How We Think the Internet Connects Us (18:15)

Ethan Zuckerman is the Director of the Center for Civic Media at MIT, and a principal research scientist at the MIT Media Lab. His research focuses on the distribution of attention in mainstream and new media, the use of technology for international development, and the use of new media technologies by activists. With just a single click, we can access almost anything; cat videos, the profiles of former classmates, the best cinnamon roll recipe, or the current political turbulence throughout the world. These are all made possible through the every growing online community. But does all this mean we are truly “connected?” Ethan Zuckerman, author of Digital Cosmopolitans: Why We Think the Internet Connects Us, Why It Doesn't, and How to Rewire It. Ethan Zuckerman shares what he learned researching his book and the work being done to create a truly more connected world.

How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life (46:53)

Massimo Pigliucci, Ph.D., is the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. He has a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee. His research interests include the philosophy of biology, the relationship between science and philosophy, the nature of pseudoscience, and the practical philosophy of Stoicism. Whenever we worry about what to eat, how to love, or simply how to be happy, we are worrying about how to lead a good life. No goal is more elusive. In How to Be a Stoic, philosopher Massimo Pigliucci offers Stoicism, the ancient philosophy that inspired the great Emperor Marcus Aurelius, as the best way to attain it. Stoicism is a sensible philosophy that focuses our attention on what is possible and gives us perspective on what is unimportant. By understanding Stoicism, we can learn to answer crucial questions: Should we get married or divorced? How should we handle our money in a world nearly destroyed by a financial cris