Life Examined

Robert Macfarlane of Cambridge University shares his extraordinary journey writing and researching his latest book “Is a River Alive?” and explains why a river can be viewed very much as a metaphor for life, always flowing, twisting, changing and adapting while at the same time providing sustenance for man and nature alike.  

Laura Delano is the author of “UNSHRUNK: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance." As you’ll hear, Laura Delano speaks from first hand experience - diagnosed as a teenager with bipolar disorder, Delano shares her own struggles with mental illness, the psychiatric and pharmaceutical industry and the toll that treatment and medication took on her.  

Laurie Santos talks about the power of a sabbatical, burn out, and her new online course titled: “The Science of Well-Being for Parents”  —a direct result of discovering just how much pressure, stress and anxiety parents are under these days. 

Ocean Vuong is a Vietnamese American poet, essayist, novelist and professor of modern poetry and poetics at New York University. Some of you may already be familiar with his best-selling debut novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, which received a MacArthur “Genius” grant and was nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction in 2019.  Vuong’s award-winning poetry collections include, Time Is a Mother (2022) and Night Sky with Exit Wounds (2016).  His latest novel is  “The Emperor of Gladness. A Novel.”   

Pico Iyer, essayist and author of numerous books including  “The Half Known Life:In Search of Paradise ” and most recently  “Aflame: Learning from Silence,” reflects on the death of Pope Francis and highlights the extraordinary impact Pope Francis’s life had, despite Iyer’s non-Christian faith. Pope Francis’s humility, simplicity, and actions, Iyer says, which exemplified his teachings had and continue to have a great impacted over Iyer’s spiritual life.  Paul Elie, religion scholar with the Berkley Center at Georgetown University, and author of “The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex and Controversy in the 1980s”  shares his first hand impressions of meeting Pope Francis and particularly how humble and unpretentious the Pope was.  Elie says some of Pope Francis’s early experiences growing up in Argentina shaped his more progressive world views and reflects on the legacy that Pope Francis leaves behind on the world and on the Catholic Church.         Guests: Pico Iyer  Travel writer and author of Aflame: Learning from Silence, The Art of Stillness : Adventures in Going Nowhere, and, Autumn Light: Season of Fire and Farewells, “The Half Known Life:In Search of Paradise ”   Paul Elie  Senior Fellow with the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, and author of “The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex and Controversy in the 1980s” May 27, 2025       

This week, economist and author of “Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define Us,” Russ Roberts offers a different perspective and approach to tackling some of life’s biggest challenges and decisions. Revisit the complete episode of Life Examined with Russ Roberts which originally aired August 27th, 2022

Rebecca Lemov, professor of the history of science at Harvard University and author of “The Instability of Truth: Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-persuasion,” talks about the origins of brainwashing. The term ‘brainwashing,’ was first used to describe what happeded to American POW's during the Cold War in Korea. After enduring terrible conditions and indoctrination by their Chinese captors, 21 American prisoners of war refused to return home, believing that life in China and under communism would be better. Lemov explains that our psyches can be manipulated and it is that the same malleability of the mind which helps us to grow and evolve also makes us extremely vulnerable to coercisve persuasion. Lemov also reflects on some of the more subtle 'soft brainwashing' techniques that we’re exposed to today, techniques that are primarily fed to us through our screens.  Guest: Rebecca Lemov  Professor of the history of science at Harvard University and author of  “The Instability of Truth: Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-persuasion.” 

This week, Michael Sandel, professor of political philosophy at Harvard University and author of “The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good?” addresses the myth of meritocracy - the idea that, if all chances in life were made equal, then people would advance based on merit and succeed as far as their talent and effort would take them. Less acknowledged, Sandel says, is the role of luck; family, teachers, neighbors, time and place in success. Shifting from a merit-based perspective and appreciating the contingency in life, fosters a much deeper understanding and humility towards those who are less fortunate. 

Fred Luskin, director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Project, reflects on the nature of forgiveness and the value of letting go of grievances.

This week, Charles Duhigg, Pulitzer prize-winning reporter and author of Supercommunicators; How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection talks about why some people are just better at conversation and communication than others. Duhigg says conversations typically fall into three buckets; practical, emotional and social. Super communicators, Duhigg says, have the ability to listen for what kind of conversation is happening and are able to “match back.” The science behind this, as Duhigg explains it, is called  "neural entrainment" which turns out to be a key to bonding and cooperating with each other.