Keep Talking

Kathryn Mannix is a palliative care doctor and the author of With The End In Mind.------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Regret, mistakes, and living fully(02:05) Hospice work and “encountering death”(04:40) Early medicine: oncology training and dying patients(07:20) Falling out of love with oncology research culture(10:10) The hospice “statement from fate”(13:05) Ordinary dying vs Hollywood’s scary version(16:05) Living while dying: love, family, relationships(19:05) Practical “sadmin”: sorting life before death(22:10) Why regret gets a bad rap(25:30) Doing the work: turning wounds into scars(28:55) Dying environments: people and mood matter most(32:10) Nana’s wisdom: losing familiarity with dying(35:40) Medicine “kidnapped dying” and death taboo(38:50) Values-based planning: “what matters most to me”(41:55) Death education, pets, and breaking secrecy(44:10) What dying looks like: hearing and breathing changes(47:25) Trauma from misunderstanding dying sounds(50:35) Comfort meds, guilt, and what happens after death

Jonathan Zimmeramn is a Professor of History of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, and the author of the books "Free Speech: And Why You Should Give a Damn" and "Whose America?: Culture Wars in the Public Schools."------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) intro(00:27) Polarized, pessimistic America(02:10) From Birchers to viral clicks(05:05) Decline of religion as fuel(08:12) “Love thy enemy” vs “I hate my opponents”(10:45) Cross-tribe media: why I watch Fox(13:18) Dopamine diets and tribal brains(16:02) Roots beyond social: 90s, higher ed divides(18:40) Education sorts and isolates by degree(21:15) Overlaps and humbling lessons from Fox (Ukraine, MIC)(24:05) Charlie Kirk: free-speech ideals and contradictions(27:22) Assassination & the internet underworld(30:10) Boys, meaning, and failing institutions(33:05) Digital cults, religion, and liberal education(36:10) Learned Hand’s “spirit of liberty”(38:22) Printing-press analogy, AI, and Postman’s question(41:05) Phones out K-16 and secondhand distraction(43:38) Anxiety on campus and adult responsibility(45:30) Free-speech hypocrisy & the “American Hour” proposal

Judith Thurman is a staff writer at "The New Yorker," and the author of many books, including "Isak Dinesen: The Life of a Storyteller" and "Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette."------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------(00:00) “How’d you get to be that thing you are?”—origin story(02:18) Precocious reader, teacher mom, “foreordained” to write(04:52) Yes-and-no confidence; from drivel to good(07:10) Poet in Europe: barmaid, tutor, no money(09:48) 1970s NYC—dangerous, electric, cheap rent, first bylines(12:22) Nation → Ms. magazine → journalism takes off(14:05) Knocking on The New Yorker’s door; Gottlieb says yes(16:40) How a New Yorker piece gets made—editors, rewrites, heat(19:12) Subjects and boundaries: strong & “lost” women(21:58) Emily Wilson to Vanessa Beecroft; fasting spa detour(24:41) Writing (against) Gertrude Stein; Handmaid’s Tale hindsight(27:20) Why Stein’s “cult” endures—salon as tourist attraction(29:58) Anne Frank’s freedom to feel; the monumental annotation(32:36) Amelia Earhart—image-making, legend, and dying young(34:28) Biographies as marriages; choosing a life to live with(35:57) Isak Dinesen begins: Ms. piece, Denneny, the $10k “bride price”(38:43) Rethinking colonialism—Kenyan correspondent, mea culpa(41:52) Writing life: night vs. morning, momentum, humility; truth famine & journalism’s role

Liesbeth van der Horst is the director of the Verzetsmuseum - the Museum of WWII Resistance in Amsterdam.------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Origins of the Resistance Museum(02:05) Moving Locations and Growth(04:12) Becoming Director in 2003(06:45) Lessons from Resistance Figures(09:30) The 1940 German Invasion(13:10) Early Occupation and Dutch Nazis(16:42) The February Strike of 1941(21:20) Gradual Anti-Jewish Measures(25:18) Deportations and Camp Westerbork(29:35) Dutch Traditions of Tolerance(33:10) Hiding, Families, and Anne Frank(38:28) Who Resisted and Why(42:15) Gerrit van der Veen’s Story(44:50) Fake IDs and Underground Efforts(47:08) Remembering Resistance Fighters(49:05) Why the Museum Still Matters

Lisa Marchiano is a Jungian analyst and is the co-host of This Jungian Life podcast.------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Finding Jung Feels Like a Native Tongue(02:10) Early Memories: Mother and Jung’s Mysterious Books(04:35) The Story of Jung’s Bell and the Paranormal(06:20) From History and Humanitarian Work to Inner Crisis(08:15) A Breakup Sparks a Deep Depression(10:50) The Columbus Avenue Bookstore Ritual(13:10) Stumbling Upon “On the Way to the Wedding”(15:35) Reading the Book That Changed Everything(18:10) Writing Down Dreams and the Rabbit Hole Begins(20:25) Realizing Suffering Has Meaning(22:50) Deferring Law School for Work in Bosnia(25:05) Growing Doubt About Her Career Path(28:15) The Phone Call to the Jung Institute(31:10) Refusing the Call but Unable to Let It Go(34:20) Wrestling With Persona and Prestige(38:15) Choosing Social Work Over Law(41:40) The Calling Becomes Stronger in Bosnia(45:05) Returning to New York and Social Work School(48:20) Balancing Training With Motherhood(50:40) Why Jung’s Ideas Are So Beautiful and Expansive(55:20) The Rise of Jung’s Popularity and the Podcast(60:15) Depth Versus Ideology: Why Jung Resonates Today(64:10) Jungian Work as a Container for Meaning(67:50) Defining Synchronicity and Its Significance(70:00) Her Mother’s Legacy and Final Reflections

Walter Robinson is an investigative journalist, an editor-at-large at "The Boston Globe," and is the Donald W. Reynolds Visiting Professor of Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.This is a rebroadcast of episode 42, from 2022.------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(00:58) A path to journalism(10:00) The power and state of the Catholic Church during the late 80s and 90s(21:40) "The Boston Globe's" "Spotlight" team(28:10) The Catholic Church's reputation before the Spotlight team’s investigation(35:59) What was revealed in the church’s internal documents(40:56) The Church’s consistent strategy of protecting abusive priests(46:58) Nearly every bishop in every diocese knew about abuse and participated in a cover-up(53:27) The role of the Church's celibacy vow in incentivizing abuse(59:36) What explains the abusive behavior of Catholic Church priests?(01:04:06) Women's second-class status and the role of a free press(01:07:55) The need for a full confession from the Church(01:15:48) The role of investigative journalism today and why it matters(01:20:43) The importance of investigative journalists to think outside the box

Mark Clifford is president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong and the author of "The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong's Greatest Dissident, and China's Most Feared Critic."------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------00:00 Intro00:57 Mark's relationship with Jimmy Lai06:40 Jimmy's journalism in Hong Kong10:41 The source of Jimmy's devout anti-communism18:27 Jimmy's interest in journalism21:35 Was Jimmy optimistic about Hong Kong's future?24:27 China's public enemy #133:22 Jimmy's core principles39:40 Lessons from Jimmy's example44:14 Hong Kong and JImmy's future49:47 Jimmy's eccentricities and flaws

James Hollis is a Jungian psychoanalyst and the author of many books, including "A Life of Meaning," which is the primary subject of our conversation.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------00:00 Intro01:05 Why Jim wrote "A Life of Meaning"05:28 The shadow08:38 Why confront one's shadow?10:48 The numinous and finding your calling25:20 Lethargy is a threat to living29:55 A modern culture of distraction32:28 Jim's decision to become a public educator37:02 Jim's growth beyond his family of origin44:30 Psychopathology 48:26 Sin: missing the mark55:15 Fear - the spirit of evil is negation of the life force by fear 58:50 Jim is a "recovering nice person"

Daniel Lieberman is a psychiatrist, the SVP of mental health at Hims & Hers, and the author of the best-selling book, The Molecule of More.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(00:59) What would humans be without dopamine?(01:29) Donating dopamine to phones, not friends(03:58) What is dopamine?(07:53) What are the signs of someone with high dopamine?(11:56) How can high dopamine people live wisely?(18:50) Can workaholics change their insatiability? (22:22) "The modern devil is cheap dopamine"(28:58) What does a wise future look like re: smartphones?(31:37) Dopamine in relationships and love(38:46) Skills to develop to sustain long-term relationships(43:11) Are we on the cusp of a conservative cultural shift?(48:02) Modern dopamine and men in society(54:42) What advice does Daniel give to his sons?(57:14) What's next for Daniel?

Orna is an Israeli sociologist, a teacher at Tel Aviv University, and the author of the landmark book, "Regretting Motherhood." This is a rebroadcast of episode 78, from 2023.

Robert Plomin is a British-American scientist, a psychologist and behavioral geneticist, and the author of the bestselling book, Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(01:00) The history of nature vs nurture debate(15:40) "All parents are nurture-ists - until their second child."(18:54) Identical twin studies(39:16) Lessons from the film "Three Identical Strangers"(41:20) How much influence do parents have on their kids?(58:40) Genes and psychology(01:10:55) A better model for psychology(01:16:35) How should society look, based on the truth and power of genes?(01:27:03) Nucleus genomics in NYC for polygenic information

Derek Sivers is a TED speaker, an essayist, a businessman, a musician, one of my favorite thinkers on the planet, and the author of many books including his most recent, Useful Not True: Whatever Works For You.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(01:00) Your actions reveal your values(03:25) Obvious to you, amazing to someone else(05:19) How Derek thinks about money(13:03) Deep happy vs. shallow happy(21:00) Following an innate drive and desire(24:07) 18 months of feeling adrift(30:04) To find direction: read a lot and wait for energy(31:18) The power of heroes and anti-heroes(36:05) Egotists and hedonists(40:00) Changing your mind and keeping your identity small(44:37) Think of yourself as a student, not a preacher(47:42) Personal growth over wealth growth(53:00) Prioritizing openness(56:59) What lifestyles or beliefs is Derek against?(01:04:50) The downside of optimism in Derek's personal life(01:14:24) Dating, marriage, and the role of women in Derek's life(01:23:55) How to save a life with $2,000(01:27:50) Derek's thoughts on philanthropy(01:33:54) "Useful Not True"(01:38:39) A prequel to "How To Live"(01:41:13) "Useful Not True": the truth of many answers and perspectives

Anna Lembke is a psychiatrist, Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, and the author of "Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence."This is a rebroadcast of episode 35, from 2022.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(00:57) Anna Lembke’s interest in studying addiction(04:34) Defining addiction and the "gremlin theory" of addiction(15:19) Characteristics of an addict(23:48) The stigma around addictions(26:46) Characteristics of a healthy person living today(33:50) The importance and role of struggle in a good life(41:04) The impact of modern addictions on society today(46:54) Habit change ideas and the role of struggle in a good life(52:11) How to know if you're becoming an addict(58:45) The effective and ethical way to address addiction(01:03:58) Workaholism as an addiction(01:20:13) The connection between shame and a “never enough” attitude towards work

Russell Foster is a sleep expert, a professor of circadian neuroscience, a fellow of the Royal Society, and the author of Life Time.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(00:55) Views on sleep through time(03:34) Why we have de-prioritized sleep(05:39) Where should sleep rank in our health priorities?(08:22) How do we know we're getting enough sleep?(11:59) The historic and current cost of sleep deprivation(17:44) Why does sleep exist?(21:53) What is happening biologically while people sleep?(27:59) Sleep and mental illness(38:09) What those with mental illness can do to stabilize their sleep(01:00:25) Sleep for new parents(01:03:35) How would a healthy society approach sleep?

Nick Pollard, "The People Displeaser," is a speaker and life coach who advocates for honest, authentic living through mindful boundaries, free of people-pleasing.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(01:00) When Nick's was homicidal and suicidal(04:09) Nick's father(09:10) How Nick got his life together(18:08) Why Nick focuses on people-pleasing(23:25) Symptoms of a people-pleaser(26:44) Why do people become people-pleasers?(31:23) Your rules for life and a personal bill of rights(37:23) Establishing personal boundaries(42:39) Confronting fear and quotes from Jim Hollis(49:16) People-pleasers often have few same-sex friends(57:11) When should former people-pleasers leave relationships?(01:09:15) Nick's relationship deal-breakers

Pico Iyer is a novelist, a travel writer, and the author of many books, including his most recent, "Aflame: Learning From Silence," which is the subject of this conversation.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(00:00) Intro(00:58) Santa Barbara, June 1990(04:25) The New Camaldoli Hermitage(07:30) Pico's life when he first went to New Camaldoli(11:08) Silence elicits gratitude, what's shared and what's essential(16:10) Intentionally turning off technology(22:39) Creating a wise amount of "cathedral time"(25:53) Embracing silence as a non-religious person(32:03) Leonard Cohen exploring his inner landscape in silence(36:05) How Pico has developed from his 100+ hermitage visits(41:35) Saying no in order to prioritize space for silence(47:07) How to begin a life with more silence and contemplation(50:41) Silence as an antidote to despair(54:36) What Pico has learned from the Dalai Lama

Orville Schell is an author, a journalist, a China scholar, and the director of the Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(01:00) Orville's entering China in the 1970s(07:10) Was was China like in the 1970s?(10:09) The palpable fear in China in the 1970s(14:55) The details of Mao Zedong the Cultural Revolution(20:40) What preceded Communism in China?(25:32) Why was Communism appealing to Chinese revolutionaries? (30:11) China in the 1970s and how it reopened to the world(37:10) Why did China not become free after the 1980s?(41:39) 1989 and Tiananmen Square(45:28) China in the next few years(52:19) How might China become free?(55:26) Why China matters

Joseph Goldstein is an author, the co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and is one of the most influential and important figures to bring vipassana meditation practices into the American mainstream.A rebroadcast from 2022.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(00:45) How Joseph ended up in Asia a young man(04:39) Reason for interest in Buddhism and meditation(08:59) Immersing in the study of the mind(12:41) The Buddha’s teachings(18:52) Joseph's psychological state when first exposed to Buddhism and meditation(21:01) The daily habits, discipline, and rituals to try to achieve Enlightenment(27:14) Deciding to devote his life to meditation(30:11) Communicating to his mother his desire to devote his life to Buddhism(32:59) Metaphysical views pre and post meditation(37:46) Buddhism is non-theistic(40:14) What is the Dharma?(44:48) Integrating Buddhist teachings with practice and The Noble Eightfold Path(53:37) The first step to use mindfulness to ease psychological suffering(01:01:24) Awareness versus the weather pattern of one's mind(01:04:30) Using mindfulness to respond, rather than to react(01:15:37) Dealing with grief(01:24:50) How can we improve our lives by being mindful?

James Hollis is a psychoanalyst, one of the world's most prolific Jungian thinkers, and the author of many books, including "Living An Examined Life."A rebroadcast from 2021.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(01:02) Jim's transition from academia to psychoanalysis(06:24) The decision to pursue psychoanalysis as a full-time profession(10:59) Gathering the courage to pursue psychoanalysis(18:19) What about Jung’s work resonated with Jim?(30:16) Jim's process of helping people navigate the transitionary phases of their lives(41:31) The most pressing issues Jim sees facing Americans(48:24) The primary blockers to growth and self-healing(51:54) Discerning the difference fears you should avoid and fears you should face(57:01) Exhausted relationships vs. relationships that need endurance(01:09:02) The ratio of men vs. women seeking counsel and therapy and how it’s changed over the years(01:13:21) Why most men tend to suppress their innermost emotions(01:19:49) Jim's explanation of Joseph Campbell’s ‘hero’s journey’(01:25:31) How to live an examined, authentic life

Elizabeth Economy is a political scientist, a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, a China expert, and the author of multiple books, including "The World According to China" and "The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State."------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(01:00) Xi Jinping's father's story(07:16) The Cultural Revolution(12:02) "China's Holocaust" between 1950's-1970's(13:10) Why Marxism resonated in China(21:43) Darker aspects of the Cultural Revolution(33:48) The rise of Xi Jinping and the rise of China's economy(38:33) The meme of Xi Jinping as Winnie the Pooh(41:43) Xi Jinping's personality and vision for China(46:27) The near-term future of U.S-China relations(53:00) What America can do to win Cold War 2.0