Smart People Podcast

W. Keith Campbell, author of, ‘The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement’ Narcissism—an inflated view of the self—is everywhere. Public figures say it’s what makes them stray from their wives. Parents teach it by dressing children in T-shirts that say “Princess.” Teenagers and young adults hone it on Facebook, and celebrity newsmakers have elevated it to an art form. In a world that measures success by page views and number of followers, those with narcissistic tendencies often do what is necessary to reach “the top”, at the expense of everyone else. So how does the average person contend with the narcissist? And what does this epidemic of “self love” mean for our society? This week on the podcast we speak with W. Keith Campbell, Ph.D. Keith is Department Head and Professor of Psychology at the University of Georgia, as well as a nationally recognized expert on narcissism, society and generational change. His work and lectures expose the rise of narcissism – and individualism more generally – and its influence on every level of society. Keith is the co-author of the book, The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement. The post Episode 281 – W. Keith Campbell – When You Love Yourself Too Much appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Suzanne Bouffard, author of, ‘he Most Important Year: Pre-Kindergarten and the Future of Our Children’ There is no debate that a good education is a critical component of raising smart, well rounded, successful children. But cutting-edge research has proven that early childhood education is crucial for all children as young as 3 years old to gain the academic and emotional skills they need to succeed later in life. In essence, pre-K may actually be the most important year. Children who attend quality pre-K programs have a host of positive outcomes including better language, literacy, problem-solving and math skills down the line, and they have a leg up on what appears to be the most essential skill to develop at age four: strong self-control. In this episode, Harvard education researcher Suzanne Bouffard explains the sometimes surprising ingredients that make for a great pre-k program. What should you look for in a classroom? How should a teacher interact with young children? What can you do at home to help support a young child’s learning? All this and more in this episode of Smart People Podcast. Suzanne Bouffard is a writer with a background in child development and education. She received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Duke University and has spent the past ten years conducting and writing about education research at Harvard University. She is the author of the brand new book, The Most Important Year: Pre-Kindergarten and the Future of Our Children. Sponsor: This week, we are brought to you by Audible! Get a free audiobook with a 30-day trial at www.audible.com/SMART. The post Episode 280 – Suzanne Bouffard – How To Raise A Smart Child appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Dr. Allen Frances, author of, ‘Twilight of American Sanity: A Psychiatrist Analyzes the Age of Trump’ “Calling Trump crazy allows us to avoid confronting the craziness in our society—if we want to get sane, we must first gain insight about ourselves. Simply put: Trump isn’t crazy, but our society is.” – Dr. Allen Frances This week on the show we interview one of the men who literally wrote the book on mental illness as we answer the question – Is Trump crazy? And what does it say about America that he was elected to the highest office in the land? Psychiatrist Dr. Allen Frances analyzes the national psyche, viewing the rise of Donald J. Trump as darkly symptomatic of a deeper societal distress. Drawing on his vast experience, Dr. Frances explains American society’s collective slide away from sanity and offers an urgently needed prescription for reclaiming our bearings. Dr. Allen Frances chaired the task force that produced the fourth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders, which is is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and offers a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders.  He then became critical of later versions, and he warned that we are currently “over-treating” mental disorders and finding problems where there are none. Dr. Frances is professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Duke University School of Medicine. He is author of the new book, Twilight of American Sanity: A Psychiatrist Analyzes the Age of Trump. The post Episode 279 – Dr. Allen Frances – Trump, Mental Illness, and the End of Reason appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Frank Ostaseski, author of, ‘The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully’ “Death is not waiting for us at the end of a long road. Death is always with us, in the marrow of every passing moment. She is the secret teacher hiding in plain sight, helping us to discover what matters most.” Life and death are a package deal. They cannot be pulled apart and we cannot truly live unless we are aware of death. Awareness of death can be a valuable companion on the road to living well, forging a rich and meaningful life, and letting go of regret. But how can we sit with something that is so uncomfortable? And how can utilize the unavoidable nature of death to live a more rewarding life? This week we talk with Frank Ostaseski as he helps us understand how the experience of dying can reveal the secrets of living. As a renowned teacher of compassionate caregiving and the cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project, Frank Ostaseski has sat on the precipice of death with more than a thousand people. In 2001, he was honored by the Dalai Lama for his compassionate service to the dying and their families. Frank is also the founder of the Metta Institute, which is an organizations dedicated to training professionals in compassionate, mindfulness-based care. Frank is the author of the highly acclaimed book, The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully. The Five Invitations is an exhilarating meditation on the meaning of life and how maintaining an ever-present consciousness of death can bring us closer to our truest selves. https://fiveinvitations.com/ The post Episode 278 – Frank Ostaseski – What Death Can Teach Us About Living appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Peter Brannen, author of, ‘The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions’ Did you know our world has ended five times? It has been broiled, frozen, poison-gassed, smothered, and pelted by asteroids. And in each of these catastrophic occurrences, climate change has been the culprit. You may be wondering, how do asteroids have anything to do with climate change? We will leave the details to our guest this week, but essentially there is a triggering event (asteroid, volcano, humans) that causes the oceans to become more acidic and very soon after the entire world dies. This is what happens every time…and it may be happening again. This week on the show we interview award-winning science journalist Peter Brannen about his new book, The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions. In his book and in this interview, Peter takes us on a tour of the 5 ways that the Earth has died, as well as what may be to come. Part road trip, part history, and part cautionary tale, The Ends of the World takes us on a tour of the ways that our planet has clawed itself back from the grave and casts our future in a completely new light. Peter Brannen is an award-winning science journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Wired, the Washington Post, Slate, the Boston Globe, Aeon, among other publications. A graduate of Boston College, he was a 2015 journalist-in-residence at the Duke University National Evolutionary Synthesis Center and a 2011 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Ocean Science Journalism Fellow. The post Episode 277 – Peter Brannen – How The World Ends appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Paul Armstrong, author of, ‘Disruptive Technologies: Understand, Evaluate, Respond’ We all know that technology is evolving at a rapid rate, and it’s changing the way we live. Do you call a cab, or do you use Uber? Do you stay in a hotel, or do you check Airbnb? Do you read a book or a Kindle? These products and services quickly enter our world and become the norm. But just knowing that technology is evolving is not enough, you need to understand how it is impacting you and how you can evaluate what industry will be disrupted next. This week on the show we interview an expert who can help you understand, evaluate, and respond to disruptive technologies that are sure to have a big impact on your business and your life. (Bitcoin anyone?) Our guest this week is Paul Armstrong. Paul is a leading strategist, author and speaker on the future of technology, disruption, retail innovation, media industry, social technologies, and more. Paul runs the technology advisory HERE/FORTH where he helps clients understand trends and how to sensibly apply emerging technologies strategically. Paul is regularly seen on the BBC and News at Ten, when industry comment is called for, and currently writes for a number of publications, including Forbes, Cool Hunting and Short List. Paul’s first book, Disruptive Technologies: Understand, Evaluate, Respond, offers organizations a distinct response to emerging technologies including Blockchain (Bitcoin), artificial intelligence, and other external factors – such as the sharing economy, mobile penetration, millennial workforce, aging populations – that impact on their business, client service and product model. The post Episode 276 – Paul Armstrong – Disruptive Technologies Will Change Your Business and Your Life  appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Brett Velicovich, author of, ‘Drone Warrior: An Elite Soldier’s Inside Account of the Hunt for America’s Most Dangerous Enemies’ For nearly a decade Brett Velicovich was at the center of America’s new warfare: using unmanned aerial vehicles—drones—to take down the world’s deadliest terrorists across the globe. One of an elite handful in the entire military with the authority to select targets and issue death orders, his team successfully killed/captured 14 of America’s 20 most wanted terrorists across Iraq within only three months. In this episode, Brett tells us his never before told story of how drone warfare has completely changed the battlefield and what it’s like to be part of one of the most elite military units to ever exist. With stories ranging from ISIS capture missions to tracking Boko Haram, this episode will be sure to entertain and enlighten! Brett is the co-author of the brand new book, Drone Warrior: An Elite Soldier’s Inside Account of the Hunt For America’s Most Dangerous Enemies. This book was co-written with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Christopher S. Stewart. The post 275 – Brett Velicovich – The World’s Most Dangerous Drone Expert appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

R.P. Eddy, author of, ‘Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes’ Millions of lives are lost to catastrophes that could have been saved by the advance warnings of experts. But how do we know who can truly predict the future, and who is just screaming that the sky is falling? This week on the podcast our expert guest tells us how we can get better at predicting disasters, how to weed out the real warnings from the exaggerations, and what threats we need to be paying attention to right now. Our guest this week is R.P. Eddy, author of the brand new book, Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes. R.P. is a globally recognized national security and intelligence expert. He is CEO of Ergo, a leading intelligence and analysis firm. Previously, he served as Director at the White House National Security Council, as well as numerous other high level government positions. Eddy was a member of the State Department Senior Executive Service and achieved the diplomatic rank of Minister-Counselor. The World Economic Forum at Davos honored him as a “Global Leader for Tomorrow.” He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Board of the Middle East Institute. He has been a Senior Fellow or associate at Harvard University, the Madison Policy Forum, and the Manhattan Institute. The post 274 – R.P. Eddy – How To Predict Disasters appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, author of, ‘Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are’ Go take a look through your recent Google search history. Now imagine someone were to post all of that history in a public forum for all of your family and friends to see. What would they think of you? How would you feel?  I bet it’s a safe guess that many of us would feel embarrassed, ashamed, and stupid. But why? These are our closest confidants! The truth is, the way we act on the internet can actually give us a much more realistic view of what it means to be human than our actual human interactions. Crazy, huh? By the end of an average day in the early twenty-first century, human beings searching the internet will amass eight trillion gigabytes of data. This staggering amount of information—unprecedented in history—can tell us a great deal about who we are—the fears, desires, and behaviors that drive us, and the conscious and unconscious decisions we make. From the profound to the mundane, we can gain astonishing knowledge about the human psyche that less than twenty years ago, seemed unfathomable. In our episode this week we talk with former Google data scientist and author, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz. Seth explains exactly how the internet provides a window to the soul and how we can use this data to answer some of the most difficult, and most interesting questions of our time. With conclusions ranging from strange-but-true to thought-provoking to disturbing, he explores the power of this digital truth serum and its deeper potential—revealing biases deeply embedded within us, information we can use to change our culture, and the questions we’re afraid to ask that might be essential to our health—both emotional and physical. All of us are touched by big data everyday, and its influence is multiplying. Seth is the author of the new book, Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are. He is a former Google data scientist and is currently a contributing op-ed writer for the New York Times. He received his undergrad degree from Stanford and his PhD in economics from Harvard. More about Seth Stephens-Davidowitz at

Guy Winch, author of, ‘Emotional First Aid: Healing Rejection, Guilt, Failure, and Other Everyday Hurts’ We all sustain emotional wounds. Failure, guilt, rejection, and loss are as much a part of life as the occasional scraped elbow. But while we typically bandage a cut or ice a sprained ankle, our first aid kit for emotional injuries is not just understocked—it’s nonexistent. Think about it… we learn about germs, scrapes, and sprains starting at 2 years old, but we often don’t learn about emotional injuries and proper treatment until they have become debilitating. And even worse, many times we don’t even know we are sustaining these emotional injuries and they are just lurking beneath the surface, continually holding us hostage. Fortunately, there is such a thing as mental first aid for battered emotions. Drawing on the latest scientific research and using real-life examples, our guest Guy Winch, Ph.D. offers specific step-by-step treatments that are fast, simple, and effective. In this episode, we talk with Guy about his amazing book, Emotional First Aid: Healing Rejection, Guilt, Failure, and Other Everyday Hurts. His message is essential for anyone looking to become more resilient, build self-esteem, and let go of the hurts and hang-ups that are holding them back. Guy Winch, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist, author, and keynote speaker whose books have been translated into twenty-one languages. His TED Talk, Why We All Need to Practice Emotional First Aid, has been viewed over 4 million times and is rated among the top 5 most inspiring talks on TED.com. Dr. Winch also writes the popular Squeaky Wheel Blog on PsychologyToday.com Dr. Winch received his doctorate in clinical psychology from New York University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at NYU Medical Center. He has been working with

Anindya Ghose, author of, ‘Tap: Unlocking the Mobile Economy’ The smart phone is our most treasured tech device. If you don’t believe me, try leaving it turned off for a full day and see how many times you yearn for it! This obsession with our phones is creating a massive amount of data that is being harnessed by companies to drive their business decisions in the ever expanding $3.3 trillion dollar mobile economy. In our episode this week, mobile economy expert Anindya Ghose welcomes us to the mobile economy of smartphones, smarter companies, and value-seeking consumers. Drawing on his extensive research in the US, Europe, and Asia, and many relevant case studies, Anindya explains how businesses can harness the power of a data-driven mobile economy. Ghose discusses several behavioral contradictions displayed by consumers in the mobile economy. For example, people seek spontaneity, but they are predictable and they value certainty. People find advertising annoying, but also they fear missing out. People value their privacy, but they also increasingly use their personal data as their currency. Ghose demystifies how firms can resolve such behavioral contradictions and delight consumers at the same time. He makes a compelling argument that mobile advertising – done well – is far from a creepy and futuristic intrusion into our personal lives. Anindya Ghose is a Professor of Information, Operations and Management Sciences and a Professor of Marketing at New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business. He is the Director of the Center for Business Analytics at NYU Stern. In 2014, he was named by Poets & Quants as one of the “Top 40 Professors Under 40 Worldwide” and by Analytics Week as one the “Top 200 Thought Leaders in Big Data and Business Analytics.” He is the youngest recipient of the prestigious INFORMS ISS Distinguished Fellow Award. Learn more in Anindya’s book, Tap: Unlocking the Mobile Economy! The post 271 – Anindya Ghose – The Future of the Mobile Economy appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Larry Robertson, author of, ‘The Language of Man: Learning to Speak Creativity’ For anyone who wants to create or innovate – this is the interview for you. When we think about creativity, we most often think of things: impressionism, the iPhone, democracy, Uber. We also narrow in on the few, those rare creators who seem to have something we lack. These tendencies quickly take us off track, perpetuating a myth and unknowingly pushing us further away from the possible. Here’s the truth: Creativity is about the possible. It’s the seed of any human advancement ever made or yet to be imagined. Most important and powerful of all, creativity is a uniquely human capacity that each of us possesses – including you. The story of creativity is the story of who we are, a story still unfolding. It’s time we come to understand it and learn how each of us can contribute our verse. It’s time we understand this language of man and learn to speak creativity. In this episode, award-winning author Larry Robertson discusses precisely what that means, and how we do it. We also learn how a deliberate pause can help spark true growth and progress. Larry is the 8-time award-winning author of A Deliberate Pause: Entrepreneurship and its Moment in Human Progress as well as his brand new book, The Language of Man: Learning to Speak Creativity. He is also the founder of two ventures, one for profit and one not for profit. He is a highly respected thought leader in creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Larry is a graduate of Stanford University and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and a former Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. The post 270 – Larry Robertson – Why Creativity Is Our Natural Language appeared first on

Kate Raworth, author of, ‘Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist’ Economics is the mother tongue of public policy. It dominates our decision-making for the future, guides multi-billion-dollar investments, and shapes our responses to climate change, inequality, and other environmental and social challenges that define our times. Pity then, or more like disaster, that its fundamental ideas are centuries out of date yet are still taught in college courses worldwide and still used to address critical issues in government and business alike. That’s why it is time, says our guest this week, to revise our economic thinking for the 21st century. Our guest this week is economist Kate Raworth, and in her new book, Doughnut Economics, she sets out seven key ways to fundamentally reframe our understanding of what economics is and does. Along the way, she points out how we can break our addiction to growth; redesign money, finance, and business to be in service to people; and create economies that are regenerative and distributive by design. Named after the now-iconic “doughnut” image that Raworth first drew to depict a sweet spot of human prosperity (an image that appealed to the Occupy Movement, the United Nations, eco-activists, and business leaders alike), Doughnut Economics offers a radically new compass for guiding global development, government policy, and corporate strategy, and sets new standards for what economic success looks like. Kate Raworth is a Senior Visiting Research Associate at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, where she teaches on the Masters in Environmental Change and Management. She is also a Senior Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Her internationally acclaimed idea of Doughnut Economics has been widely influential amongst sustainable development thinkers, progressive businesses and political activists, and she has presented it to audiences ranging from the UN General Assembly to the Occupy movement. She holds a first class BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, and an MSc in Economics for Development, both from Oxford University. She is a member of the Club of Rome and serves on several advisory boards, including the Stockholm School of Economics’ Global Challenges programme, the University of Surrey’s Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, and Oxford University’

Christopher Brinton and Mung Chiang, authors of, ‘The Power of Networks: Six Principles That Connect Our Lives’ Calling all nerds! This week on the show we are talking about networks, and not just the social kind. We will answer questions such as: What makes WiFi faster at home than at a coffee shop? How does Google order search results? Why do Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube use fundamentally different rating and recommendation methods? And how do cat videos—or anything else—go viral? We will also touch on some of the six fundamental principles of networking, which explain the difficulties in sharing network resources efficiently, how crowds can be wise or not so wise depending on the nature of their connections, how there are many building-blocks of layers in a network, and more. Understanding these simple ideas unlocks the workings of everything from the connections we make on Facebook to the technology that runs such platforms. This week we are speaking with Christopher Brinton and Mung Chiang, both experts on the subject of networks. In fact, the duo recently paired up to write a book called, The Power of Networks: Six Principles That Connect Our Lives. Mung Chiang is a Professor of Electrical Engineering at Princeton University. His research on networking received the 2013 Alan T. Waterman Award, the highest honor to US young scientists and engineers. He founded the Princeton EDGE Lab in 2009, which bridges the theory-practice gap in edge networking research by spanning from proofs to prototypes. Chiang is the Director of Keller Center for Innovations in Engineering Education at Princeton University and the inaugural Chairman of Princeton Entrepreneurship Council. Christopher Brinton is the Head of Advanced Research at Zoomi Inc. He received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University. He is an adjunct professor in the School of Engineering at The College of New Jersey. The post 268 – Christopher Brinton and Mung Chiang – The Power of Networks appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Jennifer Mueller, author of, ‘Creative Change: Why We Resist It . . . How We Can Embrace It’ If you ask someone how it feels to be creative, you will often hear emotions such as joy, pride, and exhilaration. We love the feeling of creating something out of nothing, or imagining what could be. However, startling new research reveals that although we think positively about creativity, when it comes to taking action on that creativity, we often struggle to accept new and creative ideas, even when they appear to be exactly what we are looking for. In this episode, one of the nation’s leading psychologists discusses why today’s corporate leaders desire but reject creative solutions. We will answer questions such as could people love but also hate creative ideas? Could the mindset we use to evaluate ideas turn this love or hate on or off—in an instant? Do experts struggle even more than novices with this bias?  And more. Our guest this week is Jennifer Mueller. Jennifer is the author of the new book, Creative Change: Why We Resist It….How We Can Embrace It. She holds a doctorate in social psychology and has taught at top business schools, including Wharton, the Yale School of Management, and New York University’s Stern School of Business. Her highly acclaimed paper “The Bias Against Creativity” went viral, was downloaded more than 65,000 times, and was heralded as “famous” by an article in The Atlantic. She currently serves on the faculty at the University of San Diego and lives in Solana Beach, California. The post 267 – Jennifer Mueller – Embrace Creativity, Change Your Life appeared first on Smart People Podcast.