The Next Big Idea Daily

Whether you're plotting a job change or just trying to survive another uncertain year at work, the truth is most of us spend 90,000 hours of our lives working. That's too much time to spend feeling stuck, stressed, or unfulfilled. Journalists Lisa Leong and Monique Ross are here to help. Their 2023 book This Working Life: How to Navigate Your Career in Uncertain Times is packed with practical wisdom for building a career that actually brings you joy. We’ll hear from them in just a moment. And in the second half of the show, we’ll tackle one of the most challenging experiences in anyone’s career — losing a job. Jessica Bacal spent years collecting rejection stories from powerful women and gathered them in the 2021 book The Rejection That Changed My Life. Sponsored By: Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/daily The Next Big Idea Club - use code DAILY for 20% off a membership at nextbigideaclub.com

Some of us may have overindulged during the holidays, and some of us may be trying a Dry January — or at least rethinking our relationship with booze. This is the time of year when we might notice how much alcohol has woven itself into our social lives, our stress management, our celebrations. Charles Knowles is a Professor of Surgery at Queen Mary University of London and Chief Academic Officer at the Cleveland Clinic London, and his new book is called Why We Drink Too Much: The Impact of Alcohol on Our Bodies and Culture. He joins us today to explain why problematic drinking isn't defined by how much we consume, and what we really need to know if we want to change our relationship with alcohol. And then in the second half of the show, we’ll hear from philosophy professor Edward Slingerland, who will share ideas from his 2021 book Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization. Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/daily

Maybe you’ve already set some resolutions for 2026 — exercise more, eat better, be more patient. But here’s the problem: We make these promises to improve ourselves as if our selves are solid, fixed entities that just need a little tweaking. But there might be a wiser approach. J. Eric Oliver is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, and his new book is called How To Know Your Self: The Art & Science of Discovering Who You Really Are. He joins us today to explain why seeing yourself as a process rather than a fixed thing might be the most powerful resolution you could make this year — and how that shift opens up possibilities you didn’t know you had. Then, in the second half of the show, we'll hear some big ideas from Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way by philosophy professor Kieran Setiya. Sponsored By: Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/daily

An evolutionary perspective reveals how early adversity can sometimes accelerate development. The Nature of Nurture by Jay Belsky The Social Genome by Dalton Conley 📱 Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen 📩 Want more bite-sized insights from the best new nonfiction delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter

Now that we’re in early January, a lot of us are thinking about what we want to change this year. But here’s the thing — we often focus on adding new habits when the real question might be, Why do we keep repeating the old ones? Why Do I Keep Doing This? by Kati Morton Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There by Tali Sharot and Cass Sunstein

Emily Oster is a professor of economics at Brown University and the author of the 2021 book The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years. She makes a fascinating case: well-run companies have a clear mission, they make decisions deliberately, and they have processes that keep things running smoothly. So why don't we apply that same intentionality to our family lives? Then we’ll hear from Christina and Ryan Hillsberg, a husband-and-wife team of former CIA officers. They share how lessons from intelligence work can help us raise resourceful, self-sufficient children. Sponsored By: GoDaddy - Get a domain for pennies at godaddy.com/nbid  The Next Big Idea Club - Get 20% off a subscription when you use code DAILY at nextbigideaclub.com

Capitalism shapes everything about our lives — the way we work, the cities we live in, the goods we consume. But where did it come from, and where is it headed? Capitalism: A Global History by Sven Beckert The Problem of Twelve by John Coates Supported By: GoDaddy - Get a domain for pennies at godaddy.com/nbid  The Next Big Idea Club - Get 20% off a subscription when you use code DAILY at nextbigideaclub.com

Max Telford is a leading evolutionary biologist who's spent his career tracing the deepest roots of life itself. His new book is called The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle, and he joins us today to share some of his big ideas in just a moment. In the second half of the show, we'll hear big ideas from the 2023 book Planta Sapiens, exploring the surprising intelligence hidden in the plants all around us. Sponsored By: GoDaddy - Get a domain for pennies at godaddy.com/nbid  The Next Big Idea Club - Get 20% off a subscription when you use code DAILY at nextbigideaclub.com

Melissa Bernstein, co-founder of the beloved toy company Melissa & Doug, has spent decades discovering what it means to build a business that's true to who you are. Her new book is called The Heart of Entrepreneurship: Crafting Your Authentic Recipe for Success, and she'll join us to share some of her big ideas in the first half of today's show. After that, we'll hear from Catalina Daniels and James Sherman. They went inside eighteen companies founded by Harvard Business School graduates to uncover the lessons that actually lead to success. Sponsored By: GoDaddy - Get a domain for pennies at godaddy.com/nbid The Next Big Idea Club - Get 20% off a subscription when you use code DAILY at nextbigideaclub.com

First up, Ann Tashi shares key insights from her book Traveling in Bardo: The Art of Living in an Impermanent World. And later in the show, we'll hear from Rachel Macy Stafford, New York Times bestselling author of 2023’s Soul Shift, who'll show us how small, incremental changes can help us rediscover what truly brings us joy. Support Us by Supporting Our Sponsors: GoDaddy - Get a domain for pennies at godaddy.com/nbid

First, Colin Woodard argues that where you are in the country determines how you live and how you'll die. Then Luke Shaefer tells us how America's most disadvantaged communities aren't where we think they are, and what their shared history reveals about inequality in this country. Sponsored By: Aura Frames - Get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames by using promo code IDEA at auraframes.com  GoDaddy - Get a domain for pennies at godaddy.com/nbi

When was the last time you actually thought about the air around you? Unless you're stuck in a windstorm or gasping after a run, probably never. But it turns out that this invisible element — whether it's blowing across continents or flowing through your lungs — has shaped human history in some pretty remarkable ways. Simon Winchester is the New York Times bestselling author of books like The Professor and the Madman and Krakatoa. His new book is called The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind, and he'll join us with some of his big ideas in just a moment. And later in the show, we'll hear from James Nestor, author of the 2020 book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, who'll show us how modern humans have forgotten how to breathe properly — and what that's costing us.

First up, Harvard economist John Campbell on how to make the financial system work better for you. His new book, co-written with Tarun Ramadorai, is Fixed: Why Personal Finance Is Broken and How to Make It Work for Everyone. Later in the show, Lauren Simmons offers us a practical, empowering roadmap for building financial wellness right now. Sponsored By: Aura Frames - Get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames by using promo code BIGIDEADAILY at auraframes.com  GoDaddy - Get a domain for pennies at godaddy.com/nbid

Up first, we hear from Jonathan Gluck, author of An Exercise in Uncertainty. And then Suleika Jaouad shares key insights from Between Two Kingdoms. Aura Frames - Get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames by using promo code BIGIDEADAILY at auraframes.com  GoDaddy - Get a domain and professional email plan for just $0.99/month at Godaddy.com/GDNOW

Act One: The Joy of Solitude: How to Reconnect with Yourself in an Overconnected World by Robert Coplan Act Two: Arrangements in Blue Notes by Amy Key Sponsored By: Aura Frames - Get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames by using promo code BIGIDEADAILY at auraframes.com  GoDaddy - Get a domain and professional email plan for just $0.99/month at Godaddy.com/GDNOW

Let’s say you’ve made it to a position to manage other people. Congratulations! But unfortunately, you can’t just coast from here. The mindset that got you into that leadership role isn’t the mindset you need to succeed at it. Muriel Wilkins is a leadership coach and host of the award-winning podcast Coaching Real Leaders. Her new book is called Leadership Unblocked: Break Through the Beliefs That Limit Your Potential. And later, we hear from  Eduardo Briceño, author of the 2023 book The Performance Paradox. Aura Frames - Get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames by using promo code BIGIDEADAILY at auraframes.com  GoDaddy - With GoDaddy Airo, you can build a business without having to know a thing about this stuff. Just visit GoDaddy.com to get started

Do you have a pet? A dog, a cat, a goldfish? If so, why? I don’t mean why did you adopt the dear things, I mean why do humans keep pets at all? It’s a strange behavior, when you think about it, and not one shared by any of our animal cousins. Jay Ingram is a top science writer and TV personality who’s spent decades exploring the natural world. His new book is called The Science of Pets, and he shares five of his key insights in the first half of the show. Then we hear from Marlene Zuk, author of Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test.

We all know someone who seems impossibly lucky. They land the perfect job, get into the right school, meet the right people at the right time. But luck isn’t as random as it seems. There are hidden systems at work determining who gets what, and understanding them can tilt the odds in your favor. Act One: Lucky by Design by Judd Kessler Act Two: The Serendipity Mindset by Christian Busch Sponsored By: Aura Frames - Get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames by using promo code BIGIDEADAILY at auraframes.com  GoDaddy - Get a domain and professional email plan for just $0.99/month at Godaddy.com/GDNOW

Charlatans by Moisés Naím and Quico Toro Nobody's Fool by Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris Sponsored By: Aura Frames - Get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames by using promo code BIGIDEADAILY at auraframes.com  GoDaddy - Get a domain and professional email plan for just $0.99/month at Godaddy.com/GDNOW

Like it or not, gravity controls life and death on this planet, yet we barely understand it. Crush by James Riordon Pull by Brennan Spiegel Sponsored By: Aura Frames - Get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames by using promo code BIGIDEADAILY at auraframes.com  GoDaddy - Get a domain and professional email plan for just $0.99/month at Godaddy.com/GDNOW