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C. Thi Nguyen explores how scoring systems in games can foster playful agency and exploration of values, while metrics in real life often flatten and capture our values, leading to a diminished understanding of what truly matters.
A deep dive into decision-making with Annie Duke, exploring why smart people often make bad decisions, the dangers of misinterpretation over misinformation, and how our brains are wired to seek certainty in a probabilistic world.
A transformative episode revealing seven powerful daily reminders that help you reclaim your power, set boundaries, show compassion, recognize your progress, and live with intention.
Joel David Hamkins explores the profound mathematical concepts of infinity, set theory, and mathematical logic, revealing the beauty and complexity of mathematical truth through discussions of Cantor's paradoxes, Gödel's incompleteness theorems, and the multiverse view of mathematical reality.
Kyle Austin Young reveals how to strategically improve your odds of success by creating a "success diagram" that identifies potential obstacles and systematically reduces risks in pursuing your goals.
A journey into the psychology of downward spirals, exploring how our minds can set us up for failure and how we can break free from negative thought patterns.
A comprehensive exploration of Jesus' life, teachings, and transformative message of universal love, compassion, and inner spiritual revolution, as told through Paul Johnson's biography and set against the harsh social and political backdrop of first-century Palestine.
Sharon Salzberg shares wisdom on love as an ability, discusses meditation practices, and explores how compassion and interconnectedness can be transformative tools for personal growth and creating positive change in the world.
In this episode, Arthur Brooks explores the meaning of life, discussing how to find purpose through self-transcendence, managing suffering, developing right-brain creativity, and focusing on love and relationships as key sources of significance.
A retrospective episode featuring Tyler Cowen and producer Jeff Holmes reflecting on the year's podcast highlights, discussing the most popular episodes, AI's impact, listener questions, and Tyler's pop culture picks from 2015.
A celebration of Design Matters' 20th anniversary featuring powerful conversations with activists Gloria Steinem, Anita Hill, Cindy Gallop, Sonya Passi, and Dr. Joy Buolamwini about dismantling inequality across culture, institutions, and technology.
Two formerly incarcerated men, Shaka Senghor and Christian Howes, share their transformative journeys of finding personal freedom through creativity, mentorship, and self-reflection, revealing how internal prisons of shame, trauma, and limiting beliefs can be more confining than physical walls.
A leading communication expert reveals how to master difficult conversations, handle narcissists and gaslighters, and improve relationships through authentic, intentional communication that prioritizes connection over winning.
Alison Gopnik explores how children learn like scientists, challenging traditional views on nature versus nurture, consciousness, and intelligence by arguing that babies are more conscious and experimental than adults, and that AI should be viewed as a cultural technology rather than genuine intelligence.
A thought-provoking exploration of moral ambition, featuring Dutch historian Rutger Bregman's call to redirect talented individuals from socially useless jobs towards solving humanity's most pressing challenges, with a specific focus on transforming our deeply unethical food system and factory farming practices.
In this podcast episode, Mark Rober shares his life-changing "Life Experiment Theory" that transforms how people approach goals, failure, and happiness by treating life like a video game experiment, focusing on learning from setbacks and maintaining curiosity.
John Amaechi, the first openly gay NBA player, shares his journey of courage, self-discovery, and leadership, emphasizing the importance of understanding oneself, standing up for human dignity, and using ordinary skills to achieve extraordinary things.
An exploration of how excessive adult supervision can hinder children's development, with psychologist Peter Gray arguing that unstructured play and independence are crucial for kids' social, emotional, and problem-solving skills.
Derek Thompson explores the decline of math achievement in America, revealing a crisis where students are getting higher grades but demonstrating lower mathematical skills, driven by complex factors including education policy changes, grade inflation, and the rise of technology.
Todd Rose recounts his transformative journey from a struggling high school dropout to a Harvard professor, highlighting the importance of individual potential, rejecting standardized paths, and finding personal fulfillment through an unconventional approach to education and career.
A thought-provoking exploration of the challenges facing young men today, discussing technology's impact, education, economic opportunities, and the need to help boys develop purpose, skills, and meaningful relationships.
Joseph Loconte explores how World War I and World War II deeply shaped J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis's perspectives, infusing their literary masterpieces with moral weight, spiritual depth, and timeless themes of resistance, friendship, and redemption.
Charlie Munger explores 25 psychological tendencies that systematically distort human thinking, offering insights into how our brains can mislead us and providing strategies to recognize and counteract these cognitive biases.
A Black jazz musician, Daryl Davis, has helped over 200 members of white supremacist groups, including former neo-Nazi leader Jeff Schoep, renounce their hateful ideologies through curiosity, respect, and meaningful conversation.
A humorous and wide-ranging podcast episode exploring historical oddities, from Japanese seppuku and post-war British politics to scientific racism and the potential future of embryo selection, told through the irreverent lens of comedians Finn Taylor and Horatio Gould.
Donald S. Lopez Jr., a leading scholar of Buddhism, discusses the religion's history, theology, myths, and global decline in a wide-ranging conversation exploring everything from the Buddha's legendary bodily marks to the random succession of Dalai Lamas.
Sir Tony Robinson interviews Oxford historian Janina Ramirez about her book Legendre, which explores the lives of medieval women like Joan of Arc and Lady Godiva, revealing how their stories have been mythologized and misappropriated through national narratives.
Susan Dominus explores how siblings, family dynamics, and nurturing environments shape human development, challenging traditional beliefs about parenting and revealing the complex ways brothers and sisters influence each other's life trajectories.
A comedian and former financial analyst explores the intersection of math, comedy, and learning, revealing how embracing vulnerability, curiosity, and the joy of understanding can transform personal and professional growth.
James Altucher sits down with Ryan Holiday to discuss his book "Wisdom Takes Work," exploring how wisdom is not a static trait but an ongoing practice of curiosity, humility, and learning through experience, with a particular focus on the limitations of AI and the importance of doing hard things.
In this episode, Cal Newport explores the concept of "long thinking" - a critical cognitive skill being eroded by digital technology, and offers a notebook-based method for reclaiming the ability to generate original, meaningful insights through persistent and intentional thought.
In this engaging podcast episode, historian Ian Mortimer explores the fascinating intricacies of English life across medieval, Elizabethan, Restoration, and Regency periods, offering unique insights into everyday experiences, social changes, and the resilient nature of human beings through his Time Traveller's Guide series.
Ken Burns delves into the complex and messy reality of the American Revolution, exploring its global significance, contradictions, and the profound ideas of citizenship and possibility that emerged from this transformative historical moment.
A wide-ranging philosophical exploration of self-esteem, human nature, and personal growth, with Alain de Botton offering nuanced insights on emotions, vulnerability, creativity, relationships, and the complexities of modern life.
A deep dive into the psychology of communication with Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, exploring how humans use language, common knowledge, and social intelligence to coordinate, build relationships, and navigate complex interactions.
A candid exploration of how embracing our mortality can help us live more authentically, with practices like memento mori, death meditation, and understanding cultural approaches to death and grief.
A lively exploration of philosophy's practical applicability, consciousness, and ethics, featuring deep dives into panpsychism, emotivism, and the challenges of understanding human experience through intellectual discourse.
Steven Pinker explores how "common knowledge"—what everyone knows that everyone else knows—shapes everything from romantic attraction and negotiations to financial panics and political polarization, revealing the hidden logic behind society's unspoken rules and signals.
A profound exploration of success, emotional intelligence, and personal growth with philosopher Alain de Botton, challenging conventional notions of achievement and emphasizing the importance of self-acceptance, kindness, and understanding our true selves.
A wide-ranging conversation with Nobel Prize-winning economist Richard Thaler and entrepreneur Nick Kokonas exploring behavioral economics, cognitive biases, decision-making, and how humans deviate from traditional economic models of rational behavior.
Johan Falk explores the transformative impact of AI on education, discussing how schools and teachers can adapt to technological changes while maintaining a focus on learning, student development, and preparing for an uncertain future.
David Buss explores how humans select romantic partners based on evolutionary psychology, discussing mate preferences, sexual selection, universal and sex-specific traits, deception in dating, and the complex dynamics of attraction and long-term relationship strategies.
Ryan Holiday discusses the nature of wisdom, drawing insights from Stoic philosophy and personal experiences, exploring how intelligence can be hindered by ego, lack of empathy, and unresolved personal issues, while emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, emotional regulation, and maintaining curiosity.
An exploration of the meaning and purpose of life through the perspectives of an atheist, a Christian, and a spiritual thinker, revealing the complex psychological, philosophical, and existential challenges of finding significance in a rapidly changing world.
Joe Liemandt, a software entrepreneur turned education reformer, discusses how AI and a mastery-based learning model can transform K-12 education, enabling students to learn 10 times faster in just two hours a day while providing personalized, engaging educational experiences.
Cal Newport interviews Brian Keating, a distinguished physics professor, about his journey in academia, his latest book on Nobel Prize winners' focus strategies, and the importance of deep work and crystallized intelligence in scientific research.
In this episode, Cal Newport explores the phenomenon of declining IQ scores, known as the "reverse Flynn effect," attributing it to decreased reading habits and smartphone-induced attention degradation. He offers practical strategies for maintaining cognitive abilities in a world of increasing technological distraction, emphasizing the importance of focused work, attention training, and mindful technology use.
Sir David Spiegelhalter, a renowned statistician, discusses the importance of understanding uncertainty, evidence-based decision-making, and the role of data during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. He shares personal insights about communicating risk, the challenges of medical statistics, and his own experience with prostate cancer, emphasizing the need to respect and understand data.
In this episode, Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan University, discusses the current attacks on higher education by the Trump administration, arguing that these efforts aim to control and undermine the independence of universities. Roth passionately defends the value of higher education as a place for students to discover their passions, develop skills, and experience intellectual freedom.
Sir David Spiegelhalter shares insights on statistics, uncertainty, and the importance of communicating evidence transparently, drawing from his experiences in medical research, public health crises, and scientific communication. He emphasizes the need for resilience, taking calculated risks, and approaching complex challenges with an open mind that acknowledges limitations and seeks diverse perspectives.