Coping

Coping With Boredom

Coping

Show Notes

Boredom has gone from something we avoid to something we curate – a new metric in the self‑care economy to measure ourselves by. From 'rawdogging boredom' challenges to the obsession with performing “slow creativity,” we’re told stillness is a portal to a better, more imaginative self. But the research is messy, and our lived experiences even more so. This week, Alice Griffin and Jannah Anderson dig into the neuroscience of boredom, the rise of the serial hobbyist, the existential itches that keep us chasing novelty, and the cultural urge to make boredom meaningful – even when the moments in between fail to deliver us anything profound. ☆ Are you a creative looking for support? Visit the ⁠Support Act Creative Industries Hub⁠ or call the Support Act Wellbeing Helpline on 1800 959 500 for a free and confidential chat (and remember, you don't have to be in crisis to call). Sometimes you just need to talk to someone who actually gets it and can hear you out. ☆ Want to support our show? We'd be so grateful if you hit 'follow' or left us a 5-star review so we can bring you more Coping content. Plus, you can follow along with us on⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and⁠⁠ ⁠Pinterest⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Find out more about what we're up to (and how you can get involved) at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠copinginc.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. They Want To Influence You To Do… Nothing by Alexander Nazaryan, The New York Times Boredom, Sustained Attention and The Default Mode Network by James Danckert and Colleen Merrifield You Need To Be Bored, Here’s Why by Arthur Brooks, Harvard Business Review The Association Between Boredom And Creativity In Educational Contexts’ by Anke Zeißig, Julia Kansok-Dusche, Saskia M. Fischer, Julia Moeller, Ludwig Bilz Boredom, A Lively History by Peter Toohey Just Think: The Challenges Of The Disengaged Mind by Timothy D. Wilson, David A. Reinhard, Erin C. Westgate, Daniel T. Gilbert, Nicole Ellerbeck, Cheryl Hahn, Casey L. Brown, and Adi Shaked in Science What Does Boredom Do To Us And For Us? by Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker ⁠Quit Romanticising Boredom⁠ by Anna North, The Cut Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from Coping

Oct 19, 2026

We suddenly seem to care a lot about what the person next to us is reading. Between celebrity book clubs, literary moments on the runway, and the rise of the professional tastemaker, taste itself has never been so public. You may even have started wondering whether the book tucked under your arm on your morning commute is something you love, or something you’d like to be seen loving.

Oct 12, 2026

This week, we're coping a little differently ! Following our AI takeover spiral a few weeks ago, we thought it only fair to balance things out with a timely celebration of what it really means to be human.

Oct 5, 2026

Harry Styles is rumoured to be retiring. Amelia Dimoldenberg is bringing the Chicken Shop Date era to a close. We all remember Simone Biles stepping away from the gymnastics mat. More and more, we're watching people opt out of goals they've built their identity around and spent years publicly pursuing. Quitting seems more socially acceptable than ever, so why does walking away still feel like failure?

Sep 28, 2026

It seems everyone around us is moving through life at exactly the “right” pace: getting engaged, having babies, buying houses, building careers, finding purpose. Meanwhile, we’re left wondering, are we running late to our own lives?

Sep 21, 2026

AI experts, executives, and inventors themselves are sounding the alarm – warning us that an AI takeover could threaten all of humanity within just the next ten years. In other words, the call is coming from INSIDE the house.

See all episodes →