In this episode of the "Words That Make Us" podcast, Rama and Tony discuss the topic of “Laughter”. Listen to them as they discuss the different kinds of laughter and they affect both the laugher and those around them. Is it the best medicine? What do the stoics say about it? Are all jokes universal and appropriate across time and space? What is a laughing epidemic? Listen to the episode to find out and hopefully catch a few laughs. 

Your Laughter by Pablo Neruda

https://allpoetry.com/Your-Laughter

10 types of laughter

https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/emotions/5-types-of-laughter.htm

Nietzsche: Laughter of the Herd and Laughter of the Height

https://eternalisedofficial.com/2020/11/28/superhuman-laughter-nietzsche/

Why do we cry sometimes when we laugh?

https://www.salusuhealth.com/news/2016/09/why-do-we-cry-when-we-laugh.html

The sad clown:

https://fherehab.com/learning/comedians-depressed-mental-illness

https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/12274127

If you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback, please send us an email at: 

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In this episode of the "Words That Make Us" podcast, Rama and Tony discuss the topic of “guilt”. Listen to them as they discuss the differences between guilt, regret, shame and remorse. What is collective guilt and what purpose does it serve? What is survivor guilt? Do different races, genders and people in general feel less or more guilt than others? Should they? There’s some great poetry, too!

Do women feel more guilt than men?

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna35788411

WHITE BOY PRIVILEGE BY Royce Mann

https://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/13/us/teen-slam-poet-white-privilege-hln/index.html

Stoic strategies for dealing with guilt

https://thebeautyinbeinginsignificant.com/stoicism-management-guilt/?utm_content=cmp-true

Sociopaths and guilt

https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/sociopathy/what-is-a-sociopath-symptoms-traits-treatments/

Guilt by Robert Frost

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/robert_frost/poems/812

A Hymn to God the Father by John Donne

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44115/a-hymn-to-god-the-father

If you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback, please send us an email at: 

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In this episode of the "Words That Make Us" podcast, Rama and Tony discuss the topic of “change”. Listen to them as they discuss the reasons why humans might embrace or resist change and how change in individuals and institutions can be implemented. Of course they bring to you what religion says about change and how stoicism regards it. You can also expect lots of poetry that explores the topic. Enjoy!

Choosing Strategies for Change by John P. Kotter and Leonard A. Schlesinger

https://hbr.org/2008/07/choosing-strategies-for-change

Journey by Rupi Kaur

https://images.app.goo.gl/tJVBCTZEZaLKoYUW8

The Man Watching by Rainer Maria Rilke

https://www.barefootguide.org/poetry-of-change.html

Theory by Kurt Lewin: Unfreeze-change-refreeze

https://www.mindtools.com/ajm9l1e/lewins-change-management-model

Who Makes These Changes? By  Jalal ad-Din Rumi

https://allpoetry.com/Who-makes-these-changes-

The Song of the Potter - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

https://discoverpoetry.com/poems/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-song-of-the-potter/?utm_content=cmp-true

If you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback, please send us an email at: 

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In this episode of the "Words That Make Us" podcast, Rama and Tony discuss the topic of “Music”. Listen to them as they discuss why music is powerful, where the oldest piece of music came from and why music is banned by some regimes. They also share their favourite songs and read to you poems about the power and beauty of music. Enjoy!

Quote on music in a car:

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/222581-i-love-the-way-music-inside-a-car-makes-you

Music is a vicious cancer:

https://theweek.com/culture-life/music/why-chechnya-has-banned-music-that-is-too-fast-or-too-slow

The oldest (surviving) piece of music in the world. Video within the article:

https://theweek.com/culture-life/music/why-chechnya-has-banned-music-that-is-too-fast-or-too-slow

https://allpoetry.com/poem/14326975-Give-Me-The-Flute-by-Khalil-Gibran

Cultural differences in scale and harmony

https://www.hoffmanacademy.com/blog/our-list-of-music-scales-from-around-the-world/

Why music moves us

https://www.pfizer.com/news/articles/why_and_how_music_moves_us#:~:text=The%20limbic%20system%2C%20which%20is,when%20our%20ears%20perceive%20music.&text=The%20chills%20you%20feel%20when,of%20pleasure%20and%20well%2Dbeing.

https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/how-does-music-make-you-feel

Erbarme Dich by Johann Sebastian Bach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBeXF_lnj_M

The Atlantic Article: Inside the Heads of People Who Don't Like Music

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/03/please-dont-stop-the-music-or-do-stop-the-music-i-dont-really-mind/519099/

Music by John Miles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb6XtyFNawM

Waiting for a girl like you by Foreigner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dWmKSj5HjI

Hero by Lissie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6bo14aOe1I

Music and Stoicism

https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/comments/6i8yjb/music_is_antistoic_what_do_you_think/

If you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback, please send us an email at: 

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In this episode of the "Words That Make Us" podcast, Rama and Tony discuss the topic of “Grief”. Listen to them as they discuss what human beings might grieve and their personal experiences with it. They read some heart-warming texts to you and tell you about some traditions around grief around the world. 

For Grief by John O’Donohue

https://www.ayearofbeinghere.com/2015/12/john-odonohue-for-grief.html

The case against the five stages of grief 

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-history/its-time-let-five-stages-grief-die

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/05/mary-frances-oconnor-the-grieving-brain-grief-psychology

School of Love by Nizar Qabbani

https://www.heliotricity.com/nizar-qabbani-poetry/

Public Grief

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whats-the-science-of-public-grief/

Grief rituals around the world:

https://ideas.ted.com/11-fascinating-funeral-traditions-from-around-the-globe/

If you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback, please send us an email at: 

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In this episode of the "Words That Make Us" podcast, Rama and Tony discuss the topic of “Beauty”. Listen to them as they explain what the word means to them and what they consider beautiful. Why do humans gravitate toward shiny objects? What makes them deem something or someone beautiful? Of course, there’s poetry too!

Why humans like shiny things (theory):

https://www.thecut.com/2014/01/maybe-we-love-shiny-things-because-were-thirsty.html

What makes things beautiful, novelty or familiarity?

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/science-of-choice/202110/how-beautiful-things-make-our-lives-better

Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? By William Shakespeare

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-shakespeare

Pied Beauty BY GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/gerard-manley-hopkins

Bizarre beauty standards around the world and in different eras:

https://steemit.com/life/@ruth-girl/ten-weird-beauty-standards-from-around-the-world

https://elle.in/bizarre-beauty-trends-history/

Change in beauty standards over time

https://www.scienceofpeople.com/beauty-standards/

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/07/health/body-image-history-of-beauty-explainer-intl/index.html

Social Media and Beauty Standards

https://www.dove.com/us/en/stories/campaigns/social-media-and-body-image.html

https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/73271

Cosmetic Surgery

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshwilson/2023/01/18/cosmetic-surgery-is-on-the-rise-with-technology-and-hollywood-is-at-the-centre-of-it/

https://www.isaps.org/discover/about-isaps/global-statistics/reports-and-press-releases/global-survey-2022-full-report-and-press-releases/#:~:text=The%20report%20shows%20a%2011.2,non%2Dsurgical%20procedures%20performed%20worldwide.&text=The%20report%20shows%20a%20continuing,over%20the%20last%20four%20years.

Stoic attitude to Beauty

https://dailystoic.com/a-stoic-response-to-beauty/

Still will I harvest beauty where it grows by Edna St. Vincent Millay

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/148565/still-will-i-harvest-beauty-where-it-grows

If you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback, please send us an email at: 

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In this episode of the "Words That Make Us" podcast, Rama and Tony discuss the topic of “Jealousy”. Is there a difference between jealousy and envy? What nuances might there be between these words in English vs. other languages and cultures? Why is the colour green associated with jealousy? Can jealousy be used for good or is it always a toxic, negative feeling? How jealous are you and how does jealousy manifest for you?

The green-eyed monster:

https://poets.org/poem/othello-act-iii-scene-iii-o-beware-my-lord-jealousy

Othello Syndrome

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2507072/Paranoid-woman-Debbi-Wood-suffering-Othello-Syndrome-forces-fianc-lie-detector-test.html

And God Wept:

https://philipchircop.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/and-god-wept/

Is jealousy genetic?

https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2013/nov/01/jealousy-genes

Where jealousy comes from:

https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/where-does-jealousy-come-from

Delilah by Tom Jones banned

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/feb/01/delilah-welsh-rugby-union-choirs-banned-from-singing-tom-jones-hit

How legal system sympathises with male jealousy-

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29612916

A Lover’s Envy by Henry Van Dyke:

https://allpoetry.com/A-Lover%27s-Envy

If you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback, please send us an email at: 

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In this episode of the "Words That Make Us" podcast, Rama and Tony discuss the topic of “Attraction”. What does it mean to be attracted to someone? Can you control who you are attracted to? What has our childhood got to do with who we are attracted to? What do some animals do to attract a mate? Scientifically, what are the three elements of a happy relationship? Listen and find out more.

Definition from WebMD:

https://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/what-types-attraction

Bowerbirds:

https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=100364

Mystery circles:

https://www.livescience.com/57869-animals-with-weird-courtship-rituals.html

The Ring of the Dove:

https://www.imagomundi.com.br/espiritualidade/hazm_ring_dove.pdf

To the Black Beloved by Langston Huges

https://poets.org/poem/poem-black-beloved

Unusual ways to become more attractive:

https://www.jonbrooks.com/how-to-be-more-attractive/

If you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback, please send us an email at: 

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In this episode of the "Words That Make Us" podcast, Rama and Tony discuss the topic of “Authenticity”. Listen to them as they discuss the connotations of the word in the contexts of business, relationships and as individuals.

Words of the year

https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-of-the-year

The Man in the Glass by Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr.

http://www.inspirationpeak.com/cgi-bin/poetry.cgi?record=155

On Self-knowledge by Khalil Gibran

https://poets.org/poem/self-knowledge

Authentic leadership

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathymillerperkins/2023/05/27/authenticity-the-key-to-great-leadership-and-how-to-embrace-it/

What the stoics say

https://www.redalyc.org/journal/6945/694573720008/html/

Recommended reading on how to be authentic:

https://www.betterup.com/blog/authentic-self

I am Not I by Juan Ramon Jimenez

https://allpoetry.com/I-Am-Not-I

If you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback, please send us an email at: 

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CORRECTION: Paulo Coelho does NOT come from Spain. He comes from Brazil.

In this episode of the "Words That Make Us" podcast, Rama and Tony discuss the topic of “Luck”. Listen to them as they discuss the connotations of the word “luck” and debate its existence. Of course they have some poetry for you too. 

If you would like to check out some of the readings on this episode, you may find them here:

Are some people born lucky?

https://www.furman.edu/news/are-some-people-born-lucky-a-ut-psychologist-argues-inequalitys-genetic-roots/#:~:text=She%20writes%20that%20some%20people,a%20greater%20risk%20of%20homelessness.

Marcus Auelius’ take on luck:

https://www.themarginalian.org/2021/09/19/marcus-aurelius-luck/

“May the Road Rise to Meet You”

https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/may-the-road-rise-meet-you-irish-blessing-meaning

Good and Bad Luck by John Hay

https://allpoetry.com/Good-and-Bad-Luck

Luck is Not Chance by Emily Dickinson

https://poets.org/poem/luck-not-chance-1350

If you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback, please send us an email at: 

[email protected]