Best Curing Boredom Podcasts (2026)

1
EP308 Minisode: The connection between overwhelm and the need to drink 23:25

Play Pause

3d ago23:25

23:25

🪩 HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! 💃 In this episode, Colleen pulls back the curtain on what overwhelm actually looks like from the inside — not as a failure, not as burnout drama, but as a nervous system hitting its limit after years of living in survival mode. What began as growth, ambition, and "doing what needed to be done" quietly turned into a chro…

1
Before The Tightening - Hogen, Roshi 45:29

4d ago45:29

45:29

What is here before the mind contracts around thought, identity, or effort? This talk points to the moment prior to grasping—where awareness is open, unconfined, and quietly alive—and offers guidance on recognizing and resting in that simplicity. ★ Support this podcast ★By Zen Community of Oregon

1
Vast Space, No Lack - Kodo Conover, Zen Teacher 30:27

6d ago30:27

30:27

In this talk, Kodo reflects on Faith in Mind as a teaching on living with uncertainty and relinquishing judgment, comparison, and fixed views. Drawing on Dōgen, early Buddhist teachings, and reflections from contemporary teachers, she explores how practice shifts us from self-centered thinking into direct awareness, where impermanence is lived rath…

1
EP307: How to leverage your dopamine so you actually don't want to drink (so much) 36:10

6d ago36:10

36:10

You know what you need to do. So why can't you get yourself to do it? Because you've been waiting for motivation to show up—like it's some mysterious force that either finds you or it doesn't. But motivation isn't magic. It's dopamine. And dopamine follows rules. In this episode, I'm breaking down exactly how dopamine works in your brain, why your …

1
Revisited: The Beautiful Brilliance of Boredom with Creative Polymath Elle Cordova 1:03:10

6d ago1:03:10

1:03:10

Team Simon is revisiting some of the episodes you helped make our favorites of the year until A Bit of Optimism returns on January 27, 2026, with brand-new episodes. We’re rewinding back to August, when talented polymath Elle Cordova joined the show and unpacked how we’re all wired to chase the next spark. We scroll, swipe, refresh, and repeat—but …

1
EP306 Minisode: When You Don't Want To Drink, But Your Mouth Orders A Chardonnay 23:47

10d ago23:47

23:47

In this episode, Colleen breaks down a moment almost every woman in this work has experienced: when your body makes a decision before your conscious mind even knows what happened. A glass of wine ordered on autopilot. No craving. No plan. Just habit taking the wheel. Using a real travel story, she explains why this isn't a moral failure, a hidden s…

1
Exploring Space - Jogen Salzberg, Sensei 30:32

11d ago30:32

30:32

In this wide-ranging talk, Jogen explores spaciousness as a direct and liberating dimension of Zen practice, drawing from his own experience and from Zen and Dzogchen teachings. He reflects on how awareness of space—physical, experiential, and unconfined—can soften fixation, interrupt grasping, and provide refuge amid pain, anxiety, and self-contra…

1
Awakening and Non-Thinking - Chozen, Roshi 46:05

13d ago46:05

46:05

In this Rohatsu Sesshin talk, Chozen reflects on the meaning of awakening—not as a one-time event, but as an ongoing opening into reality beyond self, time, and conceptual division. Drawing on classic Zen stories, Dōgen’s teaching of non-thinking, and stages of meditative settling described in the Chan tradition, she explores how sustained concentr…

1
EP305 Are you drinking to cope with a job you hate? (And how to change that) with Career Coach Michelle Schafer 35:20

13d ago35:20

35:20

If you've been stuck in a job that's slowly draining you—and using wine to cope with the Sunday scaries—this episode is your permission slip to start thinking about what's next. Career coach Michelle Schafer has been through two major career reinventions herself, and she's spent the last decade helping people figure out what they actually want and …

1
Revisited: Your Unhappy Brain Needs Some Assistance with Happiness Expert Mo Gawdat 1:30:38

13d ago1:30:38

1:30:38

Team Simon here! Thank you for being part of such an incredible year—and for helping us grow the podcast through your support, sharing it with others, and showing up week after week. We love seeing your comments and hearing what resonates with you. A Bit of Optimism returns on January 27, 2026, with brand-new episodes we think you’re really going t…

1
A Bit of Optimism Will Return in the New Year 2:37

13d ago2:37

2:37

Team Simon here! As the year comes to a close, A Bit of Optimism is pressing pause for a short winter break. The show will return on January 27, 2026 and we can’t wait to be back with you. But before we go, we want to say thank you. Truly. This show exists because of you—the listeners who show up every week, share episodes and clips, leave thoughtf…

1
Rahatsu: The Buddha’s Awakening - Jomon Martin, Zen Teacher 35:32

16d ago35:32

35:32

In this Rahatsu talk, Jomon tells the story of Siddhartha Gautama’s path to awakening, tracing his journey from royal luxury through extreme asceticism to the discovery of the Middle Way. Drawing on early Buddhist sutras and later mythic imagery, she explores the pivotal moments of nourishment, resolve, confrontation with Mara, and touching the ear…

1
EP304 Minisode: T'is The Season To Break The Rules 22:31

6d ago22:31

22:31

Why do we buy gifts we can't afford for people who don't need them and over-schedule ourselves to the point where we only have the energy to drink and complain about how stressed we are? This episode is dedicated to your inner rebel—the part of you that wants to pour a drink, flip the bird, and Thelma-and-Louise yourself out of the insanity. Becaus…

1
Practicing with Seasonal Depression - Jogen Salzberg, Sensei 35:43

18d ago35:43

35:43

In this talk, Jogen responds to a request to explore Zen practice in relation to seasonal affective disorder and low-level depression, while distinguishing these experiences from deeper spiritual “descents” that can arise through sincere practice. Reflecting on impermanence, the “two arrows” of suffering, and being taken for a ride by conditions, h…

1
EP303 "Why trying to quit made me drink even more" with Katie Herzog (Drink your way sober with naltrexone) 43:41

20d ago43:41

43:41

Katie Herzog spent 15 years trying everything: AA, therapy, CBT, SMART Recovery, moderation management, swapping booze for weed. Nothing stuck. And in the back of her mind, she always knew she'd start drinking again. It was just a question of when. Then she found the Sinclair Method—a protocol where you take a medication called naltrexone, wait an …

51
Prepare for the Life You’re Meant to Live With Chaplain John Fox 1:07:31

20d ago1:07:31

1:07:31

Often the biggest transformations we undergo don’t arrive as lightning bolts, but as quiet shifts we’ve been preparing for all along. For John Fox, the transformation from a 25-year career in high finance to becoming a chaplain wasn’t sudden at all. It was a slow burn—shaped by loss, reflection, community, and a deep desire to live a more meaningfu…

1
Relationship, Refuge, and the Faith in Mind - Hogen, Roshi 29:36

23d ago29:36

29:36

In this talk, Hogen explores how the teachings of Affirming Faith in Mind illuminate the way we meet family, conflict, and connection—especially during the holiday season. He reflects on the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as refuges that steady us in the midst of strong opinions, old patterns, and the familiar dynamics that arise when we gather with ot…

1
EP302 Minisode: How To Make An Emotionally Sober "To-Do List" (For Type A Thinkers) 21:56

23d ago21:56

21:56

In this episode, Colleen speaks directly to the women who live and die by the checklist, the ones who can run circles around everyone else at work, keep ten plates spinning at home, and still collapse into bed wondering why they feel exhausted, behind, and overwhelmed. If you're a high-achiever who secretly depends on stress chemistry to function, …

1
Difference Without Division: Working with Comparing Mind - Jogen Salzberg, Sensei 24:43

25d ago24:43

24:43

In this talk, Jogen explores the human habit of comparing ourselves to others—and to imagined versions of ourselves—through the lens of the classic Zen text Affirming Faith in Mind. While difference is inherent in experience, comparison is optional. Jogen examines how the mind’s natural ability to perceive distinction easily collapses into judgment…

1
EP301 Minisode: To Drink OR Not To Drink On The Plane 20:33

16d ago20:33

20:33

In this episode, Colleen shares a real moment from her life a few weeks ago. The kind of moment everybody encounters but rarely names. On a Thursday flight, she felt calm, grounded, and uninterested in drinking at all. Forty-eight hours later, on the way out of New York, she couldn't wait for the flight attendant to serve her Chardonnay. Nothing "m…

1
Identity Action and Gratitude - Jomon Martin, Zen Teacher 38:08

27d ago38:08

38:08

In this talk, Jōmon explores the deep connection between gratitude, generosity, and Dōgen’s teaching of identity action—acting together as one body. Through reflections on Sōtō Zen practice, stories from contemporary teachers, and an extended look at the life and writings of Etty Hillesum, this episode invites us to discover the continuous availabi…

1
EP300 When burnout drives your drinking: how to interrupt the cycle with Cait Donovan 50:31

27d ago50:31

50:31

I recently hit a wall. Not the kind where you're tired—the kind where you wake up and genuinely don't care anymore. About your business. About your goals. About any of it. And here's what scared me: I saw it coming. I knew I was running on fumes. I just didn't stop. In this conversation, burnout expert Cait Donovan helps me understand why. And it's…

1
How Losing Everything Taught Her to Help Everyone: Joan Howard’s Story 51:08

27d ago51:08

51:08

Life can change in an instant. One day you’re shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue, and the next you’re sitting in your car with everything you own, and everyone you love, wondering what happens now. Joan Howard grew up in Beverly Hills with every advantage until a series of crises left her homeless and living in her car with her mother and three dogs. Wh…

1
The River That Holds Us - Jogen Salzberg, Sensei 39:57

30d ago39:57

39:57

In this sesshin talk, Jōgen invites practitioners to turn directly toward the living fabric of experience with wonder and open-handedness. Reflecting on the Kesa verse and the teachings of the Third Ancestor, he points out how the thinking mind masquerades as a solver of problems while actually weaving most of them—and how practice uncovers the unm…

1
EP299 Minisode: Why hasn't my drinking changed? 25:51

21d ago25:51

25:51

In this episode, Colleen unpacks one of the most common and misunderstood experiences women face in this work: the moment you look up, take inventory, and think, "My drinking hasn't changed." Instead of treating that as evidence of failure, she reframes it as a signal from your nervous system, a window into your thinking habits, and an invitation t…

1
What We Turn Our Attention To - Hogen, Roshi 42:37

1M ago42:37

42:37

In this sesshin talk, Hōgen Roshi reflects on the heart of practice through the teachings of the Xin Xin Ming. He emphasizes that “what we turn our attention to becomes our world,” encouraging practitioners to stop believing the habitual thoughts that create suffering and to turn instead toward the intimate, living ground of experience—breath, aliv…

1
EP298 Minisode: The importance of completing the stress response 24:39

23d ago24:39

24:39

In this episode, Colleen shares a simple moment from her morning — a single unexpected email — that shows exactly how the nervous system can hijack your day before you even know what happened. What could've turned into urgency, frustration, and spiraling worst-case scenarios instead became a real-time example of emotional sobriety: noticing the sta…

1
EP297 What human design reveals about your drinking with Hope Pedraza 43:02

1M ago43:02

43:02

As middle aged women, we all know what it's like to be exhausted. Not the kind of exhausted where you need a nap—the kind where you've been running on fumes for so long you forgot what actual energy feels like. You're already doing everything you can to eat well, exercise, get better sleep and cut back on the wine. You've probably got rows of suppl…

1
A Rebel With a Cause (and a Cone) with Jeni’s Ice Cream Founder Jeni Britton 53:19

1M ago53:19

53:19

What if a great business was built like a handmade mixtape? A lovingly crafted experience that is as much a love letter from its founder as it is custom-tailored to its audience. Before Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams became a household name, Jeni Britton was a 22-year-old art school dropout scooping her ice cream creations at a farmers market in Ohio. …

1
Generosity Without Separation - Jomon Martin, Zen Teacher 33:36

1M ago33:36

33:36

In this talk, Jomon explores the first of the Bodhisattva’s four embracing actions—generosity—and how giving becomes boundless when we drop the sense of separation between giver, receiver, and gift. Drawing from Dōgen’s Bodhisattva’s Four Embracing Actions, stories of King Ashoka, and Shantideva’s Way of the Bodhisattva, she illuminates how generos…

1
EP296 Minisode: Embracing Overwhelm 23:04

28d ago23:04

23:04

In this episode, Colleen pulls the curtain back on overwhelm and names it for what it really is: a trauma response living in your nervous system, not a personal failing or lack of willpower. She walks through the five stages your body moves through when the demands on you exceed your capacity, and why trying to "push through" that wall only drives …

1
EP295 Minisode: Where real motivation comes from 26:59

30d ago26:59

26:59

In this episode, Colleen gets brutally honest about something most "high-functioning" women never admit out loud: what happens when your old motivation system collapses. Divorce, sobriety, and building a business forced her to drop the over-functioning, over-exercising version of herself and face a hard truth: she'd been using fitness to run on str…

1
Connecting With Family This Thanksgiving - Jogen Salzberg, Sensei 26:01

1M ago26:01

26:01

In this talk, Jogen explores how our relationships—especially with family—can become genuine fields of practice. He challenges the assumption that practice only happens on the cushion, offering instead a vision of relational life as an arena for choosing “the bigger heart.” Through principles such as breaking through indifference, pausing when trig…

1
Interrupting The Trance of "Not Enough"- Jogen Salzberg, Sensei 23:30

1M ago23:30

23:30

In this talk, we explore the Zen poem often translated as Inscribing Trust in the Heart or Affirming Faith in Mind. The teaching points to a profound realization: the Way is perfect, like vast space, where there is no lack and no excess. Jogen reflects on how our habitual striving, judgment, and fixation on imperfection obscure this truth—and how p…

1
EP294 Why you're mind won't stop spinning when you're triggered 27:14

1M ago27:14

27:14

You've done the therapy. Read the books. Listened to the podcasts. You understand your trauma responses intellectually. But when you get triggered, your mind still spins out of control—and you can't make it stop. Here's what you need to know: Your spinning mind isn't something to fix or control. It's communication from a wounded part of you that ne…

1
The Culture That Converts Even the Biggest Cynics with former WD-40 CEO Garry Ridge 56:55

1M ago56:55

56:55

Who would’ve guessed that one of the world’s best company cultures was hiding behind a can of WD-40? Of all the places to find a leadership masterclass, the blue-and-yellow can in your garage probably wasn’t on your list - but it’s time to put it there. Garry Ridge - an Australian who brought his charm and curiosity across the Pacific - joined WD-4…

1
Freedom from the Disease of the Mind - Hogen, Roshi 26:48

1M ago26:48

26:48

In this talk, Hogen Roshi explores the Zen chant Affirming Faith in Mind, showing how its guidance is rooted in direct, present-moment experience. He emphasizes that the “great way” is not difficult when we are fully present and free from the disease of the mind—the constant vacillation between likes and dislikes. Through vivid examples from daily …

1
EP293 Minisode: What it means when you feel like you HAVE to do something 22:57

1M ago22:57

22:57

In this episode, Colleen shares a real-life story about her daughter's college move-in that reveals one of the most important skills in emotional sobriety: knowing the difference between a grounded choice and a nervous system hijack. What started as a harmless whiff of pot in the entryway spiraled into panic, urgency, and the impulse to move apartm…

1
Inscribing Trust in the Heart - Jogen Salzberg, Sensei 15:35

2M ago15:35

15:35

In this talk, Jogen Sensei explores the opening stanzas of Affirming Faith in Mind, illuminating what the poem calls “the Great Way”—life itself, unobscured by picking and choosing. Through clear examples of conditioned happiness, the wobbling of preference, and the subtle ways we strobe in and out of wholehearted engagement, he shows how resistanc…

1
EP292 Minisode: How to connect with your Higher Self 27:29

1M ago27:29

27:29

In this episode, Colleen breaks down one of the most foundational teachings of emotional sobriety: your higher self isn't a future version of you — she's a frequency you can access right now. Drawing from quantum physics, nervous system science, and the emotional practices at the core of this work, Colleen explains why clarity, intuition, creativit…

1
The Great Way Is Easy If You Just Feel Your Toes - Hogen, Roshi 42:29

2M ago42:29

42:29

In this talk, Hogen Roshi explores the opening line of Affirming Faith in Mind—“The Great Way is easy”—and shows how quickly the mind complicates even the simplest instruction: just feeling our toes or our breath. Through humor, examples, and vivid demonstrations of how attention creates our experience moment by moment, he reveals how the body, tho…

1
EP291: Why you drink too much when you're alone (and what to do about it) 28:00

1M ago28:00

28:00

What if the reason you're still drinking too much when you're alone has nothing to do with willpower—and everything to do with how you think about being alone? You've made so much progress. You're no longer drinking every day. You can go to social events and drink like a normal person without going overboard. You're doing the work, listening to pod…

1
Choose Your Seven Humans Wisely with author Fredrik Backman 58:07

2M ago58:07

58:07

What if great friendships aren’t found by luck but built through effort? Bestselling novelist Fredrik Backman, the mind behind A Man Called Ove (adapted into the Tom Hanks film A Man Called Otto), Anxious People, and the beloved Beartown series, has spent his career writing about the quiet power of ordinary people. But in his real life, he learned …

1
EP290 Minisode: You need a vision for WHO you are becoming 19:32

1M ago19:32

19:32

In this episode, Colleen walks us through a coaching moment that captures what emotional sobriety really means: shifting from self-criticism and control into vision and alignment. When one client arrived overwhelmed and focused on what her partner wasn't doing, the breakthrough came when she identified who she wanted to be — positive and powerful. …

1
EP289 Minisode: Don't Let the Slip Become a Slide 24:51

1M ago24:51

24:51

In this deeply personal reflection, Colleen opens up about her own history with bulimia and the years she spent trying to control her body to manage her emotions. Inspired by Jennette McCurdy's memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died, she explores how disordered eating, drinking, and perfectionism all share the same root: unprocessed emotion and the desperate …

1
EP288 Understanding "Reentry Syndrome:" Why excessive drinking is a trauma response (and how to stop) 40:20

2M ago40:20

40:20

You know that feeling when you're thinking about drinking later and your stomach drops because you're already worried about overdoing it? Or when you come home from vacation and you're genuinely afraid you won't be able to stop with the daily drinking? That's reentry syndrome. And it's not what you think it is. Most people think if they could just …

1
The Smartest Way To Be Stupid with comedian Matthew Broussard 1:04:53

2M ago1:04:53

1:04:53

If you feel stupid while learning something new, you’re doing it right. But if you keep doing the same thing over and over hoping it’ll suddenly make sense - that’s on you. The trick isn’t to push harder; it’s to find a new teacher, a new explanation, a new way in. That’s exactly how Matthew Broussard approaches comedy - and everything else. A stan…

1
EP287 Minisode: Are you available to Be. Here. Now? 25:21

2M ago25:21

25:21

In this reflective episode, Colleen shares how a single morning meditation changed the trajectory of her entire day — and became a living practice for emotional sobriety. Waking early with her mind already spinning, she found herself caught in the familiar loop of pressure, striving, and self-imposed urgency. Instead of chasing a better plan, she c…

1
Longing That Cures - Jogen Salzberg, Sensei 39:01

2M ago39:01

39:01

In this talk, Jogen Sensei explores the paradox of longing—the pain and medicine of our deepest yearning. Drawing from Dōgen, the Faith in Mind poem, and ancient teachings, he illuminates how our wanting, striving, and efforts to understand can either bind us or open us to freedom. Through stories, humor, and grounded guidance, Jogen invites us to …

1
EP286 Minisode: You Can't Have The Money, Honey. 22:36

2M ago22:36

22:36

In this reflective episode, Colleen shares a deeply personal moment—learning she couldn't qualify to assume the mortgage on her own home—and how that realization became a masterclass in emotional sobriety, choice, and self-trust. What begins as a financial obstacle unfolds into a powerful teaching on energetic alignment and cognitive reframing. Whe…