The Courageous Life

By age twenty-five, Vijay Gupta had lived several lifetimes: he played Carnegie Hall at eight, studied at Juilliard and Yale before most had finished high school, joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic at nineteen, gave a celebrated TED Talk seen by millions, and launched a nonprofit. But behind the accolades was estrangement, addiction, and a private unraveling. In his unflinching memoir: Restrung, Vijay describes, with breathtaking and heartfelt clarit...

When criminal justice expert and Stanford-Trained economist, Jennifer Doleac thinks about reform, she’s not just hopeful, she’s optimistic that second chances are possible—for the justice-involved population and the system as a whole. In her eye opening new book: The Science of Second Chances, she reveals her powerful approach to reducing crime and incarceration. Today, we’ll take a deep dive into some of the cutting-edge economic research and real-world experiments sh...

Emotional pain, of all kinds and magnitudes, is part of life. We’ll never be able to find ourselves free of it; no meditation or amount of therapy will cure us of the harder parts of being alive. Celebrated author and therapist, Lisa Olivera has confronted this reality for years, weaving her exploration of it throughout her popular SubStack, Human Stuff. She reminds us that the practice of turning toward the ache with care—reverence, even—might be one of the most meani...

Beloved Poet, spiritual teacher, and storyteller Mark Nepo, And Writer, speaker, activist, and founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal, Parker J. Palmer, Have touched the lives of millions of people around the globe seeking to live more courageously, authentically, and in ways that foster a more compassionate world. For some time I’ve dreamt of getting the two of them together for a conversation to explore some of the greatest lessons they’ve learned over the course of...

Author and Leadership Coach, Miroo Kim, spent much of her life checking off every seemingly important box. From getting into the right schools, to a 20 year career in tech that spanned roles within some of the world’s most iconic companies, Places like Microsoft, Apple, and Meta. It was what some might call a dream career. And yet, instead of the meaning and fulfillment one might expect to find as a result, In the end, Miroo found herself: Burned out, Feeling depr...