Timeless Wisdom for Leading a Life of Love, Friendship and Learning

Timeless Wisdom for Leading a Life of Love, Friendship and Learning

“Today, we are supercompetent when it comes to efficiency, utility, speed, convenience, and getting ahead in the world; but we are at a loss concerning what it’s all for,” Leon Kass writes in his 2017 book “Leading a Worthy Life.” “This lack of cultural and moral confidence about what makes a life worth living is perhaps the deepest curse of living in our interesting time.”

Kass spent more than 30 years as an award-winning teacher at the University of Chicago, where he gained a reputation among students for his commitment to the big questions of human existence and the study of classic texts. And he’s written books and essays on marriage, sports, ethics, friendship, romance, the philosophy of food, biblical wisdom and more. In many ways, Kass’s career represents a lifelong effort to grapple with the biggest question of all: What does it mean to live a meaningful life?

This conversation, between Kass and the New York Times Opinion columnist David Brooks, is an attempt to answer that question. Along the way, they discuss the difference between choosing a career and discovering a vocation; the key ingredients of a successful romantic relationship; how to distinguish between superficial friendships and life-altering ones; why finding the right job is less about searching within ourselves and more about committing to something beyond ourselves; Kass’s view that the most distinctive thing about individuals isn’t their race, gender or class but “the ruling passions of their souls”; and what the biblical Exodus story can teach Americans about how to live together more harmoniously.

Mentioned:

Founding God’s Nation by Leon Kass

The Second Mountain by David Brooks

Book Recommendations:

Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle

The Hebrew Bible, especially Genesis and Exodus

Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

Daniel Deronda by George Eliot

This episode is guest-hosted by David Brooks, a New York Times columnist, whose work focuses on politics, culture and moral formation. He currently serves as chair of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C. and is the author of several books, including “The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life.” You can follow him on Twitter @nytdavidbrooks. (Learn more about the other guest hosts during Ezra’s parental leave here.)

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of "The Ezra Klein Show" at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

“The Ezra Klein Show” is produced by Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld and Rogé Karma; fact-checking by Michelle Harris; original music by Isaac Jones; mixing by Jeff Geld; audience strategy by Shannon Busta. Special thanks to Kristin Lin and Alison Bruzek.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Avsnitt(489)

This Book Changed My Relationship to Pain

This Book Changed My Relationship to Pain

Physical pain is a universal human experience. And for many of us, it’s a constant one. Roughly 20 percent of American adults — some 50 million people — suffer from a form of chronic pain. For some, t...

21 Feb 20231h 4min

The Inflation Story Has Changed Dramatically. Paul Krugman Breaks It Down.

The Inflation Story Has Changed Dramatically. Paul Krugman Breaks It Down.

In recent months, the story of the U.S. economy has changed significantly. The January Consumer Price Index showed that annual inflation slowed for the seventh straight month. That month, the economy ...

17 Feb 20231h 17min

How the $500 Billion Attention Industry Really Works

How the $500 Billion Attention Industry Really Works

For most of us, seeing an advertisement pop up while we’re scrolling on Instagram or reading an article or watching a video is the most banal experience possible. But in the background of those experi...

14 Feb 20231h 6min

The Tao of Rick Rubin

The Tao of Rick Rubin

Reading Rick Rubin’s production discography is like taking a tour through the commanding heights of American music over the past few decades. Jay-Z. Run-DMC. Beastie Boys. Slayer. The Red Hot Chili Pe...

10 Feb 20231h 29min

How Liberals — Yes, Liberals — Are Hobbling Government

How Liberals — Yes, Liberals — Are Hobbling Government

In my columns and on this show over the past few years, I’ve argued that to achieve the goals liberals hold most dear, we need a liberalism that builds. A liberalism that builds everything from multif...

7 Feb 20231h 20min

Best Of: Why Housing Is So Expensive — Particularly in Blue States

Best Of: Why Housing Is So Expensive — Particularly in Blue States

Ezra is out sick, so today, we’re sharing one of our favorite conversations — with Jenny Schuetz, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution whose 2022 book “Fixer Upper: How to Repair America’s Bro...

3 Feb 20231h 16min

First Person: How the Left Is Cannibalizing Its Own Power

First Person: How the Left Is Cannibalizing Its Own Power

Ezra is out sick, so today, we're sharing an episode from the New York Times Opinion podcast, “First Person.” Each week, the host Lulu Garcia-Navarro sits down with people living through the headlines...

31 Jan 202336min

Is This How a Cold War With China Begins?

Is This How a Cold War With China Begins?

There are few issues on which the dominant consensus in Washington has changed as rapidly in recent years as it has on China. Donald Trump made taking on China a core pillar of his campaign and presid...

27 Jan 202351min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

aftonbladet-krim
svenska-fall
p3-krim
rss-krimstad
fordomspodden
rss-expressen-dok
flashback-forever
rss-sanning-konsekvens
motiv
aftonbladet-daily
spar
rss-vad-fan-hande
blenda-2
rss-krimreportrarna
olyckan-inifran
rss-frandfors-horna
rss-flodet
grans
krimmagasinet
dagens-eko