This episode explores John Green's decision to put his podcast, *The Anthropocene Reviewed*, on indefinite hiatus. Against the backdrop of his experiences with the overwhelming success of *The Fault in Our Stars* and the subsequent challenges to his mental health and privacy, Green reflects on the personal toll of fame and the need for a creative break. More significantly, he details the creation of the podcast as a therapeutic outlet following a period of writer's block and labyrinthitis, contrasting the podcast's relatively low-key reception with the intense scrutiny he faced after his earlier novels. For instance, he recounts the creation of a path in his woods as a form of self-care, and the unexpected onset of labyrinthitis as a metaphor for the imbalance in his life. He ultimately frames the podcast as a deeply fulfilling creative experience that provided him with much-needed quiet and space, leading to the upcoming publication of a book based on the podcast's reviews. This decision highlights the importance of self-care for creatives and the inherent contradictions of public life, even within the seemingly less-pressurized environment of podcasting.
