PodcastsChristianityThe Leader’s Way

The Leader’s Way

Berkeley Divinity School at Yale
The Leader’s Way
Latest episode

89 episodes

  • The Leader’s Way

    87: On Happiness with Laurie Santos

    27/04/2026 | 57 mins.
    Laurie Santos is host of The Happiness Lab podcast and professor at Yale, where she teaches Psychology and the Good Life, Yale’s most popular course in over 300 years, with almost one out of four students enrolled.

    Laurie is an expert on the science of happiness and the ways in which our minds lie to us about what makes us happy. In this episode of The Leader’s Way, host Brandon Nappi talks with Laurie about how science can help us move toward happiness by offering evidence-based data about behaviors and practices that lead to human flourishing. A lot of these things we already know in our bodies and in our lives: It’s not what you believe, it’s what you do. Connection, relationships, engaging in service, leaning into contemplation and reflection and harnessing our behaviors and emotions can boost happiness. Tune in to learn more!

    Host: Brandon Nappi Guest: Laurie Santos

    Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

    You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders
  • The Leader’s Way

    86: My Soul is Calling with Bonnie Piesse

    20/04/2026 | 1h 6 mins.
    Bonnie Piesse is an Australian singer-songwriter, actress, soul alignment and manifestation coach and host of the podcast "Your Quantum Life." She helps conscious leaders and visionaries remember who they really are and step into their true power and light.
     
    Bonnie is also an actress, best known for her role as ‘Star Wars’ Episode II - ‘Attack of the Clones’ and Episode III - ‘Revenge of the Sith’ and ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi.’ Part of her story is centered in the HBO docu-series "The Vow,” which chronicles the spiritual breakthrough that gave Bonnie the clarity and courage to leave, and ultimately bring down, the notorious NXIVM cult.  
     
    In this conversation with Leader’s Way host Brandon Nappi, Bonnie speaks to the incredible power of listening to your inner knowing, your intuition, even when it means taking a risk, even when it's inconvenient. “Following your intuition is not for the faint of heart,” says Bonnie, but when you are tuning into the call on your soul and taking steps to cultivate it, the world opens itself up to you. Brandon and Bonnie explore the spiritual risks and practices that can help us honor our inner knowing.
     
    Host: Brandon Nappi
    Guest: Bonnie Piesse
     
    Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast
    berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast
     
    You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders
  • The Leader’s Way

    85: The Discipline of Inspiration with Carey Wallace

    13/04/2026 | 49 mins.
    Carey Wallace believes inspiration is an essential and often under-explored part of the creative life. In her new book The Discipline of Inspiration: The Mysterious Encounter with God at the Heart of Creativity, Carey meditates on the ways artists have experienced and negotiated with that "creative spark" across genres and throughout history, identifying it as something beyond them. In this conversation with Leader’s Way host, Brandon Nappi, Carey suggests that while inspiration is a gift of the spirit, it can be cultivated and harnessed, as a spiritual discipline. 

    Welcome back to Within, a contemplative segment of The Leader’s Way Podcast that explores the convergence of mental health, art, and spirituality through authentic conversations across traditions about personal and collective transformation. 

    Carey Wallace is the author of The Discipline of Inspiration (Eerdmans), The Blind Contessa’s New Machine (Penguin), Stories of the Saints (Workman), Psalms of Wonder (Flyaway), and The Ghost In The Glass House (Clarion). She is a popular speaker on the creative life, and works to help people from all walks of life find inspiration and build strong creative habits. She grew up in small towns in Michigan, and lives and works outside Chicago. 

     

    Host: Brandon Nappi 

    Guest: Carey Wallace 

     

    Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast 

    berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast 

     

    You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders
  • The Leader’s Way

    84: The Wilderness of Faith with Sarah Bessey

    06/04/2026 | 44 mins.
    What do we do in seasons of destabilization and doubt, uncertainty or rupture, when we find ourselves in the proverbial spiritual "wilderness?" Sarah Bessey tells us that the site of disruption is often “an altar to encounter God, an invitation from the Spirit” to encounter God’s love anew.

    Welcome back to Within, a contemplative segment of The Leader’s Way Podcast that explores the convergence of mental health, art, and spirituality through authentic conversations across traditions about personal and collective transformation.

    In this episode, Brandon Nappi talks with Sarah Bessey, author of the best-selling and critically acclaimed books Jesus Feminist; Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith; Miracles and Other Reasonable Things; and most recently, Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith.

    Sarah and Brandon explore the themes of Sarah’s latest book, diving into the principles, prayers, and practices that help us navigate times of spiritual wilderness, especially for an emerging generation of Christians looking to reconnect to their faith, find inner healing, and build spiritual community.

    Host: Brandon Nappi

    Guest: Sarah Bessey 

    Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

    You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders
  • The Leader’s Way

    83: The Light Within with Laurence Freeman

    30/03/2026 | 52 mins.
    By his own admission, Father Laurence Freeman came into the monastic life "kicking and screaming.”  

    In this lively episode, host Brandon Nappi asks Fr. Freeman to share the story of his journey into the monastery, about his relationship with the incredible meditation teacher, John Main, and the profound ways meditation shapes our experience of the world. 

    Father Freeman is a monk of the Benedictine Congregation of Monte Oliveto Maggiore. He is the director and spiritual guide of the World Community for Christian Meditation. John Main was his teacher and Fr. Laurence assisted him in establishing the foundations of the Community.  

    Fr. Laurence is the author of a number of books on Christian Meditation including Light Within: The Inner Path of Meditation and Jesus: The Teacher Within. He travels extensively giving presentations and leading Christian Meditation Retreats. 

    Before entering monastic life, Fr. Laurence worked with the United Nations in New York, in Banking and Journalism.  

     

    Host: Brandon Nappi 

    Guest: Laurence Freeman 

     

    Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast 

    berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast 

     

    You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

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About The Leader’s Way

A spirituality podcast for people who aren’t ready to give up on the world, The Leader’s Way features conversations with intellectual entrepreneurs at the intersection of leadership, spirituality, and theology. This podcast is hosted by Executive Director of Leadership Dr. Brandon Nappi ’01 MDiv and guest hosts Misty Krasawski ’26 MDiv and Whitney Kimball Coe ’26 MDiv. It is brought to you by Berkeley Divinity School, the Episcopal seminary at Yale.
Podcast website

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