The Next Big Idea Daily

The ability to tell a good story is more than just a social skill. It’s a key element in good leadership, connection, and influence that can help you creatively and professionally as much as personally. Today, award-winning consultant and TED speaker Karen Eber has some practical tips for telling stories that resonate. • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (and use code...

Today, Joshua Fletcher (a.k.a. Anxiety Josh) takes us on a tour of the inner mind of a therapist. • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (and use code DAILY for a special discount)

Do fewer things. Work at a natural pace. Obsess over quality. Those are Cal Newport's three strategies for achieving "Slow Productivity." He's on the show today to tell us more.

Why do we assume romantic relationships are more important than friendships? Rhaina Cohen, award-winning producer and editor for NPR's Embedded, has a surprising pro-friendship answer in today's episode. Rhaina's new book is "The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center." • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (and use code DAILY for a spec...

Today, we hear from Angelique Bellmer Krembs, global head of brand at BlackRock, about the micro-offenses women encounter in the workplace and what we can do to dismantle them. • You can read the book bite for "You Should Smile More: How to Dismantle Gender Bias in the Workplace" here • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (and use code DAILY for a special discount)

Today, join scientist Nicholas Humphrey on an epic quest to uncover the evolutionary history of consciousness.

In his new book, "Tornado of Life: A Doctor's Journey through Constraints and Creativity in the ER," physician and writer Jay Baruch explains how working in the emergency room made him a better listener and how what he's learned can help you, too. • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (and use code DAILY for a special discount)

The average human lifespan is just over four thousand weeks. How will you spend your days? How should you spend your days? Journalist Oliver Burkeman has thoughts.

In the early days of the Covid lockdown, many of us found ourselves taking up new hobbies, like playing guitar or baking bread. But Peggy Orenstein went a little further. A lifelong knitter, Peggy decided to try making a sweater from scratch. She taught herself to shear sheep, spin and dye yarn, and other skills. The surprising life lessons she learned are the subject of her new book, "Unraveling:...

What is it about American political culture that has kept women from the presidency for so long? NBC News correspondent Ali Vitale tackles this question in her book "Electable: Why America Hasn't Put a Woman in the White House … Yet."

You might have heard of Einstein and Newton and Galileo, but can you name the woman whose work led to the discovery of the Big Bang, or the woman who toppled one of the most fundamental laws of physics, or the woman who landed a probe on a comet. Women have contributed to every major discovery ever made in physics and astronomy. Shohini Ghose thinks it's time to rewrite our history books to tell t...

Neuroscientist and psychologist Charan Ranganath reframes how we think about remembering and shares the tools we can use to hold on to the things we don't want to forget. Charan's new book, "Why We Remember," is out now.

Today, learn how to perform at your very best from the psychologist who has advised elite military operators, Olympic medalists, big wave surfers, neurosurgeons, cliff divers, first responders, Cirque du Soleil acrobats, professional athletes and coaches, Fortune 500 business executives, and CIA analysts.

Ad exec Bonnie Wan shares her playbook for navigating life’s decisions, crossroads, and curveballs. • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (and use code DAILY for a special discount)

Historian Deborah Plant takes us on a personal exploration of America’s obsession with continuing human bondage.

Charles Duhigg, the bestselling author of "Power of Habit," is on the show today to explain what marital spats, NASA interviews, and gun rights debates can teach us about effective communication. His new book is "Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection." · Love the podcast and ready to go deeper? Come join us in the Next Big Idea Club, a community of lifelong learners l...

We’ve become mad for our devices. Our devices are driving us mad.

Today, MIT's Andrew McAfee stops by to share a few key insights from his recent book "The Geek Way: The Radical Mindset that Drives Extraordinary Results."

Happy Friday, friends! To close out the week, here are a few tips on how to have a great day, any day. Guest: Daniel Goleman Book: "Optimal: How to Sustain Personal and Organizational Excellence Every Day" Subscribe to our newsletter Download our app Join our club (and use code DAILY for a special discount)

Today, the true story of the Clotilda, the last slave ship to land on American soil — more than half a century after a federal law banned the importation of captive Africans.

In an alarming new book "Countdown: The Blinding Future of Nuclear Weapons," journalist Sarah Scoles explores the current state of the nuclear arms race.

Today, clinical psychologist and mind-body expert Scott Lyons turns the notion of the drama queen on its head.

Want to become the best at what you do? First, says Ron Friedman ("Decoding Greatness"), you must learn how to reverse engineer.

Humans, it turns out, are pretty decent. That's according to Dutch historian Rutger Bregman, whose book "Humankind: A Hopeful History" was praised by our very own Daniel Pink for making a "bold, sweeping argument" — one you'll hear pieces of today — "[that] will make you rethink what you believe about society, democracy, and human nature itself." • Subscribe to Michael's newsletter • Download our...

Nick Romeo, a writer for The New Yorker, has spent the last several years covering the most compelling economic policies and ideas in Europe and America. He's here today to share what he's learned.