Try This
Episodes
I want to give back! How do I afford it?
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Donating money can induce anxiety if you’re not sure how to afford it or feel pressured into doing so by the people around you. Host Cristina Q...
Anyone can be an altruist
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What’s really going on inside the brain of an altruist? Why do altruists care so much more for a stranger who needs help? Why are they so willing to...
Got 5 minutes? Take a breather with me.
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Now that we’ve learned that chronic stress ages the brain, let’s put what we learned into practice. Join “Try This” host Cristina Quinn as she...
Breathe: Reducing stress can help your brain
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When we’re in constant stress, our brains become less resilient. Chronic stress can lead to inflammation of the brain — increasing our risk of cog...
Simple lifestyle changes to reduce your risk of dementia
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As we age, we can develop a higher risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It may even run in our families for some of us. But hope is not lost: ...
The Ever-Changing Brain: Adapting, Aging, and Cognitive Health
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Your brain does a lot of work. It’s processing and adapting to changing environments and routines throughout our lives.In this episode, host Cristin...
Strength Training – Get stronger to live longer
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Just the thought of going to the gym or lifting a dumbbell can feel intimidating. Good news — you don’t need either of these to strength-train!&nb...
How to find your personal style
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you look at social media these days, there’s any number of fashion influencers and brands telling you what clothes to buy and how to wear them.&n...
Smarter, cheaper, happier travel
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From unpredictable flight prices to record-breaking heat waves and ever-changing rules about passports and Real IDs, travel today is more complicated ...
Gut Check: Our new “Try This” newsletter
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The “Try This” podcast has a new companion – the “Try This: Gut Check" newsletter. It’s a five-part newsletter series that breaks down what ...
Simple tips to build and maintain a healthy gut
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Gut health advice can be overwhelming. But science suggests that supporting the gut doesn’t have to be complicated. In this episode, Trisha Pasricha...
Listen to your gut
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What you eat changes your gut, and your gut affects your metabolism. Host Cristina Quinn talks to researcher Karen Corbin about how your gut and metab...
What exactly is the gut microbiome?
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What’s really going on inside your gut, and why should you care? In this episode, host Cristina Quinn explores the inner workings of the gut microbi...
Become someone everyone wants to talk to
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Want to be a better conversationalist, listener, and all-around great company? In this special episode, host Cristina Quinn talks with Pulitzer-Prize-...
Limits that last
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s not only about digital boundaries. Washington Post tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler, in conversation with host Cristina Quinn, shares insights on...
Let’s set some boundaries
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you're ready to take back control of your attention, here’s where to start. Host Cristina Quinn chats with Washington Post tech columnist Geoffre...
How to reset your brain’s reward system
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us are caught in a loop of instant gratification, driven by the brain’s reward system. In this episode, host Cristina Quinn talks with psych...
This is your brain on dopamine
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wonder why you can’t stop scrolling, even when you know you should? It probably comes down to dopamine, a key neurotransmitter that drives plea...
Why doing good feels great
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the third and final episode of our three-part course on cultivating joy, host Cristina Quinn dives into the connection between spreading kindness a...
Get lost. And play a little.
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this second class in our course on finding joy, host Cristina Quinn explores practical exercises to help you embrace joy in everyday life. Steven P...
Some happiness is predetermined. The rest is up to you.
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Happiness, it turns out, comes down to a science — even though what makes each of us happy can vary pretty widely. Host Cristina Quinn talks to happ...
Should we change the way we elect presidents? Can we?
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The electoral college has served as the system to elect U.S. presidents since the earliest days of the country. And while it has evolved over the year...
How we ended up with the electoral college system
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the second class in our series about how the electoral college works, host Cristina Quinn talks to historian Alex Keyssar of the Harvard Kennedy Sc...
How the electoral college works
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Remembering all the complex details of how the electoral college works is not exactly easy. And just when you’ve mastered how it all adds up, you pr...
Post Reports: How to make sense of political polls
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The team behind “Try This” is dedicated to helping listeners learn new things, in ways that feel doable. So we're sharing a recent “Post Reports...
From ‘I want to be’ to ... ‘I am’
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Humans have a tendency to interpret information and experiences in ways that support our existing beliefs. Host Cristina Quinn returns to clinical psy...
Let your beliefs do the work
10 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Affirmations help buffer stress and can make you emotionally and mentally stronger. Host Cristina Quinn talks to clinical psychologist Natalie Dattilo...
The kitchen sink
18 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the last class in our course on how to enjoy cooking more, we bring you everything and the kitchen sink. From reliable shortcuts and suggestions fo...
Nourishing your inner cook
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the third class in our course on how to enjoy cooking more, we focus on reframing the way we think about the task. Food writer and finalist on “F...
Mastering the meals you can count on
04 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the second class of our course about ways to enjoy the daily task of preparing meals, we make the case for revisiting what you know. Washington Pos...
Your kitchen personality is more obvious than you think
27 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the first class in our course on how to enjoy cooking more, host Cristina Quinn teams up with the Washington Post food team to uncover tips for ide...
When to call it quits
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the third and final class of our course on how to make the most of your friendships, we offer guidance for what to do when things go wrong. Making ...
Why it pays to get out of your comfort zone
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Class 2 of our course on friendship, you’ll learn how to get out of your comfort zone when it comes to fostering new friendships and resuscitatin...
Are you socially fit?
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the first class of our course on making the most of your friendships, host Cristina Quinn learns what it means to be socially fit — and why it’...
The melatonin factor
26 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the fifth and final class of our course on how to get better sleep, we focus on melatonin. Researchers found that melatonin use in the United State...
Sleep is a ball of pizza dough
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In class 4 of our course on how to get better sleep, Cristina and sleep expert Lisa Strauss explore the concept of sleep drive. Counterintuitively, so...
What to do if you’re up in the middle of the night
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In class 3 of our course about how to get better sleep, we dig in on a moment most of us are familiar with – waking up in the middle of the night an...
Go ahead. Think about the thing that’s keeping you up.
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lying awake at night, ruminating over stuff that bothers you is not fun. But it’s normal! We’ve all done it and it can get in the way of the rest ...
Stop trying to fall asleep
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this first class of our course on how to get better sleep, host Cristina Quinn outlines why trying to get yourself to sleep can sometimes be a barr...
Introducing “Try This”
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meet The Washington Post’s Cristina Quinn, who is always game to try something new. She is your guide in “Try This” — a new series of audio co...