Simplify

We live in an increasingly noisy world, yet most of us spend almost no time thinking about how sound shapes our thoughts, focus, and relationships. In this episode, world-renowned sound and listening expert Julian Treasure breaks down why most of us aren't actually listening - and what would happen if we did.What usually happens is that people do what they think is "deep listening" - they nod and say "mmhmm" a bunch. But is that really listening? True deep listening is actually conscious listening. Gifting your entire attention to someone in a moment.And the truth is, conscious listening is difficult! It requires energy and focus and time. But the upshot is massive: Truly feeling heard is such an amazing feeling. It leads to more connection and less suffering.In this episode, Julian talks to Ben about actionable frameworks for changing your "listening position." They also unpack the difference in experience with video vs. audio content - and why audio quality in your remote meetings can make a big difference.We spoke to Julian back in 2017 and that episode is definitely worth revisiting.Julian's TED talk: How to speak so people will listen.Check out Julian's app: Master Conscious Communication.ResourcesGuest's Recs: The DOSE Effect by TJ Power, Sounds Wild and Broken by David George Haskell, myNoise by Stéphane Pigeon Ben's Rec: A Philosophy of Walking by Frédéric Gros Caitlin's Rec: The Turnaround, Jesse Thorne's interview series with the world's great interviewers (Maximum Fun)Sound generator Mynoise.net: This is a link to Caitlin's fav. Please remember to turn the whispers down- otherwise it's way too Halloween for everyday use.---Let us know what you thought of this episode! Find us on Instagram at @simplifypod. Subscribe to our newsletter on beehiiv here. Also, you can email us at [email protected] episode of Simplify was produced by Caitlin Schiller, Ben Schuman-Stoler, and engineered by João Lucas in Berlin, Germany, for Kollo Media.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Do you want to live forever?Bryan Johnson - the gazillionaire tech entrepreneur who started the "don't die" movement - created headlines (and some schadenfreude giggles) when he announced he was diagnosed with autoimmune gastritis, which is incurable.The don't die website says: "We are at war with death and its causes. We are building towards an infinite horizon. We are fighting for the freedom to exist as long as one chooses. Why? Because we have things to do tomorrow. And tomorrow’s tomorrow. Until we no longer want tomorrow."But Ben brought this topic to Caitlin because it's kicked off a discussion about the risks of longevity and the legitimacy of longevity in general. Caitlin shares what she thinks of longevity *routines* and what's legit vs. what's baloney.There's one thing everyone can agree on though: we love our black plastic spatulas, even if the microplastics are killing all of us slowly. Dr. Ingrid Yang's article for Outside is here.This episode was edited by Molly Rose Hart.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you’ve ever listened to NPR’s Planet Money, you know the vibe: They take dense, eye-glazing economic theories and turn them into cinematic, human-driven stories. Whether following a t-shirt across the global supply chain, buying a barrel of crude oil, or creating a shell company, Planet Money has spent over 15 years proving that economics isn’t just for academics - it impacts our lives every single day.In this episode, Ben talks to Planet Money reporter and host Alex Mayyasi, author of the New York Times bestselling Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life.They talk about the counterintuitive lessons from classic Planet Money cases, like why ATMs actually increased bank teller jobs and what that teaches us about automation. Plus they talk about some of the structural issues with the economy today, how markets are underrated, and why restaurants are so important.Check out Alex's Substack and new show, Gastronomics.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What do you do when you're not feeling creative? What do people like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jenny Slate, and James Acaster do?In this third installment of our new a/v format - EXTRA - Caitlin drives. Sparked by a supercut episode of Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out podcast, she asks Ben what he knows about creativity and how he approaches it. Together, Ben and Caitlin discuss how to discover your own unique voice, how ritual and reps beat raw motivation, and why creativity requires enough psychological safety and rest to actually bloom. This episode was produced by Caitlin Schiller, Molly Rose Hart, and Ben Schuman-Stoler.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does a five-year-old boy learn from the word "buddy"?When Ruth Whippman started shopping around a book about boys in 2021, publishers mostly shrugged—boys, surely, have it great. Ruth, a British journalist, former BBC documentary-maker, and raising three boys, suspected masculinity was full of blind spots nobody was bothering to look at. By the time BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity came out in 2024, masculinity had become one of the defining arguments of an election year, and her hunch looked a lot like foresight.Caitlin and Ruth start with some science neither of them has stopped thinking about—what boys need from the very beginning, and what we tend to give them instead. From there, the conversation moves through a first day of kindergarten, an all-boys classroom that fell hard for Mr. Darcy, and the strange math of an identity defined mostly by what it isn't.Then it goes somewhere harder. Ruth spent months building rapport with self-identified incels, and what she found in those forums surprised them both. It's a tender, unsettling stretch of conversation, and it lingers.Afterward, Ben—father of two sons—joins Caitlin in the bookend to talk through what landed. Ruth's parting thought is one line from the book that quietly rearranges the whole ledger of who wins under patriarchy.ResourcesCaitlin's Rec: The Will to Change, bell hooksBen's Rec: Shuggie Bain, Douglas StewardRuth's book: BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity---Let us know what you thought of this episode! Find us on Instagram at @simplifypod. Subscribe to our newsletter on beehiiv here. Also, you can email us at [email protected] episode of Simplify was produced by Caitlin Schiller, Ben Schuman-Stoler, and Molly Rose Hart, and engineered by João Lucas in Berlin, Germany, for Kollo Media.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.