The Next Big Idea Daily

In this episode, the New York Times–bestselling author of Wintering invites us to rediscover the feelings of awe and wonder available to us all.

We are living in a strange world. Felix Salmon calls it “the New Not Normal.” Today, he explores the economic ramifications of the pandemic years, many of which are surprisingly positive.

Can the ancient wisdom of the Stoics help you live a better life today?

Technology is rapidly reshaping our lives. And not always for the better. In this episode, three Stanford professors argue that if we want technology to advance human progress, we need to rein in big tech.

Egyptian-American astrophysicist Sarafina El-Badry Nance shares how she boldly carved out a place in the field of astrophysics, grounding herself in a lifelong love of the stars to face life’s inevitable challenges and embrace the unknown.

Today, physician and New York Times bestselling author Michael Greger shares simple hacks you can use to stay healthy as you age.

Over the past two decades, Rich Horwath has helped more than a quarter million leaders develop their strategic thinking and planning skills. Today, he's here to help you.

Today, journalist and podcaster Liel Leibovitz explores how the Talmud — an ancient work of Jewish ethics, law, and tradition ― might actually be humanity’s first self-help book. • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (code DAILY gets you 20% off)

Today, Wendy Wong, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan, stops by to tell us why we need to reboot rights in this data-intensive world.

The fear of playing the fool is a universal psychological phenomenon and an underappreciated driver of human behavior, says Tess Wilkinson-Ryan. She's on the show today to explain how to live with integrity in a sucker's world. • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (code DAILY gets you 20% off)

CW: This episode contains references to suicide. In his 20s, Andy Dunn launched a DTC men’s fashion brand called Bonobos. Business was booming. But Dunn was haunted by a ghost: a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. A collision course was set in motion, threatening to unravel everything he’d built. Today, Andy joins us to talk about his harrowing experience and what it can teach all of us about the mental health stigmas.

Today, Ozan Varol, the acclaimed author of "Think Like a Rocket Scientist" shares five tools you can use to unlock your originality and unleash your unique talents.

Today, to close out the week, we'll hear psychologist Michael Gervais's groundbreaking guide for overcoming what may be the single greatest constrictor of human potential: our fear of people’s opinions.

College isn’t for everyone. Could high-value apprenticeships provide an alternative pathway to economic opportunity?

Today, one of the world’s most creative mathematicians offers a new way to look at math.

"There are little things that we can do daily that lower our risk of dementia and Alzheimer's by anywhere from 30 to 60 percent," says Marc Milstein in today's episode.

In her two decades researching organizations, Michelle King has discovered that people who succeed possess a particularly unique skill: They know how workplaces work.

To cap off the week, we'll hear from Chris Bailey, who offers up a guide to achieving calm, navigating anxiety, and staving off burnout. • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (code DAILY gets you 20% off)

Ian Leslie, a columnist for the New Statesman, is here today to teach us how to transform the heat of conflict, disagreement, and argument into the light of insight, creativity, and connection.

Today, a deep dive into cancel culture, an account of its dangers to all Americans, and the much-needed antidote from the team that brought you "Coddling of the American Mind."

Many of us mistakenly view the arts as mere entertainment. But today Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross show us how the arts and aesthetics can help us transform traditional medicine, build healthier communities, and mend an aching planet. --- • Get an early start on your holiday shopping by giving the gift of a Next Big Idea Club membership. Use code DAILY at nextbigideaclub.com for a special discount!

We're often told to tough things out. But Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Julia Keller wanted to know: is grit all it's cracked up to be, or is it possible that sometimes quitting is actually a better life strategy? --- • Get an early start on your holiday shopping by giving the gift of a Next Big Idea Club membership. Use code DAILY at nextbigideaclub.com for a special discount!

Do you pause before you speak and think before you act? Do you tune into subtle details and make connections that others miss? Well then you, my friend, might be a sensitive person. And according to today's guest, Andre Sólo, that's a good thing — because if you can learn to embrace your sensitivity, you can leverage it across the most important areas of your life: in friendships and relationships, the workplace, leadership, and parenting.

Today, Rajiv Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation and former administrator of President Barack Obama’s United States Agency for International Development, shares his audacious strategy for achieving transformational change.

Most of us believe that what we see is what’s really there. But new discoveries in neuroscience and psychology have turned this assumption upside down. What if rather than perceiving reality passively, your mind actively predicts it? That's what Andy Clark argues in today's episode.

Today, Dr. Amy Shah shares a science-based plan designed to help you take charge of your health and your cravings, without feeling deprived.

As an editor at Harper's and GQ, Christopher Cox learned the power of a good deadline. Then he began to wonder: could he leverage that power in other parts of his life?

We're capping off the week with an eye-opening journey through the magical, yet surprisingly little-understood, human emotion that is wonder led by Monica Parker, a consultant whose clients include blue-chip companies such as LinkedIn, Google, Prudential, and LEGO.

We all have a vague sense that social media is bad for us, but the truth, according to New York Times reporter Max Fisher, is that its reach and impact run far deeper than we have understood. He joins us today to explain how social media rewired our minds and what we can do to break free.

A surprising vision of how human intelligence will coevolve with digital technology and revolutionize how we think and behave from one of the founders of the MIT Media Lab.

Today, Dr. Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and author, explores the exciting new scientific discoveries that explain why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain — and what we can do about it.

Few things will change your trajectory in life or business as much as learning to think clearly. Today, Shane Parrish, founder of Farnam Street and host of "The Knowledge Project" podcast, is here to teach you how.

John Kim and Vanessa Bennett are marriage therapists. They are also partners. Today, they tell us how analyzing their own relationship helped them untangle the common barriers many individuals face on the road to a happy, loving, rewarding partnership. • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (code DAILY gets you 10% off)

Zoe Chance teaches the most popular class at the Yale School of Management. But you don't have to got to Yale to hear what she has to say, because she's with us today to share a few key insights from her book "Influence Is Your Superpower." • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (code DAILY gets you 10% off)

Has a healthy appreciation for the culture and heritage of minority groups transformed into a counterproductive obsession with group identity in all its forms? The Atlantic's Yascha Mounk thinks so. He joins us today to explain how it happened and why he believes it threatens American democracy. • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (code DAILY gets you 10% off)

Today, a top expert on decision-making explains why it’s so hard to make good choices about your health — and what you (and your doctor) can do to make better ones. Subscribe to our newsletter Download our app Join our club (code DAILY gets you 10% off)

Happy Monday! Today, Bloomberg reporter Zeke Faux is here to tell the story of the greatest financial mania the world has ever seen.

Today, we hear from Jennifer Breheny Wallace, author of the definitive book on the rise of toxic achievement culture that is overtaking our kids' and parents' lives. She offers a new framework for fighting back. • We'll be hosting a live event with Jennifer in New York City on November 1st. Click here to learn more. • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (code PODCAST gets you 20% off)

Can civility help bridge our political divide?

MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan isn’t one to avoid arguments. He relishes them as the lifeblood of democracy and the only surefire way to establish the truth. Arguments help us solve problems, uncover new ideas we might not have considered, and nudge our disagreements toward mutual understanding. A good argument, made in good faith, has intrinsic value ― and can also simply be fun. Whether you are making a presentation at work or debating current political issues with a friend, Mehdi Hasan will teach you how to sharpen your speaking skills to make the winning case. Subscribe to our newsletter Download our app Join our club (code DAILY gets you 10% off)

If memory is a simple thing, why does it so often go awry? Why is forgetting so common? How can you be certain about something you remember — and be wrong about it? Why is it so difficult to remember people's names? How can you study hard for an exam but not be able to recall the material on the test? Today, Dr. Andrew Budson and Dr. Elizabeth Kensinger address these questions and more, using their years of experience to guide readers into better memory.

Today, Adam Alter, author of "Anatomy of a Breakthrough," offers up a groundbreaking guide to breaking free from the thoughts, habits, jobs, relationships, and business models that are preventing you from achieving your full potential.

The things we tell ourselves affect how well or poorly our path in life goes. Today, we're going to flip the script on the internal stories you tell yourself so you can live life on your terms. Subscribe to our newsletter Download our app Join our club (code DAILY gets you 10% off)

Today we dig into the unprecedented risks that AI and other fast-developing technologies pose to global order, and how we might contain them while we have the chance.

Today, New York Times bestselling author Cal Newport offers a bold vision for liberating workers from the tyranny of the inbox — and unleashing a new era of productivity.

In this episode, Rina Bliss, a genetics expert and professor challenges our understanding of intelligence, explaining what it truly means to be “smart,” why conventional assessments are misleading, and what everyone can do to optimize their potential.

Change is not the exception, it’s the rule. Today, Brad Stulberg tells us how to deal with it.

We are stuck in “Infinite Browsing Mode” — swiping through endless dating profiles without committing to a single partner, jumping from place to place searching for the next big thing, and refusing to make any decision that might close us off from an even better choice we imagine is just around the corner. This culture of restlessness and indecision, Pete Davis argues, is causing tension in the lives of young people today: We want to keep our options open, and yet we yearn for the purpose, community, and depth that can only come from making deep commitments. Today, he's here to teach us how to make it to the other side. • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (code DAILY gets you 10% off)

As an award-winning science journalist, Melinda Wenner Moyer was regularly asked to investigate and address all kinds of parenting questions: how to potty train, when and whether to get vaccines, and how to help kids sleep through the night. But as Melinda's children grew, she found that one huge area was ignored in the realm of parenting advice: How do we make sure our kids don't grow up to be assholes?

Today: a fascinating exploration into how the brain creates our conscious experiences — potentially revolutionizing neuroscience and the future of technology.