The Unlearning Playground

The article I am reading aloud and commenting on, in this video - https://roccojarman.substack.com/p/this-is-not-a-substack-post--------------Some articles challenge your perspective—this one shatters it. Rocco Jarman’s "This is not a Substack post" isn’t just another opinion piece. It exposes what may be the most urgent crisis of our time: a society stuck in emotional and intellectual a...

On Aug 9th, 2024, news about a heinous crime in Kolkata, West Bengal, India started to go viral across all social media platforms and news channels - a 31 year old doctor Moumita Debnath was found brutally raped and murdered at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The devastating news, enough to send chills down the spine of even the coldest person, has since then been doing the roun...

Today's video is the last in The Beyond Politics Video Series on The Unlearning Playground by Chetan Narang & Rocco Jarman. Well, last in the first iteration (we hope!). This is my first standalone video in this series, and what I talk about is a summary of the entire series, key takeaways everyone can have from it and practical advices for everyone listening to actually make an impact in...

The question of whether we have free will is a longstanding and complex debate in philosophy, neuroscience, and psychology. The internet is full of amazingly detailed and intriguing content talking about this concept in much detail. In today's episode, I wanted to talk about two extremely crucial concepts that I think are often overlooked in most debates and discussions around this subject. Jo...

Dealing with the loss of a loved one is a profound and personal journey. In today's heartfelt episode, the third one of season 2 of The Unlearning Playground Podcast by Chetan Narang, we discuss practical and emotional tips to help you process grief and navigate the complex emotions that follow. I feel that conversations around the topic of death are few & far compared to the emotional tur...

A thought that every adult encounters ever so often is centred around the idea of how life was better when they were a kid, when they were more childlike. I think there are a lot of life lessons in this train of thought, and that is the epicentre of today's episode of The Unlearning Playground. Even The Bible reportedly says something to the tune of "No one enters the kingdom of God unti...

One of the most fundamental questions every person asks at some point in their lives is - “ What is the purpose of life? ”. Not surprisingly at all, this is also one question that most of us learn to suppress very early on in our lives. In this episode, the first of season two of the unlearning playground podcast, I dive into this question head on. I think that the modalities discussed here - of b...

Endings are hard indeed. But if we keep ourselves stuck in the same old same old, we hold ourselves back to what might be. And therefore, like a snake must shed its old skin someday to allow a new layer to flourish, I end season 1 of The Unlearning Playground podcast today with this episode. I talk about 2 major updates about the content you can expect from The Unlearning Playground in the months...

Here are the 5 books I recommend in this episode: Book 1 (https://amzn.to/45mPqs3) Book 2 (https://amzn.to/455eRP8) Book 3 (https://amzn.to/45lWk0E) Book 4 (https://amzn.to/47qjbtH) Book 5 (https://amzn.to/3YtGuPj) -------------- As we grow up, we take up positions of power or at least aspire to do so at some point. That could mean becoming a parent, taking up a managerial position in your workpla...

There are some movies that sometimes, out of the blue, end up teaching you life lessons that stay with you forever. I understand it to be very unlikely that an action thriller movie franchise would make the cut to such a list, but it is what it is I guess. What is Jason Bourne about? If you had asked me this question some years ago, my answer would have been very different than what I can say abou...

Equality is a topic that is central to any relationship, family, community and society. And that makes it an extremely important subject to discuss, especially in today's world where like anything else it is subject to a host of interpretations and biases and opinions. In this video, I delve into the topic of equality in some detail. I talk about what is equality, how we are measuring it, how...

The book I'm covering in this video - The courage to be disliked The courage to be disliked is a life changing book, if there ever was one. And I do not say that lightly. As someone who has spent a good few years reading, devouring & digesting multiple non fiction books, of the self help kind, of the philosophy kind, of the psychology kind etc, I have a certain level of discernment now wh...

Just this last week, Apple released a video introducing The Apple Vision Pro. It is a first-generation AR/VR headset, and Apple claims that with this device, the era of spatial computing is here. They claim this to be a life-changing technology. In this video of The Unlearning Playground podcast, I decided to record my first impressions about this new device, which is a part of a booming field in...

Why we sleep is an internationally bestselling book by Matthew Walker, an English scientist and professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is someone who's widely regarded as one of the foremost sleep experts in the world. Why we sleep, by Matthew Walker on Amazon - https://amzn.to/45Whun6 In this episode, I talk about everything I learnt, and unlea...

Most people wish to become better at handling and resolving conflicts, but out of the dozen or so things that get in the way, one of the main blockers is the fundamental attribution error. It sounds like a bit of a mouthful, but it is actually one of the easiest cognitive biases to understand. Of course the precursor being that you actually want to understand better rather than seek validation for...

What is wrong with our education system? This is one topic that every adult has strong opinions on. And I think most of those opinions come from a place of genuine concern and good intention. Growing up, the issues we faced - we do not want our children to bear the same burden, or rather, to be more aware of the burdens they are about to bear. To improve the education system, while an endless proc...

A few days back, a 24-year-old software engineer from Bengaluru took to Grapevine and penned down a note on how despite earning a hefty salary of 58 lakhs per annum, he is unhappy with his life. The note has since then gone viral, having amassed a bunch of shares and comments from people talking about it from various different perspectives. As someone who has been working in the Bengaluru software...

Ripudaman Bhardwaj from "The most serious podcast" is one guy who knows how to hold an honest and engaging conversation. I was recently a guest on his show, and the conversation was so deep and stimulating that I asked him to share it on my network too. We talked about the truth about God, different perspectives of looking at Life, what it means to differentiate between utility & tru...

In this episode of The Unlearning Playground Podcast, I talk about the most common theme surrounding the questions that usually get asked in therapy, counselling and life coaching sessions. Now I understand that there are no one-size-fits-all remedies, but what I talk about here is a powerful realisation that might land if you're ready to receive it. Big claims?  I know. Do I do them any just...

In this episode of The Unlearning Playground podcast, we sit together for a good & powerful meditation on the topic of spirituality.  I talk about what I find to be the heart of spirituality, what a modern human must unlearn about spirituality, how spirituality actually enhances a person's self awareness & what is the relation all of this holds to that topic which attracts almost of u...

Do we humans have free will? Can we really choose to act? Do our choices matter eventually? Is there an easy-to-understand answer to these questions? I delve into these questions in this short and meaningful episode via a quote that, for me, defines the legacy of Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies. I also take the example of an interview that Harsha Bhogle did on Sachin Tendulkar a while...

The halo effect, without a shadow of doubt, is one of the most important cognitive biases every adult in the room must be aware of. It is extremely important because it directly influences the way you think about people and in doing so, has a direct impact on the way you navigate your interpersonal relationships - both personal as well as professional. Join me in this episode as I walk through how...

Has it ever happened with you that people tend to quite often disappoint you right after you've just appreciated them? Either it has, or you don't appreciate the people in your life often enough. :) In this episode of The Unlearning Playground Podcast, I talk about one powerful tip on better understanding this dynamic of dealing with people using a statistical fact that goes by the name...

In some way, shape or form, we are surrounded by prayers. Join me in this episode as I talk about the two primary types of prayers that we humans perform in our everyday lives, and let’s discuss whether there is enough motivation for switching from one kind to the other. This can be a touchy subject for some people, so please take it with a pinch of salt. And like I always say, if something doesn’...

In this episode, I, Chetan Narang, walk you through the confirmation bias, which I believe is one of the most tricky cognitive biases primarily because of its ability to hide in plain sight even for the most self aware person. I talk about where we can see this bias in our day-to-day lives. I talk about some direct indicators for spotting it in our own thinking. I talk about how we can guard ourse...