The expansion of AI infrastructure has significant environmental costs. Training large models can consume vast amounts of energy; generating text can use as much energy as charging a smartphone nearly four times, and generating one thousand images is equivalent to charging a smartphone 242 times!

Big ideas from the book Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmare…

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bigideas.fm/subscribe

Hola! Welcome to BigIdeas.FM - we bring you conversational podcasts and sexy newsletters curated from world’s best and latest non-fiction books. Today, it’s time to Click, the latest book on startups by designer-authors who have been involved in Google ventures as well as many successful products.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bigideas.fm/subscribe

One day in 2004, Gardiner Harris, early for a flight, sat down at an airport bar and started talking to the woman on the barstool beside him. She was a drug sales rep for Johnson & Johnson, and her horrific story about unethical sales practices and the devastating impact they’d had on her family fundamentally changed the nature of how Harris covered the company—and the entire pharmaceutical industry—for The New York Times. His subsequent investigations and ongoing research since that very first conversation led to new federal laws and ultimately to this book, a blistering exposé of a trusted American institution and the largest healthcare conglomerate in the world.

Harris takes us light years away from the company’s image as the child-friendly “baby company” as he uncovers reams of evidence showing decades of deceitful and dangerous corporate practices that have threatened the lives of millions. He covers multiple disasters: lies and cover-ups regarding baby powder’s linkage to cancer, the surprising dangers of Tylenol, a criminal campaign to sell antipsychotics in ways that have cost countless lives, a popular drug used to support cancer patients that actually increases the risk that cancer tumors will grow, and deceptive marketing efforts that accelerated opioid addictions through their product Duragesic (fentanyl) that rival even those of the Sacklers and Purdue Pharma.Filled with shocking, infuriating, but utterly necessary revelations, No More Tears is a landmark work of investigative journalism that lays bare the deeply rooted corruption behind the image of babies bathing with a smile.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bigideas.fm/subscribe

A pioneering professor of organizational behavior turns the concept of networking on its head, arguing that we must move beyond the standard mentorship model to embrace sponsorship, where we use our social networks and political capital on behalf of others."It's not what you know, but who you know." According to conventional wisdom, our social networks are a resource to exploit, and getting ahead means extracting value from our social connections. But according to Dr. Rosalind Chow, Professor of organizational behavior at Carnegie Mellon's business school, not only is this an antiquated notion, it's also useless in today's society and workplaces. And it certainly doesn't account for the fact that not everyone starts on equal footing in the workplace. Based on decades of original research analyzing social hierarchies, corporate environments, and gender and race relations, Beyond Mentorship makes a bold case for completely changing the way we network.

To increase the number of women and BIPOC employees in our organizations, particularly in senior roles, we need sponsorship, not mentorship. Sponsorship involves managing others' impressions or beliefs about a protégé or colleague. Our social networks can and should be used on behalf of others. And it helps us too. What if we tried to position ourselves so that we could be the first to share new information, to elevate others to be more visible to decision makers, and to connect people to the help that they need? Suddenly, networking would become much more than just ladder climbing.At a moment the workplace is going through a seismic transformation, this book is a potent reminder that we can all build more equitable connections effectively, meaningfully, and joyously. And this book will empower readers to be smarter about cultivating authentic, supportive, diverse relationships and communities.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bigideas.fm/subscribe

Are you working too much but feel like it's never enough? Have you turned the act of pretending you're "fine" into an art form? Does self-care feel like one more item on your already long to-do list?

We've been taught that resilience is the secret to navigating life's most difficult moments. But according to New York Times bestselling author, organizational psychologist, and researcher Dr. Tasha Eurich, there is one problem with this assumption. Scientifically, resilience isn't an unlimited resource, especially with the growing pressure and uncertainty we're experiencing today.

What if, instead of merely "bouncing back" from stressors and setbacks, we could harness them for forward growth?

Whether you're grappling with work stress, personal challenges, or the chaos of everyday life, Shatterproof offers an urgent alternative to stoic endurance as the only strategy for survival. Combining cutting-edge research, practical tools, and insights from her own struggle with a life-defining health crisis, Dr. Eurich will overturn your beliefs about what it takes to thrive through adversity, offering a scientifically supported system to help you feel better, do better, and live better than before.

You'll discover how to:

* Reclaim your best self when stress turns you into someone you barely recognize

* Uncover the unmet needs that keep you stuck in self-limiting patterns

* Turn stress into strength, exhaustion into energy, and confusion into confidence

* Find peace in the present and be prepared for what the future holds

* And much more

When we embark on this journey, we learn that the things that break us can also uniquely remake us. That is what it means to become shatterproof.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bigideas.fm/subscribe

Learn how to cleanse, protect yourself from, and transmute bad vibes, regardless of their size or origin. Devin Hunter provides the support you need to face any energetic problem, whether you're a beginner or an experienced psychic. Each topic builds upon the preceding one, growing with you as you gain experience. This comprehensive book covers everything from dealing with unwanted ghosts to turning spiteful energy into soul nutrition.

Devin shares personal stories and secrets from more than twenty years as a professional psychic medium and teacher. He covers a wide range of topics and provides quick, step-by-step procedures to tackle any issue. He also offers tools and advice for expanding your abilities as a psychic or empath. This book is packed with ways to protect yourself from and cleanse your life of bad vibes.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bigideas.fm/subscribe

Mark Fabian, one of the most exhilarating thinkers working on wellbeing today, presents a revolutionary approach to understanding why there’s more to life than the pursuit of happiness.

Beyond Happy explores how evolution has wired us to keep happiness just out of reach, leaving us perpetually stuck on a happiness treadmill. Instead of striving to escape it, the book argues, we should focus on making the treadmill a place we want to be. Finding this wellbeing begins with listening to our emotions, discovering intrinsic motivation and pursuing our authentic values. Fabian coaches you through this process of self-actualisation.

Wellbeing, however, is not solely an individual pursuit – it is something we cultivate together.

And so Beyond Happy also provides insights into enhancing your emotional intelligence, building relationships on care, and nurturing a karmic community.

Most profoundly, Beyond Happy shows the way out of nihilism – the pervasive sense that life on the treadmill is purposeless and incoherent. To escape this despair, we must develop a moral compass. To heal the toxicity of our acrimonious politics, we need to rediscover the joy of sharing and celebrating what we love.

Delivered with an entertaining mix of academic precision, a podcaster’s knack for storytelling, and the down-to-earth panache Australians are known for, Beyond Happy is a one-stop shop to everything you need to know about the good life.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bigideas.fm/subscribe

Correct the power imbalances in your work and life with a science-backed practice that combines the rigor of Stoic philosophy with the relational impact of empathy.Stoicism combined with empathy may sound like a contradiction in terms. But when these seemingly opposing forces are harnessed together, they have the power to change your life.From surviving missile attacks and political oppression in Iran to leading high-stakes legal teams and negotiations in corporate America, Shermin Kruse's journey fuels her mission to merge empathy and stoicism as tools for navigating power, justice, and human connection in every facet of life. In this eye-opening book, she offers you this radical perspective shift—anchored in up-to-the-minute research—to help you navigate life's challenges with power and principles.

We often think of empathy as an emotional stance: we feel what someone else is feeling. But Kruse outlines a form of empathy that’s based in cognition, not emotion—a way for us to understand what the other person is thinking and feeling while keeping a distance from their feeling state—and shows us how we can strategically maneuver our level of engagement from “emotional empathy” to “cognitive empathy” in different circumstances. Then she utilizes Stoic philosophy and modern science to outline the how of emotional regulation and control. The bridge she builds between Stoicism and empathy gives us the knowledge and discipline we need to:

* Calmly assess the power dynamics of any situation

* Understand and manage our own emotions as well as the emotions of others

* Defuse danger and turn conflict into connection

* Skillfully steer a challenging conversation toward the result we want

Whether you're a leader striving to succeed in your role with integrity, an educator seeking to guide curious minds with compassion, a parent nurturing resilience in your children, or simply facing a personal or professional crossroads, Stoic Empathy is an essential toolkit for negotiating success in every area of your life.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bigideas.fm/subscribe

Do you feel you’re simply going through the motions? Succeeding at work, pulling your weight at home, living an active social life . . . yet deep down, you feel drained? If so, you may be experiencing High-Functioning Depression.In the first book to uncover this new form of depression, Columbia University clinical psychologist Dr Judith Joseph draws on her personal struggles with the illness, revealing brand-new research and client cases to demystify this common yet poorly understood condition.

Discover her empowering plan for managing depressive episodes, called the Five V’s:• Validation: processing past traumas and present pain• Venting: releasing frustrations and anxieties• Values: identifying our key purpose and priorities• Vitals: slowing down to hear our needs• Vision: celebrating successes, milestones and everyday joyBy following the Five V’s, we can put an end to self-sacrifice and self-sabotage, calm our inner turmoil, and go from merely functioning to truly living.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bigideas.fm/subscribe

In a chaotic, confusing, and divisive world, Debra Silverman introduces astrology as the medicine for accepting our human nature--its idiosyncrasies and dilemmas. Through an application of both therapy and astrology, this breakthrough guide equips readers with tools that release self-judgment, inner criticism, negativity, and misunderstanding. Every sign struggles with psychological issues. Understanding the unique topics relative to your sign, it’s no surprise you are quirky. Learning how to accept who you are and love yourself unconditionally through the lens of astrology is at the heart of this book

.Debra Silverman teaches you how to step away from the struggle of your ego and see yourself with the calm objectivity of your soul. You will learn to love what you see—not just your best qualities but everything about you. She shows you how to aim for the high road of your personality. Most of all, you will cultivate compassion for all the other signs in the zodiac. Learn the meaning of the sun, moon, rising sign, Mercury, and Saturn. Using Debra’s method combining the wisdom of astrology and psychology, readers will remember the truth of their soul’s expression, seen through the eyes of self-love.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bigideas.fm/subscribe