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Nothing much happens: bedtime stories to help you sleep

Wellness Loud

300 episodes

Can’t sleep? You’re not alone—and there’s help. Nothing Much Happens is a bedtime story podcast beloved by millions. Yoga and meditation teacher Kathryn Nicolai tells soothing, cozy stories where—just as the title says—nothing much happens. That’s the magic. Instead of spiraling thoughts or anxious scrolling, you’ll be gently guided to a calm, comfortable place. Each episode is read twice, with a slower second telling to ease you into rest. Trusted by listeners for over seven years and streamed more than 180 million times, it’s a ritual of safety, comfort, and sleep. Subscribe to our Premium channel. The first month is on us. 💙 Find our bestselling book Nothing Much Happens in over 20 languages worldwide.

Episodes page 3 of 6

  1. After Dinner

    · 34 min · S16 E42

    Our story tonight is called After Dinner, and it is the third part in a series featuring some favorite animals in the Village of Nothing Much. You could go back and listen to the previous two if you’ve missed them, but…

  2. The Joy of Missing Out (Encore)

    · 33 min · S16 E41

    Originally Presented as Season 12, Episode 31 Our story tonight is called The Joy of Missing Out, and it’s a story about recharging your body when your battery has run down. It’s also about frost on the windows,…

  3. Curtain Call

    · 4:06 · Bonus

    Join Kathryn Nicolai and friends for a one-night-only live virtual event on Wednesday, November 19th filled with calming bedtime stories, live music, guided journaling, and a few thoughtful surprises. You can tune in…

  4. The Guest Room

    · 35 min · S16 E40

    Our story tonight is called The Guest Room, and it’s a story about making a space feel warm and welcoming. It’s also about fresh sheets and fluffy stacks of towels, a pearly button and a jewelry box, the clean feeling…

  5. Sunday Reset (Encore)

    · 33 min · S16 E39

    Originally presented as Season 10, Episode 23 Our story tonight is called Sunday Reset, and it’s a story about a day set aside to plan for a good week ahead. It’s also about sheets hung on the line, drying in the last…

  6. Recipe Testing

    · 37 min · S16 E38

    Our story tonight is called Recipe Testing, and it’s a story about a quiet afternoon at home, preparing for the holidays. It’s also about leaves raked into piles in the backyard, cranberries and pastry flour, the…

  7. Autumn Sun (Encore)

    · 37 min · S16 E37

    Originally presented as Season 14, Episode 45, November 4, 2024 Our story tonight is called Autumn Sun, and it’s a story about a day at Weathervane Farm, treating the animals to autumnal enrichment. It’s also about…

  8. Rainy Morning (Encore)

    · 36 min · S16 E36

    Originally presented as Season 8, Bonus Episode 4 Our story tonight is called Rainy Morning, and it’s a story about savoring a good book from bed. It’s also about resting your eyes, having the house to yourself, and…

  9. Trick or Treat (Encore)

    · 35 min · S16 E35

    Originally presented as Season 8, Episode 12, October 25, 2021 Our story tonight is called Trick or Treat, and it’s a story about a roaming the streets on All Hallows' Eve. It’s also about a gust of wind that turns…

  10. Chef and the Ghost Light

    · 41 min · S16 E34

    Our story tonight is called Chef and the Ghost Light, and it’s a story in which, fine, I’ll admit, something happens. The jig is up. It’s even a little spooky friends. So if that isn’t your cup of sleepy-time tea,…

  11. Behind the Curtain (Encore)

    · 34 min · S16 E33

    Originally Presented as Season 10, Episode 22, October 31, 2022 Our story tonight is called Behind the Curtain, and it’s a story about two friends meeting for the first time. It’s also about a copper kettle simmering…

  12. The Gatekeeper Tree

    · 38 min · S16 E32

    Our story tonight is called The Gatekeeper Tree, and it is ever-so-gently a spooky bedtime story. I know that’s not for everyone, so if it’s not for you, the good news is that we have hundreds of other episodes to…

  13. The Curios Shop (Encore)

    · 34 min · S16 E31

    Originally presented as Season 10, Episode 21, October 24, 2022 Our story tonight is called The Curios Shop, and it’s a story about a little shop in downtown Nothing Much, that takes the right set of circumstances to…

  14. Rosewater and Witch Hazel

    · 34 min · S16 E30

    Our story tonight is called Rosewater and Witch Hazel, and it’s a story about reclaiming your sparkle on a moonlit night. It’s also about a grey cat and a friendly neighborhood shop for needful things, flower petals…

  15. The Leaf House (Encore)

    · 31 min · S16 E29

    Originally Aired: October 4th, 2020 (Season 6, Episode 7) Our story tonight is called The Leaf House, and it’s a story about an autumn day spent working in the yard. It’s also a game remembered from childhood, a…

  16. Autumn at the Inn, Part 4

    · 33 min · S16 E28

    Our story tonight is called Autumn at the Inn, Part Four, and for now it’s the last in this series. It’s a story about a new routine that heals as it unfolds, a morning cup of tea drunk from a window seat on the second…

  17. The Porch Steps (Encore)

    · 35 min · S16 E27

    Originally presented as Season 12, Episode 19, October 2, 2023 Our story tonight is called The Porch Steps, and it’s a story about tending to a satisfying chore on a cool day. It’s also about acorns falling on the…

  18. Autumn at the Inn, Part 3

    · 42 min · S16 E26

    Our story tonight is called Autumn at the Inn, Part Three. And, you guessed it, it is a continuation of the last two episodes. Though you don't need to go back and listen to those if you slept through them, which I…

  19. Chef and Sycamore (Encore)

    · 35 min · S16 E25

    Our story tonight is called Chef and Sycamore, and it’s a story about an afternoon in the kitchens at the Inn, as jars of pickles are lowered into the canner. It’s also about sheets of labels ready to add to the jars,…

  20. Autumn at the Inn, Part 2

    · 38 min · S16 E24

    Our story tonight is called Autumn at the Inn, Part 2, and it’s the second in this series, though you don't need to go back and listen to Part 1, if, I don't know... you might have slept through it? Nothing much…

  21. Thunder and Lightning (Encore)

    · 38 min · S16 E23

    Originally presented as Episode 31 of Season 14, September 16, 2024 Our story tonight is called Thunder and Lightning, and it’s a story about slowing down and getting comfortable as the rain comes down. It’s also…

  22. Autumn at the Inn, Part 1

    · 32 min · S16 E22

    Our story tonight is called Autumn at the Inn, Part One, and it’s a story written for all of you who have ever dreamt of taking a little trip to the Village of Nothing Much. It’s about a faded business card passed from…

  23. The Librarian (Encore)

    · 35 min · S16 E21

    Originally aired on Season 10, Episode 14 Our story tonight is called The Librarian. It’s a story about the quiet of the closed-up library at the end of the day. It’s also about the books that sometimes get overlooked…

  24. Autumn World

    · 37 min · S16 E20

    Our story tonight is called Autumn World, and it’s a story about a morning with the windows open and fresh fall air blowing through the house. It’s also about crows cawing in a field, coffee and brown sugar,…

  25. Sleeping Weather (Encore)

    · 36 min · S16 E19

    Originally aired as Episode 15 of Season 10 Our story tonight is called Sleeping Weather, and it’s a story about a break from the heat and humidity. It’s also about the view from the porch swing at night, deer walking…

  26. The Swim Platform

    · 33 min · S16 E18

    Our story tonight is called The Swim Platform, and it’s a story about one of the last swims of the season. It’s also about remembered cues from long ago diving lessons, the sound of water lapping against boards, swans…

  27. Summer Harvest (Encore)

    · 31 min · S16 E17

    Originally aired as Episode 3 of Season 4, August 26, 2019 Our story tonight is called Summer Harvest, and it’s a story about the result of a season’s worth of hard work and planning. It’s also about telling time like…

  28. New Path

    · 42 min · S16 E16

    Our story tonight is called New Path, and it’s a story about a late-summer stroll through high grasses and shaded glens. It’s also about coneflowers and crushed stone, lifting the hair from the back of your neck to…

  29. The Corner Store (Encore)

    · 34 min · S16 E15

    Originally Aired: August 28th, 2022 (Season 10, Episode 13) Our story tonight is called The Corner Store, and it’s a story about the aisles of the neighborhood grocery where there are always interesting things to…

  30. Early Signs of Autumn

    · 32 min · S16 E14

    Our story tonight is called Early Signs of Autumn, and it’s a story about turning leaves and a slight spicy scent on the breeze. It’s also about zucchini bread and hot coffees traded for iced, school supplies and new…

  31. Yard Sale (Encore)

    · 32 min · S16 E13

    Originally presented as Season 10, Episode 10, August 8, 2022 Our story tonight is called Yard Sale, or, Another Man’s Treasure, and it’s a story about a neighborhood event on a summer day. It’s also about sidewalk…

  32. The Journal

    · 34 min · S16 E12

    Our story tonight is called The Journal, and it’s a story about the blank pages of a beautiful book, and the freedom to finally write in them, no matter what comes from your pen. It’s also about tonic water and…

  33. The Labyrinth (Encore)

    · 34 min · S16 E11

    Originally presented as Episode 3 of Season 6, August 10, 2020 Our story tonight is called The Labyrinth and it’s a story about a slow walk on a gravel path in mid-summer. It’s also about hidden places, unseen acts of…

  34. Pool Day

    · 36 min · S16 E10

    Our story tonight is called Pool Day, and it’s a story about a cool dip in the water on a hot summer day. It’s also about the tiled walls of the changing rooms, broad open umbrellas, and rows of lounge chairs. A book…

  35. Beach Walk (Encore)

    · 32 min · S16 E9

    Originally presented as Episode 8 of Season 10, July 25, 2022 Our story tonight is called Beach Walk, and it’s a story about meeting the morning light where the water meets the land. It’s also about the first step…

  36. Sidewalk Chalk

    · 34 min · S16 E8

    Our story tonight is called Sidewalk Chalk, and it’s a story about a journey through the park on a bright day. It’s also about a cold drink from the coffee shop, a frog blinking from a pond, Alice and the Caterpillar,…

  37. At the Summer Fair (Encore)

    · 24 min · S16 E7

    Originally Aired: July 14th, 2019 (Season 3 Episode 13) Our story tonight is called At the Summer Fair, and it’s a story about a yearly tradition, and how it changes in the different summers of your life. It’s also…

  38. Rainy Day Rituals

    · 34 min · S16 E6

    Our story tonight is called Rainy Day Rituals, and it’s a story about small tasks attended to as a storm blows through. It’s also about a fuzzy radio playing in the background, terrycloth and tidily-folded towels.…

  39. Back to the Bakery (Encore)

    · 43 min · S16 E5

    Originally presented as Episode 1 of Season 8 Our story tonight is called Back to the Bakery, and it’s a story about the early morning preparations made in the kitchen before the Village of Nothing Much wakes. It’s…

  40. Street Sweepers

    · 39 min · S16 E4

    Our story tonight is called Street Sweepers, and it’s a story about an early morning tending of the village lanes. It’s also about hoppers and windrows, zinnia heads and locust pods, clearing small floods near blocked…

  41. When the Streetlights Come On (Encore)

    · 36 min · S16 E3

    Originally presented as Episode 11 of Season 14 Our story tonight is called When the Streetlights Come On, and it’s a story about a trip to the mailbox through the last lit moments of the day. It’s also about bikes…

  42. The Evening of the 4th

    · 34 min · S16 E2

    Our story tonight is called The Evening of the 4th, and it’s a story about a day-long event that ends with a picnic and a concert on the grass. It’s also about hand pies and potato salad, a busy kitchen full of aproned…

  43. Heirloom (Encore)

    · 33 min · S16 E1

    Originally presented as Episode 6 of Season 12. Our story tonight is called Heirloom, and it’s a story about a garden in the middle of summer. It’s also about things handed down through generations, making and keeping…

  44. The Last Train Home

    · 33 min · S15 E52

    Our story tonight is called The Last Train Home, and it's a story about a few moments at the end of a long day. It's also about dogwood flowers and sodium lights, a seat on a bench, the long summer twilight, a yawn…

  45. Magic Words (Encore)

    · 31 min · S15 E51

    Originally presented as Episode 3 of Season 12 Our story tonight is called Magic Words, and it’s a story about a trip into town on a summer morning. It’s also about the scent of fresh-cut lumber, a dog biscuit buried…

  46. The Cabin in Summer

    · 32 min · S15 E50

    Our story tonight is called The Cabin in Summer, and it’s a story about days spent in the sunny garden and the shaded forest. It’s also about lemon balm and raspberries, the cool water of the creek running over your…

  47. From the Hammock (Encore)

    · 36 min · S15 E49

    Originally presented as Episode 13 of Season 7 Our story tonight is called From the Hammock, and it’s a story about naps, and where and when, and under what circumstances we take them. It’s also about a slow walk…

  48. W-A-L-K

    · 34 min · S15 E48

    Our story tonight is called W-A-L-K, and it’s a story about a little brown dog and his favorite outdoor activity. It’s also about the smell of watered lawns in the evening, a frisbee and friends from down the block,…

  49. The Lake at the Inn (Encore)

    · 38 min · S15 E47

    Originally presented as Episode 12 of Season 7, June 14, 2021 Our story tonight is called The Lake at the Inn, and it’s a story about a misty summer morning on the water. It’s also about a mug of coffee poured by a…

  50. Cloud Club

    · 35 min · S15 E46

    Our story tonight is called Cloud Club, and it’s a story about an afternoon stretched out under the open sky. It’s also about the friends you’ve known since you were young, a polka-dotted blanket, memories of games…

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