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Over-optimizing your life is making you fragile, not better
Brad Stulberg breaks down the biology, philosophy, and psychology behind genuine excellence and how to reach it.
with
Brad Stulberg
Masters of craft understand when they need to be in the conscious competence phase of the ladder, where they actually need to effortfully try, where they need to go back to the drawing board, where they need to learn.
4 classics that were basically written as propaganda
The top priority was to maintain the agenda.
There is no you in your brain — your identity is a “society of the mind”
Your sense of self isn’t located in a single part of the brain — it emerges from a complex interplay of cognitive processes that change over time.
by
Masud Husain
The arc of human history is toward cooperation, not division
Globalization did not fail — it improved the lives of billions of people. The next phase of human development could push us to a new level of global abundance.
by
Peter Leyden
4 classics that were basically written as propaganda
The top priority was to maintain the agenda.
The quiet disappearance of the free-range childhood
When can a kid play outside alone? Two parents, one stranger, and the state collide.
FIND US ON SUBSTACK
Earth’s orbit is getting crowded. Here’s how we avoid a disaster.
We’ve populated low-Earth orbit with satellites in record time — now we have to figure out how to keep it safe.
Why fixing your gadgets often costs more than replacing them
A broken laptop hinge revealed a broader shift in how modern products are designed, sold, and owned
The first homes on Mars may be alive
Instead of hauling heavy building materials across space, future astronauts may grow fungal shelters from spores, waste, and local regolith.
What would you like to learn more about? We have thousands of videos from the world’s biggest thinkers to help you dive deeper into any subject.
Pause the busyness of life to reflect on ourselves, our relationships, and the Universe.
with
Jonny Thomson
The “rawdogging” trend: A new term for an ancient practice
TikTok gave an old practice a terrible name. Neuroscience explains why it actually works.
The daffodil’s guide to outliving the winter
What a fragile flower can teach us about resilience, death, and becoming someone new.
Aztec philosophy: How lucky you are to not be in prison right now
Nick was always an angry boy, but he was unlucky as well.
Intimate interviews with the world’s biggest thinkers.
20mins
Rome’s triumph was the ancient world’s most effective piece of propaganda
Mary Beard uncovers the spectacle of the Ancient Roman parade, the Roman Triumph.
25mins
Reboot your mind for flow, unanxiousness, and resilience
“We can use neuroscience and tools from psychology to learn how to take advantage of anxiety.” From Zen Buddhism to flow state, these 3 experts explain how to hack your brain.
7mins
The hidden reason smart people stop growing
Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec breaks down why the traditional idea of mentorship is not only outdated, but actively getting in the way of your growth.
32mins
The neuroscience behind synesthesia
Neurologist Richard Cytowic has spent decades studying synesthesia, the phenomenon where one sense involuntarily triggers another.
Ask Ethan: How long does it take planets to form?
Every time a new star forms, there's an opportunity to form planets alongside and around it. How does it happen, and how long does it take?
Can you explain the strong nuclear force without colors?
"Color" with respect to the strong force is just an analogy. Here's how to understand it without colors, group theory, or any advanced math.
This viral image of Saturn isn’t real; it’s AI slop
From 2004 through 2017, Saturn was imaged many times and from many angles up close by Cassini. This new viral image isn't real; it's AI.
Everything in the Universe changes by adding enough mass
One parameter, alone, sets the dividing line between rocky planets, gas giants, brown dwarfs, stars, and much more. Here's why mass matters.
Big ideas. Thoughtful conversations. One book at a time.
Jan Morris, and the struggle between coherence and uncovering another’s inner life
Jan Morris's biographer confronts the limits of storytelling while trying to capture a life defined by contradiction and reinvention.
Militant democracy or creeping illiberalism? Germany’s free speech dilemma.
Germany built aggressive systems to combat hate speech, but the line between defending democracy and undermining it may be beginning to blur.
The important role of ignorance in building a better society
George Szpiro explores the philosophical ideas that explain why justice — not freedom or efficiency — may better anchor a fair society.
What chess’s “intermezzo” moves can teach us about making better life decisions
In this excerpt from her new book, Jennifer Shahade argues that the smartest move in life, as in chess, is sometimes a sideways one.
Learn business from the world’s biggest thinkers.
The best leaders don’t share traits. They do this instead.
Leadership isn’t about mastering a fixed set of skills, but creating the meaningful, human-centered experiences that inspire others.
What 1,000-year-old companies know about resilience
Long-lived companies show that resilience comes not from individual toughness, but from the strength of the systems around us.
The 5-step algorithm that’s transforming legacy companies
Inside GM’s race to build the electric Hummer lies a powerful lesson in speed, simplicity, and the operating system required for exponential growth.
How smart management built a forgettable world
Cities and organizations alike risk becoming highly efficient — but indistinguishable — unless leaders actively preserve space for imagination and deviation.
How the modern world turned gray (and why color may be coming back)
The ideology, economics, and psychology behind the modern world's draining of color from homes, cars, and everyday objects.
Ghost map: Europe’s first glimpse of Tenochtitlan shows a city already destroyed
This 1524 map of the Aztec capital was a window into an exotic otherworld — and largely a fiction.
We saved the world once — we can do it again
The ozone hole was going to destroy life as we know it, but an unprecedented global effort fixed the problem.
Militarized snowflakes: The accidental beauty of Renaissance star forts
First rising in the 15th century, these forts sought to counter a deadly innovation in military technology.
Where science meets the human story.
Why organisms are more than machines
Sixty years ago, a little-known philosopher challenged how science understands life. His perspective is finding new relevance in the age of artificial intelligence.
Aerial aliens: Why cloudy worlds might make detecting life easier
Astronomer Lisa Kaltenegger spoke with Big Think about how "the colors of life" could leave detectable traces on distant planets.
The next great leap in evolution may lie beyond Earth
NASA’s Caleb Scharf talks with Big Think about life’s long experiment in expansion.
David Kipping on how the search for alien life is gaining credibility
Big Think spoke with astronomer David Kipping about technosignatures, "extragalactic SETI," and being a popular science communicator in the YouTube age.