Keep Talking

Robert Greene is the author of many best-selling books, including "The 48 Laws of Power," which is the primary subject of our conversation.

A rebroadcast from 2022.

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(00:00) Intro

(01:00) ‘Power’ as explained in "The 48 Laws of Power"

(04:33) Robert's depression before writing "The 48 Laws of Power"

(09:03) Why are people reluctant to talk about power?

(13:44) The link between the desire for fulfillment and power

(17:58) From powerless to powerful: Robert’s story

(22:30) Human's desire to gain power through autonomy and authenticity

(27:19) How to live a life that increases one's power

(33:00) The importance of self-mastery

(38:03) Lincoln's quote about power

(44:22) Is power inherently neutral, neither good nor bad?

(47:49) Carl Jung's quote on "the shadow"

(52:20) What are examples of America's shadow?

(56:07) The importance of integrating one's shadow

(01:04:56) How can the American center hold, given our polarization?

(01:12:07) Four laws of power for modern times

(01:14:44) The relationship between power and love

Merle Bombardieri is a clinical social worker, a psychotherapist and the author of "The Baby Decision: How to Make The Most Important Choice of Your Life."

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(00:00) Intro

(01:00) How Merle got involved in helping people decide about kids

(07:21) How Merle decided whether to have kids

(09:44) Maintaining neutrality when going through exercises

(13:34) Being childfree should be the default

(17:57) Role models for the childfree

(21:00) When is not having kids a growth decision?

(23:05) Is Merle disappointed that one of her kids is childfree?

(26:30) Exercises for straight couples to decide whether to have kids

(36:02) Long-term ambivalence should result in being childfree

(38:50) How to better understand what it's like to have kids

(40:48) What do the childfree not understand about parenthood?

(42:30) "As a child-free person, you have a right to be ordinary.”

(44:30) Suggestions for someone who wants to be childfree and has no support

(49:05) Who should become parents?

(56:49) Are we getting better at having this conversation?

(58:34) The importance of growth for the child-free

Vejas Liulevicius is a historian, an author, and a professor whose "Great Courses" lectures include "Turning Points in Modern History" and "War, Peace, and Power: Diplomatic History of Europe, 1500–2000."

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(00:00) Intro

(01:00) Rome, Greece, and the Enlightenment

(12:57) Contrasting the Enlightenment to other political philosophies of its time

(22:07) The American Revolution and the American Experiment

(30:47) Alexis de Tocqueville and "Democracy in America"

(34:24) The Weimar Republic and the Rise of Nazism

(46:41) How Hitler rose and what culturally preceded dictatorship in Germany

(54:16) The 2024 U.S. Presidential election and our point in history

(58:20) The Great Courses

Mark Galeotti is a historian, an essayist, a podcaster, and the author of many books including "A Short History of Russia: How the World's Largest Country Invented Itself, from the Pagans to Putin."

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(00:00) Intro

(01:00) Czarist Russia at the beginning of the 20th century

(03:50) The Russian Revolution

(08:00) World War I and The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

(11:52) Lenin and Stalin

(17:00) The Great Terror

(21:02) Russia during World War II

(28:15) How close were the Nazis to taking over the Soviet Union?

(29:50) Russia and The Cold War

(37:05) Why Soviets no longer believed in Marxism

(39:35) The life and rise of Vladimir Putin

(45:35) Putin, Yeltsin, and the turn of the century

(51:56) How do we misunderstand the modern Russian government?

(55:05) Alexei Navalny

(59:20) The war with Ukraine

Konstantin Kisin is an author, an essayist, and the co-host of the YouTube channel and podcast Triggernometry. A rebroadcast from 2022.

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(00:00) Intro

(1:00) Transition from Soviet Union to wealth in post-collapse Russia

(4:00) Impact of the Soviet collapse on ordinary people's lives

(6:31) Personal resilience shaped by tumultuous childhood experiences

(8:30) Lack of education about the Soviet experience in the West

(11:06) The Russian Revolution and its implications for society today

(11:20) Overview of the dictatorship of the proletariat concept.

(12:55) Impact of property expropriation on wealthy families during the revolution.

(14:03) Consequences of collective farming in Soviet society.

(16:12) The Soviet Union's attempt at equality led to widespread poverty.

(19:02) Insights on the Russian psyche from democratic experiments in the 90s.

(23:42) Describing the chaotic aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse.

(25:12) Painful experiences shaped Russian society during the 1990s.

(27:11) Russia's surrender to terrorists: a psychological shock for citizens.

(29:07) Vladimir Putin emerged as a strongman leader in chaos.

(30:46) Boris Yeltsin's legacy and Putin's rise to power explained.

(36:57) Freedom of expression as the foundation of Western society.

(39:09) The importance of free speech and its recent threats discussed.

(40:11) The roots of political correctness and free speech erosion.

(41:34) Exploring the dangers of hierarchical ideologies in society.

(43:15) The natural dynamics between men and women in relationships.

(45:23) Martin Luther King’s vision for character over skin color.

(46:00) Concerns about societal divisions and their historical implications.

(48:14) The universal threat of believing some people are superior to others.

(49:00) Thought-provoking quotes

(54:00) The West and the importance of individual rights

(1:00:41) George Kennan's insights on containment and Western values.

(1:01:13) Concerns about identity politics and its impact on society.

(1:02:41) The danger of losing a unified national identity.

(1:05:41) Internal division as the real threat to powerful nations.

(1:08:30) Contextualizing slavery and colonialism in world history.

(1:12:31) The role of comedy in challenging mainstream narratives.

Randy Nesse is a psychiatrist, a professor, and the author of "Good Reasons for Bad Feelings: Insights from the Frontier of Evolutionary Psychiatry."

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(00:00) Intro

(00:40) Why low mood exists

(04:23) Giving up goals can improve your mental health

(06:48) When is it appropriate to give up goals?

(11:50) "In what situations was this emotion useful across our evolutionary history?"

(21:51) How Randy developed an evolutionary framework

(28:25) Examples of working with depression from Randy's career

(36:40) Freud, Jung, and mental illness

(49:23) Exposure therapy

(54:11) Quotes from "Good Reasons for Bad Feelings"

(59:55) Partner choice and selfish genes

Richard Wrangham is a professor at Harvard, a primatologist, and the author of multiple books including "The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution."

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(00:00) Intro

(00:50) How humans have removed alpha male bullies

(09:59) Christopher Boehm's "Hierarchy in the Forest"

(16:06) Implications of human's self-domestication through violence

(22:03) Bullying male behavior that would lead to execution

(28:45) How the threat of violence influenced our moral impulses

(34:23) Psychopathy and reactive aggression in adult men

(45:25) How can someone spot a psychopath?

(50:07) Jane Goodall and how Richard views human nature

(01:02:53) Cooking and fire

(01:03:13) Richard's views on removing the y chromosome

(01:10:39) Removing genes for extreme aggression rather than men altogether

Robert Plomin is a British-American scientist, a psychologist and behavioral geneticist, and the author of the bestselling book, "Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are."

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(00:00) Intro

(00:53) The power of DNA in making us who we are

(03:40) Debunking the nurture-focused perspective

(10:40) Robert's views on his own genetic predisposition to weight gain

(22:59) How personalized, low-cost DNA sequencing will effect people's lives

(30:21) Clarity around genetic risk will improve with time

(31:49) The probabilistic, nuanced truth of genetic influence

(38:20) Clarifying randomness and the nurture aspect of who we are

(43:57) Identical twins

(49:36) Quotes from "Blueprint"

(58:41) A quote about child rearing from Tig Notaro

(01:02:00) How genetic truths can make people more compassionate

(01:04:52) Merging evolution and psychology

(01:15:23) How should society evolve and improve because of these truths?

(01:18:23) B.F. Skinner and the power of nature in the extremes

Brian Hare is a professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University and is the co-author of the book "Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity."

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(00:00) Intro

(00:46) The origin and ideas of "Survival of the Friendliest"

(07:38) The story of human survival and dominance

(20:20) What is meant by "friendliness"?

(26:40) Tribal identity and darker aspects of human cooperation

(35:15) Political polarization in America

(46:12) The work of Braver Angels and overcoming political division

(52:30) Is it ever appropriate to dehumanize?

Stephen Kinzer is a historian, a Senior Fellow in International and Public Affairs at Brown University, and the author of various books including, "Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control."

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(00:00) Intro

(01:00) What was MK-Ultra? Who was Sidney Gottlieb?

(08:55) The U.S.'s collaboration with Nazi and Japanese torturers

(14:43) The historical context that justified MK-Ultra

(24:25) Examples of torture from the MK-Ultra program

(30:53) LSD and MK-Ultra

(39:14) The eventual conclusion from the MK-Ultra program

(43:21) Speculating on the full scope and details of the MK-Ultra program

(49:13) Stephen's ethical judgments on Gottlieb

(53:25) Has Stephen received pushback for his revelations?

(57:04) Is something like MK-Ultra happening now?

(59:47) Why do so few Americans know about MK-Ultra?