The Next Big Idea

The Greek philosopher Epicurus made a rather bold claim over two thousand years ago. The key to life, he said, was simple: pursue pleasure and avoid pain. Around this maxim he developed a school of philosophy, Epicureanism, which promised its adherents that if they took care of their basic needs, surrounded themselves with trustworthy friends, and developed a basic understanding of science, they would be happy. But is it really that simple? Can the advice of someone born 2,363 years ago still hold true? To answer these questions, we turned to Emily Austin, professor of philosophy at Wake Forest University and author of the delightful new book "Living for Pleasure: An Epicurean Guide to Life.”---• To hear Emily's Book Bite, download the Next Big Idea app• Check out Rufus's conversation with Ryan Holiday• Sign up for our newsletter on LinkedIn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

General Electric used to be the most valuable company in the world; now it's practically irrelevant. What happened? Today on the show, we're going to find answers. And to help, we're turning to two writers who have followed the saga closely and written about it brilliantly: Malcolm Gladwell and William Cohan.---• Check out "Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon" and subscribe to Bill's newsletter, "Dry Powder"• Read Malcolm's New Yorker story: "Was Jack Welch the Greatest C.E.O. of His Day—or the Worst?"• For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here• Download the Next Big Idea app to hear hundreds of book summaries written and read by the world's best non-fiction authors: nextbigideaclub.com/podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Our food decisions,” writes Dr. Tim Spector in his new book, Food for Life, “are the single most important modifiable factor in preventing common diseases and staying healthy.” But how do we know we’re making the right choices? In this episode, we dig into what scientists like Tim have learned about what we should eat — and why.---• Check out Food for Life• Learn more about ZOE• Follow Tim on Twitter• Want to hear hundreds of book summaries written and read by the world’s best non-fiction authors? Visit nextbigideaclub.com/podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Renowned surgeon Atul Gawande spends his days in the operating theater and his nights writing articles for The New Yorker and bestselling books like Being Mortal. Today on the show, he tells our curator Adam Grant how he balances his passions for different fields, why he works with a coach, and how he's helping the White House end our current pandemic — and prevent the next one.This is an episode of ReThinking with Adam Grant from the TED Audio Collective. For more episodes on how great minds don't think alike, follow ReThinking wherever you're listening to this.---Want to listen to hundreds of authors (including Adam) summarize their books in 15 minutes or less? Download The Next Big Idea app at nextbigideaclub.com/podcast/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, in a special bonus episode, we bring you a live conversation between Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy, authors of “No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work,” and our curator Susan Cain. They discuss over-sharing, crying at work, psychological safety, and mocktails that taste like your first kiss.---What are you waiting for? Download the Next Big Idea app right now: nextbigideaclub.com/app Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yuval Noah Harari is a historian and philosopher whose books — "Sapiens," "Homo Deus," "21 Lessons for the 21st Century," and most recently "Unstoppable Us: How Humans Took Over the World" — have sold more than 40 million copies. He joins Rufus for a wide-ranging conversation about storytelling, life in the Stone Age, the future of democracy, and the threat of AI.---If you enjoy this episode, check out our interviews with David Wengrow, Jennifer Raff, Christopher Ryan, Ray Dalio, and Jane McGonigal. You can listen to them ad-free by downloading The Next Big Idea app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The future is digital,” they said. Then the pandemic came along and forced that digital future on us. We traded offices for Zooms, gyms for Pelotons, schools for YouTube videos, restaurants for takeout apps. And guess what? It sucked. Many of us longed for face-to-face interactions and real-world experiences, none more so than David Sax, whose new book, “The Future Is Analog,” urges us to stop fantasizing about technological possibilities and start focusing on what we actually need, because it turns out that what a lot of us need is decidedly low-tech.---• Want to hear David's Book Bite? Download The Next Big Idea app• Have thoughts on this episode? Join us in conversation by subscribing to our newsletter on LinkedIn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sleep can enhance your creativity, lift your spirits, improve your sense of humor, and amplify your sociability. So why do so many of us struggle to get a good night's rest? Russell Foster, a professor of circadian neuroscience at the University of Oxford, says it's because we've let the frantic drumbeat of modern life drown out the steady tick-tock of our biological clocks. That's the bad news. The good news is that Russell's here to share science-backed tips that will have you catching more z's in no time.Russell's new book is "Life Time: Your Body Clock and Its Essential Roles in Good Health and Sleep."---• To hear the Book Bite for "Life Time," download The Next Big Idea app• Have thoughts on this episode? Join us in conversation by subscribing to our newsletter on LinkedIn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alexandra Horowitz takes us inside the mind of a puppy. James Bridle introduces us to slime mold that can outwit the best human engineers. Justin Gregg makes the case that thinking like an animal is the key to living a good life. And Tom Mustill explains how a near-death encounter with a 30-ton whale led him to the scientists who are building Google Translate for animal languages.---Download the Next Big Idea app to hear the Book Bites sampled in this episode: nextbigideaclub.com/app Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Humor is no laughing matter. It inspires innovation, strengthens relationships, disarms tension, and makes you look smart. Seriously. Stanford professors Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas say the recipe for professional success and personal fulfillment is to lighten up, pack a little levity in your briefcase, and start living your life on the precipice of a smile. In today's episode, they dig into the neuroscience of laughter, share tips for crafting the perfect joke, and help Rufus improve his comic chops.(This episode first aired in April 2021.)---• Download the Next Big Idea app to hear the full Book Bite for "Humor, Seriously": nextbigideaclub.com/app Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices