The Next Big Idea Daily

The people behind your favorite feeds aren't just posting. They're performing, hustling, and building empires out of everyday life. First, Stephanie McNeal pulls back the curtain on the unfiltered reality of being an influencer. Then Sarah Frier takes us inside the origin story of the platform that made it all possible with No Filter. Sponsored By: Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

Matt Kaplan kicks things off with stories of scientists who were ridiculed, exiled, and even imprisoned for discoveries the world wasn't ready to accept. Then physicist Alan Lightman pulls back the curtain on how discovery actually happens and what it feels like from the inside, revealing science in all its messy, human glory. Sponsored By: Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

Your body's relationship with heat goes way deeper than a good sauna session — it might be the key to longevity, emotional bonding, and even what made us human in the first place. ⁠Bill Gifford⁠ makes the case for heat as a fitness tool, while ⁠Hans Rocha IJzerman⁠ reveals how our inner thermostat shaped everything from our relationships to our evolution — two books that together redefine what warmth really does for us. Sponsored By: Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily⁠

Most people are genuinely good, but the small percentage who aren't can do outsized damage to your life, your work, and your sanity. Leanne ten Brinke and Tessa West offer a masterclass in identifying and neutralizing the toxic people you're almost certainly going to encounter. Sponsored By: Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

Protein is everywhere — in our shakes, our snack bars, our cultural obsession with optimization — but the story of how it became nutrition's golden child has more to do with marketing than science. Today, we unpack the hype machine behind our favorite macronutrient and the hidden bodily process that might matter far more for our health. Big ideas from Gavin Weedon and Samantha King alongside gastroenterologist Shilpa Ravella. Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

Up first, Stanford medical professor Daria Mochly-Rosen argues that the tiny machines inside our cells — mitochondria — are quietly running the show, and that taking care of them can change how we feel, age, and function. Her book is The Life Machines: How Taking Care of Your Mitochondria Can Transform Your Health. And later, surgeon general nominee Casey Means connects metabolism to almost everything we care about—from mood to chronic disease—by sharing big ideas from her 2024 book Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health.

You've probably been told to think bigger, try harder, or just believe in yourself — but what if the real thing keeping you stuck is a set of invisible limits you didn't even choose? Nir Eyal reveals the inherited beliefs that quietly cap our potential, while Tony Wagner makes the case that breaking free also means relearning how to go deep in a world designed to keep us skimming the surface.

We've never had more power at our fingertips, yet we're constantly anxious about running out of it — in our phones, our grids, our planet. From the first fires that built civilization to the mineral supply chains fueling the next industrial era, Roland Ennos and Vince Beiser reveal that the story of human progress has always been a story about energy and the staggering costs of controlling it. Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

Brain fog, forgetfulness, and aging aren’t destiny. Majid Fotuhi shares a science-backed plan to fight back. Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

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First up, record producer turned neuroscientist Susan Rogers on This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You. And stick around because later in the show, IDEO's Michael Hendrix will reveal what musical minds can teach all of us about innovation, collaboration, and creative reinvention. Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

1️⃣ Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes by Sunita Sah 2️⃣ The No Club: Putting a Stop to Women's Dead-End Work by Linda Babcock, Brenda Peyser, Lise Vesterlund, and Laurie Weingart 🔗 Subscribe to our newsletter Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

First, economist Jennifer Doleac shares five key insights from her new book, The Science of Second Chances: A Revolution in Criminal Justice. Later, sociologist and former police officer Neil Gross will join us to tell the remarkable story of three police departments that defied the odds and actually changed cop culture from the inside. Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

Up first, Blythe Harris and Mallory May show how just five minutes of daily creativity can rewire your brain, reduce stress, and make you feel more alive. Their new book is Daily Creative: The 5-Minute Habit to Rewire Your Brain. And later in the show, YouTuber Andrew Huang offers up some hard-won advice on building a creative career in the digital age without losing yourself in the process. Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

1️⃣ Picky: How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History by Helen Zoe Veit 2️⃣ Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture by Virginia Sole-Smith Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

1️⃣ Jellyfish Age Backwards by Nicklas Brendborg 2️⃣ Methuselah’s Zoo by Steven Austad 🔗 Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

1️⃣ Mistakes to Meaning: Owning Your Past So It Doesn’t Own You by Joshua Steiner and Michael Lynton 2️⃣ Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well by Amy Edmondson 🔗 Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

We begin with Darcey Steinke, who shares five key insights from her new book, This Is the Door: The Body, Pain, and Faith. And then in the second half of the show, we hear from Anushay Hossain about her 2021 book, The Pain Gap. Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

First, Michael Wong and Robert Hazen propose a new scientific theory that suggests complexity — from life to technology — emerges through a universal evolutionary process. Their new book is Time’s Second Arrow: Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature. In the second half of the show, physicist Suzie Sheehy will share ideas from her 2023 book The Matter of Everything, which pulls back the curtain on the wild, improbable experiments that actually built our understanding of the physical world — and changed everyday life in the process. Shopify — Start your $1/month trial ➡️ ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now ➡️ ⁠notion.com/daily

We worry constantly about saying too much. But Leslie John says the bigger problem in our lives isn’t oversharing — it’s undersharing. When we default to silence instead of thoughtful honesty, we miss opportunities for connection, trust, and influence. Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

First, Akwasi Owusu-Bempah and Tahira Rehmatullah share big idea from their 2023 book, Waiting to Inhale: Cannabis Legalization and the Fight for Racial Justice. In the second half of the show, we’ll hear from Columbia neuroscientist Carl Hart, who argues that the pursuit of happiness, including responsible drug use, is a fundamental American liberty. Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

Christopher Beha on why evidence alone can’t answer life’s biggest questions — and why skepticism may be the first step toward belief. His new book is Why I Am Not an Atheist. And in the second half of the show, we hear from Simon Critchley about his book On Mysticism: The Experience of Ecstasy. Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

• Love’s Labor by Stephen Grosz • Finding the Words by Colin Campbell Sponsored By: NBID: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

We're closer than ever to living on Mars — but evolution won't wait for us to get there. Sponsored By: Shopify: Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion: Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

Nedra Glover Tawwab says the advice that actually works is the advice you least want to take.

• Genius Makers: The Mavericks Who Brought AI to Google, Facebook, and the World by Cade Metz • Futureproof: 9 Rules for Surviving in the Age of AI by Kevin Roose Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

First up, Hélène Landemore shares five insights from Politics Without Politicians: The Case for Citizen Rule. And then we hear from Senator Amy Klobuchar about her 2023 book, The Joy of Politics. Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

• How to Feel Loved: The Five Mindsets That Get You More of What Matters Most by Harry Reis and Sonja Lyubomirsky • The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides by Geoffrey L. Cohen. Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

A Princeton cognitive scientist traces the centuries-long quest to discover the mathematical laws of thought. Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at ⁠shopify.com/daily⁠ Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

Dave Evans and Bill Burnett on flow, wonder, and building a life that feels fully alive. Sponsored By: Shopify — Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/daily Notion — Try Custom Agents now at notion.com/daily

• The Oracle of Night by Sidarta Ribeiro • When Brains Dream by Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold Sponsored By: Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/daily

Marked by Time: How Social Change Has Transformed Crime and the Life Trajectories of Young Americans by Robert Sampson Correction: Parole, Prison, and the Possibility of Change by Ben Austen Sponsored By: Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/daily

Bonded By Evolution by Paul Eastwick Between Us by Batja Mesquita Sponsored By: Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/daily

As AI transforms the economy, adaptability will be more predictive of success than raw brainpower. AQ: A New Kind of Intelligence for a World That’s Always Changing by Liz Tran Tomorrowmind: Thriving at Work with Resilience, Creativity, and Connection―Now and in an Uncertain Future by Gabriella Rosen Kellerman and Martin Seligman Sponsored By: Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/daily

Rebecca Hinds is an organizational behavior expert who studies how collaboration breaks down in modern workplaces — and how to fix it. Her new book is Your Best Meeting Ever: 7 Principles for Designing Meetings That Get Things Done. And in the second half of the show, we’ll focus in on a particular meeting format that deserves its own attention. We’ll get big ideas from the 2024 book Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings. Sponsored By: Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/daily

Today, we’re going to hear some big ideas from the 2022 book Speaking in Thumbs: A Psychiatrist Decodes Your Relationship Texts So You Don't Have To by Mimi Winsberg. And if you're nursing a broken heart this Valentine's Day, stay tuned. In the second half of the show, we’re bringing you ideas from Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey by Florence Williams. Sponsored By: Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/daily

Tom Bellamy's new book, Smitten: Romantic Obsession, the Neuroscience of Limerence, and How to Make Love Last, is out now.

Nicole McNichols is a psychology professor at the University of Washington, where her course on human sexuality attracts more than 4,000 students each year. Her new book is called You Could Be Having Better Sex, and it offers a roadmap for building a more fulfilling intimate life. And later in the show, we’ll hear from activist Chanel Contos, whose book Consent Laid Bare examines the cultural forces that enable sexual harm, and how we can create positive change. Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/daily

Today, big ideas come from the books Guilt Free: Reclaiming Your Life from Unreasonable Expectations by Jennifer Reid and Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab. Sponsored By: Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/daily

Nick Chater and George Loewenstein are behavioral scientists who've spent decades studying decision-making, and their new book is called It's on You: How Corporations and Behavioral Scientists Have Convinced Us That We’re to Blame for Society's Deepest Problems. Nick joins us to explain why blaming individuals for society's problems is not just wrong — it's exactly what powerful interests want us to believe. And stick around, because later in the show we'll hear from Stanford professor Brian Lowery, whose book Selfless makes a fascinating companion argument: that the whole idea of the independent, self-contained individual might be a myth in the first place. Sponsored By: Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/daily

Business historian John Landry and entrepreneur Howard Wolk argue that America really is different when it comes to fostering new ventures. Then we'll hear from journalist David Sax about what it actually means to build a business and a life. Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at shopify.com/daily