How, and for what, should life be optimised? Is the growing culture of optimisation leading us towards the homogenisation of culture?
These days we're using technology to help us write, make decisions, as well as augment, biohack, sculpt and transform our bodies, inside and out, to look and feel younger and fitter. As we seem to optimise virtually every aspect of our everyday lives, do we somehow end up creating more labour and inefficiencies?
The pursuit of human development and self-improvement is a perennial subject of fascination and study, from Aristotle’s eudaemonia to Confucian ethics, Maslow’s theory, and now, in a form familiar to many: self-help. What does it signal though, when the dominant messages of the marketplace today, and the markers of success and progress of experience, are defined by terms like efficiency and maximum engagement?
Marking the year-end – and with a new year around the corner – we're examining what it means to optimise life. Hear hot takes from Infinite Scroll 荧屏沉溺 curator and creative technologist Thea-Mai Baumann, philosopher Emily Hulme, comedian and writer Alex Lee and computer scientist Elliot Varoy. Hosted by Steph Harmon, Culture Editor of Guardian Australia.
This podcast is a recording of a live public event held on 10 December 2025. For more links and resources, including the transcript, visit Sydney Ideas website: bit.ly/48Rdjg5