Everything Happens With Kate Bowler

Pain is like a geography—one that isn't foreign to palliative care physician, Dr. Sunita Puri. Kate and Sunita speak about needing new language for walking the borderlands and how we all might learn to live—and die—with a bit more courage. CW: Esophageal cancer, chronic illness For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/sunita-puri-the-uncertainty-specialist/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When fear is overwhelming, sometimes you need to press the button—the emergency button. In this special episode, Kate gets real with the people that she calls when she needs to push the button. You'll hear from actor Joel McHale, writer Nora McInerny, preacher Beth Moore, and Kate's mom for a little dose of courage (and a lot of yelling by one of these people) in these uncertain times. CW: Coronavirus, death of a spouse, death of a child For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/the-emergency-button/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes everything is possible. Sometimes nothing is possible. How do you know the difference? Dr. Ari Johnson works to change the infant and mother mortality rates in Mali. Kate and Ari speak about how when other people are suffering, we must act, even when the problems seem insurmountable. Because your pain is mine too. CW: Death of children For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/ari-johnson-more-than-enough/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Psychologist Angela Duckworth studies the significance of grit. There are those who experience a difficult circumstance and scrape by, and there are those who thrive in the aftermath. Together, Angela and Kate explore what makes the difference and how we can develop resiliency in ourselves and our kids.   For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/angela-duckworth-finding-the-margins/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy embarked on a listening tour to determine what was ailing Americans. The answer surprised him. In this soulful conversation, he speaks with Kate about loneliness as a public health crisis and how the experience of disconnection affects our ability to weather life’s most difficult storms.   For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/vivek-murthy-the-loneliness-epidemic/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Author and speaker Jen Hatmaker ruled the Christian marketplace as the evangelical darling. But when her theology shifted, she learned how harsh the penalties could be. Kate and Jen speak about what it means to lead faithfully when you lose certainty.   For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/jen-hatmaker-the-preachers-wife/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sister Helen Prejean didn't know what she was getting into when she became pen pals with an inmate on death row, a story told in the film, Dead Man Walking. Now, she's a fierce advocate against the death penalty. Sister Helen and Kate talk about finding purpose as a discovery that often begins with gentle nudges and tiny yeses. CW: Death penalty For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/sister-helen-prejean-the-face-of-love/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nora McInerny had a miscarriage, lost her father, and lost her husband all within a few weeks. Much to her surprise, she kept living. But she didn’t “move on.” Nora and Kate discuss how grief is messier and less linear than we imagine. And even when you may feel like you might never “get over” what happened, love is there somehow. Nora shows us why it’s time to reframe how we think about a happy ending.  CW: Miscarriage, death of spouse, death of a parent, brain cancer For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/nora-mcinerny-its-okay-to-laugh/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do we prepare our kids for a world we can't always protect them from? Sesame Street creates educational programs to make the most vulnerable among us smarter, stronger, and kinder in the face of difficult realities. On this episode, Kate speaks with Sherrie Westin, the President of Global Impact and Philanthropy at the Sesame Workshop on how to tell our kids the hard truths in age appropriate ways.   For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/sesame-street-how-do-we-talk-to-kids-about-hard-things/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Writer Andrew Solomon never felt like he fit in. But studying other communities that celebrate differences transformed his sense of belonging and his parenting. Which aspects of our kids should we attempt to change and which need to be celebrated? Andrew and Kate discuss what it's like to be different from our family, find our people, and love our kids across difference. CW: Homophobia, disability For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/andrew-solomon-the-stories-of-who-we-are/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams is committed to combatting the rising fatalities from opioids because he knows the struggle too well. His brother is one of the millions of Americans who is ensnared by addiction. Jerome talks to Kate about how a broken heart helped him understand his job as “America’s doctor.” CW: Melanoma, opioids, substance abuse, mental illness For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/jerome-adams-we-belong-to-each-other/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The quality of time depends on our abilities and disabilities, possibilities and limitations. In a world of speed and productivity, Kate speaks with disability theologian John Swinton on how slowing down deepens our ability to love. CW: Chronic illness For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/john-swinton-the-speed-of-love/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After an accident left BJ Miller with a serious physical disability, he had to learn how to be patient with his limitations. Now, he’s a palliative care physician who works every day to encourage people to be comfortable with limits and maybe even learn to love them, but not in a Pollyanna way. Kate and BJ discuss how living with the end in mind actually makes life… richer. CW: Amputation, doctor describing palliative medicine For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/bj-miller-loving-what-is/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Society likes to tell the narrative of sick to healthy. But what if there are things we can’t just get over? In his novel, Turtles All The Way Down, John Green explores what it is like to live with something we can’t control. Together, Kate and John talk about finding identity amid chronic illness and how love just might save us all.CW: Mental illness, cancerFor show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/john-green-chronic-not-curable/ 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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When bestselling author Kelly Corrigan experienced the death of her dad and dear friend back-to-back, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t living as gratefully as she wanted to. She reflects on her love and loss through ordinary moments and everyday sayings. Together, Kate and Kelly explore the phrases we cling to in order to find deeper connection and meaning during difficult times. CW: Death of parent, death of friend, cancer For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/kelly-corrigan-tell-me-more-s3e2/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What can we expect in the first moments of loss? How is it possible to grieve someone we may have never met? How can we best support people who are in mourning? In this special conversation, Kate speaks with Reverend Dr. Susan Dunlap about how our minds, bodies, and hearts respond to deep loss and the best practices for allowing ourselves space to grieve well. Death of friend Rachel Held Evans For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/how-to-grieve-well-a-special-conversation/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Jayson Greene’s two-year-old daughter died in a random tragedy, he was forced to find a way forward. What does it look like to hope again after loss? How do you be brave when the world is so terrifying? Jayson and Kate discuss how to stay open to love in the face of fear, especially as parents. CW: Death of a child For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/jayson-greene-the-language-of-grief/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Lukach felt like he was hit with a tsunami when his beautiful marriage was upended by mental illness. With one diagnosis, he lost his wife and gained a lifelong patient. Mark and Kate explore the cost of caregiving and the importance of finding the true believers who will love through it all. CW: Bipolar disorder, mental illness, caregiving for spouse, suicidal ideation For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/mark-lukach-true-believers/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Author and Episcopal priest Barbara Brown Taylor is no stranger to darkness. After experiencing devastating loss, Barbara explores our culture’s pursuit of the sunny side of life. But perhaps there are things we learn in the dark that we can’t learn in the light. Kate and Barbara discuss the two halves of our lives and how to practice courage even in the scariest of circumstances. CW: Death of parents, tongue cancer For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/barbara-brown-taylor-life-after-dark-s2e2/   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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why is it so hard to say the right thing to those going through difficult circumstances? Artist Emily McDowell was on the receiving end of some terrible responses after her own diagnosis. Now, she creates kind and irreverent greeting cards that teach us all how to be a little more human. She speaks with Kate about the best and worst things to say and do when our loved ones are hurting. CW: Hodgkins Lymphoma For show notes, the transcript, and discussion questions: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/emily-mcdowell-theres-no-good-card-for-that-s2e1/ 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/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.