You know those families where the kids all grow up to be remarkably successful? New York Times journalist Susan Dominus has spent the last few years getting to know some of them, looking for parenting techniques and life lessons. She's written a book about her findings called The Family Dynamic. "I thought I wrote a book about high-achieving families," she tells us, "but when I look back, it's really a book about families who did believe that the sky's the limit."

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How to start, build, buy, scale, and sell a business that expands your life.

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Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson is probably the most talked-about book in the country right now. And the most hotly debated. It’s a book about how we got here — here being a country without enough housing, a country that has lost its ambitious optimism, a country that has forgotten how to build. The prescription Ezra and Derek offer to cure what ails us is conspicuously pro-growth: more housing, more clean energy, more scientific development and technological innovation. But to pull that off, they argue, will require Democrats to question their endemic zeal for regulation. This view has fired up some liberals while simultaneously drawing ire from others. Today, Rufus sits down with Derek Thompson to talk about the book, the reaction to it, and how to convince political leaders from both sides of the aisle to embrace a liberalism that builds.

To thrive in this day and age, smaller cities must create innovation economies. But how can they do that when tech jobs, venture capital, and R&D are concentrated in a handful of big coastal cities, while the broad middle of the country is left out? That's a problem. Nicholas Lalla, founder of Tulsa Innovation Labs, has big ideas for how to change it.

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We’re often told that success comes down to talent, hard work, and luck. But Adam Grant's research suggests that view is missing something crucial. In today’s installment of Next Big Idea Classics, Adam revisits his 2013 bestseller “Give and Take,” explaining how our interactions with others determine who thrives and who doesn’t.

💿 For Adam’s previous appearances on the show, click here

🎙️ And check out our classic interviews with Daniel Pink, Kim Scott, and James Clear

Caroline Fleck shares five big ideas from her new book, "Validation: How the Skill Set That Revolutionized Psychology Will Transform Your Relationships, Increase Your Influence, and Change Your Life."

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In 2008, a mysterious figure created Bitcoin — a digital currency without banks or borders that sparked a global financial movement. And then he disappeared without a trace. Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? Why did he vanish? And why hasn’t he touched his $100 billion fortune? Today on the show, we talk to journalist Ben Wallace about his search for answers.

📕 The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto

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Sleep researcher Olivia Walch on why your body’s clock is so messed up and what to do about it.

📱 To hear the rest of this week’s Next Big Idea Daily episodes, follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen

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Can you change who you are? When reporter Olga Khazan decided she was tired of being a “high-strung misanthrope” (her words), she turned to science for answers. What she discovered about personality — and how to change it — might surprise you.

Host: Daniel Pink

Guest: Olga Khazan

Book: Me, But Better

This episode was recorded live at Politics and Prose on March 12th.

Two of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI share what you need to know about AI — and how to defend yourself against bogus AI claims and products.

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📕 AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference by Arvind Narayanan & Sayash Kapoor

📩 Want to transform your day in just 10 minutes? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter, and you’ll get daily, bite‑sized insights from the best new nonfiction books — in audio or text — straight from the authors. Sign up today!