We’re obsessed with “wellness.” But are we actually well?

In this episode, I sit down with Liz Bucar, author of the newly released “Beyond Wellness,” a book that challenges the modern wellness industry and the assumptions we make about self-care and so-called spiritual practices such yoga, mindfulness, sound-baths, cleansing diets, and more.

Somewhere along the way, wellness became something we could buy, optimize, and even perform. But, as Liz argues, feeling better isn’t always the same thing as being well. We talk about the rise of the “spiritual but not religious” identity and what gets lost when we disconnect spirituality from religious traditions, community, and ethical responsibility. What if thinking more seriously about faith, ritual, and meaning could actually help us build better worlds—not just better routines?

This conversation invites us to look a little closer—not just at how we take care of ourselves, but at the systems, values, and stories shaping what we call “wellness.”

What does it actually mean to “go green”?

We often imagine a future powered by clean energy, electric cars, and renewable technologies. But beneath that hopeful vision lies a more complicated story—one that unfolds deep underground. In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Ernest Scheyder, author of The War Below, a book that takes us into the global race for the minerals that make our green future possible. From lithium and cobalt to rare earth elements, these resources power the very technologies we celebrate as sustainable. Scheyder invites us to pause and ask harder questions: If clean energy depends on mining, who pays the environmental and human costs? Can a transition be truly “green” if it relies on extraction that harms communities and ecosystems?

This conversation challenges us to rethink sustainability—not as a simple solution, but as a complex ethical dilemma. Perhaps going green isn’t just about changing what we consume, but about confronting the unseen systems that make our consumption possible.

To learn more about Ernest Scheyder's work please visit his website: https://www.ernestscheyder.com/

A warm welcome to 2026!

What better way to start off the new year than with busting some myths. A lot of us start off the year with making some resolutions - usually around self-improvement / self-optimizing, telling ourselves that this is the year we're going to finally do That Thing, reach that goal weight, get that raise, MAKE IT - and there's nothing inherently wrong with any of that. However, what my guest in today's episode is asking us to question is how are we, as individuals and as a society, defining "success"; what does "making it" or "having it all" even mean, especially for women?

As the former executive editor of Teen Vogue, Samhita Mukhopadhyay was intimately familiar with what it meant to put in 12-hour days at work, sacrifice time with family & friends, ignore one's needs - all in an effort to "live the good life." But she soon realized that the cost of this so-called success was much too high. In her book, "The Myth of Making It: A Workplace Reckoning," Samhita Mukhopadhyay traces the origins of some of the myths around "having it all," "leaning in," and "hustling," and argues for a collective reimagining of workplace culture.

To learn more about Samhita and her work please visit her website at https://www.samhitamukhopadhyay.com/