Ep 362 - Jonathan Haidt

Bryan Callen and today's guest, Caroline Criado-Perez, have very different feeeeeeelings about the word feminism. For Bryan, feminism is a bit of a dirty word which he associates with well-meaning but misguided Social Justice Warriors on a crusade to remake the world in denial of the facts. For Caroline, feminism is a noble cause that aims to make the world fair and equal for all regardless of gender. And yet, in spite of their feelings about the word feminism, the case that Caroline makes in her latest book "Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men" is so compelling that Bryan and Caroline found themselves agreeing on the premise of her book. From medicine to the design of smartphones to bathroom allocation to the temperature of office spaces, the world is based on the assumption that an ordinary human is male. The result is that women die unnecessarily of heart attacks and car crashes. They wait longer in line for bathrooms. They are constantly cold in offices while men find the temperature perfectly comfortable. Many men wonder why the women in their lives are always cold, as if it is some defect of their body's ability to regulate its internal environment. Rather than a failure of homeostasis among 50% of the population, women and men simply have different mean body temperatures and men have simply been setting the thermostats for their own comfort without consulting women or considering that they might have different needs. In every way and in every field of life, the world was designed by men and for men and women have suffered as a result. There's a saying in Washington D.C. that if you're not at the table, then you're on the menu. In other words, if you're not there helping make the decisions, then you're going to get eaten alive. For most of recorded history, the people calling the shots and making the design decisions have been men and women have been on the menu. Bryan, Caroline and Hunter all want to live in a world based on fair play. So, why would we spend our time arguing about our feeeeeeelings about the word feminism when we can devote our time and energy to solving the problem? With Caroline's book, we not only have a persuasive case. We have a recipe for action for how we can make a world that works better for all of us. Fair play isn't just about marches, elections and new legislation. It's also about making little decisions like where we set the thermostat into discussions.

When Mark Manson wrote "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck," he couldn't have anticipated what a tremendous success it would be or that with that success there would be new challenges. Namely, now what? Mark had everything he'd ever wanted and had to face the pressure of a second act. Could he repeat that success? And what if nobody liked his second book? Fortunately, as an F-bomb philosopher, Mark was able to channel the power of his own advice and the life-changing perspective that comes from harnessing the English language's most potent four-letter word. In this interview, we discuss Mark's latest book "Everything is F*cked." To Mixed Mental Artists, many of the themes in the book will be familiar, notably the idea that everything is a religion. Given this, we need tools for managing and challenging our own belief systems and Mark's books nicely synthesize a diverse range of material in a fun, compelling package. In short, it's mixing the mental arts at its very best.

In an age of fake news and alternative facts, Cailin O'Connor's "The Misinformation Age: How False Beliefs Spread" could not be better timed. With fantastic historical examples and the latest science, this episode forces everyone to reflect on how we form our beliefs and how we can all play our role in creating a healthier information space. Cailin O'Connor is an Associate Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science and a member of the Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Science at the University of California, Irvine.

Although Bryan and Hunter talk about Jon Haidt all the time, this is actually only Jon's second appearance on the podcast. It was well worth the wait. Having read Jon's books many times and interviewed many of his peers, this podcast was a fantastic opportunity to get stuck in and re-examine the world through the lens of both ancient wisdom and modern science.

While Bryan has been busy filming his new spinoff Schooled, Hunter has been working hard to figure out how to take Mixed Mental Arts to the next level. We've had so much fun sharing the best ideas we've found in books. We can't wait to share them with an even wider audience. But in the meantime, we will be releasing new episodes every so often.

Stay tuned until the end for some information on the re-renaming of the show to the Bryan Callen Show.