Know What You See with Brian Lowery

Sometimes healing doesn't mean trying to erase the past, but honoring it — cracks and all. In this episode, artist Naoko Fukumaru shares her deeply personal story of transformation through kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery or ceramics with lacquer and gold or silver powder to highlight the fractures and seams. She and host Brian Lowery explore what it means to mend — not just objects, but spirit — and why the most broken parts of us may be the most beautiful.For more on Naoko Fukumaru visit naokofukumaru.com, and for more on Brian Lowery and the show, check out knowwhatyousee.com.

Host Brian Lowery talks with journalist Jennifer Sullivan about the parallels between beauty and birding. As someone who has spent years writing about appearance and self-perception, Jenn discovered that watching birds offered a different kind of reflection—one that quiets the mind and expands our sense of place in the world. She and Brian discuss how stepping into nature can shift the way we see ourselves, and what happens when we stop looking in the mirror and start looking up.For more on the show, go to knowwhatyousee.com.

In this episode, comedian and tea enthusiast Jesse Appell of Jesse's Teahouse takes us on a journey from studying Chinese comedy to building an online tea business. He shares how navigating different cultures shaped his perspective on laughter, authenticity, and community. From mastering traditional Chinese cross-talk comedy to reinventing himself after a life-changing move, Jesse and host Brian Lowery discuss adaptation and the unexpected paths that bring meaning to our lives.For more on Jesse, visit jessesteahouse.com and for more on Brian and the podcast go to brianloweryphd.com.

Here’s another podcast we think you’ll like. It's called "Wisdom and Practice" and it’s hosted by one of Brian Lowry's guests this season, Simran Jeet Singh. Wisdom & Practice uncovers what insights we can gain from our ancient and modern traditions. Simran explores the different means of practice his guests have taken to discover new awareness of themselves, and how we can all cultivate more meaning, purpose and growth in our everyday lives.This episode of Wisdom and Practice features Katherine May, author of "Enchantment" and host of "How We Live Now". She and Simran discuss the loss of our sense of play, the power of attention, and how we can reconnect with a sense of wonder. You can find out more about "Wisdom and Practice" at Simran’s website - simranjeetsingh.org - and subscribe to the show on all your favorite podcast platforms. Hope you enjoy!

In this episode of Know What You See, Brian Lowery talks with with Simran Jeet Singh, professor, author, and host of the podcast, Wisdom and Practice, to explore the intersection of faith, purpose, and daily life. Simran shares how his Sikh faith guides his journey toward self-improvement, happiness, and meaningful community connections. Together, he and Brian discuss the role of religion as a practice—not just a belief system—and its potential to transform individuals and societies.For more on the show, visit knowwhatyousee.com.

What do the stories we tell say about who we are? In this episode of Know What You See, host Brian Lowery sits down with Dr. Ray Christian—storyteller, educator, ten-time Moth Story Slam champion, and host of the award-winning podcast What's Ray Saying? —to explore how the narratives we share, and the ones we leave out, shape our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.Join Brian and Ray for a thought-provoking conversation about how our stories might be the key to answering life’s biggest question: what’s the point?

In this Know What You See short, Brian probes the real reasons for having kids and why biological family is so important to us.

In this Know What You See short, Brian considers why being thoughtful about travel can help us get the most out of it.Why do you travel? Leave a message with your thoughts at brianloweryphd.com/contact. Stay tuned for new episodes of Know What You See coming this fall and follow @knowwhatyouseepod on Instagram.

In the day-to-day of our lives, how often do we feel truly moved? Many of us think we have to get away from our daily reality to experience awe--the feeling that something is so wondrous and mysterious it's a little scary. It can feel like only extraordinary encounters with say art or majestic experiences of nature evoke awe, and we are left with too little of it. But maybe we can learn to cultivate awe and by doing so bring greater meaning to our lives. Guest: Dacher Keltner, Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley, founder and director of the Greater Good Science Center, and host of the podcast The Science of Happiness.

Race and gender are thought by many to be immutable features of our biology. In some places and spaces, we see significant challenges to this way of thinking about gender, but the biological view of race has proved more durable. How do we understand racial identity from individual and community perspectives? What’s changing about how we define race and how that shapes our interactions with the world around us? Our guest: Rebecca Tuvel: Associate Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Rhodes College.

With so many of us now working at home or on a hybrid schedule, the line between our employment and our personal lives has been blurring. What does work/life balance mean when the boundaries keep shifting? What does our nostalgia for pre-pandemic workplace comedies like The Office say about who we are and who we used to be? And is the dystopian drama series Severance a warning, or a kind of wish fulfillment? Guests: Dr. Pamela Rutledge, Director of the Media Psychology Research Center, Fielding Graduate University Katie Glasser, production intern For more about host Brian Lowery, go to knowwhatyousee.com.

A spouse, a soul-mate, a life partner - however you define “the one”, the search for that person is often confusing and fraught with challenges and doubt. And in a world with so much choice, is it better to enlist the opinions of those who know you best, like your family and friends? Or can more “objective” support like matchmakers and algorithms narrow down the field and yield true love? Guests: Barry Schwartz, Professor Emeritus in Social Theory and Social Action at Swarthmore Radha Patel, founder of Single to Shaadi For more about host Brian Lowery and the show, go to knowwhatyousee.com.

Here’s another podcast to add to your queue. Matt Abrahams is a Lecturer in Organizational Behavior here at Stanford, and in his podcast, Think Fast, Talk Smart. he speaks with experts about the real world challenges of communicating effectively. From emails, to giving presentations or speaking at family functions, how can we best get our point across in business and in life? Brian Lowery was a guest on a recent episode, and he talked about his new book, Selfless: The Social Creation of "You". Be sure to check out more episodes of Think Fast Talk Smart, wherever you get your podcasts. Stay tuned for new episodes of Know What You See coming this summer!