A conversation with Kate Bowler, four-time New York Times bestselling author, host of the award-wining podcast Everything Happens and professor of American religious history at Duke University.
Spring 2026 Frey Foundation Distinguished Visiting Professor
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 5:30 p.m.
Sonja Haynes Stone Center Auditorium
Registration required. Coming Soon.
With Stephanie Elizondo Griest, professor of creative nonfiction in the English and Comparative Literature Department at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Kate Bowler, Ph.D., is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, hosts the award-winning Everything Happens podcast, and is a professor of American religious history at Duke University. She is also as human as it gets. After several years of being told her cancer was incurable, she was declared cancer-free. But there’s no going back to what life was before for Kate. Today, she’s on a mission to untangle our culture’s obsession with toxic positivity and self-help and permit you to be human.
At the young age of 35, Kate received a life-changing diagnosis: Stage IV colon cancer. In her first book and memoir, Everything Happens (And Other Lies I’ve Loved) (2018), Kate shares her experience being confronted with the hard truths of illness, loss and purpose and critiques the “success” narratives that often dominate life.
Through her work on the popular and award-winning Everything Happens podcast, Kate builds upon the conversations her books have opened. Her podcast guests have included Malcolm Gladwell, Tig Notaro, Bryan Stevenson, Minka Kelly and Katie Couric, and has garnered over 20 million downloads. Kate’s warmth and ability to create a space for vulnerability and connection make every episode feel like catching up with an old friend.
In addition to her first memoir, Kate is the author of Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day (2024) and No Cure For Being Human (and Other Truths I Need to Hear) (2021). She also co-wrote The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days (2023) and Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection (2022) with Jessica Richie.
Kate’s work has received widespread media attention from The Today Show, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NPR. Her unforgettable TED talk has garnered over 10 million views, a testament to the enduring impact of her story.
