What if sleep isn’t simply a time of rest, but one of the most productive parts of our day?

In this season finale of What’s What, I sit down with Karen Van Kampen to explore the fascinating science behind her book, The Brain Never Sleeps. Together, we examine what modern neuroscience is revealing about dreaming, memory, emotional processing, creativity, and the remarkable work our brains continue to do while we sleep.

Far from being random and whimsical stories, dreams may help us consolidate learning, solve problems, process difficult emotions, strengthen memories, and even inspire new ideas. Understanding how the sleeping brain supports our health and well-being invites us to rethink one of life’s most ordinary experiences and to appreciate sleep as an essential partner in lifelong learning, resilience, and creativity.

It’s a conversation that perfectly reflects the heart of this podcast: exploring ideas that challenge assumptions, spark curiosity, and leave us feeling more hopeful about ourselves and the world around us. Throughout this season, we’ve asked big questions and embraced new ways of thinking. Karen’s work reminds us that discovery doesn’t end when we close our eyes. It may, in fact, be just beginning.

Thank you for listening, wondering, and learning alongside me this season. Until next time, keep asking questions, stay curious, and remain fiercely hopeful.

You can find the show notes for this episode and the full back catalog at www.whatswhatpod.com.

Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by this podcast. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What can a busboy, dishwasher, caddy, factory worker, bank teller, corporate employee, and Jesuit priest teach us about becoming a better human being?

In this episode, I sit down with Father James Martin, SJ, bestselling author, Jesuit priest, editor-at-large of America Magazine, and one of the most influential spiritual voices of our time.

We discuss his recent memoir, Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest, a deeply personal and often humorous reflection on the jobs, mistakes, lessons, and encounters that shaped his understanding of work, faith, and human dignity.

Together, we explore the transformative power of ordinary experiences, the value of humility, and why kindness may be one of the most radical acts available to us in an increasingly divided world.

Whether you’re religious, spiritual, curious, or simply trying to navigate life with a little more grace, this episode offers wisdom, laughter, and a hopeful reminder that we’re all still works in progress.

Show Notes

Work in Progress: Confessions of a busboy, dishwasher, caddy, usher, factory worker, bank teller, corporate tool, and priest – A Funny, Wise, and Inspiring Spiritual Memoir

Work in Progress - HarperOne Spotify Playlist

#FatherJamesMartin #WorkInProgress #Jesuit #Kindness #Compassion #Spirituality #FaithAndLife #PersonalGrowth #FiercelyHopeful #WhatsWhatWithHeatherHarris #Curiosity

You can find the show notes for this episode and the full back catalog at www.whatswhatpod.com.

Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by this podcast. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachel Manley has spent a lifetime turning memory into art.

An acclaimed author, poet, and Governor General’s Award winner for Drumblair, Rachel joins me for a deeply reflective conversation about childhood, inheritance, family mythology, and the complicated act of writing a memoir.

Together, we explore what it means to revisit the past through language, not only to remember, but to understand. Rachel speaks candidly about growing up within a remarkable and significant family at pivotal time in Jamaica’s history, the emotional terrain of memoir writing, and the tension between truth, privacy, storytelling, and identity.

This episode is ultimately about the stories that shape us: the ones we inherit, the ones we resist, and the ones we finally choose to tell.

A conversation about memory, art, family, and the quiet courage of looking backward in order to move forward.

#RachelManley #Drumblair #Memoir #CanadianLiterature #GovernorGeneralsAward #WritingLife #Poetry #Storytelling #MemoirWriting #PodcastRecommendation #CanadianAuthors

You can find the show notes for this episode and the full back catalog at www.whatswhatpod.com.

Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by this podcast. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How much is too much?

In this episode, I chat with Chuck Collins, author of Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Weatlh and Power are Ruining Our Lives to unpack one of the defining tensions of modern life: the growing concentration of wealth and power in fewer and fewer hands.

The growth and protection of the monumental fortunes of the billionaire class has become a booming industry in many western countries today. This enormous wealth concentration has outsized and disastrous environmental and social impacts to the rest of society, and sometimes in ways that many of us would never recognize. In this episode, Chuck explores how wealth inequality quietly shapes nearly every aspect of of our lives, eroding affordability, access, and even freedom.

This conversation goes beyond economics. We examine the myths of meritocracy, the emotional and cultural impacts of inequality, and the urgent question of what kind of future we are creating.

Thoughtful, challenging, and ultimately hopeful, this episode asks whether a more balanced and humane society is still possible and what it might take to get there.

#burnedbybillionaires #chuckcollins #wealthinequality #billionaire

You can find the show notes for this episode and the full back catalog at www.whatswhatpod.com.

Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by this podcast. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean to live in a body that tells a different story than the one people see?

In this episode, I sit down with Lindsay Ireland, author of Why Not Me?, to explore the complex and often misunderstood world of invisible illness.

From the outside, everything can appear normal: careers, relationships, routines. But beneath the surface, millions of people are navigating chronic illness, pain, fatigue, and uncertainty that rarely gets acknowledged, and even more rarely believed.

Lindsay shares her personal journey with honesty and clarity, unpacking the emotional toll of not being seen, the quiet negotiations of daily life, and the courage it takes to keep showing up in a world that often expects proof of suffering.

We explore the tension between resilience and exhaustion, identity and limitation, and what it means to advocate for yourself when your experience doesn’t fit the narrative people expect.

This is a conversation that challenges how we define health, strength, and what it really means to be “okay.” It is a powerful reminder that not all struggles are visible.

#invisibleillness #chronicillness #whynotme #lindsayireland

You can find the show notes for this episode and the full back catalog at www.whatswhatpod.com.

Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by this podcast. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it really take to step onto the first tee? Golf is often seen as a game of discipline and integrity, but it's also a game of privilege.

In this episode of What’s What with Heather Harris, we look at golf not just as a sport but as a medium for growth and self-actualization.

Isaac Sekulima, founder of Isaac Styles Golf in Uganda, is an inspiration. His work is opening doors for young athletes in communities where access to sport is anything but guaranteed. He shares his vision for the youth in his community and beyond, and exposes the challenges he faces while bringing his dream alive for the children of Uganda.

Together, we explore the hidden inequities shaping who gets to participate, compete, and thrive in sport. Because while sport is often celebrated as the great equalizer, the reality tells a different story: one shaped by geography, infrastructure, funding, and opportunity.

This conversation goes beyond the scoreboard. It’s about dignity, possibility, and what happens when we invest in human potential—everywhere.

From the role of sport in youth development to the question of who gets left out, this episode challenges us to rethink what fairness in sport really means and what it could look like if access was part of the game.

Because the future of sport isn’t just about excellence. It’s about who gets the chance to begin.

#golf #youthgolf #equityinsport #sportforchange

You can find the show notes for this episode and the full back catalog at www.whatswhatpod.com.

Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by this podcast. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it take to win rights, and perhaps more importantly, what does it take to protect and preserve them?

In this episode, Heather Harris speaks with former Member of Parliament and author Peggy Nash. Together, they explore how intrepid women within the labour movement have driven progress through collective action, workplace advocacy, and political change.

From historic wins to today’s challenges, this conversation examines how feminism, workers’ rights, and economic justice continue to shape one another and why that progress can never be taken for granted.

At a time when hard-won rights feel increasingly fragile, this episode is a powerful reminder that change happens when people come together and that protecting these hard-won rights requires the same collective strength.

Key themes: feminism, labour movement, gender equality, women’s rights, collective action, workers’ rights, economic justice, social change, Canadian politics

You can find the show notes for this episode and the full back catalog at www.whatswhatpod.com.

Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by this podcast. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a culture driven by immediacy, what does it look like to create something that unfolds over a century?

In this episode, Heather speaks with Anne Beate Hovind, public art curator and producer of The Future Library, a remarkable long-term cultural project in Oslo.

Each year, an author contributes a manuscript that will remain unread until 2114, when a forest planted for the project will be harvested to print the works.

But the Future Library is about far more than books.

This episode explores the deeper ideas behind projects that span generations, the role of ritual in sustaining long-term commitments, the responsibility of stewardship across time, and how thinking beyond our own lifetimes can shift the way we approach creativity, leadership, and legacy.

It’s a conversation about patience in an impatient age, about building cultural bridges between generations, and about the quiet courage required to invest in a future we may never personally see.

#thefuturelibrary #fiercelyhopeful #crossgenerational #longtermthinking

You can find the show notes for this episode and the full back catalog at www.whatswhatpod.com.

Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by this podcast. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.