Episodes

  • Tending Your Garden in a Burning World

    Tending Your Garden in a Burning World
    Jan 20 2026
    In a moment when the news feels relentless and outrage is often treated as a moral obligation, Amanda reflects on what meditation is really for. Is sitting quietly a form of disengagement, or a way of learning how to respond without making things worse? Drawing on Zen practice, Buddhist history, and her own experience of trauma, activism, and family life, Amanda explores the false choice between rage and withdrawal, and makes the case for tending the quality of our own minds as a prerequisite for meaningful engagement. In a world on fire, this is an argument for care, clarity, and action that doesn’t multiply harm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    26 mins
  • Why Being Right Won't Set You Free (Michael Semanchik and Scott McMahon)

    Why Being Right Won't Set You Free (Michael Semanchik and Scott McMahon)
    Jan 13 2026
    Mike Semanchik is the executive director of the Innocence Center, and Scott McMahon is an American who spent more than five years imprisoned in the Philippines for a crime he did not commit. In this episode, Amanda, Mike, and Scott unpack how a justice system built on delay, corruption, and extortion can turn a single accusation into a life sentence without a verdict, how patience and tenacity become survival skills when truth is systematically ignored, and why refusing to pay for freedom can cost everything and still be worth it. Michael Semanchik is also the host of the podcast For The Innocent, where he tells the stories of those who have been unjustly imprisoned and the tireless efforts to bring them home. Read more about Scott's case here https://theinnocencecenter.org/case/scott-mcmahon/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • New Beginnings

    New Beginnings
    Jan 6 2026
    In this episode of Hard Knox, Amanda is joined by her husband Chris for an intimate and surprisingly funny conversation about the practice of beginning again. Drawing from Zen practice, a New Year’s fight, and a walk in the woods, they explore how noticing momentum in our thoughts, moods, and arguments can interrupt downward spirals, how compassion and physical connection can reset conflict, and why beginning again is not about erasing the past but choosing wisely in the present. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Why Hope Is Learnable (Scott Barry Kaufman)

    Why Hope Is Learnable (Scott Barry Kaufman)
    Dec 30 2025
    Scott Barry Kaufman is a cognitive scientist and bestselling author whose work explores creativity, intelligence, and what helps people grow after hardship. In this episode, Amanda and Scott talk about how we get stuck in stories about ourselves, how to tell the difference between honoring pain and letting it run the show, and why growth often starts with a small shift in perspective rather than a dramatic breakthrough. Along the way, they explore why curiosity beats self judgment, how hope can be learned, and why becoming more whole does not require erasing what you have been through. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Who's Right? - The True Meaning of Christmas

    Who's Right? - The True Meaning of Christmas
    Dec 27 2025
    Amanda and Chris debate the true meaning of Christmas through stories about Charlie Brown, gift giving, religion, pagan traditions, and very strong opinions about gift cards. They explore why Christmas has always been less about belief and more about gathering, why remembering people matters more than buying things, and why sharing your blueberries might actually be the whole point. Reach out to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amandaknox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠amandaknox.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: @amandaknox IG: @amamaknox Bluesky: @⁠⁠amandaknox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Waking Up Meditation App ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wakingup.com/Amandaknox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    31 mins
  • How Journalism Can Be an Act of Hope (Nicholas Kristof)

    How Journalism Can Be an Act of Hope (Nicholas Kristof)
    Dec 23 2025
    Nicholas Kristof is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and longtime New York Times columnist whose reporting has taken him from the Tiananmen Square massacre to the brothels of Cambodia and the opioid-ravaged communities of his own hometown in Oregon. In this conversation, Amanda and Nick explore how witnessing atrocities shaped his belief that individual acts of courage can stand against overwhelming darkness. They also discuss why understanding people we fear or condemn is essential for solving real problems, how hope collapses and regenerates in communities from Darfur to Yamhill, and why personal resilience often begins with the simple fact of being loved. Reach out to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amandaknox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠amandaknox.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: @amandaknox IG: @amamaknox Bluesky: @⁠⁠amandaknox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Waking Up Meditation App ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wakingup.com/Amandaknox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Ask Amanda Anything - Life Advice, Dark Humor, Bad Dates

    Ask Amanda Anything - Life Advice, Dark Humor, Bad Dates
    Dec 18 2025
    In this Ask Amanda Anything episode, Amanda answers listener questions that range from deeply personal to playfully unexpected, touching on disability, identity, creativity, politics, joy, and very bad dates. She reflects on how to find agency when life feels unfair, how to stay grounded when others project stories onto you, and why humor and curiosity are often better guides than certainty. Reach out to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amandaknox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠amandaknox.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: @amandaknox IG: @amamaknox Bluesky: @⁠⁠amandaknox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Waking Up Meditation App ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wakingup.com/Amandaknox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    44 mins
  • Why Win-Win Thinking Is So Hard (Liv Boeree)

    Why Win-Win Thinking Is So Hard (Liv Boeree)
    Dec 16 2025
    Liv Boeree is a former professional poker champion turned science communicator whose work explores game theory, technology, and the incentive systems shaping our world. In this wide-ranging conversation, Amanda and Liv examine how our competitive instincts can either sabotage us or help us grow, how to design lives that create more win-win dynamics, and why learning to “zoom out” may be the most powerful resilience skill we have. They also dig into why we misjudge luck, tilt, and loss, and how gamifying our choices can reveal what truly makes our tails wag. Reach out to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amandaknox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠amandaknox.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: @amandaknox IG: @amamaknox Bluesky: @⁠⁠amandaknox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Waking Up Meditation App ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wakingup.com/Amandaknox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 4 mins