Life Examined

This week, Denis McManus, professor of philosophy at the University of Southampton reflects on authenticity and the allure of being true to ourselves and suggests that while authenticity may be having a moment, it is just one of many values we should aspire to.  Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Award-winning journalist and writer Kenneth Miller delves into our long and mysterious relationship with sleep and explores the scientists who embarked on pioneering sleep research. In his book Mapping the Darkness; The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked The Mysteries of Sleep Miller posits that “for a long time, sleep was really [just] a sideline for scientists,” and sleep researchers struggled to...

This week, corporate speaker, former professional poker player and author of “ Quit: The Power Of Knowing When To Walk Away, ” Annie Duke says knowing when to quit can be helpful when it comes to relationships or jobs and that fear of the unknown or being alone, shouldn’t be an excuse for inaction. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Acclaimed writer Leslie Jamison takes us on an intimate and honest personal journey, navigating the devastating collapse of her marriage and the joy of becoming a mother for the first time. In her latest memoir, Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story, she recounts her relationships with men, her parents, her child, and herself, drawing on her own lived experiences in order “to ask about what it fee...

This week, Yale professor of psychology  Paul Bloom  offers another perspective on retirement. Although leisure and free time are appealing, research indicates that a more balanced approach involving some work may be healthier, more rewarding and make us happier. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

While our modern lifestyles offer many advantages and independence, they have also led to a rise in loneliness as we’ve become less reliant on the communities that once held us together. Casper ter Kuile , former Harvard divinity scholar and co-founder of the community-building project Nearness , argues that the connections and community we build with each other “is what lifes all about.” Get full...

This week, Robin Wall Kimmerer , Indigenous ecologist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass speaks about the virtues of moss and how one of the smallest and humblest plants on the planet can teach us to live more sustainably and harmoniously with the world around us. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

While good habits and rituals are beneficial, brain scientists and psychologists also say the key to a fulfilling and happy life is novelty, variety, and disruption from our routines. In her book Look Again; The Power of Noticing What Was Always There, co-author and MIT neuroscientist Tali Sharot sources decades of research illustrating that greater sensitivity, appreciation, and innovation happen...

This week, Anna Lembke, addiction specialist at  Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic , and author of “ Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence ,” provides the clinical definition of addiction and says it’s becoming easier than ever adopt addictive behaviors but harder to spot the addiction in ourselves.  Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/...

Jonathan Bastian talks with Ross Gay , poet, essayist, and professor of English at Indiana University. Author of “ The Book of Delights ,” Gay’s latest collection of essays and poems is “ Inciting Joy ,” in which he ponders sources of joy, from caring for his father, to skateboarding, gardening, and playing pickup basketball.  “Joy is what emerges from our tending to one another through the diffic...

In his article “ Science can explain a broken heart. Could science help heal mine? ,” Los Angeles Times columnist Todd Martens shares his story of heartbreak and explores the science behind physical and emotional suffering. Matthew Fray, relationship coach and author of This Is How Your Marriage Ends;  A Hopeful Approach to Saving Relationships , reflects on his divorce and flags some seemingly be...

This week, philosopher and writer Alain de Botton says, simple as it sounds, there's nothing more enduring and attractive in a partner than being fully and completely heard and understood. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

According to psychologist Gloria Mark, the average attention span is just 47 seconds. Mark, a two-decade veteran in researching attention, says our ability to focus is declining at an alarming rate and is impacting our health. Much of this increase is due to our modern, fast-paced lifestyles and technology. Mark underscores the implications for children while emphasizing the potential for behavior...

This week, clinical psychologist and Buddhist teacher Tara Brach on suffering, the negativity bias and why it’s a good idea not to overly fixate on the negative in our lives.  Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Devin Sean Moss , humanist chaplain, writer, and host of The Adventures of Memento Mori podcast, discusses belief, prayer, and his role as a chaplain providing spiritual care. Throughout 2023, Moss provided support and counseling to Phillip Hancock , a death row inmate, before and during his execution by the State of Oklahoma. Moss reflects on his interactions with Hancock, delving into the signif...

This week, historian George Makari explores the powerful human emotion of hate, xenophobia and fear of the other and says some people “fall in hate, the way the rest of us fall in love.” Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

Theresa MacPhail , associate professor of science and technology studies at Stevens Institute of Technology and author of Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World , discusses the origins of  allergies, tracing their discovery back to British physician Charles Blackley who put hay fever on the map. Alanna Collen , evolutionary biologist and author of  10% Human: How Your Body's Microbes H...

This week, Iza Kavedžija, a cultural anthropologist who lived in the Kansai region of Japan, while researching the older members of Japanese society, talks about how Japanese culture values the modest pursuit - a concept called   ikigai - small actions or interests, like making tea, that if done masterfully and with full attention provide fulfillment and meaning in life.    Get full access to Life...

Christian Wiman , author of Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair , discusses life after being diagnosed with a rare and incurable form of his cancer and how preparing for death influenced his thought, faith, and poetry. Wiman, the Clement-Muehl Professor of Communication Arts at Yale Divinity School , examines anguish and despair and his “real desire to make faith more the center of my...

This week, Anna Lembke, addiction specialist at  Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic , and author of “ Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence ,” discusses the human tendency to lie and why telling the truth not only brings us closer together but is actually healthy for us. The intimacy created from being truthful, Lembke says, is a wonderful and healthy source of d...

Robert Sapolsky is a professor of biology, neurology, and neuro-surgery at Stanford University . He’s also a neuroendocrinology researcher and author. In his newest book Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will,  he posits that extensive scientific research indicates that our decisions and choices in life are largely out of our control. Neuroscience, genetics, evolutionary theory, and child...

This week, Oliver Burkeman, journalist and author of  Four Thousand Weeks; Time Management for Mortals  explores our relationship with time and asks how our common belief that our ultimate happiness or contentment will only happen at some point in the future - perhaps when we’ve got a top job, house or kids- is impacting our sense of happiness and contentment day to day.   Get full access to Life...

Katherine May , British writer and author of Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times , shares her love of the winter months, describing her physical feelings when immersed in the cold local sea as a “sensory delight.” Writer, surfer, and swimmer Bonnie Tsui shares stories from her latest book Why We Swim and explains why humans have such a long and deep connection to water. Get...

This week, Cassie Holmes, Professor of Marketing and Behavioral Decision Making and author of  “Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most,”  suggests ways to value and savor the more ordinary moments and says when it comes to finding happiness, it helps to measure those less extraordinary moments in our lives.  Get full access to Life Examined at lifee...

Jonathan Bastian talks with psychologist Paul Bloom about the role that hardship and pain play in living a good life. Bloom, author of  “ The Sweet Spot ,” explores why — from running a marathon to eating spicy food — suffering helps us to thrive and gives us satisfaction. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe