On the 148th episode of What is a Good Life?, I welcome Leigh Marz, a collaboration and leadership coach for major universities, corporations, and federal agencies. She has led training programs to promote an experimental mindset among teams at NASA and a decade-long cross-sector collaboration to reduce toxic chemicals in products, in partnership with Green Science Policy Institute, Harvard University, IKEA, Google, and Kaiser Permanente. Leigh coauthored Golden: The Power of Silence in a World of Noise and cofounded Astrea Strategies, helping leaders bridge contemplation and action.
In this conversation we explore silence as a living presence—how inquiry, pauses, and shared quiet unlock better thinking, connection, and wellbeing. We cover mapping noise (auditory, informational, internal), flow states, and why slowing down in groups (even at work) sparks novel solutions.
04:03 – Origins of the silence inquiry & HBR article
09:00 – “What’s the deepest silence you’ve known?”
12:41 – Freedom moment: “Silence teems with life”
16:41 – Quiet together: practices beyond meditation
24:44 – Mapping noise: auditory, informational, internal
29:33 – Antidote: signals you need silence & “positive distractions”
35:00 – Designing retreats for novel thinking
38:21 – “Slow down, there isn’t much time.”
46:13 – Silence & the nervous system
52:00 - How the inquiry into silence has shaped Leigh
58:12 – Leigh’s response to “What is a good life?”
Keywords: Meaning of Life Interviews | meaning of life conversations | exploring life | big life questions | meaning of life discussions | creating a meaningful life
What is What is a Good Life??
What is a Good Life? is a podcast about the questions that shape our lives: how we live, who we become, and what truly matters. For the past five years, I've asked more than 300 people one deceptively simple question: What is a good life?
There isn't a single answer. Instead, each conversation offers a different way of seeing the world—through stories, ideas, struggles, joys, and moments of hard-earned wisdom. Together, they form a richer picture of what it means to be human.
Whether you're searching for clarity, purpose, or simply a thoughtful conversation, this podcast is an invitation to reflect on your own answer.
New episodes every Tuesday.