Driven to extremes of performance in meaningless areas

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The post 2000 winner of the Women's Olympic gymnastics vault may have achieved more technically, but participating in gymnastics in the modern era comes at the cost of body deformity, starvation, and injury. In contrast, gymnastics based on the 50s model fosters a sense of unity between spectators and performers, promoting a communal form of human excellence. The modern version, with its extreme focus on competition, may not be more excellent after all. It's time to redesign our economic and social systems to remove the pressures that drive us to these extremes.

It's no secret that we live in a ferociously competitive world. But what is the drive to always be the best doing to our kids? That's what journalist Jennifer Breheny Wallace wanted to know when she set out to write her new book, "Never Enough." The kids, she discovered, are not alright. Teenagers are battling burnout, depression, and anxiety at alarming rates.

How did we let this happen, and what can we do to fix it?

To answer these vexing but vital questions, we invited Jennifer to chat with Daniel Markovits. He's the author of "The Meritocracy Trap" and a professor at Yale Law School, where he's seen toxic achievement culture up close. In this episode, recorded live at Betaworks in New York City, Jennifer, Daniel, and Rufus discuss why our kids are under such unrelenting pressure, what we can do to give them some relief, and the potential role of new technologies, like AI, in creating positive solutions.

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Host: Rufus Griscom

Guests: Jennifer Breheny Wallace & Daniel Markovits

• Click here to hear Daniel's previous appearance on the show.

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