Try This

Episodes

• I want to give back! How do I afford it? 08.12.2025 22m

  When it comes to giving, it can be challenging figuring out how to make it right for you financially. Personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary talks to host Cristina Quinn about how to give based on your comfort level and budget and how you can experience gratitude through giving back.
• Anyone can be an altruist 01.12.2025 20m

  How are altruists different from the rest of us? Host Cristina Quinn talks to neuroscientist and psychologist Abigail Marsh about what it means to be an altruist and how you can build your altruistic muscle.
• Got 5 minutes? Take a breather with me. 06.11.2025 5m

  Join Try This for a breathing exercise! Host Cristina Quinn walks us through a 5-minute box breathing exercise. You’ll feel better at the end!
• Breathe: Reducing stress can help your brain 06.11.2025 15m

  Breathing is powerful — it can help fight off stress. Host Cristina Quinn sits down with Washington Post Brain Matters columnist Richard Sima and UCLA neuroscientist and psychiatrist Helen Lavretsky to unpack what chronic stress can do to the brain and how simple breathing exercises can help.
• Simple lifestyle changes to reduce your risk of dementia 30.10.2025 19m

  About half of dementia cases are potentially preventable – even if it runs in your family. In this episode, host Cristina Quinn talks with Laura Baker of the U.S. POINTER study and Monica Parker about simple lifestyle changes we can make to reduce our risk of cognitive decline.
• The Ever-Changing Brain: Adapting, Aging, and Cognitive Health 23.10.2025 18m

  Our brains are always adapting to our environments and routines. Host Cristina Quinn talks with Washington Post “Brain Matters” columnist Richard Sima about what a healthy aging brain looks like and when we should worry about forgetting where we put our keys.
• Strength Training – Get stronger to live longer 11.09.2025 33m

  Weight lifting isn’t just for athletes or bodybuilders. Host Cristina Quinn talks with Washington Post health columnist Gretchen Reynolds about what strength training is and why even a small amount of it can improve your overall health.
• How to find your personal style 23.07.2025 25m

  Finding your own personal style can be easy. Host Cristina Quinn chats with The Washington Post’s fashion critic Rachel Tashjian and Style Memo newsletter writer Shane O’Neill about finding your style amid a barrage of trends, dressing authentically, and feeling good in your clothes.
• Smarter, cheaper, happier travel 15.07.2025 32m

  Travel reporter Natalie Compton shares the latest tips on how to book better, pack lighter and travel smarter no matter where you're headed.
• Gut Check: Our new “Try This” newsletter 10.07.2025 2m

  Host Cristina Quinn introduces Gut Check, a new five-part newsletter from Try This that explores gut health science minus the stress, supplements, or hype.
• Simple tips to build and maintain a healthy gut 08.07.2025 17m

  Learn what to eat to make your gut microbiome flourish. Trisha Pasricha and Karen Corbin will explain the do’s and don'ts of what it takes to have a gut-healthy life.
• Listen to your gut 01.07.2025 14m

  Foods affect your gut health – and science proves it. Nutrition and metabolism researcher Karen Corbin talks to host Cristina Quinn about her first-of-its-kind study on how the gut responds to different foods and helps to manage our body’s energy.
• What exactly is the gut microbiome? 24.06.2025 11m

  What's going on inside that microbiome of yours? Host Cristina Quinn talks to gastroenterologist Trisha Pasricha about the leading role the gut microbiome plays in our digestive health and how certain foods support its function.
• Become someone everyone wants to talk to 30.04.2025 30m

  What separates good talkers from great communicators? Host Cristina Quinn talks with author Charles Duhigg about the neuroscience of connection, why asking deeper questions matters, and simple ways you can instantly become a better listener and conversationalist.
• Limits that last 08.04.2025 14m

  Physical and social boundaries to reduce screen time, like keeping your phone out of the bedroom and creating device-free time with family, are as important as digital ones. And this isn’t just a personal challenge; it’s one we need to tackle together.
• Let’s set some boundaries 01.04.2025 14m

  Small changes like setting app limits and reorganizing your home screen can have a big impact on your focus. Host Cristina Quinn and Washington Post tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler lay out techniques for how to take back control.
• How to reset your brain’s reward system 25.03.2025 15m

  How to resist digital temptations, reset your dopamine levels and take back control of your attention.
• This is your brain on dopamine 18.03.2025 9m

  Why do we get so hooked on our devices, even when we know they’re not great for us? Host Cristina Quinn talks to psychiatrist Anna Lembke about the neuroscience behind digital addiction, how dopamine drives our scrolling habits and what we can do to break the cycle.
• Why doing good feels great 23.12.2024 11m

  Host Cristina Quinn and “The Joy You Make” author Steven Petrow dive into practical ways to bring joy to others and to yourself — whether it’s through helping a neighbor, writing an anonymous letter or even sharing a simple moment with a stranger.
• Get lost. And play a little. 19.12.2024 9m

  Learn creative exercises to help you embrace joy in everyday life. Steven Petrow, author of “The Joy You Make,” teaches host Cristina Quinn how things like wandering without a destination and rediscovering play can open the door to more joy, even during life’s toughest moments.