Episoder
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**🧭 Who Decides What’s “Normal” Anymore? Rethinking Social Norms in a Shifting World**
Why do we follow social norms — and how do we know when they’ve expired?
Social norms act as **shortcuts**, like a guidebook for fitting into your time and place. They offer structure, a sense of belonging, and even emotional rewards like pride or guilt. They help us function — not just because we believe in them, but because *everyone else* does too.
But today, the old rules feel... wobbly.
From door-opening etiquette to gender roles, many norms seem out of place in a rapidly changing world. So how do we decide what to keep — and what to toss?
💡 Enter *Chesterton’s Fence* — a concept that says: **before tearing down a fence, find out why it was put there.**
Even if a social norm feels outdated, it might have served a purpose worth understanding before dismissing it outright.
Take the example: *Should men open doors for women?*
It may feel old-fashioned now, but originally, it might’ve symbolized respect or protection. The key is asking: **Does it still serve a helpful function today? Or has the context changed too much?**
In the past, people looked to parents, clergy, or state leaders for guidance.
Now? We turn to **influencers**, coaches, and self-described gurus on everything from success to masculinity. But here’s the catch: **self-proclaimed experts might not be experts at all.**
And that raises a new question:
🌍 **Are today’s norms built for *you* — or are they just viral advice designed to sell?**
Norms should be adaptive — customized to the community, time, and individual. What works for a niche internet following may not work in your real life.
**3 key takeaways:**
1. 🧠 *Don’t discard old norms blindly.* First, ask what purpose they served.
2. 🧍♂️ *Be wary of self-appointed experts.* Charisma doesn’t equal wisdom.
3. 🌐 *Seek context over consensus.* Norms should flex with culture, not freeze in time.
**✨ Big idea:** Social norms aren't just rules — they’re cultural technology. If we want to upgrade them, we need to understand the code they were written in.
About Christine Emba:
Christine Emba is an opinion columnist and editor at The Washington Post, where she focuses on ideas, society, and culture. She is also a contributing editor at Comment Magazine and an editor at large at Wisdom of Crowds, which includes a podcast and newsletter. Before this, Emba was the Hilton Kramer Fellow in Criticism at The New Criterion and a deputy editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit, focusing on technology and innovation. Her book, Rethinking Sex: A Provocation, is about the failures and potential of the sexual revolution in a post-#MeToo world. Emba was named one of the World’s Top 50 Thinkers by Prospect Magazine in 2022.
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**Love Isn't a Phase—It's Hardwired in Your Brain 🧠❤️**
Anthropologist Helen Fisher reveals that sex drive, romantic love, and attachment aren't fleeting feelings—they're distinct *brain systems* rooted in our biology. Sex starts in the brain, not the body. Love activates the brain’s dopamine circuits, lighting up like an addiction, especially when love is lost. In fact, heartbreak activates pain and craving centers, proving that love, in its highs and lows, is as primal as hunger or fear.
To maintain long-term love? You must nurture all three systems:
- **Sex drive**: Have regular, enjoyable sex to keep the desire alive.
- **Romantic love**: Seek novelty together—new places, new routines.
- **Attachment**: Stay physically connected through touch and togetherness.
Meanwhile, author Louise Perry warns that despite modern tools—like the pill or the internet—our Stone Age brains haven’t evolved to handle radically new mating models. While polyamory is gaining ground, she argues monogamy offers stability, especially for women and children. Drawing from evolutionary and cultural history, Perry emphasizes that monogamy, though imperfect, may be the most socially sustainable system.
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Mangler du episoder?
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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.
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**🎵 The Future of Music: Diverse, Technological, and Beyond Sound**
Will music survive the digital age? Absolutely — and not just survive, but evolve in ways we can barely imagine.
Despite the internet’s overwhelming access and ease, music won't become a dull, uniform noise. Why? Because *every artist craves uniqueness*. There’s an innate drive to rebel against trends and innovate. Plus, music is deeply tied to **personal identity**, and with thousands of genres already in existence, this creative diversity isn’t going anywhere.
Looking ahead, several bold predictions emerge:
- **Music will become more functional**, like a prescription for your emotions. Imagine sounds tailored to treat anxiety or boost focus.
- **Technology will empower everyone**, not just trained musicians. From home studios to AI tools, we’re reclaiming music’s communal roots — where everyone can create and participate.
- Instruments like AI music programs (e.g., Watson Beat) aren't replacing humans — they're expanding our creative reach. Humans will still shape the final output.
- **Future music may transcend sound entirely** — incorporating *taste, color, body sensations,* and frequencies beyond human hearing. Just as today’s music would astonish Mozart, tomorrow’s sonic landscape will likely be unimaginable to us.
🎧 In short: The future of music is deeply *human*, increasingly *technological*, and wildly *experimental*. We’re only just beginning to hear what’s possible.
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“I think the key point is that doesn't mean game over. That doesn't mean we're flipped into a world, and to a point of no return.”
**🌍 The 1.5°C Climate Goal Might Be Slipping Away — But It’s Not Game Over**
The once-ambitious goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C? It’s likely no longer within reach, says a climate expert. But that’s not a reason to give up. Every fraction of a degree matters — and fighting for 1.6, 1.7, or 1.8°C still means reducing risk, damage, and loss.
The Paris Agreement aimed to keep temperatures "well below 2°C" and ideally at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. While 1.5°C now seems nearly impossible due to the sheer scale of emissions cuts required, staying under 2°C is *still* feasible — *if* countries hit their current targets.
What needs to change? Four key sectors:
**1. Energy** – Replace fossil fuels with low-carbon sources like solar, wind, geothermal, and especially **nuclear**, which has the *lowest land footprint*.
**2. Transport** – Shift to electric where possible, using decarbonized electricity.
**3. Food** – Reform agriculture, which uses *half* of all habitable land.
**4. Construction** – Build greener, more sustainable infrastructure.
The shift to renewables is now *economically viable*, with solar and wind already cheaper than coal or gas in many places. Land use fears? Overblown. Solar needs <1% of global land; even wind’s impact is mostly *visual*, not physical — and farming can continue around turbines. Nuclear, meanwhile, needs just 0.1% of land to power the world.
🌱 **The message is clear**: We may not hit 1.5°C, but every bit of progress still counts. The climate fight isn’t all or nothing — it’s a long game where every decimal degree saved can mean lives, ecosystems, and futures protected.
About Hannah Ritchie:
Dr. Hannah Ritchie is Senior Researcher in the Programme for Global Development at the University of Oxford. She is also Deputy Editor and Lead Researcher at Our World in Data. Her research appears regularly in the New York Times, The Economist, and the Financial Times, and in bestselling books including Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now. She is the author of Not the End of the World.
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Timestamps:
0:00: The library of Herculaneum
1:17: The Vesuvius Challenge
2:30: A unique approach
3:49: Deciphering ‘crackle’
5:01: Solving an ancient puzzle
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Summary:
In AD 79, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the Roman town of Herculaneum, home to the only surviving ancient library. The scrolls, carbonized by the disaster, remained unreadable for centuries. However, modern technology is changing that.
A team led by Brent Seales at the University of Kentucky has worked for 20 years to decode these scrolls. A competition, supported by Nat Friedman and later funded by Elon Musk, challenged researchers to develop AI-powered methods to "virtually unroll" and decipher the texts.
One participant, after weeks of studying CT scans of the scrolls, identified patterns resembling Greek letters. This discovery led to breakthroughs by others, including SpaceX engineer Luke Farritor and researcher Youssef Nader, who used AI to automate text recognition. Their efforts revealed 15 columns of ancient Greek text for the first time in nearly 2,000 years.
With further advancements, reading these scrolls could become significantly cheaper, unlocking lost knowledge from ancient Rome. Future excavations may uncover even more hidden libraries beneath Vesuvius.
Key Takeaways:
AI and CT scanning technology are revolutionizing archaeology.
Newly uncovered texts could double the known corpus of ancient Roman literature.
Future excavations may reveal even more lost knowledge.
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**🌍 Earth’s History Hinges on Chaos — and You Are Its Luckiest Accident**
What if your existence was only possible because of two massive cosmic collisions — and one lucky sperm?
Biologist and author **Sean B. Carroll** unveils a breathtaking truth: the evolution of life on Earth wasn’t a planned journey but a **wild series of accidents**. A 6-mile-wide asteroid struck the *exact* spot on Earth with just the right chemical mix to wipe out the dinosaurs, giving mammals — and eventually humans — a shot at dominance. A second monumental collision — India slamming into Asia — sparked the Ice Age, a trial by fire that forged our **big-brained, tool-making ancestors**.
And your individual life? It’s a 1-in-70-trillion genetic fluke — a cosmic lottery win shaped by **chance mutations and timing**. There has never been, and never will be, another you.
🧬 Life isn’t destiny — it’s improbability, stacked on improbability.
**So what else in your life could be hinging on a single moment of chance?**
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Expanding your worldview starts with understanding your brain. Stanford neuroscientist David Eagleman explains.
David Eagleman, a neuroscientist at Stanford and host of the Inner Cosmos podcast, explores how our brains shape the reality we experience and why we often accept our perceptions as the only truth. From a young age, we develop our understanding of the world based on limited experiences and biases, which can lead us to form narrow views about what's true.
**🧠 “Your Reality Is Just One Version” — Why Expanding Your Mind Could Save Humanity**
What if everything you believe to be *true* is just one narrow version of reality? According to neuroscientist David Eagleman, that’s exactly what’s happening — and it’s shaping not just your thoughts, but society itself.
We’re **born into a tiny slice of the world**, gathering experiences from a limited time, place, and culture. Our brains build internal models based on that — models we confuse with *universal truth*. But here’s the kicker: **no two brains experience the world the same way**, thanks to differences in genetics and life experiences.
This isn’t just philosophical. It’s biological.
🔬 Eagleman’s work in *perceptual genomics* explores how tiny differences in our genes change how we *see* reality. You might visualize a crawling ant in vivid detail; someone else sees only the concept. Both are “true” — just different.
But this brain wiring also makes us tribal.
We divide into **ingroups** and **outgroups**, trusting the familiar and fearing the unfamiliar — an ancient survival instinct. And it affects empathy, **literally**. Eagleman’s experiment showed people’s brains *cared less* when an outgroup member was hurt versus an ingroup one. The same action (like a needle stab) triggered weaker pain responses if the person wasn’t “one of us.”
This leads to dehumanization in conflicts, where we stop seeing the “other side” as fully human. The brain’s empathy centers don’t even light up. It’s how wars, hate, and division thrive.
But there’s hope. Eagleman lays out **3 strategies** to overcome this:
1. **Recognize and blind your biases** – Like orchestras using blind auditions, remove visual cues that trigger unconscious judgments.
2. **Learn the tactics of dehumanization** – Spot things like “moral pollution,” where groups are smeared to make them seem disgusting. Awareness is your shield.
3. **Complexify your identity** – Form bonds over shared interests *before* you discover differences. That connection builds understanding and curiosity instead of rejection.
🤝 The more we **entangle our identities** — across sports, hobbies, stories, struggles — the more we see each other as *people*, not strangers. That’s the key to bridging the gap between 8 billion different inner worlds.
**✨ Big idea:** You don’t live in *the* reality. You live in *a* reality. And the more you understand that, the more human the world becomes.
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About David Eagleman:
David Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Stanford University and an internationally bestselling author. He is co-founder of two venture-backed companies, Neosensory and BrainCheck, and he also directs the Center for Science and Law, a national non-profit institute. He is best known for his work on sensory substitution, time perception, brain plasticity, synesthesia, and neurolaw
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0:00 Why is happiness elusive?
1:36 Daoism’s analogy
2:57 Beacons of happiness
3:14 Pleasure
5:13 Finding meaning
6:00 Connection and love
About Jonny Thomson:
Jonny Thomson taught philosophy in Oxford for more than a decade before turning to writing full-time. He’s a columnist at Big Think and is the award-winning, bestselling author of three books that have been translated into 22 languages.
Jonny is also the founder of Mini Philosophy, a social network of over half a million curious, intelligent minds. He's known all over the world for making philosophy accessible, relatable, and fun.
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“I want people to know that their lives matter and that their deaths ultimately will too.” How a journey to Cuba made Alua Arthur confront her own mortality, and ultimately led her to her career as a death doula.
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Alua Arthur, a death doula, never expected to find her calling in the space between life and death. Struggling with depression and a sense of not belonging, she was searching for meaning when a chance encounter in Cuba changed everything. After encountering death in her personal life, she began to confront her own mortality—and realize she wasn’t truly living. This moment, combined with the loss of her brother-in-law, set her on a path to becoming a death doula, someone who supports people through their final days. Now, she is an author, a (public speaker), and has dedicated her career to helping others embrace life by acknowledging its inevitable end.
Alua Arthur, a death doula, shares her journey from feeling like an outsider to finding purpose in helping others face death with grace. She describes struggling with depression while working as a lawyer, feeling disconnected from life. A transformative conversation with a terminally ill woman in Cuba made her confront her own mortality and realize the importance of truly living.
When her brother-in-law fell ill and passed away, it deepened her understanding of life and death. She then chose to become a death doula—providing emotional and logistical support to the dying and their loved ones. Through this work, she has learned to live with urgency, be fully present, and embrace herself as she is.
Key Takeaways:
Facing death helps clarify what truly matters in life.
Living fully means embracing every moment without holding back.
Supporting people in their final moments can be a deeply healing and meaningful role.
About Alua Arthur: Alua Arthur is a death doula, end-of-life care expert, and founder of Going with Grace, a nonprofit dedicated to helping individuals navigate the final chapter of their lives. After struggling with depression and identity, Alua found purpose in guiding others through the dying process with compassion and dignity. She has dedicated her life to empowering people to face death with grace, offering support to both individuals and their families.
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"Being aware of your mindsets is the difference between living a conscious life, where you're making choices in accord with what you actually want and going where you actually wanna go, versus being on autopilot and having those mindsets subconsciously drive all of your decisions."
Chapters:
0:00 Our mindsets’ influences
0:50 Linear vs. experimental
2:50 3 subconscious mindsets
4:58 The experimental mindset
6:30 Designing experiments
8:35 Habit vs. experiment
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🔥 Are Your Mindsets Secretly Controlling Your Life?
We all have default ways of seeing the world—our *mindsets*. And these mindsets silently shape everything: our decisions, relationships, feelings, and even the path we take in life. But here’s the catch: most of us aren’t even aware of them.
💭 The Turning Point
The speaker shares their journey—initially chasing traditional success: good grades, a job at Google, and startup life. But despite achieving all of it, they felt empty. It wasn’t until their startup failed that they paused to ask: *What do I really want?* This question led them to neuroscience, curiosity, and ultimately, fulfillment.
⚠️ The 3 Mindsets Holding Us Back
1. Cynical Mindset – Low ambition, low curiosity. You’re checked out and stuck in survival mode.
2. Escapist Mindset – High curiosity, low ambition. You binge-watch, dream-plan, and avoid responsibility.
3. Perfectionist Mindset – High ambition, low curiosity. You’re overworking, chasing success, but losing joy.
These mindsets are fluid—not fixed traits. You can shift them.
🔬 Enter: The Experimental Mindset
This mindset thrives on *both* high curiosity and ambition. It embraces uncertainty, treats failure as data, and turns life into a series of small experiments—each one helping you grow.
🧪 How to Build It: The Pact Method
A “pact” is a mini-experiment:
- Purposeful: You care about it.
- Actionable: You can start it *now*.
- Continuous: You repeat it regularly.
- Trackable: You only track if you did it—yes or no.
It’s not a habit, KPI, or resolution. It’s a test to see what *actually* works for you.
**📊 Internal vs External Data**
After an experiment, analyze both:
- **External**: Did it bring recognition, money, results?
- **Internal**: Did it *feel* good? Was it energizing or draining?
The speaker tried becoming a YouTuber. It “succeeded” externally—but internally, it felt awful. So they quit. That’s the power of self-awareness.
**🧠 Neuroscience Backs It Up**
When we’re curious, our brain lights up the same way it does when we’re thirsty. Curiosity isn’t fluff—it’s fuel.
**✨ Final Message:**
Your mindset determines whether you live consciously or on autopilot. Choose curiosity. Run tiny experiments. Design a life that’s yours.
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About Anne-Laure Le Cunff:
Anne-Laure Le Cunff is a neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and writer. A former Google executive, she went back to university to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology & Neuroscience from King’s College London. As the founder of Ness Labs and author of its widely read newsletter, she writes about evidence-based ways for people to make the most of their minds, navigate uncertainty, and practice lifelong learning. Her work has been featured in peer-reviewed academic journals and mainstream publications such as WIRED, Forbes, Rolling Stone, Fortune, Entrepreneur, and more
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Will Guidara, owner of iconic restaurants such as Eleven Madison Park, explains how hospitality is the number one thing that can help your business truly succeed.
Eventually, someone is going to make a better product, or build a better brand, than you have. The way to keep people from switching sides? Harboring a loyal customer base. The way to harbor a loyal customer base? Relentless hospitality.
Famed restaurateur Guidara credits his successful career to what he calls “Unreasonable Hospitality” - also the title of his book - which he achieved by abiding by three main keys: Being present, taking the work seriously (but himself less seriously), and creating individualized customer experiences. By considering how you’re making your customer feel, you’re fostering connections and lifelong memories your patrons will never forget.
Not only will these actions keep your customers returning to your business, but it will also work as a way of natural marketing; they’ll share stories of your service and draw even more people in, keeping your company alive.
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About Will Guidara:
Will Guidara is the author of the National Bestseller Unreasonable Hospitality, which chronicles the lessons in service and leadership he has learned over the course of his career in restaurants.
He is the former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, which under his leadership received four stars from the New York Times, three Michelin stars, and in 2017 was named #1 on the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
He is the host of the Welcome Conference, an annual hospitality symposium that brings together like minded people to share ideas, inspire one another, and connect to form community.
A graduate of the hospitality school at Cornell University, he has coauthored four cookbooks, was named one of Crain's New York Business's 40 Under 40, and is the recipient of WSJ Magazine's Innovator Award.
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**We are eating our way into climate disaster.**
Even if fossil fuel emissions ended *today*, our current food systems alone would still push us past the 1.5°C global warming target—and nearly exhaust our 2°C carbon budget. Food production isn’t just a contributor—it’s *the* leading driver of deforestation, biodiversity loss, freshwater stress, and pollution.
🔍 **Key Drivers of Emissions:**
- **Land use change** (e.g., deforestation for agriculture)
- **Methane from livestock** (especially cows burping—called enteric fermentation)
- **Nitrous oxide** from fertilizers and manure
These are potent greenhouse gases, much stronger than CO₂.
🥩 **The Cost of Meat:**
Animal-based foods are alarmingly inefficient.
- **Cows**: 100 calories in feed → only 2 calories of meat
- **Chickens**: slightly better, but still 87% of feed calories lost
Even protein efficiency is dismal—less than 10–20% for most animals.
🥦 **Plant-based wins**:
Plant proteins can have **10–50x lower carbon emissions** per 100g of protein than beef or lamb.
📦 **Food Waste & Loss:**
We produce ~5,000 kcal/person/day, yet people only consume ~2,500 kcal. Why the gap?
- Feed inefficiencies (mostly from meat production)
- **Biofuel diversion**
- **Waste**—both consumer-level and supply chain losses.
One example? Crops rotting due to lack of basic storage like plastic crates. This is fixable.
🌱 **Two Key Solutions:**
1. **More productive agriculture** using improved seeds, fertilizers, irrigation to increase yields without expanding land.
2. **Changing diets**—not preaching, but *informed choices*. Reducing meat/dairy intake can dramatically lower one’s environmental impact.
💡 A well-planned plant-based diet can meet most nutritional needs—**except B12**, which must be supplemented.
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**Bottom line:**
We can’t solve climate change without transforming what we eat and how we grow it. And the good news? Many of the solutions are already within reach.
0:00 Transforming our food systems
1:14 Greenhouse gas emissions from food
6:19 Increasing crop yields
7:44 Changing our diets
10:00 Calorie efficiency of animals
14:50 Vertical farming
17:30 The solutions to solve our food crisis
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About Hannah Ritchie:
Dr. Hannah Ritchie is Senior Researcher in the Programme for Global Development at the University of Oxford. She is also Deputy Editor and Lead Researcher at Our World in Data. Her research appears regularly in the New York Times, The Economist, and the Financial Times, and in bestselling books including Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now. She is the author of Not the End of the World.
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Asian-American comedian Atsuko Okatsuka shares her experience as an immigrant, navigating personal insecurities, and ultimately finding belonging in comedy.
**In this episode,** comedian **Atsuko Okatsuka** reflects on identity, perfectionism, and feeling *not good enough*. She shares her experience growing up as an immigrant with a schizophrenic mother and how her grandmother secretly brought her to the U.S., separating her from her father.
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Atsuko explores people-pleasing, fear of disappointment, and how pain has shaped her. Through comedy and self-reflection, she confronts the past and finds connection.
The weight of cultural dislocation, family turmoil, and the constant quest for perfection can trap us in roles we don’t truly belong in. Asian-American comedian Atsuko Okatsuka—armed with a raw immigrant perspective—shares how early missteps with English and personal familial hardships left her feeling less than enough.
About Atsuko Okatsuka:Atsuko Okatsuka is an Asian-American comedian, writer, and actor born in Taiwan and raised in the U.S. She is known for her stand-up special The Intruder and her viral “drop challenge.” Her comedy explores identity, belonging, and personal insecurities. She has performed on HBO, written for TV, and appeared on various comedy platforms, establishing herself as a distinct voice in the stand-up scene.
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"Everything that we care about, everything we experience, everything we know, we know it through our conscious awareness of it."
Consciousness is everything we know, everything we experience. The mystery at the heart of consciousness lies in why our universe – despite teeming with non-conscious matter – is configured in a way where it's having a felt experience from the inside. Modern neuroscience suggests that our intuitions about consciousness are incorrect. And so, it's possible that we've been thinking about consciousness the wrong way entirely, says bestselling author Annaka Harris.
Consciousness is everything we know, everything we experience. The mystery at the heart of consciousness lies in why our universe – despite teeming with non-conscious matter – is configured in a way where it's having a felt experience from the inside. Modern neuroscience suggests that our intuitions about consciousness are incorrect. And so, it's possible that we've been thinking about consciousness the wrong way entirely, says bestselling author Annaka Harris.
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0:00- The Hard Problem of Consciousness
0:39- Defining consciousness
2:20- Is consciousness more basic in nature?
4:29- Thomas Nagel’s perspective.
6:02- Consciousness vs. thought
7:06- Decision making processes
**Summary of the Episode on Consciousness**
**1. The Hard Problem of Consciousness**
- The central mystery: How does non-conscious matter (atoms, electrons) configure in a way that creates conscious experience?
- Why does some matter "feel" something while the rest of the universe does not?
**2. Defining Consciousness**
- Consciousness is central to everything we know and experience.
- It is our direct connection to reality—without it, nothing would matter.
- Despite its importance, consciousness remains a scientific and philosophical mystery.
**3. Consciousness as a Fundamental Property**
- Some theories suggest that consciousness isn’t just a result of complex brain activity.
- It may be a fundamental aspect of nature, similar to gravity.
- If true, it could mean consciousness exists in more forms than previously thought.
**4. The Concept of "Umwelt"**
- Different organisms experience reality differently.
- Example: Bats use sonar instead of vision, leading to a completely different sensory world.
- This challenges our ability to define consciousness in a human-centric way.
**5. Decision-Making Without Thought**
- Even simple organisms and plants show behaviors that resemble decision-making.
- Example: Pea seedlings grow toward water, even responding to the sound of running water.
- The parasitic dodder vine chooses its host plant based on light frequencies.
- Suggests that basic forms of "awareness" might exist outside of brains.
**6. Rethinking Consciousness**
- If consciousness is not just a product of complexity, it might be everywhere in some form.
- This could mean that even simple processes in nature have a "felt experience."
- The idea challenges traditional science but opens new possibilities for understanding life.
**Conclusion**
- The nature of consciousness remains an open question.
- If it’s a fundamental property of the universe, it might extend far beyond human and animal minds.
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About Annaka Harris:Annaka Harris is the New York Times bestselling author of CONSCIOUS: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind and writer and producer of the forthcoming audio documentary series, LIGHTS ON. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Nautilus Magazine, the Journal of Consciousness Studies, and IAI Magazine. She is also an editor and consultant for science writers, specializing in neuroscience and physics. Annaka is the author of the children’s book I Wonder, coauthor of the Mindful Games Activity Cards, and a volunteer mindfulness teacher for the organization Inner Kids.
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"You need to run towards the pain and darkness and not away from it. I think the best leaders always run towards the darkness. They always run towards a problem."
Much of the management advice we find in books emphasizes using leadership tactics that may seem reasonably obvious. This advice is often easy to follow — but that’s not where leaders run into issues with their strategy, argues Ben Horowitz, founding partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and author of the best-selling book, "The Hard Thing About Hard Things.”Horowitz says that leaders make blunders when they find themselves in highly emotionally charged situations where the emotion prevents them from doing the thing that they intellectually know they need to do. For example, firing a friend or doing a reorganization that causes a very talented employee to lose power. These things are much more difficult, and people often avoid them. But as a leader, you're much better off running at your fear than running away from your fear because it's going to chase you down, emphasizes Horowitz. ‘Management debt’ is what happens when you don't do what you're supposed to. And accruing a lot of management debt has a cascading effect that can create a total degradation of your organization. Here’s how to lead instead.
Chapters For Easier Navigation:
0:00: Complicated emotional challenges
1:19: Management debt
2:42: Wartime conditions
4:43: Choosing courage
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How your biology and environment make your decisions for you, according to Dr. Robert Sapolsky.
Robert Sapolsky, PhD is an author, researcher, and professor of biology, neurology, and neurosurgery at Stanford University. In this interview with Big Think’s Editor-in-Chief, Robert Chapman Smith, Sapolsky discusses the content of his most recent book, “Determined: The Science of Life Without Free Will.”
Being held as a child, growing up in a collectivist culture, or experiencing any sort of brain trauma – among hundreds of other things – can shape your internal biases and ultimately influence the decisions you make. This, explains Sapolsky, means that free will is not – and never has been – real. Even physiological factors like hunger can discreetly influence decision making, as discovered in a study that found judges were more likely to grant parole after they had eaten.
This insight is key for interpreting human behavior, helping not only scientists but those who aim to evolve education systems, mental health research, and even policy making.
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About Robert Sapolsky:
Robert M. Sapolsky holds degrees from Harvard and Rockefeller Universities and is currently a Professor of Biology and Neurology at Stanford University and a Research Associate with the Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya. His books include New York Times bestseller, Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst and Determined.
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### **Humanity’s Cosmic Future: Opportunities & Challenges**
#### **The New Space Age**
- **Reusable Rockets**: SpaceX and Blue Origin have revolutionized access to orbit, making space industrialization inevitable.
- **Orbital Expansion**: Multiple space stations, commercial research, and tourism are coming. Starlink-like constellations will globalize connectivity.
- **Asteroid Mining**: Near-Earth asteroids offer *unlimited resources*, potentially ending terrestrial resource conflicts.
#### **Governance Challenges**
- **Space Traffic Control**: Satellites now cross national borders in seconds—urgent need for international orbital management (like air traffic control).
- **Global Collaboration**: Humanity struggles with planet-scale coordination (climate, AI). Space demands we overcome this to avoid chaos.
#### **Our Cosmic Significance**
- **Rare Thinkers**: Even if physically tiny, we may be the only conscious beings in the Milky Way—making us *uniquely valuable* to the universe.
- **Future Potential**: Advanced civilizations could terraform planets, harness stars, and even manipulate the universe’s fate (*Omega Point* theory).
**Why Listen?**
Brian Cox bridges visionary optimism with hard science—from SpaceX’s rockets to humanity’s potential to *reshape reality itself*. A masterclass in cosmic-scale thinking.
🎧 Listen to the full discussion
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Three psychology and sociology experts, Robert Waldinger, Michael Slepian, and Richard Reeves come together in this compilation to discuss the psychology of loneliness and the way we can combat the “friendship recession.”----------------------------It’s 2024. It’s harder than ever to foster deep connections with others. Everyone feels like they’re missing out on friendships, and every day of isolation makes it even harder to escape the rut. From keeping secrets to workism, these experts are unpacking why we feel lonely and suggesting the ways we can combat it. They encourage us to reach out, be vulnerable, and prioritize our relationships, reminding us that we are not alone in our struggle and that meaningful connections are within reach. By following their advice, we can transform our social lives and experience the joy and fulfillment that come from true companionship. Understanding the root causes of our loneliness and actively working to build and maintain connections can help us break free from isolation and create a more connected, fulfilling life. About Robert Waldinger:Robert Waldinger, MD is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a practicing psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and a Zen teacher and practitioner.For the last two decades, Waldinger has been the director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development. This study, conducted over more than 85 years, has analyzed the entire lives of 724 families to determine the activities, behaviors, and dynamics that enhance a person’s life-long well-being. Waldinger has dedicated his career to examining these elements and discovering what brings true fulfillment to human existence.He is the author of several books, including his most recent, The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of HappinessAbout Michael Slepian:Michael Slepian is the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Associate Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Columbia University. A recipient of the Rising Star Award from the Association for Psychological Science, he is the leading expert on the psychology of secrets and author of The Secret Life of Secrets. Slepian has authored more than fifty articles on secrecy, truth, and deception. His research has been covered by The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, the BBC, and more.About Richard Reeves:Richard V. Reeves is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he directs the Future of the Middle Class Initiative and co-directs the Center on Children and Families. His Brookings research focuses on the middle class, inequality and social mobility.Richard writes for a wide range of publications, including the New York Times, Guardian, National Affairs, The Atlantic, Democracy Journal, and Wall Street Journal. He is the author of Dream Hoarders (Brookings Institution Press, 2017), and John Stuart Mill – Victorian Firebrand (Atlantic Books, 2007), an intellectual biography of the British liberal philosopher and politician.Dream Hoarders was named a Book of the Year by The Economist, a Political Book of the Year by The Observer, and was shortlisted for the Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice. In September 2017, Politico magazine named Richard one of the top 50 thinkers in the U.S. for his work on class and inequality.A Brit-American, Richard was director of strategy to the UK’s Deputy Prime Minister from 2010 to 2012. Other previous roles include director of Demos, the London-based political think-tank; social affairs editor of the Observer; principal policy advisor to the Minister for Welfare Reform, and research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research. Richard is also a former European Business Speaker of the Year and has a BA from Oxford University and a PhD from Warwick University.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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