Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg

Read the full transcript here. In times of such extreme political polarization, where can we find common ground? Should we require disclosure of AI authorship? Should AI companies be required to provide fingerprinting tools that can identify when something has been generated by one of their models? Should movie theaters be required to report when movies actually start? Should members of Congress be prohibited from insider trading? Should gerrymandering be outlawed? Should there be age limits on political office? Should we provide free school meals nation-wide? What roadblocks stand in the way of people being able to vote on their phones? What's Spencer's formula for productivity? Which of the productivity factors do most people fail to take into account? What are some "doubly-rewarding" activities? Is altruism a harmful idea? What are people worst at predicting? Bradley Tusk is a venture capitalist, political strategist, philanthropist, and writer. He is the CEO and co-founder of Tusk Ventures, the world's first venture capital fund that invests solely in early stage startups in highly regulated industries, and the founder of political consulting firm Tusk Strategies. Bradley's family foundation is funding and leading the national campaign to bring mobile voting to U.S. elections and also has run anti-hunger campaigns in 24 different states, helping to feed over 13 million people. He is also an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. Before Vote With Your Phone, Bradley authored The Fixer: My Adventures Saving Startups From Death by Politics and Obvious in Hindsight. He hosts a podcast called Firewall about the intersection of tech and politics, and recently opened an independent bookstore, P&T Knitwear, on Manhattan's Lower East Side. In his earlier career, Bradley served as campaign manager for Mike Bloomberg's 2009 mayoral race, as Deputy Governor of Illinois, overseeing the state's budget, operations, legislation, policy, and communications, as communications director for US Senator Chuck Schumer, and as Uber's first political advisor. Connect with Bradley on Substack and LinkedIn. Further reading Episode 230: Who really controls US elections? (with Bradley Tusk) Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyIgor ScaldiniMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. What do westerners misunderstand about "tribal" cultures? How does justice in very small communities differ from justice in large nation-states? Why do some cultures have bride prices (i.e., groom's family pays bride's family) and others have dowries (i.e., bride's family pays groom's family)? How do cultures differ with respect to the body parts they sexualize? How many cultures across time have used psychedelics? Do all religions make moral demands? How do religions change as the people who practice them grow in number? How strong is the link between religious belief and individual behavior? To what extent are anthropologists conscious of their own behaviors and biases? Why do certain types of false beliefs persist for so long? How do shamanism and witchcraft differ? Aside from their official roles, what de facto roles do shamans play in their communities? What personality traits and/or mental health conditions are linked to wanting to become a shaman? Are any taboos universal across all human cultures? Why are taboos against incest and cannibilism so common? What is the value of anthropology? Manvir Singh is an anthropologist at the University of California, Davis and a regular contributor to The New Yorker, where he writes about cognitive science, evolution, and cultural diversity. He studies complex cultural traditions that reliably emerge across societies, including dance songs, lullabies, hero stories, shamanism, and institutions of justice. He graduated with a PhD from Harvard University in 2020 and, since 2014, has conducted ethnographic fieldwork with Mentawai communities on Siberut Island, Indonesia. He is the author of Shamanism: The Timeless Religion (2025). Follow him on Twitter / X at @mnvrsngh or @manvir on Bluesky, or learn more about him on his website, manvir.org. Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyIgor ScaldiniMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. Can you tell which is the real Spencer and which is his AI clone? How irrational are people really? What do most people misunderstand about psychology? What are the best tools to use to accomplish various societal goals? How good are we at predicting the future? Why do we have such a hard time overcoming our tribal instincts in politics? How many people get into politics for narcissistic reasons? What systems could be put in place to help prevent government corruption? Do we have free will? Are numbers real? Is beauty real? What are some things religious people might be right about? Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyIgor ScaldiniMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. How big is the current mental health crisis? What's causing it? What do we know about the age distribution of people suffering from mental health issues right now? Is the crisis just that more people are suffering from anxiety and depression, or is there an increase in other disorders as well? Why are psychiatrists seemingly very picky about which insurance policies they'll accept? What percent of hospital psychiatric patients are repeat visitors? What would an ideal mental health system look like? How effective are addiction detox programs? Why might suicide prevention programs backfire? Which disorders are associated with the highest risks of suicide? If a person attempts suicide but is saved, how likely are they to attempt it again? When is it better to see a psychologist than a psychiatrist and vice versa? What are some of the most exciting and most worrying parts of genetic medicine? How should we decide which diseases to study and which treatments to develop? What's an "invisible" victim? Is there any solution to the problem of invisible victimhood? How effective was the Affordable Care Act (AKA "Obamacare")? Are we collectively spending too much money on end-of-life care? How can medicine better incorporate preventive care? What is body integrity disorder? Why do we have such a hard time combating our biases relating to physical beauty? Should polygamy be morally and/or legally permissible? Should medical aid in dying (AKA "assisted suicide") be morally and/or legally permissible? Are doctors too willing to resuscitate dying patients? Jacob M. Appel is currently Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, where he is Director of Ethics Education in Psychiatry, Associate Director of the Academy for Medicine and the Humanities, and Medical Director of the Mental Health Clinic at the East Harlem Health Outreach Program. Jacob is the author of five literary novels, ten short story collections, an essay collection, a cozy mystery, a thriller, two volumes of poems and a compendium of dilemmas in medical ethics. He is Vice President and Treasurer of the National Book Critics Circle, co-chair of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry’s Committee on Psychiatry & Law, and a Councilor of the New York County Psychiatric Society and of the American Academy of Psychiatry & Law. Learn more about him at his website, jacobmappel.com. Further reading Jacob"They Decide Who Lives, Who Dies" by Shana Alexander Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. Why is misinformation a never-ending problem? What fraction of misinformation is intentionally manipulative? What's the difference between bullshit and other kinds of misinformation? What are the various kinds of beliefs we hold? How do the political left and right (at least in the US) differ in their production and consumption of misinformation? Have any conspiracy theories ever been proven right? Did Jeffrey Epstein kill himself? Why do people listen to Alex Jones? Was Nikola Tesla a fraud? Why does any of this matter? What do we know about UAPs / UFOs? What is the "Christmas tree problem"? Could an advanced human or alien civilization invent interstellar travel technology? What's something you're wrong about? Brian Dunning is the host and producer of the Skeptoid podcast; the writer and presenter of the documentary films The UFO Movie THEY Don't Want You to See, Science Friction, and Principles of Curiosity; and the author of seven books such as Conspiracies Declassified (Simon & Schuster, 2018). He is a member of the National Association of Science Writers. Learn more about him on his website, briandunning.com. Further reading Chart of conspiracy theories and political views Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. What is obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), and how does it compare to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)? Why is it relatively prevalent and yet also relatively unheard-of? What can people with OCPD do well? What does OCPD feel like from the inside? Which fictional characters might have OCPD? How do people with OCPD typically engage with religion? How can you have better relationships with people in your life who have OCPD? What should you do if you think you or someone you know might have OCPD? What are some treatments for it that actually work? After struggling with the traits and symptoms of OCPD since childhood, Darryl Rossignol spent a decade deconstructing his own personality disorder and putting the pieces back together. In 2015, he launched a YouTube channel to document his journey. Within a few years, the project had reached tens of thousands of people in need. By 2022, the need for more was clear. With the assistance of some of the top OCPD mental health professionals, he was able to launch The OCPD Foundation. This foundation is now dedicated to assisting those with OCPD to successfully find the help that they need. Watch Darryl's videos on YouTube, learn more about OCPD at ocpd.org, or email Darryl at [email protected]. Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyIgor ScaldiniMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. Why do nonprofits often ignore the simplest, most obvious solutions for helping the world? Why do some problems get a lot of attention while others — often of equal or greater importance — go completely unaddressed? Why is behavior change so hard? When should or shouldn't NGOs collaborate with governments? Why are deworming effects not as immediately noticeable as might be expected? What sorts of incentive structures surround charities? How can NGOs and nonprofits gain the financial flexibility necessary to make better strategic bets and more principled decisions? What's more important for drawing in donors: stories or statistics? How do (or should) nonprofits measure the long-term economic effects on individuals of their interventions? How can you support the organizations and interventions mentioned in this episode? Kanika Bahl is CEO and President of Evidence Action where she has been on the Board since 2015. She is also a Trustee of Anthropic's Long-Term Benefit Trust. Previously she served as Managing Director at Results for Development (R4D), where she established and led the Market Dynamics practice. The practice has increased access to products such as childhood pneumonia treatments and malaria bed nets for millions of individuals in Africa and Asia. Prior to R4D, Kanika served as an Executive Vice President at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) where she established greenfield operations in 17 African countries. She launched and led a $400M, 33-country public-private facility focused on driving access to new HIV/AIDS drugs and diagnostics. She received her MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and her BA in Mathematical Economics from Rice University. Find out more about the work of Evidence Action at evidenceaction.org, email them at [email protected], or connect with them on social media at @evidenceaction. Further reading Deworm the World Sponsor ✨ This episode is sponsored by Animal Charity Evaluators. Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyIgor ScaldiniMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. How bad are things in US education? Why does it seem that educational progress has stagnated? What parts of the US education system should be reformed? Is it better to group students by skill level or by age? How useful are standardized tests? Why is there so commonly a disconnect between what cognitive science tells us about how people learn and the practices that are actually implemented in classrooms? How much do we know about what it's like in schools today? What did the No Child Left Behind act get wrong? What should educational incentive structures look like? Is individual student progress constrained more by interest or intelligence? In the grand scheme of things, how big of a problem is classroom management? What happened in the FAA hiring scandal? Did it increase the risks associated with flying? How could the FAA have better achieved its own ends? Jack Despain Zhou, also known online as Tracing Woodgrains, is the cofounder of the Center for Educational Progress, a nonprofit focused on reorienting education around a culture of excellence. Elsewhere, he is known for his coverage of institutional crises and online history, particularly the FAA's hiring scandal and Wikipedia abuse, and for cultural and political commentary from an ex-Mormon centrist perspective. He previously helped produce Blocked and Reported, a podcast about internet nonsense. He can be found on Substack as Tracing Woodgrains or on Twitter as @tracewoodgrains. Further reading Project Follow Through Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. Is the bar for what counts as new knowledge higher in psychology than in other scientific fields? Why did the field of psychology formally start centuries later than other scientific fields? Why is it so hard to make progress in psychology? How useful are social science "mega-studies"? What actually helps people stick to habits? What do scientists often get wrong about the philosophy of science? What have social scientists learned so far from the replication crisis? And how does that compare to what they should perhaps have been learning from it? Why is so much meaningless, useless psych research still being done? How can scientists communicate about their work more effectively? When might a blog be a better outlet than an academic journal for a scientific report? Is there a tension in science communication between honesty and explicability? What are the pros and cons of peer review? Adam Mastroianni is a psychologist and metascientist who writes the popular blog Experimental History. He got his PhD in 2021 and then left academia to publish research directly to the public, like a crazy person. Learn more about him at his website, experimental-history.com. Further reading "Things could be better", by Adam MastroianniSpencer's analysis of the gym mega-study Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. Why might being the victim of sexual abuse increase the likelihood of being re-victimized? What warning signs, if any, might an abuser exhibit before becoming abusive? How might trauma differ when caused by someone the victim knows versus by someone who is a stranger to them? Why might victims choose to continue interacting with their abusers after receiving abuse? Why might trauma even cause a person to bond with their abuser? What is "affirmative" consent? Which states in the US recognize affirmative consent as a meaningful legal concept? What forms of refusal to engage in sexual activities are legally defensible? Why might victims choose to pursue legal recourse or not? What percent of victims pursue legal recourse? What sorts of things drive abusers to abuse others? Is it mere lust, or are there other factors? How often do abusers apologize or correct their behavior? How can you help a friend who has experienced sexual abuse? Further reading "Why Some Sexual Assault Victims Are Revictimized", by Wendy L. Patrick | Psychology Today"Why Some Rape Victims Continue to Date Their Rapist", by Wendy L. Patrick | Psychology Today"I Kept Talking to My Rapists", by Jeannie Vanasco | The Atlantic"Why am I still attracted to someone who assaulted me?" | Columbia Health"Why I continued sleeping with my rapist", by Sian Ferguson | news.com.au"Are sexual abuse victims being diagnosed with a mental disorder they don't have?", by Alexandra Shimo | The Guardian"Briefing on ‘Personality Disorder’ and the labelling of survivors of abuse and violence", by Platfform"Female soldiers raped by colleagues were ‘misdiagnosed’ with personality disorder", by Danielle Sheridan | The Telegraph"Abuse Survivors Can Be Revictimized — Here’s What You Should Know", by Lori Lawrenz | Healthline"Sexual Revictimization", by National Sexual Violence Resource Center"I fell in love with my rapist. What should I do?" | Quora"Why do I still love him after he raped me?" | Quora"Why did I go back to my rapist and had sex with him? Was it because I was ashamed, or I wasn't thinking straight?" | Quora"I am in love with my rapist" by u/Throwaway97547997 | Reddit Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. How important is story-telling for changing the world? What counts as a story? How closely should persuasive stories conform to the formula of "the hero's journey"? How much time do we spend on average thinking about stories? How can raw data be shaped into a story that's both true and compelling? What are some good examples of stories that have changed the world for the better? When, if ever, do scare tactics work? Can a bad guy with a story only be stopped by a good guy with a story? Why are there so many valid ways of understanding and treating depression? Why are anxiety and depression always so closely linked (if they're not just the same thing)? Is it true that most depression treatments will make most people feel worse before they begin to feel better? How far along are we in the development of artificial wombs? Why might some people be resistant to the usage or even to the development of artificial wombs? Elizabeth Cox is the founder of Should We Studio, an independent production company dedicated to projects that raise awareness of the most important issues shaping the future, where she wrote and directed the award-winning animated series Ada. Before that, she was the Senior Editorial Producer at TED-Ed, where she wrote and edited the scripts for over 200 educational animated videos on all sorts of subjects which have hundreds of millions of views and more than 10,000 years of watch time. Learn more about her at her website, elizdcox.com, or connect with her on LinkedIn. Further reading "The Many Models for Depression", by Spencer Greenberg Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. What are the main causes of problems in romantic relationships? What are the behaviors and patterns that lead to healthy relationships? What is the price of a good relationship? Are dark triad traits (i.e., psychopathy / sociopathy, Narcissism, and Machiavellianism) treatable? What is outcome resistance? What is process resistance? How can a person overcome their own resistance to healthy change? When are labels useful? Do thoughts lead to emotions? Or do emotions lead to thoughts? Or do they both lead to each other? How should psychological trauma be treated? What are the limits of cognitive therapy? David Burns is Adjunct Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he is involved in research and teaching. He has previously served as Acting Chief of Psychiatry at the Presbyterian / University of Pennsylvania Medical Center (1988) and Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Medical School (1998), and is certified by the National Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He has received numerous awards, including the A. E. Bennett Award for his research on brain chemistry, the Distinguished Contribution to Psychology through the Media Award, and the Outstanding Contributions Award from the National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists. He has been named Teacher of the Year three times from the class of graduating residents at Stanford University School of Medicine, and feels especially proud of this award. In addition to his academic research, Dr. Burns has written a number of popular books on mood and relationship problems. His best-selling book, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, has sold over 4 million copies in the United States, and many more worldwide. When he is not crunching statistics for his research, he can be found teaching his famous Tuesday evening psychotherapy training group for Stanford students and community clinicians, or giving workshops for mental health professionals throughout the United States and Canada. Learn more about him at feelinggood.com, follow his channel on YouTube, or check out the Feeling Great app. Further reading Episode 192: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and beyond (with David Burns) Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. What life skills do most people fail to learn before adulthood? Why does this failure occur? What should constructive disagreement look like? When might it be impossible to overcome a disagreement? How can you appease your (or someone else's) "elephant"? What do many people get wrong about dating? How much exploration is necessary to figure out what kind of person is compatible with you romantically? Which basic financial skills do many adults lack? What are the best ways to invest? What is your personal "superpower"? Should schools strive to make kids well-rounded (as opposed to highly specialized)? How can you find job opportunities more effectively? How can you figure out what to do with your life? What stages of development do adults go through? What does healthy negotation look like? How much time should you spend consuming information versus processing it? How can you benefit from rejection? Whom should you be trying to impress? Raffi Grinberg is a business leader, author, and educator based in Washington, D.C. He is the Executive Director of Dialog and cofounder of The Constructive Dialogue Institute (with Jonathan Haidt), both multimillion-dollar education organizations that bring people together for conversations. He graduated with honors from Princeton University and previously worked in management consulting at Bain & Company. He is the author of a mathematics textbook published by Princeton University Press. He also created and taught the popular Adulting 101 course at Boston College. Learn more about him at his website, raffigrinberg.com. Further reading How to Be a Grown Up: The 14 Essential Skills You Didn’t Know You Needed (Until Just Now), by Raffi Grinberg"The Inner Ring", by C.S. Lewis Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. What do most people get wrong about happiness? Why doesn't the happiness resulting from success last longer? Is it easier to "get ahead" today than it was 100 years ago? How are we trapped by our ideas of happiness? Does individualism help or hurt happiness? Where do hyper-individualistic messages come from (especially in the US)? How have those messages changed over the past several decades? How can people better open themselves up to help from friends and family? What is the "critical positivity ratio"? How might our understandings of "positive" and "negative" be skewed? What are "old" and "new" happiness? Is our "old" happiness linked to capitalism? What is the "empty" self? What are the differences between how men and women experience gender-normative pressures? Are younger generations more accepting of male emotionality? Is there — and should there be — such a thing as an ideal man or ideal woman? What does it really mean to "be who you are"? What do we owe to each other? What exactly is the opposite of "separateness"? Why do so many people have impostor syndrome? Stephanie Harrison is the founder of The New Happy and the author of New Happy: Getting Happiness Right in a World That's Got It Wrong. You can learn more about her work by visiting thenewhappy.com or @newhappyco on social media. Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. How were decisions made about which treatments to trust before the advent of "evidence-based" medicine? How strong are biological arguments for or against various treatments? When did the Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) movement begin? How did the EBM movement overcome initial resistance among medical professionals? What resources do doctors have at their disposals to find up-to-date information about treatment efficacies? Why is the pharmaceutical industry allowed such influence over information about treatments? What is the GRADE approach to EBM? What does EBM have to say about the role of patient preferences and values? How bad is being overweight? What are "surrogate" or "substitute" outcomes? How rigorous is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)? How often do treatments suffer from a lack of high-quality evidence of an effect versus plenty of high-quality evidence of a lack of an effect? What's the state of evidence about the placebo effect? What are the most exciting current initiatives in EBM? Gordon Guyatt is a McMaster University Distinguished Professor. His work has focused on Evidence-Based Medicine and promoting high-quality healthcare without financial barriers for all Canadians. His Order of Canada citation acknowledges both contributions. He has been honored as a Canadian Institute of Health Research Researcher of the Year and a member of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. Learn more about Gordon and his work at clarityresearch.ca. Further reading "This is why you shouldn’t believe that exciting new medical study" by Julia Belluz @ Vox Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. Is it useful to vote against a majority when you might lose political or social capital for doing so? What are the various perspectives on the US / China AI race? How close is the competition? How has AI been used in Ukraine? Should we work towards a global ban of autonomous weapons? And if so, how should we define "autonomous"? Is there any potential for the US and China to cooperate on AI? To what extent do government officials — especially senior policymakers — worry about AI? Which particular worries are on their minds? To what extent is the average person on the street worried about AI? What's going on with the semiconductor industry in Taiwan? How hard is it to get an AI model to "reason"? How could animal training be improved? Do most horses fear humans? How do we project ourselves onto the space around us? Helen Toner is the Director of Strategy and Foundational Research Grants at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET). She previously worked as a Senior Research Analyst at Open Philanthropy, where she advised policymakers and grantmakers on AI policy and strategy. Between working at Open Philanthropy and joining CSET, Helen lived in Beijing, studying the Chinese AI ecosystem as a Research Affiliate of Oxford University's Center for the Governance of AI. Helen holds an MA in Security Studies from Georgetown, as well as a BSc in Chemical Engineering and a Diploma in Languages from the University of Melbourne. Follow her on Twitter at @hlntnr. Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. What are the best things to do to help someone achieve their goals? What kind of person should see a personal coach? And when should they do so? What makes for a good personal coach? How do you know which coaches are legit given that they aren't certified like counselors? Can everyone benefit from meeting with a coach? How can you harness modernity to live the kind of life you want? In what ways do people treat themselves as resources? What are the most common causes of burnout? How high should our internal standards be? What should people be thinking about as they make large life changes? Should people always try to improve themselves? What are some challenges that are specific to leaders? How can people make more time for and focus better on less tangible challenges like assessing their vision and goals for the future? How can you resurrect seemingly dead parts of your inner life? Tee Barnett is a Personal Strategist who has coached a variety of high-functioning leaders across several industries. He has also run coaching training programs and recently helped launch Supercycle, a personal and professional development community platform that brings an interdisciplinary approach to personal growth, including philosophy, phenomenology, natural sciences, sociology, etc. Learn more about him at his personal website, teebarnett.com, or Supercycle's website, supercycle.org; follow him on Twitter / X at @teebarnettsays; or email him at [email protected]. Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. What are the biggest mistakes people make when investing? What's the best thing to do with extra savings? How can we overcome emotional biases that might negatively impact our investment strategies? What is "hyperbolic discounting"? How can you know when to pull your money out of an investment? How can journaling help with investing? Is it irrational to invest only in companies based in your country? What's the optimal mix of stocks and bonds? Are short-term bonds better than long-term bonds, or vice versa? How can you tell genuine growth from too much hype? How predictable is the stock market? If you find an investment strategy that works, should you tell others about it? What's the best way to cope with bubbles? Who should apply for ventures? Jim O'Shaughnessy was in quantitative asset management for most of his career until selling his company, O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, to Franklin Templeton in 2021. In 2023, he formed O'Shaughnessy Ventures, which is engaged in book publishing, filmmaking, and partnering with podcasters, Substack writers, and other new media ventures. Their venture capital arm invests in companies that they think have winning business strategies in regards to what Jim calls "The Great Reshuffle". O'Shaughnessy Ventures also gives equity-free fellowships and grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. Learn more about Jim at O'Shaughnessy Ventures's website, osv.llc. Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. What does it take to start a new city, especially one designed to be a special economic zone (SEZ)? What are the advantages and disadvantages to having a private company as manager of a city? Should governments be profit-maximizing? Can people choose to live in one of the Zonas de Empleo y Desarrollo Económico (ZEDE) cities in Honduras while also opting out of its specific government services? What are some legitimate reasons governments should regulate businesses? Are medicines produced in SEZs safe? How do ZEDE investors make money? To what extent can (or should) a SEZ's laws override state and federal laws? What do the ZEDEs in Honduras look like right now? How many people live in them? Why has there been pushback against them? Are SEZs considered "political" projects? Can a SEZ take land from private owners? Is anyone allowed to move into a SEZ? Erick Brimen is the CEO of NeWay Capital, LLC., and Honduras Próspera, LLC. Erick started his career in private banking, working at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. He later moved to investment banking as a mergers and acquisition sell-side advisor for AG Edwards & Sons (now Wells Fargo). After investment banking, Erick joined Ernst & Young's London consulting practice, where he advised buy-side private equity clients as they considered acquisition targets. Soon after, he was recruited by the Borealis Group to join as CFO of Latin American operations, leading the creation of multiple business units. When the time was right, Erick started his entrepreneurial career in the world of financial intermediation as a founder of ComparaMejor.com. In late 2013, Erick sold another of his tech-companies to start NeWay Capital. Erick Brimen is also Chairman and CEO of NeWay Capital LLC's subsidiary Honduras Próspera LLC. He has three young children with his wife, Colleen Brimen. Learn more about him at his website, erickbrimen.com. Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]

Read the full transcript here. What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)? What are the "cognitive" and "behavioral" parts of CBT? What are some of its most common techniques? What are "negative core beliefs"? What does CBT have to say about situations in which problems come from a person's environment rather than from within the person's mind? What makes a particular belief or behavior "good"? How do we know how effective various psychotherapeutic treatments are? How much can we rely on meta-analyses about psychotherapy treatments? Is CBT the most evidence-based psychotherapy treatment? What are CBT's main competitors? Is CBT significantly better than its competitors in all respects, or are there situations in which other treatment types have a significant advantage? How can you figure out exactly what a therapist does when they list a dozen different treatment modalities on their website? Can all treatment modalities be similarly effective if they have the right set of core components? How do antidepressants compare in efficacy to CBT? When should one, the other, or both in conjunction be used to treat a patient? Dr. Matthew Smout is a clinical psychologist in private practice and the Senior Clinic Supervisor of the University of South Australia Psychology Clinic, where he teaches and trains postgraduate students in clinical psychology. His research interests focus on psychotherapy, especially in making routine practice more effective. He has published on schema therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and the development of questionnaires for evaluating psychotherapy. Email him at [email protected], or learn more about him at his website, drmatthewsmout.com. Staff Spencer GreenbergJosh CastleRyan KesslerUri BramWeAmplifyMusic Broke for FreeJosh WoodwardLee RosevereQuiet Music for Tiny Robotswowamusiczapsplat.comAffiliates Clearer ThinkingGuidedTrackMind EasePositlyUpLift [Read more]