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The Next Big Idea Daily

Next Big Idea Club•nextbigideaclub.com
Education
Self-Improvement
Society & Culture
What if engaging with great ideas could become one of your daily habits? What if some of the best tips for living better and working smarter were served up with your morning coffee, a hit of motivation guaranteed to start your day right? That’s the idea behind “The Next Big Idea Daily.” We work with hundreds of non-fiction authors — experts in productivity, creativity, leadership, communication, and other fields — boil down their big ideas into bite-sized chunks, and then offer you one each morning.
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Episodes

No-BS Secrets to Success

Jim VandeHei co-founded two highly influential news outlets, Politico and Axios. But as he explains in today's episode, his path to success was far from straightforward.

May 21, 2024•15 min

A Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control

To end the week, we'll hear from Katherine Morgan Schafler, a former on-site therapist at Google, who challenges us to change the way we look at perfectionism.

May 17, 2024•17 min

Can Big Tech Be Reined In?

As chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Tom Wheeler advocated for stronger legislation of big tech companies. In his new book, "Techlash: Who Makes the Rules in the Digital Gilded Age?," he says there's more to be done.

May 15, 2024•15 min

When Extreme Wellness Causes Real Damage

Jacqueline Alnes was a DI runner in college, but her athletic career was cut short by a series of mysterious neurological symptoms. Her search for a cure led her to discover the dark side of wellness culture. Her new book is "The Fruit Cure: The Story of Extreme Wellness Turned Sour."

May 14, 2024•17 min

Are You Suffering From Microstress?

Are all the little things getting you down? Rob Cross and Karen Dillon are here to help. Their new book is "The Microstress Effect: How Little Things Pile Up and Create Big Problems--and What to Do about It."

May 13, 2024•16 min

Forget Habits. You Need Rituals.

Harvard's Michael Norton says cultivating a "ritual" mindset can infuse our lives with meaning. His new book is "The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions."

May 10, 2024•10 min

Frank Bruni Examines Our Age of Grievance

Longtime New York Times columnist Frank Bruni says fervent hostility has eroded the civility, common ground, and compromise necessary for our democracy to survive. His new book is "The Age of Grievance."

May 09, 2024•16 min

Humans and Octopuses Are More Alike Than You Think

Ecologist David Scheel has been obsessed with octopuses for decades. What he's learned — and why it should matter to you — is the subject of his new book: "Many Things Under a Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses."

May 08, 2024•13 min

"The Stoic Mindset: Living the Ten Principles of Stoicism" by Mark Tuitert

"As a top athlete," says today's guest, Mark Tuitert, "you can easily be blinded by the goal: winning." Mark would know. He won the gold medal in speed skating in the 1500-meter event at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. When he woke up the next day, however, a worrying thought shot through his head: Now what? What do I focus on now? To answer those questions, he turned to the ancient philosophy of Stoicism.

Apr 30, 2024•12 min

"Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer" by Steven Johnson

Today, friend-of-the-pod Steven Johnson stops by to share a few big ideas from his recent book "Extra Life," which President Obama praised for offering readers "a useful reminder of the role of modern science in fundamentally transforming all of our lives." • If you enjoy this episode, check out the audio essay we made with Steven. It's called "Immortality: A User's Guide"

Apr 23, 2024•13 min

"The Ancient Art of Thinking For Yourself: The Power of Rhetoric in Polarized Times" by Robin Reames

Robin Reames grew up in a fundamentalist Christian, white, and very conservative family in the Deep South. "Up until about my late adolescence and early adulthood," she says, "I more or less believed that the polarized view of the world that dominated my subculture was true. They are the bad guys. We are the good guys." But things changed when she went away to college and discovered rhetoric. That ancient art ultimately showed her how everything from disagreements with her parents to the polariz...

Apr 18, 2024•18 min

"Our Biggest Fight" by Frank H. McCourt Jr. & Michael J. Casey

Is the design of the internet to blame for our current crises of disinformation, mental illness, and hyper-partisan division? • Subscribe to our newsletter • Download our app • Join our club (and use code DAILY for a special discount)

Apr 11, 2024•12 min