Pulling The Thread with Elise Loehnen

Pleasure Principles (Richard Christiansen)

Richard Christiansen is the founder of Flamingo Estate and a dear pal of mine. Today, we’re talking (in part) about the stories that led to his new book, Flamingo Estate

How to Pursue Your Goals—Without Suffering (Angela Duckworth, PhD)

“ It’s just incredibly hard to really resist these forces that are, you know, probably from evolution, that we adapt to our circumstances,” says psychologist Angela Duckw

How This Hamster Wheel Stops (Monthly Solo)

This month’s solo episode is mostly about what I think will come of all the AI generation, the fabrication of viral moments, and the latest iteration of marketing that we

How Do We Help People with Addiction? (Stephanie Wittels Wachs)

“ I think these resources are good because it gives you the language and the tools to do something that doesn’t necessarily feel right,” says Stephanie Wittels Wachs, aut

Why Do We Devalue Aesthetic Intelligence? (Chloe Redmond Warner)

Chloe Redmond Warner is a very talented interior designer—and one of my closest childhood friends. To celebrate the launch of her special book This Must Be the Place, whi

The Secret Ingredient to Be More Creative (David Epstein)

David Epstein is a journalist and the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Inside the Box (which we’re talking about today), Range, and The Sports Gene. He tells some

Is "Churn" Ruining Our Relationships? (Claude Steele, PhD)

Claude Steele is a social psychologist, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, and the author of Churn: The Tension That Divides Us and How to Overcome It. Chu

On Finding Our Soul’s Vocation (James Hollis, PhD)

If you’ve been tuning into July’s special series of sorts, thank you, and I hope you’ve also been enjoying revisiting these conversations from the archives, or maybe you’

Do You Need to Put Yourself in Order? (Monthly Solo)

I’m thrilled to be back on the podcast mic again—I’ve been healing from a double mastectomy and I’m doing well! Thank you to everyone who has been thinking of me. This up

Putting Action Before Contemplation (Richard Rohr)

This special episode initially ran early in 2025 but I wanted to bump it up for those of you who missed it and also because I honestly think Richard Rohr is worthy of a r

When Stress Becomes Illness (Gabor Maté, MD)

Gabor Maté, MD, is renowned for his work on addiction, stress, trauma, and understanding and healing from illness. He has written several books, including The Myth of Nor

Conflict as a Tool for Growth (Esther Perel)

I believe this is the most-listened-to episode ever on Pulling the Thread. It’s a conversation that I had with therapist Esther Perel in 2023 that still stands to this da

Struggle Is Real—Suffering is Optional (BJ Miller, MD)

Hi, friends. For those who are interested, I’m saying more about this in my solo episodes, but as I was preparing to recover from a non-life-threatening (and yet major) h

A Life Update (Monthly Solo)

I spent the past month largely recovering from a (successful) double mastectomy—it was very intense, and I also had amazing care, from my team at UCLA, and from my family

Getting Out of the Unconscious Loyalty Trap (Mark Wolynn)

Mark Wolynn is a pioneer in the field of inherited family trauma, the director of the Family Constellation Institute in San Francisco, and author of the recently updated

Reckoning with the End of a Relationship (Belle Burden)

After the shocking end of her marriage, Belle Burden chose not to let herself get erased. Today, we talk about what she chose instead and the person she’s evolved into si

What’s Behind Lasting Attraction? (Paul Eastwick, PhD)

I had so much fun reading psychologist Paul Eastwick’s book Bonded by Evolution: The New Science of Love and Connection. A lot of his work reveals the enduring myths that

Why Women Need Fairytales Now (Sharon Blackie, PhD)

“That’s the kind of story, that's the kind of image that I'm talking about—that really just sinks into you and won’t let go,” says psychologist Sharon Blackie. Today, Bla

The Promise of Dark Retreat (Andrew Holecek)

“We’re all addicted to light,” says Andrew Holocek, author of Total Eclipse of the Mind: Unleashing the Power of Darkness for Creativity, Healing, and Transformation. “We

Taking Your Foot Off the Gas (Monthly Solo)

As I’m heading into a series of initiations, I’m sharing a few challenges (opportunities!) that I’m sure many of you are familiar with: our struggle to prioritize ourselv