• Episode 148: Walter Robinson - How Journalists Exposed the Catholic Sexual Abuse Story
    Mar 28 2025

    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.

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    (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

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    1 hr and 26 mins
  • Episode 147: Mark Clifford: Why Is China Afraid of Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai?
    Mar 21 2025

    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."

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    00:00 Intro

    00:57 Mark's relationship with Jimmy Lai

    06:40 Jimmy's journalism in Hong Kong

    10:41 The source of Jimmy's devout anti-communism

    18:27 Jimmy's interest in journalism

    21:35 Was Jimmy optimistic about Hong Kong's future?

    24:27 China's public enemy #1

    33:22 Jimmy's core principles

    39:40 Lessons from Jimmy's example

    44:14 Hong Kong and JImmy's future

    49:47 Jimmy's eccentricities and flaws

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    55 mins
  • Episode 146: James Hollis - How To Be Who You Are
    Mar 14 2025

    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.

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    00:00 Intro

    01:05 Why Jim wrote "A Life of Meaning"

    05:28 The shadow

    08:38 Why confront one's shadow?

    10:48 The numinous and finding your calling

    25:20 Lethargy is a threat to living

    29:55 A modern culture of distraction

    32:28 Jim's decision to become a public educator

    37:02 Jim's growth beyond his family of origin

    44:30 Psychopathology

    48:26 Sin: missing the mark

    55:15 Fear - the spirit of evil is negation of the life force by fear

    58:50 Jim is a "recovering nice person"

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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Episode 145: Daniel Lieberman - Direct Dopamine To Friends, Not Phones
    Mar 7 2025

    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.

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    (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?

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    59 mins
  • Episode 143: Robert Plomin - The Power of Genes in Human Nature
    Feb 21 2025

    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.

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    (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

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    1 hr and 30 mins
  • Episode 142: Derek Sivers: How To Keep Growing
    Feb 14 2025

    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.

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    (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

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    1 hr and 47 mins
  • Episode 141: Anna Lembke - Dopamine Nation: Overcoming Modern Addictions
    Feb 7 2025

    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.

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    (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

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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • Episode 140: Russell Foster - Sleep: The Most Important Thing You Do
    Jan 31 2025

    Russell Foster is a sleep expert, a professor of circadian neuroscience, a fellow of the Royal Society, and the author of Life Time.

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    (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?

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    1 hr and 7 mins
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