Make It a Great One with Dr. Dan: #1 Podcast for Inspiring Conversations to Live and Lead On Purpose

Dr. Dan interviews parenting expert, author, co-host of the Zen Pop Parenting podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/zen-pop-parenting/id414414318], and longtime friend Cathy Cassani Adams [https://zenpopparenting.com/] about self-awareness, life transitions, and the evolving journey of parenting.  On today’s episode, Dr. Dan and Cathy explore parental self-understanding, ways to raise resilient kids, how to listen to your body’s cues (your “dashboard”), and ending the myth of perfection in parenting, leadership, and life. Dr. Dan and Cathy also share why authenticity and vulnerability matter and how Cathy’s own experiences with grief, family, and creativity led her to redefine success, joy, and contentment – and inspired the evolution of Zen Parenting Radio to the new Zen Pop Parenting podcast. Whether you’re a parent, educator, leader, or simply someone navigating life’s transitions, this episode will inspire you to lead with compassion, stay grounded in your truth, and embrace the beautiful messiness of the human journey. Today’s heartfelt and deeply reflective conversation is a perfect companion to Dan and Cathy’s previous podcast discussion [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/zen-parenting-with-cathy-adams/id1157097748?i=1000568235259]about parenting and mental health.  For more information zenpopparenting.com [https://zenpopparenting.com/] and follow @zenparentingradio [https://www.instagram.com/zenparentingradio/] on Instagram. Please listen, follow, rate, and review Make It a Great One on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow @drdanpeters on social media. Visit www.drdanpeters.com [http://www.drdanpeters.com/] and send your questions or guest pitches to podcast@drdanpeters.com [podcast@drdanpeters.com]. We have this moment, this day, and this life—let’s make it a great one. – Dr. Dan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

In this inspiring episode, Dr. Dan interviews comedian, improv actor, speaker, and author Claire Berger [https://claireberger.com/] about her thought-provoking book How Much Is Enough? Getting More by Living with Less [https://www.amazon.com/How-Much-Enough-Getting-Living/dp/196162446X/ref=sr_1_2?crid=C73JXDDLTWD9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-DZs59A4IiP1qT4nLMxKp1yx4IFNNVld9JTMvtRwxnj6GttiJmTVfHKSsBQfC4frnROYLnYIuPYwdrG6k5X8-1PBRpWh_UW7YoHehPOGWqPygcEPJ1-O2i9pSYg6jfCV3wEMlVbEhl4Jkvx3iVbIBUAxunAZXU9YRBpJruBO0TNknWk69ggoqFVVvreJorynQif7wzK7bsyb1X3842r2BbnS1vbgQmKPM8gavzKoCFA.J0NcJIjU7OVESaaFjV3cF-UW4NTuKSotwvwV9Ua1aqo&dib_tag=se&keywords=how+much+is+enough&qid=1713547273&sprefix=how+much+is+enough%2Caps%2C134&sr=8-2]. Claire challenges us to embrace the concept of “enoughness” and to live more authentically. Drawing from her multifaceted career—stand-up comic, warm-up artist for sitcoms, and HGTV host—Claire shares powerful insights on how to redefine success on our own terms. On this episode, Claire and Dr. Dan explore the universal question: How much is enough? – and their answers redefine success, self-worth, perfectionism, and growth. Filled with humor, heart, and provocative questions, Dr. Dan and Claire encourage listeners to appreciate who they are, what they have, and to recognize that they are already more than enough. This conversation will shift your mindset and inspire you to embrace your perfectly imperfect, purpose-filled life. Learn more at www.claireberger.com [http://www.claireberger.com] and follow Claire on Instagram @4claireb. Please listen, follow, rate, and review Make It a Great One on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow @drdanpeters on social media. Visit www.drdanpeters.com [http://www.drdanpeters.com/] and send your questions or guest pitches to podcast@drdanpeters.com [podcast@drdanpeters.com]. We have this moment, this day, and this life—let’s make it a great one. – Dr. Dan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Dr. Dan invites back a favorite guest, author and poet Jill Bialosky, [https://www.jillbialosky.com/] to talk about her new memoir The End Is the Beginning: A Personal History of My Mother. [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1451677928?tag=simonsayscom]  Jill shares with Dr. Dan how the pandemic, the isolation of grief, and her mother’s decline due to Alzheimer’s inspired her to write this book as a way to preserve her mother’s life and legacy. Dan and Jill explore the complexities of parenthood and daughterhood, the weight of generational trauma, and much more. Their conversation reveals that healing can come through storytelling and sharing. Today’s conversation inspires us to consider the full lives our parents lived before we ever knew them. More than a literary conversation, today’s episode is a universal one about family, memory, loss, grief, and ultimately love. For more information www.jillbialosky.com [https://www.jillbialosky.com/] and follow @jillbialosky [https://www.instagram.com/jillbialosky/] on Instagram. Please listen to Dr. Dan’s previous interview with Jill about her extraordinary memoir History of a Suicide: My Sister’s Unfinished Life [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-of-a-suicide-with-jill-bialosky/id1157097748?i=1000590252389]. Please listen, follow, rate, and review Make It a Great One on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow @drdanpeters on social media. Visit www.drdanpeters.com [http://www.drdanpeters.com/] and send your questions or guest pitches to podcast@drdanpeters.com [podcast@drdanpeters.com]. We have this moment, this day, and this life—let’s make it a great one. – Dr. Dan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

In our new episode, Dr. Dan sits down with artist, social entrepreneur, and joy-spreader Patty Mitchell—founder of Passion Works Studio [https://passionworks.org/] and Creative Director at Creative Abundance Consulting [https://creativeabundancegroup.com/]–to discuss how radical inclusion and acceptance of all differences and abilities in the artmaking process is redefining community worldwide.  Patty explains to Dr. Dan how her bold question “What if inclusion, economic empowerment, and community transformation could all begin with a paintbrush?” started a movement that keeps growing and today is a successful global model for inclusive, empathy-driven social enterprise. Dr. Dan discusses Patty’s personal story and how through Passion Works Studio, Patty has created a vibrant space where people of all abilities come together to make art, build connections, and generate real economic value—over $8 million annually for her hometown of Athens, Ohio.  In today’s conversation, Patty shares with Dr. Dan how art can serve as a vehicle for liberation, independence, and belonging, and why following the aesthetic lead of people with developmental differences creates magic—both for individuals and for entire communities. This episode is about art, joy, possibility, and the power of believing in people of all abilities. Patty’s vision of how we build community—and what’s truly possible–will fill your heart and inspire listeners. For more information passionworks.org/ [https://passionworks.org/] and follow @passionworksstudio [https://www.instagram.com/passionworksstudio/] on Instagram. Please listen, follow, rate, and review Make It a Great One on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow @drdanpeters on social media. Visit www.drdanpeters.com [http://www.drdanpeters.com/] and send your questions or guest pitches to podcast@drdanpeters.com [podcast@drdanpeters.com]. We have this moment, this day, and this life—let’s make it a great one. – Dr. Dan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Dr. Dan interviews Dr. Avriel Epps [https://www.avrielepps.com/], a dynamic scholar, author, and strategist whose work sits at the crossroads of transformative justice and artificial intelligence. With a PhD in Human Development and a masters in Data Science from Harvard University, Dr. Epps brings a fresh and critical perspective to conversations about technology, equity, and social justice. On today’s episode, Dr. Dan and Dr. Epps explore her work around how bias in predictive technologies affects racial, gender, and sociopolitical identity development. She aims to understand the complex ways that algorithm design and computer-mediated social expectations—often communicated through artificial intelligence systems—impact the beliefs, behaviors, and health of developing humans. On today’s episode, listeners will hear explanations and examples about how AI can sometimes reinforce unfairness. Dr. Dan and Dr. Epps urge us to be part of the solution by demanding technology that works for everyone, not just a few. Dr. Avriel Epps is a former child actor and an R&B artist turned algorithmic justice expert. Her work shows us that AI is not neutral, reminds us algorithmic bias impacts are real, and urges us to question technology.  In the Fall of 2025, she will begin her tenure as Assistant Professor of Fair and Responsible Data Science at Rutgers University. For more information www.avrielepps.com [https://www.avrielepps.com/] and follow @kingavriel on Instagram. Please listen, follow, rate, and review Make It a Great One on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow @drdanpeters on social media. Visit www.drdanpeters.com [http://www.drdanpeters.com/] and send your questions or guest pitches to podcast@drdanpeters.com [podcast@drdanpeters.com]. We have this moment, this day, and this life—let’s make it a great one. – Dr. Dan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]