Episode 185: The Devil's Playground

David and Tamler begin by talking about the question on everyone’s mind right now – are we obligated to be pansexual? Then, since many of us have more free time on our hands these days, we thought it might be a good idea to revisit Bertrand Russell’s essay (published in Harper’s Magazine) “In Praise of Idleness.” How did workaholism become the norm? Why do we see working insanely long hours as a virtue, a moral duty rather than a necessity? Would more leisure make us more fulfilled and creative or just bored? We also discuss Daniel Markovits’ book "The Meritocracy Trap" - when life is a non-stop hyper-competitive grind from preschool to retirement even among the elites, is anyone happy?

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Links:

• Is Pansexuality Obligatory? – The Electric Agora
• In Praise of Idleness, by Bertrand Russell | Harper's Magazine
• “The Meritocracy Trap,” explained - Vox
• The Meritocracy Trap by Daniel Markovits [Amazon affiliate link]