Chris Duffy is a comedian, the host of TED's How to Be a Better Human podcast, and the author of the brand-new book Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy. Chris joins Marlon for a funny, thoughtful conversation about how humor helps us build genuine human connection, especially in moments of stress, distraction, and uncertainty. Chris shares why laughter lowers our defenses, opens us up to others, and can be a powerful way back to ourselves. Keep up with Chris Duffy: https://chrisduffycomedy.com Check out How to Be a Better Human Pick up Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy

🔗 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.

To close out the year, we're looking back on some of the conversations that shaped This Helps in 2025. This episode is a highlight reel of moments, ideas, and voices that stayed with us: conversations about connection, vulnerability, grief, hope, power, and what actually helps us, day to day.

This is not a definitive list, and it's definitely not a ranking. We had so many meaningful conversations this year, and we loved every one of them. What you'll hear in this episode is just a snapshot, a cross-section of the themes, questions, and voices that capture the spirit of what this show has been exploring and where we're hoping to go next.

🔗 Watch our 2025 recap on YouTube

Featured in this episode:Dr. Nina Vasan and Dr. Darja Djordjevic, Stanford Brainstorm Larissa "Larz" May, #HalfTheStory Rainn Wilson, Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution Dr. Jeffrey Hall and Dr. Andy Merolla, The Social Biome: How Everyday Communication Connects and Shapes Us Dr. Smita Malhotra, Los Angeles Unified School District Brian D. McLaren, Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart Anya Kamenetz, The Golden Hour: climate, children, mental health Dr. Anna Malaika Tubbs, Erased: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden from Us Dr. John B. King, Teacher by Teacher: The People Who Change Our Lives

🔗 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.

Marlon sits down with Dr. Nina Vasan and Dr. Darja Djordjevic from Stanford's Brainstorm Lab to talk about the experiences that shaped their careers and the research they're doing now. We talk about how AI is reshaping mental health, relationships, and daily life. They walk us through their recent Common Sense Media study on how young people turn to chatbots for support, and they share clear, practical ways to stay grounded and connected in our rapidly changing world. Watch this episode on YouTube! Read the Common Sense Media study: AI Chatbots for Mental Health Support Learn more about Brainstorm: The Stanford Lab for Mental Health Innovation

🔗 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 live episode, Marlon is joined on stage at the Wellness Together Conference by Chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY) and 10th U.S. Secretary of Education, Dr. John B. King Jr. for part two of the conversation they started earlier this year. Dr. King shares the story of the teacher who helped save his life, and what it was like to reconnect with the family who enslaved his ancestors. They talk about the threats facing public education and school-based mental health right now, and what it actually looks like to help students feel safe enough to learn.

Watch this episode on YouTube!

Purchase Teacher by Teacher: The People Who Change Our Lives 🔗 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 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.