What is the true meaning of your life? Does your life have purpose? Are you living a life you love? These are questions many people quietly wrestle with in a time when more individuals report feeling lonely, anxious and uncertain about their place in the world. Oprah is back with the Harvard Happiness professor and #1 New York Times bestselling author Arthur C. Brooks. They explore his latest book The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness. Arthur explains why so many people today feel stuck in what he calls an “age of emptiness,” and reveals the modern traps that can make life feel like a simulation of endless distraction, doom scrolling and procrastination. These leave people disconnected from their deeper purpose. Oprah and Arthur take questions from listeners including a college freshman caught in what Arthur Brooks calls “the doom loop" struggling to break free from constant scrolling while searching for a sense of direction. The episode also checks in with several of Arthur Brooks’ former students who share how they found meaning through serving others, pursuing achievement with intention and redefining success beyond personal gain.

BUY THE BOOK!

To buy Arthur Brooks’ new book The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness and to take the quizzes discussed in this episode go to www.themeaningofyourlife.com

During his conversation, Arthur Brooks stated that “animals like Koko never ask questions,” however The Gorilla Foundation / Koko.org has brought to our attention that Koko frequently asked questions. This video, titled “Koko Has a Question,” shows her curiosity and her ability to communicate using ASL to seek new information. https://youtu.be/cdzh32l8IuI

00:00:00 - Welcome Arthur Brooks, author of ‘The Meaning of Your Life’

00:03:40 - Why he took on the meaning of life

00:04:30 - How campus life changed

00:05:29 - Happiness is a combination of 3 things

00:06:20 - The meaning of the meaning of life

00:09:40 - 5 explanations for why things happen

00:16:28 - What is a doom loop

00:17:50 - Finding meaning and happiness

00:24:26 - Creating impact outside of your own life

00:30:50 - Using success in service to others

00:33:00 - How the sides of our brains work

00:38:15 - Redefining your meaning

00:40:10 - How to use your suffering as part of your calling

00:43:25 - What is moral beauty

00:49:00 - How to stay present to the big questions

00:52:00 - How meaning found Arthur Brooks

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Millions of parents and educators are in an overwhelming struggle to get children and teens to put their smartphones down or stop watching a screen on a tablet. To uncover what is at the root of an issue that is wreaking havoc at home and at school, Oprah sits down with Dr. Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist and Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. Dr. Lembke, author of the New York Times mega-bestseller Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, explains why smartphones and tablets should be thought of as providing “digital drugs,” while describing the devastating impact these “drugs” are having on the still-developing brains of young people. Dr. Lembke and Oprah answer questions from mothers who are desperate for help managing their children’s screen addictions. Plus - British actress, Royal Family Member and Patron of Close Screens Open Minds Sophie Winkleman joins from London to talk about why she believes tech in schools has been disastrous for students and is destroying the education system from within.

'Dopamine Nation' by Anna Lembke

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Welcome Dr. Anna Lembke, author of “Dopamine Nation” 

00:03:00 - Reframing digital media as a drug

00:08:30 - Smart phones are modern day hypodermic needles

00:09:15 - Addiction definition 

00:12:10 - Kids experiencing craving and withdrawal 

00:17:00 - Mom of 2 girls wants to know if they are addicted 

00:27:15 - Managing teens devices

00:36:15 - How to help college-aged kids 

00:42:00 - Actress Sophie Winkleman on ed tech 

00:45:00 - Screens in schools 

00:48:00 - Distracted kids don’t know how to learn 

00:50:00 - Regulating tech for kids

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We are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Oprah’s Book Club and Oprah’s first pick of 2026 which is her 121st Book Club selection. The novel KIN by international bestselling author Tayari Jones explores the life-long friendship of two motherless daughters in the segregated South. The story explores how their decisions lead them to live vastly different lives causing them to grow apart. From page one to the stunning conclusion Tayari’s emotionally rich and witty novel inspires a soul-searching, introspective conversation about chosen family. Oprah and Tayari Jones talk with an audience of readers in New York City.

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The Oprah Podcast on estranged families going #NoContact reached more than five million viewers and listeners and sparked widespread conversation across social media and online opinion platforms. In this episode, Oprah addresses some of the alternative points of view raised on Social Media. She invites the experts back for a discussion exploring new questions and additional ways of coping with this painful and sensitive issue. After award winning journalist Jemele Hill saw the original episode, she was inspired to share with Oprah her own family estrangement story for the first time publicly. Oprah also speaks to a woman who cut off contact with her sister and a married couple seeking advice for repair with their estranged parents.

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Oprah speaks with global entrepreneur, tech pioneer and venture capitalist Jürgen Ingels to discuss what it takes to start a successful business as detailed in his book "Start, Grow, Sell: 50 Tips for Entrepreneurial Greatness." During this lively discussion, Jürgen shares the concrete and practical lessons he learned during his own entrepreneurial journey - which also apply to all aspects of our daily lives. Including how to take an idea from startup to success, how to focus your talents, find investors and build the right team. We hear from entrepreneurs with questions for Mr. Ingels including a woman named Sanna who was inspired to leave the corporate world to open her dream clothing store Happy on Main in Concord, MA after overcoming a personal challenge. Also Shark Tank alum Ashley whose company Tones of Melanin makes stylish athleisure for students and graduates of HBCUs - or historically Black colleges and universities. Also Shark Tank alum Ashley whose company Tones of Melanin makes stylish athleisure for students and graduates of HBCUs - or historically Black colleges and universities.

BUY THE BOOK!

https://www.amazon.com/Start-Grow-Sell-Entrepreneurial-Greatness/dp/9401474133

00:00:00 - Welcome Jürgen Ingels, author of “Start, Grow, Sell”

00:04:50 - Jürgen’s first business venture

00:10:20 - Jürgen’s work ethic

00:11:40 - Jürgen changed payment systems

00:15:00 - Biggest business mistakes

00:18:30 - Going the extra mile

00:23:50 - Drive revenue and scale

00:28:20 - Keep your word

00:31:20 - 3 tips for scaling your business

00:34:40 - Entrepreneurs: better after 40

00:35:38 - Passion is crucial

00:37:30 - Always ask why

00:43:30 - Jürgen’s definition of a well lived life

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Did you know that experiencing awe can improve your health and your overall well-being? Oprah talks with University of California, Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner to delve into his latest book "Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life." During this inspirational conversation Dacher explains how each of us has the potential to experience awe every single day and shares how encountering awe can lead us to greater fulfillment and happiness. Based on his extensive research Dacher outlines and describes what he calls the “Eight Wonders of Life” or the eight experiences that most commonly trigger awe. Throughout the discussion Oprah and Dacher each share their own deeply personal encounters with awe.

BUY THE BOOK!

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/622175/awe-by-dacher-keltner/

00:00:00 - Welcome Dacher Keltner, author of “Awe”

00:04:30 - Awe decreases depression

00:07:40 - Awe and death

00:10:20 - Finding awe everyday

00:11:05 - 8 awe experiences

00:20:20 - how Awe affects our health

00:21:36 - Awe vs gratitude

00:24:45 - How awe can heal divisions

00:26:50 - Making space for awe and kids

00:28:20 - Develop an awe practice

00:29:50 - Psychedelics and awe

00:36:00 - Everyone can experience awe

The Science of Happiness Podcast

What does it take to live a happier life? Learn research-tested strategies that you can put into practice today. Hosted by award-winning psychologist Dacher Keltner. Co-produced by PRX and UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center.

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/podcasts/series/the_science_of_happiness

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Oprah is joined by award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Wallace to talk about her transformative new book "Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose." Drawing on six years of research, Wallace shares how mattering - the feeling that we are valued and have an opportunity to add value - is a fundamental human need essential to our well-being. She believes there's been "an erosion of mattering" and provides actionable steps to deepen your connections, reconnect to your sense of purpose and navigate challenges with greater resilience. Joining the conversation is Jennifer's close friend and lifestyle icon Ina Garten. Oprah and Jennifer also speak with a military wife who learned how to bring mattering back to her marriage and an extraordinary young man who went from being a sanitation worker to a Harvard Law School graduate.

BUY THE BOOK!

'Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose' by Jennifer Wallace: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/756179/mattering-by-jennifer-breheny-wallace/

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Welcome Jennifer Wallace, author of “Mattering”

00:05:50 - Ina Garten joins

00:07:05 - The importance of mattering to yourself

00:08:40 - How Ina shows people they matter

00:09:30 - The importance of showing up

00:10:50 - One easy way to show people they matter

00:12:20 - The thread that ties us together

00:13:40 - Extrinsic and intrinsic values

00:15:50 - Professor Gordon Flett on why mattering is life or death

00:18:12 - How mattering affects our longevity

00:21:00 - How to get through hard moments

00:23:00 - How Army partners struggle with mattering

00:28:00 - Our resilience is tied to our relationships

00:34:00 - Mattering to ourselves raises the bar for all relationships 00:35:20 - A former sanitation worker's observations on mattering

00:42:00 - Supporting support staff

00:44:50 - Mattering at work

00:46:00 - The 4 important feelings to mattering

00:48:10 - What to do if you feel like you don’t matter

Additional Resources:

‘Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir’ by Ina Garten:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/770511/be-ready-when-the-luck-happens-by-ina-garten/

Gordon L. Flett, Ph.D.

https://www.yorku.ca/lamarsh/gord-flett/

‘The Wives: A Memoir’ by Simone Gorrindo:

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Wives/Simone-Gorrindo/9781982178505#:~:text=The%20Wives%20%7C%20Book%20by%20Simone,Official%20Publisher%20Page%20%7C%20Simon%20%26%20Schuster

The Reciprocity Effect:

https://www.thereciprocityeffect.org/Follow Oprah Winfrey on Social:https://www.instagram.com/oprahpodcast/https://www.facebook.com/oprahwinfrey/Listen to the full podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0tEVrfNp92a7lbjDe6GMLIhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-oprah-podcast/id1782960381

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Is revenge the root of all forms of violence? Oprah sits down with James Kimmel, Jr., a revenge and violence researcher and lecturer in the psychiatry department at the Yale University School of Medicine and the bestselling author of the eye-opening book, The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World’s Deadliest Addiction - and How to Overcome It. From bullying to school and mass shootings to terrorism and even war, James Kimmel Jr’s 20-year research argues that the root cause of all human aggression and violence in the world is the one universal human emotion: revenge. After being bullied as a teenager, James Kimmel, Jr shares the horrific moment he almost became a mass shooter himself, and why that became the catalyst for his life’s work. James Kimmel Jr shares a research study that could reveal just how prone you might be to seeking revenge. He has also created The Non-Justice System & The Miracle Court App, a 5-step scripted virtual courtroom where a person who has been wronged can play all the roles in a simulated trial - victim, defendant, judge, jury, and warden. Oprah and James Kimmel Jr also hear searing stories from the audience including a woman whose neighbor shot and killed her dog, a woman who got revenge on a boyfriend who cheated on her, a wife and mother whose intense revenge addiction landed her in the hospital. And how a mother, who lost her precious 6-year-old son to gun violence at Sandy Hook Elementary, came to forgive her son’s killer.

BUY THE BOOK!

The Science of Revenge

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739999/the-science-of-revenge-by-james-kimmel-jr-jd/

https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-science-of-revenge/id6670186929

00:00:00 - Welcome James Kimmel, Jr. author of “The Science of Revenge”

00:04:00 - James Kimmel share his story of revenge

00:10:15 - Lawyers sell revenge to the masses

00:13:15 - How revenge is an addiction

00:16:00 - Understanding how revenge leads to crimes

00:17:30 - When revenge becomes addiction

00:27:00 - Woman shares her desire for revenge

00:28:20 - Types of forgiveness

00:37:55 - How can we speed up forgiveness

00:39:30 - How this man resisted getting revenge

00:43:30 - Mother of son killed at Sandy Hook

00:50:50 - Recovering revenge addict

00:57:00 - The motive is revenge

00:59:00 - The power of forgiveness

Additional Resources:

https://www.revengeanonymous.org

The Non-justice System: miraclecourt.com

What's Your Revenge Score? https://www.jameskimmeljr.com/quiz

Connecticut Violence Intervention and Prevention - https://www.ctintervention.org/

Choose Love - https://chooselovemovement.org/

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For her most of her adult life, Oprah has struggled with her weight. She never dreamed in her lifetime, there would be medications that could help her as well as millions of others. On this episode of The Oprah Podcast, Oprah is joined by Dr. Ania Jastreboff, leading endocrinologist and associate professor at Yale School of Medicine in front of a live audience in New York City.

They discuss Dr. Ania’s new book, Enough: Your Health, Your Weight, and What It's Like To Be Free which delivers a deeply transformational message: there is a path to healing from the blame and shame of obesity to lead the life you have always wanted. Dr. Jastreboff shares the science behind why obesity is a disease and not a question of willpower and why the new medications have been so effective for tens of millions of people. Oprah shares her decades-long public struggle with her weight and reveals how her experience with a GLP-1 medication has given her a freedom and energy she never thought possible. Plus, 23-time grand slam tennis champion Serena Williams joins the conversation and opens up about her own battle with weight calling it “the one opponent she couldn't defeat.” Serena also reveals why - after her initial skepticism - she decided to start a GLP-1 medication. Finally, we hear from guests in the audience about how the GLP-1 medications have changed their lives. One of those guests is Stedman Graham’s nephew Julius who shares with heartbreaking honesty how his weight held him back for decades. He says that after losing 64 pounds on a GLP-1 medication he is now “fully alive.”

BUY THE BOOK!

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Enough/Ania-M-Jastreboff/9781668217283

00:00:00 - Welcome Dr. Ania Jastreboff, author of “Enough”

00:01:30 - 74% of americans are overweight

00:04:30 - Obesity is a disease

00:07:30 - We live in an obesogenic environment

00:09:10 - Genetic link to obesity

00:10:50 - You can’t willpower away obesity

00:13:30 - Defining food noise

00:18:30 - Recalibrating your “enough point”

00:22:30 - Some people have food noise, others don’t

00:23:40 - Welcome Serena Williams

00:27:00 - Why Serena tried GLP-1s

00:29:30 - Everyone responds to GLP-1s differently

00:31:00 - How Serena feels on GLP-1s

00:40:00 - Why your body settles on an unhealthy “enough point”

00:42:00 - Welcome Julius, Stedman’s nephew

00:50:00 - How GLP-1s changed Julius

00:54:00 - Do you stay on GLP-1s forever?

01:02:00 - Can GLP-1s prevent obesity?

01:04:00 - Oprah wants GLP-1s available to all

01:05:40 - Dr. Ania wants people to understand obesity

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Oprah sits down with renowned organizational psychologist and professor Adam Grant to talk about lessons from his latest #1 New York Times bestselling book "Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things.” Known for his research on human potential, Grant shares how anyone can achieve greatness and unlock potential by cultivating character traits like resilience, curiosity, perseverance and embracing discomfort. He shares personal stories of overcoming his own limitations and insights from people who’ve accomplished the extraordinary. Joining the conversation is the first Black Chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley and people from around the country via Zoom who desire to harness the power of hidden potential.

BUY THE BOOK!

'Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things' by Adam Grant:https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/719611/hidden-potential-by-adam-grant/

Adam Grant 2026 Day-to-Day Calendar: Something to Think About: Daily Insight from the Psychologist and Author

https://www.amazon.com/Adam-Grant-2026-Day-Calendar/dp/152489933X

Adam Grant:

https://adamgrant.net/about/biography/

00:00:00 - Welcome Adam Grant, author of Hidden Potential

00:04:13 - How character and personality differ

00:06:10 - Action and confidence 

00:09:00 - Critics as coaches

00:11:50 - Standing in your values

00:14:15 - What makes a good leader

00:17:18 - First Black Chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley 

00:22:45 - How potential gets overlooked 

00:24:10 - How ‘Hidden Potential’ helps educators

00:27:30 - Three priorities for a school to thrive 

00:30:25 - Tap into your hidden potential 

00:33:28 - Confidence in your ability to learn

00:34:50 - Managing perfectionism 

00:38:00 - Appreciate your progress 

00:39:30 - What keeps Oprah motivated

'Move by Move: Life Lessons on and Off the Chessboard' by Maurice Ashley:https://mauriceashley.com/move-by-move/

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Listen to the full podcast:

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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-oprah-podcast/id1782960381

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