Life in Seven Songs

Latest Episodes:

Riding waves and weathering life’s storms with surfer-turned-writer Jamie Brisick Sep 23, 2025

Show notes

Jamie Brisick was living the California dream – a pro surfer sponsored by Quicksilver, traveling the world and competing on the ASP World Tour. But beneath the “Malibu Barbie” facade, tragedy was brewing: his brother was descending into a drug addiction that would soon claim his life. Jamie left the world of surfing and reinvented himself as a writer, with his words appearing in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Guardian. But sudden tragedy would soon strike again.

In this episode, Jamie shares how music became both an escape from pain and a pathway toward healing. His story shows us how sometimes our greatest losses become our most profound teachers – and that life has an extraordinary capacity to “totally blow you away,” even when it seems utterly broken. Here are his songs.

Special Episode: The songs that shaped our listeners’ lives (and Sophie’s, too) Sep 16, 2025

Show notes

To celebrate one year of Life in Seven Songs, Sophie answers some burning questions about the show, shares a few songs off her list, and turns the mic to you — our listeners — to hear about the songs tied to your life stories. Here are your songs:

Ronan Keating - When You Say Nothing At All
Glass Animals - Heat Waves
Bob Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue
The B-52's - Roam
Radiohead - Paranoid Android
Carole King - Beautiful
U2 - Beautiful Day
Stevie Wonder - As
Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence
Madonna - Vogue
The Police - Every Breath You Take

Thank you to everyone who sent us songs. Our inbox is always open lifeinsevensongs@sfstandard.com.

How I Met Your Mother gave Josh Radnor 'identity vertigo.' Ayahuasca set him straight. Sep 09, 2025

Show notes

This week, we Willkommen actor and musician Josh Radnor! Josh is best known for playing Ted Mosby on the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother for nearly a decade. But that success came at an unexpected cost: an identity crisis that left him feeling trapped in a character he didn’t create.

In this episode, Josh talks about his formative role as the MC in his high school’s production of Cabaret, his first “almost kiss” (soundtracked by Aretha Franklin), how psychedelics helped him stay centered amidst the whirlwind of fame, and the chance encounter that launched his second career as a musician in his 40s. Here are his songs.

Rocky Mountain High – John Denver
Respect – Aretha Franklin
Willkommen – Cabaret (Joel Grey, original cast recording) “Cabaret”
All I Want – Joni Mitchell
Delicate – Damien Rice
Tara – Dechen Shak-Dagsay
Cmon – Fred Again/Brian Eno

Listen to ⁠Josh Radnor's playlist⁠ on Spotify. Find the transcript of this episode at ⁠⁠⁠⁠lifeinsevensongs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠lifeinsevensongs@sfstandard.com⁠⁠⁠⁠.

How TV’s favorite couples therapist, Dr. Orna Guralnik, found her interior life through music Sep 02, 2025

Show notes

Dr. Orna Guralnik broke barriers by bringing actual therapy sessions to millions of viewers through Showtime’s hit docuseries “Couples Therapy” — but her rebellious streak started much earlier.

In this episode, Dr. Guralnik talks about the songs that transformed her into a "real" teenager, the therapist who changed her life, and how music has sparked both connection and conflict in her family. Plus, she draws a surprising line between Kendrick Lamar and Igor Stravinsky—and explains why therapy, like music, is a lifelong process of learning and discovery. Here are her seven songs.

The Beatles - Let It Be
Igor Stravinsky - Rite Of Spring
Lou Reed - Coney Island Baby
Robert Wyatt - A Last Straw
Tuxedomoon - Bonjour Tristesse
Modest Mouse - The Good Times Are Killing Mw
Kendrick Lamar - Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst

'Everyone’s seen my tits': Keeley Hazell on reclaiming the narrative in her new memoir Aug 26, 2025

Show notes

Keeley Hazell has lived a life that would make great television – which is probably why she inspired the beloved character Keeley Jones on Ted Lasso. In her new memoir, “Everyone’s Seen My Tits,” Keeley chronicles her chaotic childhood, her conflicted experience as one of Britain’s famous Page 3 topless models, and her journey to shed internalized shame as she reclaims her narrative.

In this episode, Keeley gets real about her internal battle between empowerment and objectification, the time she went to jail at age 14 for punching a cop, and the disastrous interview that launched her journey to become an “unlikely feminist.” Here are her songs.

Pulp - Common People
Mariah Carey - Hero
Eminem - Criminal
So Solid Crew - 21 Seconds
Fish Go Deep ft Tracey K - The Cure and The Cause
Sheryl Crow - All I Wanna Do
Father John Misty - When You Are Smiling And Astride Me

Listen to Keeley Hazell's playlist on Spotify. Find the transcript of this episode at ⁠⁠⁠lifeinsevensongs.com⁠⁠⁠. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠lifeinsevensongs@sfstandard.com⁠⁠⁠.

Amanda Knox survived a living nightmare. Flight of the Conchords helped. Aug 19, 2025

Show notes

At 20 years old, Amanda Knox found herself alone in an Italian jail cell, falsely accused of a brutal murder, and facing 26 years in prison. She was called “Luciferina” in the courtroom – and far worse in the tabloids. But Amanda never stopped fighting to clear her name and tell her story – most recently, as Executive Producer of a new miniseries on Hulu.

In this episode, Amanda opens up about how music became a lifeline – via the three CDs she was allowed in her cell and a paper keyboard to practice piano. Music connected Amanda to her fellow prisoners, to the outside world, and to the silly, optimistic person she’d always been. Here are her songs.

Gipsy Kings - Hotel California
Dido - Thank You
Regina Spektor - Apres Moi
Cat Power - Maybe Not
Flight Of The Conchords - Hurt Feelings
Florence and The Machine - Shake It Out
Chris Ballew - Troubles Behind

Listen to ⁠Amanda Knox's playlist on Spotify. Find the transcript of this episode at ⁠⁠lifeinsevensongs.com⁠⁠. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ⁠⁠lifeinsevensongs@sfstandard.com⁠⁠.

ENCORE: How Robert Reich learned to fight bullies Aug 12, 2025

Show notes

This week, we’re revisiting a favorite – our conversation with former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who just released “Coming Up Short,” a memoir that doubles as a national reckoning. The title is a nod to his height — just under 5 feet — but also to a country that, he argues, has fallen short of its ideals. He offers a blueprint for how to find its way back.

In this episode, Bob reflects on the moments — and music — that shaped his politics: being bullied as a child, narrowly avoiding the Vietnam draft, and his love for Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.” Here are his songs.

Stardust – Hoagy Carmichael
Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers
Chain Gang – Sam Cooke
Baby I Need Your Loving – The Four Tops
Lady Madonna – The Beatles
Metaphor – The Fantasticks
Suzanne – Judy Collins

Mary Louise Kelly: NPR host, war reporter, mother … spy novelist? Aug 05, 2025

Show notes

You probably know Mary Louise Kelly’s voice as the co-host of NPR’s All Things Considered. But you may not know that the veteran journalist has faced her fair share of challenges – from discovering she had severe hearing loss at 40 to making an agonizing choice between work and motherhood while reporting from a Black Hawk helicopter over Baghdad.

In this episode, recorded live at the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival, Sophie dives deep with the former national security correspondent, whose tales from the front lines are almost as exciting as her tales of falling madly in love in her fifties. Here are her songs:

Debbie Gibson - Only in My Dreams
James Baskett - Zip a Dee Doo Dah
Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion
Oasis - Champagne Supernova
Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten
Ylvis - The Fox What Does The Fox Say
Bellamy Brothers - Let Your Love Flow
Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason

Biographer of geniuses Walter Isaacson on the songs and city that made him Jul 29, 2025

Show notes

In our first ever live episode, recorded at the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival, Sophie sits down with Walter Isaacson, the acclaimed journalist behind the definitive biographies of visionaries like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Leonardo da Vinci.

In this episode, Walter reveals why – despite a career spent chronicling some of the greatest minds in history – the most formative “character” in his life story might be the city of New Orleans, where he grew up. Here are his songs.

The Neville Brothers ft. The Dixie Cups - Brother John Iko Iko
Sweet Emma Barrett (The Bell Gal) and Her Dixieland Boys - When The Saints Go Marching In
Irma Thomas - Its Raining
The Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil
Bruce Springsteen at New Orleans Jazz Festival 2006 - My City of Ruins
The Rolling Stones and Irma Thomas - Time is on My Side
Jon Batiste - FREEDOM

Listen to Walter Isaacson’s full playlist on Spotify. Find the transcript of this episode at ⁠lifeinsevensongs⁠.com. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ⁠lifeinsevensongs@sfstandard.com⁠.

Best-selling author Jason Reynolds writes the YA books he never had Jul 22, 2025

Show notes

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and 2024 MacArthur Fellow who writes books for young people – but he didn’t finish a book until he was 17. Instead, Jason found his literary voice in the rap lyrics printed in cassette tape liner notes.

In this episode, Jason traces his journey from a kid disconnected from his assigned reading in school to becoming one of the most influential voices in young adult literature. He opens up about his fraught relationship with his father, spinning Bob Marley records by hand on a broken turntable, and why he doesn’t want to be a parent despite having “dedicated [his] life to kids.” Here are his songs.

Queen Latifah - U.N.I.T.Y.
Goodie Mob - Soul Food
Tracy Chapman - Talkin' Bout a Revolution
Bob Markey & The Wailers - Is This Love
Camp Lo - Luchini AKA This Is it
Billy Joel - Vienna
Clarence Carter - Patches

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected