Welcome to Work in Progress
A new show from Waking Up, hosted by Jonah Primo.
Episode 1 - All Roads Lead to Home
I went to India to celebrate a friend’s wedding, but it didn't quite go to plan. In this episode, we talk pain, partying, and the power of perspective.
Episode 2 - Absolutely Fundamental
Why do I meditate? Why do I examine my life? To become calmer, happier, and less distracted. Oh yeah—and to achieve radical transformation.
Episode 3 - Moment of Disappointment
We’re not always our best selves, but maybe by letting go of past mistakes we reduce future ones. Has Waking Up helped you outgrow unhelpful behaviors or habits? Has your mindfulness journey brought out a better version of yourself?
Episode 4 - Breaks on a Plane
To pass the time as you pass through clouds, you’ve got options. Television or a movie? Pretzels or nuts? Sleep or stretch? Chit-chat or Nintendo? Or you could try nothing at all.
Episode 5 - Renovation Meditation
The stream is surrounded by tropical trees. The waterfall is gentle and clear. The air is filled with birdsong. I am very far from this nice place—meditating very close to a construction site.
Episode 6 - The Goal of Work In Progress
I was ready to achieve perfect enlightenment and equanimity. Then I decided I didn’t want to move to a temple and renounce stuff I enjoy, like ice cream and cake. The goal of Work in Progress is to explore how Waking Up can help me have my cake and mindfully eat it, too.
Episode 7 - The Magic of Rock Hopping
For Amanda, family trips to a mountain creek are for hopping from rock to rock—not from worry to worry. For Ryan, people are miraculous, and anger is senseless. For me, your responses are much appreciated. Thank you!
Episode 8 - Attention Inventions
During a recent stroll through a familiar neighborhood, I paid special attention to home ventilation. The experience was a breath of fresh air! Notice what I did there? If not, don’t worry. Noticing turns out to be an art, and Rob Walker makes it fun to learn.
Episode 9 - Bend It like Buddhism
Australia played Ireland in the Women’s World Cup. I wanted to attend, and I did. I wanted to see the Aussies win, and I did. I wanted to meditate with the many thousands in attendance, and I did. (Well, kind of.) A question for you: What new app features would you like to see?
Episode 10 - Barbieheimer
Am I the type of person who sees popular big-budget films just so I can talk about them later? Well, a member named Nora taught me to notice the tendency to identify as a certain type of person—so I refuse to answer that question! Fine, I’ll answer it. In this episode.
Episode 11 - Visiting My Childhood Home
My childhood house was for sale, but I couldn’t afford it, so I couldn’t re-live in it. My childhood is not for sale, but I can’t time travel, so I can’t re-live it. (The graphics are better in the present, anyway.) Today we discuss nostalgia, memories, and the "unfindability" of the past.
Episode 12 - Reflecting on Reflections
I had a lot of beer. Too many beers. The next day I spent a lot of hours in bed. Too many hours. I spent them listening to a lot of Reflections. No such thing as too many Reflections! Is it weird to binge Waking Up with a hangover?
Episode 13 - Soft Butter
Athletes can like flowers. Nuns can make jokes in sweatpants. Wiggling my toes might not count as intense exercise. A visualization about butter doesn't always need to involve baby monkeys! That last claim’s tough to toast, I know. Verify it for yourself by following the link below—and get super relaxed and snoozy in the process.
Episode 14 - Are Waking Up Teachers Enlightened?
What is enlightenment? Have the Waking Up teachers attained it? These are my questions, but in this episode, I lend them to Nate, Director of Content Strategy at Waking Up.
Episode 15 - Soda on a Submarine
The internet can show me what happens when you pop a can of Coke on the ocean floor and how folks in Finland wash their clothes. I can choose to close my laptop and meditate. I mean, like, I can after just this one video, maybe. This week’s question: What are your unusual Waking Up use cases?
Episode 16 - Listen Carefully
I listened intently to some songs on my music playlists. I hope you do the same! I read intently your feature-requests for Waking Up playlists. You hope our developers do the same!
Episode 17 - City of Angels
Please quiet down. I’m trying to write a description here! Oh, not you, dear reader. I’m talking to the babbler inside my head. Sometimes he insists he needs my attention, when I’d rather focus on, well, writing this description—or on the very cool play I went to recently, and which I discuss in this episode.
Episode 18 - Lunch with a Toddler
Join me and my niece for milk, berries, and infinitely many rainbows.
Episode 19 - Rats and Reality
For pet rodents, the running wheel is always near, often ignored, and keeps cycling around. I guess it’s a lot like what the breath is for me. That is, like the breath used to be for me. Now it’s quite a bit more—thanks to some new sessions from Adyashanti.
Episode 20 - Gazing into the Eyes of the Basil-isk
I had some pesto. Thousands helped make it. Thousands helped package it. Thousands more helped deliver it to my plate. Same goes for the rice and beans that I put the pesto on. And that was just lunch! Thanks to the gazillions who keep me fed, and thanks to Jan Chozen Bays for making me thankful.
Episode 21 - Begin Again
This episoad— This episode is abowt— This episode is about starting over.
Episode 22 - Backyard Contest
Here's a pop quizard. Can you ace it? What’s a garden reptile have in common with Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz? A) They’re both agile. B) They’re both victorious. C) They’re both expert beginners-again. D) All of the above. In today's installment, I serve up the correct answer. If it slithers away from you, well, just begin again the episode.
Episode 23 - Globetrotting
I told my calendar that soon I'll be very far away from my cozy, familiar bed. But I haven’t decided whether I’ll be on a vacation or a visit. Maybe an expedition? A journey? A pilgrimage, perhaps!
Episode 24 - Diving into the Unknowable
I mentioned I’d be traveling to Europe. I was planning to take the train, but everybody seems to think there’s no line from Australia to Ireland. Too bad. I was excited to try something new. I’ve never ridden a water rail, don’t quite understand the hover mechanics, and was kind of in-a-good-way nervous about it.
Episode 25 - Hitchhiker's Guide to Catastrophe
Thirty hours of non-stop walking made me very hungry and not very careful.
Episode 26 - Eating Mindfully
If I were a caveman, I’d try to win you over with a lewd cave painting. If I were the host of Work in Progress, I’d try to win you over with an episode about how being mindful about eating can decrease the amount of calories you consume, and increase your enjoyment of them. And that episode would be this one, in which Gitti wins me over with her own mindful eating experience.
Episode 27 - Whale Watching
If majestic sea giants are twirling before your eyes, listen to this later.
Episode 28 - AI Does It Better. Who Cares?
I’m putting my digital art portfolio up for auction, and I’m starting the bidding pretty high. After all, it took me a long time to learn how to do the art, a long time to learn to use the technology that I used to do the art, and then a long time to actually do the art. And all my time and effort was rewarded. My paintings are, like, way better than similarly-styled AI insta renderings!
Episode 29 - The Art of (Re)Invention
This episode was fully produced in every possible way by a new AI tool called MoreCreativeThanYouGPT. Try listening to it with BetterListenerThanYouGPT, another new AI tool. SolveEveryConceivableProblemGPT also seems cool, but apparently it’s not out yet. Guess in the meantime I’ll have to use MyOwnSolutionsGP-ME, which, when mindfully prompted, can actually be pretty enjoyable.
Episode 30 - Can You Feel the Love, AI?
In 2003, Blockbuster charged me $17.53 because I accidentally tangled the tape of my cassette of The Lion King. I should have refused to pay and instead invested the amount in DeepMind, which makes AlphaFold, technology that untangles proteins to create cures. If I had, I’d be richer than a king...of the jungle. I’m kidding: Lions aren’t even that rich.
Episode 31 - The Terminal
At Dubai International Airport, humor flies high above language barriers, attentional focus flies high above ambient busy-ness, and designer handbag prices fly high above my budget.
Episode 32 - How to Speak Gooder
Michael learned to let go of an incessant need to speak up and share opinions. Rodrigo learned that conversational silence can be un-awkwardly enjoyable. I learned that my personal brand depends less on how clever I sound in public than on, like, what kind of person I am. As always, thanks for writing in!
Episode 33 - Un-Relishing Results
I like to achieve my goals, win soccer matches, and ace exams—but the thrill of success seems to vanish faster than it takes me to mindlessly slam my celebratory milkshake. So my new goal is to use mindfulness to help me relish the process of pursuing my goals.
Episode 34 - A Mindset of Energy and Wonder
Steph, a new mom, realizes her 7-month-old is pretty wise. Sam Harris, a former skier, realizes he might never ski again. Jonah Primo, a jetlagged traveler, realizes he has a lot to learn from Steph and Sam.
Episode 35 - Perfume
Spoiler alert: In this episode, I reveal some details about the novel Perfume, by Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. Spoiler alert: I also reveal some details from Sam’s lesson The Logic of Practice. Spoiler alert: There’s some spoiled cod on my meditation cushion. I’m using it for my spoiled-cod meditation. Spoiler alert. All those spoiler alerts are related.
Episode 36 - Blowin' in the Wind
I saw a rock and roll legend perform in a packed ancient Sicilian amphitheater, located on top of a mountain, under a full moon. It was an evening I hadn’t planned—and won’t forget. I’m rarely so spontaneous, which makes me wonder: How many similarly magical experiences have my social calendar and workout schedule deprived me of? Too many, I suspect.
Episode 37 - Whole Lotta Self
Yesterday, I told you that I saw the lead singer of Led Zeppelin perform in Sicily. I lied. I actually saw Robert Plant perform in Sicily. Sure, Robert Plant was the lead singer of Led Zeppelin, but now he’s a different person. As I watched Plant be a new version of himself on stage, I realized that I, too, am not the same person I was even yesterday.
Episode 38 - Queueing Theory
There’s a line for this episode. You’re VIP and don’t have to wait in it.
Episode 39 - Apologies and Forgiveness
This show is called Work in Progress because I’m a work in progress. That means that I make a lot of mistakes, which means that I’ve gotten pretty good at apologizing. I’d like to think I’m also pretty good at forgiving. Sometimes—just sometimes—I can even forgive without first getting an apology.
Episode 40 - Vivid, Facinating, Mysterious
Catania is a port city in Sicily where fishmongers beam joy, strangers greet one another like relatives, and everybody has a beloved friend named Antonio. It’s also where I realize the novelty of it all is probably as misleading as it is exciting.
Episode 41 - The Basic Stuff
Everything is made of something, and whatever that something is, it’s made of something else, which in turn is—you guessed it!—made of something else. It’s an infinitely cool concept that I learned from Alan Watts—and from the famous why-phase school of philosophers, AKA super curious young children.
Episode 42 - Ice, Ice, Baby
I’m in a skeptical mood. I’ve got some assumptions to challenge! Might cats prefer soda to milk? Might December be the hottest month of the year? Might a fair price for iced coffee be about the price of ice and the price of coffee combined?
Episode 43 - One Is Enough
Drew wrote in about fresh baked goods, his sweet-toothed daughter, and maybe “the most valuable lesson” he’s ever learned. The story is so delicious that it gets its own episode.
Episode 44 - Trains and Training
All aboard the Your Thoughts Express. Next stop? Who knows! Just get on and see where you end up. Maybe you’ll like the destination, but you probably won’t. Not ideal? Then take the WIP Express instead. Next stop? Joseph Goldstein teaches us how to improve the Your Thoughts Express.
Episode 45 - The Snowball Effect
“From the repetition of thoughts and emotions, it becomes easier to have that same pattern of thoughts and emotions arise again.” —Joseph Goldstein “From the repetition of espressos and Red Bulls, it becomes easier then to have that same pattern of caffeine dependance arise again.” —Jonah Primo
Episode 46 - Benefits of Boredom
I use media blockers to help me manage my addiction to YouTube. I use Michael Easter’s new series to help me manage my repulsion to boredom. I use mindfulness to help me realize when my thoughts wander during meditation. I use Michael Easter’s new series to help me realize that wandering thoughts have an upside.
Episode 47 - TikTok Is a Helluva Drug
Digital media is getting faster. Videos start faster. The dialog is faster. The subtitles are faster. The comedic timing is faster. And if you want, you can make the playback speed faster. I think all this is making me a worse croissant customer. These days I seem to want my pastry served faster. Fortuntanty, mindfulness helps me slow down by catching impatient thoughts…faster.
Episode 48 - Tow-Truck Tribulations
It was a very hot day, and the secluded Sicilian beach with shaded grottos and crystal-clear water would have been a lovely place to be stranded. I decided to get stranded somewhere else: on a busy road with no shade, no tire pressure, no spare, no tools, and no Italian.
Episode 49 - Triggering
I don’t mind most call-waiting songs. There’s one, however, that I mind quite a bit. How much? It literally gives me nightmares. The song itself is actually very good. It’s just got some very not good associations. Separating the music from my conditioned response to it isn’t always easy, but, with Joseph Goldstein’s help, it’s getting easier.
Episode 50 - Listening Guide for Long Hauls
Imaginary balls bounce around my skull. Dan bounces on his trampoline. Unnoticed thoughts bounce us around our lives. A promotional itinerary bounces me and my fellow sleepless discount travelers from international airport to international airport.
Episode 51 - Letters to Strangers
Tony The Taxi Driver guided us through castle ruins with sun-setting panoramic views. Guy At The Sports Bar proved not only an insightful and like-minded soccer and rugby fan, but a very mindful one, too. Rob Walker helped me turn fuzzy recollections into vivid and meaningful ones.
Episode 52 - Stargazing
In this episode, I offer a short guided experiment. Give it a try. You might find, as I did, that imaginary bright light can illuminate some actual insights about the nature of thought.
Episode 53 - Reversing Perspective
Do mountaintops touch clouds, or do clouds touch mountaintops? Are patterns in the night sky made by the stars, or do they appear in the empty space between the stars? Is Lisbon the beautiful but normal city I beheld walking up my hilltop apartment’s staircase, or is it the whimsically fairytale city I beheld walking down it? The answer is yes.
Episode 54 - Coping with News of Catastrophe
Sometimes the news is good. Sometimes it’s bad. Sometimes it's devastating. Here are some courses that can help: Confronting Injustice Mindful CBT
Episode 55 - Flirting with Magical Realism
In this episode of The Twilight Zone, Jonah and his friends journey through the labyrinthine streets of an ancient island. What begins as an evening stroll morphs into a midnight odyssey with eerie voices, unsettling murals—and a cute little cat. Has the gang stumbled into another world? Tune in to find out.
Episode 56 - Fleeting Friendships
At a recent wedding, my partner Issy and I hit it off with a Hungarian couple. We met. We joked. We laughed. We philosophized. We danced. We hugged. We parted. It was an evening of best-friendship—minus the best friends.
Episode 57 - Straight from the Horse's Mouth
Am I the host of Work in Progress? Only when I’m hosting Work in Progress. Am I a musician? Only when I’m making music. Am I an almost-famous actor? Only when I’m trying to impress strangers. Am I a fan of Jane Hirshfield? Yes.
Episode 58 - Letting Go
A friendly game of poker taught me to part with my chips. More importantly, it taught me to part with my effort to control certain situations. Sometimes the most rewarding way to play your cards is to just let them go, allowing the game and its players to be as they will.
Episode 59 - Out of Sync
I may march to the beat of my own drum, but I don’t march alone.
Episode 60 - Rude Interruptions
In today’s episo— Issy, turn down the music. I’m doing important Work in Progress stuff here. In today’s episo— Issy, the food is here. Will you get the door? I’m busy! Ahem. In today’s episo— Issy, remind me to tell you the joke I heard today. It’s a good one! In today’s episode, I remember that music, food, and good jokes bring me joy. I’ll finish this Work in Progress stuff later.
Episode 61 - Incomprehensible
I don’t agree with pirates, but I get them. They like treasure, so they pillage. I don’t agree with earthquakes, but I get them. Tectonic plates slip and slide, so the earth gets shaky. But some stuff I just don’t get. And when the stuff I don’t get gets me down, I get my ears on David Whyte.
Episode 62 - A Spoonful of Sadness
I was feeling blue. The world was looking gray. The big-city lights helped me brighten my mood. A small-time band helped me shake off the shade. This episode’s about re-discovering the colors of life (and possibly first-time discovering the next Coldplay).
Episode 63 - A Happy Surprise
Here’s a thought about gratitude: It’s a remedy for sadness. Here’s a heads-up: You may want to adjust your volume for this episode.
Episode 64 - Can Anger Be Useful?
Imagine all the people, livin' mindfully You may say I'm a dreamer For thinking level-headed calm Can bring us peace and justice And the world will be as one
Episode 65 - The Queen's Gambit
Diane Hamilton considers how channeling negative emotion can help, for purposes of personal growth. Melissa considers joining a chess club, for purposes of personal growth. I consider switching up my long-standing breakfast routine, for purposes of personal growth.
Episode 66 - The Passing of Roland Griffiths
Roland Griffiths was a revered scientist and a committed meditator. He was a mentor to a generation of researchers and a leader with groundbreaking initiative. He was an inspiration, and his life’s work will continue to inspire us—and likely millions more.
Episode 67 - Surrender
An Australian’s guide to celebrating in America: “Surrender” is a scary word. Instead, gently release all your control. “Giving up” is a disempowering experience. Rather, gracefully accept the situation. “Puking” is an unpleasant and smelly bodily process. Alternatively, decisively un-digest all the steak and beer you’ve been forced—I mean "encouraged"—to consume.
Episode 68 - Deifying Teachers
Accepting what you can’t control doesn’t mean embracing what you don’t understand. Exploring a practice doesn’t mean following a movement. Valuing a teaching doesn't mean worshiping the human being who taught it. Listening to WIP doesn’t mean clicking the link in the description (but I recommend it).
Episode 69 - Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
Had Sam Harris not taken psychedelics, he may not have pursued meditation. Had he not pursued meditation, he’d never have created Waking Up. Had he never created Waking Up, Work in Progress wouldn’t exist. If Work in Progress didn’t exist, I wouldn’t have this opportunity to share Jim’s encouraging story about psychedelics-assisted therapy.
Episode 70 - Exploration of a Bad Trip
If a scary monster’s at the pub, should I pet its back or rub its belly?
Episode 71 - Jet Lag Meditation
During a bout of insomnia, I want to go to sleep but can’t, because my mind’s racing. When I’m jet lagged, I want to run a marathon but can’t, because marathons are, like, super long. In both cases, it is dark and I’m awake. For such occasions, I invented a lights-off, eyes-open meditation. I call it “Mindfulness Fun with Miscellaneous Terrestrial Machines.”
Episode 72 - Out of Practice
Aussies don’t see eye-to-eye on everything, but most agree that Tim Tams, our national biscuit, are both scrumptious and properly munched in moderation. I, Jonah Primo, regular mindfulness meditator, agree. I, Jonah Primo, woefully out of practice mindfulness meditator, have a stomach ache, a guilty conscience, and a table full of Tim Tam crumbs.
Episode 73 - Back (AGAIN) to Basics
Meditation fell out of my routine, and my baseline serenity took a hit. Fortunately, the Dailies are helping me take care of unhelpful thoughts. A big branch fell out of Debbie’s tree, and her new car almost took a hit. Fortunately, a friendly arborist helped her take care of unhelpful wood.
Episode 74 - Never Fight the Current
The country is Mexico. The sun is bright. The beach is empty. There, at sea, is Florian, our helpless hero, alone, caught in a riptide, displaying an impressive amount of serenity as he drifts farther from shore—and closer to the great deep blue unknown. What happens next? You’ll have to buy a ticket. Or I guess you could just listen to this episode.
Episode 75 - Learning in the Lift
When your curious mind wanders to a distant topic while meditating, that's okay. Remember: Adyashanti says that your attitude is the important thing. When your curious child wanders to a distant isle while shopping, that's okay. Remember: Zana says that just having had your child agree to come along is the important thing.
Episode 76 - Losing an Acquaintance
I didn’t know Charlie very well. However, I knew him well enough to know that he had friends, made jokes, formed plans—that he was a human being, just like me. I regret not having taken the time to get to know him better, and I hope this feeling inspires me to act with more presence, curiosity, and care around everyone I encounter.
Episode 77 - Network Failure
The news called it an internet outage. I called it a forced silent retreat. Confirm my appointment? Service unavailable. Listen to a podcast? Unable to initialize. Message Issy about my day? Application not responding. Check out a new album on Spotify? Failure to load. Rediscover some of life’s simple pleasures? Success!
Episode 78 - More Drowning-Related Insights
Malcolm, a Waking Up user, went to Mexico, got caught in a riptide, surrendered to it, felt a wash of serenity—and then was saved by two surfers. I want to join the serenity club, but I don’t have Mexico plans, so James Low is helping me float with the tide right where I am.
Episode 79 - Loss and Guilt: A Member's Story
Jeff and his wife abruptly lost Ernie, their beloved brindle-pit mix. Jeff’s grief, however, gave way to surprising calm, which gave way to surprising feelings of guilt, which gave way to surprising feats of mindfulness, i.e. noticing thoughts as thoughts.
Episode 80 - Life, Death, and Control
If you take your love tough, your bullshit absent, and your words un-minced—then take your theory lessons from James Low. He’s one of my favorite teachers in the app because he uses real-life examples and poetic phrases, while still, somehow, making it plain: You are not in control.
Episode 81 - My Missing iPad
I'm a serial loser of valuables: watches, phones, polarized sunglasses. So I swore off fancy stuff—until I caved and bought an iPad. Then, you betcha, lost it too. Now I’m in a loop of shame and frustration. And indecision: Is it really gone? Do I buy another? Will I lose it? How do I not lose it?
Episode 82 - Fly Fishing
The guy on my block fixes up his old car, all weekend, every weekend. My friend's dad collects clutter and transforms it into heaps of fishing bait he’ll probably never use. Chris, a fellow Waking Up user, tears his waders but stitches up his morning with mindfulness and perspective. You wonder what waders are, so you listen to this episode to find out.
Episode 83 - Thank You
Jayasara says: “First find peace within, and you will see this inner peace reflected everywhere else.” The world is not as peaceful as it could be or as it should be. The world is not as peaceful as it will be—thanks to all of you who are, little by little, becoming more mindful, and as a result, little by little, reflecting mindfulness everywhere else.
Episode 84 - Walking the Plank
My friend and I went to lunch. He was sick. I was hungry. He didn’t want to spit on my untouched meal, but he did anyway. I didn’t want to eat it, but I did anyway. Sometimes you’ve got to pretend everything's fine to realize that it actually is.
Episode 85 - My Missing iPad: Member Responses
Florian, Millika, Cindy, and Zach—thanks for the very good advice. Mom—thanks for the spare iPad.
Episode 86 - Did You Get To Be 20?
Some of us spent our 21st year of life stressing out over exams and sports. Amanda Knox, and too many others, didn't have that privilege.
Episode 87 - Taking “Self-Care” Seriously?
In this episode, I recognize the story I've been telling myself about fluffy self-care-y sounding advice—and then I replace it with a story where I understand that if the advice in question helped a 20-year-old get through wrongful imprisonment in an Italian jail, “fluffy” is probably the wrong adjective.
Episode 88 - Extreme Emotions
Sometimes when I feel like meditating, my mind feels like throwing a fit instead. In these all-too-frequent situations, here’s what I do: 1. Look for blue objects. 2. Multiply numbers in my head. 3. Take 10 breaths. 4. Explore the sensory experience of what I’m feeling. 5. Give credit to Waking Up teachers for helping me not need to do the above things as often as I used to.
Episode 89 - Mindful Martial Arts
For the last year, Pablo’s been living in rural Spain, tending to his garden, his animals, and his mindfulness practice. A recent trip to the city, though, gave him the opportunity to tend to his love for jiu-jitsu—and to the feelings of his sparring partner. Turns out the line between toughness and sensitivity is as illusory as the self.
Episode 90 - What's on the Waking Up Horizon
So far WIP has been an every-weekday show. That’s made many members feel like it’s tough to keep up. So, starting next week, we’re easing back to two episodes weekly. Let’s see what happens!
Episode 91 - Grass Is Greener
It’s one thing to want to live a certain lifestyle. It’s another thing to be envious of the life of a specific person. It’s yet another thing to have that specific person respond to your envy directly—by making you realize that the life you actually want is the one you’re living.
Episode 92 - This Is Our Grass
True: I can improve my life and make progress. Also true: My circumstance in this very instant simply is as it is. Also-also true: With acceptance and presence, my circumstance in this very instant can be the basis for profound freedom.
Episode 93 - Love for ALL beings
It’s not easy for me to have loving and kind thoughts for people I don’t like—but I’m getting better at it, thanks to philosophical determinism and metta meditation.
Episode 94 - Extending Kindness to Killers
People who do very bad things may have chosen to do those things, but did they choose to choose to do them? And are these people capable of experiencing very good things, like love, kindness, and compassion?
Episode 95 - Holiday Wishes
May we move past arguments swiftly and always be willing to begin again. May we be kind in the kitchen. May we abandon our preconceptions of each other and of ourselves and use that to be open to new opportunities while forgiving past vendettas. May Australia win the Boxing Day Test match.
Episode 96 - Metta from Members
Robin inspires me to see everyone as important characters in the movie of humanity. Tim inspires me to sprinkle small, impromptu metta moments throughout the day. I (try to) inspire everyone to join my new movement: Marginal Gratitude.
Episode 97 - End-of-Year Reflections
My gift to you this holiday season is this super-duper Christmas-New Year’s special. Enjoy—and may you be merry!
Episode 98 - Rainy Musings
If life gives you hail, use it to chill your Chardonnay. If life gives you lighting, use it to supercharge your tennis match. If life gives you torrential rain, use it to refract traffic light into mesmerizing streaks of color. If 2024 gives you strange weather, use it to be more mindful.
Episode 99 - What We Can Control
Knowledge is power, but there’s lots of knowledge I don’t have: solutions to global conflicts, effects of emerging technologies, outcomes of elections, the weather next week. Mindfulness is also power, and there’s lots I can be mindful of: aboriginal rock carvings, scurrying lizards, sparkling surf, the weather right now.
Episode 100 - Beating Up on Ourselves
Ciara made the most of her holiday Norovirus experience—with some help from William Irvine. It’s never a good time to get sick. It’s always a good time to be grateful.
Episode 101 - Our Prehistoric Brains
My mind evolved to think it knows me much better than it actually does, so maybe I should stop taking what it says so seriously.
Episode 102 - Ambition and Stress
It’s January, which means I’m back to the hustle and bustle of real life, which means I have more to accomplish than time to accomplish it—which means I’m going to need to implement a bunch of stress-management techniques.
Episode 103 - Stress Reduction Techniques
Last week I spoke about having a lot to do. Sometimes, though, the wisest thing to do is just to be less stressed out. For these all-too-frequent cases, Seth Gillihan and Michael Easter have some very wise advice.
Episode 104 - Members Respond: Stress Reduction Techniques
Lena de-dresses by being proactive. George de-stresses via gamification. Dave de-stresses through box breathing. Stephen de-stressed with long hugs. Thanks for writing in!
Episode 105 - Wedding Planning Rollercoaster
Jonah Primo’s stages of wedding planning: Stage 1: Underestimate the complexity of the task. Stage 2: Get really stressed out and irrationally emotional. Stage 3: Decide the stress just isn’t worth it. Simplify everything. Stage 4: Remember what’s important—having fun with those you love. Stage 5: Practice your dance moves.
Episode 106 - The Search for Metta
The Waking Up search function has become a much more powerful tool—but maybe not quite as powerful as metta meditations, which are evergreen, dynamic, and full of possibility.
Episode 107 - The WIP Horizon
Tune in to WIP on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. As of next Monday, we’re moving to three episodes per week. Tune in whenever you want to your favorite Moments. As of a while ago, you can save (and even rename) those that really change your perspective. Tune in to this episode now to hear about some of my own favorite Moments.
Episode 108 - How to Have Fun as a Grown Up
I’ve got lots to learn, so concise, no-nonsense, efficiently-transmitted lessons are useful. Know what else is useful? Laughing your butt off.
Episode 109 - The Pursuit of Fame
I’m not Justin Bieber, but if I were, I wouldn’t be able to have a burger at my local chicken shop, wearing way-too-baggy pants, not wearing shoes, without police escorts, not having to worry about a mob of adolescent strangers watching me spill my ketchup. Being able to spill your ketchup discreetly is a privilege that’s very easy to take for granted.
Episode 110 - Glass Half Full
Robert Waldinger helped me realize that my brain tends to look for what's negative—but that I don’t have to. I'm alive, which means that even my daily grievances are opportunities for awe and gratitude.
Episode 111 - The Importance of Dancing
If you ever need a reason to keep on going, just remember that dancing exists—and it didn't have to.
Episode 112 - Navigating Depression
Maybe your mood is good. It’s a great time to be mindful. Maybe your mood is not good. It’s a great time to be mindful. More likely, your mood is in flux, quietly shifting without you noticing. It’s a great time to be mindful.
Episode 113 - Dear Baby Girl
Joel’s story is about his brave niece, a busy ER waiting room, and a small baby we hope is still with us.
Episode 114 - Competitiveness
Uncompromising dedication to victory is useful in the Super Bowl, the Tour de France, and topping the leaderboard at Zone 3 Laser Tag. Uncompromising dedication to being present and having fun is useful for weekend games of frisbee tennis, enjoying your friends' birthday parties, and pretty much everything else in life.
Episode 115 - Do We Need Data to Support Meditation?
Why did I start meditating? Was it because a friend recommended it? Was I intrigued by Buddhism? Was I looking for something to replace my power pose regimen with? Or was it because the cold-hard fact-based number-crunched carefully-conducted research said that meditation was good for me? Probably that last one.
Episode 116 - What the Science Says
In this episode I use phrases like “sensory cortex,” “mode network,” and “confounding variables.” I also quote Jonas Kaplan, who actually knows what those phrases mean—and why they should matter to meditators like me.
Episode 117 - The Science of Feeling Good
Turn jitters from anxiety into jitters from excitement. Turn things you take for granted into things you take down in your gratitude journal. Turn your kindness toward others into kindness toward your emotions.
Episode 118 - Happiness Rankings
Shinzen Young’s history is eclectic and multidisciplinary. His system of meditation is quantifiable and systematic. His conversation with Sam is encouraging and useful.
Episode 119 - My Wedding Reflection
I didn’t want a whole lot for my wedding. I wanted meat-free pizza. Did I get it? No. I wanted serene weather. Did I get it? No. I wanted a fairytale veil-lifting moment with my bride. Did I get it? No. I wanted the best night of my life. Did I get it? Yes.
Episode 120 - Trancendental Dancing
My wedding party and I aren’t the only ones who think dancing is way more than a weekend pastime. Janet shares a joyful memory of watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance on screen. Joe shares a sad story about his late brother, whose dancing was irresistibly unencumbered. Janet and Joe, thanks for writing in.
Episode 121 - Extreme Sports
Michael Easter says that doing new things enhances awareness. My new wife and I snowboarded down new slopes, at new high speeds, attempting new half-pipe tricks, pulsing with new stores of adrenaline—and achieving new states of consciousness. Still, I think meditation might be a more reliable (and much safer) path to awakening.
Episode 122 - Pilgrims and Adventurers
I like to get out and about, to see new things, to venture off, to be in new places. I like to travel—but what kind of traveler am I? That may depend on how many pictures I take, why I take them—and how much I learn from what those pictures are of.
Episode 123 - What I Learned in a Bath
I immersed myself in a Japanese geothermal bath. It made me hyper-aware of myself—and led to ugly feelings of alienation. Pico Iyer immersed himself in a Japanese art exhibit. It made him hyper-aware of his surroundings—and led to beautiful sentences of prose.
Episode 124 - Here, Now
I am not always 100% mindful when I meditate—but I am 100% in existence. This is worth taking time to appreciate, Joan Tollifson says. Joan Tollifson is worth taking time to appreciate, I say.
Episode 125 - Rorschach Tests
Human perception is one big demonstration of our only-sometimes-useful tendency to mistake actual things for ideas of things. My sense of self is one such mistaken idea.
Episode 126 - The Stories We Tell Ourselves
There are good stories and bad stories. Good stories enlighten us and entertain us. Bad stories do the opposite: They fool us and make us miserable. Don’t tell yourself bad stories. Do listen to Joan Tollifson.
Episode 127 - Stranger Danger
I met two Waking Up members in Japan: a South African who brews almond liqueurs in Boston and a Dutch skydiving videographer. Robert Waldinger and Arthur Brooks say social connections like these are important. Creating them, though, isn’t always easy. Another Waking Up member, Scott, has a simple technique that can help.
Episode 128 - Golden Bubbles
A Jayasāra visualization made me feel a bit silly. It also made me feel less worried and better rested.
Episode 129 - Finding Beauty in Ugliness
I’m neither a wistful poet nor a tortured artist, but I’ve recently become a bit less cynical—and better able to appreciate the marvelous in the mundane. Thanks, Joan Tollifson.
Episode 130 - An Interactive WIP Episode
Do these quotes express spiritual insights—or deviant thoughts?
Episode 131 - Playlists Have Arrived!
Today we look at your most requested feature, and some of the playlisting possibilities.
Episode 132 - Total Physical Implosion
Yesterday I was sitting at my desk and typing. That’s it. Was I wearing a helmet and knee pads? No. Should I have been? Apparently. Is the world unpredictable? Extremely.
Episode 133 - Can’t Help Falling in Love With Pain
I threw out my back. I threw my body into bed. I threw the ensuing hours into a Henry Shukman binge. He taught me to throw my mind into greater truths and my heart into the pain.
Episode 134 - Should We Embrace Our Introversion?
Would I rather watch TV alone on the toilet or create glorious memories with cherished company? It’s a tough question. Should I watch TV alone in a bathroom or create glorious memories with cherished company? It’s a rhetorical question.
Episode 135 - Bottoms of Our Feet
How many steps does it take to get to a state of awakening? For me, it’s 12,000 and counting.
Episode 136 - Work in Progress Updates!
I introduce a new WIP Playlist. I introduce a new WIP format. I introduce a not-new WIP guest: Nate, who, as Waking Up’s Director of Content, introduces us to lots of new teachers and lessons.
Episode 137 - Chat with Nate: Do We Need Formal Practice?
Nate and I discuss the difference between formal and informal practice—and why we need both.
Episode 138 - Bannable Offenses
Knowing when to attack and when to step back is key to playing soccer. It’s also key to being reinstated in your soccer league so you can keep playing soccer.
Episode 139 - If I Could Restart My Life
I could have been a tennis star. I could have been a math prodigy. I could have made a fortune. I could have saved the world. I am grateful that I no longer suffer when I think about all this.
Episode 140 - How to Handle Regret
Kiran's Setiya simple words may express my favorite idea in the app: “Embrace your losses as fair payment for the surplus of being alive.” I’m not the pianist I know I could have been. That’s fair payment for all the spectacular things I've done instead.
Episode 141 - So You Didn't Buy Bitcoin?
We can dwell on missed opportunities. It won’t bring knowledge of where we’d actually be had things gone differently. It will bring painful feelings of regret. We can focus on what currently is. It will bring relief from regret. It will help us appreciate new opportunities.
Episode 142 - Expert Sleep Advice
It’s important to prioritize sleep. It’s important to prioritize exercise. It’s important to prioritize relaxation. It’s important to prioritize social activity. It’s important to prioritize alone time. It's impossible to prioritize it all.
Episode 143 - The Nature of Insomnia
Lots can keep me up at night: Too much coffee. Too late a workout. Too bright a room. Too much noise. Insomnia is a fundamentally different problem—and it calls for a fundamentally different solution.
Episode 144 - My Ultimate Sleep Hack
Metta is the Pali word for “loving-kindness.” It’s also the Jonah Primo word for “Stop focusing on my own problems for a friggin’ minute and wish others well—and then enjoy the happy side-effect of finally getting to sleep."
Episode 145 - The Train
I wasn’t mindful of the time, and I missed my train, which I usually catch. I took the opportunity to be mindful of the station, and I caught its quirky charm, which I usually miss.
Episode 146 - Warm, Cozy Dreams
If I never write my novel, I can be sure it won’t suck. If I don’t form any fitness goals, I can’t fail to meet them. If I don’t make difficult decisions, I can’t regret having made the wrong ones.
Episode 147 - The Art of Decision Making
The paradox of choice is the idea that the more options we have, the harder it is for us to make a decision. For example, there’s lots of content on Waking Up. What should you listen to? It's a tough choice. How about an Oliver Burkeman lesson on making tough choices?
Episode 148 - The Natural Wakefulness of Life Itself
Once in a while, there’s some mysterious phrase in a lesson—and for some mysterious reason in my head, it just sticks with me. Then later, something unexpected makes everything clear. Kelly Boys provided one such phrase. A very bad movie provided one such moment of unexpected clarity.
Episode 149 - The Eye of the Storm
I’d been drinking too much coffee. I’d been watching too much news. I’d been forming too many opinions. I’d been reaching for my phone too often. It was a chaotic spiral of bad habits, and I needed an intervention. Jayasāra provided it.
Episode 150 - Don't Curb Your Enthusiasm for Practice
Curb Your Enthusiasm has ended, which means that my relationship with its characters has too. They weren’t real, but my mixed-up feelings of loss and confusion are—and they feel pretty, pretty, pretty weird.
Episode 151 - Chat with Nate: Training Compassion
Nate and I discuss Metta. How do you define it? Why is it important? How do you practice it? What are the main challenges in doing so? How do you overcome them?
Episode 152 - The Breakthrough
For a long time, I’ve believed that nobody should suffer. It’s been part of my moral philosophy, and I arrived at it intellectually. Now I feel—fully and deeply—that nobody should suffer. It’s part of my worldview, and I arrived at it through metta practice.
Episode 153 - Common Humanity
Last week I spoke about my toxic spiral into toxic social-media-comment sections. Earlier this week, I spoke about how metta helped me realize that, ultimately, we’re all family. Today, I speak about how this realization has made my social media spirals much less toxic and much more compassionate.
Episode 154 - Moments Before Death
Peak mindfulness can come suddenly, unexpectedly, and in freefall.
Episode 155 - American Beauty
Last episode, I spoke about the sense of freedom that can come when your car is in freefall. A different sense of freedom can come when your life is in freefall. When you’re totally out of control, nothing can control you—and that feels like liberation. It isn’t.
Episode 156 - How to Be Where You Are
Sometimes I meditate to get into a different state of mind—to find calm or perspective. Adyashanti calls this the ultimate sleight of hand: “I'm going to be right here, and now, and it damn well better not look like it does right now when I get here." Turns out that actually being present means not trying to escape, well, what’s present.
Episode 157 - Seeing Through the Fog
I had a lot of insights at 2 AM. I got up to record them. I got not a lot of sleep that night. I felt a lot of tiredness the next day. Jayasāra helped me turn that tiredness into a lot of insights.
Episode 158 - Remembering to Have Fun
It’s easy to have fun in fun situations. It takes mindfulness to have fun in very unfun situations. It takes poetry to turn memories of very unfun situations into fun WIP episodes.
Episode 159 - As Long as We Need
Hugh was in a serious car accident that lasted only seconds. But to Hugh those brief moments expanded to long enough for him to process and accept what he thought was inevitable. This seems like a common theme in near-death experiences. When we suspect a moment is our final one, it becomes as long as we need it to be.
Episode 160 - More than Enough
I had expected an evening filled with pre-planned enjoyable activities. Those activities were derailed by unexpected chores and errands. Those chores and errands made me feel unexpectedly…content.
Episode 161 - Force
Jayasāra helped me realize that I'm not at war with my mind. I'm more like a friend out to coffee with it, politely suggesting healthy lifestyle changes—but respecting its boundaries and not being too pushy or preachy.
Episode 162 - My Social Media Fast
It’s been a while since I’ve unplugged for this long. I feel both more ignorant and more wise. More anxious and more calm. More dispassionate and more volatile. More available and more busy. More alone with my thoughts and more mindful of them. It’s been a mixed bag.
Episode 163 - Mental Distortions
In a Moment, Sam says: “We mistake our mere attitudes for knowledge about the way the world is.” Here’s how I think about it: We get raw footage from life, and we believe our minds are using it to produce truth-seeking Ken Burns-style documentaries. All too often, though, we end up with the Bachelorette, because it’s flashier and easier to watch.
Episode 164 - The Static
Maria shares a powerful story. She was “simply existing,” and it was “incredibly peaceful"—a “360-degree experience” characterized by acceptance. She was not meditating. She was not tripping. She was almost dying.
Episode 165 - Hearing from You
Aaron shares his thoughts on a story about the end of one’s journey in life. Dave shares his answer to the question of how to begin one’s journey on the Waking Up app.
Episode 166 - An Invitation
Janet congratulates me on my ongoing social media fast, i.e. avoiding the digital-world algorithms that bait and polarize us. I congratulate you on possibly accepting my invitation, i.e. joining me in the real-world outdoors to meditate and share insights.
Episode 167 - Comparing Yourself to Yourself
In a recent 10K race, it was me vs. me. Bad news: I lost. Good news: I won. Bad thought: “I’m upset because I’m not as fast as I was at my fastest.” —Jonah Primo Good thought: “Take what you get without picking and choosing, judging and comparing.” —Stephan Bodian
Episode 168 - Our Sense of Place
My ordinary running route includes gorgeous vistas and architectural marvels; it draws faraway visitors and proposing lovebirds. My ordinary running route isn't so ordinary.
Episode 169 - Practice Club: "Sitting Outdoors"
It was just me, a ginormous tree, and Mark Coleman’s voice. Oh yeah, and all of you, too. Thanks for participating in the book club!
Episode 170 - Chat with Nate: Connecting to Nature
Nate’s just back from a Tuscan biking tour. We discuss the region’s picturesque landscapes, local vino, physical exertion, and the many benefits of spending time outdoors.
Episode 171 - Geese and Other Miscellaneous Marvels
I noticed a new aspect of an ad I've seen a thousand times, and I enjoyed it. Tim, a Waking Up member, wrote in about seeing a flock of geese feeding nearby—and how he enjoyed it. I’ll be speaking with Jayasara later, and I expect to enjoy it.
Episode 172 - Our Split Personalities
A recent conversation in the app features two people I’ve always admired but never thought would meet each other. Amazing! My recent experience in a park features two people in the same, well, person. Amazing!
Episode 173 - Practice Club: "Sensory Awareness"
I went to the park to meditate. I expected to find an oasis of quiet. Instead, I found an oasis of barking, honking, breaking, creaking, screeching, crying, thumping, pinging, scraping, and other sensory delights.
Episode 174 - The Light Outside
Cormac tuned into movement—of water, light, and wind. Tim noticed aliveness—in a seaside soundscape, scraggly bushes, and small insects. Carl gained perspective—seeing himself as a small part of a large system, feeling less like a separate self, and perceiving the world more directly. As always, thanks for writing in!
Episode 175 - Chat with Jayasāra: Love and Memory
Jayasāra and I discuss her journey into mindfulness and monastic life, her spiritual influences, her academic pursuits, the day-to-day life of a nun, booze, love, lust, and lots more.
Episode 176 - Practice Club: “Walking”
For this session, I went into nature, walked, and concentrated on sensory awareness. By “nature,” I mean “a manicured soccer pitch illuminated by artificial light.” By “walked,” I mean “let my mind wander aimlessly.”
Episode 177 - Impermanence of Place
A few weeks ago, I invited you to share about your relationship to your hometown. Robin’s town, Christchurch, New Zealand, experienced thousands of earthquakes within only two years. As a result, Christchurch changed a lot. Is it the same place? As a result, Robin changed a lot. Is she the same person?
Episode 178 - The Privilege of a Bad Mood
When I wake up feeling right, good, well, happy, confident, just plain peachy, it’s easy for me to just sail through the day without thinking too much about why. When I wake up feeling the opposite of all those nice things, it’s easy for me to spiral into full-blown panic. Well, it was. Now I can be mindful of, equanimous with, and maybe even grateful for my experience. That is, sometimes I can.
Episode 179 - Practice Club: “Meandering”
I went to a community garden to meander with curiosity—and meander I did. But I didn't only meander. I wandered, too. I meandered and wandered. Did I also bimble? You better believe I bimbled! I meandered, wandered, and bimbled in a community garden, and life will never be the same.
Episode 180 - A Retreat with Mark Coleman
Casey reflects on her experience sitting with Mark Coleman in person at Spirit Rock in California. Enrique reflects on his mysterious knack for tending to succulents. I reflect on my gratitude for your reflections. Keep them coming to wip@wakingup.com.
Episode 181 - The Real World Is Not So bad
When I use social media, I imagine that my cheese grater can grate a tunnel to a magical realm at the Earth's core, where everybody gets along and agrees. When I don’t use social media, I buy orange juice in the real, multidimensional world, where I encounter real, multidimensional people.
Episode 182 - A Year of Work in Progress
Happy 1st birthday to the show! It’s changed so much. So have I. Have I changed for the better? I'm not sure. Guess I'm still a work in progress.
Episode 183 - Practice Club: “Lying on the Earth”
For “Lying on the Earth,” I lay on the earth. I did not do the firefly yoga pose on the earth. I kept my eyes open. I did not do the firefly yoga pose with my eyes open. I experienced my garden from a different perspective. I did not experience the firefly yoga pose in my garden from any perspective.
Episode 184 - Childhood Memories
I ran through the neighborhood in which I grew up. I figuratively dove into a wave of nostalgia. It felt like I actually jumped through a portal into my childhood. I know that only the present moment exists, but this trip down memory lane felt pretty real—and was totally welcome.
Episode 185 - Hit and Run
When I parked my beloved Subaru, it had a small number of side mirrors. When I returned, it had an even smaller number of them. That means I will have to spend a much larger number of dollars on repairs, and hours commuting by public transport until they're done. This makes a large impact on my week—but a very small one on my life.
Episode 186 - Practice Club: "Standing with Trees"
This week’s Practice Club session is called “Standing with Trees.” It’s not called “Standing with Trees with My Buddy Alex, Who Had Never-Ever Meditated Before, like Not Even Once.” Hey, Mark never said you couldn't bring a friend.
Episode 187 - London Tree Hugging
What do you call it when near-twenty complete strangers make time to meet each other in a public park to hug trees with their eyes closed, overcoming all manner of logistical, social, and psychological barriers in the process, all to share in the journey of awakening? I call it art.
Episode 188 - Scattering
Almost every morning, a shaft of sunlight beams through my bedroom window. Almost every morning, it illuminates a spectacular display of glimmering dust particles. Almost every morning, I don’t notice any of this. This morning, I felt like it was all I needed out of life.
Episode 189 - Strange White Arrows
Tom Lutz likes to gamble on places that have the allure of mystery, "the promise of something unknown." On a recent audiobook stroll, I saw a series of little white arrows, with no explanation, on tree stumps and wooden poles, that seemed to point to such a place. So I followed them—and my ordinary book walk thereby became an adventurous bush walk.
Episode 190 - The Storm
I was tired. I was upset. I was sick. So I sat alone in the pouring rain. It was just what I needed. Thanks, Mark Coleman.
Episode 191 - Critical Bib Analysis
I registered for a big race in Sydney many months in advance, but I waited until the last hour of the last day to pick up my bib. So did 3,000 other procrastinating Aussie runners, the vast majority of whom handled the very long line much better than I did.
Episode 192 - Practice Club: "Listening To Nature"
Thanks, Crystal, for pointing out that I skipped the seventh session in our practice club lineup. Thanks, Eleanor, for not skipping that session, and for sharing your experience. Thanks, sulfur crested cockatoo, for providing impossible-not-to-notice nature sounds for Eleanor to notice in nature.
Episode 193 - Chat with Joan Tollifson: Addiction and More
Joan and I discuss her early “spiritual bent,” her political activism, addiction, compulsion, mindfulness, free will, and the interplay between ambition and acceptance.
Episode 194 - City of Crabs
It takes a little effort to bring your breakfast to the garden. It takes a little effort to get out of the city. It takes a little effort to find new trails. It takes a little effort to push through the bramble. It’s worth it.
Episode 195 - Practice Club: “Spacious Awareness”
When it's overcast, I tend towards wistful philosophizing and melancholy contemplation. When it’s sunny, I tend towards cheerful skipping and joyful presence. Today the sky was filled with big gray clouds, so this episode contains some deep thoughts and zero skipping.
Episode 196 - Abandon What Is Not Yours
Joseph Goldstein says that abandoning what isn’t yours leads to “your welfare and happiness.” So I’m taking stock of what’s mine. This first delicate silvery thread of gray hair growing out of me? This is mine. Life as a 20-something-year-old with no silvery threads of gray hair growing out of me? This is no longer mine.
Episode 197 - Training Unmindfulness
Joseph Goldstein mentions a certain monk who, whenever he did something unmindfully, would go back and do it again. I’m trying out the lifestyle, and I’ve noticed that the fear of having to repeat something can itself be enough to make me do it mindfully the first time.
Episode 198 - Practice Club: “Entering Stillness”
I went to a quiet park in a quiet part of my neighborhood at a quiet time of day, and I took a quiet seat and tried to focus on a quiet block of concrete. But I had to take a break from the meditation because my mind was too…not quiet. I entered stillness, but I brought my own chaos with me.
Episode 199 - Achievement and Responsibility
According to my new friend from the pub, we should admire artists who've worked hard for their success, because, unlike children of celebrities, they’re self-made. According to Sam Harris, no one is self-made, not even hard workers. According to me, it’s good to listen to others talk about what it means to be self-made, how we should feel about it, and other ideas. Conversation is wonderful!
Episode 200 - Why Bother?
When I tell people we don’t have free will, they either roll their eyes and go play darts, or they ask "Then why bother doing anything at all?" For starters, it’s worth bothering to distinguish determinism from fatalism, because it helps explain why we should—and inevitably do—bother to do lots of other stuff, like play darts.
Episode 201 - Practice Club: “Interconnectedness with Life”
You knew the planet is constantly spinning at breakneck speeds. But did you know we don’t feel it because everything's moving with us and there's no acceleration? You knew the knee bone's connected to the thigh bone, and the thigh bone's connected to the hip bone—and all of that is under your skin. But did you know, as Mark puts it, “The skin is an intimate bridge to the life around you.”
Episode 202 - Deep Coffee Dreaming
Large amounts of caffeine often agitate the body. Deliberate focus often calms the mind. Large amounts of caffeine consumed with deliberate focus today had a spectacular effect on me.
Episode 203 - Not Supposed to Happen to Me
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is popular, well-studied, proven to help, and there are free resources and exercises online. You can't say it's too woo-woo or hippie-dippie. You can't say it's too spiritual or religious. You can't say it's too expensive or time-consuming. If you are going through a difficulty—any difficulty—you might consider trying it.
Episode 204 - Practice Club: “Dissolving Boundaries”
I did this session with my eyes open, gazing at a tree. Why? Because trees are wonderful. They recycle air, beautify public spaces, host birds and squirrels. And they don’t take credit for any of it! They create oxygen without thinking “I'm creating oxygen.” They just exist—not in nature, but as a part of it.
Episode 205 - The Twilight of Work in Progress
The sun is setting on the show, over 200 episodes after it began.
Episode 206 - Chat with Mark Coleman: Punk, ADHD, and More
Mark and I discuss his Waking Up courses, his youth, punk rock, the importance of self-compassion, digital technology and attention, the ethics of killing mosquitoes, and much more—yes, including nature.
Episode 207 - Practice Club: “Metta to Nature”
I wanted to make the Practice Club finale a grand one, so I drove out to a beautiful national park, walked through a rainforest, ascended a coastal path, and climbed to the highest point of a nearby rock. It was at this perfect place that things fell apart. It was at this perfect place that Metta brought them back together.
Episode 208 - The Progress Paradox
Work in Progress has been about making progress, but progress is a difficult beast to understand.
Episode 209 - The Last Version of Ourselves
Years ago, I performed a glorious display of soccer athleticism. That version of me was very fast, expected many more years of athletic glory, and no longer exists. The current version of me is glad to still love soccer, knows better than to expect many more years of anything, and tries not to take existence itself for granted.
Episode 210 - Chat with Sam Harris
Sam and I discuss his youth, his early drug experiences, structured meditation practice, resilience, social media, apologizing, fame, and more.
Episode 211 - Parting Thoughts
After 211 episodes of Work in Progress, I feel like I’ve made some...progress. For instance, I have a greater understanding of the illusion of the self, a softer ego, and much more gratitude.
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Work in Progress Show
Join fellow member and host Jonah Primo as he explores the app, life, and everything else.
to listen to all 212 sessions in this series.
Artwork by Morgan Braaten