The goop Podcast

“You don’t need to wait for biotechnology,” says William Li, MD. “Foods can actually activate and boost our body’s health defenses.” The Harvard physician and author of Eat to Beat Disease reports on the remarkable things the body is capable of when food and medicine are used in tandem. He explains which foods have powerful properties that can help us prevent and heal from illness. For example, Li says that mangoes can support our circulation and stem cells and feed our microbiome (our bacteria like the fiber). The peels of fruits like apples and pears can help grow blood vessels. Dark chocolate can mobilize stem cells. Coffee—yes—can protect telomeres and help them grow longer, reversing cellular aging, says Li. And that’s just some of the good news he shares. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)

“What part do I play?” asks Robin DiAngelo, academic and author of White Fragility. DiAngelo’s critical, urgent work asks us to question what we thinkwe know about racism, the conversations we avoid having about racism, and the roles we might (unintentionally) be playing in upholding inequality. For example, says DiAngelo: “We white women have to stop using sexism to protect racism.” In this conversation with Elise Loehnen, DiAngelo calls on white people to let go of guilt and to pick up responsibility. When you break free from the urge to defend yourself and start doing the inner work: It can be fantastically liberating, says DiAngelo. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)

Valter Longo, PhD, author of The Longevity Diet, sat down with Elise Loehnen at In goop Health to share what he’s learned about our ability to optimize our health largely through diet and lifestyle changes. Longo, who is the director of the USC Longevity Institute, continues to conduct a wide range of fascinating research on different forms of fasting: What kind of fast is safest? How does fasting affect the body? Could particular forms of fasting have beneficial outcomes for particular health concerns? (Some of this research contributed to the development of ProLon, a five-day fasting-mimicking meal kit that is growing in popularity, in part because you actually eat during the program.) Beyond fasting, Longo explains what he believes to be the best way to eat (and when) based on the research. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)

“My job is not to tell you something,” says BJ Miller, MD. “My job is to help you receive something.” The palliative care physician and coauthor of A Beginner’s Guide to the End joined GP on stage at In goop Health. He brought his dog, Maysie, which you’ll hear them talking about. Miller shared his own incredible personal story and wise insights about what it means to live a good life and die a good death. GP asked him about dealing with regret (which Miller says is normal and nothing to be ashamed of) and becoming comfortable with—even grateful for—what’s outside of our control and knowledge. And they talk about connection: “One of the most beautiful things we can do for each other is to be affected by each other,” says Miller. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)

“The reason we don’t change,” says Shauna Shapiro, PhD, “is because most of us are missing this essential ingredient of self-compassion.” The psychology professor and author of Good Morning, I Love You joins Elise Loehnen to explain why we can forget about self-esteem and why “heartfulness” may be more meaningful to you than “mindfulness.” When we find ourselves in cycles of negative self-talk, how do we pull ourselves out of it? Shapiro suggests talking to yourself the way you would to a close friend who is struggling. She also has a series of tips and tools for training our minds and bodies to feel and remember the positive, the beautiful, the surprising, and the magic in life. “It takes about twenty to thirty seconds to encode a positive experience into our long-term memory,” says Shapiro. Listen to find out how. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)

“We can decouple shame from your sexuality,” says sex therapist Michael Vigorito. Vigorito joins Elise Loehnen to talk about how removing judgment can help us reframe our thinking about sex, desire, and the label: sex addiction. Vigorito prefers the term “out of control sexual behavior.” It doesn’t mean that someone is out of control, necessarily, but that they feel out of control. Often, Vigorito finds that problematic patterns of sexual behavior can be a disguise for other, deeply rooted issues—which he helps clients get curious about and untangle. In this episode, he also helps us carve out a space for ourselves, our partners, and even our children to feel safe while exploring the varied layers of sexuality. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)

“Most humans live as if past and future—and especially future—were more important than this moment,” says renowned spiritual leader Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now and A New Earth. In this special conversation with GP, Tolle teaches us how to not resist our experience of the present moment, and why the feelings that we do resist have a way of—persisting. GP asks Tolle about the relationship between the ego and soul, and how we can come to see that we are not our thoughts. Tolle explains how we can release pain-bodies—an accumulation of old emotions. And of course they talk about the meaning of it all: “The world is not here to make you happy,” says Tolle. “It’s here to make you conscious.” (For more, see The goop Podcast hub. And check out this free seven-day program with meditations by Tolle and Kim Eng.)

“Do what only you can do with your particular talents, gifts, and flaws,” says Jennifer Freed, psychological astrologer and author of Use Your Planets Wisely. In this episode, Freed joins friend Elise Loehnen to explain how we can use astrology to explore our own divine possibilities and potential. Freed reminds us that we are all a work in progress—moving away from primitive behaviors and toward our evolving selves is not a linear path. But regardless of how winding the path is, Freed believes we all have specific roles to play in making the world a better place. And that astrology can help us understand our roles—and show us new ways to relate and connect with other people. “Happiness isn’t in getting everything we want,” says Freed. “It’s having an experience of mattering to others.” (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)

“Conflict is really what sharpens our ability to love,” says John Gottman, PhD, who is the cofounder, with his wife Julie, of the Gottman Institute for relationships. (They’re also coauthors of the new book, Eight Dates.)Today, they join Elise Loehnen to share the tools for communication and conflict resolution that make a relationship work. We learn about perpetual issues—and how to talk about them in a way that’s productive, instead of pushing them aside. Which doesn’t mean we get to change our partners—when we try to do this, problems tend to follow, say the Gottmans. “You don’t want to fall in love with who they want to be,” says John. “You want to fall in love with who they are.” And, according to the Gottmans, you want to build a wall around your relationship—rather than a wall between you and your partner. Oh, and find six seconds to make out every day. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)

“Only 20 percent of our longevity and health in old age is genetically determined,” says David Sinclair, “The rest is up to us.” The Harvard genetics professor and author of Lifespan joins Elise Loehnen to break down the science behind the aging process and our well-being. He explains why it’s good for us to experience “biological stress,” how we can absolve harmful stress, and which supplements and health interventions he believes will keep us young, and which he predicts will forever change the future of medicine. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)

“Not only do we feel connected to one another, but we feel connected to something bigger than ourselves,” says Kelly McGonigal, health psychologist, Stanford University lecturer, and author of The Joy of Movement. Collective joy, McGonigal says, is what happens when we move our bodies in unison. It can help us reduce stress and anxiety, quiet our minds, maintain our health—and even makes us feel better about humanity. When we let go of the idea of exercise as something to help us look better, we can tap into the pleasure of movement and feel good. It is through moving our bodies, McGonigal has found, that we are able to connect to our spirit and reveal our true selves. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)

“Investigating what’s underneath the rage can help us then articulate—more clearly—our values,” says Rhonda V. Magee, professor of law at the University of San Francisco and author of The Inner Work of Racial Justice. Magee sat down with Elise Loehnen at In goop Health and gave a master class on how we can remain grounded, compassionate, and true to ourselves in a world that often feels complex, difficult, and divided. She teaches us how to explore our feelings based on what’s happening in our bodies, to reframe our thinking, and to learn what is sometimes hard for us to see. Keep listening to the end, when Magee explains how to use the four steps of RAIN: recognize, accept, investigate, non-identification. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)

Cleo Wade—poet, activist, and author of Where to Begin—joins Elise Loehnen to talk about why she’s hopeful. She reminds us that simple words can turn into bigger actions. She helps us identify the things that get in our own way, which are often self-inflicted rules we impose on ourselves and each other that simply don’t work. We have a responsibility, Wade says, to tell our stories—and to find ways to open up to the stories of others. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)

“We’re not just fully human,” says theologian Meggan Watterson. “We’re also fully divine.” In her book Mary Magdalene Revealed, Watterson explains why the recovered gospel of this controversial figure—which was ordered to be destroyed in the fourth century—has the power to change the way we see our history, present, and future. Together, Watterson and Elise Loehnen examine the roots of femininity and how women throughout history have always grappled with their sense of self-worth. They talk about love, why we’re worthy of it, and our responsibility to express it: “What would love be,” Watterson asks, “if we didn’t have things to practice love on?” (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)

“It’s not as simple as choosing not to care—you’re caught in a bind either way,” says Alicia Menendez, MSNBC anchor and author of The Likeability Trap. Menendez joins Elise Loehnen to talk about why many women are presented with two options: being a good leader or being liked. She urges us to stop responding to situations with the hope we will be more liked. And instead, she suggests that we ask ourselves whether we are being clear with our vision and executing it well. Through her research, Menendez has identified principles that good leaders follow—which sometimes means making decisions that other people don’t like. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)