Kelly sits down with visionary neuroscientist Gül Dölen—who FedExed seven octopuses to her lab and dosed them with MDMA to understand how brains learn—and to explore what happens when you let wonder lead the way. Gül explains that our brains have windows when they're wide open to learning, that those windows known as "critical periods" close—and more importantly, how we might crack them back open. She and Kelly discuss why pure curiosity, the kind with no practical application in sight, has always been the source of our most important discoveries, and why deprivation and mystical joy might be two paths to the same place. Gül makes the case that there's magic everywhere if you're willing to see the physical world as miraculous, and that lasting change comes not from a pill but from what you learn while your mind is open. Note: This episode discusses neuroscience research on psychedelics, including MDMA. All references are to controlled scientific studies, not recreational use.

This episode was made possible by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. To learn more, please visit ⁠www.templeton.org⁠.

Recorded at the Aspen Ideas Festival.

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Sometimes the most powerful thing a doctor can do has nothing to do with medicine. Kelly reads a listener letter from Ellen Versprille, who lost her mother, her husband, and her sister-in-law in the span of just weeks—and then one freezing January night, heard a knock at her door that changed everything. It's a story about what it means to truly show up for someone, and why the moments that sustain us are almost never the ones we planned.

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Kelly and Tammy explore creativity through La La Land, a film that uses color like a second language and turns a highway traffic jam into magic. Tammy reflects on her own journey trying to make it in LA and why the film's authenticity around creative pursuit never fails to wreck her, while Kelly considers the deep self-belief required to chase any dream and the humiliation baked into trying. They talk about what happens when two people are more committed to their art than to each other, how the end of the film refuses to give us what we think we want, and why watching people struggle toward something they might not ever achieve is somehow the most relatable thing in the world. This episode was made possible by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. To learn more, please visit: templeton.org

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In the 4th episode of our Super Traits series, Kelly sits down with her favorite writer George Saunders—author of 12 books including Lincoln in the Bardo and his latest novel Vigil—to explore creativity as a practice of staying open. They talk about how precise language changes the way we receive the world, why specificity lowers reactivity, and what it means that neurologically speaking, we're always writing and revising. George reflects on empathy as a gateway to creativity, why foreclosure is death to the creative process, and the dream of repair—which might be the whole job of fiction. He also shares why he never decides what his books mean before he writes them and why he considers constraints to be essential.

This episode was made possible by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. To learn more, visit www.templeton.org.

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Tracy Hargen shares the story of the night her son Will came to her during his junior year of high school to say he'd been struggling with depression for over a year—and she had no idea. She reflects on what teenage depression actually looks like, how different it can be from what parents expect, and the critical moment when her son asked for help. It's about creating space for the hardest conversations, learning to listen for what isn't being said, and the bravery it takes to ask: "Mom, can we talk?".

Content note: This episode includes discussions of suicide and mental health struggles. If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. In the US, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24/7.

David Begnaud of CBS Mornings will be airing a piece about Tracy, her son Will and the teacher who was so helpful to them on Monday, January 26th, 2026 in the 8am hour as a part of the "Beg-Knows America" segment.

Tracy and Will created a poignant song based on their story - click here to listen: https://linktr.ee/TracyHargen

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This week's Go To is another film discussion between Kelly and Tammy, this time exploring creativity through Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel. They break down what makes the film a masterclass in creative choices: the strict candy-store palette, the impeccable production design/hair/makeup and the intentional postures and snappy pacing from the actors. Kelly reflects on what it takes to hold the line on daring creative choices and why collaboration that comes too early can make something special become ordinary. It's about trusting your audience, the miracle of hundreds of people doing their jobs superbly at once, and proof that radical creativity can also be commercially successful.

This Go To is supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. To learn more, visit: templeton.org.

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Kelly sits down with theoretical physicist Brian Greene—who might seem like an unusual choice for a conversation about creativity until you learn he's turned the general theory of relativity into theater that makes people cry. They explore what it means to translate the mysteries of the universe into stories that move us, why Brian doesn't believe in free will, and how collections of particles governed by physical law can paint masterpieces and feel transcendent joy. Brian reflects on going from a laser-focused college student who only wanted equations to someone teaching a course called "Origins and Meaning" with no equations at all, and why his father pushed him away from music even though he was a composer. It's about cosmic communion, auditory "cheesecake", and what happens when science gets stitched into the fabric of culture. This is the third episode in our Super Traits series.

This episode was made possible by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. To learn more, please visit: templeton.org

Thank you to our friends at the Aspen Ideas Festival where this episode was recorded.

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Cassia van der Hoof Holstein writes about her cousin Chris, "captain of the cousins" in a family where cousin love means always having a place to go, advice in any time zone, and guides through every storm. She reflects on planning a Passover feast with Chris in Hawaii, their endless conversations about everything and nothing, and how the phrase "blood is thicker than water" doesn't quite capture it—it's not just blood, it's love. Love through a hundred seders, a million text messages, sharing apartments and childcare and sometimes organs. It's about what home means, what gets transmitted and transmuted across generations, and the ocean of cousin love that sustained them both.

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Kelly and Tammy continue their Friday movie tradition, this time exploring humility in The Pursuit of Happyness. They discuss the difference between humiliation—being forced down—and humility—choosing to stay grounded, and how Will Smith's character, Chris Gardener, retains his dignity while losing everything. They talk about being honest when you have every reason to lie, the fine line between owning your struggle without burdening others, and why showing your flaws almost never comes back to bite you the way we fear.

This episode was made possible by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. To learn more visit: www.templeton.org.

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Kelly sits down with Father Greg Boyle, who has run Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles for nearly 40 years—the largest gang intervention program in the world. They explore humility not as the kind that makes you small, but the kind that sets you free. Father Greg reflects on burying 263 young people and why he keeps count, what happens when someone can't imagine tomorrow, and why gang membership is often a suicide mission in disguise. He talks about the difference between being other-centered and self-absorbed, why curiosity is the antidote to judgment, and how 90% of success is sheer dumb luck. It's about discovering that loving is your home, catching yourself before judgment takes over, and remembering that none of us are well until all of us are well. This is the second episode in a six-part series on super traits, supported by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

To learn more about the John Templeton Foundation, visit: www.templeton.org.

Special thanks to the team at the Aspen Ideas Festival where this episode was recorded.

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