time, she's learned something most of us spend a lifetime avoiding: how little control we actually have, and how to find joy anyway. This is the third and final episode in our month-long series on time. We’ve discussed how we spend our minutes, our days, our months and our years. Today you’ll hear about how we make the most of all of it.. In this episode, Jessi and Sebene discuss: Why a cancer diagnosis at 34 became the entry point to a deeper spiritual life, and eventually, to teaching The tight relationship between fear and control, and how Sebene has spent twenty years slowly loosening her grip on both What Sebene’s ticking clock has taught her about the present moment The difference between joy and happiness, and why joy is available even in the hardest moments Why meditation isn't about feeling better, and what the saccharine corporate version gets wrong The paradox at the heart of Sebene’s book You Belong: A Call for Connection How grasping for time is often just grasping for control, and what we miss when we do this What it means to show up to life openhearted, fully as yourself Follow Sebene Selassie and Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn. Join us this Wednesday at 3pm EST for the return of Office Hours!

   August 24, 2026·32min
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   Number 2: What Behavioral Science Says About Leading Under Pressure

   For a lot of people, work feels especially chaotic right now.. Projects start and don't finish. Layoffs happen, then reorgs, then new strategies, and through all of it, managers are expected to have the answers. Caroline Webb spent 25 years coaching leaders through exactly this kind of turbulence. She's a behavioral scientist, a former economist and the author of the new book Leadership Intelligence: Science-Backed Strategies for Mastering 21 Everyday Management Challenges. This week she joins Jessi to talk about what the science of the human brain tells us about leading through uncertainty. In this episode, Jessi and Caroline discuss: Why the current moment hits a stress trifecta — demanding, uncontrollable and unpleasant — and what that does to your team's brains The "know-be-do" framework: how to lead people through uncertainty when facts are in short supply Why naming how you feel is one of the most powerful things a leader can do and what affect labeling actually does in the brain What "measured authenticity" means, and why "terrified" is not a word you want your manager to use How to be honest with your team when you know more than you can say Why letting projects die quietly is one of the most demoralizing things a manager can do, and what to do instead What Astro (Google X's moonshot factory) does when it kills a project, and why it works The "when-then" method for taking the sting out of worst-case scenarios before they happen "Compassionate clarity": what it means in practice when layoff season arrives Why walking people out of the building immediately is almost never necessary and what a seasoned CHRO said about it Follow Caroline Webb and Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn Join us for Hello Monday Office Hours, Wednesday at 3pm EST Listen to Caroline’s previous Hello Monday episode on how to have a good day at a bad job

   August 31, 2026·30min
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   Number 3: The Case for Working Slower with Cal Newport

   Being busy and being productive are not the same thing. Cal Newport, computer science professor at Georgetown and author of Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout, has spent years making that case. This is the second of three episodes from the archive that we're revisiting this month on the subject of time. In it, Cal joins Jessi to zoom out and ask: what does it really mean to get meaningful work done over the course of our weeks, our months, and even our years? In this episode, Jessi and Cal discuss: Why "pseudo-productivity" — using visible activity as a proxy for real work — was always a bad idea, and why mobile computing made it unsustainable How the pandemic pushed knowledge work past a breaking point The administrative overhead trap: why agreeing to too many things at once is slowing you down How to say no to new work without actually saying no, and why transparency is the key Why boredom is essential What your phone has to do with short-circuiting the most human productivity tool we have Cal's rule for his kids on smartphones and social media, and the age he thinks unrestricted internet access becomes safe Why doing fewer things at once will get you to the finish line faster What AI tools like ChatGPT are actually good for, and what Cal is waiting for them to do instead The difference between technology that helps you do things faster and technology that takes things off your plate entirely Follow Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn.

   August 17, 2026·30min
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   Number 4: We’re Terrible at Fighting. Here’s How to Get Better.

   Most of us try to avoid conflict. But done right, fighting can be a path to stronger teams and healthier communities. On this episode of Hello Monday, Priya Parker makes the case for embracing “healthy heat” and learning how to navigate conflict with care. Priya Parker is a conflict resolution facilitator and author of The Art of Fighting: The Transformative Power of Conflict. Drawing on her work with teams, organizations, communities and groups, she shares practical ways to face conflict effectively. Jessi and Priya discuss: Why conflict is often a sign of relevance, and why we tend to fight with the people and groups we care about most The difference between healthy heat, unhealthy peace and destructive conflict How healthy conflict can create connection, clarity, better decisions and stronger teams Why our “fighting muscles” have atrophied, particularly after the pandemic How digital communication can flatten or exacerbate conflict rather than help us hold productive tension How to become an artful fighter by approaching conflict with curiosity instead of immediately trying to shut it down How to identify “hairline fractures” before they grow into larger rifts within teams and communities How to determine whether a conflict is worth facing The role of an outside facilitator in helping teams navigate conflict and develop practical conflict-resolution skills Why preparing your body for conflict matters, including breathing, grounding and learning to stay physically relaxed under pressure How listening can transform conflict and why staying in the heat long enough to hear each other can create breakthroughs A lesson from the Canlis restaurant team: how treating feedback as “an investment in you” can help people listen without becoming defensive What the Seattle Seahawks can teach us about culture and hairline fractures Why learning to gather and fight well is increasingly important as AI reshapes the workplace Follow Jessi Hempel and Priya Parker on LinkedIn Join us for Office Hours, Wednesday at 3pm EST

   September 07, 2026·30min
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   Number 5: Elyse Myers on Neurodivergence and Giving People the Instruction Manual to You

   Artist & content creator Elyse Myers initially gained popularity after a viral TikTok video about buying 100 tacos on a date. Since then, she’s built a massive following off of her compelling storytelling and unique perspective on the world. But when her followers started suggesting that she might be autistic, Elyse was surprised…even resistant. She looked into it, got an assessment, and eventually, a formal autism diagnosis as an adult. Since being diagnosed with autism, Elyse has found herself living more authentically. Recently, she’s shared about the process of getting a diagnosis and how it has benefited her in more ways than she could have imagined. In this episode of Hello Monday, Elyse sits down with Jessi Hempel to discuss how her new self understanding impacts the way she connects with others at home and at work. Elyse and Jessi talk about: How an adult autism diagnosis helped Elyse understand herself better The importance of giving people a toolbox to understand and love you How Elyse approaches getting to know others Missing social cues in the workplace How neurodivergence can be an asset in the workplace Elyse’s willingness to be open online about the personal transformation and changes she goes through Whether you’re working with a neurodivergent colleague, navigating an adult diagnosis yourself, or wondering how autism might impact your child, this conversation offers a look at how a successful artist & creator works with her brain–not against it–to succeed. Check out Elyse’s new book: That’s a Great Story, I’d Love to Tell You. Continue the conversation with us at Hello Monday Office Hours! Join us Wednesday at 3 PM ET on the LinkedIn News page.

   December 08, 2025·28min
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