Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Big Think
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Big Think
By bigthinkEducation
Big Think episodes
- America is rife with political traps. What’s your escape route? | The Dilemma Ep. 3
Can we let go of the need to win arguments without losing a part of who we are?
As Founder of Interfaith America Eboo Patel explains, there’s something romantic about a fist-in the-air approach, so much so that we often become caught up in the roles we play and the persona we adopt for ourselves. This can cause us to be perceived in ways we never intended; we can become misinterpreted, and even more disconnected to our true selves and intentions. How easy is it to ride our anger and our outrage, to chase the adrenaline of ego, the desire to be correct? Of course, it feels good to win, to “catch” your opponent, but why does it matter? Is succeeding in a debate truly more impactful than fueling a comprehensive discussion? When we move beyond the need to be right and let go of the desire to dominate, we can make room for something far more powerful: genuine curiosity. Letting go of the allure of competitive discourse - where there are winners and losers - allows us to create more meaningful conversations where both sides can learn and grow. This is The Dilemma with Irshad Manji, a series from Big Think created in partnership with Moral Courage College.
About Irshad Manji: Irshad Manji is an award-winning educator, author, and advocate for moral courage and diversity of thought. As the founder of Moral Courage College, she equips people to engage in honest conversations across lines of difference.
-----------------
Folllow this Podcast for daily Episodes-------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
22 min - Harvard’s stress expert on how to be more resilient | Dr. Aditi Nerurkar
Harvard physician Aditi Nerukar explains how to rewire your brain’s stress response to live a more resilient life.
**💥 You're not weak. You're human.**
Stress isn’t a flaw to fix — it’s a biological force we all live with, just like gravity. But modern life turns it chronic, silent, and often shameful. Most of us wear resilience like armor, whispering "I'm fine" while our minds scream from the pressure. Dr. Aditi Nerurkar, once a burnt-out ICU doctor, exposes the myth of invincibility and reveals the truth: **real resilience honors your limits, not just your strength**.
From cave tigers to overflowing inboxes, our brains haven't caught up with the modern world. And when the amygdala hijacks your thinking, your inner critic gets louder — and compassion feels impossible. But there's hope. Neuroplasticity means you’re not stuck. You can train your brain to handle stress differently. ✨
🔁 Start with two powerful resets:
1. **Stop. Breathe. Be.** – In 3 seconds, pull yourself out of panic and into presence.
2. **Gratitude journaling** – List 5 things and *why* you’re grateful for them. It rewires your brain toward peace.
🧠 Stress isn’t just something to survive. It’s something you can *relearn*. It’s not your fault. You're not alone. And with small, consistent resets, you can find your calm — even in chaos.
**Because the goal isn't zero stress. The goal is healthy stress that moves your life forward.**
Folllow this Podcast for daily Episodes----------------------06:30-19---------------------
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
14 min - An inclusion expert explains why women of color are held back | Ruchika T. Malhotra
If you have hiring power, here are 6 steps to help you act on diversity.
Chapters:
0:00 The 'Lean In' Myth
2:06 Hypervisibility & Invisibility4:44 BRIDGE: 6 Steps for InclusionImposter syndrome has a long-term, damaging impact on people in the workforce, particularly women of color.To improve inclusivity in the workplace, Ruchika T. Malhotra recommends six interpersonal habits that she calls the BRIDGE framework:Be okay with being uncomfortable.Reflect on what you don’t know.Invite feedback.Defensiveness doesn’t help.Grow from mistakes.Expect that change takes time.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Ruchika T. Malhotra:Ruchika T. Malhotra is the author of Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work (MIT Press). She’s also the founder of Candour, an inclusion strategy practice. A former international business journalist, Ruchika is a regular contributor to The New York Times and Harvard Business Review.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------06:30-19---------------------
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
11 min - A guide to surviving humanity’s tipping point | Ari Wallach
Futurist Ari Wallach asks, “how do you want to be remembered?”
Humans have a "lifetime bias." When we plan ahead, we do so by thinking in terms of years and decades rather than centuries and millennia.We need to escape this short-term thinking if we want to be great ancestors to the generations of humans that will come after us.One way to do so is through transgenerational empathy, by which we reconcile ourselves with the past in order to focus on the attributes that we want to pass on to the next generation.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------This video is part of The Progress Issue, a Big Think and Freethink special collaboration.In this inaugural special issue we set out to explore progress — how it happens, how we nurture it and how we stifle it, and what changes are required in how we approach our most serious problems to ensure greater and more equitable progress for all.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Ari WallachAri Wallach is an applied futurist and Executive Director of Longpath Labs. He is the author of Longpath: Becoming the Great Ancestors Our Future Needs by HarperCollins and the creator and host of the forthcoming series on PBS A Brief History of the Future, which is being executive produced by Kathryn Murdoch and Drake. He has been a strategy and foresight advisor to Fortune 100 companies, the US Department of State, the Ford Foundation, the UN Refugee Agency, the RacialEquity 2030 Challenge and Politico’s Long Game Forum. As adjunct associate professor at Columbia University he lectured on innovation, AI, and the future of public policy. Wallach's TED talk on Longpath has been viewed 2.6 million times and translated into 21 languages. Ari was the co-creator of 2008's pro-Obama The Great Schlep with Sarah Silverman. He has been featured in the New York Times, CNN, CNBC, Vox, and more. He lives in the lower Hudson Valley with his wife, three children and wonderdog Ozzie. More at Longpath.org and @ariw.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------06:30-19---------------------
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
12 min - News media wants to keep you angry, anxious, and depressed | Amanda Ripley
"These days, no national news network is trusted by more than half of American adults. And that's a problem."
The news is broken. In the United States, it may feel like our news cycle is designed to make people anxious and depressed. It may feel like journalism exploits our divisions and amplifies our fears more than ever. But how can we fix it?
Amanda Ripley has been a journalist for over 20 years, and she’s diagnosing one of the US’ biggest problems: Our news. Ripley says that adding these 3 considerations back into the equation could save our media.
Chapters:
00:00 A common sense of reality
01:13 The news is broken
03:11 Avoiding the media
06:20 The cost of breaking news
07:20 Depression and anxiety triggers
08:10 A better way to cover news
About Amanda Ripley:
Amanda Ripley is a New York Times bestselling author, Washington Post contributor, and co-founder of consultancy firm, Good Conflict. Her books include The Smartest Kids in the World, High Conflict, and The Unthinkable.
Folllow this Podcast for daily Episodes-------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
17 min - The science of menopause in 13 minutes | Dr. Jen Gunter
**"Menopause isn’t the end—it’s an evolutionary power move."**
Most animals die after they reproduce, but humans? We keep going. Why? The **Grandmother Hypothesis** suggests menopause is a strategic advantage—giving older women the freedom to guide, protect, and strengthen their families. But the journey there? It’s no walk in the park.
From hot flashes to brain fog, the menopause transition can last up to **seven years**, bringing a storm of symptoms. What actually helps? Exercise is the gold standard, but when it comes to treatment, **hormone therapy is both misunderstood and controversial.**
In this eye-opening episode, we cut through the misinformation, expose the snake oil, and reveal **what actually works.** Should you take hormone therapy? Are “bioidenticals” a scam? And how can you separate science from marketing hype?
**Get the facts—because your health shouldn’t be left to influencers and guesswork.**
What can you do to support your health during menopause? “If exercise were a drug, that would be the one thing that we would be giving to everybody.”
If every facet of the reproduction process is based in evolution, how does menopause, something where reproduction is no longer possible, benefit our species? We think it's because of an idea called the wise woman hypothesis, says Dr. Jen Gunter, an OB/GYN and author. The wise woman hypothesis describes the idea that historically for humans, having a grandmother in your family unit meant you had an extra pair of knowledgeable hands that themselves weren't occupied with child-rearing. Someone who could go out and help gather food, build shelter, find water, and pass on historical knowledge from other generations. And so menopause represents evolution in the long game, the idea that we retain our power as we age. Dr. Jen Gunter explains both the science and common myths behind the biological process of menopause, and how to know who to trust to guide you while going through it.
About Dr. Jen Gunter:Dr. Jen Gunter is an OB/GYN and a pain medicine physician. She writes a lot about sex, science, and social media, but sometimes about other things because, well, why not?She's been called X's resident gynecologist, the Internet’s OB/GYN, and one of the fiercest advocates for women’s health. She has devoted her professional life to caring for women.
Folllow this Podcast for daily Episodes------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 min - Google’s secret “Project Maven”: Evil—or moral? | Anna Butrico
The U.S. Military once used Google’s tech without their employees knowing. Anna Butrico explains the complicated history behind “Project Maven.”
Google famously used the slogan, “Don't be evil,” to guide its business practices.However, many Google employees were upset when they learned that the company had partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense on Project Maven, whose goal was to produce AI that could track people and vehicles.Is it immoral for a tech company to partner with the military to create war technology? Or is it immoral not to?----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Anna Butrico:Anna Butrico is Chief of Staff of Odgers Berndtson U.S. Anna supports the OBUS leadership team in driving the firm’s growth strategy. Prior to joining Odgers, Anna was a senior communications associate at the McChrystal Group, where she advised Fortune 100 leaders on how to tap into human potential to achieve stronger business outcomes. A communications expert and former speechwriter, she is the co-author, with GEN (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal, of Risk: A User’s Guide. Anna earned her undergraduate degree in English from Vanderbilt University, where she graduated magna cum laude. She also studied literature at St. Anne’s College at the University of Oxford.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------06:30-19---------------------
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
9 min - 3 tools for predicting 2122 | Peter Schwartz
Peter Schwartz, the futurist behind Minority Report, explains 3 steps for predicting what comes next.
It's very easy to imagine how things might go wrong, but it's much harder to imagine how things might go right."Futurists" are those who study the future so that the people alive today can make better decisions for tomorrow.It is impossible to get all of the predictions right. The point of futurism, however, is to envision multiple scenarios in which we can test our decisions so that we are ready for whatever actually occurs.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------This video is part of The Progress Issue, a Big Think and Freethink special collaboration.In this inaugural special issue we set out to explore progress — how it happens, how we nurture it and how we stifle it, and what changes are required in how we approach our most serious problems to ensure greater and more equitable progress for all.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Peter Schwartz:Peter Schwartz is an internationally renowned futurist and business strategist, specializing in scenario planning and working with corporations, governments, and institutions to create alternative perspectives of the future and develop robust strategies for a changing and uncertain world. As Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning for Salesforce, he manages the organization’s ongoing strategic conversation.Peter was co-founder and chairman of Global Business Network. He is the author of several works. His first book, The Art of the Long View, is considered a seminal publication on scenario planning. Peter has also served as a script consultant on the films "The Minority Report," "Deep Impact," "Sneakers," and "War Games." He received a B.S. In aeronautical engineering and astronautics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------06:30-19---------------------
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
13 min - The Metaverse is a golden opportunity to fix the internet’s mistakes | Matthew Ball
Expert Matthew Ball explains how the Metaverse is a golden opportunity to fix the internet.
The Metaverse does not yet exist. At the moment, it is a vision of the future of the internet.One problem facing its development is that current problems with the internet — like misinformation, privacy issues, and security breaches — have not been solved. Inside the Metaverse, these problems could be amplified.Thankfully, developers, consumers, voters, and regulators have the power to implement change.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Matthew Ball:Matthew Ball is the CEO of Epyllion, a diversified holding company which makes angel investments, provides advisory services, and produces television, films, and video games. Ball is also a Venture Partner at Makers Fund, Senior Advisor to KKR, Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Company, and sits on the board of numerous start-ups. His first book, “The Metaverse and How it Will Revolutionize Everything”, was published in July 2022 and became an instant national and international bestseller. Ball is also an “Occasional Contributor” to The Economist, holds bylines at Bloomberg, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and wrote the August 8, 2022 cover story for Time Magazine.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
---------------------
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
7 min - The illusion of self and the illusion of free will, explained | Annaka Harris
“Many people get stuck in feeling responsible for their psychological state, and there's a way in which simply being with whatever uncomfortable emotions rather than believing that you are controlling them can be extremely beneficial for psychological wellbeing.” Are you actually in the driver’s seat of your own life? The illusion of free will says that our choices are determined by factors greater than our intentions and actions, that total conscious control is purely an illusion. We may assume that illusions like this have evolved for their usefulness, but most illusions that we experience are actually glitches, says bestselling author Annaka Harris. Take for example the illusion of self – the other side of the illusion of free will coin. We think of ourselves as solid, unchanging entities that move through time and space, separate from the rest of the physical world. This illusion confuses us about our place in nature, and the state of our reality. Harris explores these two illusions and how they shape our everyday experience.About Annaka Harris:Annaka Harris is the New York Times bestselling author of CONSCIOUS: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind and writer and producer of the forthcoming audio documentary series, LIGHTS ON. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Nautilus Magazine, the Journal of Consciousness Studies, and IAI Magazine. She is also an editor and consultant for science writers, specializing in neuroscience and physics. Annaka is the author of the children’s book I Wonder, coauthor of the Mindful Games Activity Cards, and a volunteer mindfulness teacher for the organization Inner Kids
Folllow this Podcast for daily Episodes----------------------------------------------------06:30-17
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
15 min
About Big Think
From the publisher's feed
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.
Best of Big Think
Ranked by our users in the last 21 days
More shows like Big Think
The Atlantic Interview
15 Listeners