Meditative Story
Meditative Story is a podcast that combines first-person storytelling, mindfulness prompts and original cinematic music, to create a unique listening experience. It is owned and produced by WaitWhat, the media company founded and led by former TED executives, Deron Triff and June Cohen. The first three seasons were created in partnership with Thrive Global, a behavior change technology company led by Arianna Huffington and Dan Katz. Variety describes Meditative Story as “part first-person narrative podcast and part guided meditation.” The podcast is hosted by Rohan Gunatillake and has featured guests such as On Being’s Krista Tippett, A Slight Change of Plans’ Maya Shankar, travel writer Pico Iyer, Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Jason Mraz, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, journalist and amateur boxer Thomas Page McBee, award-winning writer Isabel Allende, comedian Tig Notaro, Grammy award-winning composer and musician Terence Blanchard, actor Randall Park, musician and Leinster Rugby player Niall Breslin, NASA astronomer Michelle Thaller, Peloton exercise instructor Robin Arzón, and MOMA curator Paola Antonelli, among others.
History
The idea for Meditative Story originated with the show's executive producer Deron Triff, who told Forbes “ big believers in storytelling as a vehicle to transform people’s lives... We wanted to blend the storytelling experience with tools and strategies for mindfulness and wellness. Our first call went to Arianna and her team, and we embarked on this venture together." Huffington described the series as “a response to a deep cultural need in our hyper sped up world to have a moment to recharge."The first episode of Meditative Story, featuring author and surgeon Lucy Kalanithi, aired on July 29, 2019.
In 2021, the team behind Meditative Story launched a spinoff audio series, Meditative Story: Sleep Song, which is available in the Meditative Story podcast feed.
In 2022, the show was distributed by public media organization PRX's Dovetail publishing platform; PRX also provided sponsorship and promotional support.
Format
In each classic episode of Meditative Story a different guest narrates a personal story about a time and place where everything changed for them. All of the stories reflect on a broad theme, like friendship, discovery or loss. The stories are scored with original music, and punctuated by mindfullness prompts from the host Rohan Gunatillake, who also ends each episode with a guided meditation.The brief mindfulness prompts, which are inserted directly into the narrative, invite listeners to observe and reflect on the details of the scenes and moments the storyteller is describing. And the original sound design for each episode is composed to complement the storyteller’s narrative.
There are also meditation episodes which solely feature host Rohan Gunatillake, who walks listeners through a meditation centered on a specific theme, topic or event.
Meditative Story: Sleep Song was created as a “dream score” - a bedtime experience born out of the positive feedback from listeners about the original music composed for the podcast. The immersive melodies from each Meditative Story episode are used to create these custom music-only soundtracks, which are available on the Meditative Story podcast feed.
Episodes
| Episode | Storyteller | Title | Airdate |
| 27 | Jay Shetty | Learn to see the layers in everyone | 3/2/2020 |
| 28 | Lindsey Stirling | Stories my father told me | 3/10/2020 |
| 29 | Forrest Galante | Adapting to life's unexpected nature | 3/17/2020 |
| 30 | Shea Hembrey | Trust the world to show its goodness | 4/4/2020 |
| 31 | Carl Safina | Loving our living world | 4/14/2020 |
| 32 | Jule Hall | Changing the soundtrack of our lives | 4/22/2020 |
| 33 | Thomas Chatterton Williams | When words fail | 4/28/2020 |
| 34 | Lehua Kamalu | Tracking the path of the sun | 5/13/2020 |
| 35 | Andrew Bird | Listening to the space around you | 5/20/2020 |
| 36 | Elizabeth Lesser | Giving birth to a wiser self | 5/27/2020 |
| 37 | Gretchen Rubin | It's ok to be wrong | 6/10/2020 |
| 38 | Judith Grisel | A more spacious response to life | 6/17/2020 |
| 39 | Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III | Finding unity, through our differences | 6/24/2020 |
| 40 | Angela Ahrendts | Creating my own sanctuary | 7/8/2020 |
| 41 | Donald Miralle | Where the water takes me | 7/15/2020 |
| 42 | Shawn Colvin | What my father gave me | 7/22/2020 |
| 43 | Wajahat Ali | Have faith, but tie your camel first | 7/29/2020 |
| 44 | Lang Lang | Lang Lang: The teacher who asked a new question | 8/19/2020 |
| 45 | Jennifer 8. Lee | That thing I'm missing is what makes me happy | 9/2/2020 |
| 46 | Mickey Guyton | Lean into your uniqueness | 9/9/2020 |
| 47 | Waddie Mitchell | A cowboy’s rules for living | 9/16/2020 |
| 48 | Ghuan Featherstone | Discovering the path to honor | 9/23/2020 |
| 49 | Cal Ripken Jr. | Showing up is never an end in itself | 10/7/2020 |
| 50 | Ginger Zee | I'm not just observing the winds, I'm riding them | 10/14/2020 |
| Episode | Storyteller | Title | Airdate |
| 51 | Stephen Wilkes | What's most vital is right in front of me | 12/9/2020 |
| 52 | Nadia Owusu | Home will be with me wherever I go | 12/16/2020 |
| 53 | Kaya Henderson | Nothing beats a failure but a try | 12/23/2020 |
| 54 | Diana Nyad | I couldn't have done it a fingernail better | 1/6/2021 |
| 55 | Jai Punjabi | Twenty-one meals with my family, in seven days | 1/14/2021 |
| 56 | Nalini Nadkarni | The stuff I'm here to study: Life on life on life | 1/20/2021 |
| 57 | David Duchovny | Some lessons take years to sink in | 1/27/2021 |
| 58 | Aasif Mandvi | Getting out of my own head | 2/10/2021 |
| 59 | Sam Harris | Finding happiness amid the ordinary collisions of life | 2/17/2021 |
| 60 | Adam Grant | The fear never goes away. But it can be tamed. | 2/24/2021 |
| 61 | Nate Berkus | Designing your space in the world | 3/10/2021 |
| 62 | Florence Williams | To chase the sunset | 3/24/2021 |
| 63 | Franklin Leonard | Writing the main character | 4/2/2021 |
| 64 | Majora Carter | Do great things – and take your flowers | 4/8/2021 |
| 65 | Michael Imperioli | Having the courage to create | 4/15/2021 |
| 66 | David Whyte | We become the places we love | 4/22/2021 |
| 67 | Omar Wasow | Getting unstuck, reframing the question | 5/6/2021 |
| 68 | Tony Tjan | Learning resilience from earth's edge | 5/13/2021 |
| 69 | Scott Nicholson | Alright after a fateful night | 5/19/2021 |
| 70 | Max Richter | Music, memory, moments | 5/27/2021 |
| 71 | Tri Robinson | To walk the Earth | 6/2/2021 |
| 72 | Robert Reich | The accounting of this parenting business | 6/17/2021 |
| 73 | S.G. Goodman | What holds the world together | 6/24/2021 |
| 74 | Wayne Little | A nurse's story | 6/30/2021 |
| Episode | Storyteller | Title | Airdate |
| 75 | Joel McHale | Appreciating life's random miracles | 8/18/2021 |
| 76 | Laurie R. Santos | My monkey teacher | 8/25/2021 |
| 77 | Kaywin Feldman | Derailed by beauty | 9/1/2021 |
| 78 | Robin Arzón | Do big things one step at a time | 9/8/2021 |
| 79 | Randall Park | The Hollywood version doesn't go like this | 9/15/2021 |
| 80 | Mariann Budde | It doesn't have to be this hard | 9/22/2021 |
| 81 | Russ Ellis | The call of the life that wasn't | 9/29/2021 |
| 82 | Andrew Rea | Living into my true self | 10/4/2021 |
| 83 | Milana Vayntrub | Learning to love my long-distance dad | 10/6/2021 |
| 84 | Dr. Marla Spivak | How the bees saved me | 10/13/2021 |
| 85 | Rev. Monique Ortiz | The heart comes out at night | 10/28/2021 |
| 86 | Steve Almond | My roads diverging | 11/3/2021 |
| 87 | Meredith Arthur | Ignoring inner me | 11/12/2021 |
| 88 | Courtney E. Martin | Finding her to find me | 12/1/2021 |
| 89 | Austin Mao | Peeling back these layers of my inner truth | 12/14/2021 |
| 90 | Beth Lisick | Who is leading who? | 12/23/2021 |
| 91 | Vanessa Hua | From dark times come new discoveries | 1/5/2022 |
| 92 | Gracia Maria | Magic is a serious business | 1/28/2022 |
| 93 | Keith Ferrazzi | The human truth underneath our armor | 2/3/2022 |
| Episode | Storyteller | Title | Airdate |
| 94 | Jacob Sartorius | I take a breath. I buy myself a moment. | 3/9/2022 |
| 95 | Fred Minnick | Experiencing the world through my senses | 3/16/2022 |
| 96 | Morgan Saylor | Trusting love’s infinite possibilities | 3/23/2022 |
| 97 | Al Harris | Celebrating a life beyond the score | 3/30/2022 |
| 98 | Silvia Vasquez-Lavado | Discover the power of self-compassion | 4/6/2022 |
| 99 | Kristin Windbigler | We're doing this thing together | 4/22/2022 |
| 100 | Chad Sanders | Finding my flow state | 4/28/2022 |
| 101 | Matthew Mercer | The magic that ripples out when we share our passions with others | 5/12/2022 |
| 102 | Isha Sesay | Forging my own path | 5/19/2022 |
| 103 | Dallas Taylor | I focus on sensations that ground me | 5/28/2022 |
| 104 | Gordana Biernat | A funny rush of surprise | 6/8/2022 |
| 105 | Sharon Salzberg | How I found kindness as my compass | 6/24/2022 |
| 106 | Hrishikesh Hirway | Giving myself permission to create | 6/30/2022 |
| 107 | Maya Shankar | The joy of being an unwilling traveler through life | 7/14/2022 |
| 108 | Morgan Harper Nichols | Belonging can be found far from home | 7/23/2022 |
| 109 | Steven Ho | The magic beyond our boundaries | 7/29/2022 |
| 110 | Henry Shukman | What deep listening unlocks for me | 8/19/2022 |
| 111 | Nataly Dawn | My battle as a beginner opens up a world of wonder | 8/26/2022 |
| 112 | Lex Gillette | To be seen on my own terms | 9/1/2022 |
| 113 | Joe Wicks | Racing toward passion and away from fear | 9/8/2022 |
| 114 | Carla Hall | My year of play | 9/15/2022 |
| 115 | Mark Nepo | On board with my dad | 9/22/2022 |
| 116 | Kino MacGregor | My grandfather the Aikido master | 9/29/2022 |
| 117 | Shani Tran | Mud, sweat, and tears | 10/13/2022 |
| 118 | Rachel Cargle | My side hustle to a better life | 11/3/2022 |
| 119 | Alex Morris | Dancing on my own | 11/10/2022 |
| Episode | Storyteller | Title | Airdate |
| 120 | Case Kenny | Notes to self | 11/17/2022 |
| 121 | Sara Benincasa | The last laugh | 12/1/2022 |
| 122 | Tom Mustill | The beetle and the whale | 12/8/2022 |
| 123 | Cristina Mittermeier | When the sharks start to circle | 12/22/2022 |
| 124 | Timothy Shriver | Changing the game | 1/5/2023 |
| 125 | Eric Whitacre | To swim in a sea of stars | 1/12/2023 |
| 126 | Jade Bowler | Finding magic in the quiet moments | 1/26/2023 |
| 127 | Hannah Cross | The power of a simple loving presence | 2/9/2023 |
| 128 | Curtis Rivers | Making adjustments in free fall | 2/16/2023 |
| 129 | Isabel Allende | From great loss, a great freedom | 3/2/2023 |
| 130 | AD | Finding possibility in life’s forced pauses | 3/9/2023 |
| 131 | Varshini Prakash | Together, we move from fear to hope | 3/23/2023 |
| 132 | Zuri Adele | How I connect to my unique place in history | 3/30/2023 |
| 133 | Bakari Sellers | Reducing anxiety 24 hours at a time | 4/6/2023 |
| 134 | Chip Conley | The secret to aging well | 4/18/2023 |
| 135 | Felix Barrett | There’s beauty in breaking the rules | 5/3/2023 |
| 136 | Terence Blanchard | Reaching our full potential is not a solo act | 5/9/2023 |
| 137 | Niall Breslin | Learning to heal by learning to feel | 5/16/2023 |
| 138 | Tig Notaro | There’s more than one way to get there | 5/23/2023 |
| 139 | Garrett McNamara | Embracing everything life has to offer | 6/6/2023 |
| 140 | Jason Mraz | Finding the energy we need, all around us | 6/13/2023 |
| 141 | Duff Goldman | Speaking without words | 6/20/2023 |
| 142 | Meredith Goldstein | Letting go of the need to do it all | 7/5/2023 |
| 143 | Soledad O’Brien | Seeing the potential in others and ourselves | 7/11/2023 |
| 144 | Leila Day | Learning to share our honest, imperfect stories | 7/20/2023 |
| 144 | Zoe Lister-Jones | Finding your voice when you need it the most | 8/8/2023 |
| Episode | Storyteller | Title | Airdate |
| 145 | Eddie Huang | There’s nobody like you | 8/15/2023 |
| 146 | Rohan Gunatillake | The spaces that give our lives meaning | 8/17/2023 |
| 147 | Kathryn Nicolai | Asking for what we need | 8/22/2023 |
| 148 | Rohan Gunatillake | Getting curious about how we learn | 8/24/2023 |
| 149 | Andrea Gibson | Let your body be the guide | 8/29/2023 |
| 150 | Adam Grant | Practice taming your fear | 9/5/2023 |
| 151 | Tamron Hall | Give yourself permission to believe | 9/12/2023 |
| 152 | Martha Beck | Letting our hearts take the lead | 9/19/2023 |
| 153 | Jessamyn Stanley | You are enough, messiness and all | 9/26/2023 |
| 154 | Rohan Gunatillake | Calming the mind and body for sleep | 9/28/2023 |
| 155 | Joseph Goldstein | It's ok not to know | 10/3/2023 |
| 156 | Carla Hall | The power of play | 10/10/2023 |
| 157 | Rohan Gunatillake | Embrace a life full of possibility | 10/17/2023 |
| 158 | Indy Officinalis | How the natural world connects us all | 10/19/2023 |
| 159 | Louie Schwartzberg | Cherishing every moment in time | 10/25/2023 |
| 160 | Rohan Gunatillake | A trick for finding warmth and comfort | 10/30/2023 |
| 161 | Mirna Valerio | The strength we seek is all around us | 11/7/2023 |
| 162 | Rohan Gunatillake | Small acts of kindness for ourselves and others | 11/9/2023 |
| 163 | Kim Fields | Rewrite your inner monologue | 11/14/2023 |
| 164 | Diana Nyad | Giving life everything we’ve got | 11/21/2023 |
| 165 | What kindness means to us | - | 11/28/2023 |
| 166 | Suneel Gupta | Embrace every part of yourself | 12/5/2023 |
| 167 | Matthieu Ricard | Let the symphony of life unfold all around you | 12/12/2023 |
| Episode | Storyteller | Title | Airdate |
| 168 | Rohan Gunatillake | Feeling safe, sound, and at peace while you travel | 12/14/2023 |
| 169 | Rohan Gunatillake | New beginnings, endless possibilities | 12/28/2023 |
| 170 | Jon Foreman | Creative potential is everywhere | 1/9/2024 |
| 171 | Dr. Kwane Stewart | Rediscover the roots of your joy | 1/16/2024 |