KCRW's Life Examined is a one-hour weekly show exploring science, philosophy, faith — and finding meaning in the modern world. The show is hosted by Jonathan Bastian. Please tune in Saturdays at 9 a.m., or find it as a podcast.
Splintering: When a divorce and first child arrive together
Leslie Jamison, writer and author of “Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story,” reflects on the end of her marriage months after the birth of her daughter.
Casper ter Kuile, author and co-founder of Nearness, discusses the meaning and value of building community, coming together, and practical tips for forging meaningful connections.
This week, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Indigenous ecologist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass speaks about the virtues of moss and how one of the smallest and humblest plants on the planet…
‘Re-sparkling’: The science behind embracing variety and rejecting habituation
MIT cognitive scientist and author Tali Sharot delves into the science behind habituation and how breaking up habits and routines can help reset our brains.
This week, Anna Lembke, addiction specialist at Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic , and author of “ Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence ,”…
Inciting joy: Poet Ross Gay on gardening, grief, and basketball
Poet and essayist Ross Gay shares stories of joy and theorizes that the experience of joy might possibly be the best tool for uniting and depolarizing us as a people.
Heartbreak and divorce: reflections on endings, healing, and self-discovery
Los Angeles Times columnist Todd Martens and author Matthew Fray open up about their painful journeys through heartbreak and divorce and offer insights into personal growth and what it…
This week, philosopher and writer Alain de Botton says, simple as it sounds, there's nothing more enduring and attractive in a partner than being fully and completely heard and…
Addicted to distraction: How our world is robbing our ability to pay attention
Data scientist and psychologist Gloria Mark shares the latest research on our diminishing attention spans and explains why our increasingly distracted lives can impact our health and…
This week, clinical psychologist and Buddhist teacher Tara Brach on suffering, the negativity bias and why it’s a good idea not to overly fixate on the negative in our lives.
Facing death without God: Spiritual care in the final hours of a death row inmate
Humanist Chaplain Devin Moss describes his year-long journey providing spiritual care for an atheist death row inmate, leading up to and during his execution carried out by the State…
This week, historian George Makari explores the powerful human emotion of hate, xenophobia and fear of the other and says some people “fall in hate, the way the rest of us fall in…
Authors and scientists Theresa MacPhail and Alanna Collen delve into the history and science of allergies, proposing that a potential solution for allergy sufferers may lie within the…
This week, Iza Kavedžija, a cultural anthropologist who lived in the Kansai region of Japan, while researching the older members of Japanese society, talks about how Japanese culture…
This week, Anna Lembke, addiction specialist at Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic , and author of “ Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence ,”…
This week, Oliver Burkeman, journalist and author of Four Thousand Weeks; Time Management for Mortals explores our relationship with time and asks how our common belief that our…
Authors Katherine May and Bonnie Tsui share their love of water and swimming, from freezing mid-winter plunges to the history and draw of the water’s edge.