This Helps with Marlon Morgan

Medieval historian Peter Jones joins Marlon to talk about his new book, Self-Help from the Middle Ages: What the Seven Deadly Sins Can Teach Us About Living. We talk pride, envy, anger, sloth, avarice, gluttony, lust, Silicon Valley, ancient manuscripts, and why so much of what makes us human, no matter the century, is our need for connection. Pick up Self-Help from the Middle Ages: What the Seven Deadly Sins Can Teach Us About Living 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: hello@thishelpspodcast.com 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan 📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it. 📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab. WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone. NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

In Part 2 of this conversation, Marlon and Noēsis Collaborative Founder & CEO Ron Ivey shift their focus to what comes next. They explore what it means to design AI in service of human flourishing, unpack the difference between knowledge and wisdom, and wrestle with questions about suffering, belonging, and what it actually means to be human. As we close out the season, this episode turns toward agency, hope, and the choices still in front of us. Learn about the imapct of AI on Youth Well-Being: aiandyouthimpact.org Keep up with the work of Ron Ivey and Noēsis Collaborative: noesiscollaborative.org Season 3 of This Helps With Marlon Morgan will be back on April 30th! In the meantime stay connected with the podcast!: Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: hello@thishelpspodcast.com 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan 📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it. 📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab. WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone. NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

In one of our earliest episodes, Chris Gethard and Gary Gulman, two hilarious and talented comedians, actors, and authors, sat down with Marlon to discuss what life has been like since the release of their own critically acclaimed HBO Original Comedy Specials, each of which dives deeply into their personal mental health journeys. We're revisiting this conversation at a moment when the world could really use some funny people being honest, thoughtful, and human about what it actually takes to keep going. Chris Gethard- Career Suicide (2017) Gary Gulman- The Great Depresh (2019) Catch Gary and Chris on the road: https://garygulman.com/ https://punchup.live/chrisgethard Check out their latest books mentioned in the episode: Chris Gethard- Dad at Peace (2024) Gary Gulman- Misfit: Growing up Awkward in the 80's (2023) NOTE: This episode contains conversations about suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988. 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: hello@thishelpspodcast.com 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan 📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it. 📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab. WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone.

To close out the year, we're looking back on some of the conversations that shaped This Helps in 2025. This episode is a highlight reel of moments, ideas, and voices that stayed with us: conversations about connection, vulnerability, grief, hope, power, and what actually helps us, day to day. This is not a definitive list, and it's definitely not a ranking. We had so many meaningful conversations this year, and we loved every one of them. What you'll hear in this episode is just a snapshot, a cross-section of the themes, questions, and voices that capture the spirit of what this show has been exploring and where we're hoping to go next. 🔗 Watch our 2025 recap on YouTube Featured in this episode:Dr. Nina Vasan and Dr. Darja Djordjevic, Stanford Brainstorm Larissa "Larz" May, #HalfTheStory Rainn Wilson, Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution Dr. Jeffrey Hall and Dr. Andy Merolla, The Social Biome: How Everyday Communication Connects and Shapes Us Dr. Smita Malhotra, Los Angeles Unified School District Brian D. McLaren, Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart Anya Kamenetz, The Golden Hour: climate, children, mental health Dr. Anna Malaika Tubbs, Erased: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden from Us Dr. John B. King, Teacher by Teacher: The People Who Change Our Lives 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: hello@thishelpspodcast.com 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan 📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it. 📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab. WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone. NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

In this live episode, Marlon is joined on stage at the Wellness Together Conference by Chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY) and 10th U.S. Secretary of Education, Dr. John B. King Jr. for part two of the conversation they started earlier this year. Dr. King shares the story of the teacher who helped save his life, and what it was like to reconnect with the family who enslaved his ancestors. They talk about the threats facing public education and school-based mental health right now, and what it actually looks like to help students feel safe enough to learn. Watch this episode on YouTube! Purchase Teacher by Teacher: The People Who Change Our Lives 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: hello@thishelpspodcast.com 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan 📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it. 📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab. WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone. NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

This week, Marlon sits down with actor, author, and Soul Boom host Rainn Wilson for a live conversation about spirituality, purpose, and the search for meaning in a culture obsessed with fame. They get into what The Office has taught people about connection and comfort, why consumer spirituality can't fill a spiritual void, and how community, humility, and humor help us build lives that matter. Rainn opens up about fame, faith, and the difference between being adored and being known, and why living "in your spirit" might be the real antidote to burnout and loneliness. Watch Rainn's episode of This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thishelpspodcast! 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: hello@thishelpspodcast.com 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan 📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it. 📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab. WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone. NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

This week Marlon sits down with Dr. Jeff Hall and Dr. Andy Merolla, authors of The Social Biome. Jeff is a professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas, and Andy is a professor of communication at UC Santa Barbara. Together, they explore what it takes to build and sustain the connections that keep us thriving. They talk about why relationships are as essential to our health as food and exercise, the idea of "social calories" and how different kinds of conversations nourish us in different ways, the complicated nuance of social media, why one close connection can make all the difference for our well-being, and so much more. Purchase: The Social Biome: How Everyday Communication Connects and Shapes Us ✨ Join us at the 9th Annual Wellness Together Conference, happening September 29 - October 1 in San Diego, CA! Hear from incredible speakers, connect with fellow advocates, and be part of something meaningful. Use code thishelps for 10% off your registration. 🎥 Watch This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thishelpspodcast! 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: hello@thishelpspodcast.com 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan 📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it. 📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab.WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone. NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

San Diego Unified School District Board Vice President, Senior Policy Advisor to California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and candidate for California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Richard Barrera, joins Marlon for a wide-ranging, hopeful conversation about education, democracy, and the power of community. They talk about cell-phone-free classrooms and the return of the "recess vibe," how to measure more than test scores, and why teaching kids to build real relationships may be the most important work of all. ✨ Join us at the 9th Annual Wellness Together Conference, happening September 29 - October 1 in San Diego, CA! Hear from incredible speakers, connect with fellow advocates, and be part of something meaningful. Use code thishelps for 10% off your registration. 🎥 Watch This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thishelpspodcast! 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: hello@thishelpspodcast.com 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan 📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it. 📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab.WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone. NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

This week we're joined by Dr. Smita Malhotra, Chief Medical Director of Los Angeles Unified, pediatrician, author, and TEDx speaker. Dr. Malhotra helped led LAUSD's health response through the pandemic and brings a deeply holistic lens to student wellbeing. We talk about what resilience really looks like, why joy doesn't have to be complicated, and how showing up as fully human, both in medicine and in parenting, can change everything. Along the way, we get into her love of Bravo, her daughter's Biggie-inspired rap debut, and why health and education are inseparable when it comes to helping kids thrive. Stay connected with Dr. Smita Malhotra: Instagram: @drsmita_md LinkedIn: smitamd ✨ Join us at the 9th Annual Wellness Together Conference, happening September 29 - October 1 in San Diego, CA! Hear from incredible speakers, connect with fellow advocates, and be part of something meaningful. Use code thishelps for 10% off your registration. 🎥 Watch This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thishelpspodcast! 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: hello@thishelpspodcast.com 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan 📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it. 📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab.WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone. NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

This week, we're joined by Augustus Mays, Vice President of Partnerships and Engagement at The Education Trust, for a powerful conversation about equity, opportunity, and the systems that shape young people's lives. A longtime leader in education policy, Augustus draws from both personal experience and professional expertise to advocate for students who have been historically underserved. We talk about the legacy of civil rights legislation, the evolving role of the U.S. Department of Education, and why resource equity is key to ensuring every child–not just a lucky few–can thrive. Along the way, Augustus shares how his father's early lessons shaped his purpose, how joy and justice go hand in hand, and what keeps him hopeful in the face of setbacks. Connect with August Mays and EdTrust: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/augustus-mays-35098222a/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edtrust Twitter: https://x.com/EdTrust Threads: https://www.threads.net/@edtrust Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edtrust/ 🎥 Watch This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Mr.MarlonMorgan! 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: hello@thishelpspodcast.com 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan 📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it. 📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab.WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone. NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

This week we're joined by Jill Murphy, Chief Content Officer at Common Sense Media, and self-proclaimed Golden Girls superfan. Jill has been at the forefront of media literacy since 2005, helping families navigate everything from streaming shows and video games, to social media apps and classroom tech. We talk about raising kids in a world of YouTube, iPads, and AI, how to build real connection through co-viewing, and how media can be a meaningful part of family life when approached with curiosity and care. Connect with Common Sense Media: Website: commonsense.org Instagram: @commonsenseorg 🎥 Watch This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Mr.MarlonMorgan! 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: hello@thishelpspodcast.com 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan 📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it. 📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab.WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone. NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

Journalist and author Anya Kamenetz joins us to talk about what it means to raise thriving kids in a changing world. Drawing from her bestselling book The Stolen Year: How COVID Changed Children's Lives, and Where We Go Now and her Substack The Golden Hour, Anya shares what she's learned from reporting on screen time, trauma, and climate anxiety, and how her own values shifted in the wake of the pandemic. Connect with Anya Kamenetz Substack: https://thegoldenhour.substack.com Website: http://www.anyakamenetz.net Anya's Books: http://www.anyakamenetz.net/books Instagram: @anyakamenetz 🎥 Watch This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Mr.MarlonMorgan! 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: hello@thishelpspodcast.com 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan 📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it. 📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab.WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone. NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.

Dr. John B. King Jr., Chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY), former U.S. Secretary of Education, and lifelong advocate for students, joins Marlon to talk about mentorship, the power of authentic connection, and the role teachers play in shaping lives. Drawing from his new book, Teacher by Teacher, King shares personal stories, reflections on education policy, and why supporting educators is key to inspiring hope and resilience in young people. Purchase Teacher by Teacher: The People Who Change Our Lives 🎥 Watch This Helps YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Mr.MarlonMorgan! 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast! Instagram: @thishelpspodcast For business: hello@thishelpspodcast.com 🔗 Stay connected with the podcast host, Marlon Morgan, Founder & CEO of Wellness Together Instagram: @mrmarlonmorgan LinkedIn: Marlon Morgan 📢 Know someone extraordinary who should be featured on This Helps? Visit https://www.thishelpspodcast.com/joinus and tell us all about it. 📓 FREE online mental health training at our Wellness Education Lab.WELLNESS EDUCATION LAB™ (WEL) is practical and empowering online mental health training. Each module offers three different versions for three unique audiences: students (13+), parents/guardians, and educators/school staff. Parents/guardians modules are also available in Spanish. ⛵️ Wellness Together is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing mental health services for students (K-12 and University), families, and educators on campus and online. Our mission is to deliver mental health support & programming to advance mental health awareness, advocacy, and access for everyone. NOTE: If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911. If you or someone you know needs to speak with someone immediately, call or text The Lifeline at 988.