Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

Finding the Throughline: Conversations about the Creative Process invites you into the minds of writers and other creatives as they open up about their process, their doubts, and what kinds of changes they’re thinking about making. The questions are mildly invasive, honestly, and the answers are unvarnished…and so refreshing! 

Whether your creative work is writing, painting, making music, parenting, or simply living, Finding the Throughline can help you get—and stay—inspired. Invigorated, even. 

For detailed show notes on each interview, visit katehanley.substack.com. And if you’d like to hear these interviews in one ad-free episode (as opposed to broken up into three shorter episodes with a few ads sprinkled in to keep the lights on), become a paid subscriber once you’re there.

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Education
Self-Improvement
How To
901
Activism: Finding the Right Fit, and the Bandwi...
When you find the right cause for you, it makes you more effective, it gives you more energy, and it enriches your life more. So the question then is, how do you find the right fit? And once you do, how do you find the bandwidth?
7 min
902
Let’s Get Activated EP: 277
This week I’m talking about activism--getting involved in causes you care about and lending your voice, time, and energy to creating positive change in the world. After all, being a better person isn’t just about you!
8 min
903
International Unreturned Message Forgiveness D...
Today is a very special day on the How to Be a Better Person podcast. I’m declaring a new international holiday. It’s Unreturned Message Forgiveness Day. Woo hoo!
6 min
904
Next Time You’re Tempted to Over-Do for Someone...
Let’s face it, other people’s happiness isn’t under your control. Sure, you can love someone and support them, but if you’re trying to make them feel a certain way, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Here's something to remind yourself...
6 min
905
Getting Over the Fear of Being Selfish, an Inte...
Today I'm talking to someone who is a total expert at doing good in the world by living unapologetically as yourself. Lisa Cherney, who has been mentoring entrepreneurs for over 20 years, teaches that you don't have to do anything just because people...
15 min
906
We Can Be NOT Sorry, Just for One Day EP: 273
Something we do when we’re overly focused on other people’s happiness is apologize. A lot. I’m not talking about owning up to something that you truly got or did wrong. I’m talking about a reflexive “I’m sorry” for anything that...
5 min
907
Getting Over Over-Pleasing EP: 272
When I surveyed listeners, I asked them what they struggled with when it came to being a better person. And so many of them said people-pleasing. Even Tupac Shakur, lion of hip-hop, said, “I gotta stop treating people like I owe them something.”...
6 min
908
Add This to Your Home for a Better Winter EP: 271
We need more nature in our lives, and a great way to get it is to get yourself a houseplant.
4 min
909
This Is the Most Important Thing You Can Do--No...
6 min
910
What Your Body Needs Now, an Interview with Mar...
Being able to ride the waves of change IS possible. But it doesn’t just happen on its own. It takes some self-care. Which is why I’m bringing my nutritionist bestie, Mary Sheila Gonnella, back on to talk us through some practical strategies.
12 min
911
Quick Ritual to Get Ready for Fall EP: 268
I’ve got a quick but powerful little ritual to share with you today that will help you take stock of what’s happened, be grateful for what you’ve got, and plant some seeds for the future.
5 min
912
Transitions Are Necessary, But Hard EP: 267
Transition is a fact of life, but it’s not easy. And that’s why I want to talk about how to stay steady during times of transition this week. Because that is where we’re at.
5 min
913
Please Talk to This Particular Type of Person Y...
There's a particular type of conversation with a particular type of person I want to talk about today -- and that is talking with the folks who reach out to you on behalf of someone who is running for office.
7 min
914
The Power of NOT Talking EP: 265
Sometimes you have to keep your mouth shut. It’s the only way you can listen. But it’s often not easy to do!
5 min
915
How to Handle the Haters, an Interview with Har...
Journalist and author Harriet Marsden is used to dealing with haters. As evidence, an anonymous reader sent Harriet a copy of my book (How to Be a Better Person), with a very passive aggressive note, and Harriet had the good humor to snap a pic and...
11 min
916
Ask Better Questions EP: 263
When you ask an open-ended question, you’re going to get a much richer response and invite whomever you're talking to into a true dialogue. And I’m guessing that you may not realize how many dead-end questions you might be asking.
6 min
917
Acknowledging What’s Happening in the World EP:...
I know we all need places to turn that aren’t roiled by turmoil right now, and that you come to this podcast for inspiration and ideas. But being a better person also means making the world a better place, and I can’t not acknowledge that the...
4 min
918
Become a Different Kind of Watcher EP: 261
Cultivating your ability to observe things is a crucial piece of reining in your attention. Today I'm going to talk about how you can build your observation skills by watching the clouds. If you can learn to watch the clouds, you can learn to watch...
4 min
919
Easy Practice to Build Your Listening Skills EP...
Today I’m talking about how to strengthen your listening muscles. Because not listening is something many folks who have taken my survey name as the top thing that they struggle with when it comes to being a better person.
5 min
920
How a Productivity Expert Hones Her Focus EP: 259
I’m excited to talk to Paula Rizzo, author of Listful Living and Listful Thinking, about how to stay focused on what matters when we have so very many things to distract us.
13 min
921
Dramatically Reduce Your Distractions in Only 2...
Our attention was already scattered before corona hit, and now it’s like an order of hashbrowns from Waffle House--it’s scattered, smothered, covered, and chunked. One thing we can do to bring it back is to reduce the number of attention-stealers...
9 min
922
Refilling Your Attention Deficit EP: 257
This week I’m talking about attention, because a) our brains are all over the place and b) that scattered feeling is at the root of so many of the things we’re struggling with now.
7 min
923
Notch Taker-Downers (According to You) EP: 256
5 min
924
Just Keep Breathin’ and Breathin’ and Breathin’...
8 min
925
Herbs Are Like a Hug for Your Health EP:254
16 min