Rituals work. They help us make meaning, process transition, and connect with each other. That’s why we’ve been doing them for more than 300,000 years. So why, in this century, have we largely abandoned them?

This week, bestselling author, repeat Hello Monday guest, and longtime friend Bruce Feiler joins us in the studio to talk about his new book, A Time to Gather: How Ritual Created the World and How It Can Save Us. Bruce traveled to 16 countries on six continents to explore why ritual matters and identify how we can bring it back into our everyday lives.

In this episode:

Why ritual is the original human algorithm and why we've abandoned it
The difference between self-care and group care, and why the latter matters so much
The rise of new rituals: cancer-versaries, sober-versaries, infertility ceremonies, and divorce parties
Why funerals are disappearing, and what we're losing when they do
A live ritual design class: Bruce walks Jessi through building one for her daughter's preschool graduation
The three things every ritual needs: a beginning, a middle, and an end
From "rites of passage" to "bites of passage": why small, frequent moments of connection matter as much as the big ones
Virtual vs. ritual: why 2026 feels like the year we're choosing to come back together in person

Follow Jessi Hempel and Bruce Feiler on LinkedIn. And let us know how you’re incorporating ritual into your own life.