Top Of Mind With Julie Rose

A major side effect of being such a grief-averse culture is the sheer panic many of us feel when confronted with someone who’s suffered a devastating loss. What can you possibly say or do that will help? In this bonus episode you’ll hear Julie’s full conversation with grief specialist Lisa Athan. It’s packed full of practical tips and uplifting insight. Guest: Lisa Athan, founder of Grief Speaks

What is it about grief that makes us so uncomfortable? American rituals are designed to keep mourning quiet and private. We mutter clichés that offer little comfort and expect grieving to be like getting the flu – you feel really bad and then you get better. We make even less space for grieving pets, or pregnancy loss. In today’s episode we consider what might be different if we allowed for grief to be bigger, longer and more public? Guests: Jaqueline Dooley, writer, essayist - https://jacquelinedooley.medium.com/ Brandy Schillace, author of “Death's Summer Coat: Our Strange, Unsettled History of Mourning” E.B. Bartels, author of "Good Grief: On Loving Pets Here and Hereafter" Katie C. Reilly, writer, attorney Lisa Athan, founder of Grief Speaks

What if you sent a hand-written, two-page letter to every single one of your Facebook friends? What if you struck up conversations with strangers more often? What if you mended a fracture in your family? In this episode, we explore how widening our circles and tending to relationships more mindfully could be good for us - and society. Guests: Amy Weinland Daughters, sports columnist and author of “Dear Dana: That Time I Went Crazy and Wrote All 580 of My Facebook Friends a Handwritten Letter” Joe Keohane, journalist and author of “The Power of Strangers: The Benefits of Connecting in a Suspicious World” Karl Pillemer, professor of human development and geriatrics at Cornell University, author of “Fault Lines: Fractured Families and How to Mend Them.”

Genealogy is compelling to so many, but why do we want to learn about people we don’t know? Simple answer, the stories we find by tracing our roots can inspire us and become family legends. But what happens when we discover something dark in our family history? How do we reconcile our heroes with their frailties, or even evil deeds? Is it worth it to keep digging? In this episode, we explore how family history can open new doors, build resiliency within families, and why you should look to dig a little deeper. Guests: Christopher Jones, BYU History Professor Libby Copeland, author of “The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are” Edward Di Gangi, author of “The Gift Best Given: A Memoir” Gaynell Brady, owner of Our Mammy’s

People with synesthesia perceive the world very differently from the rest of us. Their senses merge so that sounds might also have tastes. The days of the week may be different colors. Numbers and letters might correspond to musical notes. This final installment in our summer series of archive interviews is especially meaningful to Julie because it drives home how two people can look at the same thing and see it very differently. What can the science of synesthesia teach us about navigating divisive issues we feel strongly about? Guest: Richard Cytowic, Clinical Professor of Neurology at George Washington University, author of "Wednesday is Indigo Blue" and "The Man Who Tasted Shapes"

Caregiving for a loved one can be difficult and confusing. Julie and her siblings are among the more than 20 million Americans who currently care for an aging parent- so this week's pick from the Top of Mind live radio archive hits close to home. In 2020, Julie spoke with Zachary White and Donna Thomson who combine their personal and professional experience into a "how to" handbook for the rest of us called “The Unexpected Journey of Caring." Guests: Donna Thomson, author, caregiver, activist, author of "The Four Walls of My Freedom: Lessons I've Learned from a Life of Caregiving" Zachary White, professor of communication, Queens University of Charlotte, co-author (with Thomson) of "The Unexpected Journey of Caring: The Transformation from Loved One to Caregiver"

Sarah Valentine grew up believing she was the white daughter of her white parents. As an adult she learned her parents had been lying to her. She’s actually half Black. That truth completely unraveled Valentine’s sense of identity, which she writes about in her memoir “When I Was White.” Top of Mind host Julie Rose says she thinks often about this interview from our daily radio show archive because it really led her question her assumptions about race and racism. Top of Mind is a BYUradio podcast. Guest: Sarah Valentine, author of "When I Was White: A Memoir"

Netflix star Samin Nosrat shares the one amazing meal that inspired her to become a professional chef. Her cookbook “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” is a guide to the essential elements of successful cooking. In another of Julie’s favorite conversations from the Top of Mind live radio show archives, Nosrat explains how to make delicious food whether you’re a conscientious recipe-follower or a free-wheeling experimenter (like Julie). Top of Mind is a BYUradio podcast. Guest: Samin Nosrat, chef and author of "Salt, Fat, Acid Heat" (which is also a Netflix documentary series)

This week, Julie shares a conversation from Top of Mind’s live radio show archive that changed her life. In 2017 she spoke with Dan Brule, who is one of the world’s leading experts on breathwork. He recommends taking time daily to practice breathing. The techniques he shared have become Julie’s best tool for coping with stress and anxiety. Guest: Dan Brule, author of “Just Breathe: Mastering Breathwork for Success in Life, Love, Business and Beyond"

The humanitarian needs in the world right now are enormous. Helping out seems straightforward – you just send money or show up. But if you’re not careful, your time and money may do no good. Worse, it might end up hurting those you’re hoping to help. In this episode, we consider how best to respond in a humanitarian crisis, why doing a “service trip” to a distant village isn’t necessarily helpful and ways to boost the impact of your charitable gifts. Guests: Svitlana Miller, founder, ToUkraineWithLove.org Meg Sattler, director, Ground Truth Solutions Bocchit Edmond, Haiti’s Ambassador to the United States Pippa Biddle, author of “Ours to Explore: Privilege, Power and the Paradox of Voluntourism” Kat Rosqueta, founding executive director, Center for High Impact Philanthropy (impact.upenn.edu) at the University of Pennsylvania

The question of going to college - and where - is on the minds of most American families and young adults. We want college to be a character-building, mind-expanding experience, but we also want it to help graduates get good jobs. In this episode, we explore the ways that our conflicting expectations of American higher education play out—and how to make the best decisions for your family. Guests: Alexis Ayala, Business Development Representative at Okta Anthony Carnevale, Director of the Georgetown Center for Education and the Workforce Ron Lieber, New York Times Finance Columnist, Author of “The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make” Ken Rusk, Entrepreneur, Author of “Blue Collar Cash: Love Your Work, Secure Your Future, and Find Happiness for Life”

Aging brings inevitable changes to our bodies, abilities and lifestyle. But it’s not all bad. Surveys show time and again that people in their 80s are happier than young adults and people in middle age. Yet we all dread the prospect of growing older. In today’s episode, we explore what aging is really like in America right now and how the experience might be better if we stopped fearing it. Guests: Katherine Esty, therapist and author of Eighty somethings: A Practical Guide to Letting Go, Aging Well, and Finding Unexpected Happiness Bill Rodgers, decorated marathon runner and Olympian Marc Agronin, geriatric psychiatrist at Miami Jewish Health and author of The End of Old Age: Living a Longer, More Purposeful Life Ashton Applewhite, activist and author of The Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism Donna Butts, Executive Director of Generations United

In this bonus episode from the Top of Mind archive: "The Other Talk." Most kids of color in America grow up talking about racism at home, but most white children don't. They should, though, says author Brendan Kiely. His new book is a guide for starting the conversation about race at home. Then, a short, inspiring chat with a doctor who collects flower arrangements and delivers them to patients in the hospital where she works.

Once a child is placed in foster care, they’re reuniting with their parent or guardian less than half of the time. But many child welfare agencies say reuniting families is a top priority. Is it possible to have a system that both protects children and prioritizes families? Guests: Aby, a Mother who reunited with her child Dalton Shump, Permanency Case Worker, KVC Molly Tierney, Managing Director, North American Public Sector at Accenture, Former Director of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services Lynn Price, Founder, Camp to Belong

The US Supreme Court has repeatedly held that some amount of race-based discrimination is okay in college admissions, if the goal is to create a more diverse campus. But, no one wants to be rejected because of something they can’t control – like their race, or their parents’ income. In this episode, we’ll explore the effects of affirmative action and consider other ways schools might create diversity if the Supreme Court bans race-based admissions decisions. Guests: Zachariah Chou, author of USA Today op-ed "My race may have played a factor in my college rejections, but I support affirmative action" Wenyuan Wu, Executive Director of Californians for Equal Rights Foundation Monica O'Neal, psychologist in Boston and faculty at Harvard Medical School Rick Sander, economist and law professor at UCLA Audrey Dow, Senior Vice President of The Campaign for College Opportunity

One out of every 95 people on Earth has fled their home because of conflict or persecution. What is the experience of leaving – when you’d rather stay – and resettling in a place where everything is foreign? In this episode, people who came to America as refugees share their stories of heartbreak, healing, and new friendships. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Guests: Warda Mohamed Abdullahi, Somalian refugee, author of "Warda: My Journey from the Horn of Africa to a College Education" Luma Mufleh, founder of Fugees Family, author of "Learning America: One Woman's Fight for Educational Justice for Refugee Children" Liz Jevtic-Somlai, Associate Director at Their Story is Our Story Aden Batar, Services Director at Catholic Community Services of Utah

18 years. That’s how long Anthony Graves spent in prison for a crime he never committed. Unfortunately, his story is not uncommon in this country. Can we stop wrongful convictions, or are they just the price we pay to keep communities safe? In this episode, we look at how such big mistakes are made in the American justice system and efforts to prevent wrongful convictions. Guests: Anthony Graves, exoneree, author “Infinite Hope: How Wrongful Conviction, Solitary Confinement, and 12 Years on Death Row Failed to Kill My Soul.” David Rudolf- author, “American Injustice: Inside Stories from the Underbelly of the Criminal Justice System” Emily Galvin-Almanza, co-founder of Partners for Justice Walter McNeil, sheriff of Leon County, Florida

Before we were a weekly podcast, Top of Mind was a daily radio show. We were on the air – live - for two hours every weekday. And we did that for seven years. This means there’s a ton of great material in our archive. So, today we’re giving you a taste of that archive. First, we take a deep dive into the history of organ transplant surgery – and its darker side. You’ll hear how the TV world of Star Trek has influenced real science. We’ll be back with a new episode of the podcast on Monday, May 23rd.

Division is nothing new in America, but something about this moment feels different. Why are we so angry, fearful, and ever more deeply entrenched in our safe little bubbles of like-minded people? More importantly, how do we get out? In this episode, the root causes of toxic polarization in America today, practical advice on bridging our differences, and the story of one man trying to change the narrative one difficult conversation at a time. Guests: Dylan Marron, author, “Conversations with People Who Hate Me.” Amy Chua, Yale Law School professor, author, “Political Tribes,” and “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.” Peter Coleman, social psychologist, Columbia University, author, “The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization.”

The way we think about mental illness from a Western medicine perspective doesn’t fit everyone. More and more people are taking antidepressants, but rates of depression aren’t declining. Meanwhile, some unconventional methods, like indigenous practices and psychedelics, are helping people cope with symptoms. In today’s episode, we show the power of thinking differently about mental illness. Guests: Sam, mental health patient Terrie Moffitt, clinical psychologist, professor, Duke University Joseph Gone, cultural clinical psychologist, professor, Harvard University Reid Robison, chief medical officer, Novamind