This week, Marlon sits down with digital wellness pioneer Larissa May, AKA Larz, founder of #HalftheStory and co-founder of Ginko. Together they explore how social media shapes our sense of self, why fear never creates lasting change, and how hope, integrity, and connection can. From the loneliness of early internet adolescence to her work shaping policy and curriculum for students around the world, Larz shares what she's learned about turning pain into purpose, using technology with intention, and building community in a culture that profits from distraction. Learn more about #HalftheStory: halfthestoryproject.com Check out Ginko: heyginko.com Keep up with Larz: instagram.com/livinlikelarz

Watch this episode on YouTube! 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: [email protected]

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan

📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it.

📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab. WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone.

NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

This week, Marlon sits down with actor, author, and Soul Boom host Rainn Wilson for a live conversation about spirituality, purpose, and the search for meaning in a culture obsessed with fame.

They get into what The Office has taught people about connection and comfort, why consumer spirituality can't fill a spiritual void, and how community, humility, and humor help us build lives that matter. Rainn opens up about fame, faith, and the difference between being adored and being known, and why living "in your spirit" might be the real antidote to burnout and loneliness. Watch Rainn's episode of This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thishelpspodcast! 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: [email protected]

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan

📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it.

📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab. WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone.

NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

Annie Slease is the Cofounder and CEO of the Mental Health Literacy Collaborative. She joins This Helps to share her journey from teaching English and directing musicals to becoming a national advocate for mental health education. She opens up about her family's experiences, her own late-in-life diagnosis, and how writing helped her move through stigma toward connection. Together, we talk about making prevention exciting, how language shapes stigma, and the movement to make mental health literacy part of every school curriculum. Learn more about the Mental Health Literacy Collaborative: https://www.themhlc.org/

🎥 Watch Annie's episode of This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thishelpspodcast!

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: [email protected]

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan

📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it.

📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab. WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone.

NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

This week Marlon sits down with Dr. Jeff Hall and Dr. Andy Merolla, authors of The Social Biome. Jeff is a professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas, and Andy is a professor of communication at UC Santa Barbara. Together, they explore what it takes to build and sustain the connections that keep us thriving. They talk about why relationships are as essential to our health as food and exercise, the idea of "social calories" and how different kinds of conversations nourish us in different ways, the complicated nuance of social media, why one close connection can make all the difference for our well-being, and so much more. Purchase: The Social Biome: How Everyday Communication Connects and Shapes Us

✨ Join us at the 9th Annual Wellness Together Conference, happening September 29 - October 1 in San Diego, CA! Hear from incredible speakers, connect with fellow advocates, and be part of something meaningful. Use code thishelps for 10% off your registration.

🎥 Watch This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thishelpspodcast!

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: [email protected]

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan

📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it.

📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab.WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone.

NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

In this episode of This Helps, we're sharing something truly memorable, highlights from a conversation between our host Marlon Morgan and bestselling author, activist, and host of We Can Do Hard Things, Glennon Doyle. Glennon joins Marlon for a powerful conversation about vulnerability, recovery, and what it takes to feel at home in your own skin. She opens up about stepping away from public life, learning to be one person all the time, and finding joy in saying no to what doesn't feel true.

This conversation happened live at the 8th Annual Wellness Together Conference.

Watch this episode now on YouTube: https://youtu.be/tlWgzVQWBsg

There's still time to register for next week's 9th Annual Wellness Together Conference where we will be joined by 19th and 21st U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Actor & Best-Selling Author, Rainn Wilson, and more.

✨ Join us at the 9th Annual Wellness Together Conference, happening September 29 - October 1 in San Diego, CA! Hear from incredible speakers, connect with fellow advocates, and be part of something meaningful. Use code thishelps for 10% off your registration.

🎥 Watch This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thishelpspodcast!

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: [email protected]

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan

📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it.

📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab.WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone.

NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

San Diego Unified School District Board Vice President, Senior Policy Advisor to California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and candidate for California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Richard Barrera, joins Marlon for a wide-ranging, hopeful conversation about education, democracy, and the power of community. They talk about cell-phone-free classrooms and the return of the "recess vibe," how to measure more than test scores, and why teaching kids to build real relationships may be the most important work of all.

✨ Join us at the 9th Annual Wellness Together Conference, happening September 29 - October 1 in San Diego, CA! Hear from incredible speakers, connect with fellow advocates, and be part of something meaningful. Use code thishelps for 10% off your registration.

🎥 Watch This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thishelpspodcast!

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: [email protected]

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan

📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it.

📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab.WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone.

NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

Houston Kraft, educator, speaker, and co-founder of CharacterStrong, joins us to talk about what it really takes to build a kinder world. Author of Deep Kindness, Houston has worked with hundreds of schools helping students and educators move beyond "random acts" toward systems of belonging, empathy, and purpose. We dig into why kindness is a skill that must be taught, how culture shapes connection, and what it means to practice compassion in daily life. Stay connected with Houston Kraft:Instagram: @houstonkraft Purchase Deep Kindness: A Revolutionary Guide for the Way We Think, Talk, and Act in Kindness Learn more about CharacterStrong: https://www.characterstrong.com/ Instagram:@CharacterStrong

✨ Join us at the 9th Annual Wellness Together Conference, happening September 29 - October 1 in San Diego, CA! Hear from incredible speakers, connect with fellow advocates, and be part of something meaningful. Use code thishelps for 10% off your registration.

🎥 Watch This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thishelpspodcast!

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: [email protected]

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan

📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it.

📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab.WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone.

NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

This week we're joined by Dr. Smita Malhotra, Chief Medical Director of Los Angeles Unified, pediatrician, author, and TEDx speaker. Dr. Malhotra helped led LAUSD's health response through the pandemic and brings a deeply holistic lens to student wellbeing. We talk about what resilience really looks like, why joy doesn't have to be complicated, and how showing up as fully human, both in medicine and in parenting, can change everything. Along the way, we get into her love of Bravo, her daughter's Biggie-inspired rap debut, and why health and education are inseparable when it comes to helping kids thrive.

Stay connected with Dr. Smita Malhotra: Instagram: @drsmita_md LinkedIn: smitamd

✨ Join us at the 9th Annual Wellness Together Conference, happening September 29 - October 1 in San Diego, CA! Hear from incredible speakers, connect with fellow advocates, and be part of something meaningful. Use code thishelps for 10% off your registration.

🎥 Watch This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thishelpspodcast!

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: [email protected]

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan

📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it.

📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab.WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone.

NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

This week we're joined by author, activist, and theologian Brian McLaren for a conversation about collapse, connection, and finding courage in uncertain times. Brian is the author of Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart and a longtime voice at the intersection of spirituality, justice, and social change.

We talk about ecological grief, capitalism, and the stories we've inherited about power, progress, and faith. Brian shares what it means to walk through hard truths without losing hope, and how deep relationships can keep us grounded, even and especially when the future feels uncertain.

Stay connected with Brian McLaren:

• Website: https://brianmclaren.net

• Podcast: Learning How to See

• Twitter/X: @brianmclaren

• Instagram: @brianmclaren

🎥 Watch This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thishelpspodcast!

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: [email protected]

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan

📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it.

📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab.WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone.

NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

This week, we're joined by Augustus Mays, Vice President of Partnerships and Engagement at The Education Trust, for a powerful conversation about equity, opportunity, and the systems that shape young people's lives.

A longtime leader in education policy, Augustus draws from both personal experience and professional expertise to advocate for students who have been historically underserved. We talk about the legacy of civil rights legislation, the evolving role of the U.S. Department of Education, and why resource equity is key to ensuring every child–not just a lucky few–can thrive.

Along the way, Augustus shares how his father's early lessons shaped his purpose, how joy and justice go hand in hand, and what keeps him hopeful in the face of setbacks. Connect with August Mays and EdTrust: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/augustus-mays-35098222a/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edtrust Twitter: https://x.com/EdTrust Threads: https://www.threads.net/@edtrust Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edtrust/

🎥 Watch This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Mr.MarlonMorgan!

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: [email protected]

🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan

📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it.

📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab.WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone.

NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.