Aiming for the Moon

In this episode, professor of Marketing at New York University’s Stern School of Business and the Robert Stansky Teaching Excellence Faculty Fellow, Dr. Adam Alter, returns to the podcast. Today, we’ll discuss his new book, Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most.
 
Whether you’ve had a great year, a downright awful year or a lukewarm, we’re-making-it year, the end of 2023 and the beginning of 202...

In this episode, USA Today bestselling author, Noelle Salazar, returns to the pod to discuss her second book, Angels of the Resistance. Longtime listeners might recall our previous chat with Ms. Salazar in episode 24 way back in 2020. 

In today’s conversation, Ms. Salazar recounts the inspiration for her Angels of the Resistance as well as how her writing process has evolved and matured since her first book, Flight Girls....

In our culture, perfectionism is considered a valiant weakness. And, it is worn as a badge of honor. Saying that you are a perfectionist implies that you are constantly working to better yourself and your project. You unrelentingly strive for the best possible result. You work so hard that it might require others to step in and say, “This is good enough.” It’s a valuable vice in the workspace. 

Or…so we thought.

According to professo...

Have you ever wondered if the ancient tales of legendary creatures might have a hint of scientific truth? Dr. Adrienne Mayor, a renowned historian and folklorist, takes us on a riveting journey to uncover the possible inspirations for these mythical beasts.

But the adventure doesn't stop there. We venture further down the rabbit hole, examining how the tales we tell today predict the future we create tomorrow.
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What if the very structure of American politics is threatening democracy itself? Join us for an eye-opening conversation with Dr. Jacob "Jake" Grumbach, author of "Laboratories Against Democracy", as we uncover the collision between national political parties and state-level governments in the United States. Learn how technology, changes in media, and fundraising have contributed to this unique situation, and un...

How do we truly know what we know? Are we relying on the right sources of knowledge in our lives? Join us in this thought-provoking episode with our special guest, philosopher, and author, Dr. Esther Lightcap Meek, as we tackle these fascinating questions and unravel the complex nature of knowing.

Together, we'll explore the concept of subsidiary-focal integration, which proposes that our understanding of reality hinges on our ...

What hidden truths can an artist's perspective reveal about our world? And how can beauty often emerge from the depths of brokenness? Join us as we dive into a captivating conversation with renowned artist Makoto Fujimura, delving into the significance of art in capturing the essence of who we are.

We also ponder the role of art in providing hope during bleak and uncertain times, drawing inspiration from artists like ...

On this podcast, we strive to connect fascinating and successful people to the next generation. But today, I’d like to change it up a bit and, in partnership with the Rise initiative, highlight some of the fascinating and successful people of my generation.

Throughout the past few weeks, I’ve been talking with winners of the Rise Challenge from various years. For the finale of this trilogy, I’ll be speaking with Tony Wang....

On this podcast, we strive to connect fascinating and successful people to the next generation. But today and throughout March, I’d like to change it up a bit and, in partnership with the Rise initiative, highlight some of the fascinating and successful people of my generation.

Throughout this month, I’ll be talking with three of the winners of the Rise Challenge from various years. For part two of this trilogy, I’ll be s...

On this podcast, we strive to connect fascinating and successful people to the next generation. But today and throughout March, I’d like to change it up a bit and, in partnership with the Rise initiative, highlight some of the fascinating and successful people of my generation. Throughout this month, I’ll be talking with three of the winners of the Rise Challenge from various years. To begin this trilogy, I’ll be speaking with Hawi...

In this interview, I’ll be talking with Prof. Andrew Pettegree who co-authored The Library: A Fragile History with Arthur Der Weduwen. 

What I first thought was a self-explanatory symbol of scholarly righteousness I soon learned was an icon of the individual against the institution, a battleground of the “enlightened” elite and the “plebian” people, and a habitual testament of man’s inborn desire to affect the world. And, these are ...

As a high school student, in the next few years, I’ll make some major life decisions about where I’ll go to college and whether I’ll riddle myself with decades of student debt. How will I make the best decision? My guest today, Dr. Maria Konnikova, had a similar question about her own life. How do you assess a situation and decide the best option for yourself? And, if Fate pulls a fast one on you, how do you react accordingly? In s...

Having developed the Internet and connected the world to our fingertips, we tend to think of ourselves as enlightened beings very different from our medieval or ancient counterparts and with very separate problems. Are our modern problems really just modern problems? Or, are they just prevailing issues repackaged for our modern sensibilities? And, if so, how can classics help us address these “modern" problems? And, why are th...

In this episode, I sit down with teenage author, Suzette Sheft (full bio below). We discuss the story behind her debut book, Running for Shelter: A True Story, which is a novelization of her grandmother's survival in a Nazi-conquered Europe. We also cover how her father's passing motivated her to finish her story and catalog her family history as well as her advice to other young authors.

Topics -

• What is the...

Two decades ago, Dr. Richard Florida (full bio below) coined the term "Creative Class" when he identified a unique group of people who used their knowledge and expertise and creativity to generate income (i.e. tech innovators, musicians, bloggers, etc.). His work has shaped the thinking of modern economics and social sciences. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Florida to discuss who this class is as well as how the pan...

One of the most anticipated technologies of the future is AI. What will it be? What will it do? How will we react? But, before we can anticipate sentiency, which we will discuss in this episode,  we must train AI to do its jobs. However, that requires properly organized data sets, a new topic in the town square. If AI is to imitate the data it is given, how do we determine what data to give it? This is a looming question in the fog...