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The Well Festival Live Updates: Charlemagne Tha God on Anxiety, Addiction and Therapy
The Times is hosting a day of conversations dedicated to a singular theme: maximizing your happiness. Follow along live.
May 7, 2025Updated 12:05 p.m. ET Pinned
Updated
Here’s what’s happening.
A vast ecosystem of scientific and unscientific health information bombards readers every day. At the Well desk of The New York Times, we work to cut through that noise, providing accurate information and actionable advice on how to live your healthiest, most fulfilling life.
On Wednesday, Well is hosting its first major public event, with 13 panels featuring Times reporters and editors speaking with doctors, relationship experts, athletes, authors and celebrities on topics that all relate to maximizing your happiness. Charlamagne Tha God is currently on stage with Astead Herndon, a national political reporter at The Times, to talk about mental health.
The radio host, author and podcaster delved into his own evolution through therapy, meditation and prayer. He stressed the importance of starting the day with a routine that gets you into a “proper mental state.” Part of his is going into his backyard with his shoes off to “touch grass” and even lying down on the ground. “It actually does work,” he said.
The full list of speakers is available here. Among other highlights so far and still to come:
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The relationship expert Terry Real spoke with Jancee Dunn, who writes the Well newsletter, emphasized the importance of normalizing imperfections in relationships, something he has memorably referred to as “normal marital hatred.” We’re all “stuck” with people as flawed as we are, he said, and it’s how couples deal with that reality that makes or breaks a relationship.
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Suleika Jaouad, author of “The Book of Alchemy” and “Between Two Kingdoms,” spoke with Patia Braithwaite, a senior staff editor at Well, about how journaling and painting have helped her to cope as she lives with leukemia. While she has become something of an emblem of bravery and creativity in the face of adversity, Ms. Jaouad emphasized that it required a hard, deliberate choice. “No part of me felt inspired or creatively motivated that first summer,” she said.
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Lisa Damour, a psychologist, and Gabriela Nguyen, the founder of a student organization at Harvard that encourages people to quit social media, emphasized that even though a change may help you feel better, you may not be inclined to make it. Trying matters, and you can improve your life even if you slip up.
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The former “black-ish” star Tracee Ellis Ross talked with Lori Leibovich, the editor of Well, about how to build a joyful life. Ms. Ross spoke of the pleasure of feeling fully inside her body when she exercised, while also respecting her body’s limits. She also pushed back on cultural pressure on women, saying her life was not less worthy because she doesn’t have a partner or children.
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Dr. Peter Attia, the longevity expert, author and podcast host, will dive into the science of aging well with Kate Lowenstein, the deputy editor of Well.
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Jameela Jamil, a star of the NBC hit “The Good Place,” will talk with the Well reporter Lisa Miller about struggles with eating disorders and body image, and about how people can make peace with their bodies.
Time for some honest talk about anxiety and mental health with Charlamagne Tha God, co-host of the radio show “The Breakfast Club.” Usually, he’s the one asking tough questions, but he’ll be on the receiving end in this conversation with Astead Herndon, a national politics reporter for The Times.
Terry Real coined the phrase “normal marital hatred,” which is hilarious — and a helpful concept for surviving in a long-haul relationship. He spoke to Well about it back in 2022.
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What’s the best way to navigate modern relationships? Terry Real, a couples and family therapist, is chatting with Jancee Dunn, the author of Well’s newsletter, about common stumbling blocks and how to avoid them.
We are now going to hear from Lisa Damour, a clinical psychologist and expert on navigating adolescence. She is speaking with Gabriela Nguyen, a student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the founder of a student group, APPstinence, that encourages people in Gen Z to give up social media. Dani Blum, a Well reporter, is moderating the conversation.
Chronic disease reporter
Jaouad, who recently published “The Book of Alchemy,” said that keeping a daily journal where she could be her most “unedited, unvarnished self” was a transformational and “life-saving” experience. She added that no matter what comes up in a journal entry, she always feels lighter after writing.
Suleika Jaouad, the writer and artist, is now on stage speaking with Patia Braithwaite, an editor on the Well desk, about finding meaning in hardship. Jaouad learned last year that she has had her third recurrence of leukemia. She has given an intimate look at her experience with cancer in a column for The New York Times, “Life, Interrupted.”
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“The volume has turned back up” on the idea that a woman must have children and a husband, Ross said.
“I do not believe that my life is unworthy because I don’t have children,” she said. “I do not believe that my life is unworthy because I do not have a man or a partner.”
Mental health reporter
Ross, the former star of “black-ish,” said that she tries to embody her real middle name, Joy, every day.
“My natural state is joyful, and yet, I work at it,” she said. “I think joy is different from happiness. Happiness is something you can get at 7-Eleven.”
Ross has taken the stage and is speaking with Lori Leibovich, the editor of the Well desk at The Times, about how to live a full, exuberant life. Ross spoke to The Times in 2019 about her approach to wellness, including how she handles the “weird anxieties” that can come with aging.
The Well Festival is underway. In a moment, we’ll hear from Tracee Ellis Ross, an award-winning actress and producer and the founder and co-chief executive of Pattern Beauty, a hair care company.
It is a sunny day in Brooklyn, where guests have started gathering for the Well Festival. The first event kicks off in less than an hour, at 9:30 a.m.
Here’s today’s full schedule.
The first-ever Well Festival, hosted by the Well desk of The New York Times, runs from 9:30 a.m. Eastern to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. A livestream is available here.
Below is the full schedule and a brief description of each of the 13 panels, covering love and relationships, the quest for joy, facing adversity, protecting mental health, aging well and many other issues that matter to us all.
9:35 a.m.
‘Building a Life of Joy’
Tracee Ellis Ross — the former star of “black-ish,” current owner of PATTERN Beauty and future star of “Solo Traveling With Tracee Ellis Ross” — is known for her joyful demeanor. She speaks with Lori Leibovich, the editor of The Times’s Well desk, about what brings her that joy and what the rest of us can do to get more of it in our own lives.
10 a.m.
‘Finding Meaning in the Face of Adversity’
Suleika Jaouad burst into the public eye in 2012 with “Life, Interrupted,” a column in The Times in which she wrote about facing cancer in her 20s. Since then, she has faced two recurrences, most recently last year. Throughout, she has been open about leukemia’s impact on her life, including in her memoir “Between Two Kingdoms.” Patia Braithwaite, an editor on the Well desk, will interview her.
10:30 a.m.
‘Protecting Your Happiness in the Age of Social Media’
Dani Blum, a Well reporter, will moderate a conversation between Lisa Damour, a psychologist specializing in children’s and teenagers’ health, and Gabriela Nguyen, the founder of Appstinence, a student organization at the Harvard Graduate School of Education that encourages people to quit social media — as Ms. Nguyen did herself.
11:15 a.m.
‘How to Fix Your Relationships’
Terry Real is a family therapist, author and public speaker who specializes in relationships. Jancee Dunn, the author of Well’s newsletter, will interview him about how couples can build more satisfying lives together, avoid common interpersonal mistakes and fix problems in their relationships and sex lives.
11:40 a.m.
‘Getting Honest With Ourselves: A Conversation About Mental Health’
Charlamagne Tha God is known for interviewing public figures on his radio show “The Breakfast Club” — and for his openness about depression, anxiety and addiction. He will talk with Astead Herndon, a national politics reporter for The Times, about how he manages his mental health and what needs to change to reduce stigma, especially in Black communities.
1:25 p.m.
‘Food as Nourishment, Community and Happiness’
Samin Nosrat is the author of the cookbook “Salt Fat Acid Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking,” and Dacher Keltner is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, who hosts the podcast “The Science of Happiness.” The Times food writer Kim Severson will investigate how they think about cooking and food as sources of pleasure and community.
1:55 p.m.
‘What We’ve Learned From 80 Years of Happiness Research’
The Harvard Study of Adult Development is the longest-running study of human happiness, and Dr. Robert Waldinger, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, is its current director. Susan Dominus, a Times reporter who wrote a recent profile of Dr. Waldinger, will interview him about the study’s findings and how we can apply them to our own lives.
2:25 p.m.
‘Movement for Joy’
It’s easy to see exercise as a chore. But Robin Arzón, an endurance athlete and head instructor for Peloton, and Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist at Stanford University, have found it to be a source of joy. They will discuss revelatory fitness with Danielle Friedman, a frequent Well contributor who wrote a book about women’s exercise culture.
3:05 p.m.
‘How to Find Joy in an Anxious World’
Dan Harris, a former journalist, began meditating after having a panic attack on national television — and then wrote a book called “10% Happier.” Sara Bareilles is a singer, songwriter and Broadway star who opened up a few years ago about her experiences with depression and anxiety. Along with Dacher Keltner, making a second appearance at the festival, they will discuss how they cope.
3:35 p.m.
‘Can You Make Peace With Your Body?’
Jameela Jamil, best known for playing the name-dropping socialite Tahani Al-Jamil in “The Good Place,” has been outspoken about her struggles with eating disorders and body image. Lisa Miller, a Well reporter, will interview her about her advocacy for body positivity, as well as how she found peace with her body and how others might do the same.
4:05 p.m.
‘The Science of Aging Well’
Dr. Peter Attia is a podcast host who promotes an aggressive regimen to prevent chronic disease and maximize health late in life. Kate Lowenstein, the deputy editor of Well, will interview him about his fitness, nutrition and sleep routines, and whether an average person can emulate a program for which his practice charges tens of thousands of dollars a year.
4:35 p.m.
‘The Stories We Tell in Love and Relationships’
Orna Guralnik is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst who counsels real couples in the docu-series “Couples Therapy,” a new season of which airs on May 22. In a conversation with Caitlin Roper, the executive producer for scripted film and television at The Times, she will speak about the stories we tell in love and relationships.
5 p.m.
‘Being the M.V.P. of Your Own Life’
Dwyane Wade, an N.B.A. Hall of Fame shooting guard, will talk to Marc Lacey, a managing editor at The Times, about masculinity, vulnerability, fatherhood, and how and why he has become healthier since leaving basketball.
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