Podcast
Everything Happens with Kate Bowler
Hosted by Everything Happens Studios · EN
Are you living your best life now? Not always? This is a podcast for you. Duke Professor Kate Bowler is an expert in the stories we tell about success and failure, suffering and happiness. She had Stage IV cancer. Then she didn’t. And since then, all she wants to do is talk to funny and wise people about how to live with the knowledge that, well, everything happens. Find her online at @katecbowler.
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44episodes
Episodes
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Listen Again: What Makes Life Worth Living? with Atul Gawande
3d ago00:42:26Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Kate speaks with surgeon, writer, and public health leader Dr. Atul Gawande about the deeply human questions that surface when medicine meets its limits. What does it mean to be a good doctor when a cure isn’t possible? What do people really mean when they say they want “quality of life?” Together, they talk about caregiving, end-of-life decisions, and how the most honest conversations in healthcare begin—not with answers—but with better questions. For anyone living with chronic illness, caring for someone they love, or wondering what it means to live a good life with limits, this conversation won’t offer easy fixes. But it might offer something just as rare: clarity, compassion, and the courage to ask what really matters. This episode originally aired September 2025. Watch the full episode on YouTube: Kate C. Bowler on YouTube Subscribe to Kate’s Substack: katebowler.substack.com Show notes: The Aspen Ideas Festival Being Mortal by Dr. Atul Gawande The Green House Project Ari Johnson & Muso Health Organizations for further action: World Food Programme, UNICEF, American Red Cross
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Listen Again: Stay Curious with Alan Alda
2w ago00:55:34Tap to summarizeWe don’t usually have repeat guests on this podcast… except we’re making an exception for the wonderful and wise Alan Alda. Alan Alda, of course, is an award-winning actor, writer, director, and podcast host. You probably know and love him as Hawkeye on M*A*S*H or Senator Arnie Vinick on The West Wing. He is endlessly curious on just about every topic—which makes him the perfect person to talk to about empathy, learning across differences (and disagreement), and how we might age into new hobbies and careers. In this conversation, Alan and Kate discuss: Tricks for staying curious as we age How to talk to someone you disagree with How Alan hopes to destigmatize Parkinson’s Disease The difference between empathy and compassion and how to practice these important skills This episode originally aired March 2024.
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Listen Again: The Mystery of God with N.T. Wright
May 2600:51:32Tap to summarizeScripture can become a weapon in the hands of the ultra-certain. As if every pain or suffering is part of “God’s divine plan.” So how should we understand and apply the Bible to our real lives with our real-life problems? NT Wright, a New Testament scholar, is a trusted expert to help us understand what truths resound across time and circumstance and which don’t. In this conversation, Kate and Tom dig in especially on Romans 8:28 which is the Pauline version of EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. Is that what Paul intended to say? Is there maybe another, more life-giving way to interpret it instead? Kate and NT Wright also discuss: The importance of lament as a response to the human condition Why we have such a low tolerance for uncertainty Which scripture to turn to when life comes apart (and which to avoid) What our response should be to others who are in pain or experiencing tragedy This is a bit of a Bible-nerd out, but I would trust no one else to help us better make sense of where is God when we’re suffering than NT Wright. This clip originally aired in October 2023. Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here.
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Listen Again: Everyone’s From Somewhere with Erin & Ben Napier
May 1200:32:03Tap to summarizeErin and Ben Napier didn’t plan on becoming household names. They were just trying to build a beautiful life in their beloved hometown of Laurel, Mississippi, one house, one neighbor, one Main Street at a time. In this heartwarming conversation, Kate talks to the stars of HGTV’s Home Town about what happens when our plans fall apart and something even better takes root. They reflect on the surprising twists that led from political aspirations and magazine dreams to woodworking, parenting, and a television show that celebrates belonging. Along the way, they explore how creativity is born out of necessity, making a home, building a community, and loving the place where you are. In this episode, they discuss: The ache and joy of making a home in the place that raised you How small acts of community build a life The beauty of third places and why talking to strangers still matters If you liked this episode, you may also like: Angela Williams on The Caring Power of Community Sharon McMahon, Drops Make an Ocean Priya Parker on The Art of Gathering This episode originally aired June 2025.
Transcribe →Doubt, Depth, and the Future of Belief with Tomáš Halík
Apr 2800:42:45Tap to summarizeWhat happens to faith when certainty collapses? Kate Bowler sits down with theologian and former underground priest Tomáš Halík to explore belief forged under surveillance, the spiritual value of doubt, and why going deeper—not louder—might be the only faithful response to a fractured world. Together, they consider silence, suffering, and what it means to remain open to God when clarity is nowhere to be found. SHOW NOTES Watch the live conversation on YouTube Touch the Wounds — Tomáš Halík The Afternoon of Christianity — Tomáš Halík
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How to Love the World Anyway with Nadia Bolz-Weber and Sarah Bessey
Apr 2100:51:17Tap to summarizeKate Bowler is joined by Nadia Bolz-Weber and Sarah Bessey for an honest, funny, and deeply tender conversation about what it means to be people of faith right now. When the world feels overwhelming—personally and globally—they explore small acts of love, embodied community, and “cozy faith” as resistance to despair. From knitting circles and prayer shawls to church, doubt, and the stubborn choice to keep loving the world, this episode is about finding hope in ordinary, human ways. SHOW NOTES Tour dates & tickets: katebowler.com/joyfulanyway Watch the live conversation on YouTube Nadia Bolz-Weber Sarah Bessey Evolving Faith Conference & Community Sacred Harp singing Braving the Truth by Rachel Held Evans (edited by Sarah Bessey) Books by Nadia Bolz-Weber — Pastrix, Accidental Saints, Shameless Books by Sarah Bessey — Field Notes for the Wilderness, A Rhythm of Prayer, Jesus Feminist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →How to Love the World Anyway with Nadia Bolz-Weber and Sarah Bessey
Apr 2100:51:16Tap to summarizeKate Bowler is joined by Nadia Bolz-Weber and Sarah Bessey for an honest, funny, and deeply tender conversation about what it means to be people of faith right now. When the world feels overwhelming—personally and globally—they explore small acts of love, embodied community, and “cozy faith” as resistance to despair. From knitting circles and prayer shawls to church, doubt, and the stubborn choice to keep loving the world, this episode is about finding hope in ordinary, human ways. SHOW NOTES Tour dates & tickets: katebowler.com/joyfulanyway Watch the live conversation on YouTube Nadia Bolz-Weber Sarah Bessey Evolving Faith Conference & Community Sacred Harp singing Braving the Truth by Rachel Held Evans (edited by Sarah Bessey) Books by Nadia Bolz-Weber — Pastrix, Accidental Saints, Shameless Books by Sarah Bessey — Field Notes for the Wilderness, A Rhythm of Prayer, Jesus Feminist
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Joy, Absurdity, and the Weird Ways We Survive with Rhett McLaughlin and Jenny Lawson
Apr 1400:56:38Tap to summarizeWhat if humor isn’t just a personality trait—but a survival strategy? Kate Bowler sits down with writer Jenny Lawson and entertaining YouTuber Rhett McLaughlin to talk about the strange, often dark roots of comedy. From childhood anxiety and taxidermy-filled homes to lifelong creative friendships and faith that evolves, they explore how silliness, honesty, and absurdity help us live with what hurts. This is a conversation about being “too much,” laughing at what’s not funny, and finding connection in the weirdest parts of being human. SHOW NOTES Tour dates & tickets: katebowler.com/joyfulanyway Watch the live conversation on YouTube Let’s Pretend This Never Happened — Jenny Lawson Furiously Happy — Jenny Lawson Broken (in the Best Possible Way) — Jenny Lawson How to Be Okay (When You’re Not Okay) — Jenny Lawson Rhett & Link / Mythical Entertainment Good Mythical Morning James and the Shame (Rhett McLaughlin’s music project) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Joyful Anyway (Yes, Even Now)
Apr 700:10:22Tap to summarizeOn the day her new book Joyful Anyway releases, Kate pauses before the interviews and travel to reflect on a harder question: what does it mean to talk about joy in a world that feels fractured, exhausting, and uncertain? In this short, personal episode, she pushes back on the pressure to optimize our way into happiness and instead explores a stranger, sturdier kind of joy—one that shows up alongside grief, ordinary stress, and lives that don’t quite match the ones we imagined. With a reading from the book and a few honest reflections, this is an invitation to consider what might be better than happiness—and how joy might still find us anyway. SHOW NOTES Joyful, Anyway by Kate Bowler — Available everywhere books are sold. Tour dates & tickets: katebowler.com/joyfulanyway Watch on YouTube See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The Strange Gift of Joy with Rowan Williams
Mar 3100:50:30Tap to summarizeAs Holy Week arrives, Kate talks with theologian, poet, and former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams about joy that doesn’t erase sorrow. Together they explore longing, grief, music, gratitude, hope, and the strange, defiant way joy can sit right beside pain without denying what’s true. SHOW NOTES George Herbert, “The Pulley” Nick Cave Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry Tour dates & tickets: katebowler.com/joyfulanyway Watch the live conversation on YouTube Join Kate Bowler on Substack for the season of Lent: katebowler.substack.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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