How Soldiers Make Sense of an Unwinnable War (Phil Klay)

In this playful and revealing back-and-forth, Amanda and Chris debate the ethics, psychology, and survival-value of improvising your way through life. They touch on careers, creativity, parenting, identity, and confidence, while exploring why adaptability may now be the most essential human skill of all. How do you know when to “fake it till you make it”? Reach out to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amandaknox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠amandaknox.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: @amandaknox IG: @amamaknox Bluesky: @⁠⁠amandaknox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Waking Up Meditation App ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wakingup.com/Amandaknox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weeks wide-ranging conversation, Amanda Knox and Aella, a writer, sex worker, and self-taught researcher, explore the art of questioning everything. They talk about status, desire, fear, and freedom. And it’s a deep dive into what happens when living experimentally turns your whole life into a lab. Reach out to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amandaknox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠amandaknox.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: @amandaknox IG: @amamaknox Bluesky: @⁠⁠amandaknox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Waking Up Meditation App ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wakingup.com/Amandaknox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most people are pretty bad at having difficult conversations. We don't get much practice--the internet makes sure that we mostly see content from people we agree with. When we do see opposing viewpoints, it's usually in the form of hateful comments. But when Dylan Marron started receiving a deluge of online abuse in response to his viral video series, he did the opposite of what most people do. He gave his detractors a call. Photo credit: Mindy Tucker. Reach out to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amandaknox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠amandaknox.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: @amandaknox IG: @amamaknox Bluesky: @⁠⁠amandaknox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Waking Up Meditation App ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.wakingup.com/Amandaknox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who's Right is back by popular demand! Between our usual Hard Knox episodes, Amanda sits down with her husband, Chris to debate something serious or silly and ask you: “Who’s Right?” In this Who’s Right? episode, Amanda and Chris explore what really happens when we say “no”—to others, to expectations, and even to ourselves. Is saying no an act of selfishness or self-respect? They unpack why boundaries feel so hard to set, how guilt and people-pleasing shape our choices, and whether learning to refuse might actually be the key to deeper connection. Reach out to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amandaknox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠amandaknox.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: @amandaknox IG: @amamaknox Bluesky: @⁠⁠amandaknox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Waking Up Meditation App ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wakingup.com/Amandaknox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Phil Klay is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and National Book Award–winning author of Redeployment, Missionaries, and Uncertain Ground, whose work examines the moral and emotional toll of modern war. How do soldiers make sense of what they’ve done when the meaning of war keeps changing? Why does true patriotism demand not blind loyalty, but the courage to question—and to forgive? Released on Veterans Day, this conversation dives into the nature of service, moral injury, and the fight to keep faith—with one’s country, and with oneself. Reach out to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amandaknox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠amandaknox.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: @amandaknox IG: @amamaknox Bluesky: @⁠⁠amandaknox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Waking Up Meditation App ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.wakingup.com/Amandaknox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Phil Klay is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and National Book Award–winning author of Redeployment, Missionaries, and Uncertain Ground, whose work examines the moral and emotional toll of modern war. How do soldiers make sense of what they’ve done when the meaning of war keeps changing? Why does true patriotism demand not blind loyalty, but the courage to question—and to forgive? Released on Veterans Day, this conversation dives into the nature of service, moral injury, and the fight to keep faith—with one’s country, and with oneself. Reach out to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amandaknox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠amandaknox.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: @amandaknox IG: @amamaknox Bluesky: @⁠⁠amandaknox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Waking Up Meditation App ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wakingup.com/Amandaknox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who's Right is back by popular demand! Between our usual Hard Knox episodes, Amanda sits down with her husband, Chris to debate something serious or silly and ask you: “Who’s Right?” In this Who’s Right? episode, Amanda and Chris debate whether marriage should be a spiritual bond or a practical alliance—and whether we might all be better off if an AI or “romance consultant” helped us choose our partners. How do love, logic, and cultural expectations collide when deciding who to marry, and why do we still trust hormones and happenstance more than wisdom and experience? How could rethinking the myth of “soulmates” actually make for healthier, longer-lasting relationships Reach out to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amandaknox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠amandaknox.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: @amandaknox IG: @amamaknox Bluesky: @⁠⁠amandaknox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Waking Up Meditation App ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wakingup.com/Amandaknox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicholas Christakis is a Yale sociologist and physician whose research explores how human connection, cooperation, and contagion shape societies. In this episode Amanda and Nicholas explore how our social networks influence everything from kindness to cruelty, and why the impulse to punish, forgive, or imitate spreads just like a virus. How does trust and empathy hold civilization together and why is building stronger relationships the most powerful medicine we have? Nicholas studies how cooperation, love, and trust are encoded in our biology and expressed through social networks that persist beyond any single person, arguing that the “real” structure of human life lies in the invisible web of connections between us. Reach out to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amandaknox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠amandaknox.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: @amandaknox IG: @amamaknox Bluesky: @⁠⁠amandaknox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Waking Up Meditation App ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wakingup.com/Amandaknox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dolores Fonzi is an acclaimed Argentine actor and filmmaker whose new film Belén—Argentina’s official submission for Best International Feature at the Oscars—tells the true story of a young woman wrongly imprisoned after a miscarriage. This episode explores how Belén exposes the cruel overlap of medicine, morality, and misogyny in Latin America’s justice systems, and why storytelling can be a radical act of empathy. Amanda and Dolores discuss how art reclaims dignity from sensationalism, and why fighting for privacy can be as powerful as speaking out. Reach out to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amandaknox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠amandaknox.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: @amandaknox IG: @amamaknox Bluesky: @⁠⁠amandaknox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Waking Up Meditation App ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wakingup.com/Amandaknox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amanda and Chris get lost in the wide world of puzzles with AJ Jacobs, author of the The Puzzler: One Man's quest to solve the most baffling puzzles ever, from crosswords to jigsaws to the meaning of life. And pay close attention, because this episode has a puzzle embedded within it! Reach out to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amandaknox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠amandaknox.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: @amandaknox IG: @amamaknox Bluesky: @⁠⁠amandaknox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free: My Search for Meaning⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Waking Up Meditation App ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.wakingup.com/Amandaknox⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices