More Than A Feeling

Before we dive deep into stories about fear, acceptance, jealousy, joy, shame and other big feelings, we have to get philosophical and ask: what are emotions anyway?

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Host Saleem Reshamwala was always trying to figure this question out when he was growing up as a mashup kid: bouncing back and forth with his fami...

Everyone’s afraid of something. But how often do we talk openly about our biggest fears with friends or even complete strangers? In this episode, producer Mark Pagán opens up to Saleem about something that’s been freaking him out for years, so much so that it's seriously affected his day-to-day life. But as Mark seeks out solutions for facing his fear, he finds out this troubling emotion may be more useful to him than ...

It can be quite rare to find yourself in a place where you feel totally accepted. In this episode, producer Reva Goldberg takes us to a truly unique beauty salon: it’s the ultimate safe space for its customers, many of whom are in their 80s and 90s. We take a close look at two hairdressers who create a laugh-out-loud-funny atmosphere, while also showing deep compassion at the same time. We’ll also explore why feeling u...

We cannot do a show about emotions without an episode on jealousy: it brings the drama! We all experience jealousy at one time or another. But it's not exactly a great feeling to experience. In this episode, we talk with social psychologists Keelah Williams and Jaimie Arona Krems about how jealousy may not always be such a bad thing. Then we connect with historian Niamh Cullen to hear how Italians dealt with an epidemi...

That banger of a theme song you hear each week on More Than A Feeling was made by El Michels Affair. In this episode Saleem talks with singer Piya Malik and musician, songwriter, and leader of El Michels, Leon Michels, about how they work to evoke emotions in their music. We get into how their collaboration with Wu Tang Clan and how their love of Bollywood music inspires their sound. And they nerd out on their cre...

When was the last time you allowed yourself a really good, joyful shriek? If that’s not the easiest thing to answer, what about the last time you experienced blissful joy? In this episode, we look at the emotional wallop that comes from true fandom as host Saleem Reshamwala jumps into the world of pop music, speaking with BTS superfan Sam, clinical psychologist Dr. Lynn Zubernis, and Fangirls playwright Yve Blake to fi...

This week, we investigate something that’s long been accepted as a fact about emotions without being put to a scientific test: the stereotype that women are more emotional than men. We meet Psychologist Dr. Adriene Beltz, who’s trying to close that research gap, hear an enraging story from Author Kate Moore about a 19th century woman whose husband commits her to an asylum for expressing her feelings, and talk with Therapis...

We hear a lot about “vibe” these days: Vibe check, a shift in the vibe, catching a vibe, don't kill the vibe. With the help of scholars and researchers Ellen Dissanayake, Connie Bainbridge, and Maria Witek we’ll define this feeling by drawing a fun, evolutionary line from the sweet sounds of baby talk and lullabies, all the way to adults vibing to the music they love. To put our findings to the test, musicians Phil Cook &a...

Today, we’re sharing an episode from Other Men Need Help, an award-winning podcast hosted by our own More Than A Feeling senior producer Mark Pagán. This show playfully looks at how men present themselves to the world and what’s underneath. 

In this episode, I Miss You. Period, Mark investigates three little words that have him tongue-tied around his friends. He turns to long-term and long distance BFFs Darnell and...

Welcome to season two of More Than A Feeling! Inspired by an email from a curious listener who’s been struggling with feelings of dread, Saleem begins investigating. After a call-out to listeners it becomes clear: we’re in a dread-pocalypse right now, and many of us are trying to muscle through it alone. It turns out, though, that there’s a surprising amount of joy and humor in just starting an open conversation about the ...

Dread can feel so heavy, most of the time we don’t even want to talk about it. But what if we tried to express our dread in a different way? Welcome to Day One of the Dread Project Challenge, a five-day series that investigates an emotion so many of us are struggling with lately – from our dread of the next Zoom meeting to worries that have life-and-death stakes. Each day of the Challenge, we tackle dread in a different wa...

Yesterday we journaled about our dread. Today we’re going to see what happens when we express the overwhelming feeling of dread, without words. It’s Day Two of The Dread Project Challenge, a five-day series that investigates an emotion so many of us are struggling with lately – from our dread of the next Zoom meeting to worries that have life-and-death stakes. Each day of the challenge, we tackle dread in a different way, ...

Today we get some surprisingly joyful insights about coping with the dread of death – whether we’re concerned about our own mortality or losing those we love. It’s Day Three of The Dread Project Challenge, a five-day series that investigates an emotion so many of us are struggling with lately – from our dread of the next Zoom meeting to worries that have life-and-death stakes. Each day of the challenge, we tackle dread in ...

If we’re not careful, we can spend an entire day stuck in an endless loop of dread. Penciling in time for this scary emotion on the calendar can be a surprisingly easy way to keep it from becoming too overwhelming. The Dread Project Challenge is a five-day series that investigates an emotion so many of us are struggling with lately – from our dread of the next Zoom meeting to worries that have life-and-death stakes. Each d...

Eco-dread. It’s one of the most overwhelming emotions listeners are struggling with. But we can’t just tune out and shut down. Not only because it’s untenable to live that way, but because the only way out is the biggest collective action the planet has ever seen. Nature Educator Aurelia Casey and Somatic Therapist Patty Adams help listeners understand that the environments immediately around us can help us build emotional...

The interviewer becomes the guest! In this Ten Percent Happier / More Than A Feeling crossover conversation, Dan Harris interviews Saleem to find out what stuck with him from his investigation into dread. We also highlight some of the best advice that came from our expert guests, from how to get the most out of journaling and drawing our dread, to discovering some unexpected joy when we confront the things that scare ...

Maybe you want to dismiss your grudges, like they’re petty incidents. Or maybe you hold them tightly, and wear them like badges of honor. Either way, we have them. And we’re taking the view that there’s more going on with our grudges than we think. 

Today, we talk with Sophie Hannah, author of "How to Hold a Grudge," and meditation teacher Matthew Hepburn, for perspective on what triggers our grudges in the first p...

Some of us are big criers, some of us are not. But does it really matter? Today: Two tears experts who have experimented with this idea in the lab and in real life let us in on their insights. We hear from Reverend Benjamin Perry, author of the forthcoming book Cry Baby, who taught himself not to cry, then set out to get his tears back. Later, we’ll hear from Dutch Psychologist Ad Vingerhoets who has spent a large part of ...