The Next Big Idea
Episodes
You’re Not Sharing Enough
26 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve been told that “oversharing” (TMI) is a social sin. But our guest today, Leslie John, who teaches at Harvard Business School, argues that ...
How a Mormon Journalist Became a Degenerate Gambler
23 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On a muggy spring day in 2018, the Supreme Court handed down a decision that transformed America. In a 6-3 ruling, the high court cleared the way for ...
Michael Pollan on Food, Psychedelics and His Next Book
19 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, we hosted a members-only Q&A with Michael Pollan. We covered food and diet, his writing process, psychedelics, and dreams. We also got into...
The Story of Stories
16 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What do the campfire, printing press, motion picture, and smartphone have in common? They're all storytelling technologies. Each one gave us a new med...
How To Connect With Anyone
12 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
According to Merriam-Webster, the word "conversation" has 36 synonyms, ranging from the alliterative ("confabulation") to the arcane ("persiflage"). W...
A War Correspondent on the Crisis in Iran
09 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
As the war with Iran enters its second week, two big questions loom: How did we get here? And how will it end? We put those questions to Scott Anderso...
How AI Could Change Everything in the Next 1,000 Days
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Emad Mostaque co-founded Stability AI, the company behind the text-to-image generator Stable Diffusion, and he now runs Intelligent Internet, which bu...
THE LAST ECONOMY: How AI Will Change Everything in the Next 1,000 Days
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Here are just a few of the dizzying predictions Emad Mostaque makes in today's episode: "I think it's a good idea to borrow as much as you can right ...
Do We Even Need Politicians?
02 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers,” sneers a rebel henchman in Shakespeare’s “Henry VI.” Hélène Landemore, a political ...
Inside the Most Creative Friendship in History
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On the surface, Ian Leslie's book John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs is a dual biography of the greatest songwriting duo the world has ever seen. So n...
Michael Pollan on the Mystery of Consciousness
23 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Five years ago, Michael Pollan — the acclaimed author of The Botany of Desire, The Omnivore's Dilemma, and How to Change Your Mind — went looking ...
The Science of Change
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The only constant is change. You’ve heard it a thousand times. But here’s what the cliche leaves out: Change may be inevitable, but how you respon...
Want To Be Healthier? Follow These Six Rules.
12 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Do you ever feel like you're drowning in health advice? Eat this, not that. Take this supplement, but only after popping this other one first. Here’...
A Practical Guide to Achieving Excellence
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve spent any time on social media in the last few years, you’ve probably noticed the rise of what Brad Stulberg calls “hustle-culture gre...
Why You Need to Add Mattering to Your Vocabulary
29 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In her new book, Mattering, Jennifer Wallace argues that our deepest crises — loneliness, anxiety, political rage — stem from a single unmet...
The Superpower You Didn’t Know You Had
22 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
You know that feeling when you meet someone and something just … clicks? Scientists have a name for it. They call it “interpersonal synchrony.” ...
‘It’s a Real Company Run by Fake People’
15 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Evan Ratliff started a company last summer. He and his co-founders came up with a name, hired a team, built a website, and launched an app. They inter...
CRYPTO: Is it Ready to Transform the Global Economy?
08 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
As the co-founder and CEO of Circle — the fintech powerhouse that issues USDC, a popular cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar — Jeremy Allaire h...
Why the Blockchain Is Still Critical to Our Future
06 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Dixon runs a16z crypto, a fund that has raised more than $7 billion. So it’s no surprise that when talking about the blockchain, he says thing...
Reading Rewired the Human Brain. What Happens If We Stop Doing It?
28 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Maryanne Wolf is a UCLA professor and the renowned author of "Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain" and "Reader, Come Home...
How to Make Your Holiday Gatherings Memorable
23 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Back in January 2020, Rufus sat down with Priya Parker — a conflict resolution specialist who’s worked on peace processes around the world — to ...
FLOURISH: Dan Coyle on the Art and Science of Feeling Alive
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to flourish? According to author Daniel Coyle, flourishing is “joyful, meaningful growth — shared.” But how do you achieve tha...
Kari Leibowitz Loves Winter (And You Can Too)
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In our divided nation, there's one thing many of us seem to agree on: winter sucks. A recent study found that nearly half of Americans would skip wint...
Best Of: How Successful Groups Work
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Next week, Daniel Coyle will join us on the show to talk about his forthcoming book, Flourish. Today, we're revisiting our 2022 conversation with Dan ...
AI and the Future of the University
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A few weeks ago, Rufus moderated a panel discussion at Vanderbilt’s New York City campus on artificial intelligence and the future of American highe...
Best Of: David Brooks on the Art of Seeing Others Deeply
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
New York Times columnist and acclaimed author David Brooks has been trying to learn the skills that go into seeing others, understanding others, makin...
STRONG GROUND: Brené Brown on the Daring Leadership the World Needs Now
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation, recorded live on Zoom with members of the Next Big Idea Club community, Brené and Rufus talk about what drives her, how Texas h...
Brené Brown on courageous leadership (from ReThinking with Adam Grant)
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Brené Brown is a researcher, storyteller, and author who hosts the podcast Dare to Lead and has given some of the most popular TED Talks of all time....
Walter Isaacson on The Greatest Sentence Ever Written
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is the greatest sentence ever written? According to Walter Isaacson — former editor of Time, ex-CEO of CNN, and the acclaimed biographer of Elo...
Best Of: Decoding Elon Musk
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When Walter Isaacson, the legendary biographer of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, and Leonardo da Vinci, started shadowing Elon Musk, ...
Andrew Ross Sorkin: What the Crash of 1929 Says About Today
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew Ross Sorkin’s new book, 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—and How It Shattered a Nation, is an eye-opening account of ...
Atlantic CEO Nick Thompson on What Running Can Teach Us
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nick Thompson is the CEO of The Atlantic. But he moonlights as a damn good runner. At 44, he ran a marathon in 2 hours and 29 minutes, making him one...
COMMON KNOWLEDGE: Steven Pinker on Awkward Dates, Cancel Culture and the Necessity of Norms
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As promised, today we’re bringing you a full-length interview with Steven Pinker about his new book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows . . .: ...
A Food Crisis Is Brewing. Are We Ready?
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Caleb is joined by Sam Kass, former senior food policy advisor to President Obama and the chef who cooked dinner for the first family most nights. Now...
The Future Is Going to Be Great
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dave Blundin has co-founded 23 companies, co-hosts the Moonshots podcast, runs the VC firm Link Ventures, teaches at MIT, and has been building neural...
PRIMAL INTELLIGENCE: You’re Smarter Than You Realize
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Angus Fletcher has a PhD in literature from Yale and teaches English at Ohio State. He’s passionate about Shakespeare. He probably owns a tweed jack...
STEVEN PINKER: How Common Knowledge and Rationality Make the World Go Round
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker shares five key insights from his brand new book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows. He reveals how “common...
AI & THE BRAIN: How Different Are They?
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today's AI runs on neural networks, a design originally inspired by the human brain. As these systems grow more sophisticated, they're raising a profo...
Best Of: Jonathan Haidt on What Social Media Is Doing to Our Kids
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s rare these days for a book to go viral, but that’s exactly what happened with The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is ...
ARTHUR C. BROOKS: Success Won’t Make You Happy — Here’s What Will
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Arthur C. Brooks is an unlikely happiness guru. He’s not a psychologist, philosopher, or mystic. He’s an economist and public policy analyst who,...
THE FUTURE OF WRITING: A Conversation with Ethan Mollick and Steven Johnson
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if, thanks to AI, you can now research and write a book two, three, or even four times faster? For authors and AI pioneers Steven Johnson (Editor...
Best Of: Sebastian Junger’s Journey to the Edge and Back
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On a June night several years ago, Sebastian Junger, bestselling author of The Perfect Storm and co-director of the Oscar-nominated documentary Restre...
INTUITION: The Science of Trusting Your Gut
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We all have eureka moments, sudden bursts of certainty that seem to come out of nowhere. What if you could summon that feeling on command? Laura Huang...
Can Rogue Archeologists Bring the Past Back to Life?
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We have a pretty good idea what ancient civilizations looked like. But what did they taste, smell, and feel like? 📕 Dinner with King Tut by Sam Ke...
WHAT WE VALUE: A Neuroscientist's Guide to Making Better Choices
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
All day long, your brain makes subconscious value calculations. It looks at every decision and asks, "What is going to be most rewarding for me right ...
SUPER AGERS (Part 2): Eric Topol on Sleep, GLP-1s, and AI
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of our interview with Eric Topol, author of the New York Times bestseller Super Agers, we cover how to get a good night's sleep, why one d...
SUPER AGERS (Part 1): The Revolutionary New Science of Longevity
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For years, cardiologist Eric Topol hunted for the rarest people in America: those over 80 who had never been sick. When he finally found 1,400 of them...
GENIUS MYTH: The Dangerous Allure of Rule-Breakers
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sign up for our Substack! Arthur Schopenhauer said, “Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.” Thomas ...
Best Of: Life Lessons From Wired Co-Founder Kevin Kelly
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sign up for our daily Substack here! Kevin Kelly has made a career out of looking to the future. He helped pioneer online social networking all the w...
AI FIRST: The Tsunami Is Already Here
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
AI, according to Andy Sack and Adam Brotman, co-founders of Forum3 and co-authors of the new book AI First, isn't just a neat new tool. It's "a tsunam...
Best Of: Michael Lewis Runs Toward Pleasure
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is one of our favorite conversations from the last year. On the surface, it's an interview we did with Michael Lewis to coincide with the paperba...
How Susan Cain Found Her Voice
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Susan Cain always knew she wanted to be a writer. But her path to becoming one was anything but straightforward. She took a creative writing class in ...
HOPE FOR CYNICS: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We think that cynicism protects us from being disappointed by other people. But Stanford psychologist Jamil Zaki says the opposite is true. When we ex...
RISE ABOVE: How to Realize Your Full Potential
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman broke free from resentment and rumination, shifting into what he calls an empowerment mindset. Are you ready to do th...
MORAL AMBITION: Are You Wasting Your Talent?
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if everything we've been told about having a successful career is wrong? Rutger Bregman thinks most of us are wasting our working lives and argue...
NVIDIA: Jensen Huang Bet Big on AI. What Comes Next?
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In his new book, The Thinking Machine, Stephen Witt offers a riveting portrait of Jensen Huang, who went from immigrant dishwasher to CEO of the world...
EXPLORATION: Why We Seek Out Big Challenges
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Humans are wired to explore. So why are we less adventurous than ever — and what are we losing because of it? Guest: Alex Hutchinson, author of The...
AI 2027: What If Superhuman AI Is Right Around the Corner?
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Could AI take over in the next few years? Daniel Kokotajlo thinks so. Here’s why. 💿 Check out this Spotify playlist of our other episodes about ...
THE ART OF EDITING: Graydon Carter on the Golden Age of Magazines
24 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Remember magazines? Piled high on coffee tables or tucked into seatback pockets. Savored beneath beach umbrellas or skimmed anxiously in dental waitin...
FAMILY DYNAMICS: Unraveling the Mystery of Sibling Success
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You know those families where the kids all grow up to be remarkably successful? New York Times journalist Susan Dominus has spent the last few years g...
ABUNDANCE: Derek Thompson on How to Actually Rebuild the American Dream
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson is probably the most talked-about book in the country right now. And the most hotly debated. It’s a book ...
WHY GIVERS WIN: Adam Grant Revisits 'Give and Take'
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’re often told that success comes down to talent, hard work, and luck. But Adam Grant's research suggests that view is missing something crucial. ...
BITCOIN: A 15-Year Quest to Unmask the Mysterious Inventor of Crypto
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 2008, a mysterious figure created Bitcoin — a digital currency without banks or borders that sparked a global financial movement. And then he dis...
YOU, BUT BETTER: The Science and Promise of Personality Change
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Can you change who you are? When reporter Olga Khazan decided she was tired of being a “high-strung misanthrope” (her words), she turned to scienc...
CARL ZIMMER: The Untold Story of the Air We Breathe
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Every day you inhale 2,000 gallons of air. What’s in there? 📕 Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe by Carl Zimmer 📩 Want to t...
SAHIL BLOOM: The 5 Types of Wealth
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Turns out it’s not all about the Benjamins. Real success, according to Sahil Bloom, author of “The 5 Types of Wealth,” also requires the freedom...
STORY: How to Tell a Great One (Part 2)
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of our conversation with Will Storr about his new book A Story Is a Deal, he reveals the five storytelling techniques you can use to capti...
STORY: The Science Behind Humanity’s Superpower (Part 1)
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we’re sitting down with Will Storr, author of the dazzling new book A Story Is a Deal, to talk about humanity’s greatest invention: story. ...
The Former Head of USAID on Why Foreign Aid Benefits Everyone
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When Rajiv Shah was in his late 20s and didn’t know what to do with his life, he got a job at a fledgling nonprofit, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foun...
Three Things We Learned Last Year
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this special audio essay, Rufus reflects on the big ideas from 2024 that altered his worldview. 🎙️ You can find all of the interviews mention...
SUPERAGENCY: What Could Go Right With AI?
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A recent Pew Research survey found that most Americans are more worried than excited about AI. Reid Hoffman, however, isn't one of them. He knows the ...
SHIFT: How to Manage Your Emotions
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've got a special treat for you today. We invited Ethan Kross — psychologist, neuroscientist, and author of the bestseller "Chatter" — to give u...
WINTER: The Secret to Thriving in the Darkest Season
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In our deeply divided nation, there's one thing many of us seem to agree on: winter is the worst. A recent study found that nearly half of Americans w...
DRIVE: A Fresh Look at the Science of Motivation (with Daniel Pink)
09 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What drives human motivation? For years, the answer seemed simple: rewards. Dangle the right carrot — a bonus, stock options, "Employee of the Month...
James Clear’s Ultimate Guide to Building Good Habits (Encore)
02 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Forming a new habit is tough. Sticking with it is even tougher. That’s probably why someone buys a copy of James Clear’s 2018 book “Atomic Habit...
How to Find Purpose, Meaning, and Success (2022)
26 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Arthur C. Brooks used to run a prominent think tank where he was paid handsomely to influence public policy. Did all that success make him happy? Nope...
WHAT IS LIFE? (Part 2): Consciousness, AI, and Aliens
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Does free will exist on a sliding scale? Will humans and AI co-evolve? Are aliens already here on earth? These are just a few of the many mind-bending...
WHAT IS LIFE? (Part 1): A Mind-Bending Conversation with Sara Walker
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve had many bracing thinkers on this show, but Sara Walker might take the cake. A physicist and astrobiologist at Arizona State University, she's...
STRATEGY: How to Make Better Plans
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You may think you know what strategy is, but Seth Godin is willing to bet you haven’t got a clue. It’s not just setting goals. It’s not just mak...
TECH AGNOSTIC: How Technology Became the World's Top Religion
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Greg Epstein, the humanist chaplain at Harvard and MIT, wants you to think twice before putting your faith in Silicon Valley's promises. 🎙️ Follo...
The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect (2023)
28 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When he was 26, Will Guidara took the helm of a middling brasserie in New York City called Eleven Madison Park. A decade later, it was named the best ...
CATCHING SOULS: An Obituary Writer’s Lessons for Living
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For two decades, Ann Wroe has written weekly obituaries for The Economist. Some of her subjects are luminaries (Queen Elizabeth II, Paul Newman). Othe...
THE INTERESTING: How to Live the Good Life
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Philosophers have long maintained that the Good Life is braided from two strands: pleasure and purpose. But Middlebury’s Lorraine Besser says there’...
A Productivity Podclass with Cal Newport
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Do fewer things. Work at a natural pace. Obsess over quality. These are Cal Newport's three principles for achieving your goals without burning out. T...
Human History Is Not Set In Stone
07 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What if everything we think we know about the history of our species is wrong? That’s the provocative question at the heart of a new book by today’...
Want a More Meaningful Life? Embrace Your Limitations.
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In his mega-bestseller “Four Thousand Weeks,” Oliver Burkeman showed that the shortness of life “isn’t a reason for unremitting despair, or fo...
THE WORK OF ART: How Something Comes From Nothing
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Making art is hard work, as Adam Moss, the revered former editor of New York magazine, reveals in his illuminating new book, "The Work of Art." The bo...
ANXIOUS GENERATION (Part 2): How to Raise Resilient Kids in the Digital Age
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Earlier this week, Jonathan Haidt joined us to discuss the crisis in youth mental health caused by smartphones and social media. Now he’s back to ta...
ANXIOUS GENERATION (Part 1): What Social Media Is Doing to Our Kids
14 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s rare these days for a book to go viral, but that’s exactly what happened with “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood ...
Life Is a Game. Here's How to Play It.
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Life is a game. There’s no way to understand the human world without first understanding this. Everyone alive is playing a game whose hidden rule...
REVENGE OF THE TIPPING POINT: Malcolm Gladwell Revisits the Science of Social Contagion
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Twenty-five years ago, Malcolm Gladwell was not Malcolm Gladwell. Well, sure, ontologically speaking he was, but he would not have registered on the C...
The Future of Storytelling, According to Malcolm Gladwell
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Next week, Malcolm Gladwell will be on the show to discuss his new book "Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of So...
NEXUS (Part 2): Yuval Noah Harari on How to Safeguard Humanity in the Age of AI
19 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is AI all bad, or could it be so good that we might one day want to merge with it? This is just one of the questions Rufus poses in part two of his co...
NEXUS (Part 1): Can Democracy Survive the AI Revolution? (with Yuval Noah Harari)
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Yuval Noah Harari published an essay in the New York Times the other day. “Large-scale democracies,” he wrote, “became feasible only after the r...
Can We End Poverty by Just Giving People Cash?
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $2.15 a day, has long been seen as an intractable problem. But what if the solution is simple? What if...
GOING INFINITE: Michael Lewis Wants to Change Your Mind About Sam Bankman-Fried
05 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In March, when Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of FTX, was sentenced to 25 years behind bars for stealing $8 billion from customers, many peo...
SUPERCONVERGENCE: Biotechnology Is About to Transform the World. Are We Ready?
29 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sturgeon caviar harvested in a lab. Skyscrapers made out of living materials that grow from the ground up. Computers that run on DNA. These might soun...
ANXIOUS ACHIEVER: How You Can Turn Anxiety Into a Superpower
22 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What are some words you would use to describe a leader? Bold, driven, steadfast. How about … anxious? You may not equate leadership with anxiety, bu...
ON THE EDGE (Part 2): How to Get Ahead by Thinking Probabilistically
15 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today, Nate Silver explains why most people should take bigger risks, reveals the big thing everyone misunderstands about Sam Bankman-Fried, and makes...
ON THE EDGE (Part 1): Nate Silver on Politics, Poker, and Risk-Taking
12 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You probably know Nate Silver, the founder of FiveThirtyEight, as the statistician with an uncanny knack for predicting election results. What you may...