Smart People Podcast

Memory isn't just a passive recollection—it's a transformative force that subtly influences our world. Dr. Ranganath, a leading memory researcher, unveils the powerful influence memory has on our lives, from recalling faces and names to shaping learning, decision-making, and even trauma and healing. He reveals how our brains record the past, shaping our present and guiding our future. Join us as w...

Bonnie Wan is a Partner and Head of Brand Strategy at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, one of Fast Company’s 2021 Most Innovative Companies In The World. As a career brand strategist she has been celebrated as an Ad Age Leading Woman for 2023 and 2022’s Chief Strategy Officer of the Year. We all have moments when we doubt the path we’re on. Is this the career for me? Am I in the right relationship?...

Stephen W. Porges, Ph. D. is Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. Since Stephen Porges first proposed the Polyvagal Theory in 1994, i...

Paul Millerd is an author, consultant, and podcaster. In this episode we talk about what it’s like to find yourself in the wrong life, and then how to get into the real work of figuring out how to live. Our guest pieces together a set of ideas and principles that brought him from unfulfilled and burned out to his good life. Hopefully you can take some things away from this conversation to start li...

Alex is an entrepreneur, business author, and seasoned capital markets professional focused on the impact of emerging technologies, such as blockchain and cryptocurrencies, on business, government, and society. An essential introduction and guide to navigating the next Internet revolution—everything from the metaverse and NFTs to DAOs, decentralized finance, and self-sovereign identity—from the co...

Dr. Mark Goulston is dying to tell you about what mortality is teaching him. He is a distinguished psychiatrist, a hostage negotiations trainer, and death and dying specialist who is facing his own mortality and the universe is telling him to share what he's learned from 50 years of listening. He says that if he knew these things decades earlier, it would have changed his life for the better. Now...

It’s no secret that division, loneliness, and polarization are on the rise—to catastrophic impact on our personal lives. While we often think of curiosity as a personality trait, internationally-recognized curiosity expert Scott Shigeoka knows that it’s actually the most potent tool we have to bridge our differences and heal relationships: From political blow-ups to age divides at work; religious...

Why and how did America, in a catastrophically enormous failure, become the world leader in COVID deaths? In this Episode, veteran journalist Joe Nocera offers fresh and provocative answers. We discuss what really happened when governments ran out of PPE due to snarled supply chains and the shock to the financial system when the world's biggest economy stumbled. We also cover the effectiveness of...

You may feel as if you don't control your emotional energy, that it's an inevitable consequence of the world around you and the forces bearing down on you. But that's not the case. To reach your full potential, you can learn to recognize and harness the energy in your brain. Dr. Julia DiGangi is an expert in the connection between our brains, our emotions, and our relationships. Her work shows peo...

Kieran Setiya teaches philosophy at MIT, working mainly in ethics, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind. He is an author and also has a podcast called Five Questions. Kieran's book, Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way, is available now. To learn more about Kieran, go to ksetiya.net. You can also find more of his writings on his Substack: ksetiya.substack.com. Support the Show...

Prof. Alexander Batthyány, PhD, holds the Chair of the Research Institute for Theoretical Psychology and Personalist Studies at Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest, Hungary. Since 2012, Batthyány is Visiting Professor for Existential Psychotherapy at the Moscow University Institute of Psychoanalysis, Russia. He is Director of the Viktor Frankl Institute and first editor of the 14-volume...

Marcelo Gleiser is a theoretical physicist and public intellectual at Dartmouth College working on basic research ranging from cosmology and applications of information theory to complex phenomena to history and philosophy of science and how science and culture interact. He is devoted to the public understanding of science and is a popular speaker with a strong social media presence and books publ...

Thomas Curran is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics. He is a world leading expert on perfectionism. He has written for the Harvard Business Review, was featured in the New Scientist, and his work has been covered by publications including the Guardian, Telegraph, and the Wall Street Journal. Thomas' book, The Perfecti...

Avi Loeb, the longest serving Chair of Harvard’s Astronomy Department, presented a theory that shook the scientific community: our solar system, Loeb claimed, had likely been visited by a piece of advanced alien technology from a distant star. This provocative and persuasive argument opened millions of minds internationally to the vast possibilities of our universe and the existence of intelligent...

Dr. Luana Marques is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School and Director of Community Psychiatry PRIDE at Massachusetts General Hospital and serves as past-president of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) Dr. Luana's book, Bold Move: A 3-Step Plan to Transform Anxiety into Power is available now. Find out more about Dr. Luana at drluana.com. Support the...

Paying attention is a crucial human skill, yet many of us have forgotten how to listen carefully and observe intentionally. In this episode, we talk about how we can recapture our ability to pay attention that helps all of us to see with more empathy, accuracy, and connection to others. Christian Madsbjerg founded (and sold) ReD Associates - a strategic innovation consultancy - with a group of lik...

First we had IQ to predict success. Then Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Now, Experiential Intelligence (XQ) expands our understanding of what's needed to thrive in today's disruptive world. Experiential Intelligence reveals how our past experiences impact our present success and future opportunities in ways we often don't recognize. While you can't change what's happened to you or how you've respond...

How you show up in person, over email, and on social media communicates your personal brand. That brand deserves thoughtful cultivation and crafting as you shape your narrative, build your network, grow your confidence, and plot your future. Aliza Licht, a former fashion executive who successfully turned her communications expertise into a multimedia brand and consultancy, shares both personal and...

Neil Theise is a professor of pathology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Through his scientific research, he has been a pioneer of adult stem cell plasticity and the anatomy of the human interstitium. Dr. Theise’s studies in complexity theory have led to interdisciplinary collaborations in fields such as integrative medicine, consciousness studies, and science-religion dialogue. Complexity...

We are on the cusp of a major transformation in healthcare—yet few people know it. At top hospitals and a few innovative health-tech startups, scientists are working closely with patients to dramatically extend their “healthspan”—the number of healthy years before disease sets in. In The Age of Scientific Wellness, two visionary leaders of this revolution in health take us on a thrilling journey t...

Social psychologist and Stanford professor Brian Lowery presents a provocative, powerful theory of identity, arguing that there is no essential "self"—our selves are social creations of those with whom we interact —exploring what that means for who we can be and who we allow others to be. There’s nothing we spend more time with, but understand less, than ourselves. You’ve been with yourself every...

Matt Higgins was a Guest Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank, is an Executive Fellow and teacher at Harvard Business School, and, through RSE Ventures, the private investment firm he co-founded, an investor in some of America’s most beloved brands. Matt began his career as the youngest press secretary in New York City history, where he helped manage the global press response during 9/11. He has been an exec...

Have you ever been criticized for the way you speak? If you have, you're not alone. As human beings, our need to communicate is inherent, but linguistic standards are often indoctrinated in us early on, leading to a perception of slang and informal language as being incorrect. In our latest episode, we explore the true nature of language and its function beyond correctness. We discuss how language...

Coleman Hughes is an American writer, podcast host, and opinion columnist who specializes in issues related to race, public policy and applied ethics. He was a fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and a fellow and contributing editor at their City Journal, and is the host of the podcast Conversations with Coleman. Find out more about Coleman at colemanhughes.org and check out his...

It all started with the Big Bang. We all know that. But what does that even mean? And how did the big bang lead to us?! Our body is made up of “starstuff”, and by by understanding how everything started, we can make better choices on living. Dan Levitt spent over twenty-five years writing, producing, and directing award-winning documentaries for National Geographic, Discovery, Science, History, PB...