A Mind-Expanding Conversation About Human History and Happiness With Tim Urban

A Mind-Expanding Conversation About Human History and Happiness With Tim Urban

Sometimes on this show, we talk about the news. This episode is about the diametric opposite of the news. It’s about thinking deeply about human history and trying to appreciate the awesome length of time and the finitude of our lives. It's an interview with Tim Urban, a blogger at the mind-expanding site Wait But Why, and the author of a new book What’s Our Problem: A Self-Help Book for Societies. If you don’t know Tim and his work, I would sum up his thing this way: Tim is a kind of alien. He has an incredible talent for seeing our world as if from the perspective of a goofy but smart extraterrestrial, who takes not the 30,000-foot view on life, but the 300,000-foot view of life, and history, and human nature. In this show, we talk about … you know what. I'm not even going to try to sum up the hour. Just enjoy. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. You can find us on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@plainenglish_ Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Tim Urban Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episoder(363)

Tech Talk: AI Supremacy, TikTok’s Fate, and Crypto Decadence

Tech Talk: AI Supremacy, TikTok’s Fate, and Crypto Decadence

Today, tech talk with an old friend of the pod, Kevin Roose of The New York Times, who is also host of the 'Hard Fork' podcast. This is a show about everything. And it’s going to remain a show about ...

24 Jan 20251h 2min

Plain History Volume 1: Who Killed President James Garfield?

Plain History Volume 1: Who Killed President James Garfield?

This is the first episode of a little experiment we’re trying this year, a podcast within a podcast on history that we’re calling, simply enough, 'Plain History.' There are, I am well aware, a great n...

21 Jan 202558min

What's the Truth About Alcohol, Cancer, and Your Health?

What's the Truth About Alcohol, Cancer, and Your Health?

Today's episode has been a long time coming. For years, more scientists and health influencers have claimed that even moderate drinking does serious damage to one's health. As someone who likes being ...

17 Jan 202539min

The L.A. Fires: How They Happened, Climate Change’s Role, and What the City Must Do Now

The L.A. Fires: How They Happened, Climate Change’s Role, and What the City Must Do Now

With so many confusing narratives unfolding around a fire that is still raging out of control, I wanted to talk to somebody I knew and trusted to get stories like this right. Robinson Meyer is the fou...

14 Jan 20251h 4min

‘The Anti-Social Century’: America’s Epidemic of Solitude—and How to Fix It

‘The Anti-Social Century’: America’s Epidemic of Solitude—and How to Fix It

My new feature for The Atlantic magazine is called "The Anti-Social Century." It's a long article that revolves around a simple point: Americans are now spending more time alone than ever. This surgin...

10 Jan 20251h 10min

The Big 2025 Economy Forecast: AI and Big Tech, Nuclear’s Renaissance, Trump vs. China, and What’s Eating Europe?

The Big 2025 Economy Forecast: AI and Big Tech, Nuclear’s Renaissance, Trump vs. China, and What’s Eating Europe?

Happy new year! And what better way to celebrate the freshly torn calendar page than by welcoming one of Derek's favorite writers to the show to tell us what's in store for the 2025 economy. Michael C...

7 Jan 20251h 10min

The Year's Biggest Breakthroughs in Science and Tech (Feat.: OK, But Seriously, What Is Quantum Computing?)

The Year's Biggest Breakthroughs in Science and Tech (Feat.: OK, But Seriously, What Is Quantum Computing?)

Our final episode of the year is also my favorite annual tradition: conversations with scientists about the most important and, often, just plain mind-blowing breakthroughs of the previous 12 months. ...

31 Des 20241h 16min

A Mysterious Health Wave Is Breaking Out Across the U.S.

A Mysterious Health Wave Is Breaking Out Across the U.S.

Why do Americans die younger than citizens of other rich countries? The most important reason is that life in America is inexcusably dangerous. The U.S. has more fatalities from gun violence, drug ove...

27 Des 20241h 7min

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