Why Einstein called awe the fundamental emotionIf you’ve gotten goosebumps when hearing a story about a stranger’s selfless heroism, or you’ve felt your chest swell at...
How facing adversity can help you live a deeper, more meaningful life“There would be something very, very empty and meaningless about [a] sort of life with no problems.”
Can you measure love? 3 experts discussFrom neuroscience to philosophy, experts reveal why compassion may be the most important human skill we have.
How accepting impermanence can end the struggle to “fix” your life“The idea is that we move from a place of wanting the world to conform to what we like [towards]...
How your cognitive biases lead to terrible investing behaviors“Let me walk you through the biggest traps that you should be aware of that are a danger to your...
Is free will a fallacy? Science and philosophy explain.Philosophy asks if free will is real. Neuroscience reveals why the answer is more complicated than we expected.
Why 2025 is the single most pivotal year in our lifetime"We're living in an extraordinary moment in history. We are at a moment here in 2025 where we have world...
Even AI is self-censoring. Here’s why that matters.If the people controlling AI are biased, the output will also be. Free speech scholar Jacob Mchangama makes the case...
Now this is a unique way to open a podcast when introducing your guest:
“We're going to do something interesting here," says the host. “You're going to complain about something that I wrote about your work. And then I'm going to complain about something you wrote about my work. And then you're going to admit that I'm right and you're wrong. That's the plan, right?"
The speaker is Robert Wright, host of The Wright Show on MeaningOfLife.tv. The guest is Steven Pinker, a Harvard psychology professor and author of the new book, Enlightenment Now.
And Pinker is getting a kick out of it. Smiling, he replies, “It's easy for me to say that you're right, because you are Robert Wright."
The friendly conversation continues as Wright and Pinker discuss Enlightenment Now, which Wright somewhat dissed in a review in Wired. They also discuss the psychology of tribalism, Al Gore's climate change activism, purpose in the workings of nature, and more.
