Doug and Chris start out the year on a positive note, looking for signs of hope for humanity. Gratefully, with some help, our cohosts find research showing that most people are inherently caring, considerate, and cooperative. Here's to 2020 being a year in which we all revive our hope for the human race.

1.10 Why Chris has hope

2.00 Gratitude

6.00 Giving to others

7.00 Relationships and well being

11.45 Helping others

13.40 Empathy and mindsets

18.15 Resilience

Links

Thoughtco article by Elizabeth Hopper

Populism has emerged unexpectedly as a huge global political issue. It's controversial, powerful to its adherents, disruptive, and tumultuous for all concerned. It's also a repeat of past world history. Why is this happening now and what can be done about it?

0.53 The alienated worker class

3.55 Mankind's darker nature

8.00 3 core requirements for populism

9:45 Rising hostility towards capitalism

11.10 Does populism have a better story than progressivism?

16.00 What are the best and the brightest doing now to help the world?

20.00 The hostile takeover of the Republican Party

22.40 What does Brexit mean for U.S. politics?

Reference

The information about Swedish professor Benjamin Moffitt and the three core requirements that define a populist comes from a 2017 Bloomberg article by Marc Champion titled "How Do You Know a Populist When You See One?" Chris reads from Champion's piece beginning at the 8:00 mark.

In this episode Doug and Chris tackle one of the most intractable issues of our time - income inequality. The cohosts frame the magnitude of the problem, and then discuss  what could be done about it. 

1.30 Inequality and immigration

2.15 The 3 richest people in the world

3.25 The last 40 years in the U.S.

6.25 Investing in people's welfare

9.00 The advantage of universal benefits

15.30 The burning fuse of income inequality 

19.30 Money and politics

25.15 Equality of opportunity

Chris and Doug discuss and debate the most important question for Democrats in 2020 - should they run a moderate or a progressive? Are politics today dominated by the right and left, or is their room in the middle? Our cohosts (mostly) keep it friendly, but don't agree on much - other than the country would be better off with a new president.

0.45 Chris throws the first punch

3.25 Can we get the youth vote out?

6.55 Should we focus on electability or policy?

9.45 Are the moderates slow walking us to disaster?

11.25 is there still a political center?

16.30 Here, we talk about actual candidates

31.15 Chris's Democratic presidential nominee success rate

Chris and Doug explore why humor is important, how it helps us get through difficult times, and what makes for good humor. The cohosts delve into Chris's career as a stand-up comic, what it was like to try to break into that world - and hear about one famous comic he met along the journey. All forms of humor are on the table - stand-up comedy, political humor, self-deprecating humor, and plain old bad jokes.

0.50 The Three Big Intangibles

7.20 What are the hallmarks of good humor?

9.40 Chris's stand up career

17.30 Political humor

21.40 Humor to get through difficult times

In this episode Chris and Doug try to figure out how resentful millennial and generation X Y and Z are, and should be, toward baby boomers. It seems like they have reasons to be, considering climate change, deficits, income inequality and political division. We carefully insert personal disclaimers into the episode, and Chris makes it clear that he loves everyone. 

2.40 What Millenials and Gen Z think about Baby Boomers

7.00 Short-termism

11.25 The state of capitialism

17.57 Chris takes the floor

20.40 Solving big problems

23.48 Tribalism

Listen to two fanatical sports fans, one in recovery and one in denial, sort out this timeless question: Are sports something we take too seriously? In a perverse way, Doug and Chris may be uniquely qualified to take on this topic.

1.54 The problem with taking sports too seriously

5.40 The Browns' sorry playoff history 

13:55 Being a fan and never winning a championship

22.10 Checklist of poor sports fan behaviors

27.50 Doug answers the question 

Links

Superfans

In this episode, Chris and Doug discuss freedom in all of its dimensions -- political, physical, financial, external versus internal freedom. The cohosts discuss which rights of freedom are currently threatened in the United States. As usual, Doug also offers a book recommendation.

0.55 Chris's fundamental definition of freedom

2.15 Webster's definition of freedom

7.15 Internal freedom

11.10 Freedom to be who you are

11.30 Free will

14.45 The freedom to control your body

16.45 Financial freedom

Links

Victor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

All of us go through adversity. It's an inevitable part of life. In this episode, Doug and Chris talk about some of the major adversities in their own lives and how they dealt with them (successfully or otherwise).

0.30 Doug's first major life crisis

5.30 The wrong way to deal with adversity

10.30 How to overcome adversity

12.55 Chris' biggest adversity

17.25 Staying in the pocket

19.10 The growth mindset

Links

Mindset, Carol Dweck

Chris and Doug engage in a wide-ranging conversation about perfectionism, excellence and the difference between the two. They cover healthy and unhealthy attitudes, how raising kids has gotten harder, famous perfectionists, suicide, and - of course - Donald Trump. A decent effort for two non-perfectionists.

0.42 Definitions of perfectionism and excellence

4.00 Perfectionists' expectations of other people

5.25 Perfectionists and risk-taking

12.50 The promise and perils of continuous improvement

16.00 Growing up in a social media world

19.00 Is perfectionism getting worse?

Links:

Ted Talk on Perfectionism