Making Space with Hoda Kotb

Tom Llamas is the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News. He got his start in news at just 15 years old as an intern for Telemundo in Miami. After 30 years in the news industry, he says raising his hand for opportunities helped get him to the anchor chair. Llamas is the son of Cuban immigrants, who fled the country when they were young. Growing up in a Cuban American community, Llamas says his family didn't shy away from di...

Sahil Bloom is an author, businessman, and investor. He had a successful career in finance before a conversation with a friend changed his life forever, forcing him to rediscover the meaning of true prosperity. In his book "The 5 Types of Wealth", he writes that a fulfilling life is built around five kinds of wealth: time, social, mental, physical, and financial. He opened up to Hoda about taking a leap and discovering whats on the...

In this special episode of Making Space, Hoda sits down with former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern. During this inspiring and thoughtful conversation, Ardern touches on the significance of becoming the country’s youngest Prime Minister in 150 years, plus her reaction to the surprising news she was pregnant just six days after being elected. Ardern also speaks about her unwavering commitment to kindness while also tak...

Dan Harris is an author, podcast host, and journalist.  Harris worked for ABC News for more than 21 years and currently hosts the 10% Happier Podcast. His journey of self-discovery began in 2004, after suffering a panic attack while live on-air.  In the aftermath of that episode, he turned to meditation to confront his drug use, his effort to cope with covering the post-9/11 war zones across the middle east. Harris opened up to Hod...

Sara Blakely is the founder of Spanx and Sneex and opens up about believing in her products and trusting her gut. She created her revolutionary brand after identifying a problem in her wardrobe: what undergarments could she wear with white pants? Blakely's answer to that question started a shapewear revolution. She used the money she earned selling fax machines to launch her products, which soon started flying off the shelves of de...

Dr. Judith Joseph is a New York-based psychiatrist, studying happiness. Throughout her life, she's been a high-achiever, graduating from medical school at Columbia and opening her own clinical research institute. She now says she was "pathologically productive" to try to mask feelings of inadequacy. Through her research, and her own experience, Dr. Joseph identified what she refers to as "high-functioning depression". On the outsid...

Businesswoman and entrepreneur Emma Grede has launched some of the biggest brands in fashion. Known as the powerhouse behind companies like Skims and Good American, Grede says she takes issue with the phrase "self-made". Raised by a single mom in East London, Grede worked her way up through the fashion world, but she says her partners and mentors helped get her to where she is today. She opened up to Hoda about her childhood, and b...

Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas is an acclaimed Hollywood agent and film producer. She's worked with iconic stars like Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lopez, even producing JLO's smash hit movie Maid In Manhattan. Goldsmith-Thomas rose through the ranks at multiple talent agencies, when the was dominated by men. In her debut novel, Climbing In Heels, her female characters navigate "the wild West" of 1980s Hollywood. Goldsmith-Thomas opened up t...

Suzy Welch is an award-winning professor, best-selling author, and entrepreneur. She teaches “Becoming You: Crafting the Authentic Life You Want and Need" at NYU Stern School of Business, and helps people discover their purpose by understanding their values. Welch also believes that happiness is not an end goal, but an outcome of a meaningful and productive life.  She talked to Hoda about how to understand your values, and what she...

Actresses Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler have spent decades in the spotlight, with iconic roles on "Married With Children" and "The Sopranos". They've taken on a different role in recent years as the public faces of multiple sclerosis. Sigler was diagnosed when she was just 20 years old, but didn't publicly share her diagnosis until 2016. Applegate received her diagnosis less than four years ago. The two opened up to Hod...

Vicky Nguyen is the NBC News chief consumer investigative correspondent. In her new memoir, "Boat Baby", she shares her family's harrowing story of fleeing Vietnam in 1980, five years after the fall of Saigon.  Along the way, Nguyen's family relied on smugglers, encountered pirates, and eventually lived in a refugee camp on a beach in Malaysia, all while she was less than a year old.  Her family ultimately immigrated to the U.S., a...

Maria Shriver joins Hoda Kotb to share how she has learned to live a meaningful life, as the most authentic version of herself ahead of the release of her new book of poetry, I Am Maria. In this special episode of Making Space from October 2024, she joins Hoda live at the Making Space Wellness Weekend in Austin, Texas and reflects on her continuing journey of self-discovery, sharing her wisdom, insight and messages of inspiration w...

Elle Macpherson is a supermodel, actress, and entrepreneur. Nicknamed "The Body" at the height of her modeling career, Macpherson appeared to have it all - but looking back, she says she didn't appreciate herself in her twenties and thirties, struggling with addiction and eventually entering rehab for alcoholism. Macpherson's sobriety renewed her commitment to health, and in 2014 she launched her wellness brand, WelleCo. Just three...

Hey Making Space fans! As a bonus, we’re giving you a special preview of the first episode of an all-new season of Jenna Bush Hager’s podcast, ‘Open Book with Jenna’.

In this season’s debut episode, Jenna sits down with bestselling author Rebecca Yarros. Together they talk about how Rebecca drew on her experience with chronic illness and life in a military family to write “Fourth Wing,” and her process to plot out five books in the ...

In this special episode of Making Space, Maria Shriver joins Hoda Kotb live at the Making Space Wellness Weekend in Austin, Texas. In this beautiful conversation, Maria shares how she has learned to live a meaningful life, as the most authentic version of herself. Maria reflects on her continuing journey of self-discovery, sharing her wisdom, insight and messages of inspiration with an open heart. She opens up about the lessons she...

Gabby Bernstein is a spiritual teacher, motivational speaker and New York Times bestselling author. For nearly two decades, Gabby has been transforming lives, including her own. After facing her own struggles, Gabby strengthened her spiritual connection, turning her trauma into a limitless source of love and strength. She shares her methods and practices through her books, podcast and live events, inspiring others to heal from thei...

As Senior Rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles for 37 years, Rabbi Steve Leder has learned and witnessed the many ways death teaches us how to live, and love, more deeply by showing us not only what is gone, but also the beauty of what remains. In this inspiring conversation from January 2024, Rabbi Leder joins Hoda Kotb to talk about life, loss and the profound way in which the two intertwine. Rabbi Leder shares his b...