Deep Dive with Kate Bowler on the Crappy Files 2025

Kelly and Kate Bowler return for their annual, end-of-the-year "Crappy Happy" tradition—this week, the crappy. They wade into the losses that don't announce themselves all at once: the thinning of what used to feel full, the realization that some struggles are life sentences, and the slow unraveling of institutions that once felt solid. Kate reflects on what it costs to do slow, unglamorous work in a world that no longer values it and Kelly considers what happens when systems built to protect everyone start serving only one. They talk about acceptance as a form of hope, the surprising need to be bone tired, and how to tell the difference between people fighting for their side and people protecting what shelters us all. It's an honest, grounding conversation—with the happy coming next week. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Colleen Gilroy tells the story of her mother, Mary Pat—a woman who stayed up deep into the night knitting Christmas stockings, thinking about each recipient as her needles clicked in the stillness while everyone else slept. Mary Pat was a night shift NICU nurse who cared for thousands of fragile babies and their frightened parents, a leprechaun of a woman who never let the truth interfere with a good tale, someone who poured 30 hours of attention into every stocking she made—holding each person in her heart as she worked. Colleen shares what unfolded at the funeral when the family lined the church pews with their stockings, then processed out to the sound of thousands of tiny bells ringing at once, each one marking a life Mary Pat had touched. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does it take to truly see someone before they're gone? Kelly shares an essay she wrote for an evening celebrating awe, reflecting on attention as a practice—learning to notice in wild places with a guide who insists you look closer, then bringing that same discipline to a quiet room where it matters most. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How much can we blame DNA for our depression and anxiety? Is something about our mental health pre-written into our genetic code? How much trauma carries over from one generation to the next? How should we think about epi-genetics? These were 4 of the 20 questions I brought to Dr. Francis Collins, the guy who let the team that mapped the human genome. There’s two things I want to say about this episode: I learned so much just studying for the interview and every minute I spent with Francis Collins was a total joy. He is a very special person — direct, deeply informed (maybe moreso on this topic than anyone else on Earth) and delightful. I am so excited to put his guy in your ear — a happy, loving man filled with purpose and eager to share what he knows (and doesn’t) for the greater good. And he laughs easily and a lot. So, I was getting hits of my dad the whole time. A heavenly experience that comes through in every minute of the conversation. Enjoy. (Previously aired) Thanks to PBS stations across the country for supporting Tell Me More. You can watch an edited video version of this conversation anytime at PBS.org/kelly. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wendy Childress shares the story of losing her beautiful daughter Chloe in the devastating Camp Mystic floods in Texas, and writes a deeply moving tribute to her parents, Joanie and Da. She takes us through that terrible night and the days that followed—the phone calls, the waiting, the moment she had to tell her parents the worst news imaginable. Wendy reflects on having to stop protecting them from pain and become their daughter again, asking them to be strong when everything fell apart. She explores what it means when love comes full circle—to be a child, then a parent, then a child again—and how her parents showed up in ways she never imagined possible, refusing to give up even in the face of crushing grief. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After 700 episodes, Kelly distills what matters most: the places where old wisdom meets new science, what eulogies teach us about greatness, and why vulnerability means showing the wound before it heals. She reflects on learning to take up less space, the relief of not needing to know everything, and how listening functions as love. At the core is a question we're all asking—do I matter?—and the small, steady practices that answer it. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For anyone with gift anxiety, for anyone who feels like you can’t win for losing, this is the conversation for you. Full of reminders and insights as we gear up for the season, Anna and Kelly ask all the right questions. (Previously aired) If you enjoyed this episode with Anna Quindlen, please check out Kelly Corrigan Wonders episodes 24-28 featuring Anna Quindlen and podcaster Anna Sale for a series on "How to Make the Most of Family Life". To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, writer Megan Cathlin shares a eulogy written four decades after her father's death by suicide when she was five years old. She reflects on the man he was—a musician, philosopher, and deep thinker whose hands found truth at the piano—and the weight he carried in an era before vulnerability had language. Kaplan wrestles with childhood confusion about sin and punishment, ultimately arriving at a profound understanding: that people can be both radiant and struggling, that suffering doesn't diminish worth, and that love remains even when someone chooses to leave. Through her words, she offers her father what he couldn't give himself—permission to be human, flawed, and enough. Check out Meghan's book: Leading With the Heart: The Courage to Trust Your Inner Wisdom and Rewrite Your Life To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Journalist and author Amanda Ripley cuts through the noise with a startling fact: America is on track for its lowest murder rate since 1960, yet most Americans believe the opposite. Kelly shares insights from Amanda's Substack "Unraveled," examining how we've become so disconnected from reality, why conflict entrepreneurs profit from our fear, and what it would look like if media corrected our biases instead of amplifying them. Amanda points to researchers tracking the actual data on political violence, cancer mortality, and public perception, then asks three simple questions we should answer every time we share a story: How often is this happening? Is it getting better or worse? What can we do about it? The antidote to apocalyptic thinking, she argues, isn't denial—it's action, context, and a willingness to see what's actually there. Learn more about Amanda and her work at https://www.thegoodconflict.com/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anna Quindlen and Kelly share readings, stories and insights on the art of holidaying, regular-people style - and focus on why showing up for those we love matters so very much. Special dro- in by Kelly’s brother, Booker. (Previously aired) If you love Anna Q, you’ll enjoy episodes 24-28 from March 2021. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices