Life Examined

Judith Orloff, UCLA clinical psychiatrist and author of The Genius of Empathy: Practical Skills to Heal Your Sensitive Self, Your Relationships, and the World, explains that empathy is what connects us. It’s the ability to care, to listen, and to open our hearts. The practice of empathy, Orloff says, is a simple yet “precious gift” and that displaying empathy is the “best of who we are.” Orloff also says being empathetic is “a way we can save our world because empathy is the key element in reaching out to people, even if you disagree with them, even if you don't like them, it allows you to establish accord with them.”In addition, Orloff says, “when you're open to empathy, all kinds of good things can happen to your body. There's something called the Mother Teresa effect, where it's been shown that if you witness an act of empathy, and I were to draw your blood, it would show that your immunity would go up immediately. And what that says to me is that just alone, watching empathy can increase our immunity and make us healthier.”Zachary Wallmark, an associate professor of musicology and with the Center for Translational Neuroscience at the University of Oregon, talks about his research on the intersection of music and empathy. Wallmark has observed, through magnetic imagining, how listening to music relates to social cognition and empathy. “Empathy,” Wallmark says, “produces a very distinctive neural signature in the brain when folks are listening to music. Empathy modulates music processing in areas of the brain that are associated with cognitive control, with social processing, with reward, and with emotion.” Through music, Wallmark says, we can “explore our own identity, learn about others, bond with others. So music can be useful in social cohesion, bonding, [and] it can help coordinate group activity. It can also demarcate social boundaries, who is like us and who is different from us.”In her book The Genius of Empathy: Practical Skills to Heal Your Sensitive Self, Your Relationships, and the World, author Judith Orloff says “If you're having difficulties with your relationships, just try this gift-- just to listen, with your eyes, with your voice, with your heart - it's such a gift and it helps people feel seen and heard and valued, which is the point of empathy.” Judith Orloff, pictured here, says “in my life, the most important thing to me is connection, and love and understanding. That is what gives me the most meaning Whether it's with nature, with human beings, with animals - empathy allows us that opportunity to connect with our human kind and everything about this life that we've been given.” Photo courtesy of Bob RihaZachery Wallmark, pictured here, says “music can create a kind of playground to try on, in a fantasy sense, different types of emotional reactions. You can be a different person, you can experience things that you're not experiencing in your … normal life." Photo by Kim Leeson.Delve deeper into life, philosophy, and what makes us human by joining the Life Examined discussion group on Facebook. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Katherine Morgan Schafler, author of The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control, explores our relationship with the ideal of being a perfectionist. Morgan Schafler encourages greater self-awareness in managing perfectionism, saying it’s OK to be inspired without the expectation that we will ever achieve that goal. Katherine Morgan Schafler. Photo courtesy of Eric Michael PearsonThis episode of Life Examined with Katherine Morgan Schafler was originally broadcast May 26th, 2024 Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Doctor Elizabeth Comen and Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Linda Greenhouse talk about gender bias and its lingering impact on women’s healthcare and reproductive rights. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Casper ter Kuile, co-founder of Nearness, and author of “The Power of Ritual,” discusses the value of building community and coming together, and offers some practical advice for forging meaningful connections including the ability to shift away from some of our accustomed patterns of giving advice and instead offer our full attention, loving presence and just listen. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Jonathan Bastian talks with writer, lecturer, and author Susan Cain about the sweet joy of sadness. Cain, author of Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, reflects on the touch of sweetness that comes from sadness and despair and shares how a greater acceptance of these emotions can be beneficial and even therapeutic. Delve deeper into life, philosophy, and what makes us human by joining the Life Examined discussion group on Facebook. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Ryan Holiday, speaker and author of “Discipline is Destiny: The Power of Self Control” shares some advice on the stoic virtue of self discipline. Holiday says that in today’s world of abundance, self discipline and self imposed boundaries are fundamental to meeting our potential, achieving balance and leading a good life. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Psychologist Katherine Morgan Schaflter talks about her book The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control, the universal desire to seek perfection, and the need for greater self-awareness in managing perfectionism. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Pulitzer-prize winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen discusses his memoir “A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial” and the challenges and pain he faced growing up a Vietnamese refugee. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Gloria Mark , Professor at the University of California at Irvine and author of the book “Attention Span:A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity,” explains how much harder it has become to resist the urge to be distracted mostly because of the constant access to our our digital devices. Mark says we should be more cognizant of these types of distractions and suggests asking yourself before you next reach for your phone whether doing so will provide any value. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Scott Galloway discusses his book "The Algebra of Wealth" and the growing disconnect between young people and their economic futures. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Kieran Setyia, professor of philosophy at MIT and author of “Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way” reflects on failure and suggests we push back on how we frame our lives through successes and failures, winners and losers. Doing so, Setyia says, doesn’t make us succeed more but allows “failure to take a different shape and have less centrality” in how we value our lives. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Journalist Abraham Lustgarten and scientist-turned-activist Rose Abramoff discuss the impacts of climate research on human migratory patterns and activism. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

KCRW Life Examined host Jonathan Bastian makes a guest appearance on KCRW’s How’s Your Sex Life, and talks about his insights on relationships, divorce and heartbreak. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Scott Galloway NYU professor, podcaster and author of “The Algebra of Wealth: A Simple Formula for Financial Security,” reflects on life’s blessings. Galloway says he’s grateful for the many successes in his life, which he attributes not to hard work but to the people, time and circumstances that made them possible. His message to others who share his good fortune, "don't hoard wealth,” spend it on time and experiences with your friends and your family. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

After years of working at the intersection of immigration and education, journalist Lauren Markham offers a different approach to writing about immigration that may lead to greater understanding. In her book A Map of Future Ruins: On Borders and Belonging, Markham talks about challenging narratives and stories, looking at our own history, and asking what it means to belong to a place.​ Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, renowned writer and author Michael Pollan on the new science of psychedelics. Pollan describes how new treatments using psilocybin can open pathways in our minds and when used with supervision, have been successful in treating depression, anxiety and addiction. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Renowned writer and author Michael Pollan delves into his three-decade odyssey exploring America's food systems. With six bestselling books to his name, Pollan's pioneering inquiries have raised the fundamental question: ‘What’s in our food, and where it comes from?’ Pollan also explores plants that influence our consciousness, citing caffeine as a prime example. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, psychology and education professor at Columbia University, Peter Coleman explains why in turbulent times at home and across the globe, Costa Rica remains peaceful and stable. In the aftermath of bloody conflicts, Coleman says, Costa Rica intentionally chose to stop war and designed their country around that vision. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Neil Mullarkey, comedian, actor, and author of In the Moment: Build your confidence, creativity, and communication at work, shares his journey into comedy and writing and how he recognized the power of comedy at an early age. He’s toured the world, working with well-known comedians like Mike Myers, with whom he founded the Comedy Store Players in London. Mullarckey found that the skills he learned in his improv classes translated well into leadership and management. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Brad Stulberg writer and author of “The Practice of Groundedness: A Transformative Path to Success that Feeds – Not Crushes – Your Soul” on behavioral action and why the best way to feel good and bring about a change in mood is to force ourselves to start or to get going, even if when we don’t feel like it. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Jennifer Chatman, Professor of Management at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, looks at the role of narcissism in leadership and why CEOs of corporations “are more likely to be narcissistic than the population at large, by about 6%.” Ramani Durvasula, clinical psychologist and author of It's Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People, provides the clinical definition of narcissism. She explains how those traits can be present in others and the harm and hurt they cause. “They're so grandiose, your simple piece of feedback can spin them out into a rage,” she says. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, clinical psychologist and Buddhist teacher Tara Brach on activism and how easy it is to unintentionally absorb the hate and anger leveled at others. Brach suggests that rather than reacting with the same anger, try taking an additional step and move to a place of reflection, care and understanding. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Paul Bloom, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto and the author of Psyche: The Story of the Human Mind, explores the history and controversial legacy surrounding the renowned 20th century Austrian neuroscientist Sigmund Freud. Modern psychotherapy has come a long way over the last century. Many of Freud’s bizarre theories on psychosexual development and the Oedipal complex have been debunked, yet Bloom points out that in the field of psychology, “there's no figure now [who’s] anything close to Freud, either in influence or in scope.” Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Denis McManus, professor of philosophy at the University of Southampton reflects on authenticity and the allure of being true to ourselves and suggests that while authenticity may be having a moment, it is just one of many values we should aspire to. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Award-winning journalist and writer Kenneth Miller delves into our long and mysterious relationship with sleep and explores the scientists who embarked on pioneering sleep research. In his book Mapping the Darkness; The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked The Mysteries of Sleep Miller posits that “for a long time, sleep was really [just] a sideline for scientists,” and sleep researchers struggled to be taken seriously in a field, which for most of the 20th century, had viewed sleep as a wasteful habit or something to be overcome. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, corporate speaker, former professional poker player and author of “Quit: The Power Of Knowing When To Walk Away, ” Annie Duke says knowing when to quit can be helpful when it comes to relationships or jobs and that fear of the unknown or being alone, shouldn’t be an excuse for inaction. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Acclaimed writer Leslie Jamison takes us on an intimate and honest personal journey, navigating the devastating collapse of her marriage and the joy of becoming a mother for the first time. In her latest memoir, Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story, she recounts her relationships with men, her parents, her child, and herself, drawing on her own lived experiences in order “to ask about what it feels like to be alive.” Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Yale professor of psychology Paul Bloom offers another perspective on retirement. Although leisure and free time are appealing, research indicates that a more balanced approach involving some work may be healthier, more rewarding and make us happier. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

While our modern lifestyles offer many advantages and independence, they have also led to a rise in loneliness as we’ve become less reliant on the communities that once held us together. Casper ter Kuile, former Harvard divinity scholar and co-founder of the community-building project Nearness, argues that the connections and community we build with each other “is what lifes all about.” Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Indigenous ecologist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass speaks about the virtues of moss and how one of the smallest and humblest plants on the planet can teach us to live more sustainably and harmoniously with the world around us. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

While good habits and rituals are beneficial, brain scientists and psychologists also say the key to a fulfilling and happy life is novelty, variety, and disruption from our routines. In her book Look Again; The Power of Noticing What Was Always There, co-author and MIT neuroscientist Tali Sharot sources decades of research illustrating that greater sensitivity, appreciation, and innovation happens when we dishabituate. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Anna Lembke, addiction specialist at Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, and author of “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence,” provides the clinical definition of addiction and says it’s becoming easier than ever adopt addictive behaviors but harder to spot the addiction in ourselves. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Jonathan Bastian talks with Ross Gay, poet, essayist, and professor of English at Indiana University. Author of “The Book of Delights,” Gay’s latest collection of essays and poems is “Inciting Joy,” in which he ponders sources of joy, from caring for his father, to skateboarding, gardening, and playing pickup basketball. “Joy is what emerges from our tending to one another through the difficulty, making it possible to survive the difficulty,’ says Gay. “Joy emerges from that.” Delve deeper into life, philosophy, and what makes us human by joining the Life Examined discussion group on Facebook. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

In his article “Science can explain a broken heart. Could science help heal mine?,” Los Angeles Times columnist Todd Martens shares his story of heartbreak and explores the science behind physical and emotional suffering. Matthew Fray, relationship coach and author of This Is How Your Marriage Ends; A Hopeful Approach to Saving Relationships, reflects on his divorce and flags some seemingly benign behaviors that over time can undermine love and trust in a relationship. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, philosopher and writer Alain de Botton says, simple as it sounds, there's nothing more enduring and attractive in a partner than being fully and completely heard and understood. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

According to psychologist Gloria Mark, the average attention span is just 47 seconds. Mark, a two-decade veteran in researching attention, says our ability to focus is declining at an alarming rate and is impacting our health. Much of this increase is due to our modern, fast-paced lifestyles and technology. Mark underscores the implications for children while emphasizing the potential for behavioral reversal. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, clinical psychologist and Buddhist teacher Tara Brach on suffering, the negativity bias and why it’s a good idea not to overly fixate on the negative in our lives. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Devin Sean Moss, humanist chaplain, writer, and host of The Adventures of Memento Mori podcast, discusses belief, prayer, and his role as a chaplain providing spiritual care. Throughout 2023, Moss provided support and counseling to Phillip Hancock , a death row inmate, before and during his execution by the State of Oklahoma. Moss reflects on his interactions with Hancock, delving into the significance of compassion, prayer, and the unique challenges posed by Hancock's explicit rejection of the Christian faith. “He was a fascinating human, incredibly smart,” says Moss. “He had the Bible practically memorized and I think he struggled with faith. I really do believe that he wanted to believe, but knowing what he had gone through his entire life, I can completely see why one in his position would not believe.” Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, historian George Makari explores the powerful human emotion of hate, xenophobia and fear of the other and says some people “fall in hate, the way the rest of us fall in love.” Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Theresa MacPhail, associate professor of science and technology studies at Stevens Institute of Technology and author of Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World, discusses the origins of allergies, tracing their discovery back to British physician Charles Blackley who put hay fever on the map. Alanna Collen, evolutionary biologist and author of 10% Human: How Your Body's Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness, explores the link between our microbiomes and the likelihood of developing allergies. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Iza Kavedžija, a cultural anthropologist who lived in the Kansai region of Japan, while researching the older members of Japanese society, talks about how Japanese culture values the modest pursuit - a concept called ikigai- small actions or interests, like making tea, that if done masterfully and with full attention provide fulfillment and meaning in life. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Christian Wiman, author of Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair, discusses life after being diagnosed with a rare and incurable form of his cancer and how preparing for death influenced his thought, faith, and poetry. Wiman, the Clement-Muehl Professor of Communication Arts at Yale Divinity School, examines anguish and despair and his “real desire to make faith more the center of my life, not to live it quietly to bring it into my work to bring it into my life.” Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Anna Lembke, addiction specialist at Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, and author of “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence,” discusses the human tendency to lie and why telling the truth not only brings us closer together but is actually healthy for us. The intimacy created from being truthful, Lembke says, is a wonderful and healthy source of dopamine. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Robert Sapolsky is a professor of biology, neurology, and neuro-surgery at Stanford University. He’s also a neuroendocrinology researcher and author. In his newest book Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will, he posits that extensive scientific research indicates that our decisions and choices in life are largely out of our control. Neuroscience, genetics, evolutionary theory, and child development are several factors that can help us understand how we act is predetermined, contrary to popular belief. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Oliver Burkeman, journalist and author of Four Thousand Weeks; Time Management for Mortals explores our relationship with time and asks how our common belief that our ultimate happiness or contentment will only happen at some point in the future - perhaps when we’ve got a top job, house or kids- is impacting our sense of happiness and contentment day to day. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Katherine May, British writer and author of Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, shares her love of the winter months, describing her physical feelings when immersed in the cold local sea as a “sensory delight.” Writer, surfer, and swimmer Bonnie Tsui shares stories from her latest book Why We Swim and explains why humans have such a long and deep connection to water. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Cassie Holmes, Professor of Marketing and Behavioral Decision Making and author of “Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most,” suggests ways to value and savor the more ordinary moments and says when it comes to finding happiness, it helps to measure those less extraordinary moments in our lives. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Jonathan Bastian talks with psychologist Paul Bloom about the role that hardship and pain play in living a good life. Bloom, author of “The Sweet Spot,” explores why — from running a marathon to eating spicy food — suffering helps us to thrive and gives us satisfaction. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

British author Katherine May offers some (heart)warming advice on winter and explores simple ways to rediscover the joy of enchantment. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Harvard divinity scholar Casper ter Kuile talks about the power of ancient ritual and how incorporating a tech sabbath and switching off our phones, can help us refocus and recenter our lives. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe