I remember the day at the Obama White House when healthcare.gov crashed—and millions of Americans were locked out of coverage that could literally save their lives.

This episode is the inside story of how, in a moment of sheer desperation, the White House turned to a viral sketch to save the Affordable Care Act.

Brad was the chief architect behind one of the most audacious and successful Hail Marys in modern political history. And shares the story about how comedy became the most effective political ad of a generation.

You probably know Between Two Ferns as a viral sketch. You probably don’t know it may have saved the ACA—reaching 30 million people and driving a 40% spike in signups overnight. That’s not a punchline. That’s cold, hard strategy.

But this story is bigger than one viral win. It’s about the psychology of persuasion. What it takes to disarm people enough to hear you. And why humor works when other tools fail.

In this episode, we get into:

✅ How Obama’s team calculated the risk—and why it worked
✅ What it takes to reach people who’ve tuned out or stopped caring
✅ How humor works as stealth persuasion—defusing tension and earning trust

And in this week’s How-To:

→ Why humor lowers defenses, builds trust, and boosts recall
→ The 3 psychological tools behind powerful humor
→ When to use each one—and how to avoid misfire

This one left me thinking about what we risk, what we reach for—and how sometimes the smartest thing you can do is make someone laugh first.

If you’ve ever felt like no one’s listening, this episode is a masterclass in breaking through.

— Molly

—

🧠 Get the takeaways straight to your inbox. My newsletter ‘What I Wish I Knew’ shares all the research + tools I use in my own life: mollykawahata.com/join

—

🔗 View the full show notes at mollykawahata.com/podcast

🎥 Video episodes available on YouTube

—

🔗 Follow for more:
YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn

Connect with Brad:

Twigg & Jenkins Podcast
Instagram | X | LinkedIn | Enfranchisement Productions

—

🕒 Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to Full Spectrum Podcast

02:41 The Journey to Healthcare Reform

06:28 Brad Jenkins: A Unique Perspective on Identity

13:42 Navigating Racial Identity and Belonging

23:14 The Impact of Barack Obama on Personal Journeys

32:10 Working in the White House: The Office of Public Engagement

43:35 The Historic Story of Healthcare.gov Engagement

45:30 The Challenge of Reaching the Uninsured

49:47 Celebrity Influence and the Healthcare.gov Launch

52:40 The Importance of Humor in Communication

56:30 The Making of 'Between Two Ferns' with Obama

01:01:42 The Impact of Humor on Enrollment Numbers

01:05:39 The Role of Humor in Political Messaging

01:10:20 Finding Joy and Community in Work

01:15:10 Taking Risks and Embracing Passion

Send us a text

"Awe doesn’t always translate. But what do we lose when we stop trying to share it?"

Welcome to The Between Stories—a series where I take you into moments from my life that shaped the themes we explore in the main episodes. These are the in-between chapters that echo through everything you hear on the show.

The landscape of the High Sierra has rearranged the scale of my life more times than I can count. It been a throughline throughout my life, a place I’ve returned to again and again, across decisions and different versions of myself. I think there’s a kind of awe that lives in the places we return to—quiet, familiar, and still able to catch us off guard.

Sometimes if we're lucky, we get to experience awe—the feeling so profound it rearranges the scale of things—the parts of life that get too loud are pulled back into proportion.

This episode looks at the quiet vulnerability in trying to share awe—and the human need to have our inner experiences seen by the people we care about. Awe can shift perspective. It can connect us to something larger. But what gets unlocked when someone else looks out at the same view, turns to you, and—without a word—you know they see it too?

Maybe we don’t share things just to share them. Maybe it’s something else entirely we’re hoping they’ll see.

I don’t think awe asks much of us.
Perhaps just that we occasionally notice.

—Molly

—

🧠 Get the takeaways straight to your inbox. My newsletter What I Wish I Knew shares all the research + tools I use in my own life. Sign up at mollykawahata.com/join

—

🔗 View the full show notes at mollykawahata.com/podcast

🎥 Video episodes available on YouTube

—

🔗 Follow for more:
YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn

Send us a text

We think of awe as rare. A sunset. A mountain peak. A fleeting high.

But what if we’ve got it backwards?

Awe isn’t just something that happens to you—it’s a biological lever hiding in plain sight. One that can decrease stress hormones, stretch time, and rewire attention.

In this conversation, Dr. Kim Nolan—Buddhist chaplain, psychologist, and one of the most grounded people I’ve ever known—shows us how to spot the extraordinary buried in the ordinary.

We talk about:

✅ How awe can reduce cortisol, expand time, and make you kinder

✅ The two-part formula scientists use to define awe (and how to reverse-engineer it in your life)

✅ How experiencing awe rewires your brain and makes decision-making easier

✅ The “sacred ordinary” moments most people miss (but you won’t anymore)

✅ Why awe might be one of the most powerful (and overlooked) wellness tools we have

In this week’s How-To segment, I’ll break down:

→ The 2-part formula behind awe—and why it’s not just about feeling “wow”
→ What the science says about awe and time perception, connection, and burnout
→ A method to train your brain to experience more awe, anywhere

This episode changed how I walk down the street, wait in line, and look into the distance. Because Kim’s right: Awe isn’t scarce—we’re just not looking where it lives.

With eyes wide open,

— Molly

🧠 Get the takeaways straight to your inbox. My newsletter ‘What I Wish I Knew’ shares all the research + tools I use in my own life. Sign up at mollykawahata.com/join

—

🔗 View the full show notes at mollykawahata.com/podcast

🎥 Video episodes available on YouTube

—

🔗 Follow for more:
YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn

Connect with Kim:
LinkedIn | TED Talk | UVM Faculty Page

—

🕒 Timestamps

00:00 Accidentally wishing a man at CVS Happy Mother’s Day

02:22 Introducing Dr. Kim Nolan

03:48 Dr. Kim Nolan's Health Crisis and Awakening

17:05 Exploring the Concept of Awe

19:29 Awe in Everyday Life

49:21 The Importance of Consistency

49:40 The Playful Quality of Awe

51:11 Minimizing Harm and Doing Good

51:56 Age, Maturity, and Speaking Freely

53:24 Moments of Awe in Vulnerability

54:52 The Power of Small Acts of Kindness

57:33 The Concept of Timelessness in Awe

57:55 The Impact of Awe on Time Perception

01:00:14 Practical Steps to Cultivate Awe

01:03:32 The Role of Calling in Decision Making

01:07:35 Recognizing and Trusting Your Calling

01:13:41 Awe in Relationships and Everyday Moments

01:21:32 The How-To: How to Harness Awe in Your Own Life

Send us a text

"Because really—why would anyone fight for a future they believe is already lost?”

Welcome to The Between Stories—a series where I take you into moments from my life that shaped the themes we explore in the main episodes, and share the meaning I’m still trying to make from them. These are the in-between chapters that echo through everything you hear on the show.

In this episode, I share a turning point that reshaped how I think about climate strategy, public engagement, and the emotional root of action. It’s about burnout, misplaced narratives, and the question that kept following me: How do you get people to act?

This one’s for anyone who’s felt like the strategy isn’t landing—or like the real work starts with something more human than persuasion.

There’s more ahead. There always is.
— Molly

—

🧠 Get the takeaways straight to your inbox. My newsletter What I Wish I Knew shares all the research + tools I use in my own life. Sign up at mollykawahata.com/join

—

🔗 View the full show notes at mollykawahata.com/podcast

🎥 Video episodes available on YouTube

—

🔗 Follow for more:
YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn

Send us a text

There’s a version of the story we’ve been told about climate: that it’s too late, that people don’t care, that politics will never catch up. But there’s another version. One where the real problem isn’t apathy—it’s activation.

In this episode, I talk with Nathaniel Stinnett, the founder of the Environmental Voter Project—a behavioral science powerhouse that’s quietly turning millions of non-voting environmentalists into one of the most potent political forces in the country. No persuasion. No messaging wars. Just identity, data, and one simple truth: people act when they believe their role matters.

We talk about:

✅ The wild behavioral science strategy behind EVP's big results
✅ Why most climate messaging backfires—and what actually works
✅ The overlooked power of inevitability and identity to drive action
✅ How EVP’s behavioral science playbook flips identity and FOMO into action
✅ The hidden emotional barrier stopping most social engagement
✅ How campaigns fail by chasing conversion instead of belief
✅ What it means to change a system without waiting for permission

And in the How-To segment, I break down:

→ Why “inevitability” can be more powerful than persuasion—and how to use it
→ How to use identity-based framing to spark action (in yourself and others)
→ The overlooked tactic that could change your team, org, or movement

If you’ve ever felt like the story is already written—this is your reminder it’s not. We are still shaping it. And the tools we need? They’re already here. The question is: how do we use them to keep going.

With quiet hope,
Molly

—

🗳 Learn more or get involved with the Environmental Voter Project:
environmentalvoter.org

Connect with Nathaniel and EVP:

Get Involved | LinkedIn | Instagram | X | Bluesky | Donate

—

🧠 Get the takeaways straight to your inbox. My newsletter What I Wish I Knew shares all the research + tools I use in my own life. Sign up at mollykawahata.com/join

—

🔗 View the full show notes at mollykawahata.com/podcast

🎥 Video episodes available on YouTube

—

🔗 Follow for more:
YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn

—

🕒 Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to Full Spectrum and Climate Action

03:11 The Role of Emotions in Climate Activism

06:01 The Environmental Voter Project: A New Approach

08:55 Understanding Voter Turnout and Climate Priorities

12:14 The Importance of Systemic Change

15:10 Behavioral Science and Voting Behavior

18:01 Identifying Environmental Voters

21:06 The Predictive Modeling Process

23:51 Challenging Stereotypes in Environmentalism

27:08 The Psychology of Voting and Social Norms

29:55 Conclusion and Call to Action

38:44 The Power of Social Identity in Voting

45:51 Behavioral Science and Voting Behavior

52:01 Impact of Local Elections on Climate Policy

58:24 Re

Send us a text

A story about that moment of reckoning: when you finally ask yourself if the thing keeping you afloat is also the thing pulling you under.

Welcome to The Between Series—a series where I take you into moments from my life that shaped the themes we explore in the main episodes, and share the meaning I’m still trying to make from them. These are the in-between chapters that echo through everything you hear on the show.

In today’s story, I used to think the chaos was just part of me. Living with Bipolar II Disorder, I believed hypomania was the tradeoff for creativity, ambition, some kind of spark. Until an accident landed me in the ER laughing, with a brain contusion….and completely untouchable by reality.

We talk a lot about strategy on this show—but the truth is, most of us are building things while still trying to make sense of who we are.

This show isn’t just about answers—it’s about the questions we live through to find them.

There’s more ahead. There always is.

— Molly

📬 Get Full Spectrum's actionable takeaways straight to your inbox. My newsletter What I Wish I Knew shares all the research + tools I use in my own life. Sign up at mollykawahata.com/join

🔗 View the full show notes at mollykawahata.com/podcast

🎥 Video episodes available on YouTube

Follow here for more:

YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn

Send us a text

I used to hate uncertainty. Whenever things felt hard, I’d assume they’d always be this hard. Like something in my brain just decided: this is how it is now. Forever.

But one therapist, one sentence, one metaphor about tenuousness changed how I see it. This episode is about that shift—and how we can train ourselves to make it.

Because hope isn’t about blind optimism. It’s about having a goal, believing you can get there, and finding a way forward—even if the path keeps changing. And if you know how to use it, you’ll get results.

In Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Chan Hellman, we talk about what it actually looks like to use hope as a tool when everything feels like it’s falling apart.

We talk about:

✅ A small decision Chan made during the pandemic that changed everything
✅ The reality of fear-based goals and how to flip them
✅ Why one of the most hopeful systems Chan has studied isn’t a person—it’s a bureaucracy
✅ The unexpected way hope spreads through movements, teams, and recovery groups
✅ What happened when Chan tracked down the teacher who unknowingly saved his life

And then I break it all down in this week’s How-To segment, including:

→ How to use the GAP formula to fix stuck projects, relationship tension, or anything that feels off

→ The three questions to test if your goal is actually working for you

→ Why relationships don’t fail from lack of effort—they fail from missing roadmaps

→ And how to spot a pathways problem in disguise (plus what founders and high-performers tend to get wrong)

This one left me thinking a lot about how we set goals, how we show up for each other, and what kind of future we actually believe we’re allowed to imagine.

— Molly

Connect with Chan:

Website / LinkedIn / TED Talk / Book: Hope Rising

📬 Get the takeaways straight to your inbox. My newsletter What I Wish I Knew shares all the research + tools I use in my own life. Sign up at mollykawahata.com/join

🔗 View the full show notes at mollykawahata.com/podcast

🎥 Video episodes available on YouTube

Follow here for more!

YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn

Timestamps:

00:00 Navigating Uncertainty: A Personal Reflection

05:05 Understanding Hope: A Framework for Change

06:58 Using Hope as a Tool: Personal Stories and Strategies

10:38 The Role of Goals in Restoring Hope

15:25 Fear and Hope: Coexisting Forces

19:06 Collective Hope: Building Community Resilience

24:00 Building a Hope-Centered Organization

26:57 The Power of Hope in Mental Health

30:01 Hope as a Framework for Overcoming Obstacles

33:00 Cultivating Personal Hope in Challenging Times

35:59 The Role of Relationships in Nurturing Hope

37:00 The How-To: The GAP Analysis

Send us a text

I used to think the idea of hope was kind of cringe. Like, “Don’t worry, it’ll all work out”? Please. I couldn’t see past next week, let alone some imaginary better future.

But through a series of events, I realized that hope had been the theme of my life all along. And the science of hope, which is backed by decades of research, changed everything for me. Hope is one of the most impactful tools I have ever found. And it has become my life's purpose and work to get it out to the world.

Hope isn't a feeling—it's not something you have to wait for. Hope is actually a mindset—and mindsets can change.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Chan Hellman, renowned psychologist and researcher who also happens to have one of the most powerful stories I’ve ever heard—from surviving homelessness to becoming the world's leading researcher on the science of hope. This interview profoundly affected me.

We talk about:

• Why hope beats raw talent, optimism, and intelligence as a better predictor of success
• How to use the 3-part GAP formula to change your outcomes
• What to do when you feel hopeless—and why just lowering the time frame of your goal might be the trick
• Why rage might be a sign that you still have hope
• The science behind hope in relationships, athletes, burnout, parenting, and health
• And why moonshot goals (the big, wild ones) might be the best kind—if you have the right conditions

And then I break it all down in this week’s How-To segment, including:
→ The actual rule of thumb for setting stretch goals
→ How to predict a bold move versus a bad idea
→ And a story about ice climbing, self-delusion, and why sometimes your friend has to say “Do what you set out to do” so you’ll finally try.

This one is personal, practical, and honestly—it might be the most useful conversation I’ve had.

Come join us.

— Molly

📬 Get the best takeaways straight to your inbox. My newsletter What I Wish I Knew shares all the research + tools I use in my own life. Sign up at mollykawahata.com/join

🔗 View the full show notes at mollykawahata.com/podcast

🎥 Video episodes available on YouTube

Connect with Chan:

Website | LinkedIn | TED Talk | Book: Hope Rising

Follow us for more:

YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to Full Spectrum Podcast

03:05 The Journey of Hope: Molly's Story

05:55 Understanding Hope: A Scientific Perspective

09:08 The Components of Hope: Goals, Agency, and Pathways

12:05 Hope in Action: Strategies for Nurturing Hope

14:57 Hope's Impact on Relationships and Work

18:07 Hope and Health: The Physical Benefits

20:56 Managing Stress Through Hope

23:48 Mindfulness as a Pathway to Hope

26:55 The Role of Emotions in Hope

30:57 Understanding Hope and Its Biological Basis

35:13 The GAP Framework: Goals, Agency, and Pathways

39:42 Cultivating Hope in Constrained Environments

43:31 Moonshot Goals: Aspiration

Send us a text