Knowing with Eric Oliver

Glyn Vincent is a New York based journalist and author. A finalist for the National Magazine Award, he has written about art and culture, socio-political issues, and the environment for The New York Times Book Review, The New York Observer, The Paris Review, Huffington Post, Columbia Magazine, Gannett, Monocle, East and other publications. He is the author of two books, the critically acclaimed biography of the American painter, R.A. Blakelock, The Unknown Night, and most recently...

Chris Duffy is an award-winning comedian, television writer, and radio/podcast host. Chris currently hosts the hit podcast How to Be a Better Human. You can watch his comedic TED talk, “How to find laughter anywhere” online. He has appeared on Good Morning America, ABC News, NPR, and National Geographic Explorer. Chris wrote for both seasons of Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas on HBO, executive produced by John Oliver. He’s the creator/host of the streaming game show Wrong Answers Only, where thre...

What’s is wrong with mindfulness? Where does the idea of mindfulness even come from? How can we best use eastern ideas around meditation in our western lives? R. John Williams is a professor of English and film and media studies at Yale University. He is the author of The Buddha in the Machine: Art, Technology, and the Meeting of East and West (2014), and of the forthcoming volume Out of Mind: A Media-Theoretical Critique of Meditation.

What is luck? How do we know when we’re destined for good or bad luck? What can our perceptions of luck tell us about ourselves? Author and law professor Bill Miller gives us answers to these questions and more.

How do we know what matters? Is mattering hardwired into our biology or simply a byproduct of culture? Eric speaks with philosopher and author Rebecca Goldstein about her new book, The Mattering Instinct.