Want to Be Happier? Try Talking to Strangers.

Want to Be Happier? Try Talking to Strangers.

Nicholas Epley is a mind reader. But he doesn’t have ESP or practice hypnosis. He's not telepathic or clairvoyant. Sure, you could ask him to read your fortune, but you'd be better off with a Magic 8 Ball. When we say Nick is a mind reader, what we mean is he studies mind reading at the University of Chicago — studies, as he puts it, "how we make inferences about each other's thoughts and beliefs and attitudes, and mostly how we screw that up." Today, he makes small talk — and big talk — with Rufus about his new book, A Little More Social, which draws on the dozens of studies he's run with thousands of participants to show that talking to strangers, cringe as it may feel, can enliven your days, lengthen your life, and maybe even heal our politics. If you enjoyed this episode, check out our conversations with Charles Duhigg, Leslie John, David Brooks, Marc Schulz, Anna Sale, and John Colapinto. The Next Big Idea is now on YouTube! You can find our episodes ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Follow Rufus on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, subscribe to our ⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠, or send us an email at ⁠podcast@nextbigideaclub.com⁠. The best way to support the show is by becoming a Next Big Idea Club member. Learn more at ⁠⁠nextbigideaclub.com⁠⁠, and use code PODCAST for a super secret discount (spoiler: it’s 20% off). 🔗 Sponsored By: Fora — Build and scale your own travel business by becoming a Fora Advisor today at foratravel.com/idea Northwest Registered Agent — Helping small business owners and entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses for nearly 30 years. Learn more at northwestregisteredagent.com/nbifree Shopify — Launch your business for just $1/month. Start selling today at shopify.com/nbi

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(376)

AI Has Gone Rogue. Here’s What We Should Do About It.

AI Has Gone Rogue. Here’s What We Should Do About It.

"This Is Really Bad." That's the not-so-comforting headline of Stephen Witt's mega-viral New York Times essay about a dawning realization among Silicon Valley researchers that "AI may no longer be ent...

24 Sep 57min

You Don't Have Free Will. That's Good News. (NBI Vault)

You Don't Have Free Will. That's Good News. (NBI Vault)

Do we have free will? Do we have a choice in what we do? Philosophers and theologians have debated these questions for centuries; Robert Sapolsky answered them when he was 14. Free will, he concluded,...

21 Sep 1h 7min

The Art of Fighting

The Art of Fighting

We’ve gotten very good at cutting people off. But have we forgotten how to work through our differences? In The Art of Fighting, bestselling author and conflict resolution expert Priya Parker challen...

17 Sep 1h 7min

Is America a ‘Country of Lords’?

Is America a ‘Country of Lords’?

America was founded on a radical promise: all people are created equal. But for 250 years, some of the country’s most powerful thinkers have been arguing the opposite. In Country of Lords, historian ...

14 Sep 53min

A Storytelling Masterclass with Will Storr (NBI Vault)

A Storytelling Masterclass with Will Storr (NBI Vault)

Will Storr is the author of the dazzling books The Science of Storytelling and A Story Is a Deal, and in this episode, he tells us everything he knows about humanity’s greatest invention: story. More ...

10 Sep 1h 34min

What Can Henry David Thoreau Teach Us About Work?

What Can Henry David Thoreau Teach Us About Work?

Henry David Thoreau was a philosopher, poet, and pencil-maker. He was a great resigner and, above all, a superb writer whose masterpiece, "Walden," is considered by many to be America's first environm...

7 Sep 45min

How French Philosophy Wired Modern Thinking

How French Philosophy Wired Modern Thinking

How did a group of notoriously difficult French philosophers become intellectual rock stars on American college campuses — and how much do their ideas matter today? In The Frenchmen, writer and edit...

3 Sep 1h 4min

A Nobel Prize Winner’s Plan to Save Democracy

A Nobel Prize Winner’s Plan to Save Democracy

Democracy is in the dumps. OK, that's a bit dramatic. But it's definitely not working as well as it used to. Good thing Daron Acemoglu — Nobel laureate, MIT Institute Professor, and one of the world's...

31 Aug 57min

Populært innen Fakta

fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
rss-strid
treningspodden
foreldreradet
rss-bisarr-historie
jakt-og-fiskepodden
rss-orjasater
hverdagspsyken
rss-kunsten-a-leve
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf
sinnsyn
mikkels-paskenotter
rss-impressions-2
gravid-uke-for-uke
psykt-interessant
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
fryktlos
level-up-med-anniken-binz