the goop podcast

“There’s no such thing as a perfect harmony with nature,” says John Chester, the farmer and filmmaker behind The Biggest Little Farm. “There’s a comfortable level of disharmony. There is purposefulness in this disharmony.” Chester and his wife, Molly, founded a regenerative biodynamic farm (Apricot Lane Farm) that became famous through their stunning documentary. He joins GP today to talk about what he’s learned over the last decade being in deep relationship with the ecosystem of his land and how he and Molly have reframed their many roadblocks into opportunities (and found patience when their end goal was nowhere in sight). He and GP also talk about how soil health impacts the quality of our diets, things to look for on a food label, and his hopes for the future of American farming. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“When you have someone in your life who is experiencing illness, especially as a young person, it can be so impossible to bear witness to that,” says author Katherine E. Standefer. “Because then you are confronted with your own lack of control.” Standefer’s debut memoir, Lightning Flowers: My Journey to Uncover the Cost of Saving a Life, is stunning. Today, she joins host Elise Loehnen to tell the story of the rare diagnosis that led her on a mission deep into our fractured medical system. She shares what it was like to sit with vulnerability, what she learned from the avoidant tendencies of many of her doctors, and how she began to make sense of her complicated relationship with the medical advancements that were meant to save her. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“When people ask me about the biggest issues in mental health, I say: Stigma is problems one, two, and three,” says psychiatrist Nina Vasan, MD. In addition to seeing patients in her private practice, Vasan is the chief medical officer at the mental health company Real and the executive director of the Stanford Lab for Mental Health Innovation. She joins GP today to talk about the long-tail mental health impacts of disasters and how trauma sometimes strengthens one’s resiliency. They talk about why addressing mental health can—and should—be part of our daily life. And Vasan shares coping strategies for different and persistent stressors, including ways that managers can be more mindful of their employees’ needs. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daniel Lieberman is a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and the author of the new book Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding. Today, he joins host Elise Loehnen to break down the history and science behind why so many of us have trouble exercising even though we know it’s healthy for us. For one thing, Lieberman says, the pull to not exercise is a basic human instinct, which, if you ask us, is validating. They also chat through why there is no universal prescription when it comes to workout routines. But, he says, a good first step is taking stock of what you’re trying to achieve and then figuring out what you enjoy doing. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re kicking off 2021 with a different kind of episode. Today, instead of being joined by a guest, GP is doing a lightning round of AMA, where she answers a handful of listener-submitted questions. True to form, your questions ran the gamut: what her perfect night in looks like, which wellness habit never caught on for her, advice for moms launching new businesses, and more. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Celeste Headlee’s book—Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving—she examines our fractured relationships to work. Why do we use productivity as a measure of self-worth? Where does our obsession with efficiency come from? In this episode, she shares strategies for maintaining healthy boundaries around work and play and for developing more transparency between managers and employees. She also sells us on taking time off: “When someone takes all their vacation days, they actually end up being more productive, more effective, less error-prone, and more creative than someone who doesn’t.” (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Resmaa Menakem is a trauma specialist and the New York Times–bestselling author of My Grandmother’s Hands, which examines how racial trauma is deeply embedded in the body. He joins Elise Loehnen today to discuss his work as a somatic healer, what he believes will happen nine generations from now, and why it’s not possible to “think” your way out of White supremacy. “To develop an individual response to a communal horror is inadequate,” he says. “Niceness is inadequate.” (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Otto Yang, MD, an infectious disease researcher at UCLA, is leading a global clinical trial on COVID-19 sponsored by the NIH. GP, who had COVID-19 in early March, is a part of the study and has gotten to know Yang’s work over the past several months. Today, they talk about the long-tail symptoms of the virus, what scientists have learned about antibodies and immunity, and what is still unknown. Yang answers questions about the vaccine and what we can expect to happen next year. He also shares, from the perspective of a scientist, how he processes fear around this virus. His biggest learning in the last year? It involves the surprising resilience of the human spirit. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“I didn’t want to just write about loss,” says religion scholar Elaine Pagels. “I wanted to write about coming back from it and finding you can still have joy and a wonderful life. Because for me, that was a surprise.” Pagels is a bestselling author and the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University. Today, she joins host Elise Loehnen to discuss her books Why Religion? and The Gnostic Gospels and the journey that led her to writing them. They talk about how religious traditions can shape how we understand ourselves, whether Pagels thinks there’s such a thing as sin, and why she considers herself more of an explorer than a believer. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GP catches up with her friend Pharrell Williams and, no surprise, the multihyphenate artist has a lot of ground to cover. They talk about his parenting philosophy and how its shifted during the pandemic. They talk about his creative process and being a pluralist in a world that wants everyone to pick a lane. They discuss the Black Lives Matter movement and his dreams for the future: “I love my nation because of its progression, but I’m really in love with its untapped potential,” he says. And he shares the story behind the accelerator he’s just launched, Black Ambition, which invests in Black and Latinx students and entrepreneurs, providing not only capital to get their ideas off the ground but hands-on mentorship, as well. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices