Mighty Pursuit Podcast

20-Year Couples Therapist: Why You Repeat What You Hate

You know the moment. A conversation starts small, almost harmless. And suddenly it’s spiraling. Your reaction feels bigger than the moment. Your partner’s response feels completely disproportionate. And somewhere in the middle of it, you’re wondering: How did we get here again?
Because this isn’t the first time. You’ve had this fight before — maybe with this partner, maybe with someone else. Different details. Same tension. Different words. Same emotional ending.
Afterward, you’re left confused. Why does something so small feel so big? Why do you both react in ways you don’t fully recognize — or even agree with?
Here’s the truth: this isn’t just you. Conflict is normal in every relationship. But decades of research and clinical work show that most people fall into the same unhealthy patterns again and again. Not because they want to — but because something deeper is running the show.
That’s why we sat down with Vienna Pharaon. She’s one of the most influential couples therapists in the world, a bestselling author, and a trusted voice for more than 750,000 people online. After twenty years of sitting with couples in pain, she’s seen the same patterns repeat — and she helps people finally understand what’s underneath the fight so real change can happen.
In this conversation, Vienna takes us beneath the surface. Whether you’re single and trying to understand what went wrong in the past, or in a relationship wondering why the same moments feel so familiar, this episode meets you where you are — and shows you how to break the cycle for good.
Chapters:0:00 - Intro1:31 - The Pattern Underneath A Fight9:53 - Why We Have High Divorce Rates18:52 - Dysfunction on the Dating Scene24:19 - Links Between Childhood & Our Love Life36:30 - The Pursuer-Withdrawer Dynamic1:01:40 - How Small Moments Provoke Big Reactions1:05:05 - Why We Repeat The Things We Hate1:26:14 - Dating While You’re Still In Process1:33:38 - Expressing Your Needs To Your Partner1:45:03 - Words & Phrases That Are Landmines
Mighty Pursuit Links:Website: https://www.mightypursuit.comInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/mightypursuit/TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@mightypursuit/X: https://x.com/MightyPursuit
Dr. Vienna Pharaon:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmft/Book: https://amzn.to/499RgjBOrigin Wound Quiz: https://1wsm6geg69z.typeform.com/to/d981R7Cl?
For business inquiries: hello@mightypursuit.com

Joe Hudson: Why Numbing & Avoidance Will Cost You 2026

There are a small number of people in the world who could flip a switch tomorrow and affect billions of lives.
They sit at the very top of their fields. The people many of us look at and think, if only I could have a sliver of their success.
And when those people need help, they don’t go further into the spotlight. They go to one individual quietly working behind the scenes.
Which raises a simple question: what does someone at that level actually need guidance with?
Here’s the surprising part. They don’t seek help because their problems are bigger than yours. They seek help because they’re dealing with the same ones. Fear. Reactivity. Disconnection. Dysregulated emotion.
The same inner patterns — just playing out at a higher volume, with far greater consequences.
That’s why they turn to Joe Hudson. He’s the founder of The Art of Accomplishment, and what makes his work rare is how he brings together worlds that are usually kept separate. Ambition and inner work. Performance and emotional integration. Achievement and meaning.
Drawing from spiritual, psychological, and neurological practices, Joe works at the level where real change actually happens. Not surface behavior, but the internal patterns that shape everything else.
That’s what makes this conversation different.
If you’re trying to build something — a career, a company, or a life — this episode reveals what has to happen on the inside for it to work on the outside.

Pulitzer Prize Journalist: How Big Food Created Mass Disease & Addiction

In 1999, the CEOs of America’s 11 largest food companies gathered for a private meeting. Coca-Cola. Kraft. Nabisco. General Mills. Direct competitors, sitting at the same table.
They weren’t there to talk profits or market share. They were there to confront the growing evidence that their products were making people sick — fueling addiction and chronic disease on a scale comparable to cigarettes.
By the end of that meeting, they made a decision. They wouldn’t change course. They would double down.
Scientists were hired to perfect the “bliss point.” Marketers were brought in to engineer craving. Psychologists studied how to bypass willpower altogether. And chances are, you’ve felt the cost of that decision — in your own health, or in someone you love.
Today, nearly 60 percent of Americans live with at least one chronic disease. Cancer. Diabetes. Obesity. Heart disease. And the damage isn’t only physical. The same systems that hijack the body also hijack the brain, driving anxiety, depression, and addiction.
With so much speculation and misinformation around this topic, we needed someone who could tell the story truthfully — without conspiracy, and without spin.
That’s why we sat down with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Moss, author of the New York Times bestsellers Salt Sugar Fat and Hooked. For years, he’s investigated the food labs, boardrooms, and marketing strategies of Big Food — tracing exactly how these systems were built, and why they persist.
Together, we created one of the most comprehensive conversations you’ll find on this subject. A clear, linear look at what’s happening, how it’s affecting you, and what it actually takes to begin reclaiming your agency.
Chapters:0:00 - Intro2:01 - The Secret 1999 Meeting11:04 - How Ultra Processed Food Leads To Disease & Addiction31:22 - What Happens Behind Closed Doors1:10:15 - How Big Food Copied Cigarette Companies1:21:53 - Where is the Government in This?1:26:41 - Defeating Big Food
Mighty Pursuit Links:Website: https://www.mightypursuit.comInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/mightypursuit/TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@mightypursuit/X: https://x.com/MightyPursuit
Michael Moss Links:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelcmoss/X: https://x.com/MichaelMossCSalt, Sugar, Fat (Book): https://amzn.to/4s6LGH7Hooked (Book): https://amzn.to/4pObS88
For business inquiries: hello@mightypursuit.com

Ivy League Scientist: We Discovered Humans Are Built to Sense God

Maybe you’ve heard people talk about hearing God’s voice or feeling a higher presence — and your first reaction is to roll your eyes. Or maybe you’ve had a moment like that yourself but never known what to make of it. You’re skeptical, but curious.
The truth is, this topic makes people uncomfortable. It’s loaded with religious baggage and often framed as anti-intellectual. But what if — scientifically — it’s real?
That’s why we sat down with Dr. Lisa Miller — an Ivy League scientist, bestselling author, and one of the pioneers in mapping the spiritual brain. Her research proves what skeptics have long dismissed and what seekers have quietly known all along: that we are biologically wired for spirituality. And if that’s true, it changes everything.
In this episode, we explore what happens when you make regular connection with a higher power part of your life. This conversation isn’t about dogma or religion — it’s about what it means to live with rhythms of connection that shape how you move through the world, how you handle suffering, and how you experience joy.
Even if you’re skeptical, this conversation matters. Because if the science is right, it may be the most important capacity you carry inside you.
Chapters:0:00 - Intro2:14 - The Emerging View of Consciousness14:56 - Experiences with Divine Guidance30:49 - Passive Experiences vs. Activating Them43:35 - The Nature of God52:53 - Nontraditional Ways of Connection1:00:50 - Synchronicities, Dreams & Imagination1:11:36 - Relational Spirituality
Mighty Pursuit Links:Website: https://www.mightypursuit.comInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/mightypursuit/TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@mightypursuit/X: https://x.com/MightyPursuit
Dr. Lisa Miller Links:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.lisamiller/Awakened Brain:  https://amzn.to/4dhiTIZ
For business inquiries: hello@mightypursuit.com

25-Year Relationship Scientist: Why You Keep Choosing the Wrong People

Thousands of voices are telling you how to do modern dating and relationships.
Scroll through your feed and anyone with charisma and a microphone can become a relationship expert. Maybe you’ve grown disillusioned with those voices. You’ve tried to follow the advice, but still struggled in your own relationship — or wondered what, if anything, you can actually trust.
And the opportunity to speak into this moment is massive. Because the reality is sobering: divorce rates hover above 50%. And if you factor in the number of couples who are actually happy, the percentages fall much lower.
Here’s the good news: finding a successful, happy, long-lasting relationship is not impossible. But only if you understand the truth — and apply it to your life.
That’s why we sat down with Dr. Ty Tashiro, one of the top relationship scientists in the world. He’s synthesized decades of research across psychology and relationship science, getting to the root of what really makes love last.
In this conversation, you’ll hear why the very things most of us chase in a partner — passion, beauty, and money — can backfire. We’ll explore the consequences of listening to the wrong voices on this subject, and uncover the traits that science says actually predict a happy, lasting relationship.
CHAPTERS:0:00 - Intro1:48 - The Story of Dirty Socks9:41 - Generational Shifts In How We View Love19:20 - The Boom in Bad Dating Advice24:58 - Marrying for Money34:44 - Choosing Someone Because They’re Hot46:36 - Deconstructing Your Wishlist56:54 - Marrying Someone You’re Not In Love With1:22:26 - Gender Dynamics1:32:50 - The Ideal Foundation For A Relationship1:48:09 - Divorce Can Be Predicted With 94% Accuracy
Mighty Pursuit Links:Website: https://www.mightypursuit.comInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/mightypursuit/TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@mightypursuit/X: https://x.com/MightyPursuit
Dr. Ty Tashiro Links:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tytashiro/?hl=enBook: https://amzn.to/4ay1Bb6
For business inquiries: hello@mightypursuit.com

Penn Badgley: How We Get Stuck (And How To Break Free)

Penn Badgley has spent most of his life being watched — the star of two of the more successful TV shows in recent history: Gossip Girl and You.
And in these last five years, You became a cultural phenomenon. People fell in love with Joe Goldberg, and before that, Dan Humphrey. But what few knew what was happening in Penn’s real life while all of this was going on.
Behind the scenes, he was going through an existential crisis that forced him to step back and look at his life in a completely different way. And that shift touched everything: his relationships, how he thought about love, how he understood himself.
The more we chatted with Penn in the week’s episode of the Mighty Pursuit Podcast, the more we realized that this wasn’t just his story— it was actually a mirror for our own. The questions driving his crisis are the ones that define all of our lives.
Over the course of two hours, we go everywhere — relationships, body image, childhood wounds, Joe Goldberg and the spiritual questions that have been forming underneath it all.
What struck us most is Penn’s depth — the honesty and emotional intelligence he brings to each part of this story. You’ll quickly realize that this is one of his most-in depth conversations yet.
Chapters:0:00 - Intro1:17 - The Stairs Incident21:49 - Relationship Patterns & Ideas About Love48:59 - Struggles with Self-Criticism59:46 - The Existential Crisis1:37:22 - Being at War with Joe Goldberg
Mighty Pursuit Links:Website: https://www.mightypursuit.comInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/mightypursuit/TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@mightypursuit/X: https://x.com/MightyPursuit
Penn Badgley Links:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pennbadgley/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iampennbadgleyCrushmore (new book): https://amzn.to/48sGBjk
For business inquiries: hello@mightypursuit.com

Harvard Neuroscientist: The Fascinating New Science Of Dreams

You’ll spend roughly a third of your life asleep — more than 200,000 hours in another world. The dream world.
Every night, your body lies still while your mind builds entire realities: places, people, and moments that feel as real as waking life. And yet, most of us forget almost everything we experience there.
Maybe you shrug off dreams as random noise. Maybe they terrify you — the nightmares, the paralysis, the strange symbols that stay with you long after you wake. Or maybe you’ve had dreams that felt like they were trying to tell you something.
In recent decades, neuroscience has revealed that dreams are far more than imagination. They’re data — emotional, psychological, even spiritual. They hold powerful clues to who we are, what we fear, and what we’ve yet to face.
That’s why we sat down with Dr. Baland Jalal, one of the world’s leading neuroscientists studying dreams, sleep paralysis, and consciousness itself. Based at Harvard, he’s in a rare position to bridge the gap between science and spirituality.
In this conversation, we explore what dreams reveal about God, consciousness, and the nature of reality — and what they can teach us about mental health and trauma.
We go deep into how dreams process emotion and memory, why nightmares can become windows into healing, what lucid dreaming shows us about consciousness, and how ancient spiritual experiences may not be so different from what neuroscience is now discovering.
Once you hear what’s really happening inside the dream world, you may never see waking life the same way again.
Chapters:0:00 - Intro2:02 - The Neuroscience of Dreams17:51 - Your Dreams Are Speaking To You47:04 - God & Spirituality Invading Your Dreams1:13:26 - Learning New Things In Your Dreams1:31:51 - We Can Now Speak To People In Their Dreams1:44:36 - The Terror of Sleep Paralysis
Mighty Pursuit Links:Website: https://www.mightypursuit.comInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/mightypursuit/TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@mightypursuit/X: https://x.com/MightyPursuit
Dr. Baland Jalal Links:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balandjalal/
For business inquiries: hello@mightypursuit.com

World's #1 Career Expert: The 3-Step Plan To Finding Your True Purpose

Nothing is quite as soul-sucking as spending 40+ hours a week doing something you don’t like.
Maybe that’s your story. 
You feel like you’re trading your life for a paycheck just to get by. You’re not even sure how you’d get out or what else you’d even do.
What’s even more concerning is that this has become normal. The latest research shows only 31% of people feel engaged at work. That means nearly 7 out of 10 are just going through the motions. People are desperate to do something that makes them feel alive.
That’s why we sat down with Dr. Suzy Welch — Director of the Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing at NYU, former editor of Harvard Business Review, and former host of CNBC’s Get To Work. 
At NYU, she now leads one of the university’s most popular courses, helping people uncover purpose in their careers and beyond.
Over the years, she’s developed a proven methodology for helping people break free from the grind and step into a life of meaning. Her approach is incredibly practical — rooted in evidence, refined by experience, and designed to work in the real world.
CHAPTERS:0:00 - Intro1:44 - Why We’re Trapped In Jobs We Hate24:50 - Is It Ever Too Late To Reinvent Yourself?31:15 - You Need To Understand Your Values47:14 - The Difference Between Values & Virtues58:09 - Aptitudes & Our Inborn Wiring1:12:52 - Economically Viable Interests & Megatrends 1:21:50 - The End Goal of Finding Our Purpose
Take The Values Bridge Quiz:https://thevaluesbridge.com/
Becoming You Book:
https://youtu.be/4MxD3oXOpnY
Mighty Pursuit Links:Website: https://www.mightypursuit.comInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/mightypursuit/TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@mightypursuit/X: https://x.com/MightyPursuit
Suzy Welch Links:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzywelch/
For business inquiries: hello@mightypursuit.com

Psychoanalyst Erica Komisar: How Motherhood Became a Crime

How did we get to a point where stay-at-home moms became enemies of the feminist movement? Where the work of raising children is seen as less valuable than climbing the corporate ladder?
You know the moment. You’re at a social gathering and someone asks, “So… what do you do?” You say you’re home with your kids. And the room goes quiet. Blank stares. Maybe even judgment, especially from other women.
If that’s you, it can feel like you’re doing something wrong by attending to your children full time. And if you’re the one giving that reaction, you might rattle off all the reasons career should come first.
But here’s the problem: when we diminish the work of parenting, it doesn’t just drive women into identity crises. It makes kids suffer. When we treat parenting as secondary, children absorb that ambivalence. Especially in the earliest years, when their brains are still forming. 
And when those children grow up to become tomorrow’s leaders — carrying fragile mental health, poor resilience, and broken attachment patterns — society doesn’t hold steady. It starts to fracture.
For a topic this urgent, we knew we needed someone who could cut through the noise. Erica Komisar is a feminist icon in the truest sense — an entrepreneur, a psychoanalyst, and a cultural voice who celebrates that women now have choice. She doesn’t believe every woman should have children. But she’s unapologetic about this: if you do, the first years of life carry consequences our culture can’t afford to ignore.
Over the last two years, millions have tuned into her interviews, drawn to her rare mix of honesty and expertise. After decades of guiding families through the hidden forces that shape children, she’s spent her career showing what it takes to raise kids who are secure, resilient, and ready to inherit the world.
If you’re searching for clarity on your own purpose and value, this conversation won’t just affirm you. 
It will reframe how you see the work of parenting itself.
Chapters:0:00 - Intro2:17 - The Complicated Relationship Between Feminism & Motherhood33:15 - The Fantasy Of Having It All & Deciding To Have Kids53:43 - Is Parenting Harder Than Ever Before?1:09:27 - The Differences Between Mothers & Fathers1:19:20 - The Financial Realities of Having Children1:32:05 - The Decision To Use Daycare or a Nanny1:40:42 - Erica’s Own Story of Parenting & Entrepreneurship
Mighty Pursuit Links:Website: https://www.mightypursuit.comInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/mightypursuit/TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@mightypursuit/X: https://x.com/MightyPursuit
Erica Komisar Links:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericakomisar/
For business inquiries: hello@mightypursuit.com

A Dopamine Scientist, a Spiritual Psychologist, and a Food Doctor Solve The Mental Health Puzzle

Weird, isn’t it?
We have more therapy than ever. More medications than ever. More awareness than ever. We’ve broken free from the stigma of the past — and yet, mental health struggles of every kind are still rising. In some ways, you could argue we’re worse off than before the so-called mental health revolution even started.
Maybe this is your story, or someone close to you. You’ve done all the right things, and yet somehow, it’s still not working. Mental health content floods your feed, but it’s become white noise. You’re tired of grifters, tired of quick fixes, tired of the same recycled slogans.
It’s clear the mental health revolution of the 2010s didn’t deliver what we hoped. But the real question is: why? What are we missing?
To find out, we brought together what you might call the Avengers of mental health — a one-of-a-kind team-up with three of the most influential voices in the world.
At Columbia University, Dr. Lisa Miller has shown how spirituality and mental health are inseparable.At Stanford University, Dr. Anna Lembke has exposed how addiction and new technologies are hijacking the brain.And at Harvard University, Dr. Uma Naidoo has established the gut-brain connection, revealing how what we eat shapes how we feel.
They come from the world’s most prestigious institutions. They’re all bestselling authors, recognized globally. And each brings a missing piece of the puzzle.
Together, they give us the whole story of mental health.
This is the first time these voices have come together — a rare chance to hear from the people who have shaped the global conversation on mental health, all in one place. When you put these pieces together, you’ll see a path forward that’s hopeful, practical, and actually produces real change.
Chapters:0:00 - Intro2:12 - Why Are The Statistics Getting Worse?16:28 - Erasing God Damaged Mental Health30:46 - Medication Has Become a Problem56:46 - How Food Helps Heal Mental Health1:09:14 - The Medical System Profits Off Sickness1:22:50 - Addressing The Loneliness Epidemic1:26:15 - Bad Therapy & Empathy Going Too Far1:56:43 - Going Through Things You Cannot Change
Mighty Pursuit Links:Website: https://www.mightypursuit.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mightypursuit/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mightypursuit/X: https://x.com/MightyPursuit
For business inquiries: hello@mightypursuit.com