Life Examined

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What Viktor Frankl and Seneca say about meaning and mental health. An essay from LifeExamined.substack.com . Please subscribe! It's only takes a minute. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Hey everyone! It's Jonathan Bastian. Just popping in to tell you that I've been staying busy with a new weekly newsletter on Substack. I'm also spending time going through our 5yrs of archives to find hidden gems, unpublished interviews, and content that I think will be valuable to your life. It's so easy to sign up: LifeExamined. Substack.com . Just enter your email! Hope to see you over there -...

Robert Macfarlane of Cambridge University shares his extraordinary journey writing and researching his latest book “Is a River Alive?” and explains why a river can be viewed very much as a metaphor for life, always flowing, twisting, changing and adapting while at the same time providing sustenance for man and nature alike.   Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Laura Delano is the author of “UNSHRUNK: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance." As you’ll hear, Laura Delano speaks from first hand experience - diagnosed as a teenager with bipolar disorder, Delano shares her own struggles with mental illness, the psychiatric and pharmaceutical industry and the toll that treatment and medication took on her.   Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamin...

Laurie Santos talks about the power of a sabbatical, burn out, and her new online course titled: “The Science of Well-Being for Parents”  —a direct result of discovering just how much pressure, stress and anxiety parents are under these days.  Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Ocean Vuong is a Vietnamese American poet, essayist, novelist and professor of modern poetry and poetics at New York University. Some of you may already be familiar with his best-selling debut novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, which received a MacArthur “Genius” grant and was nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction in 2019.  Vuong’s award-winning poetry collections include, Time Is...

Pico Iyer, essayist and author of numerous books including  “The Half Known Life:In Search of Paradise ” and most recently  “Aflame: Learning from Silence,” reflects on the death of Pope Francis and highlights the extraordinary impact Pope Francis’s life had, despite Iyer’s non-Christian faith. Pope Francis’s humility, simplicity, and actions, Iyer says, which exemplified his teachings had and con...

This week, economist and author of “ Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define Us ,” Russ Roberts offers a different perspective and approach to tackling some of life’s biggest challenges and decisions. Revisit the complete episode of Life Examined with Russ Roberts which originally aired August 27th, 2022 Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Rebecca Lemov , professor of the history of science at Harvard University and author of “The Instability of Truth: Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-persuasion,” talks about the origins of brainwashing. The term ‘brainwashing,’ was first used to describe what happeded to American POW's during the Cold War in Korea. After enduring terrible conditions and indoctrination by their Chinese captors,...

This week, Michael Sandel , professor of political philosophy at Harvard University and author of “ The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good? ” addresses the myth of meritocracy - the idea that, if all chances in life were made equal, then people would advance based on merit and succeed as far as their talent and effort would take them. Less acknowledged, Sandel says, is the role of...

Fred Luskin, director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Project, reflects on the nature of forgiveness and the value of letting go of grievances. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Charles Duhigg, Pulitzer prize-winning reporter and author of Supercommunicators; How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection talks about why some people are just better at conversation and communication than others. Duhigg says conversations typically fall into three buckets; practical, emotional and social. Super communicators, Duhigg says, have the ability to listen for what kind...

Jillian Turecki, renowned couples coach, host of the podcast, ‘Jillian On Love.’ and author “It Begins With You: The 9 Hard Truths About Love That Will Change Your Life”   unpacks some of the essential skills and habits needed to maintain long-term, healthy relationships. Turecki shares her own experience, marked by her husband's abandonment that prompted her obsession to find the essential ingred...

This week, Robin Wall Kimmerer , Indigenous ecologist and author of “The Serviceberry: An Economy of Gifts and Abundance,” talks about the virtues of the ‘gift economy,” and explains that gifting is instinctive in the natural world and has been the way of life with Indigenous cultures who have found that relying on each other is mutually beneficial. When one group or person shares their resources,...

Alex Hutchinson , award-winning journalist and author “ The Explorer’s Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map,” discusses the reasons behind human exploration. Hutchinson talks about the historical significance of human exploration and delves into the neuroscience and psychology behind why we are driven to test the limits of our abilities and to expand our kn...

This week, Jennifer Senior , New York Times opinion writer and author “ All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood,”   discusses the impact of having children on life satisfaction and meaning.  Citing the psychologist and behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman’ s work on the "experiencing self" versus the "remembering self," Senior says that while parenting can be exhausting in the moment,...

Lisa Damour, psychologist and author of “ The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents,” addresses some of the common perceptions and misconceptions around raising teens. Damour addresses the impact of social media and societal pressures on teen mental health and advocates for a balanced approach, acknowledging both the benefits and potential risks as...

This week, journalist and author of The Explorers Gene:Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map,” Alex Hutchinson tackles something athletes and sports enthusiasts think about all the time; how to break through physical barriers. Hutchinson suggests that athletic milestones, and he uses the example of Roger Bannister breaking the 4-minute mile, often have little to d...

Owen Flanagan , professor of philosophy and neurobiology at Duke University and author of “ What Is It Like to Be an Addict? Understanding Substance Abuse” reflects on his life as an alcoholic and explores the brain science and individual complexities behind why we become addicted. Flanagan addresses the role of the individual and agency and is critical of those who maintain that addiction is a di...

This week, polar scientist, explorer and author of “ Life Lessons From Explorers: Learn how to weather life’s storms from history’s greatest explorers” Felicity Aston reflects on her experience of leading a failed North Pole expedition and the time it’s taken her to face and process that failure. Aston uses the example of the historical Scottish explorer David Livingston to show how much can be ga...

Polar scientist Felicity Aston reflects on her fascination with exploration; shares lessons on survival, risk, and adventure.  Guest: Felicity Aston Polar scientist, first woman to ski solo across Antarctica and author of “ Life Lessons From Explorers: Learn how to weather life’s storms from history’s greatest explorers.” and “ Polar Exposure: An All-Women’s Expedition to the North Pole.”     Get...

This week, psychologist and author of “ The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents,” Lisa Damour addresses one of the toughest challenges in parenting - communicating and connecting with teenage children. When it comes to exactly what that means, Damour suggests that parents typically see communicating with their teens as an opportunity to impose th...

David Whyte, poet and author of “ Consolations II: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words, ” reflects on the transformative power of the poetry and its ability to rekindle our emotions - from anguish and anxiety, to death, humor and joy. Whyte shares personal experiences, time spent in the Himalayas, and the vital role that humor, laughter and a daily blessing have on his...

This week, writer and author of Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story, Leslie Jamison reflects on her childhood marriage fantasy and says when it comes to love and marriage we all want that perfect Hollywood ending. However all too often marriages don’t actually work like that but Jamison points out that even when the love is gone from a marriage - as she saw with her own parents, the mutual respe...