Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley
1,100 episodes - English - Latest episode: 14 days ago - ★★★★★ - 100 ratingsFinding the Throughline: Conversations about the Creative Process invites you into the minds of writers and other creatives as they open up about their process, their doubts, and what kinds of changes they’re thinking about making. The questions are mildly invasive, honestly, and the answers are unvarnished…and so refreshing!
Whether your creative work is writing, painting, making music, parenting, or simply living, Finding the Throughline can help you get—and stay—inspired. Invigorated, even.
For detailed show notes on each interview, visit katehanley.substack.com. And if you’d like to hear these interviews in one ad-free episode (as opposed to broken up into three shorter episodes with a few ads sprinkled in to keep the lights on), become a paid subscriber once you’re there.
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Episodes
Are You Meaner Online Than in Real Life? EP: 550
October 07, 2021 09:00 - 10 minutesThere’s a scientific term for the phenomenon of acting differently online than you do in real life, it’s called the internet disinhibition effect. So if you get fired up and leave snarky comments or bad reviews, you're living out a scientific principle!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Are You Addicted to Your Phone? Maybe (Probably) Yes EP: 549
October 06, 2021 09:00 - 19 minutesSmartphones are designed to be addictive. If you can't stop looking at yours, it makes sense. Does that mean there's nothing you can do? No. Dr. Jud Brewer, a New York Times best-selling author, neuroscientist, addiction psychiatrist, and thought leader in the field of habit change, is here today to talk us through getting out of that craving state of mind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Managing the Onslaught of Opportunities to Shop Online EP: 548
October 05, 2021 09:00 - 10 minutesAnytime you are online (unless you’ve paid for a subscription service with no ads), SHOPPING IS EVERYWHERE!! It’s very, very hard to resist. Which is tough on our willpower, which is a finite resource that burns pretty quickly, our credit card balances, and the environment. Let's break that see, click, buy cycle. Or at least interrupt it. Fast Fashion Turning Parts of Ghana into Toxic Landfill Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Being a Better Person Online: Keeping Relationships Strong in the Age of Texting EP: 547
October 04, 2021 09:00 - 11 minutesAll our connectivity makes a lot of things easier, but there are some things where you don’t really want to take the easy route: for example, fostering day to day closeness to people you love. Survey That Found that Americans Spend 59 Hours a Week on the Internet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
DAY FIVE of the First-Ever Give a Shit Challenge: Commit to Something EP: 546
October 01, 2021 09:00 - 10 minutesWell, you commit to something. Something that helps keep a very manageable amount of your energy directed toward making a difference. I'll also share how I came to be secretary of the PTO--and why I'm so glad I did, despite the meetings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
DAY FOUR of the First-Ever Give a Shit Challenge: Get Out Your Wallet EP: 545
September 30, 2021 09:00 - 8 minutesIn what I think might end up being the shortest How to Be a Better Person podcast episode ever, your tiny assignment today is just ridiculously simple. But hearing why it matters so very much will help inspire you to do it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
DAY THREE of the First-Ever Give a Shit Challenge: Elevate the Need EP: 544
September 29, 2021 09:00 - 9 minutesYou may not have 50,000 followers on Instagram or a million followers on tiktok, but you still have influence. Today’s piece of the challenge is to take the information you gathered on who is already doing the work on the thing you want to help address, and use your influence to help spread the word about their work and their needs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
DAY TWO of the First-Ever Give a Shit Challenge: Find Someone Who’s Doing the Work EP: 543
September 28, 2021 09:00 - 9 minutesHere’s a crucial thing to keep in mind when it comes to making a difference on issues big and small, global and local: You don’t need to be the savior rushing in a white horse. In fact, you'd likely only make things worse. Instead, your task today is to find someone who's already working on the thing you care about, so you can add your support to the cause. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
DAY ONE of the First Ever Give a Shit Challenge EP: 542
September 27, 2021 09:00 - 11 minutesThis week on the podcast I’m doing something a little bit different. Because I’ve gotten such a great response to my free I Give a Shit sticker (it's a nice antidote to the I give zero effs thing that’s been floating around) and because there are just so many things happening in the world that, if you are a person who gives a shit, can really weigh on you, this week we're going to relieve some of that angst by doing something about the stuff that’s weighing heavy on our hearts. Learn more abo...
Ask Yourself This Question to Figure Out What Your Anger Is Trying to Tell You EP: 541
September 24, 2021 09:00 - 11 minutesYour emotions aren’t here to torture you; they’re messengers, giving you information about what you value, need, and want. Here's one question to ask yourself to figure out what information your anger is trying to convey. (Then it won’t have to try so hard to get your attention.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What’s Your Anger Story? EP: 540
September 23, 2021 09:00 - 11 minutesEach of us has a set of beliefs about anger that we’ve been carrying around since we were little. By taking a little time to think about what those beliefs are, you can get a little more objectivity and perspective on this emotion that so often prevents you from thinking clearly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Breaking the Cycle of Anger, an Interview with Andrea J. Lee EP: 539
September 22, 2021 09:00 - 26 minutesI wanted to talk to someone who could help us think about anger in new ways and potentially interrupt any of our habitual patterns around it so that we’ve got some space to learn some new skills for dealing with it. The person I’m talking to today is Andrea J. Lee. Andrea is the author of the blog "We Can Stop Being Abusive" on Substack, the controversial article "I Verbally Abused my Husband: Here's How I Stopped," published in the Washington Post and the book We Need to Talk for small busin...
Reasons Why You Might Feel Angry All the Time EP: 538
September 21, 2021 09:00 - 13 minutesThere’s nothing wrong with anger management strategies, which are fine but, to use a healthcare analogy, learning how to manage anger is trying to mitigate symptoms, instead of treating the root cause. Let’s look at some of the many, many things that can give rise to anger so that you can see what root causes that you might be able to address. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Is Anger Good, or Bad? Both EP: 537
September 20, 2021 09:00 - 10 minutesThis week's episodes were inspired by a listener question about feeling angry all the time lately, and what to do about it. And since anger is definitely having a moment (all that cooped-up angst has to have somewhere to go), let's figure out what all this collective anger might be here to show us. First question: is anger a bad a thing? Or a good thing? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How Do You Feel When You’re Having Fun? EP: 536
September 17, 2021 09:00 - 9 minutesEven when you’re busy and don’t feel like you have a lot of time to do things just for the fun of it, you can increase your experience of fun by tuning in to how fun feels in your body. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Using Fun to Motivate You--It Is Possible EP: 535
September 16, 2021 09:00 - 9 minutesLet’s face it: Adulting can be a real slog. The list of things to do and take care of can feel relentless. However, that does not mean that doing the things you need to do has to be boring, or tedious. You CAN use fun to goad yourself into doing those things you have to do, and enjoy yourself while you’re doing it Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feeling Fried? Might Be Time for the Healing Power of Pleasure EP: 534
September 15, 2021 09:00 - 18 minutesToday I’m interviewing Dr. Rachel Allyn, a relationship and sex therapist and the author of the new book, The Pleasure Is All Yours: Reclaim Your Body’s Bliss and Reignite Your Passion for Life. After all fun and pleasure go hand in hand, and if you’re listening from the United States, we live in a pretty repressed society where pleasure is either frowned upon or just ignored. Let's turn that beat around. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
So, What ARE You Doing for Fun? EP: 533
September 14, 2021 09:00 - 11 minutesIn order to invite more fun into your life, it helps to give some thought to what you consider to be fun, and what you’ve been doing for fun lately, and objectively assess whether you might need to prioritize fun a little more. I think of it as doing a fun inventory. That may sound like a clinical approach to playfulness, but what you inspect, you respect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Let’s Have Some Fun EP: 532
September 13, 2021 09:00 - 12 minutesI get that fun can feel frivolous, and that it’s easy to think that we should wait until things calm down before we even consider doing something just for the fun of it. But fun is not just enjoyable, but also it’s vital to our wellbeing and even to our very purpose for being on this planet in this body at this juncture in time. Woah. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How to Make Multiple Meals Out of One Cooking Session (without Being a Meal Planner) EP: 531
September 10, 2021 09:00 - 9 minutesThere are two kinds of people in this world: those who embrace leftovers, and those who turn their nose up at them. By the end of this episode, I hope you’ll be firmly in the embrace ‘em camp, if you’re not there already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Cooking Doesn’t Start in the Kitchen...It Starts in the Grocery Store EP: 530
September 09, 2021 09:00 - 9 minutesWe can’t talk about how to get better and making more of your own food without also talking about getting better about grocery shopping. After all, you can’t cook what you don’t have. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How to Figure Out What the Heck to Have for Dinner EP: 529
September 08, 2021 09:00 - 20 minutesLet’s be honest, figuring out what to eat can also be overwhelming. So today, I’m interviewing Kate Schulz, co-host of the Dinner Sisters podcast, for her tips on how to figure out what the heck to have for dinner. Kate is a home cook through and through with no professional chef experience or training, so she can definitely relate to that feeling of having no idea of what to make for dinner and of being turned off by complicated recipes. I’m excited to get insights on how to make cooking les...
Cooking Strategies that Have Saved Me Weeks of Time Over the Years EP: 528
September 07, 2021 09:00 - 9 minutesWhile you definitely don’t need any formal training to be a great home cook, having a couple techniques up your sleeve can make things a lot easier. So today I’m sharing three cooking strategies that, over the years, have saved me weeks of time. I did learn them from a pro, but not in a class or culinary school. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Food Week: 7 Easy Ways to Eat More Vegetables EP: 527
September 06, 2021 09:00 - 12 minutesWe all know that vegetables are good for us, but few of us are eating as many as we probably ought to be. In fact, a survey commissioned by the food brand. Dr. Praeger's found that a quarter of Americans have never had a vegetable! So let’s talk about how you can eat more vegetables in an easy and tasty way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What Fall Is REALLY About EP: 526
September 03, 2021 09:00 - 8 minutesOk, yes, fall is busy, but it's about more than just being a busy little squirrel and hiding away your acorns for the winter to come (although it is about that too). Let's look at the deeper meaning--and opportunities--of fall so we can be intentional about this sometimes tempestuous season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How a Supportive Schedule Is Like a Song EP: 525
September 02, 2021 09:00 - 10 minutesInstead of creating a rigid new schedule for fall, think about how making your schedule more like a song--with a consistent rhythm that can adapt to different circumstances, like verses (weekdays), choruses (weekends), and even shredding guitar solos (those days that kick your butt). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Self-Care for a Less Stressful Fall Transition, an Interview with Mary Sheila Gonella EP: 524
September 01, 2021 09:00 - 19 minutesToday I’m talking with my go-to nutrition expert, Mary Sheila Gonnella, of Occidental Nutrition--a recurring guest on this podcast, a friend of mine, and a very talented and passionate nutritionist who blends traditional approaches,-like taking care of your blood sugar and insulin levels, with ancient practices such as Ayurveda. I'm asking her what kinds of foods will help us stay strong during this transitional time, as well as how to manage fall allergies. Learn more about your ad choices. ...
Let’s Face It. Transitions Suck EP: 523
August 31, 2021 09:00 - 9 minutesLet’s just go ahead and admit it. Transitions can be really hard. And fall is a lot of transitions rolled into one--changes in weather, in schedules, and overall energy. I share two ways to help you feel more stable and safe during this wonky time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Getting Back in the Healthy Swing After the Excesses of Summer EP: 522
August 30, 2021 09:00 - 8 minutesRight about now, it is easy to be feeling like you’ve gotten off track with your healthy habits. Maybe your bedtime has crept later, and if you have kids, so has theirs. Maybe it felt too hot to cook so you got really into eating more stuff like pizza or fries because they were so easy. Or maybe you’ve been hitting the booze more because there have been barbecues and trips to the beach or the lake or the woods or the park. More. . . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Things We Feel Shame About EP: 521
August 27, 2021 09:00 - 13 minutesSo very many of us have experienced something that makes us feel ashamed, and that shame can worm its way into your subconscious and make you feel like deep down inside, you are a bad person. Something that we’re scared that if people knew the truth about, we would be judged and shunned for. Let's talk about how to start leaving that shame behind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why Can’t I Stick With My Healthy Habits? I Know Why: I Suck. EP: 520
August 26, 2021 09:00 - 12 minutesI don’t know about you, but I find it comforting to know that humans have been backsliding for thousands and thousands of years! It’s not a question of if it will happen, but when. And therefore, not something that means you’re a bad person. Just something that means you’re human. Let's talk about what to do when you realize you've let your healthy habits slide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Does Lying Make You a Bad Person? EP: 519
August 25, 2021 09:00 - 18 minutesWhether you’re telling a little fib, or blatantly telling someone something that isn’t true, or even NOT telling someone something that IS true, dishonesty is often one of those things that triggers a visit from the “am I a bad person?” thought pattern later on. So let’s break it down with Judi Ketteler, author of the book Would I Lie to You? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
I’m Always Running Late and Forgetting Stuff--Am I a Bad Person? EP: 518
August 24, 2021 09:00 - 12 minutesToday’s trait is running late and forgetting stuff and therefore, potentially letting other people down. Let me just say, I FEEL this one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Are You a Bad Person If You’re Impatient? EP: 517
August 23, 2021 09:00 - 12 minutesThis week on the podcast I want to flip things and instead of talking about being a better person, to spend a little time talking about the things we all sometimes do that can leave us wondering, am I a bad person? When I surveyed listeners several months ago about the things that make them feel like a bad person, the most popular response was impatience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Finding Your Way to Self-Acceptance EP: 516
August 20, 2021 09:00 - 10 minutesAccepting the things about yourself that you might otherwise judge as ‘bad’ is a big piece of loving yourself. After all, love isn’t conditional. It’s not, I’ll love myself after I lose 5 pounds, or get a new job, or things calm down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Refilling Your Attention Deficit EP: 515
August 19, 2021 09:00 - 11 minutesThese August days are about as quiet as it gets on the work front (except for, perhaps, the week between Christmas and New Year's). Let's take this opportunity to restore our ability to focus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How to Cultivate Grit with Shannon Polson EP: 514
August 18, 2021 09:00 - 14 minutesTo help us all think about how to go about cultivating more grit I wanted to talk to a pro, so I reached out to Shannon Huffman Polson, the youngest woman ever to climb Mt. McKinley, one of the first women to be trained to fly an Apache helicopter during her time serving in the Army and author of The Grit Factor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Strengthen Your “Keep Going” Muscles EP: 513
August 17, 2021 09:00 - 11 minutesOne of my better person principles (that I shared last week in episode 509) is that every challenge has an opportunity wrapped up inside it. Even the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad challenges, like, say, a global pandemic. And one of those opportunities now is to strengthen and hone our ‘keep going’ muscles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What’s the Better Person Thing to Do When It Comes to Disagreeing With Friends? EP: 512
August 16, 2021 09:00 - 11 minutesYou used to more or less be able to decide when you wanted to wade into a potentially heated conversation. Now, whether you're talking about masks, vaccines, or the start of school, you can stumble into them multiple times a day. What's a person who's trying to be a better person to do? Face them head on, or keep the peace? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Better Person Principle #5: Being better is a choice EP: 511
August 13, 2021 09:00 - 9 minutesBeing a better person isn't a fluke of genetics. Everyone has inherent goodness. Everyday, you’re faced with hundreds of decisions, and it’s in those decisions where you have the potential to move toward better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Better Person Principle #4: There’s a time and a place for everything EP: 510
August 12, 2021 09:00 - 9 minutesYou don’t have to be a better person ALL the time. And thank goodness for that. Because trying to do anything 100% of the time is a recipe for burnout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Better Person Principle #3: There’s an opportunity inside every challenge EP: 509
August 11, 2021 09:00 - 8 minutesLooking for the opportunity keeps your eyes open to what good things might be trying to emerge. And finding those opportunities is what helps you use the simple act of living your life as a personal development seminar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Better Person Principle #2: Awareness is the first step EP: 508
August 10, 2021 09:00 - 10 minutesEven though it’s a simple concept, awareness is a pretty rare and wonderful thing, like an orchid in a sea of carnations. Because it’s a lot more convenient to not pay attention to stuff--particularly your own stuff. Being able to see yourself clearly is how you start to make better choices. It’s also an easy and effective way to wade into change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Better Person Principle #1: It’s not about being perfect, or even a good person. Just better. EP: 507
August 09, 2021 09:00 - 10 minutesYou don’t have to transform yourself into Mother Theresa or Gandhi or whomever your ideal ‘good person’ is. Truly, you just have to care enough to opt for a better choice at your next opportunity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Admit that you’re probably going to stink at first, and that’s OK; in fact, it's the kind of the point EP: 506
August 06, 2021 09:00 - 10 minutesOne huge obstacle to creativity is your inner critic, which is obsessed with keeping you safe, and will try to convince you that anything new you’re either thinking, doing, or trying to create, is either dangerous--as in, it could open you up to ridicule--or bad--as in, a waste of time. I’ve got a way to short circuit that very human instinct. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How to get inspiration to pursue you like Miss Piggy chased after Kermit EP: 505
August 05, 2021 09:00 - 11 minutesFun fact: the root of “spire” means breath, so inspired means filled with breath, or since if you aren’t breathing you’re dead, filled with life. So even if you don’t care one whit about doing anything creative, inspiration is still essential. Here's how to make it seek you out like a glamorous, love-starved pig. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Finding your creative practice (even if you 'don’t have an artistic bone in your body') EP: 504
August 04, 2021 09:00 - 18 minutesOK, let's talk nuts and bolts. HOW do you incorporate creativity into what I'm assuming is already a pretty gosh darn busy life? I'm interviewing Jackie Dishner, an Arizona-based artist, author, and writer who teaches creativity classes. I'm gonna get her to break it down for me like I'm 5 years old so that we can all see our way to gettin' our creative on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
If you don't (yet) feel creative, try feeling this instead EP: 503
August 03, 2021 09:00 - 11 minutesSome of us--many of us--do NOT feel like we are creative beings. Like, it’s something that only gets handed out to some folks, and others are stuck in logical land. When really, creativity is an innate human trait, we all have it, in some form, to some extent. But perhaps it’s gotten rusty or is just feeling neglected and hard to access. So today I want to talk about something that might feel easier to access that is a precursor to creativity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...
The amazing, Important Benefits of Creativity EP: 502
August 02, 2021 09:00 - 11 minutesCovid cases are trending back upward, this summer has been intense on the weather front, and you know, I think the collective we could really go for a topic that’s comforting and taps into the dreamier, more imaginative side of life. Plus, creativity is one of the unique characteristics of humans, so nurturing your own inventiveness is part of being a better person. And, creativity has a TON of important benefits to offer us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Taking stock and easing the stress of being in transition EP: 501
July 30, 2021 09:00 - 9 minutesThis pandemic summer, when we still can’t really predict what the fall, winter and spring ahead will be like, and yet we theoretically are out of the worst of it, is a very transitional time to be. And the human brain typically does NOT like transitions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices