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Toxic positivity is corrupting America | Kate Bowler
Posted
March 31, 2026
Views
40,083
Likes
1,746
Comments
183
Engagement
4.81%
March 31, 2026
40,083
1,746
183
4.81%
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3:57Now PlayingThis interview is an episode from The Well, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the John Templeton Foundation.
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Watch Bowler’s next interview ► Why pain doesn't need to teach you anything
Toxic positivity has become a cultural system in America, says historian and professor Kate Bowler.
She traces how optimism became an emotional mandate in American life: a belief that bright sides and silver linings can solve anything. But when positivity refuses pain, it stops being hopeful and becomes denial.
Drawing on personal experience and cultural analysis, Bowler reveals how forced optimism erases nuance, stigmatizes grief, and leaves us unprepared for the parts of life that don’t resolve. Some things aren’t meant to be mastered — they just hurt. Naming that, she argues, is the first step toward something more honest, and more human.
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About Kate Bowler:
Kate Bowler is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and Professor of Religious History at Duke University.
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