The Surprising Truth About Shamans
In his new book, Shamanism: The Timeless Religion, anthropologist Manvir Singh travels from Indonesian rainforests to Burning Man in search of what makes shamanic traditions so enduring — and so human. It turns out that when life feels uncertain, people everywhere still seek out ritual, healing, and a little magic. 📱 Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen 📩 Want more bite-sized insights from the best new nonfiction delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter
17 Jul 12min
Reclaim Your Physical Power. Transform Your Life.
Anne Marie Chaker went from journalist to competitive bodybuilder at 50. Now, with her book Lift, she wants to change how we think about aging, power, and what our bodies are capable of. 📱 Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen 📩 Want more bite-sized insights from the best new nonfiction delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter
16 Jul 11min
Like, Get Over It Already
The most hated word in English might just be a storytelling superpower—and a tool for empathy, nuance, and emotional truth. 📱 Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen 📩 Want more bite-sized insights from the best new nonfiction delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter
15 Jul 8min
Human History on Drugs
When we talk about the forces that shape history, we usually hear about wars, revolutions, inventions… maybe the occasional love affair. But there’s one powerful force that’s rarely acknowledged—because, well, it makes people uncomfortable. That force is drugs. In his new book Human History on Drugs, writer and historian Sam Kelly uncovers the surprising, often scandalous ways that everything from opium to cocaine has shaped leaders, inspired art, fueled some bad decisions—and some good ones. It’s a provocative and oddly humanizing look at the past, and it just might change the way you think about both history and substance use. 📱 Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen 📩 Want more bite-sized insights from the best new nonfiction delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter
14 Jul 9min
The Pleasures of Suffering
Celebrated psychologist Paul Bloom shares five key insights from his book The Sweet Spot. 📱 Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen 📩 Want more bite-sized insights from the best new nonfiction delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter
11 Jul 15min
Who Designed Design?
Once just a word, now a worldview — how a 20th-century invention came to shape everything from your phone to your future. Support the show!
10 Jul 6min
Ambition is a Trap. Here's How to Get Out.
Ambition. We celebrate it, chase it, and reward it. But for many of us, ambition has become a double-edged sword—fueling overwork, perfectionism, and self-neglect. What if the problem isn’t having ambition, but where it’s coming from? Executive coach Amina AlTai has worked with everyone from Olympians to entrepreneurs, and in her new book The Ambition Trap: How to Stop Chasing and Start Living, she argues that we don’t need to give up ambition; we just need to reclaim it on our own terms. 📱 Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen 📩 Want more bite-sized insights from the best new nonfiction delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter
9 Jul 12min
Magic Is Real—And It’s Living in Your Computer
How code became the most powerful spell humans have ever cast. 📱 Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen 📩 Want more bite-sized insights from the best new nonfiction delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter
8 Jul 10min
