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★★★★★

4.8

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38 reviews

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The world's best philosophers and scientists on how to be happy. PhDs, bestselling books, or 17 years of silence in a cave... we don't discriminate. All we know, is that we want to experience life for all its beautiful richness, so we've tracked down the A-listers in the art of doing exactly that. Get access to the AD-FREE feed + Recieve bonus episodes by subscribing on patreon.com/TOLclub The world is beautiful, full of fascinating people, and people I love, and I'm so lost in neurotic thought that I'm missing... most of it. I'm an overexaminer. Why, when scubadiving in the Great Barrier Reef, instead of drinking in the marine wonders, am I just replaying that time I was picked last in P.E. basketball? Why, at a close friend's wedding, did I miss half the groom's speech because I was thinking about my crap haircut. If that sounds like you too, then join me on a quest to discover ways in which we can become more present, more fulfilled and more curious. Through stories, reflections and interviews with the wisest gurus, comedians, musicans, athletes and artists, maybe we can uncover a few secrets about what a life well-lived looks like. WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his Website Email Jonah Primo at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Check latest episodes from The Overexamined Life podcast

Do You Love A ‘Person’, or Your Mind’s Projection? - Jayasāra

2026/09/29

Can you fall in love with another person, or only with the picture of them you carry around in your head? This week, a Buddhist nun who walked away from a PhD, a career, and most of the things you and I would call fun tells me you can't. Jayasara lives celibate in a forest hermitage, wakes at 3am, and chops a lot of wood. We talk about booze, lust, gossip, whether a monk's life costs you the best nights of your life, and why the fireworks you set off on a mountain in Japan are now, according to her, just a blip on the screen of consciousness. Sick of being ruled by your emotions? Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, Free Gratitude Club, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or Letterboxd visit his Website Jonah writes on Substack You can contact The Overexamined Life at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Nature Knows That We’ve Forgotten - Mark Coleman

2026/09/22

My guest today thinks nature might be one of our greatest teachers. Forty years ago, Mark Coleman was a punk rocker and self-described anarchist in London, until he found Buddhism and began looking inward. Today, he’s a renowned meditation teacher who takes mindfulness out of the temple and into the woods, believing nature can transform how we experience ourselves and the world. We get into nature, self-care, ADHD, and the ethical dilemmas of taking the natural world seriously. Sick of being ruled by your emotions? Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, Free Gratitude Club, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or Letterboxd visit his Website Jonah writes on Substack You can contact The Overexamined Life at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beating Substance Abuse: Attention Not Willpower - Joan Tollifson.

2026/09/15

Joan Tolifson spent the sixties drinking herself into blackouts before becoming one of the most unflinching voices on addiction, shame, and what actually gets you free of them — a path built not on willpower, but on attention. Sick of being ruled by your emotions? Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, Free Gratitude Club, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or Letterboxd visit his Website Jonah writes on Substack You can contact The Overexamined Life at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do We Have a "Self?"

2026/09/08

We’re gonna get to the bottom of whether or not “you” exist. Here’s why it matters practically. If you don’t exist, you might navigate life with so much more joy. Because what exactly are you protecting, every time you get defensive, jealous, insecure, anxious? Nothing. Sick of being ruled by your emotions? Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, Free Gratitude Club, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or Letterboxd visit his Website Jonah writes on Substack You can contact The Overexamined Life at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who Are You When No One's Watching? - Todd Fink

2026/09/01

Todd Fink has the ability to casually articulate some of the most complex spiritual paradoxes all while exuding an aura of warmth and love. We explore the ego, the healing effect of nature, and the way society and commerce can commodify art and turn spirituality into an industry - in an effort to figure out what’s real and what’s performance, what’s authentic - who are we really when nobody’s watching? More from Todd: michaeltoddfink.com Sick of being ruled by your emotions? Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, Free Gratitude Club, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or Letterboxd visit his Website Jonah writes on Substack You can contact The Overexamined Life at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emerging From 100 Hours of Darkness Retreat - Nate Green

2026/08/25

A tech founder tried the same dark retreat as Nate and tapped out after three hours. One of favourite friends of the show - Nate Green, did over a hundred, straight, alone, and with a real risk of losing his grip on reality. He walks us through what a hundred hours in blackout darkness does to your sense of time, your sense of self, and your ability to tell whether you're living or dying. Then faces the Reckoning of Self, my closing gauntlet of questions on fear, death, and regret. Sick of being ruled by your emotions? Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, Free Gratitude Club, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or Letterboxd visit his Website Jonah writes on Substack You can contact The Overexamined Life at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Modern, Attainable Definition of Nirvana - Stephen Batchelor

2026/08/18

What if Nirvana isn't a mountaintop, monastery thing, but something available to you right now wherever you are. Stephen Batchelor spent ten years as a monk chasing exactly that, including three-month stretches sitting in silence asking "what is this?" He came out the other side as a controversial figure with his own brand of secular Buddhism that requires no mythical beliefs - essentially, we've been overcomplicating the whole path. Today on The Overexamined Life Podcast: a modern attainable definition of Nirvana, what "embracing suffering" really means, and how to get there without leaving your house. Sick of being ruled by your emotions? Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, Free Gratitude Club, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or Letterboxd visit his Website Jonah writes on Substack You can contact The Overexamined Life at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Headless Philosophy That Changes How You See Everything - Richard Lang

2026/08/11

Buckle up you philosophy degenerates for one of our more "out there" ones. Richard Lang has spent his life teaching Douglas Harding's "Headless Way" — a philosophy that starts with a genuinely disorienting perceptual experiment and ends up somewhere close to boundlessness, reduced stress, and a different relationship with your own self-consciousness. We talk through the exercise itself, what people report feeling when it lands, and why something this simple has stuck with people for seventy years. Sick of being ruled by your emotions? Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, Free Gratitude Club, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo Want more from Richard? https://www.headless.org/ WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or Letterboxd visit his Website Jonah writes on Substack Email Jonah Primo at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Athlete to Tetraplegic: How Paul Sagar Learned to Enjoy Life Again

2026/08/04

Paul Sagar was a world-class rock climber until a freak accident left him tetraplegic overnight, paralysed in all four limbs, torso, and pelvic organs, losing not just his body but the identity and dreams built around it. Paul is also a Cambridge-trained philosopher who teaches political theory at King's College London, and he brings that same rigour to unpacking his own experience, from the physical horror of his new reality to the depression that came with it. Somehow, and against every expectation, he's emerged with an ease around words like "lucky" and "happy" that most people couldn't muster on their best day. This is a hard listen that goes to some dark places before it climbs back out, but what Paul finds on the other side might change how you think about what actually matters. Sick of being ruled by your emotions? Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, Free Gratitude Club, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his Website Jonah writes on Substack Email Jonah Primo at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does a "dopamine detox" work? The science vs the bullsh*t

2026/07/28

Can you actually do anything to change your dopamine levels? The "Dopamine Detox" is trending, but today we look into some studies to help figure out what's true and what's bollocks. I also go into some strategies that have really helped me enjoy every day life a bit more. Join the free Gratitude Club: patreon.com/TOLclub. WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his Website Jonah writes on Substack Email Jonah Primo at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to Walk Your Way to Inner Peace - Anne Jolles

2026/07/22

Sick of being ruled by your emotions? Join our freeeeeeeee Gratitude club!!!: patreon.com/TOLclub Today I'm chatting with Anne Jolles who has built an entire movement around the idea that help people access gratitude, courage, and inner wisdom through walking rather than stillness. We'll explore why walking in nature seems to calm the nervous system, whether self-compassion is really worth all the hype, and Anne will even guide us through a virtual Grace Trail that you can follow along with as you listen. Grace Trail | Wellness Trails That Inspire Reflection & Resilience Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his Website Jonah writes on Substack Email Jonah Primo at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Porn Does to Your Mind - Jeremy Lipkowitz

2026/07/15

If you deal with addiction of any kind, or really any behaviour you find unhelpful, that you wish you had more control over, that you perhaps wouldn't tell your friends or family about, this is for you. Today we largely look at addiction through the lens of pornography, but really the way pornography is entwined with shame, pleasure, boredom and trauma means that while listening you can subsititute porn for whatever dopamine shortcut you take on a regular basis. Booze, Sleeve of timtams, online shopping, social media, so on. Sick of being ruled by your emotions? Join our freeeeeeeee Gratitude club!!!: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo Find more from Jeremy: https://www.unhookedacademy.com/ WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his Website Jonah writes on Substack Email Jonah Primo at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Woman Who Doesn't Suffer Shares Her Secrets - Dianne Horton

2026/07/07

Join the free gratitude club! It’s so wholesome! patreon.com/tolclub Spiritual mentor Dianne Horton, claims she doesn't suffer…not because she was born that way, but because it's a skill she learned and believes anyone can develop. At one point she even says she enjoys eating an ice cream as much as being in a car crash, so I challenged Dianne harder than I usually would to understand how she cultivates this state of mind, whether a life without suffering is really teachable, and whether we'd actually want a world without suffering if it also meant losing some of the drive behind progress, productivity, and innovation Sick of being ruled by your emotions? Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his Website Jonah writes on Substack Email Jonah Primo at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 rules for happiness from 100 interviews and a few deathbeds

2026/07/01

After 100 interviews with gurus, doctors, and scientists chasing the same question...what actually makes happiness stick...I've landed on four things we can do to win at life. And by win at life, I mean not be depressed. It's working. I call it the Proof of Life. Have a squiz at this one, I think it's really helpful. Sick of being ruled by your emotions? Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his Website Jonah writes on Substack Email Jonah Primo at [email protected] MUSIC - "Recollections" by Asher Fulero. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Exploring Depression With A Buddhist Nun - Jitindriyā

2026/06/23

This episode has been de-monetized out of respect for the Viveka Hermitage. Join the free Gratitude Club: patreon.com/TOLclub Email me: [email protected] I seek council from one of the wisest people I know, Jitindriyā, a Buddhist nun. Jitindriyā helps me out with understanding death, depression, love, karma, apologising, and much more. If you are navigating depression, anger, anxiety, grief, fear, you can check out more of Jitindriya's work below. https://vivekahermitage.com/embodying-awareness-metta/ https://vivekahermitage.com/working-with-challenging-emotions/ WATCH THE PODCAST on Youtube Follow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his Website Email Jonah Primo at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Podcast reviews

Read The Overexamined Life podcast reviews

4.8 out of 5

38 reviews

★★★★★

XanCam2727 2025/10/22

Therapy for the soul right now

This podcast is like pocket therapy. I came here via the Waking Up app (big thanks to Sam Harris for that gem). Jonah has a way of teaching mindfulnes...

★★★★★

Nick654654654 2025/03/14

Perfect dose of wisdom

If you stop and listen to The Overexamined Life, a mere 10 minutes, twice a week - really listen - it’ll become your gateway to peace and happiness.

★★★★☆

spmaniato 2025/01/27

Good stuff, but too many ads

I’m listening from the US. Today’s episode was 4 minutes of content and 4 minutes of generic ads. That’s just not a good ratio.

★★★★★

Wahn82 2025/01/06

Jonah is my mindfulness homeboy

Jonah is the friend you Hope you would meet on the first day of school or somewhere brand new exciting but overwhelming. His show working progress tur...

★★★★★

Chinapaige 2024/12/03

Thought provoking and relatable

I found that after a while Jonah’s segment on the Waking Up app was the main thing I was listening to because of the gift he has of bringing up comple...

★★★★★

Wingaersheek MCC 2024/11/23

Exploring together

So happy to hear Jonah’s voice and be part of this community exploration. Especially grateful to hear Jonah’s personal story with pain and the interv...

★☆☆☆☆

labriute613 2024/11/16

Get rid of the Ads Until you get 100 reviews

You’re not making much money and you’re killing the experience for listeners with ads. Let the listener base grow into a relationship with you before ...

★★★★★

tamberdo 2024/10/18

Human Journey

I feel so grateful to hear about your sour gummy bear days, and what it must feel like to realize the futility of impatience sitting in a tube surroun...

★★★★★

Mike Sh. 2024/10/13

great stuff

followed Jonah here from work in progress on waking up! so glad i get to continue having his wonderful voice and sense of humor snd wisdom in my ears ...

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