331. Paul Zak — Immersion: The Science of the Extraordinary and the Source of Happiness
The world is rapidly transforming into an experience economy as people increasingly crave extraordinary experiences. Experience designers, marketers, entertainment producers, and retailers have long s...
11 Maalis 20231h 49min
330. Jim Davies — How to Be a Better Person
Why do we feel like in order to be productive, happy, or good, we must sacrifice everything else? Is it possible to feel all three at once? Without even knowing it, we're doing things everyday to sabo...
7 Maalis 20231h 47min
329. Marc Schulz — The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness
Shermer and Schulz discuss: an operational definition of the "good life" or "happiness" or "well being" • the reliability (or unreliability) of self-report data in social science • relative roles of g...
4 Maalis 20231h 51min
328. Paul Bloom — Psych: The Story of the Human Mind
How does the brain — a three-pound gelatinous mass — give rise to intelligence and conscious experience? Was Freud right that we are all plagued by forbidden sexual desires? What is the function of em...
28 Helmi 20232h 1min
327. Rachel Moran on Her Years in Prostitution, How She Got Out of It, and Why She Thinks It Is a Form of Sexual Exploitation
Shermer and Moran discuss: her dysfunctional family background • her boyfriend who pimped her • the women who sell sex and the men who buy it • why other prostitutes have attacked her • agency and vol...
25 Helmi 20231h 29min
326. Naomi Oreskes — The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market
Shermer and Oreskes discuss: the myth of market magic • market fundamentalism • market absolutism • market essentialism • capitalism and democracy • well-regulated vs. poorly regulated capitalism • U....
21 Helmi 20231h 54min
325. Heinrich Päs — The One: How an Ancient Idea Holds the Future of Physics
Shermer and Päs discuss: monism vs. dualism • What is time? • What is a field? • Is math all there is? Is math universal? • the double-slit experiment • superposition • metaphors in science • limitati...
18 Helmi 20231h 28min
324. Andrew Gold on Exorcism, Abortion, Pedophilia, Sex & UFOs
Shermer and Gold discuss: diversity, equity, and inclusion in the media • social justice movements and their motivations • bias in STEM fields • why people believe weird things • exorcisms • UFOs • fa...
14 Helmi 20232h 16min
