Wiser Than Yesterday: Book club

This is a simple episode where we hear about what the plans are for the show.Sam and Nico introduce each other and discuss some of their backgrounds if you want to get to know you lovely show hosts. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About the BookThe aim of "Elephant in the Brain" is to confront our hidden motives directly — to track down the darker, unexamined corners of our psyches and blast them with floodlights. Then, once our minds are more clearly visible, we can work to better understand human nature: Why do people laugh? Why are artists sexy? Why do we brag about travel? Why do we prefer to speak rather than listen?Human beings are primates, and primates are political animals. Our brains are therefore designed not just to hunt and gather, but also to get ahead socially, often by devious means.But while we may be self-interested schemers, we benefit by pretending otherwise. The less we know about our own ugly motives, the better. And thus we don’t like to talk — or even think — about the extent of our selfishness. This is “the elephant in the brain,” an introspective blind spot that makes it hard to think clearly about ourselves and the explanations for our behavior.What We GiveA summary of the key ways human beings lie to themselves and others without even realising. There are so many hidden ways we conceal the truth to protect and advance ourselves. But sometimes to our detriment.We work out the useful take-home point and consider the knowledge that is perhaps dangerous. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'Why Buddhism is True' looks at the science and philosophy of meditation and enlightenment. The author is a devout non-meditating anger prone evolutionary psychologist and writer.He dives headlong into the world of meditation with surprising results. He explains why it works from an evolutionary standpoint. Using his wit and intellect the book makes very enjoyable and enlightening reading.This was my favourite book on meditation. I loved it so much that I wrote over 40 pages of notes during reading it. (and yes I've read the other Sam Harris' book 'Waking Up' and most of the best ones)AboutRobert Wright famously explained in The Moral Animal how evolution shaped the human brain. The mind is designed to often delude us, he argued, about ourselves and about the world. And it is designed to make happiness hard to sustain.But if we know our minds are rigged for anxiety, depression, anger, and greed, what do we do? Wright locates the answer in Buddhism, which figured out thousands of years ago what scientists are only discovering now. Buddhism holds that human suffering is a result of not seeing the world clearly—and proposes that seeing the world more clearly, through meditation, will make us better, happier people.In Why Buddhism is True, Wright leads readers on a journey through psychology, philosophy, and a great many silent retreats to show how and why meditation can serve as the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age. At once excitingly ambitious and wittily accessible, this is the first book to combine evolutionary psychology with cutting-edge neuroscience to defend the radical claims at the heart of Buddhist philosophy. With bracing honesty and fierce wisdom, it will persuade you not just that Buddhism is true—which is to say, a way out of our delusion—but that it can ultimately save us from ourselves, as individuals and as a species.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32895535-why-buddhism-is-true Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists (also known as The Game: Undercover in the Secret Society of Pickup Artists) is a non-fiction book written by investigative reporter Neil Strauss as a chronicle of his journey and encounters in the seduction community.The book was featured on The New York Times Bestseller List for two months after its release in September 2005, reaching prominence again in 2007 during the broadcast of the VH1 television series The Pickup Artist, which was hosted by Mystery, Strauss's mentor in the book. In its original published hardcover format, the book was covered in black leather and bookmarked with red satin, similar to some printings of the Bible. Despite the reputation that The Game has gained as an exposé on the seduction community, it was primarily written as an autobiographical work. The follow-up book, Rules of the Game, relies more on the how-to side.An interesting book to discuss that polarises a lot of people. We enjoyed taking a step back from what it tries to teach you. We instead reflect on the broader lessons in the book about humans in general. There are many insights into our psychology, society, and how we can become a better version of ourselves without using others. The book makes an interesting contrast to the next book all about Feminism, 'Invisible Women' which is a hugely insightful dive into so many things that are wrong with society. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This book exposes the gender bias that is in the world around us and affects our daily lives. A brilliant look at the data that shows the facts we need to acknowledge and overcome.Caroline presents a very thourough study into the way the world has been built and how it has been unfair on women. This is a revealing book which was a brilliant read for anyone. As two white guys we really had a lot to learn and enjoyed discussing this book and what we can do to improve things.About the AuthorCaroline Criado Perez is a writer, broadcaster and award-winning feminist campaigner. Her most notable campaigns have included co-founding The Womens Room, getting a woman on Bank of England banknotes, forcing Twitter to revise its procedures for dealing with abuse and successfully campaigning for a statue of suffragist Millicent Fawcett to be erected in Parliament Square. She was the 2013 recipient of the Liberty Human Rights Campaigner of the Year Award, and was awarded an OBE in the Queen s Birthday Honours 2015.AwardsInvisible Women has won the FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award, the Books Are My Bag Readers Choice Award and the Royal Society Science Book Prize. She lives in London. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This book is challenging. Some people hate. Many people love it.It has been described as, "Disturbingly good" for it's ability to shake the concepts of what you think about your approaches to life. It is regarded as a book you need to read, re-read and then read again.We blindly dive into it and attempt to distill it's wisdom for listeners in a usable manner, whilst not making too big a fools of ourselves.AboutJames P. Carse is a philosopher and author. He published this book in 1986 and it has never lost relevance." There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite; the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play."A simple concept with oodles of insights that go deeper and deeper. Question everything you think you know and dive into a redefinition of how you approach everything. Some nice quotes to get you started:“A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play.”“There is no finite game unless the players freely choose to play it. No one can play who is forced to play.”“Rules are not valid because the Senate passed them, or because heroes once played by them, or because God pronounced them through Moses or Muhammad.”“There are no rules that require us to obey rules. If there were, there would have to be a rule for those rules, and so on.”“It may appear that the prizes for winning are indispensable, that without them life is meaningless, perhaps even impossible.”“While no one is forced to remain a lawyer or a rodeo performer or a kundalini yogi after being selected for these roles, each role is nonetheless surrounded both by ruled restraints and expectations on the part of others….""We cannot do whatever we please and remain lawyers or yogis— and yet we could not be either unless we pleased.”“The constant attentiveness of finite players to the progress of the competition can lead them to believe that every move they make they must make.” Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Public speaking can be terrifying. For David Nihill, the idea of standing in front of an audience was scarier than cliff jumping into a thorny pit of spiders and mothers-in-law. Without a parachute or advanced weaponry. This book is a part story and part manual. It follows David's story to become an engaging public speaker and the lessons he learnt along the way. It shows how anyone can become funny and breaks down the steps to get there.It is a highly motivating book for someone who is nervous of approaching the world of public speaking, business presentations and things like a Ted speech. David goes into the science of what makes a great speech and how to reflect and add moments that capture your audiences imagination and increase your confidence.The idea of doing stand up comedy seems like a distant and scary dream to 99% of humans. This book makes it seem quite possible and we expain the lessons learnt and how to approach becoming a funnie speaker. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Black Swan focuses on the extreme impact of rare and unpredictable outlier events — and the human tendency to find simplistic explanations for these events, retrospectively. It was published in 2007, by author and former options trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Coronavirus and Pandemics This book is extremely poignant for understanding the Coronavirus pandemic and its effects.In the book, he explains why we would be caught unawares by such an event and why we should build robust systems for events like this. During the discussion on the show, we talk through a lot of the ideas he explains in relation to how it can help with the current situation and build robust systems for future events that we can not predict.IdeaA central idea in Taleb's book is not to attempt to predict Black Swan events but to build robustness to negative events and an ability to exploit positive events. Taleb contends that banks and trading firms are vulnerable to hazardous Black Swan events and are exposed to losses beyond those predicted by their defective financial models.The book asserts that a "Black Swan" event depends on the observer: for example, what may be a Black Swan surprise for a turkey is not a Black Swan surprise for its butcher. Hence the objective should be to "avoid being the turkey", by identifying areas of vulnerability in order to "turn the Black Swans white".AboutTaleb has referred to the book as an essay or a narrative with one single idea: "our blindness with respect to randomness, particularly large deviations." The book moves from literary subjects in the beginning to scientific and mathematical subjects in the later portions.- Part One and the beginning of Part Two delve into psychology.- Taleb addresses science and business in the latter half of Part Two and Part Three.- Part Four contains advice on how to approach the world in the face of uncertainty and still enjoy life.The book has been described by The Sunday Times as one of the twelve most influential books since World War II. As of 2019, it has been cited approximately 10,000 times, 9,000 of which are for the English-language edition (we can expect a lot more after the Coronavirus event). The book spent 36 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list;17 as hardcover and 19 weeks as paperback. It was published in 32 languages. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets is a book that deals with the fallibility of human knowledge.Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains how we delude ourselves into thinking untrue things due to our love of finding a story or reason when none exists.In the episode, we explore the many examples of human behaviour failing us and the isights we can learn form this book. We discuss how the relates to trading and the economy and the wider aspects of being a more logical human. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb wrote some of his favourite maxims and ways to think in life into a book.This is a great hand book for nuggets of wisdom to ponder upon. Thus ponder we do on some of our favourites.Some examples include* What fools call “wasting time” is most often the best investment.* A man without a heroic bent starts dying at the age of thirty.* The difference between slaves in Roman and Ottoman days and today’s employees is that slaves did not need to flatter their boss.* You are rich if and only if money you refuse tastes better than money you accept.* Modernity: we created youth without heroism, age without wisdom, and life without grandeur.* You can tell how uninteresting a person is by asking him whom he finds interesting.* Procrastination is the soul rebelling against entrapment.* Preoccupation with efficacy is the main obstacle to a poetic, elegant, robust and heroic life.* Those who do not think that employment is systemic slavery are either blind or employed.* They are born, put in a box; they go home to live in a box; they study by ticking boxes; they go to what is called “work” in a box, where they sit in their cubicle box; they drive to the grocery store in a box to buy food in a box; they talk about thinking “outside the box”; and when they die they are put in a box.* A good maxim allows you to have the last word without even starting a conversation. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb present a blueprint of how to live in a 'Black Swan' world.He begins the book:"Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk, and uncertainty. Yet, in spite of the ubiquity of the phenomenon, there is no word for the exact opposite of fragile. Let us call it antifragile. Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better"He spends the rest of the book explaining how to become antifragile. It is a great resource for anyone wanting to have greater control on a random world and to grow stronger as things go wrong.SyncifyThe social audio app - Listen to podcasts and books together with friends.Combat isolation and lonelinessLearn more by sharing ideasSign up at SyncifyApp.com Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life, is a 2018 nonfiction book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a former options trader with a background in the mathematics of probability and statistics.Taleb's thesis is that skin in the game -- i.e., having a measurable risk when taking a major decision -- is necessary for fairness, commercial efficiency, and risk management, as well as being necessary to understand the world. The book is the last part of Taleb's multi-volume philosophical essay on uncertainty, titled the Incerto.SummaryAnother classic book from Taleb. He makes a sound argument for alignment of inscentives and why many problems in the world come from people not having skin in the game.Key IdeaIf an actor pockets some rewards from a policy they enact or support without accepting any of the risks, economists consider it to be a problem of "missing incentives". In contrast, to Taleb, the problem is more fundamentally one of asymmetry: one actor gets the rewards, the other is stuck with the risks.[1]Taleb argues that "For social justice, focus on symmetry and risk sharing. You cannot make profits and transfer the risks to others, as bankers and large corporations do... Forcing skin in the game corrects this asymmetry better than thousands of laws and regulations."The centrality of negative incentivesActors - per Taleb - must bear a cost when they fail the public. A fund manager that gets a percentage on wins, but no penalty for losing is incentivized to gamble with his clients funds. Bearing no downside for one's actions means that one has no "Skin In The Game", which is the source of many evils.An evolutionary process is an additional argument for SITG. Those who err and have SITG will not survive, hence evolutionary processes will eliminate (physically or figuratively by going bankrupt etc) those tending to do stupid things. Without SITG, this process cannot work.ExamplesRobert Rubin, a highly-paid director and senior advisor at Citigroup, paid no financial penalty when Citigroup had to be rescued by U.S. taxpayers due to overreach. Taleb calls this sort of a trade, with upside gain but no or limited downside risk, a "Bob Rubin trade."Intellectual Yet IdiotIntellectual Yet Idiot (IYI) is a term coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his essay by the same name that refers to the semi-intelligent well-pedigreed "who are telling us 1) what to do, 2) what to eat, 3) how to speak, 4) how to think… and 5) who to vote for".They represent a very small minority of people but have an overwhelming impact on the vast majority because they affect government policy. IYI are often policy makers, academics, journalists, and media pundits.Some favourite quotesThe knowledge we get by tinkering, via trial and error, experience, and the workings of time, in other words, contact with the earth, is vastly superior to that obtained through reasoning, something self-serving institutions have been very busy hiding from us.Bureaucracy is a construction by which a person is conveniently separated from the consequences of his or her actions.Avoid taking advice from someone who gives advice for a living, unless there is a penalty for their advice.Seeing the psychologist Steven Pinker making pronouncements about things intellectual has a similar effect to encountering a drive-in Burger King while hiking in the middle of a national park.Evidence of submission is displayed by the employee’s going through years depriving himself of his personal freedom for nine hours every day, his ritualistic and punctual arrival at an office, his denying himself his own schedule, and his not having beaten up anyone on the way back home after a bad day. He is an obedient, housebroken dog.What we saw worldwide from 2014 to 2018, from India to the U.K. to the U.S., was a rebellion against the inner circle of no-skin-in-the-game policymaking “clerks” and journalists-insiders, that class of paternalistic semi-intellectual experts with some Ivy League, Oxford-Cambridge or similar label-driven education who are telling the rest of us 1) what to do, 2) what to eat, 3) how to speak, 4) how to think, and… 5) whom to vote for.People who are bred, selected, and compensated to find complicated solutions do not have an incentive to implement simplified ones.If your private life conflicts with your intellectual opinion, it cancels your intellectual ideas, not your private life.Survival comes first, truth, understanding, and science later. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hope in the Dark was written to counter the despair of radicals at a moment when they were focused on their losses and had turned their back to the victories behind them--and the unimaginable changes soon to come. In it, she makes a radical case for hope as a commitment to act in a world whose future remains uncertain and unknowable.Drawing on her decades of activism and a wide reading of environmental, cultural, and political history, Solnit argued that radicals have a long, neglected history of transformative victories, that the positive consequences of our acts are not always immediately seen, directly knowable, or even measurable, and that pessimism and despair rest on an unwarranted confidence about what is going to happen next.Writer, historian, and activist Rebecca Solnit is the author of eighteen or so books on feminism, western and indigenous history, popular power, social change and insurrection, wandering and walking, hope and disaster, including the book 'Men Explain Things to Me'Acclaim"One of the Best Books of the 21st Century." --The Guardian"No writer has better understood the mix of fear and possibility, peril and exuberance that's marked this new millennium." --Bill McKibben"An elegant reminder that activist victories are easily forgotten, and that they often come in extremely unexpected, roundabout ways." --The New YorkerOur reviewDespite amazing acclaim and learning a lot from the book. We feel that it isn't her best work and probably could have been a blog post. We did really enjoy the discussion we had about it and bring some great take homes to the episode. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The moment you've all been waiting for.Two white guys read the most talked about book on race and attempt to understand our amazing foolishness in a humble manner. Yes we probably mess things up. But it's better to try, make mistakes, learn, and improve, than to just runaway from our own fragilities.About'Every voice raised against racism chips away at its power. We can't afford to stay silent. This book is an attempt to speak'The book that sparked a national conversation. Exploring everything from eradicated black history to the inextricable link between class and race, Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race is the essential handbook for anyone who wants to understand race relations in Britain today.It won the 2018 British Book Awards Non-Fiction Narrative Book of the Year, the 2018 Jhalak Prize, was chosen as Foyles Non-Fiction Book of the Year and Blackwell's Non-Fiction Book of the Year, was longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize and the Orwell Prize and shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Readers Award for Non-Fiction.Her original blog that sparked the book is a great readhttp://renieddolodge.co.uk/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-white-people-about-race/Equality seriesThis is the first in our series about equality and racial injustice. We are learning what is wrong in the world. How every human plays their part. What can be done about it at a societal and individual level.We invite you to join the journey and learn about the world and making it a fairer place. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism A 2018 book written by Robin DiAngelo about race relations in the United States. An academic with experience in diversity training, DiAngelo coined the term "white fragility" in 2011 to describe any defensive instincts or reactions that a white person experiences when questioned about race or made to consider their own race. In White Fragility, DiAngelo views racism in the United States as systemic and often perpetuated unconsciously by individuals. She recommends against viewing racism as committed intentionally by "bad people".Published on June 26, 2018, the book entered the New York Times Bestseller List that month, remaining on the list for well over a year and experiencing a resurgence in demand during the George Floyd protests beginning in May 2020. As of the July 26, 2020 edition, the book is in its 97th week on the list in the Paperback Nonfiction category, where it is ranked number one. Critically, the book received generally positive reviews following its publication. It received more mixed reviews in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests two years later. Some reviewers lauded the book for being thoughtful and instructive, but characterized it as diagnostic rather than solution-oriented. Other reviewers criticized the book for making false claims about race and racism in America, for putting whites in a situation where anything they say is used against them, for infantilizing Black people, and for doing nothing to promote racial justice. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to Be an Antiracist is a 2019 non-fiction book by American author and historian Ibram X. Kendi. The book discusses concepts of racism and Kendi's proposals for anti-racist individual actions and systemic changes. AuthorAt the time of authorship, Ibram X. Kendi was an assistant professor of African-American History at the University of Florida. He previously worked at the American University, where he founded the Antiracist Research and Policy Center. He wrote a 2016 book titled Stamped from the Beginning, about the origins of racism in America.SynopsisKendi describes concepts of racism such as scientific racism, colorism and their intersection with demographics including gender, class and sexuality. He summarizes historical eras such as the scientific proposals of polygenism in Europe in the 1600s and racial segregation in the United States. The book also covers contemporary history such as the O. J. Simpson robbery case and 2000 United States presidential election. He also details experiences from his own life, including his change in beliefs over time, and observations from classes he has taught. Kendi comments on internalized racism and disputes the prejudice plus power model of racism. He suggests models for anti-racist individual actions and systemic changes Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A searching re-examination of the assumptions, and the evidence for and against, current approaches to issues of economic and other disparitiesDiscrimination and Disparities challenges believers in such one-factor explanations of economic outcome differences as discrimination, exploitation or genetics. It is readable enough for people with no prior knowledge of economics. Yet the empirical evidence with which it backs up its analysis spans the globe and challenges beliefs across the ideological spectrum.The point of Discrimination and Disparities is not to recommend some particular policy "fix" at the end, but to clarify why so many policy fixes have turned out to be counterproductive, and to expose some seemingly invincible fallacies behind many counterproductive policies.The final chapter deals with social visions and their human consequences. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nonviolent Communication is based on the assumption that all human beings have capacity for compassion and empathy and that people only resort to violence or behavior harmful to others when they do not recognize more effective strategies for meeting needs.The purpose of Nonviolent Communication is to help us connect to ourselves and others in a way that makes being compassionate natural. It is not about making people do what we want, but by creating connections with others so that everyone’s needs are met.Nonviolent Communication theory supposes that all human behavior stems from attempts to meet universal human needs, Connection, Physical Well-Being, Honesty, Play, Peace, Autonomy, Meaningand that these needs are never in conflict; rather, conflict arises when strategies for meeting needs clash. Nonviolent Communication proposes that people should identify shared needs, which are revealed by the thoughts and feelings surrounding these needs, and then they should collaborate to develop strategies and make requests of each other to meet each other's needs. The goal is interpersonal harmony and learning for future cooperation.Nonviolent Communication centers round 2 questions:What is alive in youWhat would make your life more wonderfulMost conflicts between individuals or groups arise from miscommunication about their human needs, due to coercive or manipulative language that aims to induce fear, guilt, shame, etc. These "violent" modes of communication, when used during a conflict, divert the attention of the participants away from clarifying their needs, their feelings, their perceptions, and their requests, thus perpetuating the conflictCertain ways of communicating tend to alienate people from the experience of compassion* Moralistic judgements implying wrongness or badness on the part of people who don't act in harmony with our values* Demands that implicitly or explicitly threaten listeners with blame or punishment if they fail to comply.* Denial of responsibility via language that obscures awareness of personal responsibility. ‘I had to’ because of others, my condition, group pressure, …* Making comparisons* A sense of ‘deserving’How to practice Nonviolent Communication?ObservationThe facts (what we are seeing, hearing, or touching) as distinct from our evaluation of meaning and significance. It is said that "When we combine observation with evaluation others are apt to hear criticism and resist what we are saying."FeelingsFeelings are said to reflect whether we are experiencing our needs as met or unmet. Identifying feelings is said to allow us to more easily connect with one another, and "Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable by expressing our feelings can help resolve conflicts."NeedsUniversal human needs, as distinct from particular strategies for meeting needs. It is posited that "Everything we do is in service of our needs. Connection, Physical Well-Being, Honesty, Play, Peace, Autonomy, MeaningRequestRequest for a specific action, free of demand. Requests are distinguished from demands in that one is open to hearing a response of "no" without this triggering an attempt to force the matter. If one makes a request and receives a "no" it is recommended not that one give up, but that one empathize with what is preventing the other person from saying "yes," before deciding how to continue the conversation. It is recommended that requests use clear, positive, concrete action languageThere are three primary modes of application of Nonviolent CommunicationSelf-empathyInvolves compassionately connecting with what is going on inside us. This may involve, without blame, noticing the thoughts and judgments we are having, noticing our feelings, and most critically, connecting to the needs that are affecting us.Receiving empathicallyIn Nonviolent Communication involves "connection with what's alive in the other person and what would make life wonderful for them...Nonviolent Communication suggests that however the other person expresses themselves, we focus on listening for the underlying observations, feelings, needs, and requests. It is suggested that it can be useful to reflect a paraphrase of what another person has said, highlighting the Nonviolent Communication components implicit in their message, such as the feelings and needs you guess they may be expressingExpressing honestlyIn Nonviolent Communication, is likely to involve expressing an observation, feeling, need, and request. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are very grateful for the chance to read and discuss the books this season on the show.As a hot topic we also listened and read a lot of other content we didn't have time to do a full show on but felt it was worth discussing other sources of information and discussing our learnings from a step back.Racism and inequality in the modern world is a hard to understand topic and reading one book is not nearly enough. Hopefully hearing some of the things that helped us and ways of thinking will be helpful to you also. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Last Days of SocratesA Philosophy book by Plato that is divided between 4 partsEuthyphroTakes place just before Socrate's trial is about to beginThe ApologyPlato uses his dialogues to tell the story of the trial of Socrates as he energetically defends himself against the charges of heresy and corruption of youthCrito - Socrates friendCrito, has come to help him escape and Socrates counters crito's arguments choosing to stay in prison and accept his fatePhaedoPlato uses Socrates to espouse his belief of the immortality of the soul. Death should be welcome to the philosopher because it is then that he will attain true wisdom and get rid of the distraction of the body.The version we read consisted of The apology and the Phaedo.The ApologyThe Apology reads as essentially a monologue, Plato casts Socrates’ speech as an implied dialogue with his accusers, the assembly, and the larger community of the city. And because the charges call into question Socrates’ lifelong public career as a philosopher, The Apology is Plato’s most explicit defense of philosophical inquiry as essential to the well-being of society.First, Socrates explains why he does what he does. He was told by the oracle of delphi that he was the wisest of all men. He didn’t believe it, because he knew that he knew almost nothiing. So he made iit his mission to find someone wiser than him. ## The PhaedoNothing is written from the point of view of the author - PlatoIn a Platonic dialogue, no single character represents the author’s opinions. Instead, we encounter a series of conversations and speeches in which the characters affirm and deny one another’s statements while engaging in cross-examination. Every statement is subjected to ongoing inquiry; at its conclusion, a dialogue leaves the impression that more avenues for investigation have been opened than existed at the beginning. The character of Socrates, the most likely spokesman for Plato, is typically the sharpest questioner and often seems to have the upper hand. However, even when he presents fully formed theories, they are put forward only as hypotheses to be examined, not as doctrine. In fact, Socrates repeatedly insists that his only wisdom is in knowing what he does not know and in his willingness to join with others in the pursuit of truth. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.