Hi friends,
A month ago I hosted a conversation with John and Hank Green, the inimitable brother duo making the world better in approximately nine thousand ways with their curiosity, kindness, and an unholy amount of brilliance.
John and Hank don’t keep traditional journals, but they have sent each other (and millions of fans) a daily video diary for nineteen years—thereby creating an archive of epiphanies, neuroses, and the occasional existential spiral caught on camera.
Because journaling can take any shape, we turned our hour together into a parlor game: a jar of prompts from The Book of Alchemy, some writing, some doodling, and a handful of conversation starters that resulted in a gloriously meandering, mildly unhinged, heart-opening hour.
It’s one of my favorite gatherings I’ve ever taken part in—so fun, so tender, so unexpectedly electric—that I’ve since borrowed the format for all kinds of get-togethers, from family dinners to long car rides with friends to one seemingly endless airport layover.
The full conversation is available to paid subscribers above.
If you’re curious to try this at home, I’ve gathered the prompts I used with John and Hank, plus a few new favorites that are especially fun in groups. Just print the PDF below, pop the prompts in a jar, and let the magic (or the mayhem) begin. They’re especially handy for upcoming holiday gatherings—should you wish to gently (or not-so-gently) steer the table talk away from your uncle’s unsolicited life advice and toward delight, depth, and a dash of mischief.
What’s a conversation prompt you secretly wish someone would ask at a holiday gathering this year? Bonus points if it sparks laughter, confession, or light chaos.
Suleika
P.S. My crowning achievement: it took me less than an hour to convert at least one of the Green brothers to journaling. See minute 48 for John’s Saul-on-the-road-to-Damascus moment—and his ode to the people who hush our inner critics and help us do the things we absolutely cannot do alone.
