The Wisdom & Action Podcast

Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian columnist and author of '4000 Weeks', discusses the importance of accepting limitations and saying no to create a good life. The conversation focuses on embracing life's brevity, meaningful actions, prioritizing tasks, nurturing relationships, and letting go of the struggle for certainty.

We’ve got episode two of our Good Society Series, where we’re unpacking the current systems we live, work and play within, and ask how they can be better for people and planet.What does it mean for us to thrive within our planetary bounds? What structures are getting in the way of that? Throughout this series, we look at who we want to be as a society & how we can use our heads, hearts and hands to get there.In this episode, Berry sits down with professor Dan Ariely, one of the world’s leading thinkers in behavioural economics. Dan’s a founding member of the Centre for Advanced Hindsight, which does all kinds of fascinating empirical research into human behaviour – particularly when it comes to money, health and the planet – and uses it to tackle complex socio-economic problems.Dan is particularly interested in irrationality, and how it is present in so much of the everyday decisions we make. He believes that with the right structures and systems in place, we can eliminate some of the opportunity to do things that we know aren’t good for us or the world.Dan serves as a Professor of psychology and behavioural economics at Duke University and is one of the faculty members on the Small Giants Academy Mastery of Business and Empathy.Some of his books include Predictably Irrational, Dollars and Sense and the Honest Truth about Dishonesty. You can also read our conversation with him in issue 55 of Dumbo Feather magazine, Creating the Next Economy.Learn more about Dan’s work over at danariely.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are excited to share the first in our 6-part series on the The Good Society, where we’re unpacking the current systems we live, work and play within, and ask how they can do better and be better for people and planet.What does it mean for us to thrive with another within our planetary bounds? What structures are currently getting in the way of that? What are the stories we need to be telling to get there?Throughout this series, we look at who we need and want to be as a society, and how we can use our heads, hearts and hands to get there.  First cab of the ranks is the brilliant Nate Hagens, a speaker, educator & thought leader from the US, who tackles the big picture issues facing human society and our planet.Nate is Director of the Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future – an organisation focussed on educating and preparing society for the coming cultural transition.His podcast The Great Simplification, like much of his work, explores money, energy, the economy, and the environment – and brings in world leaders on these subjects to unpack how everything fits together, and where we go from here.  Nate spoke with Berry about sense-making and the systems science underpinning many of the crises we currently face, and we loved it so much that we’re bringing him back for more! Stay tuned for Berry’s series with Nate which will go deeper into many more of the issues they chat about in his episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You might have noticed a recent run of incredible female leaders on the show – well, they keep coming! This episode Berry sits with one of the world’s leading teachers of mindfulness meditation – Sylvia Boorstein. Sylvia is one of the people who literally brought buddhism to the West in the 1970s, and like many of them is Jewish. She is a mother, a grandmother, a psychotherapist, and a founding teacher of Spirit Rock, a world-renowned Buddhist meditation centre in Woodacre, California. The titles of Sylvia’s books are telling of her good humour and simple wisdom, among them including “Happiness is an inside job,” Road Sage, It’s Easier than you think, “That’s funny, You Don’t look Buddhist,” and our favourite, “Don’t just do something, sit there.” It was an honour for us to have this time with Sylvia, and to hear her reflections and hopes in the latter stages of her life.Sylvia will feature in our upcoming issue of Dumbo Feather magazine, if you’re not already a subscriber, go to dumbofeather.com and soak up more goodness like this in print. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gayle is co-founder of Melbourne-based Global Leadership Foundation, and she works with boards and senior leaders all over the world in raising emotional health, building resilience, and transforming leaders and organisations. Gayle is one of our guest facilitators on the Small Giants Academy Mastery of Business and Empathy program, which is currently open for 2023 expressions of interest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kemi Nekvapil is one of Australia’s leading coaches for female executives and entrepreneurs, as well as an author and a highly sought-after international speaker.Her latest book is Power: a woman’s guide to living and leading without apology, and in this chat with our editor Kirsty, she talks about some of the stories and ideas behind writing it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamie Wheal, founder of the Flow Genome Project, discusses the crisis of meaning in today's world. They explore the concept of Meaning 3.0 and the neurophysiological factors behind it. They delve into practical education, facing pain, and the power of storytelling and intergenerational connection.

In celebration of Issue 70 of Dumbo Feather magazine, all about a Meaningful Life, Berry sat down with one of the greatest living thinkers of our time: Professor A C Grayling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re sharing a conversation we had with waste queen Veena Sahajwalla as part of Vivid Festival 2022. Veena is a trailblazer in the field of recycling science. She heads up the SMaRT Centre at UNSW, and among her epic scientific breakthroughs include perfecting a technique that brings together waste tyres and waste plastic in the production of steel, and waste textiles and waste glass in the manufacturing of ceramics. We love Veena's story and ability to offer very practical solutions to the waste crisis. Her work leads us away from the current take-make-waste industrial towards more circular economies. Big thanks to Vivid for hosting this conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our much-loved contributor Lydia Fairhall sits down with a hero of hers, the Worimi storyteller, Paul Callaghan. Paul is an author and consultant who specialises in leadership development and wellbeing. In his mid-30s, he encountered a period of depression, after realising the success he had been striving for didn’t match up with his internal measure. Drawing on a variety of tools, including Indigenous teachings, he was able to navigate his way to a truer, more whole embodiment of himself. In 2022, Paul released a book with his friend Uncle Paul Gordon, entitled, The Dreaming Path: Indigenous Thinking to Change your Life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.