Blinkist Podcast - Interviews | Personal Development | Productivity | Business | Psychology

In this episode of Simplify, Caitlin asks Randolph Nesse why he believes that humans have evolved to experience hardships such as depression, anxiety and grief. As it turns out, while many of our most painful emotions often do not serve a proper function in our modern world, they may have a history that allowed for our ancestors to survive. Randolph Nesse is a Professor and Founding Director of The Center for Evolution and Medicine at Arizona State University. His decades of experience in a clinical setting have informed his research and commitment to furthering our understanding of modern psychology through the study of evolution. He has written a handful of books covering topics such as bereavement, depression, interpersonal relationships, and his latest book, Good Reasons for Bad Feelings, connects all of these with Evolutionary Psychiatry. He has devoted his career to bringing insights from evolutionary biology into our practice of medicine today. For more info, including links to everything discussed

Can we make joy, on-demand? Ingrid Fetell Lee, joy researcher and former IDEO designer, reveals how in transforming our spaces, we also have the power to transform our wellbeing. Find out how color brought life back into a struggling city, how you might be able to cheer up a loved one in the hospital, and how to set up a meeting at work to bring more energy and positivity into the room. For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-joy-ingrid-fetell-lee/[2] Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to [https://www.blinkist.com/simplify][3], tapping on Try Blinkist at the top right, and entering the code **joyful**. Let us know what you thought of this episode, or just come say hi on Twitter! Find Caitlin at [@caitlinschiller][4], Ben at [@bsto][5]. Simplify is produced by Caitlin Schiller with unparalleled co-hosting by Ben Schuman-Stoler. Thanks to Ines Bläsius for production assistance and Christoph Meyer for

In this episode of Simplify, journalist and two-time New York Times-bestselling author Johann Hari reveals the cultural causes of depression: loss of connection to meaningful work, meaningful relationships, a future that makes sense, and other amorphous factors, both political and personal, that just can’t be blamed on the human mind. Hear Hari tell Caitlin the stories of how people have reclaimed their connections to meaningful work and the moving story of the Berlin community that saved itself through connection and care, and learn how we can all start to reconnect with what matters. Johann Hari is a writer and journalist and a two-time New York Times bestseller. He’s written for publications including The Independent and The Huffington Post and has written books on the topics of depression, the war on drugs, and the monarchy. He has also given a TED talk on the topic of addiction. For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine

In this episode of Simplify, Susan Cain discusses the ways in which introverts and extroverts react differently to stimulation and why we often overlook the strengths of introverts. Giving introverts permission to be themselves not only makes them feel better, it can unlock their potential. With a few simple tweaks, schools and workplaces can create an environment in which introverts are better able to use their unique strengths to benefit everybody. Susan Cain is the author of the bestselling book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, as well as its companion book for teens, Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverted Kids. Her 2012 TED Talk about introversion has been viewed over 20 million times, and is considered one of the most popular of all time. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, as well as other publications. Susan has spoken to hundreds of companies, associations, schools and parenting groups about providing env

Picture a person who uses cannabis regularly. Did you imagine an Olympic medal-winning athlete, or a successful entrepreneur? Or did you think of someone who fits the standard stoner stereotype? If, like most people, you conjured up the latter, then today’s episode of Simplify might challenge some of your assumptions about what cannabis-use looks like, and what it’s used for. In this episode, Caitlin interviews cannabis journalist and author of The Little Book of Cannabis, Amanda Siebert. As the plant begins to be legalized on a more widespread basis, for both medicinal and recreational use, Siebert analyzes how the drug got so demonized, the wide array of benefits it can have for many people, and how we need to reconsider our preconceptions about the humble weed. For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-amanda-siebert-cannabis/ Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to [https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/

What does whiteness mean? If you're a white person, the occasions on which you've thought about it might be few. If you're a person of color, the time you spend reckoning with its meaning & consequences are likely far too many. Today's episode of Simplify is an invitation to grapple with what white means in the world, and how to have more generative, revelation-ready mindsets and conversations about racism as a system. As a Racial Justice Educator, Robin DiAngelo exhorts white people to consider what their skin color means on a cultural, economic, political, and personal level. She's written *White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Race* as an educational tool for white people who want to be better allies, inspect their biases, and find their way out of a racist system that continues to do harm. For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-robin-diangelo-white-fragility Try Blinkist for

Coach & writer Jen Sincero tried every self-help technique out there, then condensed the most powerful practices into one straight-talking bestseller that thousands have used to kickstart their lives. Listen in as Sincero takes you through how to bust your own self-defeating beliefs to become the badass you’ve always known you are. Sincero, author of bestselling book *You Are a Badass* breaks down negative thinking about money, how to tap into "source energy" (without getting too woo-woo), and what it's like to transform your world through transforming your own stories. Plus, she gets really honest about the negative fallout in changing your life for the better. For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-success-jen-sincero-believe-better-stories Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to [https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/friends/][3] and typing in the code **badass**. Let us know what you thought of this ep

If you've got a pulse and like eating food, you've likely either been on a diet, or felt obligated to start one. Yet the fact remains that diets, in the traditional cut-and-count-calories format, rarely work long term. That's where Melissa Hartwig Urban comes in. On this episode of Simplify, the co-creator of nutrition phenomenon *The Whole30* talks with Caitlin about how to get free of diets forever, why your weight doesn't count, and how changing the way you eat can change everything. Plus, she offers up her tip on how to make brussels sprouts so good that you won't miss the kettle chips in your life one bit. Melissa Hartwig Urban is a sports nutritionist who specializes in helping people change their relationship with food and create healthy habits that last. Her program, *The Whole30*, has spent considerable time on the NYT's bestseller list and helped thousands of people reset their health. For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinki

The turning point came for Ayelet Waldman when she found herself frozen before her medicine cabinet, wondering "What's going to kill me fastest?" She knew it was time to try a new tactic to improve her mental health. In this episode, hear this bestselling author (who's also a mom, a wife, and a novelist!) describe her experience with microdosing LSD and how it improved her writing and her marriage, and maybe even saved her life. Waldman will bring you deep into the research around psychedelics and offer insight into why they're so controversial—particularly when we don't know a whole lot more about the doctor-prescribed medications commonly used to treat depression. For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-psychedelics-ayelet-waldman Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to [https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/friends/][3] and typing in the code **dailyish**. Let us know what you thought of this episode, o

For something that’s often sold as an antidote to the stresses of modern life, learning to meditate can feel weirdly pressurized. And in a secular society, those who have a healthy dose of skepticism running through their veins can find the esoteric nature of it a massive turn-off. And this, according to Dan Harris, is what people have got wrong about meditation. Reaching enlightenment isn’t the goal for most modern meditators, and a mind completely clear of thoughts just isn’t a thing. In fact, noticing the constant mental traffic of thought and external interruptions is essential, and allowing yourself to begin again and again is what meditation is really about. In this episode of Simplify, listen to Dan Harris explain how you can cut yourself a little mental slack, and how life-changing and essential meditation became for him, a self-proclaimed “fidgety skeptic.” And if you feel like you don’t have the time to meditate, relax. Just one minute is all it takes. Plug this episode into your ears to learn

Hear ye, hear ye! We're kicking off the New Year with Simplify Season 5: Blinkist’s hit podcast returns on January 31st. Here's what's in store... In season 5, you’ll learn how easy meditation can be with Dan Harris, how to change your self-defeating beliefs with Jen Sincero, and how to talk about race with Robin DiAngelo. You'll also hear what it's like to microdose LSD for a month and learn the surprising ways a little bit of cannabis can improve your health. If you haven’t subscribed, make sure to do so before the first new episode drops on January 31. If we’re lucky enough to already count you as a Simplify fan, then please spread the word and tell your friends. It really does help! Send us feedback, suggestions, or questions about anything you’ve heard or would like to hear at podcast@blinkist.com. And if Twitter’s your thing, you’ll find Caitlin @CaitlinSchiller and Ben @bsto. More soon!

In this bonus episode of Simplify, Caitlin talks to bestselling author, speaker and humorist Luvvie Ajayi on how we can all benefit from telling each other the ugly truth. If a friend of yours needed to hear an unpleasant truth, would you tell it to them? Or would you gloss over it in order to avoid an uncomfortable conversation? Many of us would probably opt for the latter to avoid hurting someone’s feelings, but sometimes loving criticism is necessary to make people understand that they deserve better — and are capable of achieving it. In conversation with Caitlin, Luvvie Ajayi argues that honesty, judgment and criticism shouldn’t always be perceived as negative — as difficult as it may be to tell someone you expect more of them. “Discomfort will not kill you, but it is necessary for growth”, she says, and speaking the uncomfortable truth will end up making your relationships more sincere and trustworthy. Tune into this episode to learn the practices of loving criticism from Luvvie Ajayi and find out t

In this episode of Simplify, Caitlin talks to The Second City executive Kelly Leonard about how improv-based skills and techniques can be applied to the business world. Effective collaboration, innovative thinking, and constructive problem-solving can be major struggles for many teams, regardless of industry. But for those who really want to fix these issues, it’s time to look beyond how other companies work and turn to improv comedy ensembles for inspiration. After all, they’ve literally taken teamwork and turned it into an art form. Reflecting on years of experience with Chicago’s famous Second City improv troupe — where comedians like Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Dan Aykroyd cut their teeth — Kelly Leonard explains how improv techniques can benefit the business world. From fostering better communication to generating better ideas, improv can help to build teams capable of rising to any challenge. Leonard gives useful advice and practical exercises on how to get the most out of a meeting, what kind of

In this episode of Simplify, psychologist Guy Winch tells Caitlin why we should treat our emotional pain as seriously as physical pain and explains how to heal from common heartaches. Nothing hurts worse than heartbreak. Whether it’s the painful end of relationship or the passing away of a beloved pet, grief and emotional suffering can quickly become all-consuming. And that’s where we blame ourselves and feel guilty for our inability to overcome emotional pain fast enough. Moreover, as psychologist Guy Winch shows, when going through a breakup, it’s not just our mental health that suffers, but our bodies too. In this episode of Simplify, Winch reveals what happens in our brain when we’re experiencing a romantic heartbreak or a loss of a pet and offers warm and wise advice for all the broken-hearted. Listen to this episode to find out the reasons why you should stop stalking your ex on social media and why you should not necessarily wait to jump into another relationship after a breakup. Stick around af

Do you consider yourself a night owl or are you a morning person? Regardless of whether you love mornings or not, we all want to make best of them. Everybody has those few things––that certain morning ritual––that if they don't do it, their whole day is ruined. But what’s the best way to start your day off right? Benjamin Spall and his co-author, Michael Xander, have spent five years studying morning routines of today’s most successful innovators, entrepreneurs, writers and artists to find out how they developed a morning regimen that sets them up for the day ahead in the best possible way. Based on his research and numerous interviews, Spall describes the best ways to introduce new rituals into your morning routine––consequently turning it into a habit––and gives recommendations on how to craft a morning routine that suits your needs. Tune into this episode to peek into the morning routines of talented creatives and successful people, and find out what kind of morning is most likely to boost your productiv

In this episode of Simplify, Caitlin talks to bestselling author and self-help “anti-guru,” Sarah Knight, about how to stop people-pleasing and get what you want — without becoming a jerk! How much of your life do you spend pleasing those around you? Maybe it’s time to be honest with yourself, invest time in the things that really matter, and start weeding out unnecessary obligations to people you don’t really like. But how exactly are you supposed to do that? In this episode of Simplify, Sarah Knight will help you start a process of mental decluttering and show you how to develop your personal “f*ck budget”, i.e. the amount of f*cks you are prepared to dispense on any given day. Use it as a filter to make sure you’re spending your time, energy, and money on the things that actually matter to you. Listen to this episode if you want to have more confidence in asking for what you want in life, and learn how to get it without feeling guilty or worrying about what others think. Stick around after the inter

In this episode of Simplify, Caitlin talks to behavioral economist and bestselling author Dan Ariely about how environment influences our financial decision-making and why saving is so hard. We all like to buy stuff. Endless ads screaming “sale,” “discount," and “free” trick us into believing that we want things that we don’t actually need. In an age of credit cards, Paypal, Venmo, and Apple pay, it has become incredibly easy to spend our hard-earned sheckles and tough to save them. In this episode of Simplify, behavioral economist and cognitive psychologist Dan Ariely explains what’s behind our irrational behavior in financial decision making and teaches us how we can get better at managing our finances. Based on extensive research and numerous global studies, Dan shows what exactly matters in personal economics and offers ideas toward better ways to save. For more info, including links to everything we discussed in the episode, go to https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-finance-dan-ariely-g

Simplify kicks off Season 4 with words of wisdom from Cheryl Strayed, a bestselling author widely known for her advice column, Dear Sugar, and the memoir that spawned the blockbuster hit, Wild. In the first episode of Season 4, Caitlin talks with Cheryl Strayed about how tending to humanity’s toughest quandaries has become her calling, and the three central questions that keep us all up at night. Through years of listening deeply and sensitively to others’ experiences as well as her own, Strayed has unlocked what makes a good advice-giver and friend: sincerity, listening without judging, and connection. This—paired with her straight-shooting style—is why thousands of people have trusted Sugar with their deepest secrets. In all of her work, from memoir to advice to fiction, she teaches us all to listen deeply to our own inner voices for the truth we already know. Get comfortable and tune into this episode with Cheryl Strayed to ponder how to move on after a deep loss or a heartbreak and reflect on the three

The sun's a-shining, the iced coffee's cold, and Simplify is back with season 4! Here's what's in store. Simplify season 4 launches on August 23rd with an episode featuring bestselling author, memoirist, and internet legend, Cheryl Strayed. This first episode is one of our favorites yet, but as you'll hear in the trailer, there's much more to come. If you want to say hi to Ben and Caitlin before the season really gets into swing, you can find them on Twitter: @bsto and @CaitlinSchiller. See you next week!

Do you feel bad about wasting time? Good news: you can stop beating yourself up! In the bonus episode, MIT professor and writer Alan Lightman shares the benefits of procrastination and how wasting time is essential to our productivity and creativity. Are you slavishly devoted to your to-do list, rushing around to fit every vacant area of time to a task? In this day and age, most of us are—and it's doing no favors to our creativity, our minds, and our very humanity. Something's got to give, and Alan Lightman has a plan. Or, rather, a lack of one. And that's perfect. In this episode of Simplify, the MIT professor, scientist and novelist offers an antidote to how we live today. He underscores the importance of wasting time, revealing how unstructured time with no goal, unplugged from the wired world, can actually make you a better version of yourself. Tune in to learn how procrastination sparks your creativity and makes you even more productive and how wasting time is essential for establishing a solid sense