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Big Think
By bigthinkEducation
Big Think episodes
- Anxiety gives you an advantage. Unlock it with neuroplasticity | Wendy Suzuki
“Anxiety is focused on things that are important to you in life. That is the key.”
What if one of our most uncomfortable emotions could actually be seen as a gift, bringing us a wealth of insight, productivity, and empathy?Neuroscientist Dr. Wendy Suzuki argues that by reframing anxiety as a misunderstood superpower, we can take advantage of it as fuel to enter flow state. Suzuki shares her science-backed trick for those saddled with the emotion, transforming it from a daily burden to a powerful tool.00:00 The protective nature of anxiety00:37 How to turn anxiety into a superpower03:40 Anxiety in the brain05:47 Using brain plasticity10:33 Top 3 superpowers of anxiety12:33 Using anxiety for flow----------------------------------------------------About Wendy Suzuki:Dr. Wendy A. Suzuki is a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University. She received her undergraduate degree in Physiology and Human Anatomy at the University of California, Berkeley in 1987, studying with Prof. Marion C. Diamond, a leader in the field of brain plasticity. She went on to earn her Ph.D. In Neuroscience from U.C. San Diego in 1993 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health before accepting her faculty position at New York University in 1998. Dr. Suzuki is author of the book Healthy Brain, Happy Life: A Personal Program to Activate Your Brain and Do Everything Better------------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
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25 min - The third, lost type of memory that might be the most important one
Are our current school systems stifling learning that matters? Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, a professor of education, psychology, and neuroscience at the University of Southern California, says yes.
According to Immordino-Yang, our education system focuses too much on memorizing facts and procedures, neglecting autobiographical memory—the personal story we tell ourselves about who we are and what we stand for. This type of memory is crucial for growth, development, and well-being.
Immordino-Yang tested this theory with a 5-year study that analyzed how young people’s brains are affected by deep thinking and reflection. She found that when teens were exposed to real-life stories and were asked to respond critically to how they made them feel, it had significant positive impacts on identity development and brain structure.
Instead of teaching students to memorize and reiterate learned facts and figures, Immordino-Yang encourages us to focus on this type of “transcendent thinking,” as it can help young people give more context to their knowledge. By fostering this deeper level of understanding, we can better prepare students to navigate and contribute to the complex, constantly developing world we live in.
About Mary Helen Immordino-Yang:
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD, is an expert on the psychological and neurobiological foundations of social emotion, self-awareness, and culture, and how they impact learning, development, and education.
She is a Professor of Education at the USC Rossier School of Education, a Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute, a faculty member in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Southern California, and the Director of the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning, and Education (CANDLE).
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11 min - The CIA method for making quick decisions under stress | Andrew Bustamante
“The very same time that’s making you anxious is actually your most valuable asset. You can always create more energy and more money—but you can never create more time.”
What if the path out of overwhelm was less about doing more and more about doing less—intentionally? In a world saturated with distractions, decisions, and demands, the CIA’s covert approach to multitasking offers a surprising lesson for the rest of us.
Former spy Andrew Bustamante unpacks how operatives in high-risk, high-stakes environments manage overwhelming complexity—not through superhuman ability, but by mastering one surprisingly simple principle: do the next fastest thing.00:00 Resources that matter01:50 Task saturation04:23 Your next simplest task07:37 Your path to survival08:33 Head trash10:04 Managing overwhelm
About Andrew Bustamante:Andrew Bustamante is a former covert CIA intelligence officer and decorated US Air Force combat veteran. In 2017, he founded EverydaySpy.com, the first digital platform teaching real-world intelligence techniques to everyday people. Drawing from his 20 years running human and technical operations globally, Bustamante empowers individuals to break social, financial, and cultural barriers using proven spy skills. He's a Fortune 10 corporate advisor, cybersecurity expert, and author of "Everyday Espionage: Winning the Workplace and Social Game."Folllow this Podcast for daily Episodes--------------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
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18 min - Everything is better than it used to be — or is it? | Agustín Fuentes
The traditional measure of evolutionary success is a population's ability to continue, adapt and grow. By that measure, humanity has been a huge success: our population is only getting bigger, and for a lot of countries, so is our average life-span.
Biological anthropologist Agustín Fuentes takes issue with this measurement. In his view, the sheer number of humans living on the planet doesn't necessarily equate to success. In fact, the argument that humans are doing better than ever before is problematic, because it only considers a narrow perspective of Euro-American societies, ignoring other vast cultures and populations.Instead, Fuentes argues, evolutionary success for humans should be measured by our capacity for flourishing, which includes health, security, interaction, and well-being — and importantly, how this flourishing is distributed across our species.0:00 What is evolutionary success?1:07 Is everything getting better?1:32 Response #1. Who is “we”?1:51 Response #2. One broad culture2:24 Response #3. What is the measure of success?3:21 Distributing human flourishing----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Agustín Fuentes:Agustín Fuentes, a Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University, focuses on the biosocial, delving into the entanglement of biological systems with the social and cultural lives of humans, our ancestors, and a few of the other animals with whom humanity shares close relations. Earning his BA/BS in Anthropology and Zoology and his MA and PhD in Anthropology from UC Berkeley, he has conducted research across four continents, multiple species, and two-million years of human history. His current projects include exploring cooperation, creativity, and belief in human evolution, multispecies anthropologies, evolutionary theory and processes, and engaging race and racism. Fuentes’ books include Race, Monogamy, and other lies they told you: busting myths about human nature (U of California), The Creative Spark: how imagination made humans exceptional (Dutton), and Why We Believe: evolution and the human way of being (Yale).----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
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8 min - Ben Horowitz: Quit being a coward and do the hard thing | Big Think+
"You need to run towards the pain and darkness and not away from it. I think the best leaders always run towards the darkness. They always run towards a problem."
Much of the management advice we find in books emphasizes using leadership tactics that may seem reasonably obvious. This advice is often easy to follow — but that’s not where leaders run into issues with their strategy, argues Ben Horowitz, founding partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and author of the best-selling book, "The Hard Thing About Hard Things.”Horowitz says that leaders make blunders when they find themselves in highly emotionally charged situations where the emotion prevents them from doing the thing that they intellectually know they need to do. For example, firing a friend or doing a reorganization that causes a very talented employee to lose power. These things are much more difficult, and people often avoid them. But as a leader, you're much better off running at your fear than running away from your fear because it's going to chase you down, emphasizes Horowitz. ‘Management debt’ is what happens when you don't do what you're supposed to. And accruing a lot of management debt has a cascading effect that can create a total degradation of your organization. Here’s how to lead instead.
Chapters For Easier Navigation:
0:00: Complicated emotional challenges
1:19: Management debt
2:42: Wartime conditions
4:43: Choosing courage
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10 min - Forensic accountant explains why fraud thrives on Wall Street
Forensic accountant Kelly Richmond Pope explains how fraud runs rampant – even when businesses don’t intend it.
"Accounting is like a superpower," says Kelly Richmond Pope.As a forensic accounting expert, Pope understands how this power comes with significant responsibilities and potential pitfalls. The pressure from market expectations can sometimes drive companies to inflate their financial performance, creating a precarious ethical landscape for the accounts overseeing the company’s financial activity.Pope highlights a key problem area: the mismatch between the money a company actually has (cash) and the money it records as earned (revenue). In the wrong hands, this system can be exploited, leading to serious legal consequences.She emphasizes that accountants often face hard choices and must stand firm in their ethics to ensure transparency and fairness in business.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Kelly Richmond Pope:Dr. Kelly Richmond Pope is the Dr. Barry Jay Epstein Endowed Professor of Accounting at DePaul University in Chicago, IL. Pope is a nationally recognized expert in risk, forensic accounting, and white-collar crime research, and an award-winning educator, researcher, author, and award-winning documentary filmmaker. She’s the author of Fool Me Once: Scams, Stories, and Secrets from the Trillion Dollar Fraud Industry (Harvard Business Review Press, March 2023). Pope teaches managerial and forensic accounting both at the undergraduate and graduate level.-------------------------------------------------------
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11 min - Inside Jay Pharoah’s antifragile mindset
**🎭 Jay Pharoah's Journey: From Impressions to Inner Power**
🔓 **"Being yourself, unapologetically, is freedom."**
Jay Pharoah reflects on embracing authenticity in comedy. While impressions come naturally—“like breathing”—he once viewed them as limiting. But now? He calls them a *superpower* that draws people in, giving him the chance to reveal deeper talents.
💔 **Childhood pain, adult forgiveness**
Jay opens up about the tough dynamic with his father growing up—strict discipline, even abuse. But at 17, he made peace. Forgiveness, he says, freed him from anger and fueled his drive to succeed.
🔥 **True celebration in Sydney**
Performing at the iconic Opera House, Jay hit a "Dragon Ball Z-level" of energy on stage. The best part? His dad’s proud hug and heartfelt words—"I’ve never seen you like that"—meant everything.
😨 **Biggest fear? Not living up to his potential.**
Jay feels destined to leave something meaningful behind. "If I don’t use my talents, it’s a wasted light." That’s the fire that drives him every day.
💡 **Blessings in disguise**
Bullied and overweight as a child, Jay longed to fit in—until he realized *standouts aren't meant to*. Lonely times led to honing his voice work, turning pain into a one-of-a-kind gift. Now, he looks in the mirror and sees growth, strength, and beauty—not just the physical, but the emotional.
🕶️ To his younger self?
"Hang in there. You haven’t got any booty yet, but trust me—there’s plenty in the future." 😄
—A vulnerable, funny, and uplifting self-portrait of a man still chasing greatness
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10 min - These two freak accidents explain why you're alive today | Sean B. Carroll
“So many things could have happened in a different way that we wouldn't be here at all, both individually, for sure, and certainly as a species.”
What if your existence hinged on two freak accidents? Biologist Sean B. Carroll traces the bizarre chain of events that made human life possible.From an asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs to a tectonic collision that cooled the planet, Carroll unpacks the unbelievable random events and unpredictable pivots that caused the planetary chaos leading to our current civilization.00:00 The chance of human existence00:34 Microbial life01:42 A series of random events03:08 The asteroid reset06:03 The cause of two mass extinctions07:19 Two big collisions12:52 The hominid story15:23 Post-collision--------------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
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27 min - The science of super longevity | Dr. Morgan Levine
Science can’t stop aging, but it may be able to slow our epigenetic clocks.
What if we could slow down the hands of our biological clocks? This question underpins much of the research of Morgan Levine, who leads a research team at the life science company Altos Labs.Levine investigates the fascinating intricacies of aging, recognizing that it doesn't happen at a uniform pace for everyone. Central to her exploration is the concept of epigenetics — the factors that influence gene activity without changing the DNA sequence. Levine focuses on DNA methylation, a significant epigenetic change that occurs with aging, and the development of models called "epigenetic clocks" that can be used to predict biological age.While she acknowledges that it might be possible to reverse aging at a cellular level, Levine clarifies that the ultimate goal is not to "cure" aging or death, but to delay disease onset and improve healthspan.0:00 Fast agers & slow agers1:25 The hallmarks of aging1:59 What is the epigenetic clock?3:05 Can we ‘Benjamin Button’ aging?5:22 The holy grail for scientists----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Morgan Levine:Morgan Levine was previously a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the department of Pathology at Yale University where she ran the Laboratory for Aging in Living Systems. In 2022, she was recruited to join Altos Labs as a Founding Principal Investigator at the San Diego Institute of Science. She currently leads a research group at Altos Labs working at the intersection of bioinformatics, cellular biology, complex systems, and biostatistics with the overall goal of understanding the molecular trajectories aging cells, tissues, and organisms take through time.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19---------------------
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11 min - How to tell stories that give you meaning | Jane Goodall, Terry Crews & Dan McAdams
Are we the stories we tell? Kmele sat down with legendary conservationist Jane Goodall, actor Terry Crews and psychologist Dan McAdams to discuss how humanity makes its meaning.
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About Kmele Foster:Kmele Foster is a media entrepreneur, commentator, and regular contributor to various national publications. He is the co-founder and co-host of The Fifth Column, a popular media criticism podcast.He is the head of content at Founders Fund, a San Francisco based venture capital firm investing in companies building revolutionary technologies, and a partner at Freethink, a digital media company focused on the people and ideas changing our world.Kmele also serves on the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------06:30-19---------------------
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43 min
About Big Think
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Big Think is the leading source of expert-driven, actionable, educational content -- with thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, we help you get smarter, faster.…
Get actionable lessons from the world’s greatest thinkers & doers. Our experts are either disrupting or leading their respective fields. We aim to help you explore the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century, so you can apply them to the questions and challenges in your own life.
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