Naked Humanity

This week I have on experimental psychologist Jessie Dezutter of KU Leuven University in Belgium, who studies how people make meaning, with a focus on how people deal with existential concerns later in life. We chat about how humans need to tell their stories, how Alzheimer’s and later life experiences shape emotions, the importance of acknowledging and accepting death, and how you can build your own personal feelings of meaning so that life (and death) are less scary. This was a really enlightening podcast for me, and I highly recommend it for anyone concerned with making sense of life or coping with later stages of life and death.

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To enter the weekly giveaway for a FREE book, write a review of the podcast on iTunes (http://stefaniruper.com/listen), take a screen shot of your review, then email it to [email protected]. Then you'll be PERMANENTLY entered into the drawing.

Check out the list of books you can get @ http://stefaniruper.com/bookgiveaway.

I carefully curate the guests on this show alongside a few team members who help me do it. We work hard to bring you nothing less than the most interesting, engaging, insightful, provocative guests out there.

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Eckhart Tolle is the famous spiritual guru who wrote “The Power of Now” - a book about being present, letting go of your ego, and becoming a happier and better person. Is it all BS? Or is it worthwhile? In this X episode I respond to a listener question about whether she should like Tolle. I use it as an opportunity to talk about what Tolle has in common with Christianity and Buddhism, and I argue in favour of universal love, care, and forgiveness, no matter which spiritual form it takes.

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To enter the weekly giveaway for a FREE book, write a review of the podcast on iTunes (http://stefaniruper.com/listen), take a screen shot of your review, then email it to [email protected]. Then you'll be PERMANENTLY entered into the drawing.

Check out the list of books you can get @ http://stefaniruper.com/bookgiveaway.

I carefully curate the guests on this show alongside a few team members who help me do it. We work hard to bring you nothing less than the most interesting, engaging, insightful, provocative guests out there.

*Subscribe on Youtube: http://bit.ly/2Y8fkfV

Instagram: http://instagram.com/stefani.ruper

Twitter: http://twitter.com/stefaniruper

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Website: http://stefaniruper.com

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Friedrich Nietzsche is a controversial figure. He proclaimed “God is dead!” and has often been held up as a hero of Nazis and the alt-right. A closer look at Nietzsche reveals however that what he said is actually really valuable and relevant to our modern moment. In this chat with political and historical theorist Hugo Drochon, I get to the bottom of Nietzsche and how he was able to predict so much about today’s landscape from 150 years back. We discuss the death of God, the “ubermensch,” resentment, and what it all has to do with the crumbling of the European Union and popularity of Donald Trump. Very timely after the Conservative sweep of the UK last week!

--Follow Hugo on Twitter! http://twitter.com/HDrochon

--Get Hugo's book! https://amzn.to/2PIsTAM

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To enter the weekly giveaway for a FREE book, write a review of the podcast on iTunes (http://stefaniruper.com/listen), take a screen shot of your review, then email it to [email protected]. Then you'll be PERMANENTLY entered into the drawing.

Check out the list of books you can get @ http://stefaniruper.com/bookgiveaway.

I carefully curate the guests on this show alongside a few team members who help me do it. We work hard to bring you nothing less than the most interesting, engaging, insightful, provocative guests out there.

*Subscribe on Youtube: http://bit.ly/2Y8fkfV

Instagram: http://instagram.com/stefani.ruper

Twitter: http://twitter.com/stefaniruper

Facebook: http://facebook.com/stefaniruper

Website: http://stefaniruper.com

*Subscribe on a podcasting app:

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A listener writes in and asks, why are some people so obsessed with reason? He asks the question because “prioritizing reason to know the world” is listed as a mission statement of a church he tried going to. I respond. I talk about limitations to reason and the kinds of danger we get in (including really big political danger) when we get obsessed with our own rationality. It’s a dense podcast, but it’s really important for anyone who’s interested in a few different things: gender stereotypes, faith versus reason, or successfully relying on your intuition.

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To enter the weekly giveaway for a FREE book, write a review of the podcast on iTunes (http://stefaniruper.com/listen), take a screen shot of your review, then email it to [email protected]. Then you'll be PERMANENTLY entered into the drawing.

Check out the list of books you can get @ http://stefaniruper.com/bookgiveaway.

I carefully curate the guests on this show alongside a few team members who help me do it. We work hard to bring you nothing less than the most interesting, engaging, insightful, provocative guests out there.

*Subscribe on Youtube: http://bit.ly/2Y8fkfV

Instagram: http://instagram.com/stefani.ruper

Twitter: http://twitter.com/stefaniruper

Facebook: http://facebook.com/stefaniruper

Website: http://stefaniruper.com

*Subscribe on a podcasting app:

iTunes: https://apple.co/2JJM4Is

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2Ye2b9x

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Y1vXig

Super-intelligent machines are coming - but what does that mean for us? Will they become like Gods? Maybe. Will we treat them like Gods? Some people are already doing it. In today’s fascinating episode, Dr Beth Singler and I talk about how some people are already worshipping technology, how humans tend to mirror religious myths in other kinds of stories, and what kinds of dangers are involved when we try to predict the future.

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To enter the weekly giveaway for a FREE book, write a review of the podcast on iTunes (http://stefaniruper.com/listen), take a screen shot of your review, then email it to [email protected]. Then you'll be PERMANENTLY entered into the drawing.

Check out the list of books you can get @ http://stefaniruper.com/bookgiveaway.

I carefully curate the guests on this show alongside a few team members who help me do it. We work hard to bring you nothing less than the most interesting, engaging, insightful, provocative guests out there.

*Subscribe on Youtube: http://bit.ly/2Y8fkfV

Instagram: http://instagram.com/stefani.ruper

Twitter: http://twitter.com/stefaniruper

Facebook: http://facebook.com/stefaniruper

Website: http://stefaniruper.com

*Subscribe on a podcasting app:

iTunes: https://apple.co/2JJM4Is

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Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Y1vXig

A listener writes in and asks: am I a slut? I use what I know about the histories of religion, philosophy, and culture to explain why the idea of a slut exists at all, and options for handling it. I also argue that we need to get rid of shame based on promiscuity and instead pay attention to how well we treat people. Some monogamous people, for example, treat their partners terribly, and some promiscuous people treat them with great love and care. This observation can teach us much about how we judge.

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To enter the weekly giveaway for a FREE book, write a review of the podcast on iTunes (http://stefaniruper.com/listen), take a screen shot of your review, then email it to [email protected]. Then you'll be PERMANENTLY entered into the drawing.

Check out the list of books you can get @ http://stefaniruper.com/bookgiveaway.

I carefully curate the guests on this show alongside a few team members who help me do it. We work hard to bring you nothing less than the most interesting, engaging, insightful, provocative guests out there.

*Subscribe on Youtube: http://bit.ly/2Y8fkfV

Instagram: http://instagram.com/stefani.ruper

Twitter: http://twitter.com/stefaniruper

Facebook: http://facebook.com/stefaniruper

Website: http://stefaniruper.com

*Subscribe on a podcasting app:

iTunes: https://apple.co/2JJM4Is

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2Ye2b9x

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Y1vXig

One of the biggest misconceptions in the world today is that religion is irrational, or disproved by science. Wrong. When you actually study religion and science, like I have, you learn that it’s a much more complex and potentially harmonious picture. Today’s guest, Tom McCleish, is a renowned physicist who also writes books about science and his faith. Tune in to learn how the histories of Christianity and science were mutually beneficial up until about 200 years ago. See the world through the eyes of a physicist who has faith without contradicting science.

Tom's books:

Faith and Wisdom in Science: https://amzn.to/2sslv4o

Let There Be Science: https://amzn.to/37RrX5h

The Poetry and Music of Science: https://amzn.to/37RrX5h

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To enter the weekly giveaway for a FREE book, write a review of the podcast on iTunes (http://stefaniruper.com/listen), take a screen shot of your review, then email it to [email protected]. Then you'll be PERMANENTLY entered into the drawing.

Check out the list of books you can get @ http://stefaniruper.com/bookgiveaway.

I carefully curate the guests on this show alongside a few team members who help me do it. We work hard to bring you nothing less than the most interesting, engaging, insightful, provocative guests out there.

*Subscribe on Youtube: http://bit.ly/2Y8fkfV

Instagram: http://instagram.com/stefani.ruper

Twitter: http://twitter.com/stefaniruper

Facebook: http://facebook.com/stefaniruper

Website: http://stefaniruper.com

*Subscribe on a podcasting app:

iTunes: https://apple.co/2JJM4Is

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2Ye2b9x

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Y1vXig

Postmodernism has been rumored to be BOTH the cause of Donald Trump’s popularity as well as the movement that will ultimately be the ruin of him. How could it be both at once? In this episode I respond to a listener who wrote in and asked: “What the heck is postmodernism?” I set the record straight. In it you’ll learn not just how postmodernism got started but also whether it’s to blame for the mess we’re in it.

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To enter the weekly giveaway for a FREE book, write a review of the podcast on iTunes (http://stefaniruper.com/listen), take a screen shot of your review, then email it to [email protected]. Then you'll be PERMANENTLY entered into the drawing! Check out the list of books you can get @ http://stefaniruper.com/bookgiveaway.

Guests for this show are carefully curated and vetted by a team of content experts to bring you nothing less than the most interesting, engaging, insightful, provocative guests out there.

The host of Naked Humanity is Oxford PhD candidate in religion and science Stefani Ruper.

*Subscribe on Youtube: http://bit.ly/2Y8fkfV

Instagram: http://instagram.com/stefani.ruper

Twitter: http://twitter.com/stefaniruper

Facebook: http://facebook.com/stefaniruper

Website: http://stefaniruper.com

*Subscribe on a podcasting app:

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What is the meaning of life? You might not know it, but you probably assume a lot of things that affect your feelings about meaning. For instance, it is a very common bias for people to think that life is meaningful for others, but not necessarily for themselves. Philosopher Iddo Landau asks, Why is this the case? Why do so many people today think life is meaningless? What’s the difference between people who think life is meaningful and people who don’t? I chat with Iddo and he explains what’s wrong with our approach to the meaning of life, and what to do about it.

Iddo recently published a book on the topic - Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World - check it out at this link!: https://amzn.to/2NUuCSo.

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To enter the weekly giveaway for a FREE book, write a review of the podcast on iTunes (http://stefaniruper.com/listen), take a screen shot of your review, then email it to [email protected]. Then you'll be PERMANENTLY entered into the drawing! Check out the list of books you can get @ http://stefaniruper.com/bookgiveaway.

Guests for this show are carefully curated and vetted by a team of content experts to bring you nothing less than the most interesting, engaging, insightful, provocative guests out there.

The host of Naked Humanity is Oxford PhD candidate in religion and science Stefani Ruper.

*Subscribe on Youtube: http://bit.ly/2Y8fkfV

Instagram: http://instagram.com/stefani.ruper

Twitter: http://twitter.com/stefaniruper

Facebook: http://facebook.com/stefaniruper

Website: http://stefaniruper.com

*Subscribe on a podcasting app:

iTunes: https://apple.co/2JJM4Is

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2Ye2b9x

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Y1vXig