2 Pages with MBS

205. De-numbing from Tech: Greg M. Epstein [reads] “Once More to the Lake”


Listen Later

Greg M. Epstein reads from E.B. White’s essay, Once More to the Lake, and Madeline Ostrander’s essay on the ethics of bringing children into a world facing climate uncertainty, reflecting on how nostalgia and future anxieties shape our understanding of legacy and purpose. He explores how our connections to the past and future influence not only how we experience the present but also how we find resilience in facing today’s challenges.

Today’s guest is Greg M. Epstein, the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard and MIT and author of Good Without God. For two decades, Greg has built a community of secular and non-religious students and thinkers. He discusses how humanism, self-reflection, and embracing vulnerability can lead to meaning and connection, even in the face of existential challenges.


Greg’s reflections offer insight into staying grounded and finding purpose amid overwhelming change.


Get book links and resources at 2pageswithmbs.com and subscribe to the 2 Pages newsletter at 2pageswithmbs.substack.com.


Greg reads from two essays: first, E.B. White’s Once More to the Lake, and then Madeline Ostrander’s How Do You Decide to Have a Baby When Climate Change Is Remaking Life on Earth? contemplating memory and time. [Reading begins at 14:27]


Hear us discuss:

“What if I could have, with the opportunities that were available to me, lived more deeply, appreciated more fully, connected more passionately, and done more to help others?” [04:27] | "I learned to feel regret at a young age... I regretted being who I was because I felt that it was incredibly important to be somebody else." [10:29] | "If we didn't grieve, if we didn't take time to feel deep sadness when we lose someone... then we wouldn't be paying them proper respect and in the sense we wouldn't be paying proper respect to the energy and time that we've invested in them. | “The pursuit of perfection is the biggest force taking us away from our ability to experience beauty and meaning.” [43:28]


...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

2 Pages with MBSBy Michael Bungay Stanier

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

36 ratings


More shows like 2 Pages with MBS

View all
On Being with Krista Tippett by On Being Studios

On Being with Krista Tippett

10,049 Listeners

Sounds True: Insights at the Edge by Tami Simon

Sounds True: Insights at the Edge

1,821 Listeners

Good Life Project by Jonathan Fields / Acast

Good Life Project

3,263 Listeners

The One You Feed by iHeartPodcasts

The One You Feed

2,509 Listeners

This Working Life by ABC listen

This Working Life

20 Listeners

10% Happier with Dan Harris by 10% Happier

10% Happier with Dan Harris

12,511 Listeners

How to Be Awesome at Your Job by How to be Awesome at Your Job

How to Be Awesome at Your Job

1,042 Listeners

Radical Candor: Communication at Work by Kim Scott, Jason Rosoff & Amy Sandler

Radical Candor: Communication at Work

705 Listeners

Worklife with Adam Grant by TED

Worklife with Adam Grant

9,239 Listeners

FranklinCovey On Leadership with Scott Miller by FranklinCovey

FranklinCovey On Leadership with Scott Miller

220 Listeners

How I Work by Amantha Imber

How I Work

133 Listeners

Unlocking Us with Brené Brown by Vox Media Podcast Network

Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

23,630 Listeners

A Bit of Optimism by Simon Sinek

A Bit of Optimism

2,119 Listeners

ReThinking by TED

ReThinking

615 Listeners

A Slight Change of Plans by Pushkin Industries

A Slight Change of Plans

1,882 Listeners