Surprise Me, Joel Podcast
Imagine an unpredictable audio porch where Joel slings stories, facilitates conversations, and conjures up experiments to help you make friends with people, possibilities, and ideas.
One day he's teaching you how to bring people together or think differently about everyday life to restore some faith in humanity. And then he's exploring lovely ways to redefine the status quo or decode one of life's mysteries so you can focus on what's most important.
Surprise Me, Joel is like a curiosity club for doers and thoughtful dreamers. Expect long thoughts, short sparks, and strange delights. Oh, and a healthy dose of practices you can run in your street, car seat, or spreadsheet.
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Easy Ways to Subscribe
Imagine an unpredictable audio porch where Joel slings stories, facilitates conversations, and conjures up experiments to help you make friends with people, possibilities, and ideas. One day he's teaching you how to bring people together or think differently about everyday life to restore some faith in humanity. And then he's exploring lovely ways to redefine the status quo or decode one of life's mysteries so you can focus on what's most important. Surprise Me, Joel is like a curiosity club for doers and thoughtful dreamers. Expect long thoughts, short sparks, and strange delights. Oh, and a healthy dose of practices you can run in your street, car seat, or spreadsheet.
My Original Podcast: Smart and Simple Matters
Looking for my original podcast, Smart and Simple Matters?
Go here to explore it and step into the time machine of our culture and my life.
SMJ Archive (Newest First)
Bring It In: How to Give a Great Hug – SMJ 003
What if the handshake is a dominance ritual and the hug is the antidote? Joel breaks down the energetics, mechanics, and cultural context of giving truly great hugs in 15 surprisingly nuanced tips. From the five-second rule to the one last squeeze, this episode might just change how you wrap your arms around the world.
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Rocks, Frogs, and the Flexible Mind with Ryan Nicodemus – SMJ 002
What if there are no objective truths, no real rules, and the most radical thing you can do is just stay open? Ryan Nicodemus joins Joel for a deeply personal conversation to explore forgiveness, the concept of formlessness, why everyone is doing the best they can, fear versus love, and why emotions – unlike apples – multiply when you give them away.
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Be Beautifully Boring with Charlie Gilkey – SMJ 001
After a seven-year hiatus, Joel Zaslofsky returns to podcasting with a longtime friend, Charlie Gilkey, for an unscripted, wide-ranging conversation. They cover Charlie's evolution from “do epic shit” to “be beautifully boring,” navigating chronic illness, creative constipation, grief, holding gratitude amid global chaos, and the real trick to thriving through life's in-between seasons.
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Subscribe Now and Never Miss an Episode: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Podcast Index | Email | Youtube Music | RSS | More
Lighting the Fuse – SMJ 000
Imagine an unpredictable audio porch where I sling stories, facilitate connections, and whip up experiments to help you make friends with people, possibilities, and ideas. That's the lovely promise with Surprise Me, Joel.
Podcast (surprise-me-joel): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe Now and Never Miss an Episode: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Podcast Index | Email | Youtube Music | RSS | More
Me, Briefly
I bring diverse communities together and (maybe) get you excited about spreadsheets. Let's explore how to live intentionally, embrace our multipotentiality, share our gifts, build authentic relationships, and have tons of gratitude. No prior experience necessary.