Episodes
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Minutes after completing this episode, our hosts entered our virtual "Green Room" and reflected on what they said, what they learned, and how they felt about the episode.
We invite you to share our podcast, click "follow" so you don't miss an episode, and follow us on social media. For more information about our hosts and this podcast, visit www.SecretsoftheBetterHalves.com -
You don't just wake up one day and become a better half. Partners face tough choices and compromises, with feelings of both regret and blessings. In their 38 years together, Jennifer Granholm and our co-host Dan Mulhern have lived an extraordinary life together. On their first date, Jennifer brought a list of questions to learn if a relationship with Dan was worth pursuing. Needless to say, Dan passed. What followed has been a successful political life for Jennifer, taking her from Michigan Attorney General to two-time Governor to U.S. Energy Secretary. All along the way, Dan has been by her side, and has experienced unparalleled joy but also unpredictable questions of who he was and what he brought to the marriage. How do these better halves stay grounded and connected, and what can the rest of us learn from them? In this episode, we did something different; we put Dan in a holding studio so he could listen to our conversation with Jennifer. Then we let him join the conversation and what followed may be the best lesson in how better halves survive and thrive.
We invite you to share our podcast, click "follow" so you don't miss an episode, and follow us on social media. For more information about our hosts and this podcast, visit www.SecretsoftheBetterHalves.com
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Missing episodes?
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Minutes after completing this episode, our hosts entered our virtual "Green Room" and reflected on what they said, what they learned, and how they felt about the episode.
We invite you to share our podcast, click "follow" so you don't miss an episode, and follow us on social media. For more information about our hosts and this podcast, visit www.SecretsoftheBetterHalves.com -
On Election Night 2016, Dan Mulhern and Markos Kounalakis had a chance encounter on a New York City rooftop. There, they discovered their commonalities and made a connection. Both are married to prominent political wives, Jennifer Granholm and Eleni Kounalakis, and both share the unique position of being the "number two" to wives who are out-front in the public eye. In this episode, we pull back the curtain on this dramatic night so you can hear the inside tales of how these two partners supported each other's "better half" during this crushing defeat. Hear Dan and Markos relive the moment-to-moment drama of the night, how they each supported their partners in different ways in the moments after the election defeat, and how their rooftop conversation led to an enduring friendship and the creation of our podcast series.
We invite you to share our podcast, click "follow" so you don't miss an episode, and follow us on social media. For more information about our hosts and this podcast, visit www.SecretsoftheBetterHalves.com
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What happens when you find your better half, work with them, fall in love, and then suddenly a bomb strikes? That's what happened to one of our co-hosts, Debbie Phillips. In this episode, Debbie shares her journey of finding, working with, loving, and losing her better half with co-hosts Dan Mulhern and Markos Kounalakis.
We invite you to share our podcast, click "follow" so you don't miss an episode, and follow us on social media. For more information about our hosts and this podcast, visit www.SecretsoftheBetterHalves.com
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Doctors John and Judy Gottman wrote the book on marriage, literally dozens of them! The world-renowned marriage therapists lead The Gottman Institute, whose mission is to help people create and maintain greater love and health in their relationships.
In this episode, we put the Gottman's in the patient's chair and see how they make their own relationship work. What is the secret to a long lasting relationship? What daily practices do they recommend for the rest of us? Is it possible for couples to resolve perpetual problems? What were their biggest peaks and valleys in their marriage? How do they navigate working together? How do they meld their two distinct styles, as a couple but also in their approach to couples in crisis? And how do they predict divorce by watching couples interact for just 15 minutes?
We invite you to share our podcast, click "follow" so you don't miss an episode, and follow us on social media. For more information about our hosts and this podcast, visit www.SecretsoftheBetterHalves.com
To learn more about John and Julie Gottman, visit The Gottman Institute webpage at www.gottman.com.
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"The After Show" is where we go to exhale after interviewing our guests. Hear what our hosts felt about the conversation, what surprised them the most, and what's their biggest takeaway.
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Our podcast is all about partnerships and how those in the public eye make their partnership work. Jennifer Siebel Newsom carries many titles: the First Partner of California, award-winning filmmaker, advocate, and mother. Jennifer admits life is "a dance." So we were curious, how does she take on all those roles and manage to be a better half to California Governor Gavin Newsom?
In this episode, we explore their dynamic relationship and get advice on how all of us can support our "better half." What values did she bring into the First Partner's office? How does she and the Governor forge a strong partnership at home, as partners and as parents? What lessons did they learn about each other during the toughest days of the pandemic? How did the tragic death of her sister impact her way of parenting?
We invite you to share our podcast, click "follow" so you don't miss an episode, and follow us on social media. For more information about our hosts and this podcast, visit www.SecretsoftheBetterHalves.com
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"The After Show" is where we go to exhale after interviewing our guests. Hear what our hosts felt about the conversation, what surprised them the most, and what's their biggest takeaway.
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It's an episode of firsts. Our first podcast, with the first Second Gentleman of the United States, who's the spouse of the first woman vice president of the U.S. Doug Emhoff has an important yet unique role, from supporting his partner in her job, sharing the priorities of the Biden-Harris Administration, to championing issues that are close to his heart.
In this episode, we pull back the curtain and explore his dynamic relationship with his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, and get advice on how all of us can support our "better half." Learn about Doug and Kamala's first date, which he calls "the most famous blind date in history." Did he ever feel he was being measured up for a public role with her? What is the basis for their successful relationship, what rituals do they have in their partnership, and what can we learn from them?
We also have some fun with our lightning round questions, like, has you golf game improved or gotten worse as Second Gentleman, whose the first to apologize, Doug or Kamala, and what do you do for her that makes her super happy? We invite you to share our podcast, click "follow" so you don't miss an episode, and follow us on social media. For more information about our hosts and this podcast, visit www.SecretsoftheBetterHalves.com
Doug Emhoff BIO: https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/douglas-emhoff/
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About Our Hosts
Dan Mulhern is an author, professor and executive coach, who helps his clients lead their organizations and each other, as better halves. Dan’s better half is Jennifer Granholm, former two-term Governor of Michigan and now U.S. Energy Secretary.
Debbie Phillips is a pioneering life and executive coach who founded Women on Fire to support women leaders. She lost her better half, Rob to cancer, and celebrates his memory by helping couples achieve more deeply satisfying relationships.
Markos Kounalakis, an award-winning foreign affairs columnist, author, and scholar. Markos’s better half is Eleni Kounalakis, former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary and now California's Lieutenant Governor.
Our upcoming guests include the spouses of two of our hosts, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, along with world-renowned marriage experts Julie and John Gottman, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, New York TImes Chief White House Correspondent Peter Baker and his spouse Susan Glasser of The New Yorker, just to name a few.
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