Explore every episode of the podcast What is a Good Life?
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is a Good Life? #184 - Resting in the Core of My Identity with Dr. Miriam Meckel | 21 juil. 2026 | 00:47:10 | |
What does it actually mean to be human in an age racing toward AGI? In this episode of What is a Good Life?, Mark sits down with Dr. Miriam Meckel - award-winning journalist, professor of communication management at the University of St. Gallen, and founder of ada learning - to explore the question that has shaped her life's work: what is irreducibly human, and what are we at risk of losing? Miriam, the first female editor-in-chief of WirtschaftsWoche and former State Secretary for Media and International Affairs in North Rhine-Westphalia, opens up about a burnout that became a life-altering depression, the vulnerability of turning her private writing into her bestselling book Letter to My Life, and why she believes embodied experience — not intelligence — is what truly separates us from machines. It is a conversation about identity, friction, kindness, and what it takes to live a quiet, honest life. For more of Dr. Miriam Meckel's work: For more from Mark McCartney: | |||
| What is a Good Life? #183 - When Fear Becomes My Partner with Ralf Wetzel | 14 juil. 2026 | 01:01:35 | |
In this episode of What is a Good Life, host Mark McCartney sits down with Ralf Wetzel - a leadership scholar who has taught at leading European business schools, and a clown and mask performer whose solo show Absolutely Reliable! has played the Edinburgh Fringe. This episode is built around one question: what does it mean to have a good relationship with fear? Ralf grew up under surveillance in communist East Germany, in a family where fear was something you lived with, not something you spoke about. He spent years trying to work through it - through therapy, yoga, and psychedelics, and eventually through improv and clown theatre. Along the way, we get into a teaching moment that tested everything he'd learned, and why a plastic clown nose turned out to teach him more about truth than theory ever did. This episode is for anyone who wants to reconsider their relationship with fear. For more from Ralf Wetzel: For more from Mark McCartney: | |||
| What is a Good Life? #182 - Cities That Make Us Happier with Lior Steinberg | 07 juil. 2026 | 00:55:55 | |
In this episode of What is a Good Life, host Mark McCartney sits down with Lior Steinberg, a Rotterdam-based urban planner and co-founder of Humankind, a multidisciplinary team working toward urban happiness for all. Lior is also the author of the children's book The Car That Wanted to Be a Bike. Together they unpack why so many cities remain trapped in car-centric design decades after urbanist Jane Jacobs first warned against it. They talk about the "sidewalk ballet," how children's toys teach us to want cars, the surprising parallel between car culture and cigarette smoking, Barcelona's superblocks, and why trees are the best climate technology we already have. This is a thought-provoking conversation on how often change feels impossible until it is here.
For more from Mark McCartney: | |||
| What is a Good Life? #181 - Finding Peace Within Myself with Kadam Adam Starr | 30 juin 2026 | 01:09:32 | |
What does it mean to live a truly meaningful life and why do so many of us feel an emptiness even at the height of our success? In this episode, Mark sits down with Kadam Adam Starr, who has been an international teacher of meditation and Buddhism for over 20 years and is the principal teacher at Tara Kadampa Meditation Centre in Dublin. Adam walked away from a corporate media career in 2005 to pursue a different kind of question. What began as a planned year or two away became a complete reorientation of his life. Together they explore the emptiness that often arrives in our late twenties and early thirties, the difference between fleeting pleasure and genuine peace of mind, and why Adam came to realise that the problem was never his career - it was how badly out of balance he'd become. They talk about the shift from an ego-driven life to one grounded in compassion, what a three-month silent retreat revealed about our shared humanity, and how living from a peaceful mind and a good heart can make life feel radically more simple. This is a conversation about self-knowledge, the attention economy, meeting difficult people with friendship rather than judgment, and the realisation that a good life may come down to how we choose to show up each day.
For more from Mark McCartney: | |||
| What is a Good Life? #180 - The Art of a Meaningful Life with Karen L. Jacob, PhD | 23 juin 2026 | 00:59:57 | |
Dr. Karen L. Jacob is a clinical psychologist, Program Director of the Gunderson Residence at McLean Hospital, and Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. She specialises in the assessment and treatment of personality disorders, with particular expertise in borderline personality disorder. In this conversation Karen talks about growing up with a love of art, spending four years after college searching for work that actually meant something, the influence of a father who treated the underserved his entire career, and what drew her unexpectedly to specialising in personality disorders. We also discuss a New Year's resolution with her husband that changed how she parents and how she works. It's a conversation about what it looks like to build a meaningful life with joy, and staying open to a path that keeps surprising you. For more of Dr. Karen L. Jacob's work: For more from Mark McCartney: | |||
| What is a Good Life? #179 - Trust, Water & Rewilding with Daniel Allen-Hörnfeldt | 16 juin 2026 | 00:59:56 | |
In this episode, Dan talks with Mark about trading 80-90 hour work weeks and a self-medicating lifestyle in London for the forests and lakes of northern Sweden. He shares how his father's death became a turning point, how cold water swimming became a doorway back into his body, and how a small group of friends turned a Sunday morning dip into a movement. The conversation explores trust, surrender, community, and what it means to dissolve the "thick border" between yourself and the world. Dan Allen-Hörnfeldt is Chairman of Umeå Kallbad, a community swimming and sauna association recently named one of Sweden's best places to visit in 2026, and Head of Nature for People at Rewilding Sweden. A former GB triathlete, he spent fifteen years in restaurants and pubs, winning two Michelin Bib Gourmands and twice being named London's Best Pub, before building a nationally recognised restaurant in northern Sweden with his wife. He has also competed at an elite level in open-water and ice swimming, including a podium finish at the Ice Swimming World Cup. Learn more about Dan Allen-Hörnfeldt's work: | |||
| What is a Good Life? #178 - The Courage To Be Heard with Lucinda Millward | 09 juin 2026 | 00:52:09 | |
Lucinda Millward is the founder of The Baskerville Project and a practitioner in embodied relational practice - bringing creativity, the body, and the nervous system into collective inquiry. She works across executive education, the arts, and public contexts, holds degrees from the University of Oxford, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and RADA and King’s College London, and has served for seven years as Acting Course Director at the Fontainebleau School of Acting, alongside several years teaching at Guildhall.
A beautiful conversation about courage, presence, and what it means to let yourself be witnessed. Learn more about Lucinda's work at The Baskerville Project: | |||
| What is a Good Life? #177 - Complicated Locks, Simple Keys with Sam Smith | 02 juin 2026 | 00:56:28 | |
This week Mark McCartney sits down with Sam Smith. Sam sees life as a big old experiment. He used to play professional rugby, before starting a few businesses. Now he spends his time speaking to people, writing and loving his family. Last year he wrote his first book, The Door Was Never Locked. His latest project with his friend Garth, Conscious Soup launches soon, it's a Living Experiment. They aren't sure what that means yet.
We explore identity, the stories we carry without questioning, what it really means to lead as a human, and why a good life for him is wanting all of it - even the hard parts. If you are navigating any big life transitions right now, this conversation may be particularly helpful. For more from Sam Smith: And he'd love to hear from you: sam@thisisthechangingroom.com
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| What is a Good Life? #176 - What Is It About Dogs? with Doug Skoke | 26 mai 2026 | 01:04:33 | |
What is it about dogs? It's the question Doug Skoke has been sitting with and it turns out, trying to understand what makes his golden doodle Harley tick has become one of his most impactful explorations of how to actually live well. Doug is the Founder & CEO of LFG NOW!, a boutique executive search firm, and a Gallup-certified CliftonStrengths Coach - but what defines him more than any title is a lifelong obsession with people, energy, and what it means to show up fully in your own life. A daily meditator and firm believer in the Platinum Rule - treat others as they prefer to be treated - Doug has spent over a decade exploring practical and spiritual approaches to growth, resilience, and presence. What begins as a question about why dogs are so emotionally regulating opens into one covering grief, crisis, dialectical behavioural therapy, the self-love pendulum, radical acceptance, and what it actually means to lift others up. Whether you're drawn to mindfulness, emotional intelligence, personal growth, or just an honest human conversation - this episode is for you. For more from Doug Skoke: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 Five Years In The Making | |||
| What is a Good Life? #175 - Closing the Gap Between Values & Life with Jennifer Garvey Berger | 19 mai 2026 | 00:58:51 | |
In this episode of What is a Good Life?, Mark McCartney sits down with Jennifer Garvey Berger - author, global leadership coach, and co-founder and CEO of Cultivating Leadership - to explore one of the most honest questions a person can ask: am I actually living in alignment with what I say matters most? Jennifer has spent decades helping leaders untangle big questions and find more courageous, compassionate ways to lead. All four of her books are Stanford University Press top sellers of the last decade. But here, she turns that same rigorous curiosity on herself. She shares the moment she realised her deepest values - generosity and curiosity - have their own shadows. She unpacks the concept of values as polarities, why rigid adherence to a single value leaves the whole system weak, and how she learned to hold temporary certainty without pretending to have all the answers. If you're interested in personal growth, leadership, values, conscious living, philosophy of life, intentional community, or a good life, this episode is for you. For more from Jennifer Garvey Berger: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:02 A Question Worth Following | |||
| What is a Good Life? #174 - Being In The Pulse Of Life with Laura Beckingham | 12 mai 2026 | 01:06:11 | |
In this episode of What is a Good Life?, Mark McCartney sits down with Laura Beckingham - a modern mystic for turbulent times. It's a conversation that remains as grounded in the bread and butter of life as it ascends into the spiritual. We move from asking what existence is all about through radical inclusion, Family Constellations, ancestral wisdom, the right size in relationships, grief and death, the energy of birth - and why a good life for Laura is about staying in contact with the pulse of life. It will leave you with plenty to sit with. Laura works one-to-one with senior execs who are dismantling the system from the inside, and with people practitioners and creatives who are doing something of the same in their own way. You can also join her in community online, for ritual and reflective practice in The Sanctum, and at The Loom.
For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 What Is All of This? | |||
| What is a Good Life? #173 - The Place Of Multiple Belongings with Dave Snowden | 05 mai 2026 | 00:52:23 | |
In this episode of What is a Good Life?, Mark McCartney sits down with Dave Snowden - Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of The Cynefin Co., creator of the Cynefin Framework, and one of the most original thinkers working at the intersection of complexity science, organisational design, and human decision-making. The conversation moves through substrate theory, complexity science, psychological safety, the dangers of homogenisation, coherent heterogeneity, Celtic identity, indigenous rights, conflict resolution in Northern Ireland, and what a good life really comes down to. It is a beautiful mixture of thought provoking ideas and powerful lived experiences. For more from Dave Snowden: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 Substrate and What Emerges | |||
| What is a Good Life? #172 - What If It Were Easy? with Dr Myriam Hadnes | 28 avr. 2026 | 00:53:16 | |
What if it were easy? What would you do if you weren't afraid? This week I am joined by Dr Myriam Hadnes who shares with us two questions that have really influenced her life. We explore how passion can grow through doing rather than preceding it, why conflict in relationships can be a form of intimacy rather than a threat to it, and what it really means to act in integrity even when the cost is potentially high. It is a beautiful conversation about communication, courage, and what it means to feel truly accepted. Dr Myriam Hadnes is a behavioural economist, facilitator, and host of the Unprofessionalism podcast, exploring what gets lost when professionalism becomes performance. Her agency workshops.work partners with global organisations to build the conditions where people think together, speak up, and do honest work. For more from Dr Myriam Hadnes: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 Two Life-Changing Questions | |||
| What is a Good Life? #171 - What Must My Life Be About with Robert J. Anderson | 21 avr. 2026 | 01:14:51 | |
Robert J. Anderson joins the show for a wide-ranging conversation about purpose, intuition, shadow work, and the question that has guided his life. He talks beautifully about doubt and fear alongside grace and synchronicity, and what it takes to keep saying yes when you can't see where it's going. Robert J. Anderson has been a pace setter in the field of Leadership Development for over 30 years. He is the Founder and Chief Knowledge Officer of Leadership Circle, and the co-author of Scaling Leadership and Mastering Leadership. Bob created the Leadership Circle Profile, a 360° assessment used by organisations worldwide to measure the effectiveness of their leaders (individually and collectively), chart a pathway for their development, and assess their progress as they develop. In 2005, the Stayer Center for Executive Education at the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business awarded Bob the Partner in Innovation Award. The MEECO Leadership Institute awarded him the International Thought Leader of Distinction in 2018. If you sense you are still not fully committing to the path you are already on, this will offer plenty of inspiration. For more of Robert J. Anderson's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 The Guiding Question Podcast Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #170 - Recovering Right Relationship with Ally Kingston | 14 avr. 2026 | 00:55:15 | |
What does a truly good life look like - and how do we find our way back to it? In this episode of What is a Good Life?, Mark McCartney speaks with Ally Kingston about recovering the capacity for "right relationship": with ourselves, with nature, with community, and with something greater. Ally is a creative strategist and facilitator, and strategy lead at non-profit Purpose Disruptors and Agency for Nature. She designs interventions to galvanise public imagination and redirect our creative skills to work in harmony with the natural world. Also passionate about holding space for grief and loss in our changing times, she has also trained as a death doula and rites of passage holder. Once an advertising and sustainability leader, and one of Forbes’ 43 People Changing Advertising for the Climate, she writes & lectures on storytelling, imagination and new conceptions of the good life. They explore: - What "right relationship" actually means — and why we've lost it If you're searching for meaning beyond consumption, or asking what it means to live well in uncertain times, this conversation is for you. 🎙️ What is a Good Life? - conversations that go to the heart of what matters. Leave a review if this episode resonated with you. For more from Ally's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 How to be in right relationship? Tags: good life, meaning, right relationship, sobriety, nature connection, death doula, climate, imagination, morning pages, the artist's way, wilderness, grief, belonging, mindfulness, purpose Podcast Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #169 - Wonder, Wildness And Song with Sam Lee | 07 avr. 2026 | 01:00:58 | |
How do you hold on to that feeling of childlike enchantment that you remember as a kid? In this captivating conversation, Mark sits down with Sam Lee, singer, composer, and author. We explore the nature of wonder, the role of ritual, and the significance of rite of passages and thresholds. He talks about his apprenticeship to Scottish traveller and balladeer Stanley Robertson and how that completely dismantled what he thought folk music was. We talk about songs as medicine and what it means to be their custodian, as well as being being dangerously surrounded by a dozen shepherd's dogs in the Carpathian mountains. Sam Lee is a Mercury prize-nominated singer, composer, arranger, folksong interpreter, connecting his passion for nature and song into timeless unique ways. Collector of songs from across the British Isles & Ireland he’s also the creator of many live nature immersions including the annual sell-out Singing With Nightingales. Penguin recently published his debut novel 'The Nightingale, Notes on a songbird' telling the epic tale of this highly endangered bird. And his latest album is the critically acclaimed, Guardian 5 star and Mojo Album of the Month ‘songdreaming’. Sam is also an Ambassador for The Global Rewilding Alliance. This conversation and Sam's stories are for anyone seeking more aliveness in this life. For more from Sam Lee's work: For more from Mark McCartney: Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #168 - What It Means to Be Fully Alive with Joel Monk | 31 mars 2026 | 00:57:14 | |
What does it mean to be fully alive? Mark sits down with Joel Monk to explore the journey from spiritual bypassing to embodiment. They talk about dark nights of the soul, the "yum" of visceral wellbeing, trauma-informed healing, the role of grace and prayer, and what it actually means to feel safe, okay, and enough. An episode for anyone on a path of dropping deeper into their own humanity and body. Joel Monk is the founder of Coaches Rising, one of the world’s leading platforms for transformational coaching, with a global community of more than 65,000 coaches. He is the host of the Coaches Rising Podcast and is known for his work in transformational coaching, embodiment, and human development. He has coached hundreds of entrepreneurs, CEOs, and senior executives — even a Zen master — helping high-level leaders unlock deeper presence, wiser action, and profound personal transformation. For more from Joel Monk's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 Awakening Into Full Humanity Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #167 - Gifts, Rituals, & The Path To Belonging with Bruce Anderson | 24 mars 2026 | 00:57:27 | |
What makes a life truly good? In this rich and wide-ranging conversation, Mark speaks with Bruce Anderson, Executive Director of the Core Gift Institute, about the three kinds of glue that hold relationships, communities, and the world together: gifts, welcoming, and ritual. Bruce shares why he believes our primary gifts are not earned but given to us through spirit and why they always emerge from our deepest wounds. They explore belonging, the question of how everything began, the wildness of love, and why a home in a wild place might just be the perfect metaphor for a life well lived. Currently living on an island by Seattle, USA, Bruce has a storied life of living in remote Alaska, commercial fishing, log-cabin building, and being a schoolteacher and mayor. He is known for bringing intriguing ideas from other cultures and times, personal stories, and practical ideas into the international work he does with others. Whether you're feeling lost, searching for direction, or simply curious about what a meaningful life looks like, this conversation will leave you with a lot to sit with. For more of Bruce's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 – Three Kinds Of Glue Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #166 - Living Your Own Version Of Success with Kaylyn Lehmann | 17 mars 2026 | 00:57:32 | |
What does it mean to trust yourself when the path isn't clear? Kaylyn Lehmann is Co-founder and Executive Coach at Simplified Coach, a former VP of HR, and a specialist in neuroscience leadership and character strengths. Over the past decade she has coached hundreds of C-level and high-potential executives across high tech, biotech and highly funded start-ups. Drawing on a formative experience of loss in her late twenties, Kaylyn has long carried a question from Tuesdays with Morrie: Is today the day? — not as something to fear, but as a guide. From walking away from a VP salary that no longer felt right, to building a business during a bed rest pregnancy in the middle of the 2008 recession, to a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote from her mother that reframed how she saw herself, this is a conversation that charts a path to greater autonomy and coherence. A life which realises the significance of awe and play along the way. If you are in the middle of uncertainty that you are struggling to navigate, this will offer so much to consider and support. 🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations on what it means to live a good life. For more of Kaylyn's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 The Bird Question Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #165 - Money Is Never Just Money with Bogumil Baranowski | 10 mars 2026 | 01:02:16 | |
Most conversations about money stay on the surface. This one doesn't. Mark McCartney sits down with Bogumil Baranowski — investment advisor, author of Crisis Investing and Money Life Family, host of Talking Billions podcast, and profound thinker on the intersection of wealth and human experience. In this episode, they go deep on why money is one of the most emotionally charged forces in human life, what inheritance really carries alongside the numbers, why asking the right questions matters more than having the right answers, and how being present with another person is paramount in any field of work. Whether you're interested in wealth, relationships, meaningful work, or simply living with more intention — this conversation is for you. 🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations on what it means to live a good life. For more of Bogumil's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 – How can I help? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #164 - The End Of All Seeking with Nicholas Janni | 03 mars 2026 | 00:56:18 | |
What does it mean to be fully human — and to live from that place? Nicholas Janni has been working with CEO’s and senior teams globally for over twenty-five years, and teaches at two of the world’s leading business schools, pioneering a new vision and practice of leadership. He bridges the worlds of creative, personal, spiritual and professional development in a uniquely powerful, relevant and accessible way. His book “Leader as Healer, a new paradigm for 21 st century leadership” was published to wide acclaim in 2022, and won Business Book of the Year at the Business Book Awards 2023. His new book, “Leading in Chaos”, co-authored with Amy Elizabeth Fox, is available now in Europe, and from April 9th in the US. He is the co-founder of Matrix Development. We explore: - How we threw the baby out with the bath water with religion For more from Nicholas Janni's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 – What is it to be fully human? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #163 - Listening To The Mighty Heart with Dr Scilla Elworthy | 24 févr. 2026 | 00:49:52 | |
Dr Scilla Elworthy is a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee for her work with Oxford Research Group to develop effective dialogue between nuclear weapons policy-makers worldwide and their critics from 1983-2003. She founded Peace Direct in 2002 to fund, promote and learn from local peace-builders in conflict areas, was awarded the Niwano Peace Prize in 2003, the Luxembourg Peace Prize in 2020, the GOI Peace Award in 2023. Her TED talk on nonviolence has been viewed by over 1,500,000 people. She founded The Business Plan for Peace to help prevent destructive conflict and build sustainable peace throughout the world, based on her latest books - The Business Plan for Peace: Building a World Without War (2017), The Mighty Heart: how to transform conflict (2020), and The Mighty Heart in Action (2022). In this wonderful conversation, Scilla and Mark explore why the heart is the one faculty that will always tell you the truth, how learning to listen to it transformed her work with diplomats and military leaders, and why she believes the world is entering an era of profound change led by those willing to lead from the inside out. This is a conversation for people who sense there's a deeper way to live but haven't yet learned to trust it. For more from Dr Scilla Elworthy's work: For more from Mark McCartney:
Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #162 - What Comes After Optimising with Jasper Walshe | 17 févr. 2026 | 01:01:48 | |
In this episode of What Is a Good Life?, Mark McCartney is joined by Jasper Walshe, coach, facilitator and founder of TRIPS Tank™, for an honest and wide-ranging conversation about identity, self-trust and what it really means to live well. Jasper traces his journey from fixating on high-performance coaching to a deeper, more grounded relationship with himself — touching on psychotherapy breakthroughs, psychedelic experiences, the trap of wrapping identity in achievement, and his present question: how can I live in wonder? This is a genuinely human conversation about accepting the full range of life, not just the optimised parts. Topics covered: This episode is for anyone who's hit the goals and found themselves asking — is this it? For more from Jasper Walshe: For more from Mark McCartney: 0:00 – Jasper's evolving life question Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #161 - The Potential For Compassion with Rasmus Hougaard | 10 févr. 2026 | 00:53:15 | |
What does it take to be happy? And why does happiness so often slip away? In this episode of What Is a Good Life?, Mark McCartney is joined by Rasmus Hougaard for a conversation that moves from childhood questions about happiness, to monasteries in Nepal, to the boardrooms where he now works to transform leadership. Rasmus is the Founder and Chairman of Potential Project and was nominated by Thinkers 50 as one of the eight most important leadership thinkers in the world today. He's the author of The Mind of the Leader, Compassionate Leadership, and More Human: How the Power of AI Can Transform the Way You Lead. Together, they explore:
This conversation sits with both the challenge of being human and the incredible capacity we have for loving kindness. It's about the practice of returning to what matters again and again. This episode is for anyone wondering if there's more to leadership, happiness, and being human than what we've been taught. For more of Rasmus' work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 Why Aren't We Happy? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #160 - The Art Of Living With Coherence with João Sevilhano | 03 févr. 2026 | 00:56:17 | |
What does it really mean to live a coherent life? In this episode of What Is a Good Life, Mark McCartney is joined by João Sevilhano for a deep, reflective conversation on coherence, something that goes beyond rigid moral ideals and is more a lived, imperfect practice. João is a psychologist and learning experience designer. Co-CEO of Way Beyond, where he works on human development and organisational transformation. His background is in clinical psychology and psychoanalysis. He collaborates with Porto Business School and NOVA Doctoral School, and he tends to think meaningful conversation is underrated as a tool for change. Together, they explore:
Rather than offering quick answers or formulas, this conversation sits with uncertainty, contradiction, and the discipline of paying attention - particularly when no one is watching. This episode is for anyone feeling the pull between who they are, how they live, and what the world is asking of them right now.
For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 Questions as Companions 07:00 Spirituality in Everyday Life 13:00 Coherence as Purpose 16:30 Flexibility and Awareness 22:30 Discipline and Practice 36:00 Slow Activism and Stubbornness 42:00 Living With Contradiction 49:00 Reflection on Sacrifice 54:00 Not Knowing as a Practice Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #159 - Cultivating Interconnected Harmony with Cindy Forde | 27 janv. 2026 | 00:51:03 | |
How do we live in harmony with each other and the natural world? Cindy Forde is a thought leader and acclaimed author with over 25 years dedicated to systems change. In 2023, she won the Change Champion Award alongside leaders such as David Attenborough and Malala Yusafzai for her children's book 'Bright New World,' which was adopted by the Australian National Curriculum. She founded Planetari, pioneering Earth-led education, earning a Climate Positive Award at UN COP28. Previously MD of Blue Marine Foundation and CEO of Cambridge Science Centre, she is an Associate Fellow of University of Cambridge Homerton College where she is currently co-founding the Centre for Systemic Change. She is a trained yoga teacher and sound healing practitioner. In this profound conversation, we explore the role of spiritual practice in sustaining changemakers, the paradox of living in systems misaligned with our values, and why "cosmic time" might offer a more realistic perspective on transformation than human urgency. Cindy shares why we need the courage to build entirely new models rather than fixing broken systems, and how current education systems crush the natural interconnectedness that children understand.
For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 - The Guiding Question of Harmony Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #158 - Finding Self-Love Beyond Achievement with Alan Wilson | 20 janv. 2026 | 00:58:32 | |
What is a Good Life? #158 | Finding Self-Love Beyond Achievement Where do you belong? How do you best use your gifts? These questions have followed Alan Wilson throughout his life—from childhood football pitches to corporate boardrooms. In this deeply honest conversation, Alan shares his journey from seeking external validation to cultivating self-love, exploring how grief, self-inquiry, and simple presence have reshaped his understanding of a good life. Alan Wilson is a Director of People & Operations and qualified coach with 17+ years in senior leadership roles. He supports leaders and organisations navigating change by combining commercial insight with a deeply human approach—focused on self-awareness, integrity, and sustainable performance.
This conversation is for anyone questioning whether they're enough, struggling with validation, or wondering if there's more to life than the next achievement.
For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 - Where Do I Belong? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #157 - How to Build Real Connection with Matt Zeigler | 13 janv. 2026 | 01:01:31 | |
On the 157th episode of What Is a Good Life?, I’m joined by Matt Zeigler. Matt is Managing Director at Sunpointe Investments, Senior Editor at Panoptica (a multimedia collaboration with Epsilon Theory), and co-owner and host of Excess Returns, a podcast and YouTube channel. Through his Cultish Creative brand, he transforms complex ideas into accessible insights, helping people make better connections and approach challenges with curiosity. Matt shares his journey from profound disconnection to finding an abundance of connection and meaning through family, work, and community. From a pivotal therapy session that changed everything to discovering the value of small, intentional experiences, he explores how building bridges instead of prisons transformed his life. This is a conversation about vulnerability, curiosity, and the courage to stop running from connection. This episode is for anyone who feels cut off from others and is looking to find their way back—and for anyone looking to feel more optimistic about humanity.
For more from Mark McCartney:
Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life #156 - Learning To Trust My Own Voice with Alejandra Guzmán González | 06 janv. 2026 | 01:02:44 | |
On the 156th episode of What Is a Good Life?, I’m joined by Alejandra Guzmán González. Alejandra is a Nicaraguan educator, lifelong learner, and mother of two. She describes herself as an artist with a dancer’s feet, the soul of a theatre actress, and the writer’s force within (publishing under the pen name aimé). Her work is rooted in curiosity, reflection, and human connection, and she continues to devote her professional life to education and learning-centred projects. In this episode, Alejandra shares her journey of discovering how to trust her own voice. She reflects on personal experiences, family, and the process of making her own decisions with confidence while staying connected to the people she loves. This conversation is for anyone looking to build greater trust in themselves and their own decisions.
For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 - Living the Question Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #155 - Making Your Impact Count with Julian Kirchherr | 30 déc. 2025 | 00:51:29 | |
On the 155th episode of What Is a Good Life?, I’m joined by Julian Kirchherr. Julian combines a career as a Partner at McKinsey & Company with his role as an Associate Professor at Roskilde University. At McKinsey, he co-leads the firm’s public sector work in Europe, focusing on people and organisational performance, while his academic research centres on the circular economy. He ranks among the most highly cited circular economy scholars worldwide. He earned his PhD from St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, and is the author of The Lean PhD: Radically Improve the Efficiency, Quality and Impact of Your Research. In this conversation, we explore curiosity, autonomy, and the value of diverse experiences. Julian also discusses caring too much about external demands, and how this can undermine autonomy, meaning, and impact. This episode will resonate with anyone carving out their own path and explores what it can take to make your own impact. For more of Julian's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 Curiosity Over One Question 02:35 Bullshit In Academia 07:23 Autonomy And Freedom 09:01 Disillusion With Academia 12:18 Early Intellectual Influences 14:55 Myanmar And Outsized Impact 19:59 Pre-Academia Model 26:12 Energy From Dual Roles 30:02 Bias Toward Action 42:50 Bridging Knowledge And Practice 46:51 What is a good life for Julian? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #154 - The Art of Making Meaning with Katie Elliott | 23 déc. 2025 | 00:54:02 | |
On the 154th episode of What Is a Good Life?, I’m joined by Katie Elliott. Katie is a facilitator, writer, and programme designer working across community and organisational settings. With a background in jazz and a long-standing fascination with human change and habits, she creates tools, conversations, and projects that explore how people make sense of themselves and one another. Her work includes Amiko® Cards, the Adventures in Behaviour Change podcast, a series of children’s books, and an album of original piano music. In this conversation, we explore curiosity, bewilderment, and the value of staying with experience rather than rushing to explain or resolve it. We talk about patterns, presence, and how meaning slowly reveals itself in relationships and in life — showing how deeper listening and meaningful conversation can genuinely shift how you see yourself and others. For more of Katie's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 — Patterns and Play Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #153 - When Being Becomes Service with Ethan Hsieh | 16 déc. 2025 | 01:01:34 | |
On the 153rd episode of What Is a Good Life?, I’m joined by Ethan Hsieh for a wide-ranging and deeply human conversation on service, being, and what happens when self-work goes too far. Ethan is currently undertaking his PhD research integrating performance-training with 4E cognitive science. With an MA in Professional Practice: Theatre and Drama Facilitation, he has designed and delivered transformational community-building programs, retreats, and workshops across Asia and Europe through his organisation 5ToMidnight, where he is Artistic Director. He also serves as Platform Manager for The Lectern and has co-designed select practices with John Vervaeke, including the Socratic Imaginal Self-Reflection and the Socratic Search Space. Ethan maintains a private coaching practice working with corporate leaders, professional athletes, and social organisations. Together, we explore nihilism, play, embodiment, identity, and the question that now orients Ethan’s life: When does being itself become service? This episode invites listeners to loosen self-fixation, recover participation, and rediscover what becomes possible when we allow life—and each other—to change us. For more of Ethan's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 A Question of Service 05:40 Self-Work’s Breaking Point 08:04 From Optimization to Orientation 12:52 Not Knowing Intimately 16:31 Returning to Play 26:56 Letting Experience In 31:31 Contact With Life 36:46 Seeing Others Anew 43:42 Identity Held Loosely 52:19 Embodiment and Coherence 59:30 What is a good life for Ethan? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #152 - Living a Life of Intimate Beauty with Tim Leberecht | 09 déc. 2025 | 00:56:26 | |
On the 152nd episode of What is a Good Life?, I welcome Tim Leberecht, one of the most original and passionate voices on creating a more humane future of business. Tim is a German-American entrepreneur, curator, and author, and the co-founder and co-CEO of the House of Beautiful Business, a global community for those who seek more from work and from one another. A sought-after keynote speaker, his two TED Talks have been viewed more than 3 million times. He is the author of The Business Romantic (Harper Business, 2015), translated into ten languages, The End of Winning (Droemer, 2020), and the forthcoming Supercurator (Basic/Hachette, 2027). Tim is also a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader. In this conversation, Tim reflects on belonging, intimacy, and what it means to live a good life amidst the pressures of performance and an increasingly AI-shaped world. He speaks to the value of sensitivity, connection, and community — and how creating spaces for presence and honest conversation can reshape how we experience ourselves and each other. This is a conversation for anyone longing for deeper connection — with themselves, with others, and with a world becoming ever more synthetic. For more of Tim's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 — The question of belonging Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What Is A Good Life? #151 - Seeing What We’ve Been Missing with Olaf Lewitz | 02 déc. 2025 | 00:58:59 | |
On the 151st episode of What is a Good Life?, I welcome Olaf Lewitz. Olaf is the Trust Artist, a leadership thinker and coach who’s endlessly curious about our similarities and differences, and how context shapes the quality of attention we give each other. He’s learning how to change systems so that they support life rather than extract or exploit it, sourcing wisdom and insight from unexpected places. He does this through his TrustTemenos Academy and his work with Dark Matter Labs. In this conversation, we explore the question “What am I missing?” as a way into anger, boundaries, and the stories we tell ourselves – and how much of our “drama” is created by our interpretations rather than reality. Olaf shares how an unshakeable sense of worth and hope help him live with paradox: enjoying a good life while staying awake to harm, responsibility, and the future of our children – and what that invites us to examine in our own lives. For more of Olaf's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 — “What Am I Missing?” Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What Is A Good Life? #150 - Moving From Fear To Love with Claire Goodey | 25 nov. 2025 | 00:56:11 | |
On the 150th episode of What is a Good Life?, I welcome Claire Goodey. Claire is an artist, writer, and humanistic psychotherapist. After a decade in private practice—alongside a new autism diagnosis, perimenopause, and a shifting social landscape—she’s returning to her creative roots to cultivate a slower, more analogue way of living. From this liminal space, Claire blends therapeutic insight with artistic expression, offering presence, vulnerability, and play to others feeling the squeeze of modern life. In this conversation, Claire and I explore what it means to stay part of a world that often feels overwhelming, especially while navigating major life transitions. We discuss the gap between knowing something intellectually and living it, the challenge of discerning fear from genuine bodily wisdom, and the importance of presence, rest, and connection. Claire shares her evolving relationship with retreat—what she calls “getting into the slipper”—and how love, openness, and honest self-attunement can shape a more humane way of being.
For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 Being a part of the world 05:01 Pendulum of growth 06:45 Late autism diagnosis 11:51 Base needs 12:15 Embodiment vs thinking 17:51 Trust the process 19:30 Fear driving so much of the culture 26:22 Sound sensitivity outside 35:33 “Into the slipper” 39:10 Intentional resting 52:28 What is good life? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What Is A Good Life? #149 - Finding Your Unique Role In The World with Adam Mastroianni | 18 nov. 2025 | 00:56:22 | |
On the 149th episode of What is a Good Life?, I welcome Adam Mastroianni. Adam is an experimental psychologist and author of the popular science newsletter Experimental History. His work has been featured in Nature, The New York Times, and Jimmy Kimmel Live. He has escaped from over 170 escape rooms. In this conversation, Adam discusses the nature of questions and curiosity as driving forces in life. He explores the concept of being possessed by ideas, the role of suffering in personal growth, and the shift from academia to independent thought. This episode highlights the impact that finding your unique role—and contributing meaningfully to the world from that place—can have on your life.
For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 – Possessed By Big Questions 04:06 – Enjoying The Friction 07:48 – Why Toilets Took Millennia 13:13 – First Day Being Curious 18:16 – Internet Praise Vs Real Life 23:51 – Freedom Without A Boss 28:07 – Choosing Productive Fear 31:07 – Leaving A “Good” Career 36:52 – What’s Worth Suffering For 45:46 – The Cost Of Pretending 48:00 – The Ideas Graveyard 52:15 – What Is A Good Life? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What Is A Good Life? #148 - Finding Silence In A World Full Of Noise with Leigh Marz | 11 nov. 2025 | 01:00:56 | |
On the 148th episode of What is a Good Life?, I welcome Leigh Marz, a collaboration and leadership coach for major universities, corporations, and federal agencies. She has led training programs to promote an experimental mindset among teams at NASA and a decade-long cross-sector collaboration to reduce toxic chemicals in products, in partnership with Green Science Policy Institute, Harvard University, IKEA, Google, and Kaiser Permanente. Leigh coauthored Golden: The Power of Silence in a World of Noise and cofounded Astrea Strategies, helping leaders bridge contemplation and action. In this conversation we explore silence as a living presence—how inquiry, pauses, and shared quiet unlock better thinking, connection, and wellbeing. We cover mapping noise (auditory, informational, internal), flow states, and why slowing down in groups (even at work) sparks novel solutions. This episode invites listeners to rediscover silence as a living teacher — one that reveals what truly matters when we’re quiet enough to hear it. For more of Leigh's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:03 – Intro & why start with questions 04:03 – Origins of the silence inquiry & HBR article 09:00 – “What’s the deepest silence you’ve known?” 12:41 – Freedom moment: “Silence teems with life” 16:41 – Quiet together: practices beyond meditation 24:44 – Mapping noise: auditory, informational, internal 29:33 – Antidote: signals you need silence & “positive distractions” 35:00 – Designing retreats for novel thinking 38:21 – “Slow down, there isn’t much time.” 46:13 – Silence & the nervous system 58:12 – Leigh’s response to “What is a good life?” Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What Is A Good Life? #147 - Coming Home Through Movement with Karimu Samuels | 04 nov. 2025 | 00:56:43 | |
On the 147th episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome Karimu Samuels. Karimu is a movement expert whose journey from exhaustion to ease led him to discover the power of moving through life with flow. With years of studying body functionality and coaching athletes worldwide, he teaches holistic movement that unites body, mind, and emotion — guiding others toward balance and the joy of movement. He embodies the belief that through movement, we can master not only our bodies but also ourselves. In this conversation, Karimu invites us to explore what happens when we stop striving and start listening — to our bodies, our intuition, and the quieter signals of life. From learning to move through the world with less control and more awareness, to discovering movement as a mirror for self-understanding, he shares how trust, honesty, and softness became the foundation of his work and his peace. This episode invites you to slow down, listen deeply, and tune into what your body is trying to tell you. For more of Karimu's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00–03:09 — “Who am I?” as the guiding question 03:09–04:48 — Movement as universal; finding your gift 04:48–07:40 — From ego goals to service; discovering movement 07:50–12:36 — “Arriving / home” = inner peace 12:36–15:17 — Trust → authenticity; speak your own reality 16:10–18:40 — Radical honesty 18:40–24:48 — Listening to the body: asthma & throat story 24:48–28:03 — Practice and mastering mindset 28:03–32:41 — Shaped by experience; learning to show up 32:41–38:59 — Movement is a mirror; five components 38:59–42:58 — Broken wrist; adapting without compensating 42:58–47:33 — Softening: control vs. letting go 52:05–56:36 — “What is a good life?” Three pillars Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What Is A Good Life? #146 - The Hidden Gifts Of The Shadow with Steven D'Souza | 28 oct. 2025 | 01:00:28 | |
On the 146th episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome Steven D’Souza. Steven is an award winning author, executive educator, trusted advisor, leadership coach and keynote speaker. He is a Senior Partner in the Leadership & Professional Development Practice at Korn Ferry, a leading global Organisational Consulting firm. His expertise crosses the fields of psychology, organisational development, diversity, group dynamics, contemplation and social capital. He has spoken globally to organisations such as PwC, TikTok, Financial Times and the United Nations. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Independent and The Sunday Times. In this conversation, Steven reflects on his early pursuit of the priesthood and his lifelong inquiry into meaning, service, and aliveness. Drawing on themes from his latest book, Shadows at Work, he shares how meeting the shadow with curiosity and compassion brings wholeness, and how embracing uncertainty, silence, and kindness can lead to a more grounded, vital way of living. This conversation invites you to see the shadow not as something to fix, but as a hidden source of energy, wisdom, and aliveness. For more of Steven's work:
Website: https://stevendsouza.com/ For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 — Steven’s lifelong question + year pursuing priesthood 04:24 — Leaving the path & formative books (Kopp, de Mello) 07:27 — Stories as truth; practice over tips 10:12 — Aliveness; “I grow in my spirituality by growing in my humanity” 13:01 — Bringing the vertical into the horizontal (everyday life) 13:28 — Why Shadows at Work; prisons, corporate paradox, “dark mode” 19:36 — “Know my shadow and my light”: beyond Jung; four lenses 23:08 — Defining shadow; biology, culture, spirit lenses in practice 31:02 — Personal shadow work 37:04 — Paradoxical theory of change; acceptance over improvement 40:43 — Negative capability (Keats) 46:53 — Via negativa & subtraction; “bring silence with you” 52:29 — The edge of the unknown; reactions & catastrophic thinking 58:56 — What is a good life? “A kind life.”
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| What Is A Good Life? #145 - The Courage To Listen To Yourself with Marc Cinanni | 21 oct. 2025 | 00:56:16 | |
On the 145th episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome Marc Cinanni. Marc is a writer, musician, and co-founder of Muntanya Màgica, a secluded forest retreat space near Barcelona devoted to personal and spiritual renewal. After time spent in an ashram and a transformative period living on a remote Pacific island, Marc now helps others rewild their inner and outer lives through nature, meditation, and presence—inviting a return to stillness and a deep respect for the mystery of life. In this conversation, we explore courage as the practice of listening to yourself, rewilding a modern life and his move to a remote island, practical spirituality, and how trusting life reshapes friendship, work, and home. This episode is an invitation to truly notice and trust this life. For more of Marc's work: 00:00 How do I live this life as me? 02:30 Sharing our gift with the world 05:00 A series of experience to self-knowing 08:45 The pillars of empathy & creativity 12:15 A call to nature 17:45 Attuning to nature’s demands and our being 21:00 Adjusting to life in nature 29:44 Noticing the cycles of life 35:00 Continued communication in relationships 38:20 The shifting of friendships 41:00 Knowing you can trust your life 46:00 The beauty of every moment 50:30 Setting up a retreat 52:30 Summary and what is a good life for Marc? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What Is A Good Life? #144 - The Quest For Balance In Life with George Thompson | 14 oct. 2025 | 00:58:59 | |
On the 144th episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome George Thompson. George is a filmmaker, teacher, and founder of Balance is Possible!, a movement dedicated to inspiring balance for both people and planet. With over 25 million people impacted by his work and support from changemakers like Louie Schwartzberg, Tara Brach, and Stephen Fry, George weaves together ancient Daoist wisdom and modern science into practical, playful tools for navigating modern life. In this conversation, we explore what it truly means to live in balance — within ourselves, with others, and with the natural world. George shares insights from his time training under Master Gu in the Wudang Mountains of China, and reflects on how balance extends beyond personal wellbeing into a collective responsibility for the planet. This is a gentle and profound invitation to slow down, be present, and rediscover harmony amidst the complexities of life.
00:00 What is balance? 03:00 The economy and nature 05:00 A radical transformation of understanding 08:30 The unexpected path to Tai Chi 11:20 The embrace of the unknown 17:00 Letting go of yourself 20:00 No longer separating life from practice 23:50 The wisdom of the mind 28:15 Trusting the flow of life 31:00 The forming of a mission 34:00 The interdependence of healing 38:00 Giving yourself grace of seasons 41:00 Creating more space to meet life 44:25 Loving the challenging feelings of life 49:50 The movement towards balance 52:45 Summary of the conversation and what is a good life for George?
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| What Is A Good Life? #143 - Embracing The Fullness Of Life with Kimbra | 07 oct. 2025 | 00:55:56 | |
On the 143rd episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome Kimbra. Kimbra is a New Zealand-born songwriter, musician, producer, and adventurous performer. Her 2011 debut, Vows, was certified platinum in Australia and New Zealand. The following year, “Somebody That I Used to Know,” her duet with Gotye, topped Billboard’s Hot 100, became the best-selling song of the year in the U.S., and earned her two Grammy Awards. Since then, she has toured with artists including Beck, David Byrne, and Jacob Collier, and has released four more albums: The Golden Echo, Primal Heart, A Reckoning, and Idols & Vices (Vol. 1). She hosts the podcast Playing With Fire and shares essays, poetry and watercolours on her Substack newsletter. In this conversation, Kimbra reflects on her ongoing journey to find balance and rest within her life and career as a musician. She speaks about the importance of silence in shaping her artistic expression, the power of surrendering to spirit, and the grounding influence of nature. This episode is an invitation to embrace the fullness of life — its joy, its suffering, and the many paradoxes in between. For more of Kimbra's work: 00:00 How to find balance? 03:00 The experience of burnout 06:30 A silent concert 09:50 HoneyBones and nothing to lose 12:30 The generosity and connection of silence 16:00 Life, art, and work are not separate 19:30 Receiving a message from spirit 23:30 Being empowered by spirit 29:00 A mystical experience and calling 33:42 We all have a cross 38:50 Making a difference in the world 42:30 The power and role of nature 45:00 Rest, letting go, and liberation 51:15 Summary and what is a good life for Kimbra? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What Is A Good Life? #142 - Cultivating A Faith In Life Itself with Jim Palmer | 30 sept. 2025 | 01:09:15 | |
On the 142nd episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome Jim Palmer, Founder of the Center for Non-Religious Spirituality. A critically acclaimed author, former megachurch pastor, adjunct professor, and chaplain with the American Humanist Association, Jim is also a trained counsellor in religious trauma and spiritual abuse. In this conversation, he reflects on his journey through a crisis of faith, his experiences as a megachurch pastor, and his challenges of navigating religious culture. We explore theological deconstruction, rewilding spirituality, and the importance of embracing diverse perspectives. This episode invites you to consider a faith in life itself as a way to deepen our connection with existence. For more of Jim's work: 00:00 Introduction and Setup 01:51 Exploring the Good Life 02:50 The More Than Human World 06:22 Personal Evolution and Crisis of Faith 12:22 Experiences as a Mega Church Pastor 17:35 The Challenges of Mega Church Culture 21:22 Theological Deconstruction and Reconstruction 26:38 Confronting Suffering and Injustice 33:03 Cognitive Dissonance in Religion 39:13 Processing Religious Trauma 42:55 Rewilding Spirituality 50:04 God as a Verb 54:20 The Good Life as a Process of Inquiry 58:06 Faith in Life and Interconnectivity Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What Is A Good Life? #141 - The Space To Truly Connect with Professor Megan Reitz | 23 sept. 2025 | 00:59:42 | |
On the 141st episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome Professor Megan Reitz. Megan is an Associate Fellow at Saïd Business School, Oxford University, and Professor of Leadership and Dialogue at Hult International Business School. She is a leading thinker on leadership and dialogue, featured in the Thinkers50 ranking of global business thinkers, and the author of Dialogue in Organizations, Mind Time, and, most recently, Speak Out, Listen Up. Her work explores how we create the conditions for transformative dialogue at work, and her latest research examines how we can foster spaciousness — the capacity to innovate, reflect, and build relationships in workplaces addicted to busyness. In this conversation, we explore the impact of space, silence, attention, and an outward focus on our relationships and our experience of life. This episode serves as an invitation to pause, question the busyness we’ve become entangled in, and reconsider the status quo of how we relate. For more of Megan's work: 00:00 How do I encounter the world? 04:00 Flow amongst people 07:00 How our gestures affect others 11:45 The labels, assumptions, and roles that create distance 17:13 The energy drain of societal expectations 23:00 Allowing, inquiry, and meta awareness 26:20 Creating the space we require 33:45 How do we see the world? 37:00 Navigating pauses and big questions 44:00 How strange it has become to pause 47:30 Our focus moving from ourselves 53:30 Experiencing periods without an agenda 57:00 Summary and what is a good life for Megan? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What Is A Good Life? #140 - A Life of Unfolding Possibility with Robert Poynton | 16 sept. 2025 | 01:03:13 | |
On the 140th episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome Robert Poynton. Rob is the author of Do Conversation, Do Pause, and Do Improvise. He divides his time between an off-grid home in rural Spain and Oxford, where he is an Associate Fellow at the Saïd Business School and convenor of the Oxford Praxis Forum at Green Templeton College. Rob is a designer, host, and facilitator of learning experiences; an amateur practical philosopher; a keeper of hens; and the founder of Yellow Learning. In this conversation, Rob shares his sense of living with more aliveness. We explore following the energy rather than the “shoulds”, noticing visceral signals of “deathly” work, practising curiosity and softness in everyday tasks, infinite games versus fixed goals, and how trusting life’s unfolding leads to a life of joy. This episode is an invitation to soften, to follow what feels alive, and to let life reveal itself through experience and energy rather than theory. For more of Rob's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 How can we make life more joyful? 04:20 Paying attention to that sinking feeling 06:40 Making decisions others found unusual 10:50 Following the breadcrumbs and energy 18:11 Noticing when we contract and soften 24:30 Noticing, allowing, and becoming 32:00 Life wants to happen 39:15 Collaboration more present than competition 42:30 The allure of drama and conflict 48:20 Holding two conflicting ideas at once 51:15 The surprises that bring us alive 57:50 Summary and is a good life for Rob? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #139 - Beyond Problems & Solutions with Simon Höher | 09 sept. 2025 | 00:59:17 | |
On the 139th episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome Simon Höher—a public designer, researcher, and strategist based in Berlin. Simon works at the intersection of systems, futures, and justice, partnering with public institutions, startups, and cultural organisations to rethink how we design, govern, and live together. He is Systems Change Lead at Dark Matter Labs and currently supports the European Commission’s Net Zero Cities Mission. In this conversation, we explore big questions about life, governance, and personal evolution: the nature of change, how today’s decisions shape future generations, and the role of resilience and trust in navigating uncertainty. We also look at ways to move beyond the problem–solution dichotomy. This episode is an invitation to consider what more patience, deliberation, and intention might bring to your life. For more of Simon's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 How do we create deliberate transitions? 04:30 What to do about the state of the world? 08:00 Evolution and transitions 12:00 Shifting from private to public interest 14:30 How do we gauge impact? 19:40 Questioning are we part of the problem 23:50 The impact of trust & hope on resilience 32:45 Trusting yourself through change 37:00 We are incredibly adaptive creatures 39:30 The significance of openness 42:30 The problem-solution dichotomy 50:00 Minimal intervention 54:00 Summary and what is a good life for Simon? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #138 - Tending To What Emerges with Edie Pijpers | 02 sept. 2025 | 00:59:57 | |
On the 138th episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome Edie "EdieArt" Pijpers. Edie is a self-taught painter, musician, and writer whose work flows across the porous borders between music, colour, story, dream, and video. Raised in the Netherlands, Edie travelled through Paris, Sydney, and Los Angeles before planting roots in the Hudson Valley. Over the years, she has released five albums, held art shows in Nashville and New York, painted murals, published mindful children’s books, created intimate video pieces, and collaborated on the oracle deck Healing the Inner Child via Hay House. In this conversation, we explore the essence of creativity and the balance between doing and being. We explore the importance of giving space and time to ideas, as well as attuning to the muse that lives as presence in ordinary moments. Ultimately, she highlights the significance of relationality, living attentively, and embracing the flow of existence. For more of Edie's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 What is trying to emerge? 04:45 Authority and uncertainty 10:00 Exploring how things are 13:00 Balancing masculine and feminine energies 17:30 The call into nature 25:00 Giving life more space 31:05 The seriousness and lightness of life 36:15 Parenting, relating, and space 42:00 Letting go of control 45:00 Meaningful and meaningless 48:00 Answering a call to creativity 51:30 The significance of place 54:30 Summary and what is a good life for Edie? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #137 - Exploring What Matters Most with Diane Button | 26 août 2025 | 01:15:45 | |
On the 137th episode of What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome Diane Button. Diane is a founding partner of the Bay Area End-of-Life Doula Alliance in Northern California, and the best-selling author of Dear Death: Finding Meaning in Life, Peace in Death, and Joy in an Ordinary Day and The Doula Tool Kit: The Complete Practical Guide for End-of-Life Doulas & Caregivers (co-authored with Angela Shook and Gabby Jimenez). She holds a master’s degree in Counselling Psychology, works as a practicing end-of-life doula, and serves as a lead instructor in the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine’s End-of-Life Doula Certificate Program. Her latest book is the inspiring What Matters Most. In our conversation, Diane shares the profound insights she has gained through her work, emphasising the power of presence, the value of embracing all emotions, and the joy found in life’s simplest moments. Together, we explore how the beauty of ordinary days and the wisdom of those facing death can illuminate what it truly means to live well and meet life’s final chapter with grace.
For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 Reflections on the book 02:10 The depth of the role of an End of Life Doula 04:45 Experiencing everything 08:44 The cultivation of presence 14:00 Pausing and slowing down 17:00 An awareness of joy 21:20 An expression of gratitude 25:30 The process of writing the book 31:55 Not waiting to celebrate life 36:30 Distilling what matter most 40:30 The simple moments 43:30 Legacy work with the dying 48:00 Regrets over the little things 52:30 Self-love, acceptance, and authenticity 1:00:00 Comfort with grief and conflicting emotions 1:08:00 The importance of our small acts Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||
| What is a Good Life? #136 - Rootedness in a Changing World with Aadita Chaudhury | 19 août 2025 | 01:12:09 | |
On the 136th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I’m delighted to welcome our guest, Aadita Chaudhury. Aadita is a researcher, writer and arts practitioner inhabiting the intersection of the arts, science, ecology, and spirituality. Her work is shaped by ethnographic approaches, poetic inquiry, embodied methodologies, sonic practices, photography, and encounters with mythology, folklore and ritual, guided by ethics of slow, non-extractive decolonial research. She is interested in perspectives from the Global South in relation to technoscientific imaginaries, decolonial, feminist and working-class social movements. Aadita has conducted research in the US, Canada, the UK, Italy, India and Mexico. Her academic and public work has appeared in International Relations, Conservation Letters and Al Jazeera. In this conversation, Aadita explores the themes of rootedness, belonging, and identity amidst a rapidly changing world. She reflects on her journey through liminal spaces, the impact of cultural expectations, and the quest for enough-ness. The discussion delves into the implications of human exceptionalism, the importance of direct communication, and the value of community connections. Ultimately, Aadita considers a good life as one that embraces honesty, embodiment, and the emergent flux of reality. For more of Aadita's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:00 Navigating Liminal Spaces 04:00 A Practice of Presence 06:00 Rootedness, identity, and preference 09:55 Cultural expectations 14:30 The expectation of proving our worth 16:30 Exploring human exceptionalism 20:00 Conditional enough-ness 26:00 Concepts from human exceptionalism 30:00 Fear of death and immortality 34:00 Moving from abstract to embodied 42:30 Attentiveness to our community 53:00 The repression of forced politeness 59:15 An appreciation for directness 1:06:00 Summary and what is a good life for Aadita?
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| What is a Good Life? #135 - Longing, Belonging, and Matrimony with Stephen Jenkinson | 12 août 2025 | 00:58:42 | |
On the 135th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I’m delighted to welcome our guest, Stephen Jenkinson. Stephen is a cultural worker, teacher, author, and ceremonialist. He is the creator and principal instructor of the Orphan Wisdom School, founded in 2010. He has master’s degrees from Harvard University (theology) and the University of Toronto (social work). He’s the author of Come of Age, the award-winning Die Wise, Money and the Soul’s Desires, and Reckoning (with Kimberly Ann Johnson). His latest book, Matrimony: Ritual, Culture and the Heart’s Work, invites readers to contemplate the significance of matrimony, ceremony, and cultural articulation—and how to redeem them for future generations. In this rich conversation, Stephen explores profound questions about life, love, and the nature of existence. The discussion delves into the essence of ceremonies, particularly in matrimony, emphasising the need for meaningful endings and the responsibilities we hold towards future generations. The discussion weaves fate, ancestry, humility, and the call to “proceed as if you’re needed” into a meditation on how we might live fully inhabited lives.
For more of Stephen's work: For more from Mark McCartney: 00:01 – Introduction 01:37 – The Condition of Pondering 06:28 – Roots of Pondering 10:16 – The Dream Another World Has of You 19:36 – Needed vs Important 21:46 – Matrimony and the Presence of the Absence 26:00 – Longing and Belonging 31:00 – Modern wedding and the privatisation of love 35:47 – The Art of the Ending 41:40 – Pompe and the Necessity of Closure 43:47 – Ritual as a Gift to the Village 45:45 – The White Heat of Possibility 51:25 – The Active Witness 53:43 – What Is a Good Life for Stephen? Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life | |||