James Hollis is a Jungian psychoanalyst and the author of many books, including "A Life of Meaning," which is the primary subject of our conversation.

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00:00 Intro

01:05 Why Jim wrote "A Life of Meaning"

05:28 The shadow

08:38 Why confront one's shadow?

10:48 The numinous and finding your calling

25:20 Lethargy is a threat to living

29:55 A modern culture of distraction

32:28 Jim's decision to become a public educator

37:02 Jim's growth beyond his family of origin

44:30 Psychopathology

48:26 Sin: missing the mark

55:15 Fear - the spirit of evil is negation of the life force by fear

58:50 Jim is a "recovering nice person"

Daniel Lieberman is a psychiatrist, the SVP of mental health at Hims & Hers, and the author of the best-selling book, The Molecule of More.

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(00:00) Intro

(00:59) What would humans be without dopamine?

(01:29) Donating dopamine to phones, not friends

(03:58) What is dopamine?

(07:53) What are the signs of someone with high dopamine?

(11:56) How can high dopamine people live wisely?

(18:50) Can workaholics change their insatiability?

(22:22) "The modern devil is cheap dopamine"

(28:58) What does a wise future look like re: smartphones?

(31:37) Dopamine in relationships and love

(38:46) Skills to develop to sustain long-term relationships

(43:11) Are we on the cusp of a conservative cultural shift?

(48:02) Modern dopamine and men in society

(54:42) What advice does Daniel give to his sons?

(57:14) What's next for Daniel?

Robert Plomin is a British-American scientist, a psychologist and behavioral geneticist, and the author of the bestselling book, Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are.

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(00:00) Intro

(01:00) The history of nature vs nurture debate

(15:40) "All parents are nurture-ists - until their second child."

(18:54) Identical twin studies

(39:16) Lessons from the film "Three Identical Strangers"

(41:20) How much influence do parents have on their kids?

(58:40) Genes and psychology

(01:10:55) A better model for psychology

(01:16:35) How should society look, based on the truth and power of genes?

(01:27:03) Nucleus genomics in NYC for polygenic information

Derek Sivers is a TED speaker, an essayist, a businessman, a musician, one of my favorite thinkers on the planet, and the author of many books including his most recent, Useful Not True: Whatever Works For You.

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(00:00) Intro

(01:00) Your actions reveal your values

(03:25) Obvious to you, amazing to someone else

(05:19) How Derek thinks about money

(13:03) Deep happy vs. shallow happy

(21:00) Following an innate drive and desire

(24:07) 18 months of feeling adrift

(30:04) To find direction: read a lot and wait for energy

(31:18) The power of heroes and anti-heroes

(36:05) Egotists and hedonists

(40:00) Changing your mind and keeping your identity small

(44:37) Think of yourself as a student, not a preacher

(47:42) Personal growth over wealth growth

(53:00) Prioritizing openness

(56:59) What lifestyles or beliefs is Derek against?

(01:04:50) The downside of optimism in Derek's personal life

(01:14:24) Dating, marriage, and the role of women in Derek's life

(01:23:55) How to save a life with $2,000

(01:27:50) Derek's thoughts on philanthropy

(01:33:54) "Useful Not True"

(01:38:39) A prequel to "How To Live"

(01:41:13) "Useful Not True": the truth of many answers and perspectives

Anna Lembke is a psychiatrist, Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, and the author of "Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence."

This is a rebroadcast of episode 35, from 2022.

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(00:00) Intro

(00:57) Anna Lembke’s interest in studying addiction

(04:34) Defining addiction and the "gremlin theory" of addiction

(15:19) Characteristics of an addict

(23:48) The stigma around addictions

(26:46) Characteristics of a healthy person living today

(33:50) The importance and role of struggle in a good life

(41:04) The impact of modern addictions on society today

(46:54) Habit change ideas and the role of struggle in a good life

(52:11) How to know if you're becoming an addict

(58:45) The effective and ethical way to address addiction

(01:03:58) Workaholism as an addiction

(01:20:13) The connection between shame and a “never enough” attitude towards work

Russell Foster is a sleep expert, a professor of circadian neuroscience, a fellow of the Royal Society, and the author of Life Time.

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(00:00) Intro

(00:55) Views on sleep through time

(03:34) Why we have de-prioritized sleep

(05:39) Where should sleep rank in our health priorities?

(08:22) How do we know we're getting enough sleep?

(11:59) The historic and current cost of sleep deprivation

(17:44) Why does sleep exist?

(21:53) What is happening biologically while people sleep?

(27:59) Sleep and mental illness

(38:09) What those with mental illness can do to stabilize their sleep

(01:00:25) Sleep for new parents

(01:03:35) How would a healthy society approach sleep?

Nick Pollard, "The People Displeaser," is a speaker and life coach who advocates for honest, authentic living through mindful boundaries, free of people-pleasing.

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(00:00) Intro

(01:00) When Nick's was homicidal and suicidal

(04:09) Nick's father

(09:10) How Nick got his life together

(18:08) Why Nick focuses on people-pleasing

(23:25) Symptoms of a people-pleaser

(26:44) Why do people become people-pleasers?

(31:23) Your rules for life and a personal bill of rights

(37:23) Establishing personal boundaries

(42:39) Confronting fear and quotes from Jim Hollis

(49:16) People-pleasers often have few same-sex friends

(57:11) When should former people-pleasers leave relationships?

(01:09:15) Nick's relationship deal-breakers

Pico Iyer is a novelist, a travel writer, and the author of many books, including his most recent, "Aflame: Learning From Silence," which is the subject of this conversation.

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(00:00) Intro

(00:00) Intro

(00:58) Santa Barbara, June 1990

(04:25) The New Camaldoli Hermitage

(07:30) Pico's life when he first went to New Camaldoli

(11:08) Silence elicits gratitude, what's shared and what's essential

(16:10) Intentionally turning off technology

(22:39) Creating a wise amount of "cathedral time"

(25:53) Embracing silence as a non-religious person

(32:03) Leonard Cohen exploring his inner landscape in silence

(36:05) How Pico has developed from his 100+ hermitage visits

(41:35) Saying no in order to prioritize space for silence

(47:07) How to begin a life with more silence and contemplation

(50:41) Silence as an antidote to despair

(54:36) What Pico has learned from the Dalai Lama