Big Think

Did you know treadmills were invented as prison torture machines? Modern exercise is confusing. Harvard professor Dan Lieberman sets it straight. Today, most of us tend to medicalize exercise, turning it into something that we “have” to do. Case in point: the treadmill. If our main goal was enjoyment, there’s no way we’d regularly spend 45 minutes walking in place on these expensive machines. But our relationship with exercise — or, more generally, physical activity — was not always so discrete and joyless. For much of human history, people got plenty of physical activity by not only walking long distances, but also by doing activities that were both necessary and socially rewarding, like hunting, dancing, and sports. Harvard biologist Daniel Lieberman argues it’s time to rethink our relationship with exercise, and to understand physical activity as a complex and integral part of human evolution. After all, while walking thousands of steps through the environment to find our next meal was a major part of our evolution, walking on the treadmill was not. 0:00 Treadmill torture (really) 1:54 Exercise vs physical activity 2:40 Why exercise stresses us out 3:12 “Medicalizing” exercise 3:48 The 10,000 steps myth 5:02 Warrior origins of exercise 6:12 Aggression: Proactive vs. Reactive 7:15 The anthropological view ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Daniel Lieberman: Daniel Lieberman is Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences and a professor of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He received degrees from Harvard and Cambridge, and taught at Rutgers University and George Washington University before joining Harvard University as a Professor in 2001. He is a member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Lieberman loves teaching and has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers, many in journals such as Nature, Science, and PNAS, as well as three popular books, The Evolution of the Human Head (2011), The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health and Disease (2013), and Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding (2020). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------11:15-6 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stress shrinks your brain. Neuroscientist Lisa Genova explains how to strengthen it. It may not feel like it when you can't find your phone or "lose" your sunglasses sitting atop your head, but your memory is an amazing ability -- and one we want to protect. So it's little wonder that any blips or blank spaces can send us spiraling into concern. Some recall issues here and there are normal, says neuroscientist and author Lisa Genova, and not every lapse means looming problems. (And don't worry, forgetting names is a surprisingly tough thing for our brains to do!) But, Genova says, there's ways we can improve our memory, increase resilience and recall and be more comfortable with ourselves and our minds. From making lists and getting Google's help to giving yourself a pop quiz, getting some meditation in, and just plain paying attention, these tips will have your steel trap gleaming. Chapters: 0:00 Introducing the problem 1:19 #1: Practice paying attention 1:45: #2: Bulk up your hippocampus 3:18 A 9-second meditation you can try 3:59 #3 Secure your sleep 5:14 #4 Drink caffeine 5:36 #5 Create associations (the Baker-Baker Paradox) 6:36 #6 Repetition 7:14 #7 Write it down 8:03 #8 Self-testing 8:31 #9 Just Google it 9:14 Forgetting is human ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Lisa Genova: Lisa Genova is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, Inside the O’Briens, and Every Note Played. Still Alice was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, and Kristen Stewart. Lisa graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in biopsychology and holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard University. She travels worldwide speaking about the neurological diseases she writes about and has appeared on The Dr. Oz Show, Today, PBS NewsHour, CNN, and NPR. Her TED talk, “What You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer’s,” has been viewed more than five million times. The New York Times bestseller REMEMBER is her first work of nonfiction. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------11:15-6 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bo Seo, Harvard’s former debate coach, explains a good argument. If our ancestors could see modern society, odds are they would be impressed with our technology and horrified with how we use it — particularly when it comes to debate. Debate is crucial to a healthy society. After all, having productive debates is how people have learned, resolved conflicts, and generated new solutions for thousands of years. In Ancient Greece, it was even considered a kind of civic duty to be able to persuasively argue your point about the various issues of the day. There are plenty of skilled rhetoricians around today. But as two-time world debate champion Bo Seo told Big Think, it has become rare to see thoughtful, productive, and smart debates broadcast on a large scale to the general public. We more often encounter short video clips or tweets featuring people whose main goal is to “win” the argument instead of trying to understand and refute the opposing side’s ideas in good faith. A major part of the problem is that we have outsourced our debates to avatars we see in media: politicians, pundits, and celebrities. So, can we develop better models of disagreement to help us become better debaters? Seo thinks the answer is yes, and that the process starts with polishing our skills offline. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Bo Seo: Bo Seo is a two-time world champion debater and a former coach of the Australian national debating team and the Harvard College Debating Union. One of the most recognized figures in the global debate community, he has won both the World Schools Debating Championship and the World Universities Debating Championship. Bo has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN, and many other publications. He has worked as a national reporter for the Australian Financial Review and has been a regular panelist on the prime time Australian debate program, The Drum. Bo graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University and received a master’s degree in public policy from Tsinghua University. He is currently a student at Harvard Law School. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------11:15-6 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Columbia professor Michael Slepian collected thousands of secrets. They all had 3 things in common. How many secrets are you holding right now? If the answer is around 13, you're about average, according to research on the nature of secrets. Secrets aren't all bad. Some are rather trivial. But sometimes, keeping secrets can weigh us down and cause psychological distress. Michael Slepian, an associate professor at Columbia Business School, has spent years studying the nature of secrets, why we hold them, and which kinds of secrets people tend to deem the most serious. As Slepian explains in this Big Think video, his research has revealed that secrets can generally be sorted into three domains. Gaining a better understanding of your secrets can help you improve your well-being. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Michael Slepian: Michael Slepian is the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Associate Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Columbia Business School. He previously was a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and received his Ph.D. From Tufts University. He is an elected fellow of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, has received the Rising Star Award from the Association for Psychological Science, and received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------11:15-6 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The real risks of psychedelics, explained by Johns Hopkins professor Dr. Matthew Johnson. A pattern emerges when you compare the harmfulness of different types of psychoactive drugs: alcohol and hard drugs like heroin and crack cocaine rank as the most harmful, while psychedelic substances like psilocybin and LSD score as the least harmful. It’s perhaps not too surprising. After all, psychedelic substances are generally non-toxic and medically safe to consume. The drugs do not come with the same kind of overdose risks that substances like alcohol and heroin do. Still, psychedelics can have profound effects on the psyche. Bad trips are a real phenomenon. But bad trips are sometimes the result of an interplay between the drugs and the user’s environment. As explained by Dr. Matthew W. Johnson, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins, the conditions under which someone experiences psychedelics can significantly influence the trip — for the worse or the better. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Matthew Johnson: Matthew W. Johnson, Ph.D., is The Susan Hill Ward Endowed Professor of Psychedelics and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins. Working with psychedelics since 2004, he is one of the world’s most widely published experts on psychedelics. He has published research on psychedelics and mystical experience, personality change, tobacco smoking cessation, cancer distress treatment, and depression treatment. In 2021 he received as principal investigator the first grant in 50 years from the US government for a treatment study with a classic psychedelic, specifically psilocybin in treatment of tobacco addiction. He is also known for his expertise in behavioral economics, addiction, sexual risk behavior, and research with a wide variety of drug classes. He’s been Interviewed by Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, NPR, Fox News, Fox Business News, BBC and in Michael Pollan’s book How to Change Your Mind. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10:56-8 -------------------- ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Psychologist Todd Rose debunks 8 myths so mainstream we all believe them. Collective illusions — false assumptions about society that many people share — have existed for thousands of years in many different ways. Today, because of social media and modern technology, they have become even more common. One example of a collective illusion is the commonly held belief that everyone wants fame, wealth, and power. That’s not true. Most of us want lives of purpose and meaning. But because of false assumptions, many of us spend our lives chasing things that won’t fulfill us. Another example of a collective illusion is the pervasive idea that the U.S. Is an irredeemably divided nation. Sure, Americans have plenty of disagreements. But fundamentally, they have more in common than they might think. As former Harvard professor and bestselling author Todd Rose explains, the antidote to collective illusions is becoming a more authentic individual, as well as gaining a deeper understanding of how our innate drive to conform to social norms often works against that. 0:00 What is a “collective illusion”? 2:43 How myths invade private opinion 4:54 Myth: Other people can’t be trusted 8:32 Myth: Success is wealth, status, and power 11:12 Myth: Social media reveals what society thinks 13:56: Myth: Group consensus is vetted and factual 17:53: Myth: Elite jobs matter to us 21:11 Myth: America is on the verge of civil war 24:18 Myth: People want university degrees 26:57 Myth: Cultural norms exist to protect you ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Todd Rose: Todd Rose is the co-founder and president of Populace, a think tank committed to ensuring that all people have the opportunity to pursue fulfilling lives in a thriving society. Prior to Populace, he was a faculty member at Harvard University where he founded the Laboratory for the Science of Individuality and directed the Mind, Brain, and Education program. Todd is the best selling author of Collective Illusions, Dark Horse, and The End of Average. He lives in Burlington, Massachusetts. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------10:56-8 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can psychedelics solve the ‘hard problem’ of consciousness? Johns Hopkins professor Matthew Johnson explains. It seems safe to say that you have subjective experiences of what it’s like to exist. But things get complicated when you try to prove that phenomenal experiences, or qualia, extend to every human being that you see around you. And things get even more complicated when you try to scientifically explain how the physical matter in your brain gives rise to consciousness, and why such experiences exist in the first place. This is known as the hard problem of consciousness. It has yet to be solved. Could the mind-altering power of psychedelics offer a solution to this longstanding problem? Dr. Matthew W. Johnson is leaving open the possibility. As a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Johnson is one of the world’s most published scientists when it comes to the effects of psychedelics on the human brain. In this Big Think interview, Dr. Johnson explains why we should be both open and careful about the prospect of psychedelics helping us crack the hard problem of consciousness, which remains one of the world’s most puzzling questions. Chapters for easier navigation: 0:00 Defining consciousness 0:47 The ‘hard problem’ of consciousness 1:44 Psychedelics & consciousness ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Matthew Johnson: Matthew W. Johnson, Ph.D., is The Susan Hill Ward Endowed Professor of Psychedelics and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins. Working with psychedelics since 2004, he is one of the world’s most widely published experts on psychedelics. He has published research on psychedelics and mystical experience, personality change, tobacco smoking cessation, cancer distress treatment, and depression treatment. In 2021 he received as principal investigator the first grant in 50 years from the US government for a treatment study with a classic psychedelic, specifically psilocybin in treatment of tobacco addiction. He is also known for his expertise in behavioral economics, addiction, sexual risk behavior, and research with a wide variety of drug classes. He’s been Interviewed by Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, NPR, Fox News, Fox Business News, BBC and in Michael Pollan’s book How to Change Your Mind. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------10:56-8 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do physicists actually mean when they talk about the Multiverse? Sean Carroll explains. The Multiverse is having a moment. From “Rick and Morty” to Marvel movies, the idea that our Universe is just one of many has inspired countless storylines in recent popular culture. Why is the Multiverse so compelling? To theoretical physicist and philosopher Sean Carroll, one reason is that we’re drawn to wondering how things might have turned out differently. What if you had chosen a different career path? Married someone else? Moved to a different city? Of course, there’s obviously no guarantee that you’re living out those alternate timelines in a different universe. But there are real scientific reasons to think that the Multiverse exists. And as Carroll explains, that possibility comes with some fascinating philosophical implications. Chapters: 0:00 Hollywood’s Multiverse 1:35 Physics’ Multiverse: Cosmology vs. Many Worlds 3:28 The Many Worlds theory 4:25 Are there many versions of you? 6:39 Your alternate lives 8:09 Your one life in our Universe ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Sean Carroll: Dr. Sean Carroll is Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy — in effect, a joint appointment between physics and philosophy — at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and fractal faculty at the Santa Fe Institute. Most of his career has been spent doing research on cosmology, field theory, and gravitation, looking at topics such as dark matter and dark energy, modified gravity, topological defects, extra dimensions, and violations of fundamental symmetries. These days, his focus has shifted to more foundational questions, both in quantum mechanics (origin of probability, emergence of space and time) and statistical mechanics (entropy and the arrow of time, emergence and causation, dynamics of complexity), bringing a more philosophical dimension to his work. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------10:56-8 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

**🌍 Feeling hopeless about climate change? You're not alone — but the data tells a more hopeful story.** Oxford researcher Hannah Ritchie was once overwhelmed too. But by zooming out and studying centuries of progress, she discovered something remarkable: humanity *has* solved massive environmental problems before — and we can do it again. She breaks climate change down into four critical battlegrounds: **energy, transport, food, and construction**. The good news? We already have the tools — solar and wind are now cheaper than coal, EVs are surpassing gas cars in sales, and we can cut land use and emissions by rethinking how we farm and eat. Even cement, a notoriously dirty material, is seeing exciting innovations. But this isn't blind optimism. It's what she calls **"urgent optimism"** — knowing that change is possible, but only if we fight for it. 🔥 We’ve passed the tipping point on some trends — the rest is up to us. 👉 *Ready to see how technology, policy, and people power can rewrite our future?* Timestamps: 0:00 - An ‘insurmountable’ problem? 1:10 - 4 key targets to solve climate change 04:27 - How we reduce our emissions 09:36 - Being an ‘urgent optimist’ Folllow this Podcast for daily Episodes ---------------------------------------10:56-8 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s world, people are more open than ever to discuss their emotions, largely due to the growth in self-help literature and efforts to destigmatize therapy. However, this openness has also resulted in certain misconceptions about emotions, which neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett aims to clarify. Contrary to the notion that emotions are inherently fixed in our brains from birth, Barrett contends that they are primarily based on past experiences and the brain’s predictions of future events. This means that emotions aren’t merely reactions thrust upon us, but something we actively participate in creating. Barrett further posits that we can alter our brain’s predictive patterns by diversifying our experiences such as learning new things, watching films, or engaging in activities like acting that deviate from our routine. By doing this, we can shape the architecture of our future selves. 0:00 Two myths about emotion 1:24 How your brain creates emotion / How emotions are made 4:36 Depression: A metabolic illness? 5:52 Changing your brain’s predictions 7:45 You have more control than you think ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Lisa Feldman Barrett: Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett is among the top 1% most-cited scientists in the world, having published over 250 peer-reviewed scientific papers. Dr. Barrett is a University Distinguished Professor of psychology at Northeastern University with appointments at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where she is Chief Science Officer for the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior. She is the recipient of a NIH Director’s Pioneer Award for transformative research, a Guggenheim Fellowship in neuroscience, the Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Association for Psychological Science (APS) and from the Society for Affect Science (SAS), and the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association (APA). She is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society of Canada, and a number of other honorific societies. She is the author of How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain, and more recently, Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------10:56-8 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carrie Berk reveals how she transformed her struggle with anxiety and internet fame by changing her perception and finding her true voice as a writer. Carrie Berk, author, journalist, and social media influencer with nearly 4 million TikTok followers, shares her journey through anxiety, internet fame, and personal growth. Amid the pandemic and sudden online fame, Carrie faced intense anxiety, receiving harmful threats from strangers and grappling with the pressures of social media. Sharing her most vulnerable moments, including her first heartbreak at sixteen, Carrie emphasizes the importance of authenticity. Through therapy and self-discovery, she learned that while she couldn’t switch off her anxiety, she could change her response to it. Carrie’s story is a perfect example of the resilience it takes to be a young person in today’s social climate, and proves how powerful self-confidence and inner strength can be. -------------------- About Carrie Berk: Twenty-one-year-old Carrie Berk already has a life’s worth of accomplishments under her belt. It’s no wonder Bella Magazine declared her “an ambitious and dedicated boss babe,” and The Wall Street Journal dubbed her “a community-minded young creator.” She is a verified content creator across several social media channels including TikTok (3.9M followers; 119M likes), Instagram (950K followers), Snapchat (133K followers), YouTube (101K followers) and Pinterest (227K followers; 10M monthly views), with a combined monthly engagement of more than 100M. Carrie has collaborated with top fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands including Netflix, HBO Max, Walt Disney World, Pixar, Instagram, Revolve, Wet n Wild, MAC Cosmetics, Roller Rabbit, VS PINK, Alice + Olivia, Chips Ahoy!, Dunkin’ and more. She has been profiled in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, New York Daily News and others Folllow this Podcast for daily Episodes -----------------------------------------10:56-8 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could solar energy be the key to unlocking a future free from fossil fuels and extreme poverty? Casey Handmer, founder and CEO of Terraform Industries, believes so. His company is pioneering technology that could revolutionize how we produce and consume energy, potentially solving climate change and global energy inequality in one fell swoop.Terraform Industries is developing machines that create synthetic natural gas from sunlight and air. It sounds like science fiction, but the technology is rooted in simple chemistry and powered by the rapidly advancing field of solar energy.But Handmer's vision extends beyond just replacing fossil fuels. He sees solar energy as the catalyst for a new era of human progress. By providing cheap, abundant energy to every corner of the globe, we could potentially eliminate extreme poverty within our lifetimes. It's an ambitious goal, but one that Handmer believes we have a responsibility to pursue. Chapters For Easier Understanding:0:00: Introduction1:20: The future of energy1:50: Solar vs. Nuclear2:45: Solar deployment3:23: Solar vs. Fossil fuels4:50: What is a fuel?6:52: The terraformer 7:49: Industrial Revolution In this episode, Casey Handmer, CEO of Terraform Industries, discusses how solar energy has become drastically cheaper and predicts it will power 95% of humanity by 2042. He explains how his company is developing technology to create synthetic natural gas from sunlight and air, potentially replacing fossil fuels. Handmer emphasizes the rapid growth of solar, its economic advantages over nuclear, and the urgency of using this technology to combat climate change. Folllow this Podcast for daily Episodes -------------------- ------------------------------------------10:56-8 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🌍 **Mother Nature doesn’t care if we’re happy.** Her only goal? Survival. She wired us to seek food, safety, and reproduction — not happiness. In fact, 😟 **negative emotions serve a purpose**. Fear, anger, and sadness are evolutionary tools to keep us alert and responsive to threats. Mother Nature *needs* us to be uncomfortable sometimes. But here's the twist: **Happiness is our responsibility.** It's a human — maybe even divine — pursuit. 🧘‍♂️ Enter Epicurus, the ancient Greek philosopher. Contrary to the common image of indulgence, his idea of happiness was simple: 👉 **Eliminate suffering**. By reducing sources of pain — toxic relationships, stressful habits, unnecessary friction — we can create space for peace. It's not about chasing pleasure, but avoiding harm. And that idea has echoed through history. Today, we’re living in what some call an **“epicurean age.”** We overprotect kids from pain, shield students from uncomfortable ideas, and try to bubble-wrap life. But here's the problem... ⚠️ **Avoiding suffering doesn’t eliminate unhappiness.** It just weakens us. We still experience negative emotions — without the growth that comes from hardship. 🌓 As Carl Jung put it: > “We only know what good is because we’ve seen bad.” By avoiding discomfort, we also rob ourselves of contrast — the very thing that gives joy its meaning. So ironically, in shielding ourselves from pain, we may be shutting the door on bliss. Folllow this Podcast for daily Episodes -----------------------10:56-8 -------------------------- ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

**🌍 Humanity Stands at the Shore of a New Continent — AI. What Now?** For 200,000 years, humans were the smartest beings on the planet. But today, **AI is forcing us to question what it *really* means to live a human life**. From **Copernicus** to **Darwin** to **Einstein**, science has repeatedly humbled us — displacing us from the center of the universe, showing us we are animals, and revealing that our intuition is flawed. Now, in the **age of Turing**, it’s AI’s turn to push us toward philosophy again. ### 🤖 From Tool… to Architect? For centuries, technology served *us*. It helped us *do* things — but it never told us *what to do*. That’s changed. Today, algorithms decide what you read, what you watch, and even how you think about right and wrong. Tomorrow, **AI might diagnose disease, invent cures, and guide global decisions**. But what if it doesn’t just assist us — what if it begins to **shape our very goals**? ### ⚖️ The Big Risks 1. **Convenience becomes dependency** — we outsource thinking, creativity, even values. 2. **Governance structures built to protect us** become the very systems that **control us**. 3. **Human freedom — our core superpower — slowly erodes**. ### 🧭 Three Steps Toward a Human-Centered Future #### **Step 1: The North Star – Human Flourishing** We must re-orient AI not around power or profit, but around helping each person **realize their potential**. > Not to build gods. Not to build replacements. > But to build *tools* for better lives. #### **Step 2: The Compass – Principles for Progress** A new AI philosophy must be built on three pillars: - **Autonomy**: The freedom to think and act without manipulation. - **Reason**: The ability to weigh ideas, debate, and discover truth. - **Decentralization**: Power spread across many, not hoarded by a few. These are the values that **preserve our humanity** in a world shaped by machines. #### **Step 3: Navigate the New World – From Philosophy to Code** Just like America’s founders built a **philosophy-to-law pipeline**, we need a **philosophy-to-code pipeline**. Enter: 🧪 **The Human-Centered AI Lab at Oxford** — the first lab dedicated to building open-source AI aligned with human flourishing. ### 🧠 The Future Needs a New Kind of Technologist One who combines: - **World-class AI skills** - **And deep philosophical grounding** These pioneers will prototype systems where **tech empowers humanity**, not erases it. ### 🚀 Final Thought We are at a pivotal moment. A once-in-a-civilization inflection point. Like setting foot on a new world — with no map. But with a **North Star to guide us**, and a **Compass to keep us grounded**, we can build a future where technology serves humanity — not the other way around. > From Copernicus to Turing, it’s time to once again **find our place in the cosmos** — > **not as obsolete beings**, > but as stewards of the future. Folllow this Podcast for daily Episodes -------------------------------------10:56-8 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A lot of modern work exists mainly because we've structured society around the belief that humans *must* work. But this has led to inequality, wasted talent, and systems that no longer serve us. 🏙️ Today, productivity is tracked through pings, emails, and meetings—not real impact. We’re surrounded by abundance, yet opportunity remains unevenly spread. The problem? We measure busyness, not *outcomes*. 📊 Throughout history, work has evolved through three major revolutions: 1. 🔥 **Mastery of fire** — Early humans began outsourcing energy. Cooking made food more digestible and freed up time. This shift opened the door to leisure and innovation. 2. 🌾 **Agriculture** — Farming demanded planning and ownership. Concepts like land, debt, and productivity emerged. Cattle became early symbols of capital. 3. 🏛️ **Cities** — Agriculture supported population growth. Urban centers became creative hubs where people specialized, exchanged ideas, and formed work-based communities. Fast forward to today: machines and fossil fuels do most of the heavy lifting. 🛠️ But while technology generates abundance, wealth is concentrated. Most people can no longer convert effort directly into prosperity. Social mobility is shrinking. 📉 Our economic systems still reward inherited capital more than hard work. And when it comes to hiring, we’re looking in the wrong places. Instead of narrowly measuring intelligence, we should value energy, drive, creativity, and collaboration. 💡 Bias often filters out brilliant people—those who don’t “look” the part. Some traits seen as liabilities (like ADHD or anxiety) can actually fuel innovation in the right roles. 🧠✨ To unlock potential and solve big problems, we need to rethink everything. Not with tweaks—but through bold experimentation. 🚀 Our current systems were designed for a world that no longer exists. We now have automation, digital tools, and near-limitless energy at our fingertips. The question is: will we redesign the future of work to match the world we *actually* live in? “It’s remarkable how weak the correlation between success and intelligence is.” Here’s what skills do matter, from 3 business experts. Timestamps: 0:00 - The history of work 2:30 - How work shaped society 3:55 - The invention of fire 5:16 - Transition to farming 6:51 - Effort and reward 11:40 - Why talent matters 18:26 - Accomplishment without burnout About Cal Newport: Cal Newport is an MIT-trained computer science professor at Georgetown University who also writes about the intersections of technology, work, and the quest to find depth in an increasingly distracted world. About James Suzman: Dr. James Suzman a PhD an anthropologist specializing in the Khoisan peoples of southern Africa. A former Smuts Fellow in African Studies at the University of Cambridge, he is now the director of Anthropos Ltd., a think-tank that applies anthropological methods to solving contemporary social and economic problems. Dr. Suzman's latest book is Work: A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of Robots. About Tyler Cowen: Tyler is the Holbert L. Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University and serves as chairman and general director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He is co-author of the popular economics blog Marginal Revolution and co-founder of the online educational platform Marginal Revolution University. Folllow this Podcast for daily Episodes -----------------------------------------------10:56-8 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Happiness is temporary, antifragility lasts forever, explains Jonathan Haidt and 5 other experts. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. That old adage roughly sums up the idea of antifragility, a term coined by the statistician and writer Nassim Taleb. The term refers to how systems tend to become stronger after being exposed to stressors, shocks, and mistakes. The same applies to humans. Although suffering for its own sake isn’t necessarily good, experiencing — and overcoming — stress and difficulty tends to make us stronger people in the long run. We shouldn’t always shy away from that which makes us uncomfortable. 0:00 Introduction 0:38 Jonathan Haidt defines antifragility 1:35 Susan David on life's fragility 2:12 Derren Brown on acceptance over positive thinking 3:02 Susan David on the risk of overvaluing happiness 4:39 Pete Holmes says "resist nothing" 6:42 Shaka Senghor on the ingredients for resiliency 9:45 Nancy Koehn on taking the first step ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------10:56-8 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What astronaut Ron Garan saw in space changed his life forever – here’s what it taught him. A curious phenomenon often occurs when astronauts travel to space and look out on our planet for the first time: They see how interconnected and fragile life on Earth is, and they feel a sudden responsibility to protect it. Astronaut @RonGaran experienced this so-called “overview effect” when he first saw Earth from space. When he looked out on the planet, he saw an iridescent biosphere teeming with life, all protected by a remarkably thin atmosphere. What he did not see was the thing that society often gives top priority: the economy. For Garan, seeing Earth from space revealed problems like global warming, deforestation, and biodiversity loss are not disconnected. They are the symptoms of an underlying flaw in how we perceive ourselves as humans: We fail to realize that we are a planetary species. Chapters for easier navigation: 0:00 The lie humanity is living 1:28 Escaping Plato’s cave 2:15 What astronaut’s see in space 4:07 The orbital perspective 4:50 The ‘dolly zoom’: gain mental altitude ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Ron Garan: Former NASA astronaut, serial entrepreneur, humanitarian, and highly decorated combat fighter Ron Garan racked up 178 days in space and more than 71 million miles in 2,842 orbits between tours on the US Space Shuttle, Russian Soyuz spacecraft, and the International Space Station. During his time in space, Garan conducted four spacewalks in support of ISS construction and maintenance. Prior to those space journeys, he lived and conducted research on the bottom of the ocean in the world’s only undersea research lab, Aquarius. Before reaching the summit of his career, Garan, a former test pilot and graduate of the US Naval Test Pilot School, taught hundreds of elite fighter pilots how to "up their game" as a flight instructor at the prestigious USAF Fighter Weapons School, the Air Force version of TOP GUN. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books: The Orbital Perspective, Floating in Darkness: A Journey of Evolution, and the children’s book, Railroad to the Moon. Garan is celebrated not just for his research in space but also for his humanitarian contribution to life on Earth. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------10:56-8 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gracie Gold’s battle with mental health nearly ended her career—and her life. This is how she found her way back to herself. Gracie Gold, a two-time national champion and Olympic medalist, seemed to embody perfection. But behind the medals and the headlines, her obsession with being flawless led her to a breaking point. After the 2016 World Championships, she spiraled into depression, binge-eating, and a complete loss of identity. Feeling trapped and out of place, Gold hit rock bottom before seeking help at a treatment facility. There, she finally “met herself,” learning to let go of perfection and accepting “okay” as enough. Now, she’s a mental health advocate and a New York Times bestselling author. Summary: Gracie Gold, once an Olympic figure skating superstar, shares her deeply personal journey of struggling with perfectionism, self-worth, and mental health. Despite growing up in ice rinks, she often felt trapped and disconnected from the world, likening her experience to being stuck inside a snow globe. As her skating career faltered, she internalized failure, leading to disordered eating, depression, and eventually suicidal ideation. Her relentless pursuit of perfection left her feeling worthless when she fell short. The pressure to meet external expectations, combined with personal struggles, led to a complete breakdown. A turning point came when she entered a treatment facility, where she finally felt seen and heard. Therapy helped her realize that not everything needed to be perfect and that she could exist outside of others’ expectations. By shattering the image of the "perfect ice princess," Gracie was able to reclaim her identity and step forward as her true self. She now embraces imperfection, proving that recovery and self-acceptance are possible. Key Takeaways: Perfectionism can be both a motivator and a destructive force. External validation is not a sustainable source of self-worth. Mental health treatment can be life-changing and lifesaving. Breaking free from unrealistic expectations allows for true self-discovery. About Gracie Gold:Gracie Gold is an American figure skater known for her technical skill, artistry, and resilience. Born in 1995, she rose to prominence by winning the U.S. National title in 2014 and earning a bronze medal at the 2014 Wintmpics in the team event. Gold also claimed silver at the 2016 World Championships, solidifying her status as one of the sport’s top competitors. After facing mental health challenges that led to a hiatus, she made a remarkable comeback, advocating for mental health awareness in athletics. Folllow this Podcast for daily Episodes --------------------------------------------10:56-8 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our impulse to seek out agreement is stifling us, says world debate champion Bo Seo. The ability to reach agreement with other people is a crucial skill, not only in your career and everyday life, but also in your close relationships. However, that doesn’t mean there’s no place for disagreement. Many people tend to shy away from disagreements. After all, we often see media images of disagreements going out of control, whether it’s clashes between rival political parties or people feuding on social media. But there is a way to have enlightening and productive disagreements. That’s one of the main takeaways from this Big Think interview with Bo Seo, an author, journalist, and two-time world champion debater. To Seo, a world where everyone agrees all the time would not only be worse off intellectually, it’d be boring. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Bo Seo: Bo Seo is a two-time world champion debater and a former coach of the Australian national debating team and the Harvard College Debating Union. One of the most recognized figures in the global debate community, he has won both the World Schools Debating Championship and the World Universities Debating Championship. Bo has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN, and many other publications. He has worked as a national reporter for the Australian Financial Review and has been a regular panelist on the prime time Australian debate program, The Drum. Bo graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University and received a master’s degree in public policy from Tsinghua University. He is currently a student at Harvard Law School. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------10:56-8 ---------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices