The Ikigai Podcast

On episode 30 of the Ikigai Podcast, Dr. Yasuhiro Kotera, Academic Lead at the Univeristy of Derby, returns to discuss a book he co-authored and edited, "Ikigai: Towards a psychological understanding of a life worth living".

Yasuhiro's teaching primarily focuses on mental health and research modules including supervision at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His research interests include self-compassion, intrinsic motivation, and cross-cultural psychology. He use both quantitative and qualitative to explore these interests.

On this episode 29 of the Ikigai Podcast, we have a guest who is a former behavioral ecologist who holds a PhD in Applied science by the name of Caitlin Kight.

Dr. Caitlin Kight is currently an Education Researcher and Leader of the academic development and skills teams at the University of Exeter. In that role, she help academics and support staff reflect on their education-facing activities and improve their teaching and learning techniques.

On this episode, Nick and Caitlin discusses teaching in relation to ikigai and how the Japanese concept helped Caitlin to educate others more effectively.

On episode 28 of the Ikigai Podcast, Dr. Yasuhiro Kotera, Academic Lead at the Univeristy of Derby, delves into the ikigai concept and discusses with Nick the health benefits people can get from ikigai.

Yasuhiro's teaching primarily focuses on mental health and research modules including supervision at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His research interests include self-compassion, intrinsic motivation, and cross-cultural psychology. He use both quantitative and qualitative to explore these interests.

On episode 27 of the Ikigai Podcast, Dr. Holly Sugg, a Lecturer in Education and Research for the Academy of Nursing at the University of Exeter Medical School, talks to Nick about Morita therapy. They discuss how it is different from the western approach and its similarities to the ikigai concept.

Holly co-authored a paper titled “What is Morita Therapy? The Nature, Origins, and Cross‐Cultural Application of a Unique Japanese Psychotherapy”.

In episode 26 of the Ikigai Podcast, Nick talks about how other people matter.

While our work, hobbies, goals and personal dreams can be life-affirming sources of ikigai, it may be the people in your life who matter most to you – family, friends, colleagues, mentors – that are your strongest source of ikigai. As a result, it is these relationships that may cause you to experience ikigai-kan most intensely.

In episode 25 of the Ikigai Podcast, Nick speaks to Makoto Rexrode to discuss what ikigai means from a Japanese perspective. 

The word Ikigai has become a viral global phenomenon. Several Ted Talks and a best selling book has perpetuated the myth that Ikigai is a word from Okinawa and the key to longevity and happiness. The word is also misunderstood and shared on social media as an entrepreneurial framework of doing something that you love, that you are good at, the word needs and that you can be paid for. But what does ikigai mean to the average Japanese?

On episode 24 of the Ikigai Podcast, I interview Scott Haas, a writer and clinical psychologist and author of four books, including WHY BE HAPPY - The Japanese Way of Acceptance.

The winner of a James Beard award for his on-air broadcasts on public radio, Scott holds a Ph.D. from the University of Detroit. He did his doctoral internship at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital. 

Scott works in Japan three to four times each year when there is no pandemic. He is currently based in Cambridge, MA.

On episode 23 of the Ikigai Podcast I speak with Dr. Soenke Ziesche on the fascinating subject of the impact of AI and human enhancement of on ikigai.  Dr. Soenke holds has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Hamburg. 

Soenke has worked for over 20 years for the United Nations in the humanitarian and recovery sector. And, until 2019 he worked as a senior researcher on artificial intelligence at the Maldives  National University. Currently, Soenke is  an independent consultant, mostly for the United Nations, based in New Delhi, India.

In episode 22 of the ikigai podcast, I am speaking with Dr. Chikako Ozawa-de Silva on the subject of A Lack of Ikigai: Loneliness and Relational Meaning.

Chikako is an Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Chikako’s research focuses on cross-cultural understandings of well-being, especially mental well-being, and contemplative practice. Her work brings together Western and Asian (particularly Japanese and Tibetan) perspectives on the mind-body, religion, medicine, therapy. 

In episode 21, I welcome back expert in leisure behavior science, Assistant Professor of Alberta University, Shintaro Kono.

This is part 3 of a 3 part podcast series. On episode 4, we discussed your research on valued experiences and how ikigai relates to leisure. On episode 17, we talked about experiencing ikigai in the context of interpersonal relationships.

On this episode, episode 21, we will discuss houkousei - life directionality, where we can experience ikigai from associations with the past, present, and future