All Episodes
Is Your Mental Health Messing With Your Kids?
For more than ten years, there's been an alarming rise in anxiety, depression, and suicide among kids, but there's a contributing factor that few have been discussing... until now. Jordan Friedman talks with Harvard lecturer and researcher Rick Weissbourd about his new study that uncovered important and surprising connections between the mental health of teens and the mental health of their parents and caregivers. Equally as important, this episode has recommendations for what parents can do…
How and Why You Should Friend AI—Now!
Here's just part of the answer to this episode's title: get to know artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT to get smarter, eliminate time-consuming and soul-sucking tasks, future-proof your job and career goals, improve the quality of life for your parents, teams, teachers, and people with disabilities, do away with diseases, and reduce your AI anxiety. And how can you friend AI? Start by listening to Jordan's clear-eyed and compelling conversation with tech veteran Matt Strain, who works…
Change We Need
Felix concluded that things weren't going well, so he made a change that most of us would never consider. Changes small and large are often stressful and scary because the results they produce are usually hard to predict and they sometimes get coupled with feelings of failure. It's also true that staying put in unsatisfying and stressful situations can wear us down and make us really unhappy. This latter truth is why host Jordan Friedman talks with Felix Benardo to remind and inspire us to…
The Most Important Number In The World
It's on the sides of buses, in The New York Times, and on Jeopardy, but if you don't know what this number is, listen to this episode. Then, help share it with everyone, especially the kids in your life. The number is 988, which is the long-awaited rebranding of the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline... which isn't just for people in crisis. That's the easy part; the hard part is getting up the courage, energy, or trust to call or text, which is why host Jordan Friedman talks with 988's…
When Things Don’t Go As Planned
It happnes to all of us, but how you handle things not working out, or "failure," can impact your mental health and forward motion for a long time. Host Jordan Friedman talks with coach Carolyn Sandano about how to get past the stress, saddness and embarrassment of missteps, unrealized goals and things not going well, so you can more easily get what you want. After the conversation, Jordan rolls out the revised version of his most popular stress reducer. About Guest Carolyn Sandano Carolyn…
Best of The Chill Factory (Vol. 3)
Best of episodes highlight especially informative and helpful parts of longer conversations host Jordan Friedman has had with past guests. For this volume, we’ll spotlight: A happiness reality check Taming turbulence fears and anxiety The mood-altering value of anticipating things How to have a conversation with someone about sex to make it more enjoyable, and therefore a better stress reducer The importance of sticking with a plan even when it feels like a waste of time to do so Featured…
Relax Hacks
Relax hacks are simple, wonderfully clever ways to make life smoother. It's like the difference between riding on a road littered with bumps and potholes, and one that's well-paved and obstacle free. Guest Robin Copple and host Jordan Friedman share a variety of relax hacks, some of which may change your life and productivity. After the interview, we'll take a listen to one of them. About Guest Robin Copple Robin Copple is a writer, editor, and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. His work to date…
Music Therapy: Tune In, Up and Out
If you're like most people, you use music to relax, but have you ever considered going deeper with music therapy? And what is music therapy anyway? Is it turning the lights out and listening to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon? Is it drumming or singing to relieve stress? Is it playing a harmonica in your therapists office and exploring how you feel when you do? Music psychotherapist Maya Benattar is here to talk about all of the above, including ways to use music to feel better while…
The “Secret Weapon” of Saying Something
There something powerful all of us can do to lessen our stress and worry, something that can boost our mental health, salvage relationships and save lives. Despite this strategy's potential, it's vastly under used because it can be tough to execute. That's why this special episode of The Chill Factory puts together segments from past shows where guests give great ways to effectively communicate to reduce the stress of challenging life situations. Jordan also talks about the Chill & Serve…
Chill Productivity (Part 2)
Get bored to get motivated. Take advantage of your psychological sense of time. Hear about a big driver for getting things done. Like part one of Jordan’s conversation with coaching psychologist and productivity expert Natalie Lancer, this episode focuses on how to match your goals with who you are and what you want. Lancer helps people get moving on projects, business ventures, dissertations, books and more, and she'll also help you reach your objectives... and enjoy the process. About…