We spend a lot of time feeling very serious about seeking meaning in our lives; but is it possible that the secret lies in making the search more fun? Can we say a creative, mutually affirming “yes” more often? And when do we need a self-protective “no”?

This week Andrew and improv comedy star Pippa Evans have lots of fun together as they compare the strategies of improvisational comedy with those of therapy. Perhaps the most interesting lesson from improv: “be in the moment that is, not the one you thought would come along”.

Pippa Evans is a comedian and writer known for her skills in improvisational comedy. She was a core member of the improv team behind the award-winning stage show Showstopper: The Improvised Musical which toured the UK and abroad, and has regularly appeared on BBC radio.

Pippa likes to “use jokes to find connection”, and teaches courses on improvisation and the ways it can help improve our relationships with ourselves and with others. She has recently written a book called Improv Your Life: An Improviser’s Guide To Working With Whatever Life Throws At You.

If You’re Looking for More….

You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50

This week supporters will hear:

• Three Things Pippa Evans knows to be true.
• AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.

Follow Up

Attend Andrew’s men’s retreat near Berlin in June 2026: details here

Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things

Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools

Read Pippa Evans’ book Improv Your Life: An Improviser’s Guide to Working With Whatever Life Throws At You

Take a look at Pippa’s website

Find out more about the Sunday Assembly, a church for non-believers co-founded by Pippa and fellow comedian Sanderson Jones.

Follow Pippa on Twitter and Instagram @IAmPippaEvans

Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.

Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall

There is a coherent and meaningful map for our lives and we are given it one step at a time with the occasional glimpse into the whole picture. That’s the key idea of my witness today...

Sometimes the messages come from bodily instincts – you visit somewhere and you know it is going to be important for you – or your intuition telling something is true or resonates deeply within. At other times, the glimppses come from synchronicity (meaningful coincidences) But most importantly and most consistently the messages come, through our dreams.

Toko-pa Turner is the author of ‘The Dreaming Way: Courting the Wisdom of Dreams. She is a teacher and dreamworker who blends a Sufi Spiritual with a Jungian Psychological approach. In 2001, she founded Dream School from which thousands of students have graduated.

If You’re Looking for More….

You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.

This week supporters will hear:

⭐️Three things Toko-Pa Turner knows to be true.

⭐️AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.

Follow Up

Attend Andrew’s couple’s retreat near Berlin in June 2026 or men's retreat in April 2026: details here

Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things

Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools

Read Andrew’s new Substack newsletter The Meaningful Life, and join the community there.

Toko-pa's website: toko-pa.com

Substack: tokopa.substack.com

Facebook: @TokopaTurner

Instagram: @tokopa

Dream Drops (self-study course): https://toko-pa.com/dream-drops/

Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home (belongingbook.com)

The Dreaming Way: Courting the Wisdom of Dreams (thedreamingway.com)

Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall

Who is your favourite literary character? According to Dr Josh Cohen, an academic working in literary theory and also a psychoanalyst, this can be a very important question.

Josh Cohen’s new book is How to Live. What To Do: In search of ourselves in life and literature. He believes that there are major similarities between psychoanalysis and great literature. For one thing, neither offers simple answers to complex questions.

With books, you have the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of someone else, understand what makes them click and why they do what they do. With analysis, which is generally over several years, you do something similar with your unconscious, and come to understand yourself better.

In this episode Josh and Andrew discuss the books that have stayed with them throughout their lives. They also touch on the essential quality of imagination in childhood, and why we all need to “be more Alice”.

Josh Cohen is a professor of modern literary theory at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a psychoanalyst in private practice. He is the author of many books on aspects of modern life.

If You’re Looking for More….

You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50

This week supporters will hear:

• Three Things Josh Cohen knows to be true.
• AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.

Follow Up

Attend Andrew’s couple’s retreat near Berlin in June 2026 or men's retreat in April 2026: details here

Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things

Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools

Read Josh Cohen’s new book How to Live. What To Do: In search of ourselves in life and literature

Read Josh Cohen’s book Not Working: Why We Have To Stop

Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.

Read Andrew’s book reviews on Goodreads

Get Andrew’s advice on creating change in your life and relationships in his book Wake Up and Change Your Life: How to Survive a Crisis and Be Stronger, Wiser and Happier

Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall