The Most Important Question

This essay was originally published in print August 2, 2020Originally published to our community through our newsletter and blog, the Do Better Better essays are now available in audio for the first time. You’ll learn how to ask questions and think about our changing world, for yourself, your family, and your business.These essays compliment the audio version of our weekly newsletter, and of course, our ground-breaking conversations with diverse, interdisciplinary humans working on the frontlines of the future.We’re so grateful to have you as part of our community, working alongside us on the world’s biggest problems and opportunities.Two quick reminders:You can get these essays, our newsletter, and more right in your inbox at importantnotimportant.comYou can send us feedback at questions@importantnotimportant.com — feel free to record a voice memo on your phone and send that in. Ask a question or offer feedback, and we might use it in a future episode.Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

This essay was originally published in print July 26, 2020Originally published to our community through our newsletter and blog, the Do Better Better essays are now available in audio for the first time. You’ll learn how to ask questions and think about our changing world, for yourself, your family, and your business.These essays compliment the audio version of our weekly newsletter, and of course, our ground-breaking conversations with diverse, interdisciplinary humans working on the frontlines of the future.We’re so grateful to have you as part of our community, working alongside us on the world’s biggest problems and opportunities.Two quick reminders:You can get these essays, our newsletter, and more right in your inbox at importantnotimportant.comYou can send us feedback at questions@importantnotimportant.com — feel free to record a voice memo on your phone and send that in. Ask a question or offer feedback, and we might use it in a future episode.Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

This essay was originally published in print July 19, 2020This week, we’re introducing Do Better Better: essays to plan for the future, today. Originally published to our community through our newsletter and blog, now available in audio for the first time. You’ll learn how to ask questions and think about our changing world, for yourself, your family, and your business.These essays compliment the audio version of our weekly newsletter, and of course our ground-breaking conversations with diverse, interdisciplinary humans working on the frontlines of the future.We’re so grateful to have you as part of our community, working alongside us on the world’s biggest problems and opportunities.Two quick reminders:You can get these essays, our newsletter, and more right in your inbox at importantnotimportant.comYou can send us feedback at questions@importantnotimportant.com — feel free to record a voice memo on your phone and send that in. Ask a question or offer feedback, and we might use it in a future episode.Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

This week: The 80-20 Rule works both ways; The incredibly timely importance of probably; We can learn a lot on how to think from a survey of 700 epidemiologists by the New York Times; The second-order effects of everything; And water is getting scarce;Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at funtalk@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

We’re moving the audio version of our Webby and Shorty-nominated newsletter into our main podcast feed and we can’t wait to share it with you today.If you’re new to our community, welcome! This newsletter pairs the most vital science news of the week with specific, data-driven Action Steps you can take to fight for a better future — for everyone. Today is a little longer — something to set the table, if you will, as we rethink how to think about the news in 2021.You can get your newsletter in your inbox at importantnotimportant.com, or from now on, listen to it right here.Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at funtalk@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 101, Quinn & Brian ask: How did all of America end up in the emergency room?Our guest is: Dr. Hiral Tipirneni. She is an emergency room physician, mom, immigrant, cancer research advocate, and congressional candidate in Arizona’s 6th district who is trying to bring her expertise — and empathy — to a congress that’s bereft of either.We are figuratively and literally in the midst of a health crisis. Let’s go ahead and throw in moral and ethical crises, too, given her incumbent admitted to 11 ethics violations and is still in office. So, there’s really no better choice to help triage the problem and come up with solutions than an experienced emergency physician. Please, vote like your life depends on it.P.S. Please send cookies, and not the kind that you’re legally required to inform us about every time we go to any webpage.Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.comLinks:hiralforcongress.comTwitter: twitter.com/hiral4congressFacebook: facebook.com/hiralforcongressMake sure you’re registered to vote: canivote.orgConnect with us:Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettFollow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertkenLike and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportantIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 100, Quinn & Brian discuss: Why state elections matter not just for your state but for the future of our planet.Our guests are: Aimy Steele & Amanda Litman. Aimy is a candidate for the North Carolina House of Representatives in District 82, a mother of five, a former Spanish teacher, and a former K-12 principal. Amanda is the co-founder and Executive Director of Run For Something, a PAC that is recruiting and supporting young progressives who want to run for state and local elections. They’re endorsing more than 500 candidates in the 2020 elections, primarily women and people of color, and they’re inviting all of us to take an active role in writing a new future for our country.And let me tell you -- if those 500 candidates are even half as inspiring as Aimy, we’re in for one hell of a new generation of state representatives. Aimy represents one of those rare times when we get the hero we need and they’re so much better than we deserve. Really, we probably do deserve a horde of bitter white men who all go to the same discount barber, but our world will be so much better off if we elevate diverse voices who actually know how to help our country’s diverse communities. So, please, use your voice, your vote, and your dollar to help Aimy and the other 500+ candidates get into office in 2020 — also, while you’re there, please vote for Biden. (We know, we’re not happy about it either.)Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.comTrump’s Book Club: "Indecent Assembly: The North Carolina Legislature's Blueprint for the War on Democracy and Equality" by Gene R. Nichol"Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon HillLinks:Donate to Aimy: aimysteele2020.com/make-a-donationFind a great local candidate to vote for: directory.runforsomething.net/candidatesSupport Run for Something: runforsomething.net/giveListen to Amanda’s first episode: #60: Why You Should Run for Something in 2020Connect with us:Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettFollow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertkenLike and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportantIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 99, Quinn & Brian, with help from Inverse.com, ask: how are YOU feeling?Our guest is: Ali Pattillo, a health and science reporter at Inverse.com and co-producer of The Abstract podcast. Supplements, metabolism boosters, miracle cures: Ali covers just about anything that can be put on or in your body and makes any health-based claims. In other words, she debunks all of the things that Brian buys online instead of reading books.There are few journalists who do a better job at not just reporting on science news but explaining it in a way that is digestible, understandable, and practical for idiots like the two of us. And this is a service that really can’t be undervalued. You don’t have to go very far on your timeline to find someone jumping to conclusions or misinterpreting facts — and that can have dire consequences when it comes to your health, especially in the virus-assisted end times that we’re living through. Our conversation focuses on the mental health side of things and how 2020 has catalyzed a staggering epidemic of depression, but on the bright side, magic mushrooms might be part of the solution.Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.comImportant Book Club: "Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman" by Yvon ChouinardLinks:Read Ali’s work at Inverse.comListen: The AbstractInstagram: instagram.com/alipattilloTwitter: twitter.com/alipattillo“Wildland Firefighters Are Burning Out”“Cold Comfort” (Wim Hof Method)“Cancer Patients Say Psilocybin Can Be Both Therapy And 'a Beautiful Experience'”Alex's Lemonade StandConnect with us:Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettFollow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertkenLike and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportantIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 98, Quinn & Brian discuss: common sense solutions to prevent gun deaths and destroy the gun lobby.Our guest is: Fred Guttenberg, a gun safety activist and political troublemaker. 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg was killed in her high school on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, FL. We usually like to make some jokes at this point, but not today. This is a loss that no person should have to experience — and it’s all the more painful for how utterly avoidable it is. Which side you choose to be on this issue should be as simple as answering this question: do you want to wake up and discover that one of your friends or loved ones has been shot? If the answer is no, then pay attention.Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.comLinks:VOTE: votesaveamerica.com“Find the Helpers: What 9/11 and Parkland Taught Me About Recovery, Purpose, and Hope (Grief Recovery)” by Fred GuttenbergSupport Orange Ribbons for Jamiefredguttenberg.comInstagram: @orangeribbonsdadFacebook: facebook.com/orangeribbonsdadTwitter: @fred_guttenbergConnect with us:Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettFollow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertkenLike and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportantIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode #97, Quinn digs into how we can rebuild capitalism for the world, for your company, and for yourself.Our guest is: Rebecca Henderson, Harvard professor behind the wildly popular class Reimagining Capitalism. Rebecca's research explores the degree to which the private sector can play a major role in building a more sustainable economy, focusing on the relationships between organizational purpose, innovation, and productivity in high performance organizations.Rebecca published Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire in April 2020 — but she probably didn’t expect the book to become so literal so soon. The crux of what she discovered over the last decade of research is that focusing on shareholder profit is a terrible way to run a company in the long term, and it’s going to burn this whole thing down. This has never been more apparent than the current state of the world, where we can watch in real time as every major American institution chooses profit over the health and safety of… anyone. The silver lining is that the five or so catastrophes that this country faces at any given moment may also present an unprecedented opportunity: the market cycle has already been broken and there has never been a better time to rebuild these systems.Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.comBook Club: "Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist" by Kate RaworthLinks:reimaginingcapitalism.org“Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire”Twitter: @RebeccaReCapLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rebecca-henderson-recapRead Ed Yong’s “How the Pandemic Defeated America”Connect with us:Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettFollow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertkenLike and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportantIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media